Blood on the Line irc-8 Read online

  ‘What if the inspector doesn’t turn up?’ she asked.

  ‘He’ll be there,’ said Oxley with confidence. ‘Colbeck can’t resist a challenge.’

  ‘I thought you’d never met him.’

  ‘I haven’t. My case never came to court.’

  ‘Then how will you recognise him?’

  ‘He’s the dandy of Scotland Yard, by all accounts. I’ve seen it mentioned in newspaper reports. He likes to dress a little better than other detectives. Well, his days as a peacock will soon be over.’ He patted the gun concealed in his belt. ‘I’m going to put a bullet into Beau Brummell.’

  ‘I still think it’s too dangerous, Jerry.’

  ‘Leave the thinking to me.’

  ‘So many things could go wrong.’

  ‘Not if we hold our nerve. I thought we were already in the clear but I reckoned without Colbeck. Somehow the clever devil found out your name. All at once, I can hear his footsteps coming up behind us.’

  ‘So can I,’ she admitted. ‘I’m scared.’

  Oxley made her drink some wine to steady herself, then he assured her that one decisive strike would be their salvation. Once the man leading the investigation had been killed, it would lose its shape and thrust. Nobody could replace Robert Colbeck. Irene was slowly convinced of the necessity of committing another murder. A second anxiety then came to the fore.

  ‘Gordon and Susanna will be upset at the way we left so abruptly,’ she said. ‘I feel embarrassed about going back there.’

  ‘I’ll smooth their ruffled feathers.’

  ‘What if they read today’s newspaper?’

  ‘They don’t have it anymore,’ he pointed out. ‘I took it with us and we know that they very rarely buy a paper. If they did, they’d already have seen that I was wanted by the police.’

  ‘They’re bound to suspect something, Jerry.’

  ‘They’ll keep their suspicions to themselves, Irene. They know what’s at stake. The law doesn’t condone euthanasia. Gordon is well aware of what will happen if he’s exposed as a killer. Susanna will be charged as his accessory.’

  She pursed her lips. ‘I can’t say that I approve of what they did.’

  ‘Well, I do,’ he argued. ‘When I’m old and ailing and in constant pain, I’d love some kind doctor to put me out of my misery. What about your father? Didn’t you tell me that he’s failing badly and coughing up blood? Euthanasia might be the answer for him as well.’

  ‘I daren’t even think about it.’

  ‘We all have to die sometime.’

  ‘Let’s not talk about my father,’ she said, reaching for her wine again. ‘He’s always on my conscience.’

  She might have added that Constable Arthur Wakeley was on her conscience as well but she didn’t want to admit it. Oxley was not only capable of shrugging off the murders he’d committed, he was calmly planning another. She wondered if she would ever acquire the same immunity to guilt.

  ‘Coming back to Gordon and Susanna,’ he said, ‘there’s one thing we must always remember. Gordon not only dispatched a number of wealthy old ladies to heaven, he got paid for doing so in their wills. He called it an incidental bonus. If he’d been so high-minded about what he was doing, he’d have refused the money.’

  ‘What are you saying, Jerry?’

  ‘For all his blather about performing a sacred duty, Gordon is really the same as us. He has clear criminal tendencies. He was quick to learn that there’s money in euthanasia.’

  ‘It’s helped them to lead an entirely new life.’

  ‘They’ll do nothing to jeopardise it, Irene,’ he told her. ‘That’s why you have no call to fret about them. They’d never report us – even if they saw me shoot Inspector Colbeck.’

  Less than forty minutes after arriving at Coventry station, he was standing on the platform again. Colbeck’s was a distinctive figure and, as the train steamed in on time, its driver recognised him. A hand waved excitedly from the footplate and Colbeck knew that it must belong to his future father-in-law. Not wishing to delay the departure of the train by speaking to Andrews, he stepped into a compartment and spent the journey reflecting on what he had learnt from Gwen Darker. As the train finally reached its terminus, Colbeck walked briskly along the platform to the locomotive. Overjoyed to see him, Andrews introduced his fireman.

  ‘Don’t shake hands with him,’ he cautioned. ‘His hands are covered in coal dust.’

