Richard Mayne, the senior Police Commissioner, looked down at the newspapers spread out on his desk and savoured the headlines. The arrest of the two men behind the train robbery and its associated crimes was universally acclaimed as a triumph for the Detective Department at Scotland Yard. After sustaining so much press criticism, they had now been vindicated. That gave Mayne a sense of profound satisfaction. While he could bask in the general praise, however, he was the first to accept that the plaudits should go elsewhere.
He was glad, therefore, when Superintendent Tallis entered with Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming. The Commissioner came from behind his desk to shake hands with all three in turn, starting, significantly, with Robert Colbeck, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Tallis. The Superintendent shifted his feet.
‘Gentlemen,’ said Mayne, spreading his arms, ‘you have achieved a small miracle. Thanks to your efforts, we have secured some welcome approbation. The headlines in today’s newspapers send a message to every villain in the country.’
‘Except that most of them can’t read, sir,’ noted Tallis.
‘I was speaking figuratively, Superintendent.’
‘Ah – of course.’
‘No matter how clever they may be,’ continued Mayne, ‘we catch them in the end. In short, with a combination of tenacity, courage and detection skills, we can solve any crime.’
‘That is what we are here for, sir,’ said Tallis, importantly.
‘Our role is largely administrative, Superintendent. It is officers like Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming on whom we rely and they have been shining examples to their colleagues.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ said Leeming.
‘On your behalf, I have received warm congratulations from the Post Office, the Royal Mint, Spurling’s Bank, the Chubb factory, the commissioners for the Great Exhibition and, naturally, from the London and North Western Railway Company. The last named wishes to offer both of you free travel on their trains at any time of your choice.’
‘I will certainly avail myself of that opportunity,’ said Colbeck.
Leeming frowned. ‘And I most certainly will not,’ he said. ‘On the other hand,’ he added with a chuckle, ‘if the Royal Mint is issuing any invitations to us, I’ll be very happy to accept them.’
‘They merely send you their heartfelt gratitude,’ said Mayne.
Tallis sniffed. ‘Far be it from me to intrude a sour note into this welter of congratulation, sir,’ he said, ‘but I have to draw to your attention the fact that some of the evidence was not obtained in a way that I could bring myself to approve.’
‘Yes, I know, Superintendent. I’ve read your report.’
‘Then perhaps you should temper your fulsome compliments with a degree of reproach.’
‘This is hardly the moment to do so,’ said Mayne, irritably, ‘but, since you force my hand, I will. Frankly, I believe that you are the person who should be reprimanded. Had you let your men go to Sir Humphrey’s house on their own, they might well have made the arrests there. By making your presence known so boldly, Superintendent Tallis, you gave the game away. That was bad policing.’
‘We had the house surrounded, sir.’
‘Yet somehow they still managed to escape. In all conscience, you must take the blame for that.’
Trying not to grin, Leeming was enjoying the Superintendent’s patent unease, but Colbeck came swiftly to his superior’s aid.
‘It was a shared responsibility, sir,’ he told Mayne, ‘and we must all take some of the blame. Against anyone but Sir Humphrey Gilzean, the plan that Mr Tallis had devised might well have worked. And the Superintendent did, after all, prove that he is not chained to his desk.’
‘That merits approval,’ said Mayne, ‘it’s true. So let us be done with censure and take pleasure from our success. Or, more properly, from the success that you, Inspector Colbeck – along with Sergeant Leeming here – achieved in Bristol. Both of you are heroes.’
Leeming pulled a face. ‘That’s not what my wife called me when I stayed away for another night, sir,’ he confided. ‘She was very bitter.’
‘Spare us these insights into your sordid domestic life,’ said Tallis.
‘We made up in the end, of course.’
‘I should hope so, Sergeant,’ said Mayne with amusement. ‘Mrs Leeming deserves to know that she is married to a very brave man. You will have a written commendation to show her.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ said Leeming, happily, ‘but I only followed where Inspector Colbeck led me. He is the real hero here.’
‘I’m inclined to agree.’
‘The only reason that we finally caught up with them was that the Inspector had the forethought to put a copy of Bradshaw’s Guide in his valise. It told us what train we could catch to Bristol.’
‘I regard it as an indispensable volume,’ explained Colbeck, ‘and I never go by rail without it. Unlike Sergeant Leeming, I have a particular fondness for travelling by train. I am grateful that this case gave me such opportunities to do so.’
‘A train robbery certainly gave you the chance to show your mettle, Inspector,’ said Mayne, ‘and everyone has admired the way that you conducted the investigation. But success brings its own disadvantage.’
‘Disadvantage?’ repeated Colbeck.
‘You have obviously not read this morning’s papers.’
‘I have not yet had the time, sir.’
‘Make time, Inspector,’ suggested Mayne. ‘Every single reporter has christened you with the same name. You are now Inspector Robert Colbeck – the Railway Detective.’
After considering his new title, Colbeck gave a slow smile.
‘I think I like that,’ he said.
Madeleine Andrews could not understand it. While she was being held in captivity, all that she wanted to do was to return home, yet, now that she was actually there, she felt somehow disappointed. She was thrilled to be reunited with her father again, trying to forget her ordeal by nursing him with renewed love, but she remained strangely detached and even jaded. Caleb Andrews soon noticed it.
‘What ails you, Maddy?’ he asked.
‘Nothing.’
‘Are you in pain?’
‘No, Father,’ she replied.
‘Did those men do something to you that you haven’t told me about? Is that why you’ve been behaving like this?’ She shook her head. ‘Well, something is wrong, I know that.’
‘I’m still very tired, that’s all.’
‘Then you should let someone else look after me while you catch up on your sleep.’ He offered his free hand and she took it. ‘If there was a problem, you would tell me?’
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll hold you to that,’ he said, squeezing her hand. ‘It might just be that you are missing all the excitement now you are back here.’
‘There is nothing exciting about being kidnapped,’ she said, detaching her hand. ‘It was terrifying. I wish that it had never happened.’
‘So do I, Maddy. But the men who held you hostage will be punished. I only wish that I could be there to pull the lever when the hangman puts the noose around their necks.’
‘Father!’
‘It’s what they deserve,’ he argued. ‘You saw that report in the paper. It was Sir Humphrey Gilzean who set the other man on to commit those two murders. That means a death penalty for both of them. Yes,’ he went on, ‘and they found a list of all his accomplices when they searched that baggage they took off the ship. The whole gang is being rounded up.’
‘I was as pleased as you to hear that.’
‘So why are you moping around the house?’
‘I’ll be fine in a day or two.’
There was a knock at the front door and she went to the bedroom window to see who it was. Recognising the visitor, she brightened at once and smoothed down her skirt before leaving the room.