CHAPTER ELEVEN
The shot had reverberated along the road and many curious heads appeared at windows. Once they’d established that the danger was past, a few people came out of their houses to run towards the prostrate figure. Tallis was bent penitently over Peebles, offering up a silent prayer for the salvation of the dead man’s soul. It had been a quick death but that gave the superintendent no solace. By a rash action on his part, he’d lost a brave man with a promising future ahead of him. Ian Peebles was everything he could have asked for in a recruit. Tallis felt an even sharper stab of guilt when he remembered the forthcoming marriage. It would never take place now and it would be his job to inform the prospective bride that her future husband had been murdered in broad daylight. Overwhelmed with the implications of it all, he did not realise that more and more people were coming to view the corpse. When he finally looked up, therefore, he saw that there was a ring of faces around him. Tallis got angrily to his feet.
‘Stand back!’ he ordered. ‘This is not a peep show.’
‘What happened?’ asked someone.
‘Isn’t it obvious? He’s been shot dead. Show him some respect and stop staring like that.’ Taking off his coat, he used it to cover Peebles’ chest and face. ‘Someone call a cab.’
As a man ran off down the road, a woman stepped forward.
‘It’s a policeman we need to call,’ she suggested.
‘We are policemen, madam,’ said Tallis with rasping authority. ‘We are detectives from Scotland Yard in pursuit of a wanted man named Jeremy Oxley. It was he who just fired a gun.’
‘Oh, I read about someone called Oxley in this morning’s newspaper,’ she said.
‘He was standing right here only minutes ago.’ He looked around the faces. ‘Do we have any witnesses? Did anyone see the fellow lurking in the trees? I believe that he had a cab waiting for him. Did any of you happen to notice the way that it drove off?’ When the faces remained blank, he became exasperated. ‘Good God!’ he yelled. ‘Are you all blind? One of you must have seen something.’
There was a long, awkward, embarrassed silence during which they traded sheepish glances. An elderly man eventually spoke.
‘I might have seen them, sir,’ he said, stepping forward.
Tallis glowered at him. ‘Them?’
‘I took my dog for a walk earlier. On my way back, I saw a cab pulling up over there.’ He pointed a skeletal finger. ‘A man in his thirties got out with a young woman. They went towards those trees. I thought nothing of it at the time and went home. Do you think that they could be connected to what happened?’
‘I’m certain that they are,’ said Tallis. ‘I’ll want you to show me the exact place where you saw the cab.’
‘The woman must have been Irene Adnam,’ said another man in hushed tones. ‘I saw that report in the paper as well. She’s the one who shot a policeman on a train. It’s dreadful to think such people are on the loose. We should be protected from such villains.’
‘We were trying to protect, sir,’ snapped Tallis, rounding on the man. ‘Constable Peebles was in the act of arresting Oxley when he was shot. The Metropolitan Police Force does all it can to make this city safe for its citizens. Courageous men like the constable are ready to sacrifice their lives in that noble cause. So don’t you dare to criticise us.’ He threw out a challenge. ‘Which of you would tackle an armed man with a record of violence?’
‘Did you know beforehand that he was armed?’ asked the elderly man.
‘There was every chance that he would be.’
‘Then why did you let your colleague try to arrest him alone?’
‘Yes,’ said the woman who’d spoken earlier. ‘Why didn’t the two of you go after him?’
‘And if you knew that he might have a gun,’ continued the old man, ‘why didn’t you carry weapons yourselves?’
The woman was accusatory. ‘Why didn’t you bring more men?’
‘Why didn’t you surround him?’
‘How many more will die before you actually catch him?’
‘And catch her,’ said the man. ‘She’s another killer.’
There was collective agreement that the police were to blame for allowing Oxley and Adnam to remain at liberty. So many questions were hurled at Tallis that he felt as if he were facing a verbal firing squad. There was far worse in store for him. These were simply concerned members of the public airing their opinions. The really searing questions would come from the family of Ian Peebles and from the young woman who was expecting to marry him.
