Ann Purser - Threats at Three

Threats at Three — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Threats at Three" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...68

ONE

WE SHALL NEED A SUBCOMMITTEE, OF COURSE, SAID MRS. Tollervey-Jones.

Derek groaned inwardly. He waited for the chairs eagle eye to fall on him. Sure enough, she said that the one person who knew all about organising was Derek Meade. He ran a successful one-man electrical business in Long Farnden, a small village in the heart of England, and was, so said Mrs. T-J, just the man to mastermind the centenary celebration event.

This would celebrate the hundredth birthday of the village hall, a wooden structure that had miraculously survived rising damp, woodworm and rot. But without serious attention, its days were now numbered. Estimates for repair and renovation had been sought, and the most conservative of those submitted was still a very large sum of money. This would need to be raised. In the present climate of financial belt-tightening they could not rely on grants.

So the event has to be really spectacular, Derek, said Mrs. T-J. She added that she was sure the subcommittee would come up with something remarkable, which they would submit to the parish council at the next meeting in a months time.

The subject was then thrown open for discussion, and, as expected by most of the eight members of the council, was at once hectic to the point of violent disagreement. In other words, Mrs. T-J was faced with a punch-up. In her best justice of the peace voice, she quelled the riot. Now settle down, all of you, she said severely. I am well aware we have two factions in this matter.

Three, said Derek glumly. Theres us, and them, and then the others.

Very clear, said the vicar, Father Rodney. Perhaps you could elucidate, Mrs. Tollervey-Jones?

Not in here, I hope, whispered young farmer John Thornbull to Derek, who managed to turn a guffaw into a sneeze.

Bless you, said Floss Cullen, the newest co-opted member of the council.

Youth, Mrs. T-J had said, we need a young person, preferably a woman, to represent young people in the village. Derek and John had sighed. Their chair, as she liked to be called, was known for getting sudden bees in her bonnet. These would be pursued enthusiastically, and when achieved, she would be on to the next innovation. Old Tony Dibson, the oldest and longest serving councillor muttered on each occasion that he didnt think there was anything wrong with the council as it was, and if it werent broken, why fix it?

Floss had been co-opted, and had indeed brought a breath of fresh air to the council proceedings. She could persuade even diehards like Tony Dibson to her point of view. She worked for Dereks wife, Lois Meade, who ran New Brooms, a cleaning service based in the village, and with an office in Tresham, the nearest large town. Now married to Ben Cullen, Floss continued her cleaning work because she enjoyed it, though she had done well at school and had been expected by her parents to do something better than scrubbing other peoples floors.

Now the three factions had settled back into their seats, and Father Rodney asked again if he could be told exactly what the proposals were.

Derek looked at his watch. I can tell you, Vicar, he said. Mrs. T-J nodded her approval, and he said, Repair the village hall. Knock it down and build a new one. Adapt the old catgut factory to be the village hall. Thats the three, and I suggest we have a vote right now on which one were going for.

Just to recap on these, Mrs. T-J said, taking charge, the first, to repair the hall, is a straightforward job. Expensive, but straightforward, and well in line with a celebration of one hundred years serving the village. The second would be hugely expensive, and the third is impractical, the catgut factory being outside the village and the other side of the railway line.

Which may one day be reopened, said the vicar. And anyway, that factory is an eyesore and a danger to the children who play there.

We always played there, said Tony Dibson. Never came to any harm, not none of us.

Mrs. T-J said that was irrelevant, and could they please get on. She took a vote, and the first of the proposals won. So there we are, Derek, she said. Repair and renovate, and in due course a celebratory opening. Perhaps I can persuade my son, who is, as you all know, a well-known barrister, to perform the ceremony.

Hold yer water, missus, Tony Dibson said. Lets get the money first, do the work, an then itll be time to think about openin ceremonies. As fer who should open it, I reckon we should be thinkin of somebody off the telly. One of them celebrities, he added.

The rest of the agenda was swiftly dealt with, and Mrs. T-J closed the meeting, saying she would leave it to Derek to get a representative subcommittee together and report to the next council meeting.

THE PUB WAS ALREADY BUSY, AND DEREK AND JOHN THORNBULL pushed their way to the bar. Usuals? said the barman. They nodded, and took their pints to a table in the corner just vacated by a couple from Waltonby. Evenin, Derek said. Bit chilly out there. Winters comin on. He and John settled down, took long drafts of ale, and were silent for a few minutes.

Who shall we ask, then? Derek said finally.

And how many?

Oh, I should think five of us would do it. Dont want too many, else you get nuthin done. So theres us two, old Tony, for what he can remember about the village in the past, and who else?

John frowned. We need somebody with a bit of experience of fund-raising, he said. After all, were aiming for a really big lump sum. Dont want a load of footling little craft fairs, book sales and all that. Hard work for everybody and tuppence-hapenny profit at the end of it.

What about the vicar? Derek said. Father Rodney was new and untried. He had replaced a nice, gentle man, who had been popular with the older ladies, but ineffective in raising the churchs profile and certainly not a great money-spinner.

What do we know about him, apart from the fact that hes a widower? John said. I suppose one of our churchgoers would know a bit of his background. After all, vicars get interviewed, like anybody applying for a job. Hes youngish and seems keen.

Ill ask Lois, Derek said. She and the girls clean for him once a week. Shell have all the info we need. You know my Lois!

New Brooms was not exactly a cover for Loiss work with the Tresham police, but ever since the business was set up she had investigated cases locally on an independent basis, using her cleaners to gather information. Snooping, she admitted. Ferretin, gel. Thats what Id call it. Sticking your nose into dark corners and gettin all of us into trouble, Derek said.

She worked for no pay on cases that interested her, or when on one or two occasions, her own family had been involved. And her connection with the police was restricted to one ramrod straight and serious policeman, Chief Detective Inspector Hunter Cowgill. A reserved and highly efficient professional, he said frequently that he valued her input. He also loved her dearly, which he didnt say, at least, not very often. His nephew Matthew, also a policeman in the Tresham station, fancied Loiss daughter, but that was Josies affair.

Good idea, said John. His own wife, Hazel, ran the New Brooms Tresham office, and would certainly be able to help. He had a sudden thought. Shall I ask Hazel to do the secretarial work for the subcommittee? he asked, and Derek approved the idea with alacrity.

One more, then, he said. What about Gavin Adstone?

The lone parishioner attending our meeting, and unsquashable? Are you serious? John said. Gavin Adstone was one of the bright young incomers, disliked by most people for his instantly given opinions on every subject raised, and obvious contempt for the old tried and tested village ways. But Derek thought he could see good in the man. All that brash exterior covered a willing spirit, and he could see that they would sorely need such a one on the village hall project.

Next page

1234567...68

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Threats at Three»

Look at similar books to Threats at Three. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Ann Purser

The Hangman’s Row Enquiry

Dan Purser MD

Improving Male Sexuality, Fertility and Testosterone

Dan Purser MD

Program 120 Female Handbook B

Dan Purser MD

Essential Oils & Healthy Menopause: History and Research Secrets

Dan Purser MD

Progesterone the Ultimate Womens Feel Good Hormone

Dan Purser MD

Real Fibromyalgia Rx

Dan Purser MD

The 85% Solution

Mauro F. Guillén

Rude Awakening: Threats to the Global Liberal Order

Purser

McMindfulness

Ronald Purser

McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality

Wisdom

Predicting Security Threats with Splunk: Getting to Know Splunk

David L. Adamy

EW 104: Electronic Warfare Against a New Generation of Threats

Discussion, reviews of the book Threats at Three and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.