The Circus Train Conspiracy

by Edward Marston

‘Have you ever encountered trouble before?’ he asked.

  ‘We do it all the time,’ replied the Italian. ‘Wherever we go, we become a target for thieves. In Carlisle, someone tried to steal one of our horses.’

  ‘What happened to him?’

  ‘Mulryne caught him and gave him the hiding of his life.’

  ‘And was the horse thief working for this Mr Greenwood?’

  ‘No,’ admitted the other. ‘He was just one of the usual rogues we meet in every locality. Because we live in a camp, they think it will be easy to sneak in and rob us. They pay a high price for their mistake.’

  ‘Were any of these people employed by Mr Greenwood?’

  Moscardi shook his head. ‘They were the sort of villains you meet anywhere.’

  ‘In other words,’ said Colbeck, ‘you’ve never had a problem from a rival circus.’

  ‘Oh, yes, we have. They’re always trying to lure away some of our artistes. Every circus in this country covets our acrobats and equestrian acts. Our clowns are the finest in Europe. They’re always a main target.’

  ‘So you’re not only competing with Greenwood’s circus?’

  ‘No – there are lots of others, some large, some very small.’

  ‘Would any of them deliberately try to maim you?’

  ‘They’re too scared even to try. Sam Greenwood isn’t – that’s why I’m sure he’s behind what happened to us.’

  ‘In that case,’ said Lill, ‘you have a rotten apple in the camp. Sergeant Leeming and I are certain of it. You have a spy in your midst who feeds information to someone who wants to hurt you.’

  ‘That’s a lie!’ exclaimed Moscardi, grabbing him by his cravat. ‘Nobody would dare to betray me.’ He pushed Lill backwards. ‘Get out of here!’

  ‘The inspector was making a reasonable assumption.’ said Colbeck, stepping quickly between the two men to separate them. ‘He didn’t mean to insult you. In almost every bank robbery I’ve investigated, the burglar had inside help from someone who worked in the bank. It’s one of the first things I expect to find.’

  ‘This is not a bank,’ said Moscardi, quivering with emotion. ‘It’s a family. Nobody would join us unless he was ready to put up with the hardship we’re bound to meet along the way. That kind of thing bonds us together. If I was harbouring a traitor, I’d smell him out immediately.’

  ‘Then I take back what I suggested,’ said Lill, adjusting his cravat.

  It took the detectives a few minutes to pacify the Italian. They talked about his visit to Newcastle and where he would perform once the circus got there. When they asked where the next venue would be, Moscardi refused to tell them.

  ‘It is an article of faith with us that we never give away advance notice of our movements,’ he said. ‘When we plan our itinerary, we insist that the places we visit do not advertise our arrival until a week before we get there. It means that our rivals can’t get there before us to steal our audience. No town needs two circuses.’

  Colbeck smiled at Lill. ‘No case needs two inspectors,’ he said.

  ‘I’d be happy with only one if he actually devoted himself to our plight instead of trying to solve a murder investigation at the same time.’

  ‘You will not be neglected, Mr Moscardi.’

  ‘Then why do I feel neglected?’

  ‘Coming back to our argument …’

  Ignoring the blank expression on Moscardi’s face, Colbeck tried once again to persuade him that his circus had actually been spared any wholesale damage. Had someone set out to disable it completely, he would have picked on the second of the two trains. Unfolding a map, Colbeck indicated the exact spot where the first train had left the line. He then went on to point out various locations he’d marked where a derailed train would either have rolled down a hill or crashed through a bridge and ended up in the river.

  ‘Think how much worse those situations would have been,’ he urged. ‘You were saved from obliteration.’

  ‘We were attacked,’ said Moscardi, vengefully. ‘That’s all I need to know. And the only person capable of doing that is the man I’ve told you about. The two of you can save yourself the trouble of playing around with these clever theories. They’ll never convince me. If you want to solve this crime,’ he went on, voice rising and face puce with anger, ‘then go off and arrest the man behind it – Sam Greenwood.’

  The last performance had gone badly. Nobody could dispute that. The people of Bristol had flocked to the amphitheatre with the highest expectations and been let down. There was a general lack of vitality and commitment. Even the clowns had been jaded. The worst moment was when someone lost her balance and fell from the tightrope. Landing awkwardly in the sawdust, she ricked her ankle and had to limp forlornly away. It was an image that summed up the whole evening.

