The parish of St Leonards was certainly a changed one in recent months. The new incumbent vicar, Reverend Maxine Power had seen to that. Congregations had increased, new members had been added to the choir, the Sunday School had been reinstated and a parish fete had been planned for the coming Saturday Afternoon.
The parishioners had also become friendlier towards each other, most notably to date the organist, Peter Noakes, who had enjoyed pleasuring the vicar herself, a choirgirl's mother and the not so meek and mild Sunday School teacher. His most recent conquest was with the churchwarden's wife, who was much older and larger than any of his previous conquests and was also a closet alcoholic. He was also worried that they had been caught during their encounter by Mary's younger daughter, Josie, and whether she would tell her father. As a result, he didn't sleep very well again that night.
He was round at David's office by nine thirty the following morning. It was now Thursday and it seemed like a lifetime since he had had his first encounter in Maxine's car on the cliff top on the Saturday afternoon, followed by their antics in the vicarage after the following morning's service. To call David's workplace an office was actually a bit of an understatement. It was actually their former home, a large Victorian house with an old stable block which had been converted over twenty years previously into larger premises for the business when they had moved to their current bungalow.
The building had quite large grounds in front of it, mainly lawns with a few small flower beds, and some small conifer hedges bordering each boundary of the property to give some privacy and also to avoid causing distress to the neighbours, which were both private houses. The stables had been converted into garages for the hearse, two limousines and a private ambulance and were separated from the front garden by two large black wooden gates. The driveway to the gates and round in front of the main door was black tarmac and a low wall separated the property from the main road.
Peter called into the reception area where Josie was sitting at her desk to find out what needed doing in the grounds and was soon hard at work trimming the hedge borders. It was a much cooler day and overcast following the previous day's storm and so was more pleasant to work in. He had been working for about an hour when David came out to speak to him. He was all dressed up in his funeral clothes which consisted of a black tailcoat, grey striped trousers and a white shirt and a black tie.
"Hello, thanks for coming round yesterday and sorting out that tree. Mary's been nagging at me for months to get it sorted, but you know how it is when you get to my age, it's like when you see a pretty girl, the mind wants to, but the body can't!" he said. For a Funeral Director he was quite a jovial character and in the right circumstances had a jolly sense of humour. "And I hear you were looking after Mary yesterday during the thunderstorm. The old girl never has liked them you know. She said you managed to take her mind off it."
"Well, yes," said Peter. He wondered just how much David knew and whether it was a ruse to get him to admit to anything. "Mind you, a few glasses of 'Old Sparky' helped!" he said. David laughed.
"The old girl always has liked that," he said. "I don't drink it much myself, it's a bit too potent, but Mary likes to offer it to visitors. It's a great ice breaker."
Peter knew just how much of an ice breaker it was. Doubtless if it hadn't been for the storm and two glasses of the stuff, he wouldn't have done what he had with Mary the previous day.
"Were you out in it yesterday?" he said tactfully changing the subject away from Mary.
"No, thank heavens," said David. "We were getting a client ready for a final viewing but I was talking to Joe Richardson in The Plough last night and they were doing a burial in the town cemetery when the storm broke and they practically had to drop the coffin in the hole. They were like drowned rats when they had finished. Mind you, I've always said that Joe Richardson has been a big drip for years and that son of his is wet behind the ears!"
Richardson's were the only other funeral business in the town and David laughed out loud at his witticism over his rival's misfortunes.
"Anyway, can't stand here talking, we've got to take Sheila on her final journey," he said turning towards the black gates which were now open. "I'll perhaps see you later when we get back and we can go for a pint in The Plough afterwards. If you need anything, Josie's in the office."
"Yes, okay," said Peter.
He watched as David strode away. The hearse, complete with coffin, had now pulled through the gates into the front garden. David opened the passenger door and took out his bowler hat and cane. He put his hat on and walked to the front of it, bowed and turned to face the main entrance. Suddenly he was very stern and serious looking as he strode slowly and purposely towards the gate, followed by the hearse and two limousines. Peter bowed his head as it passed by. The cortege paused at the entrance as the funeral attendant in the second limousine closed the black gates and got in the passenger seat. David bowed again and got into the passenger seat of the hearse and Peter watched as it turned onto the main road and drove away.
He resumed his work trimming the hedges, tidying up each section as he worked, piling up the branches as he had done the previous day ready for the council to collect. The overcast sky had darkened a little and it had started to drizzle with rain. This didn't worry him too much but in the space of half an hour, it came on quite heavy and persistent. In the end he decided that enough was enough and he decided to call it a day and come back the following morning to finish off. He went to the office where Josie had been working earlier, but the door was locked. He rang the bell and she came to open it. Her dark hair was once again pulled back with the tortoiseshell claw she had worn the day before. She was wearing a grey cardigan, blue and white vertical striped blouse and a straight black knee length skirt. A pair of black court shoes and dark hosiery completed the outfit.
"Sorry about that," she said. "I'm on my own now that dad and the boys are out and we always lock the door to stop anyone wandering in. Both cars are out today otherwise sometimes there's someone here with me so then we don't bother."
"Oh, right," said Peter. "It's come on wet now, so I'm going. If it eases, I might come back later, otherwise I'll be back in the morning, if that's okay."
"Sure," said Josie. "Would you like a drink before you go? I was just going to have one."
"It's not 'Old Sparky', is it," said Peter cautiously.