Page 27 of The Mercy Chair

‘It’s what we do in District Twelve.’

Doctor Lang frowned. ‘I don’t understand the reference?’

‘It’s what Tilly calls Cumbria. Usually when there’s a bad internet connection or she hasn’t been able to buy the right kind of lentils. It’s got something to do with a book calledThe Hungry Games. I think that’s what it’s called.’

‘I haven’t read it.’

‘I haven’t either,’ Poe admitted. ‘But my point is this: I’m a cop in my forties and I’m from the north of England; pushing down emotions is what we do.’

‘That doesn’t sound healthy, Washington.’

‘Oh, it’s not healthy at all. But it doesn’t last long; eventually we keel over from heart attacks.’

‘If I had a pen I’d underline something at this point,’ Doctor Lang said.

Poe grinned. ‘Now who’s making jokes?’

‘Anyway, we’ve got off topic. Whydidthe bishop ask about your religious beliefs?’

‘He had his reasons,’ Poe said.

Chapter 23

‘I think some of the Church’s younger, more militant members could do with a shot of what you’ve told me, Matilda,’ Oldwater said when Bradshaw had finally finished. ‘Hearing the other side of the argument so cogently explained would do them good. Might take them down a peg or two. Could I interest you in guest speaking at one of our conferences?’

‘No thank you, Nicholas,’ Bradshaw replied. ‘That would bore me foolish.’

‘A refreshingly honest answer. Now, to business. You must be wondering why I’ve asked the National Crime Agency’s most stubborn detective and the world’s most eminent mathematician if they believe in the same things I do.’

‘I assumed it was ill-advised small talk,’ Poe said.

‘Goodness no, that would be a dreadful waste of your time.’

‘You really needed to know?’

Oldwater looked over Poe’s shoulder. ‘Ah, here’s the tea,’ he said.

Peter, the bespectacled vicar Oldwater had been talking to earlier, was walking down the nave. He had a tray in one hand and a leather document holder in the other. He set everything down on a couple of spare seats and left without speaking.

‘May I?’ Oldwater said. ‘Yorkshire Tea for me and Washington; peppermint for Tilly. Is that OK?’

They confirmed it was. After they’d all had a drink, the bishop picked up the leather document holder. He left it zipped. ‘Before I open this, we need to agree some ground rules,’ he said. ‘The first is that this file doesn’t exist. If it ever gets into the public domain you will confirm you haven’t seen it before. Is this acceptable to you both?’

‘Fine by me,’ Poe said.

‘If it is with Poe, then it is with me, Nicholas,’ Bradshaw added.

‘The second thing we need to agree is the reason for this evening’s meeting,’ Oldwater said. ‘Loose lips sink ships and the three of us sitting together will not have gone unnoticed. And while I trust Peter implicitly, I cannot say the same for everyone else here tonight. I simply do not know them well enough.’

‘How about we were just catching up?’ Poe suggested. ‘You heard through the grapevine that we were working up here and it’s been a while.’

‘The simplest solutions are often the best,’ Oldwater agreed. ‘And technically I’m not bearing a false witness under God’s roof. Wedidhave a catch up.’

‘You OK with that, Tilly?’

‘We don’t know why we’re here, Poe,’ Bradshaw said. ‘I would ordinarily say we’d be ill-advised to agree to anything until we know what’s in the file, but I trust Nicholas.’

‘I do too. But if he’s about to admit to embezzlement or something, we’ll just say we had our fingers crossed. I have no problem whatsoever bearing a false witness under God’s roof.’

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