‘Would you recognise the man who attacked you?’ asked Colbeck.
‘I’ll never forget that face of his,’ replied Andrews.
‘Mr Pike gave us a good description.’
‘If my daughter were not present, Inspector, then I’d give you a good description of him – in one word.’
‘We do not wish to hear it, Father,’ scolded Madeleine.
‘That’s what he was, Maddy.’
‘Forgive him, Inspector.’
‘There’s nothing to forgive, Miss Andrews,’ said Colbeck, getting up and putting his notebook away. ‘In view of what happened, your father has been remarkably restrained. He’s also added some new details for me and that was very useful. One last question,’ he said, looking at the driver once more. ‘Is the London and North Western Railway a good company to work for, Mr Andrews?’
‘The best, Inspector.’
‘Are you saying that out of loyalty?’
‘No, Inspector Colbeck – I speak from experience. I hope to see out my time working for the London and North Western. And my link with the company will not end there.’
‘Oh?’
‘I have every hope that my son-in-law will be a driver one day.’
Madeleine blushed instantly. ‘Father!’ she cried.
‘Gideon would make a good husband.’
‘This is not the place to bring up the subject.’
‘The two of you were made for each other.’
‘That is not true at all,’ she asserted, ‘and you know it.’
‘Gideon loves you.’
‘Perhaps I ought to withdraw,’ volunteered Colbeck, seeing Madeleine’s patent discomfort. ‘Thank you for talking to me, Mr Andrews. Meeting you has been an education.’
‘Let me know when you catch up with those villains.’
‘I will, I promise you.’ He moved to the door. ‘Goodbye, Miss Andrews. I can see myself out.’
‘Wait,’ she said. ‘Let me come to the front door with you.’
‘But you clearly have something to discuss with your father.’
‘High time that she discussed it with Gideon Little,’ said Andrews.
Madeleine shot him a look of reproof and followed Colbeck down the stairs. Before she could apologise to him, the detective retrieved his silk hat from the table and opened the front door.
‘Goodbye, Miss Andrews,’ he said, masking his disappointment behind a smile. ‘Allow me congratulate you on your forthcoming engagement.’
It was Victor Leeming’s turn to face the wrath of Superintendent Tallis once more. A night’s sleep had not improved the older man’s temper. He was pacing up and down his room like a caged animal. When Leeming came in, Tallis rounded on him accusingly.
‘Where have you been, man?’ he demanded.
‘Making inquiries, sir.’
‘That is exactly what those jackals from the press have been doing. They almost drove me insane by making their damned inquiries. I had a dozen of them in here this morning,’ he complained, ‘wanting to know why we had made no progress with our investigation into the robbery, and why Inspector Colbeck was also in charge of this latest murder case.’
‘The two crimes are connected, Superintendent.’
‘They could not understand how.’
‘Why not let the Inspector deal with the newspapers in future?’
‘I’d never countenance that,’ affirmed Tallis. ‘My seniority obliges me to take on that particular duty and I have never been one to shun the cares of office. Besides, I want you and the Inspector out there, solving the crime, not getting distracted by a bevy of reporters.’
‘What did you tell them?’ asked Leeming.
‘Enough to give them a story but no more. The information we feed to the press has to be carefully controlled. Give too much away and we alert the very people we are trying to apprehend.’
‘I agree with you there, sir.’
‘The main thing was,’ said Tallis, ‘to ensure that they did not get wind of Mulryne’s role in this whole sorry affair. It was reckless of Inspector Colbeck to use that Irish blockhead in the way that he did.’ He confronted the Sergeant. ‘I presume that you condoned his decision.’
‘Not entirely,’ admitted Leeming, uneasily.
Tallis blenched. ‘You mean that he did not even have the grace to tell you what he was proposing? That is unpardonable.’
‘The Inspector did raise the matter,’ said the other, lying to protect his colleague, ‘and I could see the advantage of using Brendan Mulryne.’
‘What advantage?’
‘He knew where to look for William Ings.’
‘So did the killer.’
‘That’s why we’re making efforts to track down the other suspect, sir. Inspector Colbeck gave me an address that was passed on to him at the Chubb factory in Wolverhampton. It was a locksmith’s where a man called Daniel Slender was supposed to have worked.’ He put a hand in his pocket. ‘I have just returned from the factory.’
‘But this Daniel Slender was not employed there?’
‘No, sir.’
‘I daresay that they never heard of him.’
‘That’s not true,’ said Leeming, taking out a letter to pass to him. ‘When they advertised a post, Daniel Slender was among those who applied for it, as you will see from that letter.’ Tallis began to read the missive. ‘His qualifications are good and he could have expected a strong recommendation from the Chubb factory. Mr Slender was invited to come for an interview.’
‘But?’
‘He never turned up.’
‘Then why apply for the post?’
‘So that he would have written evidence to show to his employers that the position he was after did exist. They believed that he went for that interview,’ said Leeming, ‘and secured the appointment. It meant that his departure aroused no suspicion.’
‘Where is Daniel Slender now?’
‘Here in London, sir.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Because he had always had an ambition to work here. According to the manager at the Chubb factory, he talked of little else. But he was tied to the Midlands by the need to look after his sick mother.’
‘If the woman had stayed alive,’ moaned Tallis, ‘her son would never have got drawn into this conspiracy.’ He waved the letter in front of Leeming. ‘Look at the fellow’s work record. It is admirable.’
‘Those who bribed him must have caught him at a weak moment.’
‘We need to get to him while he is still alive.’
‘Inspector Colbeck feels that we should put out a wanted poster. He came back from Wolverhampton with a good description of Daniel Slender. We should circulate it at once.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Tallis. ‘Have the poster drawn up, Sergeant Leeming. And – quickly! The last thing we need is for this man to finish up on a slab next to William Ings.’
The dog made the discovery. Scampering along the river-bank with his master, he went sniffing at a heap that lay up against a wall. It was covered with sacking and most people had walked past without even noticing it. The little terrier made sure that nobody would ignore it now. With the sacking gripped in his teeth, he pulled hard and exposed a pair of legs, then a body, then a head that was split grotesquely open and crowned with dried blood.
When she saw the corpse, a female passer-by screamed and clutched at her chest, the dog’s owner ran to put the animal on his lead and another man went off in search of help. By the time that he returned, with two policemen in tow, he saw that a small crowd was standing around the body with ghoulish curiosity. The policemen ordered everyone to stand back while they checked for vital signs and, finding none, felt in the dead man’s pockets for clues as to his identity.
The pockets of his immaculate suit were empty but that did not matter. Sewn into the silk lining of the jacket was the owner’s name.