Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death (The Grantchester Mysteries)

son is very charming, as you have seen.’
    ‘Like father, like son,’ Daphne Young smiled to herself. ‘Everyone trusted Johnson. Then he robbed them blind. This is quite a simple matter when you think about it. Go to the police, Canon Chambers. I know it puts your sister in an awkward position but she’ll thank you for it in the long run.’
    ‘I think I must do this in my own way.’
    ‘If word gets out we will be social pariahs. Invitations will cease immediately. If I had known that the Thompsons weren’t intending to involve the police I would never have got in that taxi. We should have stayed and searched the room and taken all of our clothes off if necessary. Then we would have discovered where Johnny Johnson had put it. A ring can’t simply disappear.’
    ‘But it appears to have done exactly that.’
    Leonard Graham entered the room and was full of apology. He was a small, well-groomed man with precise and definite manners and he was wearing a clerical cassock. This was unusual for an off-duty priest, almost as unusual as his pencil-thin moustache. A mistake, thought Sidney. A clergyman, as far as he was concerned, should either be fully bearded or clean-shaven; a moustache was neither one thing nor the other.
    ‘I knew that I might miss you,’ Leonard began ‘but I went in search of shortbread as we didn’t want to welcome you with tea alone. Unfortunately, the shops are closed.’
    ‘As you know, Sidney has very kindly agreed to talk to you about your future prospects,’ Daphne announced.
    ‘And I am very grateful.’
    ‘Would you like me to leave the room?’ she asked.
    ‘That won’t be necessary,’ Sidney replied. ‘I think it might be more convenient altogether if I took Mr Graham to a nearby pub. It is half past five and I believe that one of them, at least, will be open.’
    Leonard Graham looked alarmed. ‘Isn’t it a bit early?’ he enquired.
    ‘It may appear so,’ Sidney replied. ‘But I believe I have earned a pint. You are, of course, welcome to join us, Miss Young.’
    ‘That is polite to the point of being amusing. You ask knowing that I must refuse. I have a train to catch. My father awaits in Brighton.’
    ‘Then I will not keep you.’ Sidney stood up.
    ‘That would be kind,’ Daphne Young answered. ‘Although I hope you will not lead my lodger astray, Canon Chambers.’
    ‘I will keep him on the straight and narrow, Miss Young, don’t you worry,’ Sidney replied. ‘And I will bear your observations in mind.’
    ‘You would do better to act on them, Canon Chambers.’
    ‘I may well do, but, in the meantime, I will keep my own counsel. Non liquet . The case is not proven.’
    ‘Then, Canon Chambers, you will need to keep an even mind amidst your difficulties. Mens aequa rebus in arduis .’
     
    The Hereford Arms was a delightful pub on the southerly end of Gloucester Road. The two men settled down by the fire and enjoyed the reassuring nature of each other’s company. Leonard had only recently completed his theological training. He had been ordained into a parish where he had spent most of his time at a private school for girls, and he now considered himself ready for a proper parochial curacy. What he had not anticipated, however, was the circuitous route that would lead him to Sidney, or the rather loose interpretation of ‘pastoral duties’ that his new companion seemed to follow.
    Leonard had been taught that a clergyman should draw his community to God through leadership, example and self-sacrifice. It was a serious and sacred role that required a full commitment to the church and the community around it. He had never seen a priest extend his sense of social responsibility so far as to play an active role in the investigation of crime in an area that was miles away from his own parish.
    Leonard therefore found himself in a curious situation. He had hoped to seize this opportunity of meeting a well-connected country parson to talk both about the latest developments in theology and his own future prospects, while Sidney was keen only to discuss the complexities of his latest case.
    After a brief ‘Cheers’ and a polite ‘Happy New Year’, and with their pints of beer on the table, the inquiry resumed. Sidney was on the offensive. ‘How long have you been Miss Young’s paying guest?’ he asked.
    ‘Four or five months.’
    ‘And do you know her well?’
    ‘As well as opportunity allows. She is out every night and every