Page 76 of The Altar Girls

‘No. It’s a mess. I just shove everything in after choir practice.’

‘I have to take this with me.’

‘That’s fine. But I’ve remembered something that might help you.’

‘What?’

He paced around the perimeter of the room, his hands behind his back, his scarf trailing from his pocket like a tail.

‘Our last practice was Thursday night. I’ve been teaching the children to sight-read the music, and I recall Naomi asking if she could bring home some additional sheets to learn in her own time, or words to that effect. I gave her a few to take with her. I’ve no idea which ones.’

Lottie chewed on the inside of her lip. Was the priest being clever by having this as an excuse if sheet music was found to be missing from his briefcase? Or was he genuine? Whatever the case, she’d have to prove it.

‘I’ll have a look now.’ She made a call, and one of the SOCOs who was working outside arrived with a bundle of evidence bags. He took photographs as she laid the satchel on the table and began to extract the contents.

‘That’s “Silent Night” and that’s—’

Maguire stopped mid sentence when she glared. ‘I can read the titles.’

He held up his hands in surrender.

When she had all the music removed, she looked up at him. ‘Well?’

‘My copy of “Away in a Manger” isn’t there.’

‘So you gave it to Naomi and that’s why your DNA is on the sheet we recovered?’

‘Most likely.’

She’d have to wait for the DNA results on the page found in Willow’s hand.

‘Do you still count me as a suspect?’

‘What do you think?’

He stepped back as if she had slapped him. ‘Okay.’

‘Look, Father Maguire, we have evidence that links you to at least one of the girls. And possibly to the other as well.’

He stomped around the room again. ‘I was trying to make a difference. I wanted to help these children. Got them singing. Gave them an hour in their day when their only friend was music, and they loved it. To see the joy on their faces as they lost themselves in this musical world for an hour was a glimpse into heaven.’

She wondered at his turn of phrase, but then again, he was a priest. ‘Did many of these children’s families use the food bank run by you and Father Pearse?’

‘As I said, Willow and Naomi’s families did, but regarding the other children in the choir, I can’t say one way or the other. These people need their dignity.’

‘Were many of the children from deprived backgrounds?’

‘Who can define deprived nowadays, Inspector? People might say I came from privilege, being able to afford to go to college and become a priest, but I myself class my upbringing as being deprived.’

She leaned her arms over the back of an upright chair. ‘In what way?’

‘In my world, I was looked on as a sin. It was never spoken of in so many words, but I was reminded of it in numerous ways. My mother thought the identity of my father was a secret, but everyone knew. It may sound like a cliché to you, but people whispered behind cupped hands as my mother walked by. Kids in school bullied me.’

‘Did your mother know that?’

‘She knew people talked about her and she chose to live her life oblivious to it.’

‘And your father?’