As I felt my feet leave the roof and slide off into space, I made a desperate grab for the guttering, hoping that it was the sturdy cast-iron sort, not the flimsy plastic sort that would break even under my weight. To my great relief it was made of cast-iron, and I hung on tight. The jerk on my arms was unpleasant, but it was a lot nicer that breaking a leg on the concrete-covered back yard of the house.
I found I was hanging from the guttering outside someone's bedroom window. The bedroom, however, was unoccupied. I was rather glad about that, as it looked like it belonged to the sort of teenager who'd make sarcastic comments about my rather uncomfortable predicament.
"Well! What have we here?"
I looked up and saw a Welsh criminal looking down at me. If there's one good thing about Welsh gangsters it's that they're all nearly as short as I am, and with high heels I can even be taller than them.
"Hi," I said. "I'm the Girl in Grey." Then he tried to stamp on my right hand. Just my luck. When the Green Man's in a situation like that he just has to say his name, and the criminal flees in terror screaming, 'l'Homme Vert!' Even when he's not in France. Me, the guy just tries to hurt me.
But this man's plan for doing it wasn't clever. I just grabbed his ankle and pulled, and he fell from the roof with a yell of fear. I dropped from the roof onto his fallen body, ensuring myself a soft landing.
"Thank you," I said mockingly as I jumped over the wall of the yard and into a back alleyway. Up on the roof I heard some of Derec Vedder Jones' men shouting rude things in Welsh.
"Dim Parcio!" I shouted back, before running off with a mocking laugh.
Having left my coat and hat behind, I had to get back into my room in the boarding-house through the window. Samantha greeted me by rubbing against my legs.
"Whew!" I said, "Samantha, you have NO idea what an easy life you lead."
Pulling off my mask, I shook out by bobbed blonde hair and lay down on the bed. I only meant to take a catnap, but it was already light when Samantha woke me up by licking my face.
"Samantha!" I cried, "You were meant to wake me earlier!"
Too late now. I took off my costume and had a quick shower before dressing for chapel. Taking Samantha with me in her lovely wicker cat-basket, I left the boarding house just after breakfast and walked around to the chapel. When I saw a Trinitarian Bible Society poster up I knew I'd be lazy and go there. Idly, I looked at the church notice-board. The name of the pastor almost knocked me flat - Rev. Wynn Wynn.
The answer to my question had been just around the corner all the time!
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