Meeker was so shaken that perspiration was still pouring out of his brow as he gabbled his story. He was a portly man of middle years with a flabby, weather-beaten face. Seated in a chair in Colbeck’s office, he kept glancing over his shoulder as if fearing an attack. The cab driver had arrived at Scotland Yard not long after Colbeck had returned there. Instead of being able to report to the superintendent, Colbeck found himself listening to a grim narrative.
‘Let me stop you there, Mr Meeker,’ he said, taking a bottle of brandy from his desk and pouring some into a glass. ‘You’re talking so fast that we can’t hear much of what you’re saying. Why don’t you drink this and take a few moments to calm down?’ He handed over the glass. ‘There’s no hurry. What you have to tell us is very important and we’re grateful that you came to us. The sergeant and I want to hear every word.’
He and Leeming waited while their visitor took a first sip of brandy. It seemed to steady him. After a second, longer sip, he felt ready to continue. He spoke more slowly this time.
‘It was like this, Inspector,’ he said, still sweating profusely. ‘I picked up a fare in the Strand. It was a man and woman. They looked very respectable. The man gave me no destination. I was to drive north up Tottenham Court Road until he told me to stop. It took well over twenty minutes but I wasn’t going to complain, was I? He was paying and it was a pleasant enough evening. I kept going until we came to a road with big houses in it. He tells me to pull over and to wait. Then he and the woman went off into this clump of trees for quite a long time. You can imagine what I thought was going on,’ he added, rolling his eyes. ‘Well, it was none of my business. As long as they weren’t trying to do it in my cab, I was ready to let them get on with it. Then, just as I was running out of patience and wondering if they’d simply gone off without paying, this shot rings out and the pair of them comes dashing back to the cab. Before they jumped in, the man – I’ll never forget this as long as I live – puts a gun to my head and tells me to drive off fast. What else could I do, Inspector? He’d have killed me.’
‘Where did you take them?’ asked Colbeck.
‘Euston station, sir.’
‘What did you do then?’
‘To be honest,’ said Meeker, ‘I just sat in my cab and cried. I’m not a weak man as a rule. I’m very strong-willed. You have to be if you drive a cab because you pick up all sorts of odd people. But I’ve never stared down the barrel of a gun before. I thought he was going to blow my skull apart.’
‘I suppose that they didn’t even pay you,’ said Leeming.
‘Not a brass farthing. They hopped out of the cab at Euston and went off into the crowd. The man had warned me not to follow him but I couldn’t have done that even if I’d wanted to. My legs were like jelly.’ He took another sip of brandy. ‘Anyway, I waited until I felt a little better, then I told this policeman who was on duty there what had happened. When I described my two passengers, he said they sounded just like the ones involved in a foul murder up near Wolverhampton way. The policeman told me to come here at once and to ask for you.’
‘He did the right thing,’ said Colbeck. ‘Where exactly were you when you heard the gunshot?’
He unfolded a map of London on his desk and Meeker stood up to study it. After much deliberation, he jabbed a finger. Colbeck knew that he was telling the truth. It would have taken him all of twenty minutes and more to get to that location from the Strand. Leeming confirmed the iden
tity of the two passengers.
‘It must have been them, sir,’ he said. ‘That’s exactly the place that Oxley wanted you to go to. I read his letter.’
Colbeck was annoyed. ‘I wish that I’d been allowed to do so.’
‘The superintendent thought it might contain crucial evidence.’
‘I’ll take the matter up with him when he returns. As for you, sir,’ he went on, turning to Meeker, ‘you are to be congratulated. You’ve been through a terrible experience and had the sense to confide in a uniformed officer. Thank you for coming here.’
‘I had to get it off my chest, Inspector,’ said Meeker.
‘I can appreciate that.’
Leeming was sympathetic. ‘I hope you’re feeling better now.’
