Page 66 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
AB:Think about it over lunch. Meet us here, later. Two? Three?
BJ:I’ll think about it.
[He must leave here as you stop the recording at this point. EC]
File 7
AB:I had to call him Jonah to get his attention, but I didn’t think he’d still be using the name the cult gave him. That creeps me out. Ol. Ol. You OK?
OM:Uh-huh.
AB:He’s still living in a cult-like environment. Who chooses this unless they want or need to withdraw from the world?
OM:Don’t know.
AB:Someone – one of the bods who contact you when you start work on a case like this – they said something like: ‘When you’re forced into a dark place, you spend the rest of your life on the way back.’ Jonah is still on the way back.
OM:Do they vet aspiring monks? Say if a guy’s motives were off because he’d been brainwashed before and didn’t know how else to live. They must check.
AB:Yet their numbers are low. Just nine monks in the whole monastery. Perhaps they don’t ask that many questions.
OM:Hmmm.
AB:He’ll need time to think about our proposition. It could mean a return journey.
OM:He’s got to talk. I don’t want to come back here, no way.
AB:You’re on expenses. Let it go.
OM:I don’t mean the ferry tickets. I mean this place. It’s … idyllic.
AB:Next time we’ll bring a picnic— [He’s not in the mood for jest.EC]
OM:Not in a good way. We don’t take heroin, not because it’s shit, but because it’s so amazing we know we’ll become addicted. That.
AB:Youlikethe idea of this life?
OM:No. I hate the idea. But part of me thinks if I moved in here, I could start again. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with the world any more. [Bit odd. EC]
AB:You’re safe, Ol. You’re an atheist. They wouldn’t have you.
OM:That’s not what I mean. I don’t know what I mean.
AB:Hey, the monks brew their own craft beer— [You stop recording here. EC]
File 8
[Unknown Monk is back for this file. EC]
UM:Brother Jonah has asked me to accompany him. He doesn’t wish to answer questions, but he will say a few words on the subject he knows you’re interested in. He asks that you respect his intention to speak only of those details he feels ready to disclose.
AB:Please thank Brother Jonah and yes, we will respect his wishes. [Unknown Monk must leave you alone because you and Oliver whisper together. EC]
AB:Let me lead the conversation.
OM:I can slip in a question or two at the end. Even if he doesn’t answer, we’ll see a reaction.
AB:No. Let him speak … Ssh. [Movement and a pause as, I take it, BJ and UM enter and settle down. EC]
