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‘Is that a proble to a surgery I feel …’

‘Right Listen I was half thinking of getting up for the early Communion service, so I’ll do that … I could coht afterwards – that’s still only half seven or so, it gives us plenty of time I can perhaps take a cup of coffee off you?’

‘It’s Miles taking the early service you knoon’t –’

‘I know, but you’ll be at home?’

‘Yes, I suppose I shall’ Stephen sounded hopelessly confused

‘I’ll see you then Now, try and get a couple of hours’ sleep, Stephen’

‘Thank you, so rateful Thank you I will try, yes, but … thank you’

She had to ring off, sensing that he would have stayed helplessly on the other end of the phone for soet back to sleep she got up and went downstairs The wara when she lifted the lid to put on the kettle was coht’s hunting She hesitated about booting up her co an hour’s work but settled for the sofa, on which Mephisto soon joined her, and Marilynne Robinson’s novel Gilead But now and then, as she sipped her tea, she lifted her head and looked at the curtain shifting slightly in the autu if Felix orried about being away in a house he barely re herself about Sam, and disturbed by Stephen Webber’s call It was a distressing start to the day But as she was getting into the car for her drive to the early service, it occurred to her that one thing she had not been doing was brooding about Chris She was at a loss to know if that was a good thing or not

‘Alhty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known and frohts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we nify thy holy naood voice, Cat thought, kneeling in the second row of the Lady chapel, clear, without any sing-song, well modulated And voices mattered, especially in the main body of the cathedral, whose acoustic picked up every word and lifted it up into the great roof, so that the wavering, the reedy or the boo made no impression There were a dozen people in the small chapel, the same ones ere usually there – an elderly lady alked slow as a snail fro in froht shift, others who started work early She knew ht, a few by name This was the servicethe dreadful months of Chris’s illness and the bleak time after his death Often she had repeated the responsesto be in this place that had been the backdrop to her life for so many years, in which she had been married, her children christened, herin dozens of concerts here, listened to others She loved the cathedral, and the changes that were being forced through with such haste were distressing and unsettling She wondered now, as she listened to Miles Hurley say the prayer of repentance, how es, for she suspected that though he had worked with the Dean so closely in London, he was less of a elical than Stephen Apart fro else, he seereater sense of the iy and the music Stephen Webber did not take any of the early Co, in which the 1662 prayer book was still used – though whether any of theuess He had said that he could not bring himself ‘to utter archaisms which were so little understood’ But they were understood by ined – certainly by reatly loved

Usually, even at such an early service, the celebrant greeted people as they left, but thisMiles hurried away so that Cat was at the Webbers’ front door just before half past seven

She ell used to seeing people in shock, people in states of distress, their worlds turned upside down by an accident, a death, soe in Stephen Webber His face was grey, he had the deep hollows of sleeplessness beneath his eyes, which seemed to have sunk back into his skull, and those eyes ary and with the odd blank look she recognised in soether without much success

The kitchen was in chaos Cat wondered if they had any sort of do He was looking around for the kettle and cups, and as he found the latter on a tray, knocked the whole lot off the worktop

‘Stephen, if you clear that up – mind you don’t cut yourself – I’ll make us some coffee Do you have a dustpan and brush?’

He looked about him helplessly, so that in the end, sheherself It took some time

‘Thank you I’m afraid I’m in a mess I can’t function nor, but I shouldn’t ask you to corave;re and twothis time off work? I hope so As you say, you can’t function, which is entirely nor quietly, don’t put any extra stress on yourself’

‘Miles has taken over some of my work for now I’d be nowhere without his help – and everyone else’s … People are very good’ His voice was toneless and infinitely weary and when he picked up his coffeeyou wanted to tell er round and round the wood in a small circle

‘Is it about Ruth or about you?’

‘I’’

She waited for a long ti and had wisps of grey, she saw He had arrived only a few etic new Dean Now, the energy and purpose had gone

‘Ruth,’ he said at last, looking up at her ‘Ruth is a manic-depressive – has been for some years No, that’s untrue Many years Perhaps she has always been so Ithe extent of her condition and I have often asked myself if I would have done so if …’

He told her the full story quite coherently, as though, having started, he gained confidence and a certain strength Cat listened carefully, listened to accounts of hospitalisation, Ruth being sectioned after bouts of manic behaviour which had put others at risk as well as herself, and of suicidal depressions, even a couple of attempts, one of them almost successful The story followed a fa about their condition, accepting help andback when that medication was stopped because it rey flannel’ There had been a crisis tea hospital care And, through it all, Stephen had battled to keep her on an even keel, and to hide her condition from others It was clear that he felt it was a burden he should bear alone, clear that he was both afraid and asha coffee all at once, and shook his head several ti to clear it But the inevitable relief at having talked himself out was evident in the way his shoulders dropped and he slumped in his chair

‘Stephen, have you told this to the police?’

‘No I couldn’t … so’

‘Absolutely not You have to tell the I’ll drive you down to the station’

‘No, please, I can’t do that, I can’t go in there …’

‘Why not? They need to know, urgently This is very, very relevant to Ruth’s disappearance’

‘Itwomen were murdered, another almost killed, and then your wife disappeared …’

‘But it isn’t the same, she isn’t – like that’

‘Of course Ruth isn’t a prostitute, but the police know nothing about hera major search with, always in their minds, the fact that she could be dead too They can’t assu to attack prostitutes But if they knohat you have just told me it alters the way they’ll deal with this They already know so to her description was seen in the superht –’

‘It can’t have been her’

‘Why can’t it?’

‘They asked o in and look at the CCTV tapes …’

‘And did you?’

Stephen looked at her His eyes were full of tears ‘I couldn’t face it yesterday … I said … I told theht I’ll take you You’ll look at the tapes, and then you’ll tell them Stephen, you have to You have a duty to’

Now the tears were running down his cheeks, but silently She reached out and put her hand over his ‘It will be all right They’ll understand and they’ll help you But you can’t hide this’

He shook his head again violently It was clear that his normal ability to think clearly had deserted hie of the police investigations? Would it help if I asked him to come here and talk to you – just hiet him to come now That would be easier for you and he’d probably drive you in to the station so that you can look at the tapes You know this is what you need to do’

‘Can’t you … would you tell theently ‘You know I can’t’

Fifteenopposite Stephen Webber, looking at hi back as if he had all the tigesting that Stephen coet a medical check-up himself She made a mental note to book an appointency