The Railway Viaduct

by Edward Marston

  ‘This place is quiet in the middle of the day,’ said Filton. ‘I’d hate to be here at night when the navvies come pouring in. It must be like Bedlam.’

  ‘They don’t seem to have done too much damage,’ noted Colbeck, glancing around. ‘And I daresay the landlord’s profits have shot up since the railway came. He’ll be sorry to see you all go when you move on further down the line.’

  ‘If and when that ever happens.’

  ‘It will, Mr Filton. I give you my word.’

  ‘I’d prefer a little of that peace of mind you were talking about.’

  ‘Mr Brassey seems to have his share of that.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Filton. ‘I admire him for it. Whatever the problems, he never gets unduly alarmed. He’s so phlegmatic. I wish that I could be like that. My wife says that I used to be until I started working in France.’

  ‘I didn’t know that you were married.’

  ‘I’ve a wife and three children back in Southampton.’

  ‘That might explain why you lack Mr Brassey’s sang-froid,’ said Colbeck. ‘You miss your family. Mr Brassey brings his with him but yours is still in England.’

  ‘I write to my wife as often as I can.’

  ‘It’s not the same, Mr Filton.’

  ‘Are you married, Inspector?’

  ‘Not yet, sir.’

  ‘I can recommend the institution.’

  ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’

  Colbeck drank some more of his wine. For a fleeting moment, he thought about Madeleine Andrews and recalled that it was she who had obtained crucial information from the woman who had called herself Hannah Critchlow. He was delighted that she had been able to help him in that way. As an engineer, Aubrey Filton could expect no assistance at all from his wife. His work separated them. Colbeck’s profession actually brought him closer to Madeleine. It was something he considered to be a blessing.

  ‘This is good food,’ said Colbeck, ‘and the wine is more than passable. Working in France obviously has its compensations.’

  ‘In my opinion,’ said Filton, ‘they are outweighed by the many disadvantages. Whenever I’m in this country, I’m always afraid that the ground will suddenly shift from beneath our feet.’

  ‘You only had to survive one revolution.’

  ‘It was followed by a coup d’ état last year, Inspector. After the revolution, Louis Napoleon came to power by democratic means. It was not enough for him. He wanted to be Master of France. So he dissolved the Chamber and seized complete control.’

  ‘I remember it well, Mr Filton. The wonder is not that he did it but that he achieved it with so little resistance.’

  ‘The name of Napoleon has immense resonance here,’ said Filton, wryly. ‘It stands for discipline, power and international renown. That speaks to every Frenchman.’

  ‘One can see why.’

  ‘Yes, but it has not made our work here any easier. When there are upheavals in Paris, the effects spill over on to us.’

  ‘Your immediate problems are not French in origin,’ Colbeck reminded him. ‘They are essentially British. Or, if I may be pedantic, they are Anglo-Irish.’

  ‘And how long do you think they will continue?’

  ‘Not very long, Mr Filton. We are nearing the end.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Because I planted Brendan Mulryne in their midst.’

  ‘You did the same with Sergeant Leeming.’

  ‘That was different,’ argued Colbeck. ‘Victor was only there to watch and listen. He would never be taken fully into anyone’s confidence. Also, he’s far too law-abiding at heart.’

  ‘Law-abiding?’

  ‘He would never commit a crime, Mr Filton.’

  ‘What relevance does that have?’

  ‘Every relevance,’ explained Colbeck. ‘Brendan is not held back by the same scruples. To become one of them, he’ll do what they do without batting an eyelid. We’ve already seen evidence of that.’

  ‘Have we?’

  ‘Think of those wagons that were overturned. Unless I’m mistaken, Brendan was involved there.’

  Filton was outraged. ‘Do you mean that he helped the villains?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘That’s disgraceful, Inspector. Policemen are supposed to uphold the law not flout it like that.’

  ‘Brendan is a rather unusual policeman,’ said Colbeck with an appeasing smile, ‘as you’ll soon see. Before they would trust him, they put him to the test. Judging from the way that those wagons were toppled, I think that he passed that test.’

