Suddenly, it all changed. Eve Doel, who spoke of her stepfather with affection, recalled the visit she and her husband had made to the house immediately after her mother had been reported missing. During a long conversation that went on into the night, the colonel had made some strange remarks which, in retrospect, had been indications that he was considering suicide. At the time, she hadn’t recognised them as such. She blamed herself for not staying with him at the house to offer support but she’d been so overwrought at her mother’s disappearance that her husband insisted on taking her home and seeking medical help for her. When Eve finished her testimony, she returned unsteadily to her seat.
Bertram Reader told of the intense pressures under which the colonel had been and he remembered a time when his friend had been so distracted that he’d driven to Northallerton in the middle of the night to bang on their door and to ask if his wife was still there. Agnes Reader later endorsed the statement and, between sobs, told of other occasions when the strain had taken its toll on the colonel. But it was the evidence of the family doctor that was really crucial. Slowly and with some reluctance, he described the colonel’s inability to sleep and of his wild request for a venomous poison that he could take to end his agony. There were several instances of worrying conduct by the colonel, culminating in a frightening incident when he accused the doctor of murdering his wife and tried to attack him.
While the whole room was roused by these revelations, the coroner treated them dispassionately. Adjusting his pince-nez, he sought to get a definitive medical opinion.
‘Did you see signs of mental instability?’ he asked.
‘I did, sir,’ said the doctor, ‘and they were unmistakable.’
‘Was there any deterioration in his condition?’
‘After the disappearance of his wife, the colonel consulted me four times in a row. Each time, there was a slight deterioration in his state of mind. He could keep it from less discerning eyes but not from mine.’
‘Do you believe he was unbalanced when he took his own life?’
The doctor was unequivocal. ‘I’d stake my reputation on it.’
There was a mild uproar and it had to be subdued before the coroner could make his voice heard. The court was adjourned while the jury retired to consider their verdict. Most people dispersed in search of fresh air, ready to return in due course when they were called to hear the verdict.
Colbeck’s only concern was for the health of the superintendent. Tallis was still reeling from the doctor’s opinion, refusing to accept that his friend’s mind had finally crumbled. Colbeck was firm.
‘This has taxed you too much, sir,’ he said. ‘I think that you should return to the village on the next train and try to get some rest. I’ll stay here to await the verdict.’
Tallis shook his head. ‘I’m not running away now.’
‘It could take hours before they reach a decision. There’s no point in lingering here for that long. The sergeant will see that you get back safely to the Black Bull.’
‘My place is here,’ said Tallis.
Colbeck was frank. ‘Your place is behind your desk in London, sir,’ he argued, ‘organising the fight against crime in the capital. That’s where you belong, sir, and that’s where you’ll be most effective. Time and again, you’ve preached a sermon on the importance of remaining impartial in our work. You’re unable to follow your own precepts here. Since you and the colonel were such close friends, your response to events is bound to be subjective. Simply being here is hurting you, superintendent. It’s better for all concerned if you spare yourself any further agony.’
Fists clenched and eyes ablaze, Tallis seemed to be on the point of eruption. Leeming could not believe that Colbeck had dared to speak to the superintendent so bluntly and he expected devastating retaliation. Miraculously, it never came. Instead, Tallis reached out to shake Colbeck’s hand.
‘Thank you, Inspector,’ he said. ‘Not for the first time, you are quite right. I can’t see beyond the respect and affection I have for a cherished friend. Even the slightest criticism of him makes me wince. When I read a scurrilous broadside about him yesterday, my stomach heaved. The longer I stay here, the more torture I’ll suffer. So, yes,’ he decided, ‘for my own sake, I will return to London.’
‘Does that mean I can have your room at the Black Bull, sir?’ asked Leeming, hopefully.
‘It means that I trust you and Colbeck to do what I came here to do myself. Find out what happened to Mrs Tarleton. Pursue her killer with all the vigour you can muster. Most of all,’ he went on, looking at each of them in turn, ‘clear the colonel’s name. His reputation has been unjustly fractured. I count on you to restore it.’
‘We’ll do our utmost, sir,’ said Colbeck.
‘One last thing,’ added Tallis, taking a letter from his pocket and handing it over. ‘This is the malicious letter sent to Colonel Tarleton on his last day alive. Fortunately, he never had to read it but he received many others like it. Seek out this fellow with a poisoned pen and put him under arrest. I want the vindictive fiend behind bars.’
Eve Doel could not bear to remain in the coroner’s court. Hearing evidence about her stepfather had been a continuous torment for her. She’d found the strength to bear up in public but, the moment she returned to the carriage which had brought them to the inquest, she dissolved into tears. Mrs Withers, sharing her grief, put a comforting arm around her. It was twenty minutes before they’d recovered enough to wipe their eyes and to be able to review what they’d heard. The housekeeper was adamant.
‘I don’t care what the doctor said,’ she said. ‘There was nothing amiss with the colonel’s mind. He was perfectly sane.’
‘You saw more of him than anybody, Mrs Withers.’
‘He was a private man. He kept his thoughts to himself.’
‘He must have suffered so much. Had I been there to help him, it might not have ended so tragically.’
‘You had your own anxieties to cope with, Mrs Doel.’
‘I should have done more.’
‘You came,’ the housekeeper reminded her. ‘When your mother went missing, you came to the house at once. That was not the case with your brother. The colonel had no idea how to reach him. He had no address to which he could write.’ She tried to keep disgust out of her voice. ‘You’d have thought he’d let his mother and stepfather know where he was living.’
‘Adam was always on the move,’ said Eve, sadly. ‘He’d lost touch with Mother and with our stepfather. I deeply regret that but there was nothing I could do about it.’
The conversation was interrupted by sounds of commotion. They looked out of the carriage to see people hurrying back toward the court. Evidently, the jury had reached its verdict.
‘Have they made up their minds so soon?’ asked Mrs Withers.
‘It appears so.’
‘Do you wish to go back in there, Mrs Doel?’
‘I don’t think that I could manage that,’ said Eve. ‘Adam is still inside. He’ll tell us what they’ve decided.’
Before she could speculate on what the verdict would be, Eve saw Frederick Skelton and his wife approaching the carriage. The sight of her godfather made her sit up and she made an effort to regain her composure. The newcomers offered their condolences and congratulated Eve on bearing up so well at the inquest. The rector then felt the need to broach a sensitive topic.