‘It explains exactly where the necessary information came from and it absolves the railway company of any blame.’
‘Yes,’ added Leeming. ‘It also tells us why Mr Ings was paid such a large amount of money. He had vital intelligence to sell.’
‘Who bought it from him?’ asked Tallis.
‘We have yet to determine that, sir.’
‘And how much longer do I have to wait before you do?’
‘That depends on what he does next,’ said Colbeck.
‘Next?’ repeated Tallis. ‘Are you telling me that we may expect another train robbery or additional murders?’
‘No, Superintendent. I am simply saying that the man who is behind these crimes will act in character – and that we now have a clear idea of what that character is.’
‘So do I. He is cunning, merciless and able to outwit us with ease.’
‘He has stayed one step ahead of us so far,’ agreed Colbeck, ‘but that will soon change. The aspect of his character that I would point to is his rooted dislike of railways. It amounts to abhorrence. I would not at all be surprised to learn that he is a landowner whose property has been encroached upon by a railway company. Robbing that train and wrecking that locomotive was his way of striking back.’
‘And?’
‘There will be more to come, sir.’
‘Why do you think that?’
‘This man wants blood.’
Since its mail train was ambushed, the London and Birmingham Railway Company had tightened its security. Two policemen now guarded each end of the various tunnels that punctuated the 112 miles of track between the two cities. No risks were taken. Running to almost a mile and a half, the Kilsby Tunnel in Northamptonshire was the longest on the line and by far the costliest to build, taking all of two years to complete. It was the work of Robert Stephenson and a model of its kind. Most people marvelled at its construction but the three men who crept towards it that evening did not share in the general admiration of an outstanding feat of engineering.
The seized their moment. One of the railway policemen on duty was relieving himself behind a bush and the other was stuffing tobacco into his pipe. Both men were overpowered and tied up without offering any real resistance. The newcomers could carry on with their business. After checking their watches to see how much time they had before the next train, they went into the mouth of the tunnel at the Northamptonshire end. A small barrel of gunpowder was rolled against the brickwork. Loose stones were packed around it to keep it firmly in place.
Having lit the long fuse, the three men scampered to a place of safety and thought about the rich reward that they would earn. It was only a matter of time before the explosion occurred.
Returning to his office, Colbeck was both astonished and delighted to see Madeleine Andrews waiting for him there. She gave him a tentative smile.
‘I hope that I am not intruding, Inspector,’ she said.
‘Of course not.’
‘I know how busy you must be.’
‘That’s a hazard of my profession, Miss Andrews,’ he said, indicating the huge pile of papers on his desk. ‘Crimes are committed in London every hour of the day. Being a detective means that one is kept constantly on one’s toes.’
‘Then I’ll not hold you up for long.’
‘At least, take a seat while you are here.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, lowering herself on to a chair and spreading her skirt out. ‘I really called to see if any progress had been made.’
‘A little, Miss Andrews. A little.’
‘The report in today’s newspaper was not very encouraging.’
‘Do not pay too much attention to what you read,’ he counselled. ‘Newspapers do not always have the full facts at their fingertips and some of them appear to take pleasure in baiting us. I can assure you that we have made more headway than they would lead you to believe.’
‘We were horrified to learn that there had been two murders. Is it true that they may possibly be related to the train robbery?’
‘Undeniably so.’
‘Why were they killed?’
‘The murder victims were accomplices who had to be silenced.’
‘How terrible!’
‘Except for the young woman, that is. She was an innocent person who happened to be in the wrong company at the wrong time.’
‘Yet they still cut her throat?’
‘We are dealing with ruthless men, Miss Andrews.’
‘Father discovered that.’
‘How is he, by the way?’
‘He gets better each day,’ she said, brightening. ‘Unfortunately, he also gets angrier and louder. I have difficulty in calming him down.’
‘I refuse to believe that. You know exactly how to handle him.’
His fond smile was tinged with disappointment. Madeleine met his gaze and held it for some time, trying to read the message in his eyes while sending a covert signal in her own. Colbeck was strongly aware of the mutual interest between them but he did not feel able to explore it. His visitor eventually broke the long silence.
‘I had a more personal reason for coming, Inspector,’ she said.
‘Indeed?’
‘Yes, I feel that I owe you an apology.’
‘Whatever for?’
‘My behaviour when you called at our house.’
‘I saw nothing that could warrant an apology, Miss Andrews.’
‘My father spoke out of turn.’
‘He does seem to have an impulsive streak.’
‘It led him to say something that he had no right to say,’ explained Madeleine, ‘and I did not wish you to be misled by it. The person that he mentioned – Gideon Little, a fireman – is a family friend but, as far as I am concerned, he can never be more than that. Father thinks otherwise.’
‘Your private life is no business of mine,’ he said, trying to ease her obvious discomfort. ‘Please do not feel that you have to offer either an apology or an explanation.’
‘I just wanted you to understand.’
‘Then I am grateful that you came.’
‘Really?’
‘Really,’ he confirmed.
Madeleine smiled with relief. ‘Then so am I, Inspector Colbeck.’ She got to her feet. ‘But I must let you get on with your work. What am I to tell my father?’
‘That he has a very beautiful daughter,’ said Colbeck, letting his admiration show, ‘though I daresay that he already knows that. As for the train robbery,’ he went on, ‘I can give him no hope of an early arrest. Indeed, I think you should warn him to brace himself.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the man behind the robbery will be back. In my view, he is conducting a feud against the railway system and he will not rest until he has inflicted more serious damage upon it.’
‘What do you mean?’ roared Sir Humphrey Gilzean, striking the side of his boot with his riding crop. ‘The attempt failed?’
‘It was only a partial success,’ said Thomas Sholto.
‘How partial? Was there no explosion?’
‘Yes, Humphrey.’
‘Then what went wrong?’
‘The gunpowder, it seems, was not in the ideal position. All that it did was to dislodge the brickwork on one side of the tunnel.’
‘It was intended to block the entrance completely.’
‘That did not happen, alas.’
‘Why ever not, Thomas? I gave orders.’
‘They were disobeyed,’ said Sholto. ‘The men decided that they could achieve the same results with a smaller amount of gunpowder than you had decreed. They were proved wrong.’
‘Damnation!’
‘They’ve been upbraided, believe me.’
‘I’ll do more than upbraid them,’ snarled Gilzean, slapping the back of a leather armchair with his crop. ‘I gave them precise instructions. Had they followed them to the letter, the train that was coming from the opposite direction would have crashed into the debris and put the Kilsby Tunnel out of action for a considerable time.’