  ‘So he’ll be in a position to destroy even more of our property,’ protested Filton. ‘I thought he was supposed to be on our side. All that you’ve done is to import another troublemaker. How many more delays is he going to inflict on us?’

  ‘None, I suspect. Brendan is one of them now.’

  ‘Bracing himself for another attack, I daresay.’

  ‘No, Mr Filton,’ said Colbeck, nonchalantly. ‘Waiting for the moment when he can hand the villains over to us on a plate.’

  Luke Rogan festered with impatience. Having reached Mantes and spent the night there, he had to wait a whole day before he could speak to the man he had come to see. Until the navvies came off work that evening, Rogan had to cool his heels in a country he despised. Back in England, he could be earning money by working for other clients. Instead, he was compelled to waste valuable time abroad. Sir Marcus Hetherington, however, could not be disobeyed.

  Sending a message had been his first priority. After riding to the site on a hired horse, he tethered the animal to a tree and used a telescope to scan the scene. Hundreds of navvies were at work in the blistering sun and it took him a long time to locate the man he was after. Pierce Shannon was part of the team that was raising a high embankment. A boy was taking a bucket of water from man to man so that they could slake their thirst. Rogan kept a close eye on the boy. When he saw the lad run off to draw more water, he realised that there had to be a spring nearby. It did not take him long to skirt the railway and find the spring.

  When the boy came back once more, Rogan was waiting for him to make an offer. In return for the promise of money, the boy was very willing to deliver the message. After filling his bucket, he scampered off. Rogan had no worries that his note would be read by anyone else because most of the navvies were illiterate. In any case, the terse message would have been incomprehensible to anyone but its intended recipient. He lurked near the spring until the boy eventually came for some more water.

  ‘I gave it to him, sir,’ he said.

  ‘What was his reply?’

  ‘He’ll be there.’

  ‘Good lad.’

  After handing over the money, Rogan made his way back to his horse and rode away. When evening came, he was punctual. It seemed an age before Shannon actually turned up at the appointed place. Rogan had been waiting near the derelict farmhouse for an hour.

  ‘Sorry to keep you, sir,’ said Shannon, tipping his hat.

  ‘Where’ve you been?’

  ‘I needed a drink or two first.’

  ‘I told you to come just as soon as you could,’ said the other, reproachfully. ‘Have you forgotten who’s paying you?’

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘Do you want to stay working in this hell-hole forever?’

  ‘That I don’t,’ said Shannon. ‘When you give us the rest of the money, I’ll be able to turn my back on this kind of work for good. I’m minded to have a little farm back home in Ireland, you see.’ He looked around at the crumbling walls. ‘A house about this size would suit me down to the ground.’

  ‘You won’t get another penny until the job is done.’

  ‘Oh, it will be, sir. I swear it.’

  ‘Then why has there been no news of any disruption?’

  ‘News?’

  ‘It should have reached the English newspapers by now,’ said Rogan, tetchily. ‘Yet there hasn’t been a single word about it.’

 
‘You can’t blame us for that, sir.’

  ‘I can if you’re trying to pull the wool over my eyes. Be warned, Shannon. Cross me and you’ll be in deep trouble.’

  The Irishman stiffened. ‘Don’t threaten me, sir.’

  ‘Then do as you were told.’

  ‘We have done,’ said Shannon with wild-eyed indignation.

  ‘We’ve done every fucking thing you suggested and much more. Just because it wasn’t in your bleeding newspapers, it doesn’t mean that it never happened. The person to blame is Tom Brassey.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because he won’t report anything to the French police.’

  ‘Maybe that’s because there’s nothing to report.’

  ‘Are you calling me a liar?’ demanded Shannon, raising a fist.

  ‘Give me a reason not to,’ said Rogan, pulling out his gun and pointing it at him. ‘Otherwise, the only farmhouse you’ll ever spend time in is this one and you’ll be doing it on your back.’

