Page 68 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
OM:I don’t know. Because he’s fallen for it. The angels. This place … I don’t know. Since I walked through the door of the chapel I had a feeling. It was as if my dad was there.
AB:Well, that’s nice, isn’t it? Perhaps he’s watching over you—
OM:You know me, Mand, I’m an atheist. I don’t believe this shit so why did I feel so weird? Then I think my dad’s dead and he’d love to be alive still and having a pint with me on a Friday night. While Brother Jonah completely ignores his kid. That’s why I was angry.
AB:[You take a deep breath here. EC] The minute you let your emotions through – or your own opinions, for that matter – you close a door. Allow people to speak. They’ll reveal themselves soon enough. [Long silence. Just footsteps as you trudge back to the car. EC]
AB:Don Makepeace said he wasn’t sure if it had been the right decision to release Holly and Jonah without charge. I think it was thewrongdecision.
OM:Hmm.
AB:If Jonah had gone through the system, he might have got help. Instead, he’s recreated what he had when he was part of a cult. Only this cult is socially acceptable.
OM:Nowhere is safe now. That’s what he said. Nowhere is safe now … now what?
AB:Now the angels are dead?
OM:Is that whatyouthought he meant? I took it to mean nowhere is safe now the Antichrist is at large in the world.
AB:The Antichrist has been ‘at large’ since 2003. The world is still here.
OM:But it’s only just becoming an adult.
AB:Jonah is a vulnerable man. The older monk knew that or he wouldn’t have insisted he was there while we spoke to him.
OM:Or he wanted to control what Jonah said.
AB:Either way, we’re unlikely to get any more out of him. Thanks to you.
OM:And thanks toyouall we have to show for our expensive and time-consuming trek is a prepared statement that tells us nothing. [Ding ding click as the car is unlocked. EC] We’re leaving.
AB:[Mand, you whisper this next line into the phone. Oliver doesn’t hear it. But I do. EC] I got more out of him than you think.
WhatsApp messages between Oliver Menzies and me, 9 July 2021:
Oliver Menzies
Shit camera strikes again. Get any decent shots of Jonah and the abbey?
Amanda Bailey
Why?
Oliver Menzies
For my desktop collage. I like to have pictures that inspire me while I’m writing. Shots of the buildings and any of Jonah you managed to sneak.
Amanda Bailey
Sending through now … Nice ones of the abbey. One of Jonah but so far away, not even sure it’s him. Random blurred monk.
Oliver Menzies
They’ll do.
Oliver Menzies’ and my visit to the archangel Gabriel
Oliver Menzies and I speak while in a car, driving on a motorway, on 10 July 2021. It is extremely difficult to hear speech under these circumstances. Transcribed as best she can by Ellie Cooper.
