He was taking no chances. To avoid the possibility of arousing too much interest, Clifford Burge abandoned his patrol and went to ground for a few hours. Plans had been put in place to bring a lot of officers to the area after dark. He hoped that they wouldn’t come in vain or he’d get the blame. His informer, the old man in the junk shop, had overheard two members of the Stepney Warriors talking about the plan to batter their rivals into submission. The boys had come into the shop in search of weapons. Pretending to go off into the back room, the old man had heard every word. Reluctantly, he’d passed on the details to Burge.
His main worry was that the old man would lose his nerve and warn the Warriors to abort the attack. If that were the case, a large number of policemen would have been deployed to Stepney in vain. Everitt White would be furious. Hoping for the chance to kick a few adolescent backsides, he’d feel cheated. There’d be no free pints in the Mermaid for Burge after that. He’d have to avoid the river policeman for a while. With so much hanging on the success of the operation, Burge started to have doubts. How reliable was the old man’s information? Was the attack really timed for midnight? How could all the gang members possibly be there then?
For the other policemen, it would be a routine operation; for Burge, it would be much more. Success would make his promotion more likely while failure would delay it by years. His future at Scotland Yard lay in the hands of two feral gangs who were fuelled by hatred and bent on violence. What if they let him down?
The commissioner was pleased to hear that something positive was being done at last. Having heard the report from his detectives, Chatfield had gone to Sir Edward Henry’s office to tell him about the visit to Birmingham made by Marmion and Keedy. The superintendent was confident that they’d taken strides forward.
‘What about the second victim?’ asked the commissioner.
‘Her identity still remains a secret, alas.’
‘Editors always get excited when naked females are found dead. Two of them have rung me already and pressed for details. If an old woman in a fur coat had been dredged out of the river, they wouldn’t have shown anything like the same interest.’
‘The sexual element is always titillating,’ said Chatfield. ‘It’s deplorable.’
‘But it sells newspapers.’
‘Sadly, it does.’
‘Marmion and his sergeant have done well today. I hope you told them so.’
‘They had sufficient praise, Sir Edward. Too much applause tends to give them inflated ideas of their abilities. I always guard against that.’
‘Is an arrest in the offing?’
‘As a first step, they’re simply going to bring Mr Sprake here. If he’s interviewed at home, he has a degree of comfort. When he’s hauled in here, however, he’s in more hostile surroundings.’
‘From what you’ve told me, he sounds like a devious individual.’
‘He won’t be quite so devious when we’ve finished with him,’ said Chatfield. ‘I’ll interview him myself and drag the truth out of him somehow.’
During the drive to Richmond, they were acutely conscious that they hadn’t eaten for several hours. When Keedy suggested that they might stop at a cafe for a snack, he was overruled by Marmion.
‘Duty comes first, Joe.’
‘I have a duty to stop my stomach rumbling.’
‘Do it afterwards.’
‘Chat will never know that we had a quick meal.’
‘When we’ve delivered Sprake to him, we can have a real feast.’
‘You’re a hard taskmaster, do you know that?’
‘I just want to get the job done.’
When they arrived at the house in Richmond, they saw the car standing outside. Evidently, the chauffeur was there. In fact, in response to the ringing of the bell, it was Peebles who opened the door.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, eyes widening.
‘We’ve brought you regards from Thomas Day,’ said Marmion. ‘Sergeant Keedy had a long chat with him this afternoon and he’s told us about the way you’ve been spying on Mr Sprake for him.’
‘I’ve been doing nothing of the kind.’
‘You betrayed your employer. It’s high time he knew about it.’
‘Let us in so that we can talk to Mr Sprake,’ said Keedy.
Peebles raised his palms. ‘He’s not here.’
‘Don’t play tricks with us.’
‘It’s true. He was taken ill at work and asked me to bring him back here. His condition deteriorated so much that I called the doctor. He had him moved out of here at once. Mr Sprake is in hospital.’
They’d finished the meal and done the washing-up so they were relaxing in the living room. The idea of staying there overnight was beginning to exert a seductive appeal. Alice was not looking forward to a journey across London to the house where she had a small and rather cheerless room. She shared the bathroom with other female lodgers and had no real privacy. Being at home again was refreshing.
‘If you don’t mind,’ she said, ‘I’ll stay the night.’
‘You don’t have to ask permission, Alice. Stay whenever you wish.’
‘I feel so weary. I need an early night.’
‘You might want to change your mind about that.’
‘Why?’
‘What if your father brings Joe back with him and you’re snoring in bed?’
‘There’s a fat chance of Joe turning up tonight.’
‘Is there?’
Alice saw the smile on her mother’s face and realised that she’d asked for Keedy to be brought back in the police car. In her own way, Ellen was trying to help. She wanted her daughter to have the opportunity to speak to Keedy again before their relative positions began to harden.
‘He doesn’t know that you’ll be here, of course,’ said Ellen, ‘and I wasn’t going to force you to stay. It had to be your decision – and it was the right one.’
‘Thank you, Mummy.’
‘The rest is up to you and Joe.’
‘And there was me thinking I’d be in bed by nine-thirty.’