‘Oh, I am, Sergeant.’ He held up the glass. ‘This is good brandy.’
‘The inspector keeps it for times like this.’
‘It’s exactly what I needed.’
Meeker downed the glass in one noisy gulp then put it on the desk. After thanking them both, he waddled across to the door. Before he left, he remembered something and produced a hopeful smile.
‘Does this mean that I get the reward?’ he asked.
‘I’m afraid not,’ said Colbeck. ‘It goes to the person who gives us information that leads to the arrest of the two suspects. You’re just another one of their victims, I’m afraid.’
The cab driver gave a resigned shrug before going out. Closing the door after him, Colbeck was able to confide his fears to Leeming.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Victor?’ he asked.
‘That depends, sir.’
‘Oxley’s letter gave me a specific time and place.’
‘It’s exactly the spot that Mr Meeker went to.’
‘But who else went there? That’s my worry.’ He glanced in the direction of Tallis’s office. ‘When was the last time the superintendent left his desk?’
‘It was last year when he came up to Yorkshire and interfered with our investigation. It must be months and months ago. Since then, he’s spent every day in his office.’ He blinked as he understood the point of the question. ‘You don’t believe that Mr Tallis went in your place, do you?’
‘I believe exactly that.’
‘But the letter particularly asked for you and only you. Simply by looking at him, Oxley would have known that the superintendent couldn’t possibly have been Inspector Colbeck.’
‘Perhaps he took someone with him, someone more akin to me.’
‘Who could that be, I wonder?’
‘And what happened to him?’ said Colbeck. ‘Mr Meeker heard a gun being fired. Does that mean Oxley has shot one of our men?’
‘If he did,’ replied Leeming. ‘I’ll wager that he thinks he shot you.’
Outwardly, she had remained calm throughout, but Irene Adnam’s stomach was churning. She had watched Oxley shooting his victim and – even though she believed that it had to be done – she was sickened. During the ride to Euston, she’d been on tenterhooks. After the short train journey to Willesden, the long walk to the home of their friends gave them time to talk over in detail what had happened. Evening shadows dappled the ground and a stiff breeze blew in their faces. Irene glanced across at his chest.
‘You’ve got blood on your waistcoat,’ she said.
‘Yes, I know, it’s a rather nasty stain. No call for alarm,’ he said, smirking, ‘it’s not my blood, Irene. It was his.’
‘I just hope that nobody spotted it on the train.’
‘They were too busy looking at you. That’s the advantage of travelling with a gorgeous woman. She’s a perfect distraction.’
They walked on for a while before she spoke again.
‘What are you going to tell Gordon and Susanna?’
‘I’ll think of something.’
‘What happened today will be reported in the newspapers.’
‘And so I should hope,’ said Oxley. ‘I did everyone in the criminal fraternity a big favour today. I killed Inspector Colbeck.’
‘You don’t know that it was him, Jerry.’
‘Who else could it be? He came to the place I told him and was ready to talk. The only mistake he made was to bring that other man with him. I made sure that I separated them.’
‘I didn’t get a close look at him,’ she conceded, ‘but he was younger than I expected. And I wouldn’t call him a dandy.’
‘That was Colbeck,’ he affirmed. ‘I’m certain of it. I’m equally certain that they’ve got no hope of catching us now. Without him at the helm, the investigation will lose all direction.’ He put an arm around her. ‘I know that it was harrowing for you, Irene, but it had to be done. Colbeck would have been our nemesis.’
‘He was a detective,’ she said, worriedly, ‘so every policeman in London will be looking for us. We’ve disturbed a hornet’s nest.’
‘Policemen have been looking for me for a long time but I usually manage to evade them. On the two occasions when I have been arrested, I’ve contrived to escape.’
Irene turned away so that he wouldn’t see her wince. Mention of his escape on the train revived troubling memories for her and she knew that she’d lie awake that night agonising over the latest murder. She had the conscience for both of them. Oxley behaved as if they’d simply been for a ride in a cab. The brutal way that he’d threatened the driver had upset her. To Oxley, it was a source of amusement.
