Maurice Procter - Two men in twenty

'There might only have been three men and a driver on the job,' Clay replied. 'Cain might have been master-minding it from his armchair.'

'If that's the case, we'll get him at Naylor Street. But I'm doubtful about that. Five men got into that van, when it set off from Naylor Street. That means one wheel man and four in the team.'

'Not necessarily. Cain could have stayed with the wheel man, if he was a bit doubtful about him. There still might have been only three men in the XXC team.'

'Possible, sir,' Martineau admitted. 'Anyway, I'm going back to Haddon and Walker's to look around.'

'You do that,' Clay said.

Martineau returned to the Thames Trader. Three more detectives had arrived and Devery was talking to them. 'Just giving them the gen, sir,' he said apologetically to the chief inspector.

Martineau nodded. He posted one man by the lorry, one at the entrance to the mill yard, and one half way along the frontage. Then he drove with Devery to Haddon and Walker's.

There was a plainclothesman still standing beside the open loading bay, and he was talking to a man who was obviously not a policeman. He straightened when he saw Martineau.

'Sir, this is Mr. Walker, a member of the firm,' he explained. 'Headquarters asked him to come along here with the keys.'

Martineau shook hands with Walker. 'You've had visitors,' he said. And to the officer: 'Have you been inside?'

'No, sir. I was told to stay and watch this door.'

'Right,' Martineau said. 'Continue to do so. Mr. Walker, shall we have a look round?'

They entered the building, the two C.I.D. men lighting the way with their torches. Walker found light switches, and led the way to the office. They found the safe.

'How much had you in there?' the chief inspector asked.

'I don't know, till I've talked with the cashier.'

'Plenty?'

'Happen three thousand. Happen more.'

Martineau winced. 'Worse than I expected.' He looked at the assorted equipment which had been left. 'Maybe they intended this to be their last job,' he commented. 'Let's see if we can find how they got in.'

He sent Devery to search the upper floors of the building, with instructions to shout if he saw anyone. Then he went with Walker on a tour of the doors and windows of the ground floor.

Eventually they came to the back door. 'Locked,' the chief inspector commented. He examined the door thoroughly. 'Should this be barred?'

'I'm afraid I couldn't tell you,' Walker replied. 'I'll ask the foreman in the morning.'

'Where's the key?'

'I have it in a drawer somewhere. We never use this door.'

Martineau had his nose to the keyhole. 'Never?' he queried.

'Well, hardly ever. I can't remember the last time.'

'This lock has been oiled quite recently. And look at this bolt. See those scratches. It was withdrawn recently, and before that it was in the socket for a long time. It looks as if they got in here.'

'Can they withdraw a bolt from the outside of the door?'

'They can indeed. There are various methods,' Martineau said.

They went on their way, and eventually returned to the office. Devery came to say that he had seen no signs of intrusion upstairs. 'That's all, then, unless the flash and dab brigade finds something,' Martineau said. He went and picked up a telephone in the main office, and spoke to Clay. He told him about the safe, the equipment, the back door.

'A nice tickle,' Clay commented. 'They've seen a man go in at Naylor Street, and I've told them to go in when they get the chance. So it looks as if we've got at least three men out of the five. Murray got round the back of Gibraltar Mills and found the watchman locked in. The watchman said the keys were somewhere about and Murray found them in some grass. It seems our man forced the watchman to take him right through the mill and let him out near the railway. I expect he went off across the tracks. I've put men out on that, but he must have got about twenty minutes' start. A big man, that's the only description I've got so far.'

'Mmmm. It looks as if the two men we lost were the two most important. But we have their pictures. Have you plenty of reporters around there?'

'Have we? There's a hive of them buzzing round the front office.'

'Well, it looks as if we'll have to put the word out on Cain and France.'

'Yes. I'll get those reporters in, and issue pictures. We'll catch the morning papers. Then I'll take off the road blocks and leave pickets. What are you going to do?'

'I'm going to talk to the prisoners,' said Martineau grimly. 'They're going to tell me what I want to know.'

* * * * *

When Martineau reached his own office he had a brief talk with Sergeant Harnett. 'Did they sing?' he asked.

'No. I didn't press them. I got their names, that's all. Funny what they'll do. The old one has a wallet full of his own press cuttings. Edmund Jolly or Sailor Jolly they call him. He's got plenty of form. The other one is called Leo Husker. There was a warrant out for him a while back, in this town. Non-maintenance of wife. That's all the record he has.'

'Bring that one in,' Martineau said.

When the prisoner stood before him, he looked him up and down. 'So you're Husker,' he said, as if he had known the name for a long time. 'You're in bad trouble, Husker. Sit there.'

Husker sat. 'Was it Dorrie Cain shopped us?' he demanded.

'As you should know, we never divulge the names of people who give us information.'

'I bet that bloody Cain was tryin' it on with the wife's sister,' said Husker bitterly. 'I saw it comin'. He wouldn't let none of us get near her. The bloody fool.'

'Jealous women are dangerous,' Martineau said complacently.

'You're tellin' me. I married one.'

'Ah. Cain got away with the loot. It'll go hard on you if we don't catch him.'

'He'll go back ' Husker stopped.

'If he goes back to Naylor Street he's had it. One man has gone back there already. We think it's your wheel man. He found out we were on his tail so he scarpered and left you in the middle of it.'

'Another bloody Londoner. I don't trust 'em.'

'I don't think Cain will go back to Naylor Street, somehow. He's too wide for that.'

'Happen he is. He'll clear off back to London, I expect.'

'Does he have a car?'

'Not as I know of. He took the car to London an' got rid of it. So he said.'

'Mmmm. We haven't caught Jimmy the Gent, either. What happened to him?'

'I'm blessed if I know. He was supposed to be on the back of the lorry, but I never saw him make his getaway. You never know where you have that bastard. He's as fly as a box o' monkeys.'

'Does he have a car?'

'Not as I know of. You never know what he's got, or what he hasn't got. He's a lone wolf. He never sort of mucked in with the lads.'

'Was it Mrs. Cain or her sister who used to go out casing jobs for you?'

'Both, till Dorrie got herself spotted at Sedgeworth. Then it had to be Flo.'

There were more questions, about Husker's past, about Cain and France, about the supply of oxygen cylinders, which would be the subject of several separate prosecutions. Husker talked quite freely, apparently assuming that his questioner already had the most important facts, which indeed he had. Having wrung the man dry, Martineau dismissed him. He called in Jolly, who had nothing to say. That did not matter much. The case now was simply a hunt for Howie Cain, Dorrie Cain, and Ned France.

Daylight came about six o'clock the following morning, and Ned France was moving around as soon as he could see his way about. He looked out of one of the side windows, and saw that the road block had been taken away. He stood watching, taking in the view, looking for signs. It was a fine morning. One car passed along the road behind the factory, but there were no pedestrians about at that time. Presently he saw a flicker of movement in a warehouse doorway some yards beyond the crossroads. Something had appeared, and disappeared. Then, by the doorway, there was a little cloud of blue-grey smoke. Someone there had just lit a cigarette, and France had seen the action of throwing away the match.