The Railway Viaduct

'I think that you did it on purpose.'

'Don't you believe your old father?' he asked with a look of injured innocence. 'I've been very busy today, girl. You can't expect me to remember everything.'

She folded her arms. 'What did it say?'

'Nothing of importance.'

'I know you too well. You're hiding something from me.'

'Why should I do that?'

'Because you're trying to spare my feelings,' she said. 'It's very kind of you but I don't need to be protected. They've said something nasty about Robert, haven't they?'

'I can't remember,' he replied, trying to move past her.

She held his arm. 'You're lying to me.'

'There was hardly a mention of him, Maddy.'

'But what did that mention say?'

She was determined to learn the worst. Caleb Andrews knew how much she loved Colbeck and he wanted to shield her from any adverse criticism of the detective. Having been the victim of a crime himself, he was aware how long it could take to bring the perpetrators to justice. Newspaper reporters had no patience. They needed dramatic headlines to attract their readers. Robert Colbeck had so far failed to provide them. He had paid the penalty.

'There was an article about him,' he admitted.

'Go on.'

'It was cruel. That's all you need to know.'

'What did it say about Robert? Tell me. I'll not be baulked.'

'I think that Inspector Colbeck has an enemy in Scotland Yard,' said Andrews. 'Someone who envies him so much that he's gone behind his back to feed a story to the newspapers.'

'What story?' she demanded.

'A spiteful one, Maddy. According to the article, the inspector has made such a mess of this case that Superintendent Tallis has gone to France to drag him back home in disgrace.'

Tallis spat out the name as if it were a type of venomous poison.

'Brendan Mulryne!' he exclaimed.

'Yes, sir,' confessed Colbeck.

'You dared to engage the services of Brendan Mulryne?'

'He was the ideal person for the task. When I lost Victor, I had to find someone who could blend more easily into the scene.'

'Oh, yes,' said Tallis, maliciously. 'Mulryne would blend in. He's the same as the rest of them – a wild, drunken, unruly Irishman who doesn't give two hoots for authority.'

'That's unduly harsh, Superintendent,' said Thomas Brassey. 'Most of my Irish navvies are a godsend to me. They do the sort of soul-destroying job that would kill the average man, yet they still manage to keep up their spirits. When I build a railway, they're always my first choice.'

Tallis was spiky. 'Well, I can assure you that Brendan Mulryne would never be my first choice. When we kicked him out of the police force, we should have put him in a menagerie where he belonged.'

The three men were still in Brassey's office. The confrontation with Edward Tallis was proving to be even more abrasive than usual. At the very moment Robert Colbeck's carefully laid plan was coming to fruition, his superior had turned up to throw it into jeopardy. What increased the inspector's discomfort was that his reprimand was delivered in front of Brassey. It made the contractor realise that he had been misled.

'I thought that Mulryne was a policeman,' he said.

'He was – at one time,' replied Colbeck.

'And he was a menace to us while he was there,' said Tallis. 'I'll spare you the full inventory of his peccadilloes, Mr Brassey, or we'd be here all night. Suffice it to say that the Metropolitan Police Force is run, like the army, on strict discipline. Brendan Mulryne does not know the meaning of the word.'

'He made several important arrests, sir.'

'Yes, Inspector. But he could not resist hitting his prisoners.'

'When he was in uniform,' Colbeck said, 'there was far less crime in the area he patrolled. Villains were too afraid of him.'

'I'm not surprised. He'd assault them first and ask questions afterwards. That's in blatant defiance of police procedure.'

'Why didn't you tell me all this, Inspector?' asked Brassey.

'Because I didn't feel that it was necessary for you to know, sir,' said Colbeck, awkwardly. 'For the last couple of weeks, this railway had been under siege. If these men were allowed to continue, they would bring this whole project crashing down. I believed that the one person who could save you was Brendan Mulryne and, after my conversation with him just now, I'm even more certain of it.'

'But he appears to be no more than a criminal himself.'

'He is,' agreed Tallis. 'I don't think he means to help us at all. Now that he's here, he's made common cause with the villains. He's an active part of the conspiracy against you. All that Inspector Colbeck has done is to add to your troubles.'

'That's unjust, sir!' Colbeck retaliated.

'Didn't you tell us that he'd wormed his way into their ranks?'

'Only to be able to betray them.'

'We are the ones who've been betrayed. You admitted that he's helped them to cause serious damage to railway property.'

'That was an essential part of his initiation.'

'Ruining those wagons is not what I'd call initiation, Inspector,' said Brassey, critically. 'It's straightforward vandalism.'

'He had to convince them that he could be trusted, Mr Brassey.'

'Well, I can't trust him – not any more.'

'Nor me,' said Tallis. 'I've learned from bitter experience that the only thing you can rely on Mulryne do to is to create mischief. You had no authority whatsoever to use the rogue, Inspector.'

'Desperate diseases call for desperate remedies,' said Colbeck.

'Mulryne is nothing short of an epidemic!'

'Give credit where it's due, Superintendent Tallis. The man you traduce so readily helped us to catch those responsible for the mail train robbery last year.'

'Yes,' said Tallis, sourly. 'That was another occasion when your methods were highly questionable. You had no right to involve that reprobate in police business.'

'The end justified the means.'

'Not in my estimation.'

'The commissioner disagreed,' said Colbeck, pointedly. 'He wanted to congratulate Mulryne in person. Are you telling me that the head of the Metropolitan Police Force was at fault?'

Tallis's face twitched. 'What I'm telling you is that this charade has got to stop,' he snapped. 'Mulryne must be arrested immediately with his accomplices.'

'But we don't know who they are, sir.'

'They'll be getting drunk with him right now.'

'In your position,' advised Brassey, 'I'd think again. Only a bold man would try to apprehend an Irish navvy when he's celebrating with his friends. I agree that he should be punished, Superintendent, but you have to choose the right moment.'

'Arresting him would be madness,' argued Colbeck. 'Besides, you have no jurisdiction in this country. When we catch the villains, we'll have to hand them over to the French police.'

'Mulryne will be one of them.'

'But he's our only hope of salvation.'

'That unholy barbarian?'

'I'm bound to share the superintendent's unease,' said Brassey.

'It's not unease,' declared Tallis. 'It's sheer horror.'

'All that he needs is a little time,' said Colbeck. 'What harm is there in giving him that? I'd stake every penny I have that Brendan Mulryne will do what's he paid to do – and by the way, sir,' he added, looking at Tallis, 'all his expenses have come out of my own pocket. That should show you how much faith I have in the man.'

'I admire your loyalty but deplore your judgement.'

Brassey shook his head. 'I have an open mind on all this.'

'Do you want this railway to be built?' Colbeck asked him.

'Of course.'

'Then trust a man who's risking his life to make sure that it is not crushed out of existence. Victor Leeming was out of his depth here and he got a beating for his pains. They couldn't punish Mulryne in the same way,' Colbeck told them. 'He's too big and strong. If they knew that he was about to betray them, they'd kill him outright.'

Brendan Mulryne was in his element. Having arrived late, he made up for lost time by ordering two drinks at a time. He was soon involved in the vigorous banter. Alive to any opportunities to make money, he performed a few feats of strength to win bets from some of the others then bought them a brandy apiece by way of consolation. The rowdy atmosphere was like a second home to him but he was not only there to revel with his friends. Every so often, he darted a glance at one of the barmaids, a buxom young woman with dark hair and a dimple in each cheek. Whenever she caught his eye, she smiled at him.