68. Cracks
In which there is still cake…
@AngleofRepose laid her notebook open at the Lincolnshire page beside the cake board and read it out to the room.
“The chapter house has eight sides in brick and glass. Going round from the door, the door side is brick. Then there are two sides of glass, then one of brick. Then there’s a glass window opposite the door, with the prie-dieu in front of it. Then a brick side, then two more sides of glass and back to the door.” She put her finger on the page. “Three brick. Five plain glass.”
“The Gazetteer of Lincolnshire,” said Grisaille, from something written down, “states that every chapter house in the county is round, on account of the wind.”
“Thank you, Grisaille,” said Angle.
@Hedgehogforshort put down her cake. “I need to tell you something about the four windows. Before they came to Lincolnshire, they went to a cottage at Lövånger. We followed the van and watched through the side window. A woman unpacked them one at a time and laid them on the table.”
“Was she a nice woman?” asked Girdle.
“She wore a cardigan,” said @EdithStourton.
Girdle nodded. “Then she was definitely nice,” she said.
“When she unwrapped each window, the light came through it and made a spot on the floorboards,” said Hedgehog. “Small and very sharp. Much brighter than the light round it. Four windows, four spots, and none of them in the same place.”
“Batshit went for the first one,” said Edith. “Through the glass. Brains had to sit on her tail to stop her going for the rest.”
Under the table, Batshit lifted her head at her name, looked at the floor beside Edith’s chair, and put her head back down.
“Then the woman ran her finger across each window and stopped halfway,” said Hedgehog. “Every time.”
“She said, alla fyra har en spricka,” said @NotAtMyAge. “All four of them have a crack. And then the next morning the woman received an email and rang somebody. She told them she only had four and asked whether she should send them straight away or still wait for the fifth.”
Gimbal got down from her chair, went to the crate by the long table and put her paw flat on the lid. “This is the fifth,” she said.
“Yes,” said @EmpressaurusKitty. “The Winchester crate was headed for the same location.”
Gasket held the good teapot over Girdle’s mug and did not pour.
“The Winchester window has a crack,” said Gimbal.
“Across the lower corner,” said Graphic. “Just above the old mark.”
“Fenella asked Gemma to leave it out of the copy,” said Griffin. “And she never mended the real one.”
Gasket poured Girdle’s tea. Then she poured everybody else’s.
“@Inkymoose asked why Fenella hadn’t fixed it,” said Gosie. “She never meant to. Whoever wanted those windows wanted them cracked.”
“WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT A CRACKED WINDOW?” asked Gantry.
“Leonard Cohen says a crack is how the light gets in,” said Grisaille.
Angle stared at Grisaille in shock. “That’s brilliant, Grisaille,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Then the cracks are significant,” said Gosie. “They let the light in. What if all five of the windows, the light from all five of the cracks, is supposed to meet at a single point?”
“Five glass sides. Five windows. Five cracks,” said Angle.
“We need to go to Lincolnshire,” said Gosie. “Now.”
“NOW?” asked Gantry.
“Now.”
Hedgehog stood by the crate. “Windows don’t go into a building on their own,” she said. “Somebody has to take the old glass out and fit them.”
“I can do that,” said Graphic. “I watched Fenella enough.”
“The gate has a padlock, and the door has a key, and the key belongs to the churchwarden’s sister,” said @MarieDeGournay. “I’m not sure we could get hold of the key again.”
@Thehorticulturalhussie looked up from her cake and said, “If I’m tagging along, I don’t see any of that as a problem.”
@JanesLittleGirl was already at the door with car keys in her hand. Nobody asked whose car.
MyrtleLion and Hedgehog carried the crate out between them, with Griffin, Gimbal and Graphic walking alongside it. JanesLittleGirl opened the boot for the dogs and Brains climbed in and sat facing forwards. Batshit got in, got out, raced around the car once and got in again.
“I’M COMING,” said Gantry, from the yard.
“As long as you don’t shout at the crate,” said Hedgehog.
Gerbils went wherever there was room, which was everywhere. Two went in the glove compartment of one car, three went in the glove compartment of another. One went in Marie’s coat pocket and was allowed to stay.
Angle stayed at the long table with her laptop open. “Somebody should be here if the phone rings,” she said. “Call me when you get there.”
Gasket stayed to wash the good teapot. Girdle stayed because she was counting the cups and had not finished. Gadget stayed to wrap the rest of the cake for when everyone came back. Glossy’s darkroom door had been shut since half past seven and stayed shut.
Galley’s banner still hung over the bar, ELCOME HOME, GRIFFIN GIMBAL AND GRAPHIC. The W lay on the bar beside the cake board where Galley had left it.
Gerbera had waved each car out of the yard with both arms, dressed in high-vis, blasting her whistle once per car, pointing them towards the lane. Hearing Gantry’s voice from one of them as it passed, Gerbera blew her whistle at that as well.
She was still standing with her arms up when the last pair of tail lights turned out of the Bluestocking’s yard into the lane. Just then a long black Daimler turned in past them. Gerbera blew her whistle and waved it into the space by the door before she had seen who was in it, and the Daimler drew up exactly where she pointed. It was old and gleaming, and its engine made almost no sound. A stoat in a grey uniform and a peaked cap opened the driver’s door, walked round to the rear and opened the passenger door.
A gerbil Gerbera had never seen before stepped out of the car. She approached Gerbera and held out a paw enclosed in a long velvet glove buttoned to the elbow.
“Good evening,” she said. “I’m told it’s somebody’s birthday.”
https://myrtlelion.substack.com/p/68-cracks