The students gasp. Ruth smiles; she, too, can never get over the fact that DNA can yield such intimate secrets. At the end of the session, she suggests that they give their subject a name.
慠uth,?says someone.
慚artha,?says Joe, with such emphasis that all the other students immediately agree with him. So the Tombland skeleton is now named Martha, the sister of Lazarus, who rose from the dead. It抯 quite fitting, thinks Ruth.
The vicar calls herself Mother Wendy. When she invites them to use this form of address, Tony has a sudden choking fit.
慖t抯 the dust,?says Judy, slapping him ?hard ?on the back. But the church isn抰 particularly dusty. Maybe Tina cleans here too? St Andrew抯 is a handsome building, with a square tower and Gothic windows. Like a lot of Norfolk churches, it looks rather too grand for its surroundings. Wendy says that, these days, it抯 only full for weddings and funerals. Will Avril Flowers be buried here? Judy assumes so.
慦e have our regulars, of course,?says Wendy. 慡ome people come to the Eucharist every day.?
慦as Avril one of your regulars??asks Judy. They are sitting at the back of the church by a display showing the repairs needed for the tower. Judging by the graphs, the work will be completed some time in the next century.
慪es, she was,?says Wendy. 慡he was very devout in her quiet way.?
慏id she ever seem worried about anything??asks Judy.
慜f course she was worried,?says Wendy. 慣hat抯 what the church is here for. For worried people. That抯 why we抣l always be here.?
慦as she worried about anything in particular??asks Judy.
慖 can抰 really say,?says the vicar.
Is this because she doesn抰 know, wonders Judy, or because of the seal of the confessional? Do Protestants even go to confession?
慉vril seemed like a very nice lady,?says Tony. Judy sees that his guileless charm is the right tack to take. Mother Wendy visibly relaxes.
慡he was. She was the sort who always kept busy. Doing the flowers, helping with the cleaning rota, collecting for charity.?
慚y mum抯 the same,?says Tony. 慉lways doing things for other people. I think she forgets to look after herself sometimes.?
Is this too heavy-handed? No, Wendy is smiling mistily at Tony. 慣hat抯 just it. Sometimes we forget to love ourselves.?
慖s that what Avril was like??says Judy. 慉 bit hard on herself??She remembers Hugh saying that Avril 憄ut a brave face on things?
慉 bit,?says Wendy. 慡he came from the Scottish Presbyterian tradition, of course. It抯 all very Calvinistic and strict. Unlike us lot in the C of E.?She laughs, sending a pigeon flying from the rafters.
慏id Avril ever have suicidal thoughts??asks Judy.
慡he never mentioned suicide to me,?says Mother Wendy, serious again. 態ut that doesn抰 mean that she didn抰 think about it.?
慏o you know if Avril ever attended the service for the Outcast Dead in Norwich??asks Judy.
Wendy looks surprised. 慪es. There抯 a group of us from the church who go every year. Such a lovely idea. To remember all those poor plague victims.?
慉vril抯 daughter mentioned a friend called Maggie,?says Judy. 慡he said she was another churchgoer. Do you know who she meant??
慞oor Maggie,?says Mother Wendy. 慖t was such a shock when she went.?
It turns out that where Maggie 憌ent?was to the afterlife. To heaven, if that抯 the way your mind works. She died suddenly of a heart attack in January. 慖 think Avril was very upset about it,?said Mother Wendy. 慦e all were.?
慔ow old was Maggie??asked Judy.
慡eventy but that抯 no age these days,?said Wendy, 慳nd she was as fit as a fiddle, always exercising. Not a couch potato like me.?