  ‘Hey, now wait a minute,’ said the other, backing away and holding up both hands in a gesture of conciliation. ‘Be careful with that thing, sir. You’ve no call to point it at me. Pierce Shannon is an honourable man. I’ve not let you down.’

  ‘Then tell me what you’ve done.’

  ‘I will.’

  Shannon used his fingers to count off the series of incidents that he had contrived, giving sufficient detail of each one to convince Rogan that he was telling the truth. When he heard about the explosion, he lowered his weapon. Shannon and his accomplices had not been idle. There was a whole catalogue of destruction to report back to Sir Marcus Hetherington.

  ‘Now will you believe me?’ said the Irishman.

  ‘Yes,’ replied Rogan, putting the gun away. ‘I was wrong to accuse you. And I can see now why Mr Brassey wants to hide his problems from the French police and newspapers. He’d rather try to sort out the trouble for himself.’

  ‘He even put a spy in the camp. We beat him to a pulp.’

  ‘But you still haven’t brought the railway to a standstill.’

  ‘We will, sir. I know exactly how to do it.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘That would be telling,’ said Shannon with a grin. ‘Stay in France for a day or two and you’ll find out what we did. They won’t be able to keep our next fucking crime out of the newspapers. It’s one thing that even Mr Brassey won’t be able to hide.’

  ‘I’ll need certain proof of what you’ve done.’

  ‘Then use your own eyes.’

  ‘I’ll not stay in this accursed country a moment longer,’ said Rogan. ‘I’ve got what I came for and there’s too much work awaiting me in England for me to linger here. When it’s all over, you know how to get in touch with me.’

  ‘I do at that, sir – though I still don’t know your name.’

  ‘You don’t need to know it.’

  ‘Why not? You can trust Pierce Shannon.’

  ‘Finish the task and earn your money,’ said Rogan, firmly. ‘Once I pay you, I never want to set eyes on you again. Go back to Ireland and take up farming. It’s a far healthier life than building a railway in France.’

  ‘I’ll have no choice,’ said Shannon with a laugh. ‘Very soon, there’ll be no bleeding railway here to build.’

  Robert Colbeck had fulfilled a dream that he had harboured for many years. Dressed as an engine driver, he was standing on the footplate of the locomotive that had recently arrived with twenty wagons filled with ballast from the quarry. His only disappointment was that he was not able to drive the engine. He had only donned the clothing so that he would attract no undue attention. The footplate was the venue for a meeting that he had arranged with Brendan Mulryne. Making sure that he was not seen, the Irishman climbed up beside him.

  ‘Drive me all the way home to Dublin, Inspector,’ he said.

  ‘I wish that I could, Brendan, but the line doesn’t go that far.’

  ‘It won’t go any farther than this, if the buggers have their way.’

  ‘Do you know what their next step will be?’ asked Colbeck.

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Well?’

  ‘They want to bring the whole thing to a stop.’

  ‘And how do they intend to do that?’

  Mulryne told him what he had heard. While he knew the place where the attack would be launched, he did not know the precise time. That was a detail that was deliberately kept from him. What was certain was that he would definitely be involved.

  ‘You obviously passed the test they set you,’ said Colbeck.

  ‘Tipping over a few wagons? It was child’s play.’

  ‘Not to the people who had to clear up after you.’

  ‘Sure, I’d have been happy to do the job myself but that would have given the game away. If they weren’t such hard-hearted villains,’ said Mulryne, ‘I’d have no quarrel with them. They’re fellow Irishmen and that means they’re the salt of the earth.’

  ‘Do they have no suspicion of you at all?’

  ‘None, sir, but they might start wondering if I don’t join them for a drink very soon. I’ve made quite a bit of money from them, one way and another.’ His face clouded. ‘I suppose that’d be called the proceeds of crime. I won’t have to hand it back, will I?’

  ‘No, Brendan. It’s yours to keep.’

  ‘I never keep money, sir. It burns a hole in my pocket.’

  ‘Then enjoy a drink with it,’ said Colbeck. ‘And, as soon as you know when they’re going to strike, find a way to let me know.’

