A Village Dilemna (Turnham Malpas 09) (25 page)

‘If the staff agree, then yes. They feel just as strongly as I about the safety of the children, you know. They back me every step of the way.’

‘Good! I’ve got to get the parents on my side. I’m sure they won’t mind paying a small fixed sum to save them having to turn out twice every day to get the children to school and home again. That Angie Turner has a long walk, poor girl, having no car.’

‘She’s a firebrand, but nobody’s fool. Been very upset by Bryn’s death.’

‘Haven’t we all?’

Miss Pascoe looked at her watch. ‘Got to get back.’

‘No time for pudding?’

‘Sorry. No. Must go. I think we can say yes to your diabolical scheme.’

He smiled to himself. ‘I thought you would. I’m off to give Angie Turner a ride to school in my car.’

‘Take her home too, it’s only fair.’

Mr Fitch hesitated. ‘You’re a dragon, that’s what you are. I’ll be seeing you.’

‘Thanks for lunch! An even bigger thank you for being so generous.’

‘Not at all. My pleasure.’

Miss Pascoe got to her feet, picked up her bag and said mischievously, ‘Just hope Angie’s two-year-old twins haven’t got sticky fingers.’

‘Eh, what?’

Miss Pascoe laughed when she heard Mr Fitch groan as she left the dining room.

One of Vince Jones’s doorstops caught his eye next and he stroked the decorative knob stuck to the end of it. He held it in his hand as though about to place it under a door when the thought struck him. Good grief! It was the third week in September! Third week! That rang bells. What on earth was it? He slapped his forehead with his open hand. Of course! My God! Bryn’s tour. He checked the date on his watch. Four days and they’d be here.

But no one to meet them at Gatwick. No one to conduct the tour. ‘Linda! Got to go. Won’t be ten minutes. Hold the fort!’

‘But the mothers will be in soon, I can’t …’

He heard the bolts being dragged back and the key being turned, and there in front of him stood Georgie still in her dressing gown. ‘Sorry! Sorry! But I’ve just had a thought.’

Georgie stepped back to let him in. ‘It’d better be good.’

Jimbo answered, ‘Depends on how you look at it. Georgie, Bryn’s tour, aren’t they due in four days’ time?’

Georgie looked at him as though he’d said the Martians were due any minute. ‘Tour? Oh, good grief. Yes. You’re right. They are. Never gave it a thought.’

‘Paperwork. Was there any paperwork with his stuff at Neville’s?’

Georgie tapped her head with her fingers. ‘Can’t think. If I find it what are we going to do? I can’t conduct a tour.’

‘I’ll do it.’

‘No, no, we’ll have to cancel.’

‘Too late. We’ve scarcely time to let the customers know, anyway. Meals, theatre tickets, no, it’s easier to run the tour. The hotels will want paying in full, at such short notice, and they weren’t cheap hotels, were they?’

‘No. My God! They weren’t. What are we to do?’

‘First, find Bryn’s paperwork, then we’ll decide. Must fly, Linda’s on her own.’

‘Right.’

‘When you’ve found his files give me a buzz.’

Harriet, having delivered Fran to school, was already in the kitchens behind the Store making the icing for a wedding cake order. She turned to smile at him as she heard his footsteps. ‘Where’ve you been, might I ask?’

Jimbo explained. Harriet listened open-mouthed. He concluded with, ‘So I shall do the tour for him.’

‘You will?’

‘Yes. Can’t be that difficult. Just need to read his files, get to grips with the itinerary, ring ahead and away you go.’

‘Poor Bryn. Poor Bryn. He intended making his fortune with his tours. Probably would have done, too.’ Harriet stood gazing out of the window on to the garden. ‘Remember Stocks Day? Me saying I’d seen him? It was such a shock. Poor Bryn.’

‘God rest his soul. He’d be delighted to know we were going ahead with it, though, wouldn’t he?’

Harriet smiled. ‘Yes, of course he would. Yes, that’s the best thing to do. A kind of tribute to him, wouldn’t it be?’

Jimbo nodded. ‘Yes, he’d have liked the idea of that.’ Jimbo dipped his finger into the icing. ‘Yes, Bryn would be delighted.’ He licked his finger clean. ‘That’s good.’