  The owner of the circus spared nobody. Having assembled the entire circus, the tall, red-faced big-bellied owner harangued them until they hung their heads in shame. They had to do better, he warned, or some of them would be dismissed. As he watched them slink out, he was in a vile mood. Suddenly, however, it changed. His wife came in with a newspaper that carried details of events in Northumberland. After reading of the troubles of Moscardi’s Magnificent Circus, the man put back his head and roared with laughter.

  Sam Greenwood had found something to cheer him up at last.

  ‘When did this happen, Lydia?’

  ‘The moment I got back to the hotel.’

  ‘Did someone follow you?’

  ‘I wasn’t aware of it.’

  ‘Then how did he know you were there?’

  ‘I wish I knew,’ said Lydia. ‘When I got to my room, I looked out of the window and there he was, smiling up at me. It was almost as if he knew exactly which room I occupied.’

  ‘How dreadful for you!’ exclaimed Madeleine.

  ‘I almost fainted with shock.’

  ‘I don’t blame you.’

  Having taken the cab to her friend’s house, Lydia Quayle poured out her woes. Her only hope, she admitted, was that the man in the street had not been her stalker, after all, but a stranger who happened to glance upwards at the very moment when she appeared in the window. As soon as she voiced the possibility, however, she realised how unlikely it was and so did Madeleine Colbeck.

  ‘You have to face the truth, Lydia,’ she said. ‘For some reason, you’ve become the object of this man’s unwanted attentions.’

  ‘That’s why I had to get away from that hotel. If he knows where I’m living, then I’ve no chance of evading him. I came here to ask you a big favour, Madeleine.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘May I spend tonight here, please?’ asked Lydia with a note of desperation. ‘At a time like this, I need to be with a friend.’

  ‘Of course you can,’ said Madeleine, giving her a warm hug. ‘Stay as long as you like. It will be a pleasure to have you.’

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Having a friend inside the circus was a tremendous help to the detectives. Instead of having to start from scratch and gather information assiduously, they had someone who could explain how it operated and what its constituent elements were. As well as performers, there were musicians, animal keepers, those in charge of distributing handbills and selling tickets, and a gang of sturdy men whose job was to erect and dismantle the marquee. They were also in charge of the seating and loaded everything when the circus was on the move. Where sheer strength was needed, Brendan Mulryne was always ready to lend a hand but his main function related to security. His task was to make sure that nobody infiltrated the camp in order to steal valuables, release animals or cause trouble by some other means.

  The best way for the artistes to take their minds off the horror of the crash was to practise their routines. Those with only minor injuries made light of any discomfort and honed their performances. Victor Leeming was mesmerised by a family of tumblers – a father and his three sons – who stood on each other’s shoulders with the father supporting them. At a
given signal, the human tower toppled forward in a controlled fall and each of them did a somersault in perfect time with the others. The synchronisation was so perfect that Leeming clapped his hands.

  ‘Hey,’ teased Mulryne, coming up behind him, ‘if you want to watch them, you’ll have to buy a ticket like everyone else.’

  ‘They’re wonderful,’ said Leeming. ‘I’m not sure that I could hold my sons on my shoulders like that and they’re still quite young and light. We’d collapse in a heap.’

  ‘Then you’d never get a job in a circus.’

  ‘I don’t think I’d want to.’

  ‘It’s a great life. You certainly get to see the country.’

  ‘Working with Inspector Colbeck, I get to do that in any case. Frankly, I’d like to see a lot less of the country and a lot more of my family.’

  ‘How is the investigation going?’

  ‘It’s too early to say, Brendan. Unfortunately, there are two major crimes to solve so we’ve had to divide our resources. Inspector Lill and I will be working on the derailment while Colbeck flits between the two cases. He says that it will be like keeping two balls in the air.’

  Mulryne laughed. ‘He ought to meet Serge Arnaud.’

  ‘Who’s that?’

  ‘He’s the best juggler in the world. He can keep six balls in the air and do the same trick with seven plates. His arms wheel around like a windmill in a gale.’

