A VOW OF ADORATION an utterly gripping crime mystery

by Veronica Black

  Sister Joan drove back to the convent feeling that pleasant things ought to happen more often. It was full summer now and very hot. The town water supply was said to be threatened by the drought and there was talk of standpipes. There was always talk of standpipes if the summer lasted for longer than a fortnight.

  The grass was browning at the tips and the air had a scorching dusty feeling. The van windows were open but the steering wheel felt hot and sticky. She slowed down as she neared the old schoolhouse, her spirits rising further as she saw a familiar figure tinkering with the old car.

  ‘Brother Cuthbert, you’re back!’

  Scrambling down from the van she hurried towards him.

  ‘Like a thief in the night, Sister! How are you? The door was open so I simply walked in. Isn’t it glorious weather?’

  He shook hands, his freckled young face flushed with heat and pleasure.

  ‘Some wouldn’t agree, but I like the heat,’ Sister Joan said. ‘They allowed you to return here then?’

  ‘Father Superior said that as I was so useless as a member of the community I might as well stay down here and concentrate on my spiritual life,’ Brother Cuthbert said. ‘It chimed so well with my own wishes that I felt quite guilty! But another year or two may bring me maturity, don’t you think? And prayer rises up so readily here where the moors stretch to the sky. How are you, Sister? And the other dear sisters?’

  ‘Sister Mary Concepta had a short spell in hospital and is home again now. The rest of us are well. There was someone staying in the schoolhouse while you were away. It’s a long story.’

  ‘To do with evil?’ Brother Cuthbert looked uncomfortable.

  ‘As a matter of fact, yes.’

  ‘Evil only exists where there is a complete absence of good,’ Brother Cuthbert said.

  ‘But you sensed evil?’

  ‘I sensed confusion,’ Brother Cuthbert said. ‘A mind turned against itself. A love twisted into hatred. Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll air the place with a few Hail Marys and a couple of Paternosters. Evil never lasts.’

  ‘And hatred?’ she queried.

  ‘The other side of adoration,’ Brother Cuthbert said cheerfully. ‘God knows which side of the coin to judge! Are they all well in town? I did call at the presbytery but everybody was out.’

  ‘At a presentation at the children’s home. I’ll tell you about it later.’

  ‘And that very nice police officer?’ He thought an instant, then clicked his fingers. ‘Detective Sergeant Mill! Nice fellow.’

  ‘He’s very well.’

  ‘He absolutely adores you,’ Brother Cuthbert said. ‘When I think of you two I think of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, sister and brother in Christ.’

  ‘Good heavens!’ Sister Joan said faintly, vainly trying to picture Detective Sergeant Mill in the role of that pantheistic saint.

  ‘Not that he’d admit it, of course,’ Brother Cuthbert said, strolling back with her to the van. ‘He’s an agnostic, isn’t he?’

  ‘Somewhat!’

  ‘Agnostics are people who haven’t found the right road,’ Brother Cuthbert said. ‘What a blessing you must be to him!’

  ‘I’ll tell him some time. God bless.’

  Climbing back behind the hot and sticky wheel she waited until she had driven a little way out of earshot before she allowed herself to laugh. She was still chuckling as she drove though the convent gates, all evil fled away and the hot sun blazing.

  THE END

  ALSO BY VERONICA BLACK

  SISTER JOAN MYSTERY SERIES

  Book 1: A VOW OF SILENCE

  Book 2: A VOW OF CHASTITY

  Book 3: A VOW OF SANCTITY

  Book 4: A VOW OF OBEDIENCE

  Book 5: A VOW OF PENANCE

  Book 6: A VOW OF DEVOTION

  Book 7: A VOW OF FIDELITY

  Book 8: A VOW OF POVERTY

  Book 9: A VOW OF ADORATION

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  A SELECTION OF BOOKS YOU MAY ENJOY

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  DISCOVER THE MILLION-SELLING SERIES NOW.

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  HE IS WATCHING YOU

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  UK www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KKK5N7W

  US www.amazon.com/dp/B07KKK5N7W

  DISCOVER AN ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING RACE-AGAINST-TIME THRILLER FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR CHARLIE GALLAGHER.

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  So he will return to finish the job.

  Detective Maddie Ives is new to the area. She is handed a missing person report: a young woman with a drink problem who’s been reported missing fifteen times. It looks like a waste of time. But DS Iv
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  DI Harry Blaker is called to the hit-and-run of an elderly man left to die on a quiet country road. There is no motive and it looks like a tragic accident. But he’s been working Major Crime long enough to know that something isn’t quite right. The two officers find their investigations intertwine and they will need to work together.

  BUT THEY MUST WORK FAST. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR THE WOMAN IN THE CONTAINER.

  GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH USAGE FOR US READERS

  A & E: accident and emergency department in a hospital

  Aggro: violent behaviour, aggression

  Air raid: attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets

  Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetables or flowers

  Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)

  Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings

  A level: exams taken between 16 and 18

  Auld Reekie: Edinburgh

  Au pair: live-in childcare helper, often a young woman

  Barm: bread roll

  Barney: argument

  Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids

  Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle

  Benefits: social security

  Bent: corrupt

  Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)

  Biscuit: cookie

  Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in a seaside town

  Bloke: guy

  Blow: cocaine

  Blower: telephone

  Blues and twos: emergency vehicles

  Bob: money, e.g. ‘That must have cost a few bob.’

