Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death (The Grantchester Mysteries)

Inspector Keating’s aggression. ‘I’d rather you didn’t.’
    ‘I’ll have to. I can’t withhold evidence.’
    Sidney was alarmed and disappointed. This was surely a breach of trust. ‘I told you about Sam in confidence.’
    ‘I know that, and I won’t tell Williams right away. But if, in the course of the investigation I am asked, then I cannot tell a lie. I hope you understand that, Sidney.’
    ‘Not entirely.’
    ‘You should have anticipated this. You know me well enough.’
    ‘I am not sure I do.’
    ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake. Would you like another drink?’
    ‘I am not sure we have time.’
    ‘I’ll get you a swift half.’ The inspector signalled to the barman. ‘The thing is, that, in future, you should probably think a little bit more about exactly what you want to tell me. Priests and doctors believe in the ethics of confidentiality. I, unfortunately, do not. So I think, at the very least, I will have to suggest your boy is questioned again, if only, perhaps, for his own protection.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘If he committed the crime then we will have our man. It probably won’t take much to get him to confess.’
    ‘But he didn’t do it.’
    ‘You say so.’ Keating picked up the two half-pints from the bar and then continued. ‘However, if the boy is innocent then whoever killed Claudette may be out to get him as well.’
    ‘Unless he is trying to implicate Sam.’
    ‘That is a possibility. But if Sam is in custody then at least he will be safe.’
    ‘You are suggesting he is arrested?’
    ‘I am suggesting he is questioned. In my experience a clandestine relationship is never a secret. There are always people who know. We just need more information: about Sam Morris, Claudette, her father and his associates.’
    Sidney still could not understand the need to concentrate on a boy who was surely innocent; unless, of course he had misread him completely. ‘If that boy is arrested because of what I have said my sister will be furious.’
    ‘I think there are more important things than your sister’s anger. Besides, if he is guilty, and he killed the girl out of jealousy, or because she wouldn’t have him back, then the case is closed. Your sister can hardly complain and Williams might even thank you.’
    ‘Sam Morris can’t have done it.’
    ‘He can, Sidney. You have to leave your feelings out of this.’
    ‘I don’t believe it.’
    ‘Well, if you don’t then we need to discover far more than we know already. That’s where you can help.’ The inspector finished his drink. ‘As long as you don’t mind acknowledging that we sometimes have to trample over people’s feelings. We can’t always behave in a Christian way, Sidney. You may find that this conflicts with your principles.’
    ‘I will not let it do so. I will try and bring a moral purpose to any investigation.’
    Inspector Keating stood up and put on his coat, signalling that their time together was at an end. ‘I don’t mind what you bring, Sidney, as long as it leads to a conviction. That’s all I care about. I’ll let you finish your drink.’
    The half-pint the inspector had bought Sidney remained untouched. There was nothing left to say.
     
    The following morning Sidney took an assembly at the local primary school and held a meeting to discuss plans for an elderly people’s luncheon club. Although he undertook these tasks with his customary authority and charm, he did not feel that he was giving either of them his full attention. Behind the mask of priestly professionalism was a worried man. He felt that he had betrayed the trust of Sam Morris and that his friend Geordie Keating had ridden roughshod over his careful revelation of the facts.
    The feeling of unease now crept into his work as a priest. He had lost confidence in his instinct and he was overwhelmed by the work he had neglected. Sidney had never been very good at differentiating between tasks that were urgent and those which were important, and often those tasks that seemed urgent, but were not important, took precedence over the duties that were important, but not urgent. As a result, the constant, serious business of being a priest was displaced by distraction. He needed time, space and silence in which to reflect on the things that mattered and the things that did not. It also did not help when Mrs Maguire kept interrupting him with news of Dickens’s latest misdemeanours.
    The two of them were, Sidney decided, mutually