‘How long will we stay here?’ she asked.
‘As long as I decide, Irene.’
‘What if they find out?’ she asked. ‘Gordon and Susanna are bound to do so in the end.’
‘They won’t say a word.’
‘But we’re putting them in danger, Jerry. If we are caught there, the police will charge them as well.’
‘They won’t catch us,’ he assured her. ‘Why do you think I chose to hide there? We’re completely off the beaten track. All that we have to do is to keep our heads down and watch the world go by.’
‘There’ll be a manhunt.’
‘There was a manhunt in the Midlands when I escaped but they still haven’t captured me, have they? Put yourself in their shoes, Irene. That fat fool of a cab driver will have told them that he took us to Euston. What are they going to deduce?’
‘They’ll know that we fled by train.’
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but they don’t know which train. They’ll assume that we wanted to get as far away from London as possible. In fact, we got off at a station that’s only six miles away. They’d never dream we’d be careless enough to stay so close.’
Irene was heartened. ‘I think you’re right, Jerry.’
‘Trust me. Everything will be fine.’
‘There’ll be no more shooting, will there?’
‘That’s all behind us now that Colbeck is dead.’
‘Oh, I do hope so.’ She became wistful. ‘I want us to be like Gordon and Susanna one day.’
He grinned. ‘Middle-aged and wrinkled, you mean?’
‘No, Jerry – living as decent, ordinary people in a proper house and being accepted by our neighbours. Not having to fear a knock on the door all the time. I want us to have a normal life.’
‘Then you should have chosen someone else,’ he said, half-jokingly, ‘because I’m neither decent nor ordinary. As for normal life, I think it would bore me to distraction.’
Tallis was too distressed even to reach for a cigar. He sat brooding in his chair while Colbeck and Leeming watched him. He’d not had to explain where he’d been or what had happened. One glance at his face had told them the awful truth. After wallowing in guilt for a long time, he glanced up, saw the two detectives and fished something out of his pocket. He offered it to Colbeck.
‘You deserve to see this, Inspector,’ he said.
Colbeck took it. ‘The sergeant told me what it contains.’
‘Read it yourself and you might understand why I took such precipitate action and why …’ As he thought about Peebles, his
voice faltered. ‘Just read it, please.’
Colbeck read the letter and noted some of the barbs aimed at him. Although it had been written at speed, it was no wild diatribe. There was calculation in it. There was also a cruel mention of Helen Millington to act as a spur. Had he seen it when it first arrived, Colbeck would have been sorely tempted to meet Oxley.
‘Constable Peebles had no chance,’ said Tallis, bleakly. ‘He was shot from a distance of a few feet. When I got to him, he was dead. The local ghouls came out to gawp at him, so I covered his face with my coat. I took the body to the morgue in a cab.’
‘What exactly happened, sir?’ asked Colbeck.
‘I’m ashamed to tell you, Inspector, but I think that I ought to. After all, I was acting on the contents of a letter addressed to you.’
‘It was wrong of you to open it.’
Tallis sighed. ‘Oh – if only I hadn’t done so!’
‘I did make that point, sir,’ said Leeming.
‘Yes, I know, but Colbeck wasn’t here and I felt that something important might slip through our fingers. I had to open it and somehow I felt impelled to respond to its demands.’
‘I can accept that,’ said Colbeck. ‘You were fully entitled to take the risks implicit in your action. What I question is your right to engage Constable Peebles in the venture. I’m sure that he was willing but he was also inexperienced.’
‘That’s not true,’ said Tallis, grasping at straws. ‘He’d been on the streets in uniform for years. When he was at Barking, he received a commendation.’
‘He was not being asked to walk the beat with you, sir. He was being confronted by a known criminal with a readiness to kill. Why, in the name of all that’s holy, did you choose him?’
Tallis ran a hand through his hair and hunched his shoulders.
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