  Sowerby grinned inanely. ‘So you’re the Railway Detective,’ he said in wonderment. ‘Have you caught them yet?’

  ‘We are well on the way to doing so,’ said Colbeck.

  ‘It all happened on our train, you know,’ said Andrews.

  ‘So Madeleine tells me.’

  ‘In a sense, we’re working on this case together.’

  ‘You’ve certainly been of great assistance today, Mr Andrews,’ said Colbeck, checking his watch. ‘You’ve brought the train in six minutes early.’

  ‘Caleb likes his beer at the end of the shift,’ said Sowerby with a chuckle. ‘That’s why we made such good time.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you’d like to join us?’ invited Andrews.

  ‘I’d like to,’ said Colbeck, ‘but duty calls. I have two important visits to make this evening.’

  After chatting with them for a couple of minutes, he took his leave and picked up a cab outside the station. What he hadn’t told Andrews was that his first port of call was a certain house in Camden. He got the usual rapturous welcome from Madeleine. Drawing him into the house, she fired a whole series of questions at him. He had to raise both hands to stem the interrogation.

  ‘I can’t answer everything at once,’ he said. ‘Suffice it to say that we are making headway with the case, so much so that I was able to spurn a very tempting offer of help.’

  ‘Help from whom?’ She saw the twinkle in his eye. ‘Have you been talking to Father?’

  ‘It was the other way around, Madeleine. He happened to be driving the train I caught in Coventry. I had a discussion with him when we got to Euston. Apparently, he has a theory about Irene Adnam, though it’s not one that I particularly want to hear.’

  ‘Father is always having theories about something.’

  ‘What he did tell me is that his retirement has been finalised.’

  ‘He’ll be here permanently in a matter of weeks.’

  ‘Then we must create a studio for you in my house,’ he said, correcting himself at once with an apologetic smile. ‘I should have said our house. It belongs to both of us now.’

  ‘I’ll only feel that when we’re actually married.’

  He took her in his arms again and held her close. It was only now that he realised just how he’d missed her. In pursuit of one woman – and haunted by the memory of another – he’d allowed Madeleine to slip to the back of his mind. Sweeping off his hat, he kissed away the long hours since he’d last seen her, then he flicked his eyes at the easel.

  ‘Is your new masterpiece ready for display yet?’

  ‘It’s not a masterpiece, Robert, and it’s not yet ready.’

  ‘I do envy you your creative talent,’ he said. ‘There are times when I feel my work is dull and pedestrian by comparison.’

  ‘That’s nonsense!’ she retaliated. ‘I love art dearly but the world could manage very easily without my paintings. You, on the other hand, are indispensable. Think how many villains would still be walking the streets if you hadn’t caught them.’

  ‘It’s slow, methodical work with nothing creative about it.’

  She was dismayed. ‘Does that mean you’re losing your appetite for it?’

  ‘Not in the slightest,’ he said, quickly. ‘I’m privileged to be doing a job that I enjoy above all else. There are just occasional moments when I would like to hang something on a wall that I’d painted myself, or open a book that I’d written, or hum a tune that I’d managed to compose. I’d like to do one thing that was startlingly original.’

  She giggled.
‘Apart from marrying me, you mean?’

  ‘That will be my greatest achievement.’

  ‘And mine,’ she said, hugging him tight. ‘But if you really want to be an artist, I can give you a few lessons at no cost whatsoever.’

  ‘I believe in repaying a kindness, Madeleine. If you teach me, I’ll promise to give you some lessons of my own.’ He ran a gentle finger down her nose. ‘Then we can attain a degree of artistry together.’

  Tallis had read the letter so often that he knew it by heart. It was a temptation he was finding hard to resist. Although it was directed at Colbeck, he felt that it should more properly have been sent to him as the senior investigating officer. Oxley wanted to make contact. The letter was quite specific about that. It was so important for him that he was even prepared to break cover and disclose his whereabouts. It was a chance too good to miss. Instead of trailing the man all over the country, Tallis was being offered the opportunity to catch him here in London. Some kind of trap would be involved. He knew that. But he was relying on his experience to be able to anticipate and thereby avoid the trap. In pursuit of glory, he was ready to accept all the hazards. Colbeck would have taken up the challenge implicit in the letter and that is what Tallis resolved to do. For once in his life, he would overshadow his illustrious colleague.

