‘No!’ denied Leeming, revolted by the notion. ‘That’s not what I want. I’m a detective from Scotland Yard and I wish to speak to her in connection with a crime.’ The old man gabbled his apologies. ‘Did you, by any chance, see her yesterday afternoon?’
The old man thought hard. ‘I did, as a matter of fact.’
‘Where was she?’
‘Standing outside, all dressed up in her finery.’
‘Did you see her through the window?’
‘No,’ said the other. ‘I was walking along the pavement outside. Josie was lurking at the door as if she didn’t know whether to come in or go away.’
‘Was she on her own?’ asked Leeming.
‘She was at first. Then that ugly devil of hers steps out of the alleyway and rushes her away up the road.’
‘In which direction did they go?’
‘Towards Camden,’ said the old man, ‘but I only saw them for a few seconds. Dick Chiffney stopped a cab and the both got into it.’ He cackled again. ‘I pity the poor horse, having to pull Josie along. She must weigh the best part of a ton.’
‘Are you certain that it was Chiffney?’
‘Oh, yes. Nobody else could be as ugly as that.’
Dick Chiffney peered at his face in the mirror, twisting his head sideways as he used the razor to shave the last bristles from his chin. After washing the blade in a bowl of cold water, he dried it on a piece of cloth before closing the razor. Then he splashed his face with water and dabbed at it with the cloth. He viewed the results in the mirror. On the bed behind him, Josie Murlow slowly came out of her sleep.
‘Where am I?’ she said, drowsily.
‘You’re with me, Josie,’ he told her. ‘We’re staying at the house of my friend for a little while.’
‘Why is that?’
‘You know why.’
‘I’d rather be in my own house.’
‘It could be watched.’
‘But there’s things I need, Dick.’
‘I’ll sneak back after dark and get them for you, my love,’ he said. ‘I can’t take that chance in daylight. He might’ve come back.’
‘Who’re you talking about?’ she asked, yawning.
‘The policeman I knocked out yesterday.’
The reminder brought her fully awake. Josie struggled to sit up in bed, her naked breasts spilling out over the bed sheet like a pair of balloons filled with water. She rubbed a knuckle against both eyes.
‘I remember now,’ she said with annoyance. ‘I was followed.’
‘As I guessed you would be,’ he bragged. ‘You have to keep one step ahead of the police, Josie. I know the way they work.’
‘Does that mean I can never go back to my house?’
‘You may never need to, my love.’
She yawned again. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s time for me to go.’
‘You’re not going to leave me here alone, are you?’ she protested.
‘I have to,’ he explained. ‘There’s breakfast waiting for you in the kitchen downstairs and I’ve left money if you want to send out for drink. My friend’s name is Walter, by the way. Ask him for anything you need. Walter will look after you.’
‘I’d rather you did that,’ she grumbled.
Josie looked around the room with a mixture of interest and distrust. It was bigger, better furnished and very much cleaner than her bedroom at home. They were obviously in a sizeable house. The bed was extremely comfortable. She and Chiffney had tested the mattress to the limit. She watched him as he put on his jacket and did up the buttons. The new suit made him look so much smarter. She wanted to believe that the two of them were going up in the world but she was haunted by doubts.
‘Everything is going to be all right, Dick, isn’t it?’ she said.
‘Put your faith in me, my love.’
‘I want to come with you.’
‘No, Josie,’ he said, restraining her as she tried to clamber out of bed. ‘I’ve got business I can only do on my own. In any case, I don’t want us to be seen in public again.’
She bristled. ‘Are you ashamed of me, then?’
‘Don’t be silly.’
‘Have you got someone else, Dick?’ she said, accusingly.
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘I’ve got a gentleman who’ll pay me more money than I’ve ever earned before to do one small job. You’ll be fine here, my love,’ he said, jokingly. ‘If you have any fears for your virginity, there’s a rifle under the bed. I don’t need that today.’
He picked up the pistol that lay on the table and opened his coat to tuck the weapon into his belt. Slipping some ammunition into his pocket, he reached for his hat. Josie was concerned.
‘How long will you be?’ she asked.
‘I could be away for most of the day.’
‘Why – where are you going?’
‘Brighton,’ he said.
Robert Colbeck was away for such a long time that Thornhill assumed that he was not coming back to the house. He was already composing a letter of complaint to Scotland Yard when the detective was finally shown back into the library.
‘I thought you’d abandoned me, Inspector,’ he said.
‘I’d never do that, sir,’ Colbeck told him. ‘There was a large area to search but it was worthwhile. I found the exact spot from which that shot was fired at you.’ He held up a tiny piece of cloth. ‘Your attacker was hiding behind a bramble bush some fifty yards away. His jacket must have caught on the spikes.’
‘There’s no guarantee that the material came from his clothing,’ Thornhill contended. ‘It might have come from anyone else who’d walked that way – from my gamekeeper, for instance.’
‘I think your gamekeeper would have more sense than to stand in a bramble patch, sir. Besides, there are clear footprints there. From that position, he had a good view of the terrace.’
‘What use is that information now?’
‘I thought it might reassure you.’
Thornhill was perplexed. ‘How could it possibly do that?’
‘It proves that your would-be assassin was no marksman, sir,’ said Colbeck. ‘From fifty yards away, a trained rifleman would have been confident of hitting you when you were sitting down. This man waited until you got up so that you presented a larger target – and yet still he missed.’
‘Only by a matter of inches,’ said Thornhill.
‘Someone who knew how to handle a rifle could have shot you dead from hundreds of yards away. This man had to get close and even then he failed. In your position,’ said Colbeck, ‘I’d draw comfort from that fact.’
‘The only comfort I get is when the house is properly guarded and I’m locked up safely inside.’
‘I meant to speak to you about that, sir. After today, I suggest that you stand down some of the men at the gate and those patrolling the estate.’
‘That’s an insane suggestion, Inspector.’
‘If you want the man caught, it’s the best thing to do.’
‘Lay myself open to the possibility of a second attack?’ cried Thornhill in disbelief. ‘What on earth is the point of that?’
‘It will tempt him to come back.’
‘That’s the last thing I want to do, man.’
‘Then we may never find him,’ warned Colbeck. ‘He’ll melt into the crowd and stay there until you’re sufficiently recovered to leave the safety of your home. It may take weeks, even months, before he strikes again – and it will be when you least expect it. If we can lure him into making a second attempt, however,’ he went on, ‘we can bait the trap.’
‘I won’t be used as target practice,’ said Thornhill, hotly.
‘There’s no danger of that, sir. Now, you have a reputation as a public speaker. As well as taking part in Parliamentary debates, you’ve addressed meetings on a regular basis.’