Liturgical Mysteries 02 The Baritone Wore Chiffon Read Online Free PDF Page A

a bareback rider who traveled widely all over America with the circus. She and her husband bought land in various states and made their fortune when the railways were being built in the 19 th century.
    The diamond and the offer of the chalice in which to set it, were brought unannounced to the Minster by a Miss Forepaugh, one evening in 1927. Miss Forepaugh would only say that Mrs. Howes was an American friend who had recently died, and that she was carrying out her wishes.
    No connection between York and the Howes family is known, and there was no reason given for the gift being made to the Minster.

    "We've used that chalice in services a time or two," said Hugh.
    "It's quite beautiful," I said, looking around the room. "Are you sure nothing's missing?"
    "No. We checked all the cabinets. Everything seems to be in order."
    "Well, that's it then," I said. "You guys seem to have the investigation well in hand."
    "Excuse me?" said Detective Blake.
    Hugh looked on in surprise.
    "I'll take your report back to the family, although I'm pretty sure they already knew that 'he' was a 'she.'"
    "You don't have any insights?" asked Worthington.
    "Not really, but I'll think about it and give you a call if I come up with anything."
    "Bloody waste of my time," muttered Blake. He snapped his notebook shut and stomped out of the treasury and up the stairs.

    •••

    I spent the day in York visiting several friends, doing some souvenir shopping, and hearing another Evensong, this time sung by the men and boys. On Sunday morning, Hugh gave me a ride to the train station to catch the 6:25 to the airport.
    "Sorry you came all this way for nothing," he said, disappointment still evident in his voice.
    "Well, I know you wanted me to solve it right away. I've been studying the question."
    The train was pulling up to the platform.
    "Tell me something," I said. "The diamond in the chalice. Do you know how it's mounted?"
    "Yes, I do. Strangely enough, it's mounted on a silver screw and screwed into the setting."
    "Ah," I said, nodding in my most detectorial fashion.
    The train had stopped and the doors were opening.
    "I think you'll find," I said, putting my suitcase on the train, "that the diamond in the chalice is a fake and has been super-glued into place. The real diamond is gone. Stolen I'd say. Kris Toth was involved somehow and was killed because of it."
    Hugh looked stunned.
    "Who did it?" he asked.
    "I don't know yet. Give me a few weeks. Tell Worthington and have him discover the fake. Then he can announce it to the Police Authority. It will give the Minster Police some of their credibility back."
    "I will."
    "Thanks for the trip. Give Janet my best. I'll be in touch."
    The doors closed, and the train pulled away from the station.

    •••

    I got in late on Sunday night and stopped by the church on my way home. Tony's car was still in the parking lot. Father Tony Brown had been the interim priest since Christmas, and things had gone very smoothly subsequent to his return. He had retired the previous summer, but agreed to take back the reins after our new rector, Loraine Ryan, was caught in a few indiscretions. She had been assigned to us by the bishop, something congregations usually buck against, and St. Barnabas was no exception. But now she was gone, and Bishop Douglas had retired as well.
    "Hayden," Tony said, smiling, when I rapped on his open door. "How was your trip?"
    "It was great. I heard a couple of nice services, did some visiting and worked on a murder investigation."
    "Yes, I saw the article in the Democrat. It was good."
    "Thanks," I said.
    "I'm glad you stopped by. I was going to call you tonight anyway. I wanted to tell you that I'm being replaced. There'll be another priest here next Sunday. The acting bishop found someone to take over until we complete our search for a permanent replacement."
    "Next Sunday? That fast?"
    "He called me yesterday. I announced it to the congregation this morning."
    "Ah well, we all knew