  ‘Can he solve a murder and catch a man who derailed a train?’

  ‘He’s working on that trick.’

  ‘The inspector will do both, I promise you. It’s uncanny.’

  ‘You know, there’s something different about him. I can’t put my finger on it but there’s a change in his manner.’

  ‘He’s become a father since you last met him.’

  ‘Good for him!’ said Mulryne before lowering his voice. ‘I probably did the same when I slipped back to Ireland last year to see friends.’ Leeming was shocked. ‘We all have to sew a few wild oats.’

  ‘I believe in the sanctity of marriage.’

  ‘Why – so do I. That’s why I’d never touch another man’s wife.’

  ‘You’re an old reprobate, Brendan!’

  ‘Some women like that,’ said Mulryne, chuckling. ‘Did the inspector tell you what happened earlier on?’

  ‘Yes, you had to break up a fight.’

  ‘We came close to losing one of our best acrobats.’

  ‘Is there much unrest in the camp?’

  ‘People are bound to be suspicious of each other. If someone has worked for Sam Greenwood – as Karl once did – he’s likely to get the blame for what happened. I just hope that you and the two inspectors catch the villain before we have any real upset here. The one fault with this circus is that we have too many hotheads in it.’ He looked at the group of men walking towards them. ‘Here’s the worst of them – Gianni Moscardi. Beware a man with Mediterranean blood.’

  ‘Those with Irish blood can be very impulsive at times,’ said Leeming, producing a loud guffaw from his friend. ‘Are these the vigilantes you warned the inspector about?’

  ‘That’s them.’

  Leading the way, Gianni had the strut of a man who’d just achieved a success. Those around him also seemed happy with what they’d done. Mulryne took Leeming across to meet them and introduced him to Mauro’s younger brother.

  ‘It’s good to meet you,’ said the sergeant, good-naturedly. ‘I’m told that you are trying to solve the crime before us.’

  ‘Somebody has to,’ replied Gianni. ‘The difference is that when we start searching, we make progress right away.’

  ‘What did you find?’

  ‘This,’ said the other, holding up a telescope.

  ‘Where did you get it?’

  ‘It was up on that hill,’ explained Gianni, pointing in that direction. ‘Henry has sharp eyes. He saw something glinting in the bushes and ran towards them. As soon as Henry did that, a man leapt out of the bushes and ran away.’

  ‘But I hit him,’ said Henry, a thickset young man with a shotgun. ‘I got him in the hand and he dropped the telescope. He was watching the camp.’

  ‘Why else would he do that if he wasn’t the man we’re after?’ asked Gianni.

  ‘There are all sorts of reasons,’ suggested Leeming. ‘If I saw someone running at me with a shotgun, I’d make myself scarce very quickly.’

  ‘He ran away because he was guilty.’

  ‘I agree with Gianni,’ said Mulryne. ‘It has to be our man.’

  ‘He could equally well be a harmless birdwatcher,’ argued Leeming. ‘They always conceal themselves well so that the birds don’t know they are there.’

  ‘This man was there to spy on us,’ insisted Gianni.

  ‘Did you get a good look at him?’

  ‘I wasn’t actually there, Sergeant, but Henry and the others were.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Henry, ‘I got within thirty yards of him but he was too fast for me. By the time I got to the top of the hill, he was riding off on the horse he’d tethered to a tree. He was going hell for leather.’

  ‘I don’t blame him,’ said Leeming, taking out a notepad. ‘I’d be grateful if you could give me a description of the man. If he is a criminal, he may well be known to the local police. That would save us a lot of time. The wounded hand is a valuable clue. It might be decisive.’

  ‘We saw him first,’ declared Gianni.

  ‘Well done, Henry!’ said Mulryne.

  ‘We’re much more likely to catch him than you and the inspector.’

  ‘Leave it to us, Mr Moscardi,’ said Leeming, reasonably. ‘We have experience of dealing with dangerous men.’

  ‘You’re far too slow, Sergeant. All you’ve done since you got here is to take notes and go around in circles. Having started a search for the man, we actually found him. This telescope is evidence that he was watching us because he wants to attack us again.’

  ‘You’re making a very big assumption.’

