As they headed past the grave, Gina couldn’t help but stare at it, drawn in by the dark painful death that it represented. ‘I wonder who this grave was for.’
‘Guv, I found a shovel leaning up against the house. I know we can’t be sure but I wonder if Sally dug this hole.’
‘Call for backup and we need another forensics team. That grave is now a definite scene, especially as the grave belonged to a family member of our first victim, Alex.’
‘They’re totally snowed under but someone will have to come here to secure the scene. I’ll make the call and meet you in there in a moment.’
Gina left him at the doorway and entered the house. Sally wrapped her black cardigan tightly around her bust as she stared at the floor. The dog lay under the table, its head resting on her black boot.
‘Sally, are you okay to speak?’
She nodded. ‘This has unsettled me. Ever since that person was standing in the graveyard, I’ve been a bit creeped out and now this happens.’
‘When did you spot that the grave had been dug up?’
‘About forty minutes ago. I was taking Jerry for a walk and I spotted the earth piled up, then I saw the gaping hole. It almost reaches the coffin, I’m sure. The worst of it is, I didn’t hear a thing. It must have been in the dead of night when I was asleep.’
Gina sat next to her at the large oak table. ‘Did you walk past that grave yesterday?’
‘Yes, in the evening when I came out with Jerry.’ The dog whimpered and cocked its head. ‘It was dark but I take a torch out with me at night. No one had been digging at that point.’
‘And what time was that?’
‘Around eleven. Jerry had been disturbed by the fireworks earlier on as he always is around this time of the year. He’d been a bit scared so I waited for them to die down which is why I was out so late. I didn’t hear or see anything odd.’
‘What time did you get back?’
‘Oh, about quarter past. I just stood amongst the graves while Jerry ran around sniffing grass and cocking his leg up.’
Jacob entered and stood in the doorway. ‘Forensics will be here shortly. We’ll need to cordon off the grave area.’ He took a seat next to Gina and pulled out his pad.
‘That means that this grave was dug between eleven fifteen last night and…’ She looked at her watch. ‘Ten thirty today.’
‘I’ve been in the kitchen most of the morning. I work at the island. Today, I was paying the bills for the church. If there had been someone digging in the distance, I’m certain I’d have seen movement.’
Gina leaned over and stroked the dog’s head. ‘What time did you start work?’
‘About eight fifteen.’
Gina nodded and Jacob amended the time on his notes.
‘I have to ask something else. Remember the last time we spoke to you, you quoted a passage from the Bible?’
Sally frowned. ‘I quote a lot of those. You’ll have to enlighten me.’
‘Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’
‘Ah, yes, Peter, five:eight. I remember now.’ Sally stretched her arms in front of her then picked up her tea.
‘Why did you choose that one?’
‘I don’t know. I suppose I was scared after seeing that person in the graveyard. I was just reminding myself that the devil is always there, testing us, and that we should be watchful.’ She furrowed her brow. ‘It’s odd. It’s not one I normally use but someone said it to me recently. Maybe it was one of the parishioners, one of the parents or one of the people we help at the AA meetings. That’s why I remembered it.’
Gina felt her fingers begin to twitch with excitement. She wasn’t totally letting Sally off the hook right at this moment. There was still the matter of the used shovel leaning up against her house but there was something about Sally. She couldn’t believe the dainty vicar who ran mother and toddler groups and joined people in matrimony could be the one committing the coffin killings. She’d come across the coffin killer herself but identifying that person would be near impossible from what she’d seen. All she knew was that she’d heard a woman’s voice. ‘Think. Can you remember when it was said or in which group?’