Chapter 5

At Waterloo, the two large men had disembarked and Veronica prepared to enjoy the short remainder of her journey in relative peace. Most other passengers had left the vehicle by now and only two remained - a pair of elderly Japanese tourists who very politely refrained from looking in her direction. One stop before journey's end, this couple rose to get off. The lady nimbly ran up to Veronica and smilingly took an envelope out of her bag and handed it to her, bowing gravely and with extreme politeness. She rejoined her husband and both departed, leaving Veronica as the sole remaining passenger.

Before she herself had to disembark she opened the envelope and took out the enclosure. It read simply, "Remove your remaining shoe and carry it to Conti's café in Borough High Street. You will order a cup of tea and a cheese sandwich and await further instructions. I hope you are enjoying your day!" Oh - very bloody funny, she thought with unaccustomed savagery!

It was great relief, though, that she read this latest instruction! Any more hobbling around as she had on her way to the George would have effectively finished her! The feel of the dirty pavement under her feet did not please her, but she soon realised that a childhood spent barefoot had been excellent preparation for her walk this morning and she soon found herself walking briskly and enjoyably. After a while she even began to hum to herself. The day was bright and sunny for the present, but a chill easterly wind was blowing and her skirt continued to misbehave to her continuing though increasingly resigned displeasure.

It was about twenty minutes before noon when she got to the café and by this time she felt in dire need of refreshment and something to eat. Although this place would doubtless be very busy before too long, it was still reasonably quiet. She drew her newspaper out of her bag and tried to make a start on the crossword. The coffee arrived after a couple of minutes and she nibbled away and sipped, trying to make sense out of the cryptic clues. Today was obviously not a good one for her brain and she made slow progress.

After twenty minutes she began to wonder if she had perhaps mistaken the name of the café and looked again at the letter. NO. No mistake, but this was a long wait!

Just as she was beginning to think something had gone terribly wrong with the old man's arrangements, a dishevelled man staggered into the café and came over to her, with the manager hot on his heels, obviously anxious to eject him. Before he could be cast back out into the increasingly busy street, he dropped a greasy and crumpled envelope on the table before her. No sooner had he discharged his obligation to the ancient financier, than he was very forcibly ejected.

Veronica felt a pang of pity for him and went to the door to see if she could thank him and maybe offer some help, as he looked to be one of life's unfortunates in a big way. She just had time to see him walk briskly over the road and get into a very smart car, which promptly drove away - another put up job! She went back to her table and opened the envelope.

"Dear Veronica (I hope I can presume to this familiarity?)

Would you please be so good as to finish your no doubt welcome meal and refreshing cup of strong tea. After you have done so I wonder if you would like to walk over London Bridge and make your barefoot and I feel sure charming way to The Lamb Tavern in Leadenhall Market. Order a large brandy and go and sit upstairs. Please do not fail to pass a friendly word or two with the good lady behind the bar! Before paying your bill and leaving this café, do be sure to toss your remaining shoe casually over the counter, taking care not to hurry out, but walk away slowly and with great dignity.