  ‘We shall see,’ boasted Gianni. ‘Unlike you, we’re ready to die for our circus.’ There was a murmur of agreement from the others. ‘That’s why we’re ready to take the chances that you and Inspector Colbeck would never think of taking. One last thing,’ he added, wagging a finger. ‘If you do catch wind of him, leave him to us.’ He slapped his chest. ‘He’s ours.’

  Now that she’d shared her secret with one person, Lydia Quayle was ready to pass on her concerns to another. After bottling it up for so long, it was a relief to let the truth out. Caleb Andrews listened with growing alarm. It had taken him time to get to know and like Lydia. The clear differences in their background and education made them unlikely friends. While Andrews came from humble stock, Lydia belonged to a privileged family with considerable wealth. It had made him uncomfortable in her presence. When he saw her more often, however, and when he realised how important she’d become to his daughter, he gradually mellowed towards her. For her part, Lydia had grown fond of him. She felt no embarrassment when she recounted details of her predicament. Andrews responded with characteristic pugnacity.

  ‘Next time he bothers you,’ he said, bunching a fist, ‘he’ll have to deal with me. I’ll soon send him on his way.’

  ‘That’s not the answer,’ warned his daughter.

  ‘Someone needs to frighten him off, Maddy.’

  ‘Well, it won’t be you. Be realistic, Father. He’s young and you’re old.’

  ‘I’m not that old.’

  ‘Madeleine is right,’ said Lydia. ‘I wasn’t asking you to take up cudgels on my behalf. I simply need advice.’

  ‘My advice is that I tackle him directly.’

  ‘It’s too dangerous, Mr Andrews.’

  ‘I’ve been toughened by long years of hard work.’

  ‘Then you’ve earned the right to enjoy some leisure,’ said Madeleine, firmly. ‘For the time being, Lydia will stay here. We have plenty of room and she’ll be able to see the baby every day. What might be help
ful is if you go back with her to the hotel so that she can pick up the rest of her things.’

  ‘That would be a help,’ said Lydia. ‘I’d hate to go back there alone.’

  ‘Then you can rely on me,’ said Andrews.

  ‘I’ll leave that hotel altogether. In view of what happened, I wouldn’t feel safe staying there any longer.’

  ‘I’ll stand guard.’

  ‘You may be able to do that today,’ said Madeleine, ‘but you can’t watch over Lydia twenty-four hours a day. Somehow we need to identify this man and find a way to get rid of him for good.’

  ‘Bring in the police,’ suggested Andrews. ‘What’s the point of having a detective inspector in the family, if we can’t call on someone at Scotland Yard?’

  ‘I’m not happy with that idea,’ said Lydia, shaking her head.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Well, it’s not as if any real crime has been committed. The police have their hands full dealing with serious offences like murder, arson and forgery. I’d feel embarrassed going to them.’

  ‘What happened to you,’ said Madeleine, ‘is a crime of sorts. It certainly ought to be. This man has caused you untold suffering. All that he’s done so far is to follow you everywhere. There may be worse to come.’

  ‘Go to the police, Maddy,’ urged her father. ‘Speak to Superintendent Tallis.’

  ‘No, thank you.’

  ‘But he knows you.’

  ‘He knows of me,’ she said, ‘but he certainly doesn’t approve. He believes that, in order to do their jobs properly, detectives should never marry. Women don’t really exist in Superintendent Tallis’s life. He’s the last person on earth in whom Lydia should confide.’

  ‘If she’s afraid to do so,’ volunteered Andrews, ‘I could speak to him instead.’

  ‘You’d only be sent on your way with a flea in your ear. The superintendent wouldn’t take the matter seriously. We should stay well clear of him.’

  It was as well for Colbeck that he was well clear of Tallis at that moment. The older man was furious when he read the telegraph sent to him by the inspector. Terse and peremptory, it ordered him to find out the current location of Greenwood’s Circus and to provide as much information about it as possible. No explanation was given for the demand. It made Tallis fume for minutes. He lit a cigar to calm himself down but the pounding inside his head continued. Colbeck was treating him like an inferior and Tallis would not put up with that. Since circuses were anathema to him, he had no intention of obeying the command in the telegraph. Instead, he scrunched it up and hurled it into the wastepaper basket.