Edward Marston - Five Dead Canaries

The man was absolutely horrified at the state of his vehicle.

‘Look what you made me do!’ he howled. ‘My car is ruined.’

‘Don’t worry, sir,’ said Marmion, pulling out a handkerchief to stem the blood on the other’s face. ‘You won’t need a car where you’re going.’

Ellen Marmion could not have been happier. They were all together for once. Her daughter helped to prepare the meal and set out the cutlery beforehand. Harvey Marmion was home early and he brought Joe Keedy with him. Since Paul Marmion would soon be joining them on leave, they had a cause for celebration. While Ellen was simply glad that the investigation was finally over, Alice hunted for details.

‘What was his name?’

‘Eddie Gregg,’ said her father. ‘And I was right about him being a local man. Gregg was born and bred here. In younger days, he’d drunk at the Golden Goose. He was as ruthless as he was cunning. When he came out of the army, he worked at a gambling club and gradually took it over.’

‘He had a nose for people’s weaknesses,’ explained Keedy. ‘Once he’d identified a target, he simply reeled them in. Brian Ingles is a case in point. He was given blandishments at first — free drinks, discounts on meals — and, of course, he was allowed to win small amounts until he was addicted to the card table. Gregg could then begin fleecing him.’

‘What a horrible man!’ exclaimed Ellen.

‘You don’t know half of it.’

‘I’m not sure that I want to know.’

‘The full story will be in the papers, love,’ said Marmion, taking a long sip of his beer. ‘Gregg had two strings to his bow. He was a crooked club owner who made sure that he always won in the end and, when his customers ran out of money, he loaned them more so that they could go on playing in the vain hope that they could recoup their losses. They’d usually had a fair bit to drink before they signed a contract for the loan and didn’t realise that they’d be charged exorbitant rates of interest.’

‘He was a shark,’ said Keedy. ‘He ate his victims alive.’

‘When that bomb went off, Ingles thought Gregg had planted it because he’d threatened to kill Florrie if Ingles didn’t pay off his debt. But then,’ Marmion went on, ‘we named Herbert Wylie as our main suspect. Ingles must have danced with joy at that point because he thought it proved that Gregg was not the bomber, after all. He knows better now.’

‘The person I’m sorry for is Mrs Ingles,’ said Ellen. ‘Imagine how she’ll feel when she learns about the terrible mess her husband landed them in. Indirectly, he was responsible for the murder of their daughter.’

‘It will haunt him for the rest of his life,’ said Marmion.

‘Underneath her self-confidence,’ suggested Keedy, ‘Florrie Duncan must have been a vulnerable woman. She was lonely, widowed and she scared off most men. Then someone rolls up to pay court, tell her she’s wonderful and spend lots of money on her. Gregg was obviously a charmer when he wanted to be and he was wealthy. His car was expensive and the suit he was wearing made me green with envy.’

‘Murder and intimidation,’ said Alice. ‘Those were his weapons. I get plenty of intimidation from Gale Force,’ she added with a laugh, ‘but, to give her credit, she’s unlikely to start detonating bombs. When I hear what Mr Ingles had to endure, I think that I get off lightly at work.’

‘You could always go back to teaching,’ Ellen reminded her.

‘It’s too late,’ said Keedy. ‘She’s one of us now.’

‘And that’s the way it will stay,’ decided Alice.

‘Police work can be gruelling but there are wonderful rewards.’

‘Yes,’ said Marmion, chuckling, ‘we had two of them earlier on. When we got back to Scotland Yard, the superintendent promised to recommend us for a King’s Police Medal for tackling two armed men — Niall Quinn and Eddie Gregg.’

‘That’s marvellous, Daddy!’ cried Alice, clapping her hands.

‘It doesn’t mean that we’ll get it,’ said Keedy.

‘It’s the thought that counts,’ said Marmion, ironically. ‘Our other reward is more tangible. Major Gostelow was so delighted that we shipped an escaped prisoner back to Frongoch that he’s sending us a bottle of his excellent whisky.’

‘I’ll enjoy helping you to drink it, Harv.’

‘I thought we’d save it until Paul gets back.’

‘Oh, yes,’ said Ellen, ‘he’d appreciate that.’

‘We’ll just have to hope that nobody gets murdered before he comes, love,’ said Marmion. ‘We pulled out all the stops to solve this case and be free to welcome Paul home. I’m going to be on that platform when his train pulls in,’ he vowed. ‘It will be wonderful to see him. We’ll be a complete family once again.’ He smiled at Keedy. ‘That includes you, Joe.’