‘How did you get involved with Brian Dowd?’
‘I spent some months in Ireland,’ replied Johnson, ‘sponging off friends. I met Brian at a race meeting there and we hit it off at once. I admired his determination to win the Derby at all costs and he was grateful to meet someone who would do anything for money and, moreover, do it in great style.’
‘There’s nothing stylish about murdering an innocent lad.’
Johnson brayed. ‘You were not there at the time.’
‘You won’t laugh quite so loud on the scaffold,’ warned Colbeck. ‘Turn around, please, and put your hands behind your back.’
‘Your wish is my command, Inspector.’
Johnson turned round obligingly but, instead of putting his hands behind his back, he pulled out a small pistol from under his coat and swung round to point the weapon at Colbeck.
‘The tables are turned,’ he said, grinning in triumph.
‘I dispute that,’ said Colbeck, showing no fear. ‘As well as Sergeant Leeming, there are four uniformed policemen outside. You can’t kill six of us with one bullet, Mr Johnson.’
‘I won’t need to kill anybody now that I have a hostage. You are my passport out of here, Inspector. Nobody would dare to stop me when I’m holding a gun to the head of the much-vaunted Railway Detective. And the beauty of it is,’ he went on, ‘that you’ll be wearing your own handcuffs.’ He levelled the pistol at Colbeck’s head and his voice became a snarl. ‘Give them to me and turn round.’
‘As you wish, sir.’
‘And no tricks.’
‘You have the advantage over me, Mr Johnson.’
‘I’m glad that you appreciate that.’
Colbeck held out the handcuffs but, when Johnson tried to take them, they were suddenly thrown into his face. In the momentary distraction, Colbeck grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the weapon and forced it upwards. The pistol went off with a loud bang and the bullet embedded itself harmlessly in a wooden beam. Colbeck, meanwhile, was hurling Johnson against the wall to make him drop the weapon. He then hit him with a succession of punches to the face and body. Johnson put his arms up to defend himself but the attack was far too strong. A vicious right hook finally sent him to the floor. Blood streaming from his nose, Johnson lay huddled in the straw.
Having heard the shot, Leeming came running back to the stall.
‘What happened, Inspector?’ he asked.
‘Fortunately,’ said Colbeck, ‘he decided to resist arrest.’
It was dark by the time their train steamed into the station. Robert Colbeck first supervised the transfer of the two prisoners into custody before taking Madeleine Andrews home in a cab. An eventful day was finally drawing to an end.
‘Thank you, Robert,’ she said. ‘It was a marvellous experience!’
‘That’s what I felt when I arrested Marcus Johnson.’
‘I’m sorry that you weren’t able to enjoy the Derby itself.’
‘But I was,’ said Colbeck. ‘Once I knew that I’d be speaking to Kitty Lavender after the race, I could watch it without any distraction. I was as enthralled as you, Madeleine – enthralled but disappointed.’
‘How could you be disappointed with such an exciting race?’
‘I bet on Merry Legs,’ he confessed.
She giggled. ‘You should have followed Father’s advice.’
‘I’m sure that Mr Andrews will point that out to me.’
‘Time and time again.’
They snuggled against each other in the cab and watched the gas lamps shoot past on both sides of the street. It had been a most satisfying Derby Day. Madeleine had been able to wallow in the multiple pleasures of the occasion and Colbeck had solved a whole series of related crimes. Though it had given intense delight to untold thousands, the Derby had also claimed its victims. Hamilton Fido had been shot dead and his killer had taken his own life. Colbeck had little sympathy for the bookmaker but he felt sorry for Lord Hendry.
‘He could simply not face it,’ he said.
‘Who?’
‘Lord Hendry,’ he explained. ‘He gambled and lost. He could simply not face turning up at Tattersalls on Monday and admitting that he was unable to settle his debts. The ignominy was too much for him. At least, that’s what I assumed at first.’
‘What other explanation is there?’
‘He’d been challenged to a duel by Hamilton Fido.’
‘A duel?’
‘It was another instance of Marcus Johnson’s cunning,’ said Colbeck. ‘It seems that Lord Hendry struck out at Kitty Lavender with his cane. She confided in her half-brother but asked him to say nothing about it. What do you imagine he did?’
‘He went straight to Mr Fido.’
‘Exactly,’ he replied. ‘He knew that he could provoke a duel between the two men he was being paid to incommode by Brian Dowd. Had the duel taken place before the Derby, the likelihood is that one of the horses would have been withdrawn from the race out of respect to its dead owner – Lord Hendry, most probably.’
‘Marcus Johnson was malevolent.’
‘His half-sister realises that now. Miss Lavender thought him a lovable rogue but he was far more sinister than that. He also had a weird sense of humour. Do you remember the name on that hatbox?’
‘Yes,’ said Madeleine. ‘It was Mr D Key, wasn’t it?’
‘Kitty Lavender told me why he chose it. In his younger days, her half-brother had a nickname. Because of his long face, prominent teeth and braying laugh, he was known as Donkey Johnson.’
‘So D Key stood for Donkey.’
‘When he put that severed head in the hatbox,’ said Colbeck, ‘he thought he was starting a process that would help Limerick Lad to win the Derby. It would turn Brian Dowd into an apparent victim and send us after his two deadly rivals. In short, an Irish horse would owe its success in the most famous race in the world to a donkey. That was Johnson’s idea of a joke. When I pointed that out to Mr Tallis,’ he went on, ‘he was far from amused.’
‘Is he going to pay your expenses now?’
‘Yes – he finally agreed that my visit to Dublin was necessary.’
‘He must be thrilled with what happened today,’ she said. ‘You solved the murder and made two arrests. Superintendent Tallis ought to be eternally grateful to you and Sergeant Leeming.’
‘He will be when he finishes wrestling with a personal problem.’
‘Personal problem?’
‘Mr Tallis thinks that Derby Day is an abomination. But Victor was right next to him when the race was run and the superintendent cheered as loud as anyone. He’s lapsed into a period of repentance now,’ said Colbeck. ‘He can’t forgive himself for having enjoyed the occasion.’ He slipped an arm around her. ‘I hope that you feel no guilt at having had so much pleasure at Epsom.’
‘It was an unforgettable experience, Robert.’
‘I was afraid that you might be bored,’ he teased.
‘Bored?’ she repeated. ‘How could anyone be bored? The Derby was the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life.’
‘Really?’
‘I loved every second of it.’
‘In that case,’ he said, tightening his hold, ‘you might want to come with me to Epsom again next year.’
‘Yes, please,’ said Madeleine, laughing with delight.
‘That’s settled, then.’
‘Thank you, Robert.’
He pulled her close. ‘Though I’m sure that we can find some other excitements for you in the interim,’ he said fondly. ‘Twelve whole months of them.’
Table of Contents
Title
Copyright
About the author
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE