PART 4 of MURDER MYSTERY

The next day Liza returned to Radchester, weighed down by a rucksack that was bursting open with books almost falling out all over the place. Libraries had always attracted her, and University libraries had become like a second home to her. She would have lived there if it had been possible. The thoughts of all those interesting books excited her, though she knew she only had time to read those that were to do with her particular subject: violence!

Now, however, there was something competing with the University library – the church over the road! It fascinated her. Not only that, but Hugh fascinated her too, and she hoped she would bump into him again. After a shorter stint than usual in the library, where she found a superb book on violence and the Law, she made her way over to the church. When she got there, she found that one of the side aisles had a huge board on wheels with a picture of the Prodigal Son on it. People trickled in and out of one of the rooms near to the picture. She wondered what was going on, and then she remembered what Hugh had told her about Confession. Each person who went into the little room went and knelt in a pew when they came out. One young man knelt in a pew with a beatific smile on his face, raising his arms in rhe air in ecstasy. Such was his joy that Liza couldn’t help wondering what terrible sin he had been relieved of. If Liza was fascinated by the church she was even more fascinated by this, and she wondered what sins she would go and confess. It felt like quite a good idea. Go and tell someone all the things you had done wrong, and then forget them for ever.

Suddenly she felt a hand digging into her shoulder. She turned round and it was Hugh.

“I was going to go to Confession,” he said. “But do you fancy going to McDonalds instead?” Liza began to think of the effect of a NcDonalds on Hugh’s exploding bowels, but he didn’t seem particularly concerned.

“O.K.,” she said.

Once in McDonalds, they sat at a table in the window where they could watch all the passers by. Liza had a milk shake and Hugh contented himself with a coffee.

“What’s your subject?” Hugh asked.

“Violence,” Liza replied.

Hugh burst out laughing.

“So you’re an expert on violence then!” Liza did see the funny side of it, and burst out laughing too.

“You should be here on a Saturday night. There’s plenty of it going on then. Poor Father Ray has all sorts to deal with. One night a young girl came in and stole the candlesticks off the latar. God only knows how she did it! It’s in full view, but she must have sneaked up when there was no one around. Father Ray was a bit cross, to say the least. He was rather atrached to his candlesticks!”

Liza almost burst out laughing again as she pictured the rather tubby Father Ray, attached to his candlesticks.

“Ooh, look, there’s Father Chris,” Hugh suddenly said.

“Where?” Unquired Liza. “Who is he?”

“Oh, he works with Father Ray. Him and Father Ray and Father Peter from the University Chaplaincy all live in the Presbytery together.”

Liza looked and there was a youngish man running past in jogging bottoms and trainers.

“He can’t live without his jogging,” said Hugh. Father Ray can’t live without his posh frocks, and Father Peter can’t live without his toupe. But mind, never say anything to him about it if ever you meet him. He’s a bit sensitive about his toupe and pretends he doesn’t wear one.”

Liza’s mind began to boggle a bit. In the past two days she had been introduced to exploding bowels, posh frocks, toupes, an addiction to jogging, and a candlestick thief.

“Well, I missed Confession,” announced Hugh, “but Mass is due to start shortly. Want to come? I’ll go to Co fession tomorrow and get rid of a job lot.”

“O.K.,” said Liza. She was beginning to really like the church and the thoughts of all the goings on there caught her Imagination.