Edward Marston - The Railway Detective

‘Nobody, sir.’

‘Then keep it to yourself.’

‘Of course, sir.’

‘All we have to do is to wait here until Sir Humphrey comes to his senses. He will soon see how heavily outnumbered he is and accept that resistance is pointless.’

‘I hope so,’ said Leeming, picking up the top hat and putting a finger through the bullet hole. ‘I believe that was Captain Sholto who fired at you, sir. Obviously, he does not think that resistance is pointless.’

Tallis snatched the hat from him and put it beside him on the seat. Colbeck was keeping an eye on the house, waving back any policemen who appeared and indicating that they should take cover. It was not long before the window of Gilzean’s bedroom was opened. Fully dressed and with a defiant smile, he surveyed the scene below.

‘Congratulations, Superintendent,’ he called out. ‘I did not expect to see you for days yet — if at all. The credit, I am sure, must go to Inspector Colbeck so I will address my remarks to him.’

‘I am in charge here,’ asserted Tallis, rising officiously to his feet as he turned to Colbeck. ‘And not the Inspector.’

‘But you do not have the same personal interest as your colleague. He is a gentleman who will always put the safety of a lady first. Am I right, Inspector Colbeck?’

‘What have you done with Miss Andrews?’ asked Colbeck.

‘She is right here. Quite unharmed — as yet.’

Madeleine was suddenly pulled into view. Colbeck could see that her wrists were bound together and that she was shaking with fear. Gilzean put a pistol to her temple.

‘If anyone tries to stop us,’ he warned, ‘Miss Andrews dies.’

‘He would never dare to kill a woman,’ said Tallis.

‘Call your men off, Inspector Colbeck.’

‘I give the orders here.’

‘This is no time to argue, Superintendent,’ said Colbeck, his gaze fixed on Madeleine. ‘We must obey him or he’ll carry out his threat. I’ll not trade Miss Andrews’s life for anything.’ Before Tallis could stop him, he gave a command. ‘Stand back, everyone! Let them go!’

‘I have not made a decision yet,’ protested Tallis.

‘Then make it, sir. Do as he says or tell him to blow out her brains. But bear this in mind, Superintendent,’ he went on, looking at him with burning conviction, ‘if Miss Andrews is killed, or harmed in any way, I will hold you responsible.’

Tallis wrestled with his conscience. Keen to arrest the two men who had sparked the dramatic series of crimes, he did not want a life to be lost in the process, especially that of a defenceless young woman. He was also swayed by Colbeck’s intervention. In the end, trying to attest his authority, he barked his own order.

‘Stay where you are!’ he shouted. ‘Lower your weapons and do not try to stop them!’ He sat down heavily in his seat. ‘I never thought to see the day when I gave in to the threats of a criminal!’

‘They will not get far,’ Colbeck assured him. ‘But next time, I suggest, we should not arrive with such a fanfare. All that we have done is to endanger their hostage.’

Tallis brooded in silence and stared at the house. They were not kept waiting long. The coachman was the first to emerge, running to the stables at the side of the house with a servant in attendance. Against such an emergency, the carriage was already loaded with baggage but the horses had to be harnessed. While that was happening the front door of the house remained shut. When the carriage finally came round the angle of the building, Colbeck dismounted, tethered his horse to a bush and walked briskly up the drive.

‘Wherever is he going ?’ demanded Tallis. ‘Those men are armed.’

‘Inspector Colbeck has taken that into account, sir,’ said Leeming.

‘I gave him no permission to move.’

‘He obviously feels that he does not need it.’

Colbeck strode on until he was no more than twenty yards from the house. When three figures came out, he had a clear view of them. Dressed in a satin cloak with a hood, Madeleine Andrews was being forced along between Gilzean and Sholto. The men stopped when they saw Colbeck standing there, weighing him up with a mixture of cold scorn and grudging admiration.

‘Are you bearing up, Miss Andrews?’ asked Colbeck.

‘Yes, Inspector,’ she replied, summoning up a brave smile. ‘They have not hurt me.’

‘Nor will we if the Inspector has the sense to do as I tell him,’ said Gilzean, letting Sholto get into the carriage before pushing Madeleine after him. ‘Goodbye, Inspector. I am sorry that our acquaintance has to be so fleeting.’

‘Well meet again soon, Sir Humphrey,’ said Colbeck.

‘I think not, sir.’

Clambering into his seat, Gilzean ordered the coachman to drive off. The policemen could simply watch as the vehicle was allowed to leave the estate unimpeded. Tallis was fuming with impotent rage. When the departing carriage was out of sight, he told his driver to take him to the house. Colbeck was standing at the front door when they arrived.

‘Have you taken leave of your senses, Inspector?’ said Tallis, getting out of the vehicle to confront him. ‘From that distance, they could easily have shot you.’

‘I wanted to make sure that Miss Andrews was unhurt.’

‘You should not have put your own life in danger, man.’

‘I survived,’ said Colbeck, removing his top hat and examining it for holes. ‘And so did my hat, it seems.’

‘This is no time for humour. We have just been compelled to let two of the worst criminals I have ever encountered go free, and all that you can do is to joke about it.’

‘Their freedom is only temporary, Superintendent.’

‘How can we catch them when we have no idea where they have gone? Their escape was obviously planned.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Colbeck, ‘but they did not expect to put their plan into action for a few days yet. They had to leave in a hurry and that means they will not have had time to cover their tracks. Let us search the house,’ he urged. ‘Well soon find out where they are heading.’

Madeleine Andrews did not wish to be seated beside Thomas Sholto but it spared her the agony of having to face him during the journey. Instead, as the carriage rumbled along at speed, she was looking at Sir Humphrey Gilzean, a man who paid such meticulous attention to his clothing that she was reminded of Colbeck. She felt a pang of regret that she had got so close to the Inspector only to be dragged away again. For his part, Gilzean was also reminded of someone. It put sadness into his eyes and the faintest tremor into his voice.

‘That cloak belonged to my wife,’ he said, pursing his lips as a painful memory intruded. ‘Nothing but extremity would have made me loan it to another woman, but it is a convenient disguise.’

‘Where are you taking me?’ she asked.

‘Somewhere you would never have dreamt of going.’ He saw her glance over her shoulder. ‘Do not bother to look for help, Miss Andrews,’ he advised. ‘They are not following us. I have kept watch on the road since we left the house.’

Sholto was angry. ‘How did they get to us so soon?’ he growled.

‘Do not worry about that now.’

‘I do worry, Humphrey. I thought that you had led them astray.’

‘So did I,’ admitted Gilzean, ‘but we have a formidable adversary in this Inspector Colbeck. I’m sure that Miss Andrews will agree. He is a remarkable man.’

‘He is,’ she affirmed, ‘and he will catch you somehow.’

‘Not if he values your life,’ said Sholto.

‘Besides,’ added Gilzean, ‘the gallant Inspector will have to find us first and there is no chance of that. His writ does not run as far as the place we are going.’