‘Yes,’ she rejoined, ‘Sergeant Leeming was assaulted because we did not comply with the instructions we were given. Had you handed over the money, you would almost certainly have been given that coffee pot in return.’
‘I disagree.’
‘We must do as they tell us.’
‘Then we give up all hope of capturing these villains.’
‘I’m far more interested in retrieving my coffee pot than seeing anyone arrested,’ she admitted. ‘Just pay up and have done with it.’
‘Winifred,’ he scolded, ‘these people have committed a murder.’
‘That’s a separate matter and we can leave it to Inspector Colbeck to deal with that. We mustn’t confuse the issue. All that we need worry about is our stolen property.’
‘I think that you should forget all about it.’
She was indignant. ‘I could never do that – Lady Pryde would mock me unmercifully.’
‘You no longer have anything to do with the woman.’
‘We have mutual friends, Clifford, and she would goad me through them somehow. Don’t you see? My social standing in the town is at stake. That coffee pot is not simply a memento of dear Father, it’s the one secure way of regaining my position here.’
‘That was never under threat, Winifred.’
‘I feel that it is.’
The sound of the doorbell ended the conversation. Not used to visitors at that time of the morning, they wondered who it could be. It was not long before the butler came into the dining room.
‘Inspector Colbeck is here to see you,’ he announced.
Her hopes rose. ‘Perhaps he has good news for us!’
‘Show the inspector into the drawing room, Glover,’ said Tomkins. ‘We’ll be there directly.’
‘Very good, sir,’ said the butler, going out.
‘It may be that he’s made an arrest,’ said Winifred.
‘I beg leave to doubt that.’
‘Superintendent Stockdale’s men have been searching the whole town. They might have cornered the villains. Who knows? It may even be that the inspector has brought my coffee pot with him.’
‘I think you’re being far too optimistic.’
‘Why else should he come at this hour?’
‘Let’s go and find out,’ said Tomkins, ‘but don’t bank on hearing good news. That silver coffee pot is cursed.’
‘Don’t be nonsensical.’
‘It is, Winifred. It’s caused us nothing but trouble and my guess is that there’s a lot more to come.’
‘I don’t believe that for a second.’
‘We shall see.’
They went into the drawing room and found Robert Colbeck studying a portrait on the wall. To Winifred’s dismay, he had brought nothing with him. She looked up at the oil painting.
‘That’s my father,’ she said, proudly. ‘He was a far-sighted man. As soon as railways began to be built, he realised that they had a wonderful future ahead of them. He once brought Mr Brunel to the house. Father thought that he was a miracle-worker.’
‘I’d endorse that, Mrs Tomkins,’ said Colbeck. ‘When the notion of the Taff Vale Railway was first discussed, critics said that that it could never be constructed over such difficult terrain. Mr Brunel took up the challenge and made light of the problems.’
‘We know that, Inspector,’ said Tomkins. ‘When the line opened in 1841, I was able to transport iron and steel from Merthyr to Cardiff in less than an hour. Until then, we’d had to rely on road and canal hauliers and they moved like snails.’
‘I’d be happy to discuss the topic in more detail with you, sir, but this is not the appropriate moment, alas.’ He took out the letter. ‘This was delivered to me at the hotel yesterday.’
‘Why to you and not us?’ demanded Winifred.
‘Because the person who sent it feared that this house might be under surveillance. Also, of course, he wanted to issue a warning.’
She started. ‘He hasn’t threatened to destroy my coffee pot?’
‘No, Mrs Tomkins. The warning was aimed at me. I – and, by implication, Superintendent Stockdale – was ordered to keep out of the ransom negotiations altogether.’ He gave the letter to Tomkins. ‘See for yourself, sir. The instructions are for you and your wife alone.’
Winifred was impatient. ‘What does it say? Let me see it.’
‘Give me chance to read it first,’ said her husband.
‘Do they still have my coffee pot?’
‘Yes,’ Colbeck told her, ‘but it comes at a price.’
Tomkins was horror struck. ‘Double the cost,’ he yelled in disbelief. ‘They expect me to pay double the cost? That’s quite inconceivable. In all, it would mean paying three times the value of the item, plus the fifty pounds already paid to Mr Voke as a deposit.’
‘Give it to me,’ said Winifred, snatching the letter from him and reading it quickly. ‘At least, they do have it and they promise that they’ll hand it over next time.’ The conditions made her shiver. ‘They want me to make the exchange.’
‘Then it’s out of the question on two grounds,’ said Tomkins. ‘I would never part with the sum of money demanded and I refuse to let my wife imperil herself by handing it over.’
‘In that case,’ said Colbeck, flatly, ‘the thieves will simply vanish and try to find a buyer elsewhere. More to the point, our chance of catching them will disappear as well.’
‘You’re surely not advocating that we agree to their demands?’
‘I believe that you should consider doing so, sir.’
‘My wife could be bludgeoned to death, Inspector.’
‘If you read the letter again, Mr Tomkins, I think you’ll find there’s a firm promise that your wife will come to no harm. All that they want is the money.’
‘They can go to the devil!’
‘Clifford!’ said his wife, reproachfully.
‘I’ll not deal with blood-suckers.’
‘We have to think this through very carefully,’ she said, making a supreme effort to keep calm. ‘There has to be a way to get what we want out of this situation.’
‘Yes – we ignore this to start with,’ said Tomkins, grabbing the letter from her and scrunching it up into a ball. ‘Nobody is going to give me orders.’
Colbeck extended a hand. ‘If you don’t want that, sir,’ he said, ‘then perhaps you’d give it to me. It’s a piece of valuable evidence. I’m sure that you noticed how different this was from the two earlier ransom notes. It’s written in block capitals. There has to be a reason for that.’
‘Take the damn thing!’ said Tomkins, thrusting it at him.
‘But we may need it, Clifford,’ cried his wife.
‘The whole matter is closed.’
‘I refuse to accept that.’
‘Winifred, the demands are beyond all reason.’
‘They are to you,’ she said, ‘so I suggest that you are no longer involved in the transaction. I have money of my own. Since you are too grudging even to consider paying for my coffee pot, then I may have to do so myself. Inspector,’ she added, holding out her palm. ‘May I have it back, please?’ Colbeck gave it to her and she unscrewed the paper. ‘I need to study this in private – do excuse me.’
‘Come back!’ ordered Tomkins as she waddled out of the room. He turned to Colbeck. ‘Do something, man. We can’t have my wife exposing herself to the kind of attack that the sergeant suffered.’
‘That’s a decision only Mrs Tomkins can take,’ said Colbeck.
‘You must talk her out of it.’
‘I would have thought that was your privilege, sir.’
‘Winifred can be very headstrong at times.’
‘She’s clearly determined to get her coffee pot back.’
‘But she’s taking an enormous risk going there alone.’
‘Mrs Tomkins won’t be alone,’ Colbeck reminded him. ‘She’s been told to travel by carriage so she’ll have a driver with her. That, I think, is where we can seize the advantage. If it were not for the fact that I am clearly known to them, I would suggest that I drove your wife. Instead, one of Superintendent Stockdale’s men can pose as the coachman. I’ll be concealed inside the carriage, ready to leap out when the exchange is made.’