‘That’s far too early.’
‘It is now,’ said Alice.
‘And you won’t have to worry about facing Iris Goodliffe in the morning. When she starts telling you about this policeman constable of hers, you’ll be able to tell her about your detective sergeant.’
The disappointment of hearing that Alice was indisposed had now been forgotten. Iris Goodliffe was in a buoyant mood again. When she’d had a fleeting moment at work with Douglas Beckett, he’d asked her if she was free to go out with him that evening. It was a mark of how much he’d enjoyed their two earlier dates. Iris was cock-a-hoop. She’d have even more to boast about when she met Alice the following day. After being overlooked by men for years, she’d now attracted someone who found her company so enjoyable that he couldn’t get enough of it. The third invitation in a row from Beckett had moved their relationship on even more.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she brushed her hair up at the back and anchored it with a large slide. Then she applied a little make-up and studied her features with new interest. Iris had always accepted that she was plain and unappealing. Beckett disagreed. Whatever he saw in her, he obviously wanted more of it. Her confidence soared. She’d made an even greater effort to look smart and desirable for him this time. After the pleasure he’d brought into her life, he deserved it. Having turned up early for their first date, she kept him waiting this time and arrived ten minutes late. He waved away her apologies and fell in beside her. Arm in arm, they walked a few blocks and went into a pub. The slight nervousness between them vanished with the first drink. After a second one, her inhibitions began to dissolve away completely.
‘Let’s go for a walk,’ said Beckett, slipping an arm around her waist.
‘Yes, I could do with some fresh air.’
‘Thank you so much for coming out with me again.’
‘I should be thanking you, Doug,’ she said.
‘I’m very happy.’
As they came out of the pub, they linked arms again and strolled along almost jauntily. Beckett was grinning and Iris felt as if she were floating on air. They turned down a side street and stopped outside a house. Detaching himself from her, he took out a key and unlocked the front door.
‘Where are we?’ she asked.
‘I’ve got something to show you, Iris.’
‘What is it?’
‘Come on in and you’ll see. It’s a surprise.’
Doubts began to arise for the first time but she was unable to respond to them. Taking her hand, he drew her into the house and shut the door behind them. Her nice, quiet, respectful friend then disappeared to be replaced by a wild man with a single objective. Rushing her into the living room, he pushed her down on to the sofa and stopped her protests by kissing her fiercely and pushing his tongue down her throat. His hands were everywhere, squeezing her buttocks, feeling her breasts and lifting her legs so that she swung to one side and lay horizontal on the sofa. Holding her down by his weight, he got on top of her and began to kiss her even more desperately. Iris was in a panic. All she could think about was escaping. There was no chance of appealing to him because she couldn’t speak with his mouth clamped to hers. She tried to shove him away but he was too heavy. When he moved sideways so that he could get his hand up her skirt, she realised that he was determined to get what he wanted. It was terrifying. Iris was a virgin at the mercy of a strong man. She was raw, inexperienced and unready. Still with his lips pressed hard against hers, he got a hand on her knickers and began to pull them down.
Iris reacted by reflex. Grabbing the slide in her hair, she swung her arm and jabbed the side of his face hard enough to draw blood. Beckett howled in pain and released her, pulling out a handkerchief and holding it against his cheek. Iris took advantage of the moment to push him off, roll to the floor then haul herself up. Before he could stop her, she scampered out of the house as fast as she could. She didn’t stop running until she reached the safety of her home.
Her romance was over.
‘We’re sorry to intrude at such a time, sir,’ said Marmion.
‘You have your job to do, Inspector.’
‘Our evidence is starting to point in your direction.’
‘I’ll be interested to hear it.’
Norris Sprake was propped up in a hospital bed. His face was a strange colour and he looked as if he could barely keep his eyes open. The detectives felt embarrassed at having to level their accusations against him when he was in such a poor state of health.
‘I would ask one favour,’ said Sprake. ‘If you mean to arrest me, please wait until after the operation. I’ve been admitted as an emergency, you see. They’re going to try to keep me alive for a little longer.’
He told them that he had a number of medical problems but that it was the angina that had finally struck him down. Though he’d obeyed all of the doctor’s advice, he couldn’t prevent himself from developing complications that might yet prove fatal. That depended on the skill of the surgeons.
‘What makes you think that I sanctioned Gilbert’s murder?’ he asked.
‘Thomas Day told me about their plan,’ said Keedy. ‘He and Mr Donohoe were plotting to take over the property company and push you out. When you learnt of their scheme, you must have been enraged.’
‘I was upset rather than enraged. I thought Gilbert was a friend.’
‘Day had enlisted the aid of your chauffeur, Jean-Louis Peebles. He told them how feeble your health really was.’
‘Yes,’ added Marmion, ‘the man you trusted most turned against you.’
‘What arrant nonsense!’ said Sprake.
‘We have Day’s word for it, sir.’
‘Don’t listen to him. He’s too stupid to realise that Peebles was acting on my orders. I sensed that Gilbert was getting restive and looking for someone to replace me so I asked Jean-Louis to do a little spying on my behalf.’
