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

fade;
    The night that followed such a morn
    Had worn a deeper shade:
    Thy day without a cloud hath past,
    And thou wert lovely to the last –
    Extinguished, not decayed,
    As stars that shoot along the sky
    Shine brightest as they fall from high.’
     
    There was a silence and then, after the final prayers, Gloria moved to stand by the piano. Jay Jay Lion accompanied her as the coffin disappeared behind the curtains.
    She began to sing.
     
    ‘Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
    Nobody knows but Jesus’
     
    Sidney had never heard the song sung so slowly or with such intensity. There was a terrible truth in Gloria’s singing that seemed to stretch back over a life. Every phrase was considered; each word could be taken out and understood on its own as well as within the unfolding story of the song. The pauses between the phrases were held longer than Sidney had ever imagined possible. The song defied time and place. It was a blazingly honest performance: a lament for a life and an emphatic statement of readiness for death.
    When Gloria had finished, there was silence, shock, applause and then, finally, a loud whistle. The brass band was back and it struck up a boisterous rendition of ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’. The sadness was over. The congregation was expected to clap and dance its way out of the building, to thank God for the joy of a life rather than the fact of a death.
    Phil did not join in. There was going to be a wake, he told Sidney, in a nearby boozer, and then they were going to have a memorial concert in the club in a few weeks’ time. All the jazz musicians in London were coming. ‘Just as long as we find the bastard who did this.’
    Johnny Johnson shook Sidney’s hand and thanked him for the service. His sister kissed him. His brother offered to accompany him to the reception. ‘You may feel a bit out of your depth,’ he explained.
    ‘I’ll do what I can.’
    ‘That was quite a change from the usual Church of England service.’
    ‘Everything about today has been disorientating, Matt. I sometimes feel that I am living in a different world.’
    ‘I don’t think that’s unusual,’ his brother replied. ‘Isn’t that your job?’
    ‘It’s not what I was expecting.’
    ‘You did well. It was a fitting tribute. Everyone loved Claudie.’
    ‘The whole thing is a mystery, Matt. Who do you think could have done such a thing?’
    ‘Jenny told you about Sam?’
    ‘You knew?’
    ‘I saw them together once. I didn’t like to say anything. But it all looked pretty innocent. And I can’t believe he was capable of violence.’
    ‘Neither can I. But we have to find someone who was.’
    ‘I hope you’re not going to get dragged into the whole investigation.’
    ‘I’ve done a bit of digging around but I haven’t really found anything. And I’m worried about Jennifer.’
    ‘You don’t think she’s in any danger?’
    ‘No, it’s not that. I rather like Johnny. I just don’t want her to expect too much. I’m not sure how well she knows him.’
    ‘It’s early days. You can’t expect everything to happen at once. But they’re a decent family once you get over the fact of her father’s past.’
    ‘He’s done his time.’
    ‘Unless, of course . . .’ Matt stopped in the street. ‘Someone thinks he hasn’t.’
    ‘I am afraid we have thought of that.’
    ‘A vendetta?’
    ‘If you think Claudette was not murdered by a lover or because she was a witness to a crime then it’s one of the few explanations left.’ Sidney replied. ‘But it seems such a warped way of thinking.’
    ‘But that is how anyone investigating the crime has to think if they want to find out who did it.’
    ‘I realise that it’s necessary to get inside the mind of a murderer. However, it’s not something I ever considered doing when I decided to become a priest.’
    ‘You don’t have to get involved, you know. The police are dealing with the case.’
    ‘But they don’t appear to be making much progress.’
    ‘You think you can make a difference?’
    ‘I have to offer to do what I can, Matt.’
    ‘Even if it’s not your job?’
    ‘When I was ordained, I studied the ordinal. It told me what priests are called to do. “They are to resist evil, support the weak, defend the poor, and intercede for all in need.” My job is to do the right thing.’
    ‘Even it overturns your life?’
    ‘Even so.’
     
    On the train home Sidney thought over all that had happened. Perhaps his