‘You might enjoy doing so on this occasion.’
‘Why?’
‘Lord Hendry is a devotee of the Turf.’
‘So are thousands of other people, Inspector.’
‘Very few of them own racehorses,’ said Colbeck. ‘Lord Hendry has a whole string of them. One horse is due to run in the Derby.’
‘Really?’ Leeming’s curiosity made his face glow. ‘It’s the only race I always place a bet on.’
‘Have you ever picked a winner?’
‘Not so far – I was born unlucky.’
‘Judgement is just as important as luck, Victor. The more you know about a particular horse, the better able you are to assess its chances of success. If you simply pick a name out of a newspaper, then you are making a blind choice.’
‘Do you think Lord Hendry will give us any advice?’
‘I’m sure that he will.’
‘Then I must ask a favour,’ said Leeming.
‘Favour?’
‘Could you please let me get the information about the Derby from Lord Hendry before you arrest him?’
‘I’ve no intention of making an arrest.’
‘But the severed head was in his wife’s hatbox.’
‘That doesn’t mean he or she are guilty of putting it there. Neither are possible suspects, in my view. Who would be rash enough to place a head in a hatbox that they must have known could be traced to the person who sold it to them in the first place? My guess is that Lord and Lady Hendry are victims of this crime rather than the perpetrators. Our visit to Reigate is only the first stop on what may turn out to be a very long journey.’
Leeming shuddered. ‘Does it all have to be by train?’
‘Unless you can provide us with a magic carpet.’
They were travelling on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, a network that enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the area that it covered. Colbeck was impressed with their carriage but less impressed by the engine driver, who seemed unable to bring the train to a halt at the various stations without jolting the passengers from their seats. When they eventually alighted at Reigate, the detectives needed a cab to take them out to the Hendry estate. Leeming was contented at last.
‘This is more like it,’ he observed, settling back.
‘You were born in the wrong age, Victor. The future will be forged by railway engineers, not by those who design coach and cab.’
‘That’s a pity in my opinion.’
‘Lord Hendry would beg to differ.’
‘Why – is he another train fancier like you?’
‘No,’ said Colbeck, ‘but I’m sure he’s a practical man. When you move thoroughbred horses between racecourses, you have to do so with great care. If Lord Hendry wanted to enter one of his horses in some of the major meetings in Yorkshire, it would take him at least two weeks to get it there by road. In a train, horses can be carried from one end of the country to another in a matter of hours.’
‘Then they have my sympathy.’
‘You’re a Luddite, fighting a losing battle against the inevitable.’
‘And I’ll go on fighting,’ Leeming resolved.
‘What presents did your children have for Christmas?’
‘Not very many on my wage, sir.’
‘You gave them lots of things. I remember you telling me about them. And what was it that they liked best? Of all the gifts, which was the most popular?’ Leeming looked shifty. ‘Come on, admit it – what did your children get most pleasure from last Christmas?’
‘Something that you kindly bought for them.’
‘And what was that, Victor?’
Leeming spoke through gritted teeth. ‘A toy train.’
‘I rest my case,’ said Colbeck with a smile.
Lord Hendry was surprised to hear that two detectives had travelled down from Scotland Yard to see him and he had them shown into the library for the interview. After introductions had been made, they all sat down. Victor Leeming was mesmerised by the painting of Odysseus over the mantelpiece but Colbeck was more interested in the library itself. Lord Hendry had catholic tastes. Greek and Latin texts nestled beside novels by Richardson, Fielding and Smollett. Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire occupied a whole shelf in its handsome calf-bound volumes. Books of sporting prints abounded and there were learned works devoted to almost every subject under the sun.
‘You’re a reading man, I see,’ said Colbeck with approval.
‘When I have the time, Inspector,’ replied Lord Hendry.
‘What do you think of our present-day novelists?’
‘I’m bound to say that I’ve little enthusiasm for them. Dickens is too earnest and Mrs Gaskell too dreary. Why will they persist in writing about what they view as the downtrodden classes? Novels should be about people who matter. However,’ he continued, ‘I refuse to believe that you and Sergeant Leeming came all the way here in order simply to discuss my literary interests.’
‘Quite so, Lord Hendry,’ said Colbeck. ‘My superintendent would never have condoned that. We’re here in connection with a distressing incident that occurred yesterday at Crewe.’
He gave a brief description of what had happened and explained that they had traced the hatbox to him. Seeing indignation show in the man’s face, Colbeck assured him that he was not a suspect in the case. He failed to mollify Lord Hendry.
‘Swinnerton had no right to give you my name,’ he said sharply.
‘He had no choice, Lord Hendry. This is a criminal investigation. Withholding evidence would have made him liable to arrest.’
‘Breaking a confidence like this also renders him liable to the harshest reproach, Inspector, and I shall deliver it. Elijah Swinnerton will get no more business from me, I promise you that.’
‘All that concerns me is one particular hatbox.’
‘It concerns me as well,’ said the other. ‘That hatbox was stolen from a hotel where my wife and I stayed earlier this year. We went to the races in Newmarket.’
‘Is that where the hotel was?’
‘No, Inspector – it was in Cambridge.’
‘Which hotel would that be?’
‘That’s of no consequence.’
‘Have you any idea who took the hatbox?’ asked Leeming, finally tearing his eyes from the painting and feeling that he should make a contribution. ‘Did you report the theft to the police, Lord Hendry?’
‘No, Sergeant.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I chose not to, man. It was only a hatbox. Fortunately, there was no hat inside it so I did not feel that it justified a hue and cry. To be honest, I’d forgotten the whole business.’
‘What about your wife?’ said Colbeck.
‘What about her?’
‘Well, she must have been upset by the theft. What did she do when she first discovered it?’
‘Let’s keep her out of this, shall we?’ said Lord Hendry quietly. ‘My wife is not in the best of health. Losing that hatbox was a shock to her at the time. If she heard what became of it, it would cause her a lot of unnecessary distress. I’d rather she was not brought into this at all. I’m sure that I can count on your discretion, Inspector.’
‘Yes, my lord.’
‘And while we’re on the subject, I’d be very grateful if my name could be kept out of any newspaper reports. It would not only trouble my wife deeply, it would cause a lot of distraction for me. With the Derby in the offing, I need to concentrate all my energies on the race. I could never do that with reporters snapping at my heels.’
‘We’ll keep them well away from you.’
‘Especially if you give us any advice about the Derby,’ said Leeming with a hopeful smile. ‘You must have a good idea who the serious contenders are.’
‘The only serious contender,’ declared Lord Hendry with a gesture in the direction of the fireplace, ‘is the horse in that painting. I commissioned it by way of celebration of his victory. There’s the winner, Sergeant – Odysseus.’