Reader’s hand was trembling so much that he was in danger of dropping the pistol. Colbeck watched him carefully, waiting for a moment when he could dive forward and wrest the weapon from him. Agnes, meanwhile, was cowering behind the inspector’s back, praying that he wouldn’t be shot dead by her husband. Seeing the hesitation in the banker’s eyes, Colbeck tried to reason with him.
‘What will be achieved by killing someone else, sir?’ he asked. ‘You already have two deaths on your conscience.’
‘One death,’ said Reader, ‘and it’s not on my conscience.’
‘The murder of Mrs Tarleton may not trouble you but, when you killed her, you also killed her husband. He loved his wife so much that he couldn’t live without her. Doesn’t that fact prey on your mind?’ he went on. ‘Do you feel no guilt at having sent a close friend on that fatal walk along a railway track?’
‘I wasn’t to know that that would happen.’
‘But it did, sir, and you were responsible.’
‘Be quiet!’
‘Can’t you bear to hear the truth?’
‘I simply wanted that woman out of our lives.’
‘Murder is never simple,’ said Colbeck, one eye on the pistol. ‘There are always unseen consequences. Because of the way you killed Mrs Tarleton, you subjected her husband to the most unendurable torment. Those vicious letters he received were only a component of the misery that drove him to take his own life. That’s what you did to the colonel, sir. You put him through agony.’
‘And what about my agony?’ wailed Reader.
Colbeck’s reply came in the form of a sudden leap. Diving forward, he grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the pistol and twisted it away. As he grappled with the banker, Agnes took cover behind the sofa and put her hands over her ears to block out the expletives that her husband began to hurl at her. Reader was soon silenced. In the course of the struggle, the pistol went off and the bullet shattered a glass cabinet, sending shards flying everywhere. Dropping the pistol to the floor, Reader used both hands in a vain attempt to push the detective away. Colbeck was too fast for him, sticking out a foot to trip him up and shoving him hard in the chest.
As the banker tumbled to the carpet, Colbeck snatched up the pistol and used the butt to knock him unconscious with one strike. By the time that Reader eventually came to, he found that his wrists had been handcuffed behind his back.
The inquest into the death of Miriam Tarleton was able to record a verdict that named her killer. Sitting through it with his detectives, Edward Tallis had the satisfaction of seeing the murder solved and the reputation of his old army comrade restored. Colbeck had spoken to the coroner beforehand with regard to Wilf Moxey’s evidence. The farm labourer was relieved that he was not pressed to account for his presence in the wood during the night. After its interruption, his romance with Lorna Begg could now continue. Eve Doel, her husband and her brother sat through the proceedings in a daze, stunned by the revelation that a trusted family friend had been the killer. Agnes Reader did not appear at the inquest, having already fled to stay with friends in Norfolk. Mrs Withers was also missing. Still trying to cope with the enormity of what she’d discovered, she was now looking forward to quitting a house that had held such a dark secret. Lottie Pearl was blissfully unaware of the true facts of the case.
Tallis remained in Yorkshire to attend the funerals, allowing Colbeck and Leeming to return to London. On the train journey back, they were fortunate enough to have a carriage to themselves. It enabled the sergeant to express his full horror.
‘How can any woman do such things?’ he asked, incredulously. ‘It’s against nature.’
‘Yet it’s not against the law.’
‘In my opinion, it should be.’
‘It’s not for us to question what they did,’ said Colbeck, tolerantly. ‘The two ladies in question found in each other the love that was lacking in their respective marriages. The tragedy is that it led to the brutal death of one of them.’
‘Mrs Tarleton is the one who surprises me, sir. I mean, she bore children. She did what women are put on this earth to do. It’s what the Bible teaches us.’
‘Agnes Reader had an alternative theology. She married to disguise her inclinations and had no intention of having a family. At first, Mrs Tarleton and she were just friends. Without realising it, the colonel drove them into each other’s arms.’
‘How did he do that, Inspector?’
‘By making a disastrous investment in the railways,’ said Colbeck. ‘His lawyer advised him against it – so did his banker – but the colonel had the single-minded approach we’ve seen in Mr Tallis. Nothing could hold him back. The prospect of earning a fortune was too enticing. He not only lost most of his own money,’ he concluded, ‘he persuaded his wife to venture her wealth as well. Thanks to Stuart Leybourne, they were defrauded out of every penny.’
