Ann.
‘We rushed out, of course, but the garden was empty—’
‘A moment, Sister,’ I interrupted. ‘What was this man like?’
This was translated by a flurry of hands. Sister Clare shook her head. ‘It was dusk and he wore a hooded cloak. She only saw he was a tall man, with, she thought, a badly scarred face.’
A scarred face, that would have been enough to frighten her, let alone being seized violently by a strange man, I thought. I asked Marie Ann, ‘He tried to kiss you?’
Sister Clare gave a little scream and averted her face; a hand against her mouth so that Marie Ann could not lip-read, she drew a deep breath. ‘That might have been imagination. Marie Ann comes from a troubled home.’ Lowering her head, a blush of embarrassment. ‘She was…er…interfered with, by her half-brother and her stepfather. She is very afraid of all men.’
I considered this piece of information. ‘Could Marie Ann not tell you what he was trying to say to her?’
Sister Clare shook her head. ‘We tried that, but she was too frightened, too distressed to understand. Just wanted to get away from him.’
‘As the presence of an intruder in the convent grounds is a serious matter,’ I said, ‘this information would have been very useful to the police.’
Sister Clare practically jumped at the word ‘police’, which seemed to hang in the air before us. A speedy translation for Marie Ann who looked ready to burst into tears.
They both stared at me. Had I suggested a visit from Lucifer himself they could not have looked more shocked and horrified.
A tricky situation indeed. And with no desire to make matters worse, I refrained from adding that the police were looking for a man wanted for the bank robbery.
I had no wish to elaborate on the two suicides.
‘If this was a serious assault, then you should have informed them immediately.’ I paused. ‘As you are no doubt aware, there have been serious incidents recently.’
Watching their expressions, I asked gently, ‘Why did you come to me? How did you think I could help?’
Sister Clare shook her head. ‘We had to think of the distress of the other sisters, having uniformed policemen wandering about, asking them embarrassing and intimate questions.’
‘Surely only Marie Ann is involved?’
‘No, Mrs McQuinn, when we mentioned it, it seems that others of the novices working in the gardens have also seen a man lurking about.’
‘The same man?’
‘They were not absolutely certain as he had only been seen from a distance.’
I wasn’t inclined to take that too seriously. In a place like the convent, where nothing more exciting than a missing shoe ever occurred, one girl’s terror and hysteria plus another’s imagination and even an innocent stranger seeking directions is transformed into a monster.
I looked at Marie Ann. Poor little waif, I hadsympathy with her. She was no taller than I and looked childlike with her close-cut fair curls. This was the first step of initiation, the female vanity of long beautiful hair was to be sacrificed.
Sister Clare was tight-lipped as she said, ‘The police would not do at all, Mrs McQuinn. Surely you can imagine, as a woman, the sort of indelicate matters that might be discussed with our young girls. We thought that a lady like yourself would be ideal to conduct a more discreet enquiry, one of your investigations that would not distress them.’
I wondered who had told them I was a private detective. Even in convents, it seemed, news got around.
Sister Clare had now turned her back towards Marie Ann who was effectively eliminated from the conversation.
She leant forward and whispered confidentially, ‘There is another matter, concerning those two girls who apparently took their own lives recently. This has not been mentioned and it is something you and the general public – as well as the police – might not be aware of.’
She sighed and shook her head. ‘Amy and Belle had been brought up as Catholics,
‘We rushed out, of course, but the garden was empty—’
‘A moment, Sister,’ I interrupted. ‘What was this man like?’
This was translated by a flurry of hands. Sister Clare shook her head. ‘It was dusk and he wore a hooded cloak. She only saw he was a tall man, with, she thought, a badly scarred face.’
A scarred face, that would have been enough to frighten her, let alone being seized violently by a strange man, I thought. I asked Marie Ann, ‘He tried to kiss you?’
Sister Clare gave a little scream and averted her face; a hand against her mouth so that Marie Ann could not lip-read, she drew a deep breath. ‘That might have been imagination. Marie Ann comes from a troubled home.’ Lowering her head, a blush of embarrassment. ‘She was…er…interfered with, by her half-brother and her stepfather. She is very afraid of all men.’
I considered this piece of information. ‘Could Marie Ann not tell you what he was trying to say to her?’
Sister Clare shook her head. ‘We tried that, but she was too frightened, too distressed to understand. Just wanted to get away from him.’
‘As the presence of an intruder in the convent grounds is a serious matter,’ I said, ‘this information would have been very useful to the police.’
Sister Clare practically jumped at the word ‘police’, which seemed to hang in the air before us. A speedy translation for Marie Ann who looked ready to burst into tears.
They both stared at me. Had I suggested a visit from Lucifer himself they could not have looked more shocked and horrified.
A tricky situation indeed. And with no desire to make matters worse, I refrained from adding that the police were looking for a man wanted for the bank robbery.
I had no wish to elaborate on the two suicides.
‘If this was a serious assault, then you should have informed them immediately.’ I paused. ‘As you are no doubt aware, there have been serious incidents recently.’
Watching their expressions, I asked gently, ‘Why did you come to me? How did you think I could help?’
Sister Clare shook her head. ‘We had to think of the distress of the other sisters, having uniformed policemen wandering about, asking them embarrassing and intimate questions.’
‘Surely only Marie Ann is involved?’
‘No, Mrs McQuinn, when we mentioned it, it seems that others of the novices working in the gardens have also seen a man lurking about.’
‘The same man?’
‘They were not absolutely certain as he had only been seen from a distance.’
I wasn’t inclined to take that too seriously. In a place like the convent, where nothing more exciting than a missing shoe ever occurred, one girl’s terror and hysteria plus another’s imagination and even an innocent stranger seeking directions is transformed into a monster.
I looked at Marie Ann. Poor little waif, I hadsympathy with her. She was no taller than I and looked childlike with her close-cut fair curls. This was the first step of initiation, the female vanity of long beautiful hair was to be sacrificed.
Sister Clare was tight-lipped as she said, ‘The police would not do at all, Mrs McQuinn. Surely you can imagine, as a woman, the sort of indelicate matters that might be discussed with our young girls. We thought that a lady like yourself would be ideal to conduct a more discreet enquiry, one of your investigations that would not distress them.’
I wondered who had told them I was a private detective. Even in convents, it seemed, news got around.
Sister Clare had now turned her back towards Marie Ann who was effectively eliminated from the conversation.
She leant forward and whispered confidentially, ‘There is another matter, concerning those two girls who apparently took their own lives recently. This has not been mentioned and it is something you and the general public – as well as the police – might not be aware of.’
She sighed and shook her head. ‘Amy and Belle had been brought up as Catholics,
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