4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Maeve
Irub the grubbiness from my eyes, sighing for what seems like the millionth time since we arrived at the church to break up the scuffle between the vicar and his brother.
“Come now, gentlemen. Surely you can see how absurd this is?” I plead with them as they square off with each other. I step between them, angling my body and arms to make more room between them. “You really don’t want to spend a night down at the station, do you?”
Both men ignore me, and dread settles in the pit of my stomach. I sincerely hope that the situation isn’t going to escalate.
“He started it!” the vicar’s brother answers. My young partner, Sarah, steps closer to him, and I give her a short nod when the man takes a threatening step towards me. She follows, reaching out to prevent him from advancing further by taking his shoulders in a firm grip.
“I did no such thing, Robert, and you know it!”
“Perfect Simon,” Robert spits, and I wince at the vehemence in his voice. “Always did think you were so much better at this game than the rest of us, didn’t you?”
Simon sighs and shakes his head. “For the love of all that’s holy, stop getting so riled up over chess. It’s madness!”
I frown at the ludicrousness of the situation. “Wait, the two of you ruined my evening because of a game of chess? Are you serious?”
Simon lets out a long-suffering sigh. “I’m afraid so.”
“Unbelievable.” I shake my head before turning to his brother, who is the most heated of the two. “Are you going to calm down, sir, or do I have to bring you in?”
Robert crosses his arms in front of him, his lips drawn down in a frown. “It’s unnecessary for you to be here. Bloomin’ stupid Maria phoned the station.”
“Well, I never,” the lady in question mutters behind me, but I ignore her.
I steel my voice. “Not when a member of the village phones, worried about the racket on church ground. That’s a direct quote, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Maria pipes up, her voice loud with indignation. “I was walking down the main road from Debbie’s when I heard the two of you yelling and calling each other names that should never be said in a church.”
I raise my eyes at Simon. “The two of you need to leave. Go home and cool off before you meet up again. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” the vicar replies quickly, wringing his hands. “I’m very sorry about this, Ma’am.”
I force the tension in my limbs to subside and turn towards Robert again. “What about you?”
“Yes, yes.” He holds up his hands. “I’m sorry we made such a spectacle of ourselves. It won’t happen again.” He glances behind him, then pointedly down at Sarah, who is still restraining him. “You can let go of me now, love. I’m not dangerous.”
“Time to go home.”
I raise my arm towards the church entrance, silently asking them to get a move on. Lucky for me, the two middle-aged men quickly catch on, and Robert scurries off. I walk between them, making sure they keep at arm’s length and don’t start their scuffle again.
“I suggest the two of you lay off the chess-playing for the foreseeable future.”
Simon stops next to me and stares hard at his brother’s retreating back.
I pinch the bridge of my nose when Robert stumbles, wondering if I made the wrong move by letting him walk off like that.
Something tells me, though, that the vicar is still angry, but he’ll insist on seeing his brother home if I don’t beat him to it.
“Sarah,” I call out to my partner. “Please make sure that Robert gets home safely.”
Sarah jabs her thumb behind her. “You don’t want me to drop you off at home first?”
I shake my head. “No, thank you. I think I’d rather walk home tonight.”
Without another word, she turns and walks back towards the car. She slides in and starts it, and then sets off at a slow pace. She’ll catch up with him in no time.
“We don’t make it a habit of tearing at each other’s throats like that, DS Gallagher.”
I glance at the now soft-spoken vicar next to me.
“Maeve,” I murmur.
He turns his head, eyes raised in a silent question, and I smile softly at him.
“My name’s Maeve.” I roll my neck, trying to force the tension away now that the confrontation is over. “Let’s give the formality a rest for the night, eh?”
His eyes crinkle at the corners and he sighs.
“Thank you. I am sorry about this, Maeve. Please stop by the rectory soon and we’ll have a proper chat.
Ah!” His lips stretch in a wide smile. “You’ve yet to meet my wife, haven’t you?
She’s talked of little else since she heard the village was about to welcome a new resident. ”
“I’ll stop by soon,” I reply vaguely. The exhausted part of me wants to refuse the warm invitation, but I manage to stop myself before the words tumble from my lips.
“That’s grand.”
I suppress a yawn, longing for some quiet reading time before I head to bed, and I give Simon my hand. “Goodnight.”
He gives my hand a firm but brief shake.
“Goodnight.”
I pull my hoodie up over my head and briskly walk away from the now jovial vicar.