A Ghost? A Culprit?

It is a catholic ritual to offer a loaf of bread to Jesus Christ on every occasion of Easter as it is the festival which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Reverend Lydiat Drinkwater was the senior most priests in the South Indian Church of Trinity. His sermons were most influential ones which would bewitch people leaving an impact on them from every stratum in the Christian society. Apart from his religious fervour and the preaching of the church, he was a young gentleman in mid twenties; a charismatic, handsome person whom most of the girls would desire to marry. However, being a pious man who believed firmly in God he never seemed to show any interest in anyone abstaining himself from the pleasures of the world. It is ambiguous whether it was the sacrosanctity or fear when he refused the girl who confessing all her feelings proposed him once. Not being able to withstand the sense of rejection and overcome by her emotions, the situation got further intensified when the girl committed suicide.

Although it yet remains questionable whether it was out of love or madness; or perhaps madness in love. Learning the reason of her death, Drinkwater also committed suicide thereafter as he considered himself to be responsible for "someone else's" death. Since then it was said that no other priest could take the position of Reverend Lydiat Drinkwater. Many qualified priests tried to accept the challenge as they wanted recognition by asserting themselves but they failed. As soon as any priest would offer the loaf to Jesus, they would die after vomiting blood. One after the other they tried, they failed. The church therefore was declared a place "haunted by the ghost of Drinkwater" who would not let anyone else to sit on his chair. The alacrity arose when news came from Rome that the Roman priests wanted to visit India in order to look into the matter.

The priests promised to solve the mystery by doing a meticulous study of the case. Of the two, Saint Brown was the most intelligent and witty; he took the charge and declared to bring the truth before everyone on the very day of Easter. It was hard for the people to believe him as many had also promised the same before, to them it seemed a thing next to impossible. On the day of Easter, Saint Brown came boosted with confidence along with his junior fellow. The spark in his eyes spoke volumes of his optimism and equanimity. To everyone's surprise indeed nothing could harm him after performing the ritual of offering the bread loaf. Thinking that he had proved his point he rushed and reached the tomb of Lydiat Drinkwater with a hammer in his hand calling him a "Satanic figure". As he tried to destroy the grave with the hammer, he immediately fell on the ground; dead. The people were confused as they could not comprehend anything; moreover they had no idea of what was happening.

As soon as this happened an old man came and proposed to change the name of the church, naming it on Reverend Lydiat Drinkwater. After listening to all this Saint Brown got up wiping the blood like substance from his nose and declared that old man the culprit. Since the time he came to India he was keeping a close eye on him ever since he saw him with the photo of Reverend Lydiat Drinkwater. On closely observing every action of this old man, Saint Brown was actually able to find out the root cause for the death of several priests. Before offering the bread loaf to Christ, it was mandatory for every priest to taste that bread; it was clear then that the breads which many priests ate before Saint Brown were poisoned by that old man. He was very closely associated with Reverend Lydiat Drinkwater and did not want anyone else to take his position. Saint Brown was praised and honoured by the whole community for his witty investigation. Craig, the old man, however, was punished severely as his actions reflected a high degree crime.

Admiration for someone does not demands viciousness and fraud. With the appropriate use of his intellect and logic, Saint Brown was able to prove to everyone that it was of course not the spirit of Drinkwater but evil deeds of Craig Donour which resulted in the loss of so many lives.