“You're just a bit too enthusiastic, dear. I was the same in the beginning. We learn from our mistakes. All you need to learn is how to listen more to what people are saying. Really listen. Not just to what they do say, but what they don't say.”
“Yes, but if they clam up on me, what am I supposed to listen to? Drew is so approachable. Everyone talks to him, even Edith, and she doesn't approve of him either.” Meredith sipped her cocoa. “I thought I was a nice person that other people liked until this week. Oh listen to me.” She put her cup down on the coffee table. “A man has been murdered, and here I am feeling sorry for myself.” She couldn't explain how low she felt, and she was not sure all of it was to do with Turner's murder. She wanted Drew to be impressed with her, but she was also afraid of where that might lead. Common sense told her that she should be safe with a vicar. Then she remembered how it had felt being close to him, and his reminder that he was a man like any other men.
“The Mortimer's seem to like you,” said Peg in a soothing voice. “Clarice phoned to invite us to dinner on Saturday night, and was most insistent you go. I shan't be able to attend, but you can. They only feel bad about me because it was at the vicarage that I broke my ankle. So silly of me not to watch where I was going on the stairs.”
“Now that's where I do feel guilty. Reverend Mortimer is such a nice man, and she's absolutely lovely and charming. It seems wrong to be suspecting them of anything. I know, I know. I shouldn't discount people just because I like them.”
“Sadly no one is too nice to commit a crime. Anyone can be pushed over the edge. Assuming they're not over it already.”
“Now then,” said Chalmers, coming into the room and clapping her hands together. “Are we ready for our bed?”
“Well, you might be,” said Peg. “But I think I'm going to have a tot of whisky first.”
Chapter Five
If the next few days proved anything to Meredith, it was that detecting was very much a waiting game. She had expected to be rushing around, picking up clues, talking to people, but in reality, it was a matter of awaiting the chance to do all those things. She ambled around Midchester, picked more strawberries, made jam for the first time in her life, and generally got to know the area again.
She saw Drew a couple of times in the distance, but he didn't approach her, and she didn't go to him, even though she was desperate to know what Jimmy had said. She realised she was cutting off her nose to spite her face by not asking, but if she was honest, she was still irked by being left out of it all. If he wanted to tell her, he would, but he clearly did not want to share information. That's fine, thought Meredith. I'll do this on my own.
It wasn't until early on Saturday morning, when she was picking up some groceries at the corner store that she saw him to speak to.
“Morning, Meredith.”
“Morning, Reverend Cunningham.” Meredith returned to perusing tins of baked beans on the shelf, whilst idly wondering if Aunty Peg had ever eaten them. She doubted it. Aunt Peg was very much a cook from scratch sort of person. She picked up a tin, deciding to introduce Peg to the comforting wonder that was baked beans on thick crusty toast. It would make a colourful and filling change from all the boiled eggs, rice pudding and other bland white food Nurse Chalmers forced down Peg.
“My we are formal this morning.”
“Hmm?”
“When did I become Reverend Cunningham?”
“I thought you always were.”
“You know what I mean.” He sighed. “Never mind. Are you and your aunt coming to dinner at the vicarage tonight?”
“I am. Aunty Peg still has to rest. Doctor's orders. Will you be there?”
“Of course, I've been staying there all week.”
“Oh.” Damn, thought Meredith, rather irreligiously. Once again, Drew Cunningham was one step ahead. He'd probably had loads of chances to talk to Peter and Clarice Mortimer. They probably looked on him as a son, and had told him all their secrets. “I'll probably see you there then.” Meredith took the beans to the counter, along with her other purchases, and paid for them.
“Aren't you going to ask about Jimmy?”
“Yes, sorry. How is he?”
“Not bad for someone accused of killing an old man. Actually, he's in a bit of a state, given that his knife was used to kill someone. I don't think he realised until now just how dangerous a game he's been playing.”
“No, I can imagine,” said Meredith. “Has he...” She stopped, suddenly unsure of herself.
“He says that he was playing with the knife in the buffet car, then got up to go to the toilet. He thinks he must have left it on the table, but when he came back, it had gone. Betty and Bert had been sitting at the table, but they were gone too. He thought one of them must have taken it, but they deny it.”
“I suppose you've already ascertained that neither Peter or Clarice could have had anything to do with it?”
“Actually no. I've hardly seen them all week. Peter has been busy with parish business, and Clarice is arranging the summer fete. It's going to in the grounds of Bedlington Hall next Saturday, so she's been there most of the week, making the arrangements. I've spoken to Peter about the accounts, of course, as well as the curate and others involved in the upkeep of the church. I believe they haven't got a clue where the money has gone.”
“I can't see that's anything to do with Turner’s attack anyway,” said Meredith.
“Probably not, but it is the original reason I'm here. The murder is just a … sideshow to the Church of England, for want of a better word.”
“Oh well, I'd better be getting back.” Meredith finished loading her shopping into her bag, and started towards the door.
