A Prayer for the Dying - Jack Higgins [79]
Meehan seemed stunned. 'You're lying.'
Fallon shook his head. 'I killed him last night because he tried to rape Anna da Costa. I took him up to the crematorium and put him through the whole process, just like you showed me. Last I saw of your brother, he was five pounds of grey ash scattered across damp grass.'
Meehan seemed to break into a thousand pieces. 'Billy!' he screamed and went for Fallon, head down.
Fallon pulled the trigger of the Ceska. There was a dull click and then Meehan was on him, smashing him back against the guard rail. It splintered, sagged, then gave way and Fallon went over the edge into space. He hit the canvas tarpaulin stretched over the hole in the roof and went straight through.
Meehan turned and reached for the holdall. As he picked it up and turned to throw it out into the darkness, it exploded.
As Father da Costa and Anna went out of the door into the street, two police cars arrived at speed. Miller scrambled out of the first one and hurried towards them. As he put a foot on the first step leading up to the porch, the bomb exploded.
The effect was extraordinary, for the whole church started to fall in, almost in slow motion, first the tower, the steel scaffolding crumpling around it, and then the roof.
Miller grabbed Anna's other arm and he and Father da Costa ran her down into the safety of the street between them. As they reached the cars, a scaffolding pole rebounded from the wall of the warehouse above their heads and everyone ducked.
Father da Costa was first on his feet and stood, fists clenched, gazing up at the church. As the dust cleared, he saw that most of the walls and the rear entrance porch were still standing.
A young constable came forward from one of the police cars holding a spot lamp and Father da Costa simply took it from him and turned to Miller. 'I'm going back in.'
He started forward and Miller grabbed him by the arm. 'You must be crazy.'
'Fallon was in there,' Father da Costa said. 'He saved us, don't you understand? He might still be alive. I must know.'
'Fallon?' Miller said in astonishment. 'My God, so it was Fallon all the time.'
Father da Costa hurried up the steps to the porch and pushed open the door. The scene inside was incredible. Holy Name was finished; at the end of things at last, but the worst damage was by the tower or what was left of it.
Father da Costa went up the central aisle, flashing the spot before him. The area in front of the altar where the tower and roof had come down together was a mountain of bricks and mortar.
The spot picked out something inside. It could have been a face, he wasn't sure. There seemed to be a tunnel of sorts. He got down on his hands and knees and started to crawl through, holding the spot before him.
He found Fallon at the end of the tunnel, only his head and shoulders exposed. The figure of Christ on the cross, the large one which had stood by the altar, had fallen across him protectingly, at least for the moment.
Father da Costa crouched beside him and the great cross sagged under the weight it was holding and dust descended on his head.
'Martin?' he said. 'Can you hear me?'
There was a scraping sound behind him as Miller arrived. 'For God's sake, Father,' he said, 'We must get out of here. The whole damn lot might come down at any moment.'
Father da Costa ignored him. 'Martin?'
Fallon opened his eyes. 'Did you get Anna out?'
'I did, Martin.'
'That's all right, then. I'm sorry. Sorry for everything.'
The cross sagged a little more, stones and rubble cascaded over Father da Costa's back and he leaned across Fallon to protect him.
'Martin.' he said. 'Can you hear me?' Fallon opened his eyes. 'I want you to make an act of contrition. Say after me: my God, who art infinitely good in Thyself...'
'O my God,' Martin Fallon said and died.
There was a long silence. Even that mass of rubble and debris seemed to have stopped moving. For some strange reason Miller suddenly felt as if he didn't belong, as if he had no right to be there. He turned and started to crawl