  ‘That I will, Inspector.’

  ‘Do you know who’s paying them?’

  ‘I don’t know and I’ve never once tried to find out. I remembered what happened to Sergeant Leeming when he asked too many questions.’ Mulryne pointed to his head. ‘They think of me as a big man with a tiny brain. I’m stupid old Brendan who’ll do anything for money and not worry where it comes from.’

  ‘How many of them are there?’

  ‘Difficult to say, sir. I’ve only met two.’

  ‘There must be more than that, Brendan.’

  ‘That’s why you have to catch them in the act. The whole gang is going to be there next time. At least, that’s what Liam told me.’

  ‘Liam?’

  ‘I’ll introduce him to you when we meet,’ said Mulryne.

  ‘You’ll be pleased to make his acquaintance.’

  ‘Will I?’

  ‘He’s one of the men who ambushed the sergeant.’

  ‘Ah, I see.’

  ‘Liam boasted to me about it. I had a job to hold myself back from knocking his head off there and then. Sergeant Leeming is a friend of mine. When the fighting really starts, Liam is all mine.’

  ‘Victor will be pleased to hear about it,’ said Colbeck. ‘Now, off you go, Brendan. Join the others before they start to miss you. And thank you again. You’ve done well.’

  ‘I ought to be thanking you, sir.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Work with Irishmen all day and drink with them all night – this is heaven for me,’ said Mulryne, happily. ‘Yes, and there’s a barmaid at the inn who’s sweet on me. What more can a man ask?’

  Colbeck waved him off then allowed himself a few minutes to inspect the locomotive more closely and to run a possessive hand over its levers and valves. He had recognised the design at once. It was the work of Thomas Crampton, the Englishmen whose locomotives were so popular in France. As he indulged his fancy, he wished that Caleb Andrews had been there to teach him how to drive it.

  Descending at last from the footplate, he walked across the tracks and headed towards Brassey’s office. Instead of his habitual long stride and upright posture, he used a slow amble and kept his shoulders hunched. Engine drivers did not look or move like elegant detectives. When success was so close, he did not wish to make a false move and attract suspicion. His talk with Mulryne had been very heartening and he was delighted that he had brought the Irishman with him. It was only a que
stion of time before the problems at the site would be brought to an abrupt end. Colbeck wanted to pass on the good news to Brassey as soon as possible.

  Reaching the office, he knocked on the door and opened it in response to the contractor’s invitation. He had expected Brassey to be alone but someone else was there and it was the last person Colbeck had wanted to see. Superintendent Tallis gaped at him in wonder.

  ‘Is that you, Colbeck?’ he cried, staring in consternation. ‘What are you doing, man? I sent you here to solve a crime, not to play with an engine.’

  Madeleine Andrews had had a profitable time. It was one of the days when a servant came to clean the house and do various chores, thus releasing Madeleine to work on her latest drawing. She was not trying to sketch the Sankey Viaduct now. She was working on another sketch of the Lord of the Isles, the locomotive that Colbeck had taken her to see at the Great Exhibition the previous year. It had a special significance for her. When evening came, she kept glancing up at the clock, hoping that her father would not be too late.

  When he went to work, Andrews always bought a morning newspaper at Euston Station. His daughter never got to read it until he came back home, and she was desperate for more news about Colbeck. If he had made any progress in the murder investigation, it would be duly reported. Madeleine was at the window when she saw her father sauntering along the street. He had made a good recovery from the injuries that had almost cost him his life, and he had his old jauntiness back. She opened the door for him and was disappointed that he was not carrying a newspaper.

  ‘Did you have a good day, Father?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘I’ve been to Birmingham and back twice. I’ve driven along that line so often, I could do it blindfold.’

  ‘Well, I hope you don’t even try.’

  ‘No, Maddy.’ He took off his coat and hung it on a hook. ‘The place looks clean and tidy,’ he said. ‘Mrs Busby obviously came.’

  ‘Yes. I was able to get on with my own work.’