Page 41 of The Chapel of Bones

He straightened up, feeling a twinge in his left knee. And when he hurried out of the overhanging trees to join the others at the chapel, he could see its clear outline emerging from the red soil. There was a small curved apse at the east end, where the altar had once stood, and the strange carved stone animals they’d unearthed were lined up in a row as though they were about to perform a conga.

‘What did you want to show me?’

One of the female students looked worried as she pointed to the south wall, where Neil had asked them to expand the trench. ‘It’s there. There’s no sign of any other burials, so we didn’t expect to find one, but . . .’

Trowel to the ready, Neil hurried over to investigate. A couple of students were standing over the spot like sentries.

‘Looks human to me,’ said one of them.

Neil said nothing. If they’d unearthed human remains, they had to be dealt with properly. Without having to be asked, the others lent a hand, and soon the entire skeleton was visible, although it still had to be excavated with great care.

Nobody spoke as Neil stood and gazed down at the remains from above. The skeleton lay on its back, arms folded neatly across the chest. The bones looked discoloured and ancient.

‘Well, I don’t think we need a doctor to confirm life is extinct. Looks as though he’s been there for centuries. But I’ll notify the police and the coroner; go through the motions.’

‘You saidhe. You’re sure it’s a man?’ one of the students asked.

‘From what I can see of the brow ridges and pelvis, it certainly looks that way.’

The students stood round the grave in silence like mourners at a funeral while Neil moved away and took out his phone.

It was time to report what they’d found.

27

By the time Wesley got back to the station, it was four o’clock. He’d wanted to have a quiet word with Trish about Maritia’s call, but she wasn’t at her desk and somebody said she’d gone home early; something urgent had cropped up.

Before he had a chance to enquire further, he received a call from Neil, who had unearthed human remains and was calling it in. It was routine to notify the police when bones were found unexpectedly, and Wesley was always Neil’s first port of call. They’d studied archaeology together, so Neil trusted him to know what he was doing.

Wesley knew that Neil became nervous if he wasn’t available and he had to put up with ‘plods trampling over his archaeological site like a herd of elephants’, as he put it. He said he’d be there as soon as he could. It was near one of his latest crime scenes after all.

An hour later, he was standing next to Neil, staring down at the bones that were emerging from the ground.

‘It looks like a standard Christian burial,’ Neil said. ‘But there’s no sign of any other burials, so we can assume it’s not a cemetery. And it’s just outside the chapel walls, so it probably isn’t the benefactor; they’d be buried in the place of honour by the high altar.’

‘I see you’ve found more grotesques,’ Wesley said, nodding towards the row of strange stone creatures lined up against the far wall of the chapel.

The bonnacon, ape and griffin featured on the list found with Donnal’s body had been joined by four other bizarre animals. Perhaps, thought Wesley, Donnal had visited the chapel site and started a list of the carvings he’d seen there. With his passion for medieval bestiaries, the man must have felt a thrill of excitement when he’d discovered them. But had he been lured to the house by the prospect of seeing them? Had someone used them as bait to get him there? If that was the case, the killer must have known their significance to the victim.

‘Found anything to date the bones?’

Neil led Wesley over to the finds tray perched beside the grave trench and picked up a tiny metal disc. ‘We found this coin in the grave. It’s a silver penny. Edward IV, 1461 to 1483, if you don’t count the short break in 1470. It found its way into the ribcage, so I think we can date the burial to the late fifteenth century. Maybe somebody lost it when this man was buried.’

‘Nothing for the police to worry about then,’ said Wesley, relieved. The last thing he needed was another suspicious death on their hands.

‘You’re right, Wes. Even if he’s a murder victim, there’s no chance of the culprit standing trial now.’

‘Any indication of the cause of death?’

‘Margaret, our bone specialist, has had an initial look. She says she’ll know more when she gets the skeleton back to the lab, but she did notice something odd. She says some of the bones are out of place, and it looks as though the body might have originally been buried somewhere else, then moved here after several years in the ground. Whoever reburied him didn’t quite get the bones in the correct position. Bit of a mystery, eh?’

The two men stood in silence for a few moments before Neil said there was something else he wanted Wesley to see. There was a secretive smile on his lips, almost as though he’d been saving the best till last.

‘I can guarantee that you’ll like this,’ he said as he began to walk towards the trees.

Wesley followed, and it wasn’t long before they came to what looked like an ancient stone arch.

‘Annabel found some references to a holy well near to a chapel. There are several dotted around Devon and I think we’ve found another. The ground is soggy, so it looks as though there’s a natural spring.’ Neil paused. ‘Wasn’t your man in the wall investigating medieval mythological creatures? Maybe he heard about the chapel and the grotesques. Maybe that’s why he came here.’