“Meredith?”
“Yes?”
“Peter has given me the loan of his car. I'm planning to see Jimmy in Shrewsbury this morning. Would you like to come with me?”
“Won't I be unwelcome?”
“Not if you’re with me, you won't. I'd like you to hear what he's got to say and I think he'll speak to you if I'm there.”
Deep within Meredith resented that, but she put her pride aside. “Yes, I'll come. As long as Aunty Peg doesn't need me.”
“Great! And maybe afterwards we could find somewhere to have lunch. It doesn’t have to be a date. In case you were worried I intended to draw you into a life of sin and debauchery.”
***
Shrewsbury town centre was bustling by mid-morning on a Saturday. The town was relatively unspoiled, still boasting timber framed Tudor buildings, along with other medieval landmarks. Their first stop was the police station, where Jimmy was being held, pending an appearance in the magistrates' court on Monday morning.
Meredith wore her favourite green v-necked sweater, with a full circle skirt in a grey herringbone pattern. She'd tied a pale green silk scarf around her neck.
It was only on that morning that she truly learned the power of the clergy. All the police officers deferred to Drew, allowing him access to Jimmy that might be denied to anyone else.
They were shown to a tiny room, which had three chairs around a wooden table. Jimmy sat on one side, whilst Meredith and Drew sat on the other. A police officer stood in the corner, watching for any trouble.
“Here,” said Drew, sliding a packet of cigarettes across to Jimmy. “I brought you these.”
“Thanks, Drew. You're a gent,” said Jimmy. He looked at Meredith suspiciously.
“She's alright, Jimmy. Meredith wants to help.”
“I saw you on the train, didn't I?” asked Jimmy. “Sitting near the window.”
“That's right,” said Meredith.
“I said to Bert, she's a pretty piece. Like one of those actresses.”
She had never been referred to as a 'piece' before, but she took the compliment in the spirit intended. “Thank you.”
“I suppose you think I hurt the old man.”
“Drew says not,” she replied. “And that's good enough for me.”
“Yeah, he's alright, Drew is. Not like those other stuffed shirts in the church.” Jimmy lit a cigarette, offering the packet to Meredith and Drew.
“I'll smoke it later,” said Drew, putting one behind his ear. Meredith suspected he wouldn't – she had never seen him smoke a cigarette. It was just a way of letting Jimmy know he could be trusted.
She politely declined, saying, “I'm trying to give them up.” She was rewarded with an appreciative glance from Drew, and a feeling that for once she had gauged it just right. “Drew said you left your knife on the table in the buffet car.”
“Yeah, and when I come back it had gone. I thought Bert was pulling my leg. He does stuff like that.”
“Who else was in the buffet car with you?” asked Meredith, adding quickly, “Forgive me if you've already answered this. Drew didn't tell me.”
“There was me, Bert, Betty. That old vicar, and those two women he was with. The good-looking piece, and the old bag with a face like a bag of spanners.”
Meredith coughed and swallowed hard so as not to laugh at his description of Edith. She tried to look disapproving instead. “No one else?”
“Well there were people coming in and out, but not when I went to the lav … toilet.”
“Were Reverend Mortimer and the two women still in the buffet car when you got back?”
“I can't remember. No, I think he'd gone. The two women were talking. In that really polite way people do when they hate each other's guts. The pretty one had just brought the old … woman … a cuppa, and the older one was saying 'Oh you're so kind, Clara', or whatever her name was. But you could tell that she'd like to kill her.”
“Bert said he saw the old … Edith … talking to Mr Turner. Did you see that?”
“No. But I wouldn't trust anything Bert says. He's stolen my girl!” Jimmy turned to Drew. “Betty dropped it on me yesterday. Said she couldn't go on living a lie. She watches too many films that girl.”
“I'm sorry to hear that,” said Meredith. It was no surprise to her.
“Yeah, you think you know a bloke and can call him your blood brother from womb to tomb,” said Jimmy, giving the distinct impression that not only Betty watched too many films, “then he goes and does that. I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't stuck the old bloke so that I'd get arrested. Get me out of the way.”
“It seems a bit drastic,” said Meredith. “They could have just told you.”
“Nah. Bert knows that if I wasn't in here, I'd probably ...” Jimmy stopped and clamped his hand over his mouth. The policeman in the corner was watching with great interest.
“You'd probably understand that sometimes love affairs don't last,” said Meredith. “All's fair in love and war and all that.”
“Yeah, yeah, that's exactly how I feel,” said Jimmy, clutching at the lifeline gratefully. “I mean, there's other girls, ain't there?”
“Exactly.”
“And when I get out of here, I'm going to get a decent job, be a proper man. Then Betty will see what she's missing.”
“Good for you,” said Drew. Meredith wasn't sure if he was speaking to her or Jimmy.
“Jimmy is a nice boy when you get below the swagger, isn't he?” Meredith said to Drew as they walked back through Shrewsbury town in search of a restaurant.
