Cherringham--Last Train to London Read Online Free

some errant piece of paper could be made to appear.
    “Was just … um, oh and —”
    Whatever it was she’d been looking for, she had given up. “Please sit .”
    Two chairs faced Mrs Harper’s desk and as Sarah sat down she noticed Jack scanning the room.
    He’s a good sport coming here, she thought. With an amazing tolerance for village quaintness. “Mrs Harper, this is —”
    “I know. Mr Brennan, I —”
    “Jack,” he said.
    Mrs Harper came from around the desk to shake his hand.
    “I wanted to thank you personally – for the other day. Tending to poor Mr Brendl.”
    Jack looked over at Sarah. Neither had been sure what this was about. Now they were about to find out.
    “I wish …” Jack said, “that it had turned out differently.”
    Mrs Harper looked away, turning to the windows, blinds rolled fully up, showing the empty school field which only days before had been filled with summer activity.
    “We all do. Otto Brendl was a special man.” She turned back. “He loved doing his shows, and the children – well you saw the crowd.”
    She took a breath. “He will be missed.”
    Sarah was tempted to ask the headmistress the reason for the meeting, the so-called ‘matter of delicacy’. But she bided her time, thinking that the woman would come to the matter when she was ready. Finally Mrs Harper walked back to her chair and sat down.
    “You know his history, don't you?”
    Sarah saw Jack shake his head while she said, “No. Just that he came to Cherringham years ago.”
    The headmistress smiled. “I was just a new teacher then, and he was also new to the village, so I suppose I was always aware of him. The Berlin Wall had just come down – seems like only yesterday doesn’t it? He was from East Germany you see. Whenever they showed the news coverage he used to say – ‘look, that’s me with a hammer and the long hair! Knocking down the Berlin Wall!’ – but I don’t think it was. A joke, you know? I think he just walked across the old border one day. Then got fed up in West Germany. Came here. He never talked much about growing up. He was an orphan, I seem to remember.”
    “Why Cherringham?” Jack said.
    “I don’t know. I suppose it’s just where he happened to end up. Our little village. He got a job at the jewellers, and when the owner there died, Mr Brendl took over the shop.”
    “And the shows?” Jack said. “Did he always do them?”
    “No, not at first. He had these beautiful puppets – a gift from back home, apparently. He used to bring them in, show the children. Do little stories – German stories. Wonderful. But then, I guess once he felt like he was really part of Cherringham, he built that stage himself, and started to do Punch and Judy. In the end it just became part of village life.”
    Sarah saw Jack look over. She had been around him enough to know when his questions were more than polite chit-chat. “Never married?” Jack said.
    Did the headmistress harbour some feelings for Mr Brendl herself? Big age difference there, but Mrs Harper’s fondness for the dead man felt so strong.
    “No. He eventually became, um, friends with Jayne Reid. She runs the little knitting shop next door to his. They were so sweet together, acting as if nobody knew they were,” a small smile, “an item. They’d dine out together, have tea together —”
    “But they kept their own homes, never …?”
    Mrs Harper nodded.
    “Yes, she lived in her little flat above her shop, and Mr Brendl had his cottage, just outside the village.”
    Then Sarah saw Mrs Harper look out of the window. A cloud had cut off the sun over the field.
    Sarah shot Jack a look, as if to say … not sure what is happening here.
    And then the headmistress turned, took a breath, and the reason for the meeting became clear.

5. A Favour
    “I’m totally useless at book-keeping. Records. All the things the education authorities want you to stay on top of.”
    That much – Sarah could see – was