Page 102 of Joker in the Pack

“Did he elaborate on the contents?”

“No, and I didn’t ask questions. I just assumed it was documents. It was only one of those small padded envelopes, so he couldn’t have fitted much inside.”

An envelope? I’d sorted through Aunt Ellie’s piles of old mail, and most of it had gone in the rubbish. What if I’d thrown something important out?

“Any other insights?” Nye asked.

The vicar walked over to one of the cupboards and found a bottle of Scotch. His hands shook as he poured himself a generous measure and slugged back half.

“You know about the incident with Henry?”

Nye nodded.

“Well, a few weeks before that, Ronnie had one too many beers and let slip that he’d hit the jackpot. Easy money, he said, but he was nervous. Very nervous. He even cried off a couple of jobs, which wasn’t like him at all.”

“Any idea why?”

“No, but Ronnie used to do work on the side as well as with me. I figured he’d had a close call. Look, are we done here yet? I’m not the same man I used to be. Now it’s my mission in life to stop young boys from going down the same path I did.”

“Very admirable.” The hint of sarcasm in Nye’s voice went unnoticed by the vicar. “Here’s my card. Do me a favour and call if you think of anything else?”

“Sure, I most certainly will.”

He wouldn’t. He couldn’t show us out fast enough.

Back in the car, I tried to process what had just happened. A burglar turned vicar. I’d seen it all now.

“So, what did you think?” Nye asked as he slid behind the wheel and started the journey home.

“I can’t believe it—the man’s an ex-burglar, and now he’s holding a position of such responsibility. Surely he should be in jail?”

“What good would that do?”

“Well, it would be a punishment for his crimes.”

“Prison’s supposed to help people see the error of their ways and stop them from reoffending. It seems to me like he’s already done that.”

“I suppose. I’ve never thought of it that way.”

“And not only that, he’s helping to keep kids out of jail too.”

“I guess that makes sense. Do you always see the good in people? Spike? The vicar?”

“I’ve learned a lot working at Blackwood. If I hadn’t had their support, I’d have ended up alongside Ronnie.”

I half gasped, and then swallowed it into a cough. “You were a thief?”

“No, but I’d have landed in an early grave. I wasn’t a good guy as a teenager, Liv.”

“I don’t believe that.” Nye might have had a tough exterior, but that hid a heart of gold.

“It’s true. I hated living at home, and I used to act out. But I met one of Blackwood’s founders in a bar when I was eighteen, and he helped me to see the world differently. He gave me the chance to be myself.”

I reached over and squeezed his hand, an automatic gesture. “I’m glad you got that chance. I like the man you’ve become.”

Nye pulled the car over into a lay-by and killed the engine.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

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