  There was a tap on the door. When it opened, Peebles came in.

  ‘You sent for me, sir?’ he enquired.

  ‘I need you to accompany me, Constable.’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘We are going to arrest Jeremy Oxley,’ said Tallis, grandly. He handed the letter to Peebles. ‘You had better read this.’

  The constable did so, his brow furrowing with surprise.

  ‘Is this genuine, Superintendent?’

  ‘I believe so.’

  ‘By rights, Inspector Colbeck should respond to it.’

  ‘I’d be happy for him to do so if it were not for the fact that he is gallivanting around the country on trains. An exact time has been set for the meeting. As Colbeck is not here, someone else has to go.’

  ‘What about Sergeant Leeming?’

  ‘I have decided to take the responsibility on myself, Constable, and I am ordering you to come with me. There will be danger, of course, but that is ever present when one wears an army uniform. As a result, I’m impervious to fear and so, I hope, are you.’

  ‘Lead on, sir. I’ll follow wherever you go.’

  Peebles was thrilled to be given such a task. There were many other detectives on whom Tallis might have called. Instead, he had picked out the newest of them. It was an exciting assignment and he was already relishing the pleasure of telling his beloved about it when he and Catherine were together again. She would be so proud of him. It never crossed his mind that Tallis was deliberately ignoring Leeming and the other detectives because they would object to doing something that was exclusively the right of Robert Colbeck.

  * * *

  Oxley had chosen the venue with care. It was at the end of a quiet road that was as straight as an arrow. From his hiding place among the trees, he had a clear view and could easily escape to a waiting cab if he saw that his demands were not being met. Colbeck had to come alone. That was his requirement. Apart from anything else, he wanted to meet the person who’d been stalking him for so many years. The pistol was loaded and hidden from view. All that he had to do was to get his target close enough to be able to kill him.

  Crouched beside him, Irene was ready to beat a retreat.

  ‘He’s not coming, Jerry.’

  ‘Give him time.’

  ‘It’s past the hour already,’ she said. ‘Maybe the inspector didn’t even get your message. Maybe he wasn’t at Scotland Yard.’

  ‘You saw what it said in the newspaper. The police appealed to the public for help. Inspector Colbeck would have been waiting to sift any information that came in. He was there, believe me.’

  ‘Then where is he now?’

  ‘He’ll come soon, Irene.’

  Even as he spoke, a tall figure of a man came round the corner and walked towards them. Both stiffened and Oxley put a hand on the gun. But it was a false alarm. Instead of continuing his walk, the man suddenly turned into a doorway, took out a key and let himself into the house. Oxley relaxed but Irene’s tension remained.

  ‘What if he brings a lot of policemen with him?’ she said.

  ‘He’s not stupid enough to do that. In any case, we’d see them long before they saw us. We’d have time to vanish into thin air.’

  ‘Not if the policemen were mounted,’ she argued. ‘They could run us down, Jerry. We’re taking too big a risk.’

  ‘I know Colbeck – he’ll come alone.’

  ‘But you’ve never even seen him before.’

  ‘That’s why I’m so anxious to make his acquaintance, brief as it’s destined to be. This man is the difference between freedom and arrest, Irene. I can’t stress that enough. When he’s been disposed of, we can breathe easily once more.’

  ‘I can’t breathe at all at the moment,’ she confessed.

  ‘All you have to do is to stay here and keep quiet.’

  They stiffened again as two figures appeared at the end of the road. Oxley took a long, hard look at both of them before making his decision. One of them had to be Colbeck. He had come, after all.

  Tallis and Peebles had walked in step side by side. Not long after turning the corner, however, they came to a halt so that they could survey the scene. They were looking along a tree-lined road with houses on both sides. If an ambush had been set, an attacker could be hiding in a variety of places. Yet Tallis sensed no immediate danger. It was unlikely that Oxley had access to any of the houses and, in any case, the trees would impede any shots that were fired. With a steady stride, they walked on, eyes darting from one side of the road to another. They’d gone fifty yards before Tallis spoke.

