‘What sort of argument?’ said Steel.
‘Well, it’s more of a professional disagreement than anything else. I think that Bagsy Browne committed two murders, with the possible assistance of Michael Heygate in the case of the first. Inspector Colbeck is unconvinced. Which one of us would you support?’
‘I’d have to say that — at first — I agreed with you, Sergeant.’
‘There you are,’ said Leeming, savouring his victory. ‘For once, I’m right.’
‘We’re still in the realms of hypothesis,’ cautioned Colbeck.
‘No,’ said Steel, ‘we are not.’
‘There’s been a development?’
‘Yes — and it’s a very significant one, Inspector.’ He held up the report he’d been reading. ‘This is from the post-mortem on Finbar Mulleady.’
‘He’s that Irishman killed by Browne,’ noted Leeming.
‘I’m afraid that you’re wrong, Sergeant. He may not have been killed by anyone. The wound which stained his trousers with blood was caused by a broken flagon of beer in his pocket. There was no sign of violence upon him. According to this,’ he went on, passing the report to Colbeck, ‘the most likely cause of death was drowning after he’d fallen into the canal. He went lurching along the towpath while blind drunk, tripped and hit the ground hard. The flagon in his pocket was smashed to pieces and he rolled into the freezing water.’
‘Browne could have pushed him into the canal,’ maintained Leeming.
‘That possibility can be eliminated,’ said Steel. ‘A witness came forward to say that he saw Mulleady staggering along the towpath. It was a clear night and there was no sign of anybody else. That’s not surprising because it was extremely cold. The witness also lives in a barge, apparently, and is used to seeing Mulleady tottering home every night.’
‘In other words,’ said Colbeck, reading the report. ‘Browne is innocent.’
‘Only innocent of the death of Mulleady — I was far too hasty in ascribing it to him. Bagsy Browne is still wanted for the murder of the stationmaster.’
Leeming was chastened. ‘What if he didn’t kill Joel Heygate either?’
‘I have no doubts on that score,’ said Steel.
‘And I have no doubt that the brother was somehow involved.’
‘What do
Colbeck was mischievous. ‘There is another question we might ask,’ he said with a twinkle. ‘What if the body under the bonfire was not that of the stationmaster? After all, it was virtually impossible to identify. We’ve been operating almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. Could it be that Joel Heygate was the killer and that the corpse was merely a decoy while he disappeared from the scene?’
Leeming shuddered. ‘If that’s true, we’ll be here for months!’
‘I didn’t say it was true, Victor. In fact, it’s highly unlikely. I’m merely repeating what I said to you earlier. Something is missing. There’s a vital piece of evidence that may bring together all the information so far gathered and give it clarity.’ He put the report on the desk. ‘Let’s talk to Peter.’
‘A canary is not going to be able to help us, sir.’
‘You never know,’ said Colbeck. ‘Stranger things have happened.’
To the delight of Dorcas Hope and her mother, Peter hopped about in his cage and chirped happily. He was clearly contented in his new home and had provided a lot of comfort for Maud during the long stretches when she was alone. There had been only one scare. When Dorcas had opened the cage door so that she could reach in and clean the base of droppings, the canary had escaped and flown around the room. But it was only a tour of inspection. Once he’d taken his bearings, Peter flew back down and went back to his perch in the cage. It meant that it was safe to let him fly around in the house. There was no danger of losing him.
Dorcas loved Sundays. It was her one day away from the hurly-burly of the refreshment room. After going to church, she could spend precious time with her family, now enlarged to include a canary. While she missed the manageress, she’d quickly grown to like Mrs Rossiter’s deputy. Timothy Vesey was much less critical of her and more ready to praise her work. Passengers who recognised him from his long stint at Newton Abbot station were all pleased to see him. A day in Vesey’s company was much less tiring than one under the erstwhile manageress.
‘I tried to read one of those books on canaries,’ said Maud. ‘All that detail was a bit confusing. I didn’t realise that canaries were a type of finch.’ She peered into the cage beside her. ‘And to think you’ve come all the way from the Canaries.’
‘Actually,’ corrected Dorcas, ‘that’s not true. I remember Mr Heygate telling me that Peter came from Madeira.’
‘Isn’t that one of the Canary Islands?’
‘I don’t think so, Mother.’
‘I never was much good at geography.’
‘I’d so love to visit Madeira, but there’s no hope of that happening. The farthest I’ve ever been in my life was to Cornwall with you and Father.’
Maud was resigned. ‘Travelling abroad is not for the likes of us.’ When there was a knock on the front door, she sat up. ‘Who can that be?’
‘I’ll go and see.’
Dorcas left the parlour and opened the front door. Maud could hear a man’s voice. After a short discussion, Dorcas came back with Colbeck and Leeming. Maud felt a little intimidated to have two detectives in the small confines of the parlour. She apologised for not getting up but her hip was causing her pain if she moved. The visitors sat down and Leeming stared at the canary.
‘He’s a colourful little chap, isn’t he?’
‘Yes,’ said Dorcas. ‘He’s given us so much pleasure.’
‘Mr Heygate obviously cared for him,’ said Colbeck. ‘That cage is far bigger than it needs to be for such a small bird. He has plenty of room to fly around.’ He became serious. ‘We’re really here to talk about Mrs Rossiter.’
‘How is she, Inspector?’
‘She’s not at all well, Miss Hope. In fact, for reasons we needn’t go into now, she’s been taken to the County Asylum.’ The women were horrified. ‘It was on the advice of Dr Swift.’
Dorcas gasped. ‘Does that mean that Mrs Rossiter is … insane?’
‘It means that she’s in need of some help.’
‘How long will she be in there?’
‘Nobody can say, Miss Hope.’
‘This is terrible news,’ said Maud. ‘In some ways, the asylum is worse than going to prison. Even if they let her out, you’d never look at her the same way again. Mental patients are so …’
‘I think that the word you’re after is “unpredictable”, Mrs Hope,’ said Colbeck as he saw her struggling. ‘But some conditions are curable and patients go on to lead perfectly ordinary lives. However,’ he went on, ‘we really came to talk about Mrs Rossiter’s sister. As you can imagine, the news will have shocked her deeply. Unlike your colleague in the refreshment room, she’s not the most robust lady.’
‘No,’ said Dorcas. ‘Miss Impey is a very shy and private person.’
‘I wondered if you might find time to visit her.’
‘Yes, yes, I’ll be glad to, Inspector.’
‘At a time like this, she needs a friend.’
‘I’ll make a point of going there later today.’
‘Thank you, Miss Hope.’
Leeming was still eyeing the canary. ‘If only he could talk,’ he said. ‘He must know where that missing diary is.’ Peter chirped at him. ‘I think he’s trying to tell us.’
‘The diary is not in the house,’ said Colbeck, ‘we know that.’
‘That’s what I told Mr Woodford,’ said Dorcas. ‘It was after you explained that you’d seen no trace of it when you searched the house.’
‘Yet he claimed to know nothing about the diary.’
‘I certainly mentioned it to him, Inspector.’
‘I’m obliged to you for the information.’
