Edward Marston - Timetable of Death

The others had insisted she went into the room on her own. Though Lydia had been grateful at first, she now wished that they’d been with her so that her mother would awake to see familiar faces instead of one she had learnt to forget. It might have been better if Lydia had been seen as part of the family again instead of as a lone visitor from the past. The longer the wait, the more uncomfortable she became and the greater the urge to tiptoe out of the room to summon help. When she tried to move, however, she seemed to be bolted to the chair. There was no escape.

It was half an hour before Harriet Quayle stirred. She opened watery eyes.

‘Is that you, Agnes?’ she whispered.

‘No, Mother, it’s not. It’s me — Lydia.’

‘Who?’

‘It’s Lydia, your daughter,’ she said, putting her face closer. ‘I came back.’

Harriet was confused. ‘Am I dreaming?’

‘No, it’s me and I’m here with you.’

‘Agnes usually sits beside the bed.’

‘She wanted me to come in here instead,’ explained Lydia, softly.

‘Oh, I see.’

The old woman drifted off again and Lydia thought that she’d gone to sleep but the eyes opened after a few moments and struggled to focus. It took time and patience. Eventually, Harriet was convinced that her elder daughter had returned to the fold. She began to sob quietly.

‘Don’t cry, Mother,’ said Lydia, leaning forward to kiss her. ‘I wanted you to be happy. That’s why I came.’

‘I am happy. I’m very happy.’

‘Is there anything I can get you?’

‘I have all that I want,’ said Harriet. ‘I can die in peace now.’

When the cab arrived outside the hotel, Colbeck first slipped inside the building to make sure that the coast was clear. Relieved to see no sign of Tallis, he came out to collect her. Even though Madeleine was his wife, he felt embarrassed having to smuggle her into the building and up to his room. Once they had real privacy at last, they were able to embrace properly.

‘What will you tell the management?’ she asked.

‘I’ll say that this room will have double occupancy tonight.’

‘Won’t they be suspicious?’

‘Oh, I think they’ve learnt to trust me,’ he said with a grin. ‘I don’t anticipate having to dangle your wedding ring in front of them. My only regret is that I can’t stay long. I have an appointment.’

‘Please don’t worry about leaving me, Robert. I feel quite exhausted. To be honest, I’d relish the chance of a nap. I’d much rather you stayed, of course,’ she added, ‘but I realise that work comes first. Where are you going?’

‘I’m about to indulge myself, Madeleine. Why come to a railway town without taking full advantage of the fact?’ He reached for his hat. ‘I’m going to have a tour of the Derby Works.’

Donald Haygarth went through the agenda for the next board meeting. They were quite happy to work on a Saturday. He and Maurice Cope discussed each item at length before moving on to the next. Anxious to be confirmed as the next chairman of the company, Haygarth wanted to leave nothing to chance. Covertly, the other man had been acting as his campaign manager.

‘You’ll have more than enough votes,’ he assured Haygarth.

‘That’s largely your doing.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

‘I always reward good service.’ He consulted his watch. ‘What time are you seeing the inspector?’

‘He should be here at any moment.’

‘I can’t see the point of traipsing around the works. You’d never get me doing that. The noise is deafening and there’s grime everywhere. I’m surprised that a dandy like Colbeck would risk soiling his fine clothes. However,’ he continued, ‘it’s what he asked for and we must be seen to be helpful.’

‘It does mean that I’ll be there to watch him,’ said Cope. There was a tap on the door. ‘That will be the inspector now, I daresay.’

In fact, it was a secretary who entered the room to say that Superintendent Tallis was requesting an interview with Haygarth. The acting chairman asked for him to be sent in and was soon shaking hands with his visitor. He introduced Cope, who remained standing when the others sat down.

‘We were expecting Inspector Colbeck,’ said Haygarth.

‘Yes, I know. It’s one of the reasons I came. I’m hoping that I might join him in his perambulation around the Works.’

‘Do you have any idea why he wishes to have a tour of inspection?’

‘No,’ admitted Tallis, ‘but a reason will emerge. The inspector is a man of unorthodox methods. The extraordinary thing is that they almost invariably produce good results.’

‘We’ve seen none so far,’ said Haygarth with a meaningful glance at Cope.

‘No,’ said Cope, taking his cue, ‘we’d hoped for more progress by now but both the inspector and Sergeant Leeming have failed to turn up any decisive evidence. The board meeting for the election of the new chairman will be held at the end of next week. For obvious reasons, we’d like the murder to be solved before that takes place.’

‘I appreciate that,’ said Tallis.

He’d already been given a good description of the two men by Colbeck and, looking at them now, he realised how accurate it had been. Haygarth was plainly a man who gloried in power and Cope was his lickspittle lieutenant. Within the Midland Railway, they were a formidable team and it said much for the character of Vivian Quayle that he would have been able to defeat them in the battle for control of the company.

‘Have you taken charge of the case, Superintendent?’ asked Haygarth.

‘No, I’m simply here to monitor it.’

‘You’ve been given the names of possible suspects, I take it.’

‘Oh, yes, Mr Haygarth. I spoke to one of them early today.’

‘Who might that be?’

‘A fellow by the name of Gerard Burns,’ said Tallis. ‘He’s a stubborn individual and is very defensive when the name of Vivian Quayle is mentioned.’

‘He has every right to be,’ said Cope. ‘I’m told he can be prickly.’

‘You must have formed your own judgement about that, Mr Cope. I hear that you once approached him to leave Mr Quayle’s employment to work for Mr Haygarth instead. Why did the two of you conspire to snare someone else’s gardener? For the life of me, I can’t see why that would help in the running of this railway.’ He shared a bland smile between them. ‘Perhaps one of you can enlighten me.’

Victor Leeming alighted from the train in Spondon. After his visit to Belper, he was delighted to be back in the village. It was where the murder victim had been found and where one of the prime suspects lived. On his way to Hockaday’s shop, he reflected that his conversation with Reuben Wigg had not been entirely a waste of time. He’d learnt something about the character of the pharmacist’s brother, Elijah, which served to keep the superintendent’s name on the list of suspects. The latter had a compulsion to achieve a position of power and would even discard a member of his family if he offered no professional advantage. Reuben Wigg had clearly matched his bewhiskered brother in his capacity to bear a grudge. He’d even talked of committing murder, albeit with a macabre jocularity.

The arrival of Edward Tallis had jangled the sergeant. He hated the feeling that he was being spied on by his superior. Tallis had poured scorn on the notion of going to Belper but Leeming felt that it could now be justified. His assessment of Superintendent Wigg had been ratified. The pharmacist’s brother would have been far too careful to get blood on his hands. Murder would have been assigned to someone else. Leeming wondered if he was about to meet the man who actually did the deed. Before he did so, he had a more enjoyable encounter. He saw Philip Conway coming around a corner. Each was pleased to see the other.