The Excursion Train

'I blame myself for this,' said Colbeck, apologetically.

'Why, sir?'

'I should never have sent you there.'

'I was getting on well until I tried to be too inquisitive.'

'I was hoping that they had not yet made the connection between Jacob Bransby and the public hangman but it was too much to ask. You have to admire his courage.'

'Yes,' agreed Leeming. 'Going in there among the ruffians of Bethnal Green when he must surely have stretched the necks of a few villains from that part of London. Just as well they never knew who he was or they'd have done more than sling him in a cesspit.'

'Your visit was not entirely wasted, Victor.'

'I hoped you'd say that.'

'You found out that almost everyone at the Seven Stars went off to support the Bargeman in that fight. They even drew up a list.'

'With a certain person from Hoxton near the top.'

'When the killer learnt that,' said Colbeck, 'he didn't need to follow his victim in search of the right moment to strike. He knew that Guttridge would be on that excursion train – so he waited.'

'With that woman.'

'With or without that woman, Victor. That's another little mystery for us to solve. Was she involved or was she just another passenger?'

'I've no idea.'

'Perhaps we'll find out when we go to Ashford tomorrow.'

Leeming gaped. 'Ashford?'

'If you feel strong enough to accompany me.'

'Yes, yes. Of course.'

'Are you certain about that?'

'Yes, I am,' said the other, straightening his shoulders. 'It'll take more than a few punches to keep me out of action, sir – though my wife may not see it that way. I'm dreading the moment when I walk through that door tonight. You know how Estelle can carry on.'

'Would you like me to speak to her?'

'Oh, no.'

'But I can tell her what sterling work you were doing for us in Bethnal Green when you were set upon. Praise can be soothing.'

'Estelle will need more than a few kind words from you to calm her down, sir. Leave my wife to me. I know how to handle her. Meanwhile,' he went on, nodding in the direction of the door, 'make sure you have a good story ready for the Superintendent. He'll come storming in here any moment to ask why you went to Maidstone.'

'How did he react when you struggled back here earlier?'

'He seemed very sorry for me at first – even helped me in here. And being the Superintendent, of course, he wanted retribution. Assaulting a police officer is a serious offence.'

'Except that they didn't know what your occupation was.'

'Thank God! I'd not be alive now, if they had.'

'Nobody involved in law enforcement is very welcome in Bethnal Green,' said Colbeck, 'and we both know why. It's the children I feel sorry for. They have no choice. If they're born there, crime is the only means by which they can survive.'

'Too true, sir.'

'So what did Mr Tallis want to do?'

'Send a bevy of constables to arrest the landlord and his wife,' said Leeming with a grimace, 'but I managed to talk him out of that. It was those two bruisers who set about me and I'd never recognise them again. Even if I did, it would be my word against that of everybody else in the Seven Stars and they'd swear blind that I was lying. I've got no witnesses to speak up for me.'

'That doesn't mean that we let these bullies get away with it, Victor,' said Colbeck, sharply, 'but I'm glad that you dissuaded the Superintendent from any precipitate action. It needs a more subtle approach. When time serves, we'll pay another visit to the Seven Stars.'

Leeming was vengeful. 'I'll look forward to that, sir.'

'Look forward to what?' demanded Tallis, bursting in through the door in time to hear the words. 'Ah!' he said, seeing Colbeck, 'you've deigned to return from your unauthorised visit to Maidstone, have you?'

'It was a very productive trip, sir,' replied Colbeck.

'That's beside the point.'

'You must allow me some latitude in a murder inquiry.'

'I asked to be kept abreast of any developments. That means you inform me of your movements before the event rather than after it.'

'When I made the decision to go to Maidstone, you were in a meeting with the Commissioners and I could not interrupt that.'

'Then you should have waited until the meeting was over.'

'I'll not make any progress in this investigation by sitting on my hands in here, Superintendent,' said Colbeck, evenly. 'You demanded a speedy result so I moved with urgency.'

'So did I,' Leeming put in.

'Be quiet, Sergeant,' barked Tallis.

'Yes, sir.'

'And have a good bath before you come here tomorrow. You still smell like something that crawled out of a blocked drain.'

'Victor will not be in the office tomorrow,' said Colbeck. 'He and I will be going to Ashford in Kent.'

'How kind of you to tell me, Inspector!' returned the other with mock sweetness. 'It's always comforting to know where my detectives actually are.' His voice hardened. 'I trust that you have an extremely good reason for wanting to hare off to Kent again.'

'Yes, sir. That's where the killer of Jacob Guttridge lives.'

'And what makes you think that?'

'The Inspector has this theory, sir,' interjected Leeming, earning himself such a glare of naked hostility from Tallis that he wished he had not spoken. 'I'd better leave it to him to explain.'

'Thank you, Victor,' said Colbeck.

Legs wide apart, Tallis folded his arms. 'I'm waiting, Inspector,' he said, coldly. 'I want to hear about this productive trip to Kent.'

'So do I,' said Leeming, eager to learn what progress had been made. 'You obviously fared a lot better than I did today. Did you get to Maidstone prison, Inspector?' He caught Tallis's eye again and took a hasty step backwards. 'Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to hold him up.'

Colbeck had made copious notes during his visit but he had no need to refer to them. His training as a barrister had sharpened his memory and given him an ability to assemble facts in the most cogent way. His account was long, measured and admirably lucid, making it easy for both men to understand why he had spent so much time in Maidstone. Victor Leeming was intrigued to hear about such colourful characters as Reverend Narcissus Jones and Obadiah Lugg but it was the accumulation of pertinent facts that weighed much more with the Superintendent. It was not long before the folded arms dropped to his side and the stern expression faded from his countenance.

When the recitation finally ended, Tallis came close to a smile.

'You've done well, Inspector,' he admitted.

'Thank you, sir.'

'It looks as if you may at last have stumbled on a theory that has a grain of truth in it. Notwithstanding that, we are still a long way from making an arrest and that is what the Great Western Railway wants.'

'It's what we all want.'

'Then when do you expect it to take place?'

'In the fullness of time,' said Colbeck, smoothly.

'I need something more specific to tell the railway company,' said Tallis, 'and to appease the pack of reporters who keep knocking on my door.' He glanced at Leeming. 'I thank heaven that none of them were here when the Sergeant returned from Bethnal Green in all his glory. I tremble to think what the newspapers would have made of that.'

'I'd have been a laughing stock,' wailed Leeming.

'It's the bad publicity that concerns me. This Department has more than its share of critics. Whatever we do, we must not give them ammunition they can use against us.' He turned to Colbeck. 'So what do we tell them?'

'The same thing that we tell the railway company,' said Colbeck with a confident smile. 'That we have made significant progress but are unable to disclose details because the killer would be forewarned and might be put to flight. More to the point,' he continued, 'the Sergeant and I want to be able to shift our interest to Kent without having any reporters barking at our heels.'