another chapter

It had been a particularly harrowing day spent at the hospital which had followed a previous night being called out and the night before that. It didn’t happen that often but like buses people seemed to become ill all at the same time or a crisis would arise just to add to the pressure. One of the most irritating aspects of ministry was when predecessors kept on taking funerals. Not only was it a loss of vital income it interfered with the pastoral care of the community. Maurice was one particularly annoying retired minister who seemed to live for and off funerals. To hear that he was doing yet another after an exhausting run of hospital visiting was the last straw. Roger called late one night in the full knowledge that he would be doing a burial the next day at the Methodist Church graveyard. He had arranged for it to be dug a little deeper than normal as he explained to the grave digger they will be wanting to bury his wife on top. So with the ground literally prepared Rogers late night call to the isolated home of Maurice was just a simple matter. A shared cup of tea and a drop of the stuff used for Betty quickly did for Maurice. Then neatly wrapping Maurice up in an old sleeping bag it was simply a matter of not being seen. Good job the boot of the car was deep and so a short drive took Roger to the grave yard. Quickly he placed the body at the bottom of the deep grave covered it well with the freshly dug soil and ensured it was well beaten down to hide any trace of what had occurred. It was of course a risk but as the coffin was lowered into the grave early next morning and covered over, Roger’s secret was well and truly buried. The disappearance of Maurice was to remain a mystery.