“Yes. He's just directionless, like a lot of these kids. It probably sounds old fashioned but if he'd been set a few firm boundaries, he'd have done well in school. He's not stupid by any means, even though he sometimes acts like it.”
“You think a lot of them, don't you? The youngsters, I mean.”
“Like I said, I wasn't that far off being just like them. You may not think it to look at me, but I went through a pretty wild period in my teenage years. I stole cars, put a brick through an employer's window.”
“Really?” Meredith looked at him askance. “What changed?”
“I got myself into so much trouble, I daren't go home and face Aunty Gloria. I ended up spending the night in a Salvation Army hostel. There were others in there, much older than me, but they'd been on the road since they were teenagers. I asked myself whether that was what I really wanted out of life. So I went home to Aunty Gloria, confessed what I'd done, and she wasn't nearly as angry with me as I'd thought she'd be. Disappointed, yes, but angry no.”
“I realise now what a sheltered life, I've led,” said Meredith. “Aunty Sheila protected me from everything. Too much cold, heat, rain, strangers, other peoples' dogs, other children. You name it, she made me afraid of it. In the end, I was frightened of my own shadow. Not that she did it to be cruel. She's not a cruel person at all. She just loved me very much. Perhaps a bit too much.”
“I've never heard anyone complain of being loved too much before.”
“No.” Meredith laughed. “It's pretty pathetic isn't it? Poor little me with a roof over my head, plenty to eat, warm clothes and a kind aunty and uncle to take care of me. It's a wonder I've lived to tell the tale.” She became more serious. “The trouble is that it means I don't understand people in the way you or Aunty Peg do. I tend to make snap judgements.”
“Like about Jimmy when he sat down in your carriage on the train.”
“Yes. But he was somewhat to blame for that, Drew, flicking that knife open and closed and being offensive to Mr. Turner.”
“I'll grant you that, yes,” Drew conceded. “Kids like Jimmy have been made to feel they've let people down all their lives. So sadly, animosity becomes their default mood.”
“But how are people supposed to know that, without knowing everyone's history? And if he's frightening people off, they're never going to learn the truth about what a nice boy he is deep down. They're always going to assume he's the thief, or in this case, the killer. It's a two way street, Drew. You have to treat others as you'd like to be treated yourself.” Meredith was unaware that her voice became more passionate as she spoke, so that people walking by paused to listen.
Drew stopped walking and looked at her thoughtfully. “We should get you in the pulpit.”
“They don't allow women vicars.”
“That's true, and rather regretful. You'd be wonderful. But as you can't preach in church, I should let you come and speak to some of the kids one day.”
“They'd hate me for preaching at them. They like you because you don't.”
“I do, but in very subtle ways.”
“What ways?”
“I'll tell you over lunch. Come on, this looks like a nice place.”
He took her into a little teashop, where they ordered salmon and cucumber sandwiches, followed by strawberries and cream.
“I listen to the songs they like,” he explained, “then see if I can connect the words to some teaching in the bible,” Drew explained as they ate. “Like True Love Ways. As you say, it's all about the highs and lows of a love affair, but it could also be about the highs and lows of life. The best way to survive the low times is to have love in your heart.”
“I'd be quite interested in how you sell Rock Around The Clock to them,” Meredith said mischievously.
“Oh, I just tell them that's good for dancing, and dancing is good for the soul,” he replied, smiling. He really did have a wonderful, warm smile. “And it does mention heaven. Briefly.”
“See You Later Alligator?”
“I've yet to find the deeper meaning in that one, but when I do, you'll be the first to know. Bill Haley is okay, but Buddy Holly's your man for meaningful lyrics.”
“I'm an Elvis Presley fan.”
“I've a feeling that has nothing to do with his songs.”
Meredith giggled. “I'll have you know he's a great singer.”
“Yes, he is.”
“But he is rather beautiful too.”
“He's not my type, but I'll take your word for it. I like Julie London myself.”
“Oh Cry Me A River is a wonderful song.”
“Is there anyone crying a river over you, Meredith?”
“No, I don't think so.”
<
br /> “No ex-boyfriend who's going to swoop in and sweep you away from me?” His tone was silky.
“I don't … I haven't dated much. I...” Meredith became so nervous that she accidentally knocked over her cup of tea. “Sorry, I'm so clumsy.”
As he helped her to wipe up the spills, their hands touched. “Don't be afraid of me, Meredith,” he said, softly. “I'd never do anything to hurt you.”
Their eyes met across the table and it was at that moment Meredith knew she was hopelessly in love with Drew Cunningham and probably had been since her suitcase unloaded its contents at his feet. Her stomach knotted whenever she thought about him, and even the times when she’d been irritated by him, she’d still looked forward to seeing him. But where could it go? She couldn’t see herself as a vicar’s wife. She was far from being pious, and had never arranged a flower in her life.
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