‘You knew about the plot all along?’
‘I not only knew, Inspector, I’d taken steps to circumvent it. Gilbert and that slimy partner of his, Tom Day, were heading for a huge disappointment. Before that happened, however, Gilbert managed to get himself garrotted.’
‘We believe the killer was in your pay,’ said Keedy.
‘No, he wasn’t. I’d have much preferred to keep him alive. I’d have loved to have seen his face when he realised that I’d outflanked him. Instead of seizing the company from me, Gilbert would have been booted out himself.’
‘So Peebles was on your side all the time?’
‘He owes a lot to me, Sergeant.’
Keedy traded a glance with Marmion. What they’d just heard had proved that Sprake was not a party to the murder. The old man had no reason to lie. He was about to have a major operation from which he might never recover. They knew that people tended to speak honestly at such a time. Sprake was innocent.
As the evening wore on, Stepney was blanketed by darkness. The men moved silently into position, forming a circle around the area where the hostilities were expected to break out. Burge supervised the placement of the various officers with care. When he’d finished, he withdrew to the junk shop with four of the men. White was already there, determined not to be left out.
‘This is going to be a real achievement for you, Cliff,’ he said.
‘Only if the information I had was correct.’
‘What if it isn’t?’
‘Then I’ll be in serious trouble, Ev.’
‘How far can you trust the old man?’
‘He won’t dare double-cross me after my warning.’
‘What warning was that?’
‘I took a leaf out of your book,’ said Burge, ‘and tried some old-fashioned policing. If he let me down, I told him, I’d put his head between the rollers of that mangle over there and keep turning the handle until I’d squeezed every last drop of blood out of him.’
It was late when the police car dropped them off outside the house. They were tired and jaded. Certain that Sprake was somehow implicated in the murder, they’d misread the evidence. Marmion was ready to stay up half the night with Keedy to discuss the case until they both fell asleep. They felt they were on the verge of finding the solution to the crime. All it would take was some intensive discussion. As they walked to the house, the front door opened for them.
‘I thought I heard the car,’ said Ellen.
‘I’ve brought Joe back with me,’ said Marmion. ‘He can sleep on the sofa.’
‘You’re very welcome, Joe.’
‘Thanks,’ said Keedy.
‘How did you get on at the farm?’ asked Marmion.
‘Come into the kitchen and I’ll tell you.’
‘I’d like to hear the story as well,’ said Keedy.
‘Then someone else will have to tell it to you,’ she said. ‘Alice is in the living room. Why not ask her?’
She whisked her husband off to the kitchen and shut the door behind them. Keedy was nonplussed at first. He hadn’t expected Alice to be there and wasn’t at all sure what to say to her. A full minute passed as he dithered. In the end, the door to the living room opened and Alice looked out.
‘Are you coming in or aren’t you?’ she asked.
‘Hello, Alice.’
‘Hello.’
‘How are you?’
‘I’m waiting for you to make a decision.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ he said.
He followed her into the room and they stood facing each other.
‘This is a real surprise, Alice.’
‘Is it a good surprise or a nasty surprise?’
‘It’s a good one – a very good one, in fact.’
‘That’s all right, then.’
There was a long pause as their eyes locked and their feelings took over.
‘What happened at the farm?’ he asked.
‘We
believe that Paul got too friendly with the farmer’s daughter.’
‘So where is he now?’
‘We’ve no idea. He was sacked almost a month ago.’
‘Then why didn’t they get in touch with you earlier?’
She moved closer. ‘Do you really want to talk about my brother, Joe?’
‘No, I don’t.’
‘What do you want to talk about?’
‘I’m not sure. What about you?’
‘I’ll go along with whatever you suggest.’
He grinned. ‘This is not the right place for the suggestion I have in mind.’
‘They’ll be in the kitchen for quite a while.’ She stepped into his arms and kissed him. When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. ‘Don’t let’s argue like that again. It was all my fault.’
‘No, it was mine.’
‘You’re arguing already!’
Laughing together, they hugged each other and rocked happily to and fro.
‘Did I hear Daddy say that you’d sleep on the sofa?’
‘I’d be ready to sleep on the floor if I can be near you, Alice.’
‘I’ve got a much better idea,’ she said. ‘You can have Paul’s room.’ She kissed him gently on the lips. ‘It’s next to mine.’
The Evil Spirits had no trouble getting together for the midnight celebration. Those with watchful parents sneaked out unseen. Those who simply did what they liked walked brazenly out of the front door, confident that no member of the family would dare to challenge them when they got back. Days earlier, some of them had broken into a pub cellar and stolen crates of beer. The fact that they were too young to drink legally only added to the excitement. They were the masters now. It was time to have a party. The venue was the ramshackle shed that had once belonged to the Stepney Warriors. When they asserted their dominance over their rivals, they’d seized the shed and turned it into their headquarters. There was no electric light so they brought plenty of candles. Bottles of beer were passed around. It wasn’t long before they were giggling, singing and boasting about their triumph. Since they outnumbered the Warriors, they believed they could be in power indefinitely.
Under Attack Page 28
