Snapped out of his fascinated stare at the handcuffs, Malachi blinked, and only then noticed that the boy had made his retreat.

“Goodbye, James, peace be with you,” he called, offering a friendly wave of his own.

Turning back to Constable Roberts, Malachi smiled politely.

“What comes next, officer?”

Wesley rose a brow at Malachi calmly and started to write things down without a word. "You still have to tell me about your crimes." He then flashed a smile. "The ones you've information on, I mean."

Malachi laughed at that. A warm, light sound that dared not stretch the limits of his polite smile.

“Of course,” he said. “Besides the one I have already mentioned, sir, there was that of the child stealing candles from my church.”

James had called himself Bram then, so it was hardly even a lie.

“St. Hilda’s Catholic, that is,” the priest clarified quickly. “I believe his name was Bram Ward. I caught him in the act, taking the nicest of candles from one of my altars, and I attempted to stop the boy by approaching him. It was my fault in assuming that the child would be spooked. Instead, he ran off with them.”

Wesley wrote down his words, immune to any charms the priest may have had. He was seriously scribbling down the story and seemed to be adding notes to the conversation on the paper. "I see. And can you tell me the dates both of these crimes occurred at? If it was too long ago, just give me a general idea. Date, and time.. of course."

He finally looked back up at him, studying his features for something. "And can you tell me how you know the name of the criminals? I do not think they are catholic. I am just curious if someone else told you this information or if you have met them previously?"

“Oh, the first was… just over a month ago? And the incident with Bram occurred several days after.”

Malachi tapped his fingers idly against his knee, head tilting as he tried to make out what the constable was writing. He couldn’t, not from this angle.

“Mid-day, both of them,” he offered. “I asked Bram his name and spoke with him briefly before he ran off. As for the theft at the Anglican church, I cannot say for sure that it was Benjamin Ward, but what I have heard of the man does fit what I saw there.”

Wesley arched his brow but said nothing at first. He wrote again, and for a full moment. "Alright, so the boy did not run off immediately. He stayed around to tell you his name, or at least what he claimed his name was. Could have been another child from his class who panicked and said another child's name to avoid trouble. But we will look into it. You have to stop this criminal behavior as soon as possible. Before you know it, they grow up and are robbing and killing people in the streets."

He said nothing on the priest's other testimony.

The priest nodded along, in apparent agreement with Constable Roberts’ words.

“Yes, sir, that is quite possible,” he admitted. “But that is the name that he gave me. He claimed to have been taking them for his father, but… well. Hell is full of good wishes and desires.”

The tapping of Malachi’s fingers came to a stop.

“I will do my best to stop him sooner if he attempts it again. And to inform you, of course.”

Wesley shook his head as he continued to write. "There's no need. I will go with you to the church where you can show me the type of candles taken. I will go find this Bram and Ben and question them and see if any of these candles are on their property. They may still have some... how many were taken?" He asked without looking up.

"Children around here can be dangerous. You do not know when they may panic and attack. But you should tell me about crimes as soon as they happen. If you had, we could have caught the culprit with the stolen items more easily. How long did you say you were a priest?" He asked as only his eyes lifted to look at Malachi.

Oh, Constable Roberts would come to the church with him?

Malachi blinked, and replied, “two that I am aware of, but I would not be surprised to learn that there were more. I believe the lockbox has been the target of someone’s thievery as well… though I think that was someone else.”

Uncrossing his legs, he let his hands rest against the arms of the chair.

“It will be sixteen years, soon. I have only been in Whitby’s Catholic church for around a month, however.”

Wesley knit his brow with a frown. "Well, two isn't much. They were probably already used by now. Even if not, that isn't a hard number to conceal." He wrote a few things down then tapped his pen against the paper. "And why do you believe someone's been trying the lockbox?" The constable still wondered if the priest was smart or thought he was. He considered the normal ideas for a lock box, scratches on the lock if the thief was smart. The lock box could have shifted or found on the floor if someone tried to take it and didn't realize how heavy it was or was distracted. Knowing him, maybe someone was just acting shifty by the church's money.

"Have you moved around much, Mister Brennan? Or were most of those years at the same church? I am curious about your history."