‘Any wife would have been embittered by that,’ said Leeming.
‘It’s my belief that Mrs Tarleton turned to her friend for comfort. I’m sure that Mrs Reader was extremely sympathetic. One thing led to another with the result that we now know.’
‘It makes my blood run cold, sir. It’s so abnormal.’
‘You should read some ancient history, Victor.’
‘Oh, I know what those Greek women are supposed to have done but that was a long time ago. You don’t expect that kind of thing to happen in this day and age – least of all in Yorkshire.’
Colbeck laughed. ‘What’s so special about Yorkshire?’
‘People there seem so straightforward and down to earth.’
‘Sergeant Hepworth wasn’t very straightforward.’
‘He was the exception to the rule.’
‘And so was Michael Bruntcliffe, not to mention the rector.’
‘You know what I mean, sir,’ said Leeming with exasperation. ‘Country folk are more open. That’s what I found, anyway. I suppose that’s what makes this all the more revolting.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t know how I can tell my wife about it.’
‘Do you always confide details of our cases in Estelle?’
‘I do most of the time.’
‘Did you tell her about some of the brothels you raided when you were in uniform? Or what a corpse looks like when it’s been in the Thames for three weeks? Or what that peer of the realm we arrested had been up to with his valet?’
‘Oh, no,’ replied Leeming. ‘That would only upset her.’
‘I think it would have upset you even more,’ said Colbeck with an avuncular smile. ‘Why not spare your wife the distress and save yourself the embarrassment?’
‘I think I might do just that, Inspector. What about you?’
‘Me?’
‘Are you going to tell Miss Andrews about those two women?’
‘Only if Madeleine asks me,’ said Colbeck, ‘and I have a strong suspicion that she will.’
Thrilled to have him back in London again, Madeleine had pressed for details of the investigation. She saw it as both an insurance against the future and a form of education. If she was to be the wife of a detective inspector, she wanted a forewarning about the kind of life she would be sharing. At the same time, she found it instructive to learn about the criminal underworld in which Colbeck spent most of his time. Madeleine had been actively involved in some investigations but was completely detached from this one. When he told her about the relationship between Agnes Reader and Miriam Tarleton, her first reaction was to blush. Having met neither of the women involved, she just couldn’t comprehend the strength of feeling between them. It was something entirely outside her experience.
Though she didn’t flinch from any of the details, she was glad when Colbeck had moved on to discuss their own relationship. He admitted that he had prevaricated for too long and he promised her that, when the superintendent returned, he would tell him about the engagement at the earliest opportunity. It was a final hurdle that needed to be cleared. As she prepared breakfast that morning, she glanc
ed up at the clock on the mantelpiece and felt a glow of pleasure at the thought that Colbeck would be breaking the news to Tallis later that same day. Having heard so much about the superintendent and his hostile attitude to marriage among his detectives, Madeleine was alive to the irony of the situation. While she knew that he’d never accept her with any enthusiasm, it was only when he’d been told about her existence that she’d feel wholly accepted by Colbeck. She would be a recognised feature in his life and not something that had to be kept hidden from his superior.
When Tallis came back to work that morning, Colbeck was waiting for him. He noticed how uncharacteristically subdued the superintendent was and put it down to grief. It made him think twice about the promise he’d made to Madeleine and he wondered if he should postpone his declaration until another time. After consideration, however, Colbeck decided that he couldn’t let her down again. It was time to grasp the nettle and explain his situation.
‘There’s something I must tell you, sir,’ he said.
‘I don’t wish to know any more,’ warned Tallis. ‘Whatever you read in the dreadful letters from that woman is no concern of mine. I’ll simply cherish the memory of two wonderful friends. They were buried side by side, you know.’
‘I hoped that they would be, sir.’
‘The funerals took place after nine o’clock in the evening. It was a very moving occasion. Miriam was accorded the rites of a Christian burial while her husband was denied them. But they were together,’ he emphasised, ‘and that was what the colonel would have wanted.’ He took a cigar from the box and rolled it gently between his palms. ‘We have you to thank for that, Inspector. If you hadn’t exposed the rector for the villainous hypocrite he was, we’d still be arguing about when and where the funerals would actually take place. I’m sorry to have missed seeing the rector and his wife in court. I’m grateful to you for putting them there.’
‘Mr Reader deserves some of the credit, sir.’
