Murder on the Brighton Express

‘I expected you hours ago,’ growled Tallis.

‘Victor and I were unavoidably delayed.’

‘Well, I hope you have more to show for your efforts than Sergeant Nelson. I’ve just threatened him with demotion if he doesn’t improve markedly.’ He pointed to the chairs and they sat down. ‘I hope I don’t have to issue the same threat to you.’ Leeming squirmed but Colbeck responded with a confident smile. ‘Let’s hear from you first, Inspector.’

Colbeck was succinct. He talked about his visit to Brighton, recounting his conversations with Giles Thornhill, Ezra Follis and some of the survivors at the hospital. He omitted any reference to the Royal Pavilion. Without divulging the name of Caleb Andrews, he said that he had information from Fireman Heddle that two people had been seen watching trains go by near the spot where the crash later occurred. Colbeck felt that the use of the telescope was significant.

‘If they were simply looking at trains,’ he argued, ‘they did not need it at all. The telescope was used to check up and down the line to make sure that there would be no witnesses if anyone levered part of the rail away. They chose that specific place with care. There are no farmhouses or cottages nearby.’

Throughout the report, Tallis made no comment. He sat there in silence, smouldering quietly like a cigar in an ashtray. When Colbeck had finished, the superintendent blazed into life.

‘Why did you waste time talking to the Rector of St Dunstan’s?’ he said, acidly. ‘The fellow is no help to us at all.’

‘I believe that he was, sir,’ argued Colbeck. ‘Mr Follis is an excellent judge of character. More to the point, he survived the train crash and was able to describe exactly how the collision felt.’

‘That has no relevance to the pursuit of the malefactor.’

‘Malefactors,’ corrected Leeming. ‘There were two of them, sir.’

‘Be quiet, man!’

‘According to Fireman Heddle…’

‘Don’t you recognise an order when you hear one?’ demanded Tallis, interrupting him. ‘The sight of two men looking at trains on the Brighton line is not, in my view, conclusive evidence that they are anything to do with the disaster. For all we know, they may even have been railway employees, surveying the line.’

‘With respect, sir,’ said Colbeck, ‘John Heddle has seen enough surveyors in his time to be able to identify one. He thought their presence was odd. Driver Pike felt the same because he told his wife that someone had been watching the trains.’

‘Come to the crux of your evidence, Inspector. Are you still firmly of the belief that the accident was caused to kill a particular individual on board?’

‘I am, superintendent.’

‘Then the choice would seem to be between Horace Bardwell and Giles Thornhill. Which one would you select?’

‘Mr Bardwell.’

‘Yet it’s Mr Thornhill who has been receiving death threats.’

‘They could relate to his political activities,’ said Colbeck. ‘He’s supported many unpopular causes in Parliament and is leading the fight for a Sunday Trading Bill. It would mean the closure of all shops and public houses on the Sabbath.’

‘That would be cruel!’ protested Leeming.

‘It’s eminently sensible and long overdue,’ said Tallis.

‘But if people work hard for six days a week, sir, surely they’re entitled to the pleasure of a drink on Sunday.’

‘Strong drink leads to drunkenness and that, in turn, leads to crime. It would greatly relieve the pressure on our police if there was one day when they did not have to deal with violent affrays in public houses or people in the streets being drunk and disorderly. But there’s an even stronger reason why the Sunday Trading Bill should be passed,’ continued Tallis, sounding a reverential note. ‘It shows respect for the Lord’s Day and for people’s spiritual needs.’

‘I still think it will cause a great deal trouble if it’s ever put forward,’ said Leeming. ‘It might even lead to a riot.’

‘The point is,’ observed Colbeck, rescuing the sergeant from Tallis’s stony glare, ‘that the Bill is highly controversial. It will stir up a lot of opposition, as other legislation sponsored by Mr Thornhill has done. I fancy that he’s being menaced by a political enemy. Mr Bardwell, on the other hand, embodies the LB&SCR in several ways. That’s a salient point in my opinion. As far as I know, Mr Thornhill has no connection with the railway company.’

‘Then you are not as well-informed as you should be,’ said Tallis, savouring the opportunity to embarrass Colbeck for once. ‘While you and the sergeant went gallivanting off today, I did not sit idly here. I took it upon myself to call on the London office of the LB&SCR and I made an interesting discovery.’

‘What was that, sir?’ asked Colbeck.

‘Searching through the list of their major shareholders, I came across the name of Giles Thornhill. He has a large financial stake in the company. You should have found that out, Inspector.’

‘I agree, sir, and I’m grateful that you did so on my behalf.’

‘It tips the balance of probability in favour of Mr Thornhill. If, that is,’ added Tallis with beetle-browed scepticism, ‘your theory about the crime is correct.’

‘Do you have an alternative theory, Superintendent?’

‘No, but Captain Ridgeon certainly does. He called here today.’

‘I daresay that he wanted to complain about me,’ said Colbeck.

‘You upset him, Inspector, and I fear that I upset him even more by supporting you to the hilt.’ He leant forward across his desk. ‘I hope you won’t make me regret that support.’

‘We won’t, sir. Victor and I owe you our thanks.’

‘Yes, sir,’ agreed Leeming, picking up his cue. ‘We need you to back us. Captain Ridgeon didn’t like what we were doing.’

‘I’m not sure that I do,’ said Tallis, twitching his moustache. ‘You may have identified the intended target of the crash but are no nearer finding those who seem to have engineered it.’ His gaze fell on Leeming. ‘What new information have you garnered today, Sergeant?’

Leeming cleared his throat before launching into his report. It was short, apologetic and delivered with breathless speed. Tallis reacted with a mixture of sarcasm and outrage.

‘What have you been doing all day?’ he asked. ‘Twelve hours of detective work have yielded precisely nothing. If the Sunday Trading Bill had become law this year, at least you’d have been spared the chore of running pointlessly from one public house to another.’

‘I think you’re being unfair on Victor,’ said Colbeck. ‘Because he was a plate-layer, Dick Chiffney has to be a major suspect.’

‘Then find the man, Inspector.’

‘We will, sir.’

‘And track down his accomplice – if such a person exists.’

‘I’m certain that he does,’ said Colbeck. ‘From everything that Victor learnt about Chiffney, it seems clear that he’d never be capable of planning and carrying out the work on his own. Someone far more calculating has been giving the orders.’

‘It could be Matthew Shanklin,’ suggested Leeming.

‘I don’t want to know who it could be,’ said Tallis, scornfully. ‘Tell me who it actually is and produce the evidence to prove it.’

‘We’ll start by locating Dick Chiffney,’ decided Colbeck.

‘That won’t be easy, Inspector,’ warned Leeming. ‘If the woman he lives with can’t find him, what chance have we got?’

‘We’ll catch him, Victor.’

‘Then we need to do so before Josie Murlow gets hold of him, sir, or there’ll be nothing left of Chiffney to question.’