Page 52 of Who Cries for the Lost

“Lord Devlin,” he said with a bow when Sebastian introduced himself. “This is indeed an honor. Have you come to view our fine new church?” He swept an expansive hand toward the building and raised his voice slightly so that he might be heard over the pounding and clatter of the workmen. “It was originally intended as a chapel of ease, you know, to accommodate our growing population. But then it was decided to make this the new parish seat, so it is being enlarged and reconfigured in a more impressive style.”

Sebastian squinted up at the three-story stone spire that towered a hundred feet or more above them, surmounted by a miniature temple with eight caryatids and a dome. “It is indeed impressive.”

The Reverend’s smile widened. “The area was already becoming increasingly prosperous, you know. But now with the establishment of the Regent’s grand new park, the rate of construction of fine town houses is frankly unbelievable. My mother feared I was making a mistake, taking up the living at a parish on the outskirts of London. But this is a new world we live in, is it not?” The smile faded, and he cleared his throat, his features becoming grave. “Mrs. Sedgewick tells me you’re looking into the death of her late husband. Shocking business, that.”

“You knew him?”

“Only peripherally; his wife and I are childhood friends. I fear this has all been a dreadful strain on Mrs. Sedgewick. She’s such a good Christian woman, and she already had so much to bear.”

“Because of her husband, you mean?”

The Reverend looked away toward the row of classically fronted houses that stood beside the church, his eyes narrowing against the westering sun. “As to that, I shouldn’t say.”

“Who do you think killed him?”

The Reverend brought his gaze back to Sebastian’s face. “If you ask me, it’s rather obvious.”

“It is?”

“How well did you know the man?”

“I knew him in the Army. Why?”

“You know of his... interests?”

“To which particular interests are you referring?”

A loud clatter of lumber jerked Palmer’s attention to where two of the workmen were moving a stack of boards. He lowered his voice and leaned forward. “I fear the man was attracted to the forces of darkness.”

“By which I take it you mean his interest in witches and werewolves?”

Palmer nodded. “Witches, werewolves, tarot, astrology, and goodness knows what else. You know that he made a habit of frequenting the alchemists and cartomancers of Seven Dials?”

“I did, yes.”

“Under the circumstances, I fear such a dark, violent end was inevitable, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’re of the opinion he was killed in St. Giles?”

The Reverend looked vaguely surprised by the suggestion. “As to that, I couldn’t say. But his associates were evil. As the Good Lord says, ‘Let not thy soul enter into their secrets nor join their assemblies, for in their anger they slew men, and I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.’ ”

The quote didn’t sound quite right to Sebastian, but all he said was, “Are you referring to any evil associates in particular?”

“I fear there are many who share his satanic interests. It’s become almost an obsession in our modern world, wouldn’t you say?”

“I don’t know if I’d call an interest in folklore ‘satanic.’ ”

Palmer looked at him with the patient, pitying eyes of one long accustomed to dealing with the delusional folly of sinners. “Ah, but that’s how it often begins, is it not? By posing as an innocent ‘scholarly’ interest in the traditions and tales of our forebears? But whether such a one seeks to fool himself or only others, the sad truth is that he has simply found a cloak to cover his surrender to the seductive allure of darkness.”

“I can see that this is something that troubles you a great deal,” said Sebastian.

“These are troubled times, are they not?”

“But prosperous.” Sebastian watched a workman begin to scramble up the scaffolding that still half obscured the portico’s grand pediment. “And the other men whose mutilated bodies were thrown in the Thames? You think they were killed for the same reason?”

“It seems a logical assumption, wouldn’t you say? Deuteronomy tells us, ‘There shall not be found amongst you anyone who maketh his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.’ ”

“You’re suggesting the men were killed by someone interpreting that passage literally?”

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