  Bobby: policeman

  Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)

  Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead

  Bun: small cake

  Bunk: escape, e.g. ‘do a bunk’

  Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant

  Buy-to-let: buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit

  Charity shop: thrift store

  Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket

  Care home: an institution where old people are cared for

  Car park: parking lot

  CBeebies: kids TV

  Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments

  Chemist: pharmacy

  Chinwag: conversation

  Chippie: fast-food place selling chips, battered fish and other fried food

  Chips: French fries but thicker

  CID: Criminal Investigation Department

  Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)

  Clock: punch (in an altercation) or register

  Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake

  Cockney: a native of East London

  Common: an area of park land or lower class

  Comprehensive school (comp.): a public (re state-run) high school

  Cop hold of: grab

  Copper: police officer

  Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit

  CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, who decide whether police cases go forward

  Childminder: someone paid to look after children

  Council: local government

  Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic

  DC: detective constable

  Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block

  Deck: hit (verb)

  Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character

  DI: detective inspector

  Digestive biscuit: plain cookie

  Digs: student lodgings

  Do a runner: disappear

  Do one: go away

  Doc Martens: heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole, also DMs, Docs

  Donkey’s years: long time

  Drum: house

  DS: detective sergeant

  ED: emergency department of a hospital

  Eagle: children’s comic, marketed at boys

  Early dart: to leave work early

  Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled, runny egg

  Enforcer: police battering ram

  Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)

  Estate agent: realtor

  Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982

  Fag: cigarette

  Father Christmas: Santa Claus

  Filth: police (insulting)

  Forces: army, navy and air force

  FMO: force medical officer

  Fried slice: fried bread

  Fuzz: police

  Garda: Irish police

  GCSEs: exams taken between age 14 and 16, replaced O levels in 1988

  Gendarmerie: French national police force

  Geordie: from Newcastle

  Garden centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold

  Gob: mouth, can also mean phlegm or spit

  GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community

  Graft: hard work

  Gran: grandmother

  Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s

  Hard nut: tough person

  HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck

  HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents

  Home: care home for elderly or sick people

  Hoover: vacuum cleaner

  I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise

  In care: refers to a child taken away from their family by the social services

  Inne: isn’t he

  Interpol: international police organisation

  Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman

  ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital

  Jane/John Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous

  JCB: a manufacturer of construction machinery, like mechanical excavators

  Jerry-built: badly made

  Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais

  Lad: young man

  Lass: young woman

  Lift: elevator

  Lord Lucan: famous British aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974 and was never found

  Lorry: truck

  Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased

  Luftwaffe: German air force

  M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop

  Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie, often used to imply a busybody, especially of older women

  MOD: Ministry of Defence

  Mobile phone: cell phone

  MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area

  MRSA: A strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

  Myra Hindley: famous British serial killer

  Naff: tacky/corny, not cool

  Naff all: none

  National Service: compulsory military service, in the UK ended in 60s

  Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent lace curtain

  NHS: National Health Service, public health service of the UK

  Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)

  Nowt: nothing

  Nutter: insane person, can be used affectionately

  Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)

  O level: exams taken between age 14 and 16 until 1988 (replaced by GCSEs)

  Old bag: old woman (insulting)

  Old Bill: police

  OTT: over the top

  Owt: anything

  Pants: noun: underwear, adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible

  Para: paratrooper

  Pay-as-you-go: a cell phone on which you pay for calls in advance

  PC: police constable

  Pear-shaped: gone wrong

  Petrol: gasoline

  Pictures: movie

  Pillbox: a concrete building, partly underground, used as an outpost defence

  Pillock: fool

  Pips: police insignia indicating rankr />
  Piss off: an exclamation meaning go away (rude), can also mean annoy

  Pissing down: raining

  Playing field: sports field

  Pleb: ordinary person (often insulting)

  Portakabin: portable building used as temporary office etc.

  Post: mail

  Planning Department: the local authority department that issues licences to build and develop property

  PNC: police national computer

  PSNI: Police Service of Northern Ireland

  Prat: idiot, can be used affectionately

  Premier League: top English soccer division

  Proms: annual concerts held at the Albert Hall

  Public analyst: scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes

  RAF: Royal Air Force

  Rag: newspaper

  Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window

  Randy: horny

  Recce: reconnaissance

  Red Adair: famous oil well firefighter

  Resus: resuscitation room

  Right state: messy

  Ring: telephone (verb)

  Roadworks: repairs done to roads

  Rozzers: police

  RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

  RTC: road traffic collision

  RV: rendezvous point

  Royal Engineers: British army corps dealing with military engineering, etc.

  Rugger: rugby (posh American football)

  Sarge: sergeant

  SCO19: Specialist Crime and Operations Specialist Firearms Command

  Scrote: low life

  Section: to have someone committed to a mental hospital under UK mental health laws

  Semi: semi-detached house, a house with another house joined to it on one side only

  Shedload: a large amount

  Shop: store

  Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way