  ‘Where the blazes is the fellow?’ he asked.

  ‘Perhaps he changed his mind, sir.’

  ‘He nominated this place and this time. Oxley must be here somewhere yet I can see neither hide nor hair of him.’

  ‘Neither can I, Superintendent,’ said Peebles as they walked on. ‘But I’m starting to get the feeling that we’re being watched.’

  Tallis looked around. ‘From which direction?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘I don’t see anyone.’

  ‘The feeling is getting stronger. He’s definitely here.’

  ‘Then why doesn’t he show himself?’

  ‘Stop there!’ yelled a voice and they came to a dead halt.

  ‘Is that you, Oxley?’ shouted Tallis. ‘Come out into the open.’

  ‘Be quiet! I’ll only talk to Inspector Colbeck.’

  ‘I’m his superior.’

  ‘I don’t care. Tell the inspector to come forward.’

  ‘He’s mistaken you for Colbeck,’ whispered Tallis.

  ‘What am I to do?’ asked Peebles.

  ‘Pretend that you are. We can’t miss an opportunity like this.’

  ‘Are you coming or are you not?’ taunted Oxley.

  ‘He’s coming,’ returned Tallis aloud. Out of the side of his mouth, he spoke to Peebles. ‘Beware of tricks, Constable.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ said the other.

  Straightening his shoulders, he walked forward towards the trees at the end of the road, scanning the houses as he did so. Oxley’s voice seemed to have come from ahead of him rather than from either side but he was taking no chances. Tallis was now thirty yards behind him and in no position to offer help. Peebles was entirely alone. Yet he showed no alarm. He did what he imagined Colbeck would do in the same circumstances. He remained alert and moved calmly on. When he got close to the end of the road, he was stopped by a command.

  ‘That’s far enough!’ yelled Oxley.

  ‘Show yourself.’

  ‘I’ll give the orders, Inspector. I’ve come to strike a bargain.’

  ‘What kind of barga
in?’

  ‘I want to ensure my continued freedom.’

  ‘That’s something I can’t guarantee, Mr Oxley. You are Jeremy Oxley, aren’t you?’ he went on. ‘I’m beginning to have doubts about that, you see. I heard that you were a brave and daring man and not someone too scared to show his face. Come back when you pluck up more courage.’

  Turning on his heel, Peebles made as if to walk away.

  ‘Stay where you are!’ bellowed Oxley, coming into view. Peebles stopped again and turned to face him. ‘I’m afraid of nobody on this earth, Inspector.’

  ‘Not even the hangman?’

  Oxley laughed. ‘He’ll have no appointment with me. My bargain is this. Call off your dogs and I undertake to leave the country. That way you get rid of Jeremy Oxley for good.’

  ‘That’s quite unacceptable,’ said Peebles, evenly. ‘The time has come for you to answer for your crimes. I’d advise you to surrender quietly while you still may.’

  ‘I never surrender,’ said Oxley, moving slowly forward. ‘You should know that by now, Inspector. You’ve chased me long enough.’

  Peebles kept his composure and waited for the moment to pounce. The army had taught him how to overpower an assailant and he had every confidence that he could subdue Oxley even if the man pulled a knife on him. He could see a hand hovering to grab something from under his coat. Peebles knew that he had to strike first. When Oxley was only five yards away, therefore, the constable suddenly came to life and flung himself at the man with his arms outstretched. Oxley was ready for him. Whipping out the pistol, he fired it at the detective’s heart from close range. Peebles got hands around him but they had no strength in them now. The wound was fatal. His body shuddered, his eyes were glassy and his mouth was wide open in disbelief. Life slipping away, he slumped to the ground with his waistcoat sodden with blood. His top hat rolled into the gutter. His impersonation of Colbeck was over.

  Watching from a distance, Tallis was horror-struck. Torn between rage and grief, he lumbered forward as fast as he could but he was far too slow. By the time he reached the lifeless body of Ian Peebles, he saw that there was nothing he could do. Oxley had disappeared into the trees and, as he bent over his fallen colleague, Tallis heard the distant sound of a cab being driven away. He was in an absolute torment of remorse. In taking Peebles with him, he had effectively signed the young detective’s death warrant.