Page 40 of The Mercy Chair

‘Yes, very funny,’ Joshua said. ‘But the more you liberals sneer, the more determined we are to become authentically Christian. And I asked if you were married because this is exactly the kind of thing our members struggle with.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘Family is a biblical and fundamental institution. Being looked down on, even pitied, by people with . . . different, sometimes morally repugnant values is confusing. The farm and the garden allow our members to reconnect with their faith through nature. It acts like the reset button on those smartphones of yours.’

‘Poe’s engaged to be married to Estelle Doyle,’ Bradshaw said. ‘She’s a woman. Also, he doesn’t know how to use the reset button on his smartphone. I have to do all the updates for him.’

‘Thanks for that, Tilly,’ Poe said.

‘You’re very welcome, Poe.’

‘You say you’re opposed to same-sex marriage, Joshua,’ Poe said.

‘We opposed the Same Sex Couples Act in 2013. I know it’s not fashionable, but our consciences couldn’t allow us to adopt any other position.’

‘And what about gay people in general? Do you oppose them too?’

Joshua’s spine stiffened. He pushed his neck into the back of his collar. ‘The Bible says it’s an abomination.’

‘And what doyousay?’

‘It’s divine law, Sergeant Poe,’ he said with cold superiority. ‘Who am I to go against the will of God?’

‘What would you do if a member approached you about a child who was . . . how can I put this without sounding ridiculous . . . at risk ofbreakingdivine law?’

‘I would pray with them.’

‘That’s all?’

‘What else is there?’

‘You don’t have a course you can put them on? One that might cure them?’ Poe wrapped ‘cure’ in air quotes. ‘Nothing like that here?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Are you positive?’

Joshua avoided eye contact. ‘I am.’

Poe let his answer hang for a few moments. ‘OK,’ he said eventually. ‘Where to next?’

Chapter 38

Joshua took them to Cornelius Green’s rooms. He had lived on the grounds, in the old headmaster’s residence. It was tucked into a grassy embankment and was a traditional Lake District cottage, all coarse, unevenly sized stones. Superintendent Nightingale’s team had already been through it, and she’d OK’d them to go in and have a root around.

‘It’s not locked,’ Joshua said.

‘Bloody hell, how much stuff did they take?’ were Poe’s first words when he stepped inside Cornelius’s cottage. It was usually murder suspects, not murder victims who had their homes raided by the cops. All Nightingale had left was a cot, a small table and a single chair. There was a Bible on the table and a wooden cross fixed to the wall.

‘I don’t think they took anything, Sergeant Poe,’ Joshua said. ‘Cornelius preferred his quarters sparse and functional. He took all his meals in the main building.’

‘What did he do in his spare time?’

‘He read his Bible and he prayed.’

‘Nothing else?’

‘What else is there?’

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