‘Don’t mention that man’s name,’ said Tallis, sharply, ‘and, whatever you do, don’t bring his wife into the conversation.’
‘I understand,’ said Colbeck. ‘Did you have the opportunity to speak to Mrs Doel and her brother about their plans?’
‘I found it more useful to talk to Mr Everett. He knows what the children are set to inherit. He hinted to me that Eve will receive the bulk of the estate while Adam will have only a token sum of money.’
‘That will upset him.’
‘It’s no more than he deserves,’ said Tallis. A fond smile then lit up his face. ‘Mr Everett was kind enough to inform me that I’d been remembered in the colonel’s will. I was very touched.’
He went off into a reverie and Colbeck saw his chance. He waited until the superintendent came out of his daydream then he plunged straight in.
‘There’s a personal matter I wish to discuss, sir,’ he said.
‘Is there?’
‘I haven’t had the opportunity to tell you this before but now, I feel, is the right moment to do so.’
Tallis was worried. ‘You’re not going to resign, are you?’
‘No, no, it’s nothing like that.’
‘Good – you’re the best man I have, Colbeck.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ said the other, not stopping to savour the compliment. ‘The fact is, Superintendent, that I recently became engaged to be married.’
‘Yes, I know.’
Colbeck was astonished. ‘You know?’
‘For obvious reasons, I don’t read that sort of thing in the newspapers but the commissioner does. He saw the announcement and mentioned it to me. He sends his congratulations, by the way.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Is that all you have to say?’
‘Yes,’ said Colbeck, amazed that he’d escaped the lecture and the condemnation he’d feared. Overcome with relief, he reached for the tinderbox on the desk. ‘Let me light your cigar for you, sir.’
‘This is not my cigar, man – it’s for you.’
Colbeck took it from him. ‘That’s very kind of you.’
‘It’s in lieu of the congratulations I’m unable to extend. There’s no need to explain why,’ said Tallis, taking a second cigar from the box. ‘For a man like you, marriage will be an unmitigated disaster. It will weaken your resolve, slow your responses, impede your readiness to work away from London, divide your loyalty and act as a permanent distraction. Well, you only have to look back over the last week to realise the damage that ensues when you take a woman into your life. Not that my strictures will have an effect,’ he went on, creating a spark to light his cigar. ‘Marriage is madness.’ He puffed hard until there was a glow at the end of the cigar then he beamed at Colbeck.
‘I want you to do me a favour, Inspector.’
‘What’s that, sir?’
‘Prove me wrong.’
It was a long time since Madeleine had been able to spend a whole evening in Colbeck’s company and she was determined to make the most of it. Since he was taking her to the theatre, she spent much longer than usual in front of the mirror on her dressing table. He arrived in a cab to pick her up and marvelled at her appearance. Only one thing was on Madeleine’s mind. As soon as they settled into the cab, she turned to Colbeck.
‘Did you tell him, Robert?’ she asked.
‘Tell who?’
‘This is serious. Did you speak to the superintendent today?’
‘I spoke to him several times.’
‘Don’t tease me,’ she said. ‘Did you or did you not tell him?’
‘I suppose the truthful answer is that I didn’t,’ said Colbeck.
‘Robert…you promised!’
‘I know and I did my best but it was totally unnecessary. He already knew. Mr Tallis had been told by the commissioner.’
She was angry. ‘Have I been suffering all this time without really needing to?’ she asked. ‘Why didn’t the superintendent tell you that he already knew about the engagement?’
‘That’s the sort of person he is, Madeleine.’
‘You mean that he deliberately made no comment?’
‘I mean that this kind of behaviour is in the nature of the beast.’
‘That’s one way to describe him,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Are we going to invite him to the wedding?’ She saw the look of absolute horror that he shot her. ‘I thought not.’
‘Mr Tallis knows and disapproves yet he nevertheless gave me one of his cigars by way of celebration. That’s all we need to say on the subject,’ decreed Colbeck. ‘We’re going to put my work completely out of our minds and enjoy an evening at the theatre. Is that agreed?’
‘Yes, Robert. What are we going to see?’
‘It’s a play called Money by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. I’ve seen it before and I think you’ll find it very amusing.’
‘What’s it about?’
‘Something that both of us will endorse,’ he said, pulling her close. ‘It’s about getting married for the right reasons.’
Table of Contents
Cover
Title
Copyright Page
About the author
Available from Allison & Busby
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
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Railway to the Grave Page 27
