funeral service itself. They would have to wait until the proceedings came out into the churchyard. Having arrived early, Colbeck was able to have a chat with Steel, who had shed his uniform for once and was wearing apparel more suited to the occasion. They watched black-clad mourners filing into the church.
‘I suppose that St Olave’s is an appropriate place for Heygate to end up,’ said Steel. ‘It’s named after St Olaf, an eleventh-century king of Norway who was martyred in battle. There are those who’d call the stationmaster something of a martyr.’
‘It’s a very pretty piece of architecture.’
‘You wouldn’t have been able to say that twenty odd years ago, Inspector. St Olave’s was almost derelict then. So were a number of other churches. Thanks to the initiative of the then recently appointed Bishop Phillpotts, some twelve of them were repaired and restored.’
‘That’s another good thing in his favour, then.’
‘He later formed a diocesan society to promote the further building and enlargement of churches. Oh, yes,’ said Steel, ‘he was full of energy in those days. Unfortunately, he still is.’
‘Some of his energy is misdirected, that’s all,’ said Colbeck, tolerantly. He looked around. ‘Do you expect Browne to put in an appearance?’
‘He wouldn’t dare turn up.’
‘Don’t you believe in the compulsion to return to the scene of the crime?’
‘Bagsy will be miles away by now. In his shoes, I know that I would be.’
‘He’s clearly a remarkable man who doesn’t think like you and me. Which of us would have had the gall and the bravado to rescue a prisoner from custody?’
‘Neither of us, Inspector — we’ve got too much sense.’
‘It’s the reason that we wouldn’t even conceive of the idea of attending the funeral of a man we’d killed. Mr Browne may find the temptation irresistible.’
‘If he does, my men will be on the lookout for him.’
‘I hope you’ve warned them how dangerous he can be.’
‘They heard what happened to the duty sergeant yesterday. While we’re on the subject,’ Steel went on, ‘how is Superintendent Tallis?’
‘He’s probably safely back in London by now.’
Colbeck told him how he’d persuaded Tallis to leave the city in the company of Victor Leeming. While he’d been struck by the superintendent’s bravery in confronting Browne, Steel was glad that he was no longer there to hinder the inquiry. Colbeck would have a free hand and that was a positive improvement. Tallis was at his best behind a desk, delegating work to others and demanding quick results. He was too slow and lumbering to work on location as a detective.
‘Mr Woodford has remained on duty at the station,’ said Steel, ‘but he’s kindly released some of his staff to come here. I’m not quite sure what that tells us about him.’
‘He’s the stationmaster now and he wants everyone to know it. If he
‘Will he be installed as Heygate’s successor, do you think?’
‘He seems to have appointed himself already.’
‘The post will be advertised. The final decision will lie with Mr Quinnell.’
‘We’ll have to wait until the service is over before we can speak to him. Mr Quinnell was among the first to arrive because he’s in charge of the arrangements.’
‘Only a man of his influence could have got the funeral arranged in such a short time,’ said Steel. ‘I’m told that another one had to be postponed to make way for Heygate. Think of the upset that must have caused another grieving family. Let’s go on in while we can,’ he added, leading the way. ‘I asked them to reserve seats for us near the back.’
‘Thank you,’ said Colbeck. ‘That showed foresight.’
‘I want to see every moment of the ceremony, Inspector — just in case Bagsy Browne does sneak in at some point.’
‘Thanks to Mr Tallis, we have a very good description of the man.’
‘Yet his disguise fooled the duty sergeant. That’s worrying.’
‘Would you like to place a small wager?’
‘As long as it really
‘It’s a feeling I have,’ said Colbeck, ‘and I’ll back it with money.’
‘Then I’ll wager a sovereign that I’m right.’
‘I accept the bet.’
‘You’re very prodigal with your money, Inspector.’
‘Not at all,’ said Colbeck with a confident grin. ‘To save time, you might as well hand over the sovereign now. Browne will be here. He
Adeline Goss had been thrilled at the risk that Browne had taken on her behalf. The escape had been exciting and wholly successful. After reaching the suburbs, they’d abandoned the horse and cart and made their way in the gathering gloom to the boat. Early next morning, they’d been bold enough to slip back into the city. They collected everything of value from Adeline’s room before most people had even woken up. Her things had been temporarily stowed away in the boat. By afternoon they were back in Exeter. She was disguised as a washerwoman with a basket of laundry over her arm and a floppy hat covering most of her face.
‘Don’t do it, Bagsy!’ she pleaded. ‘There’s no need.’
‘There’s every need, Ad. I want to spit on his coffin.’
‘It’s too dangerous.’
‘Heygate was my enemy. I’m entitled to my moment of triumph.’
‘What if you’re caught?’
Browne sniggered. ‘They had their chance to catch me yesterday,’ he boasted, ‘and they failed. I’m like a cat, Ad. I’ve got nine lives.’
‘You used one of them up yesterday.’
‘Is that a complaint?’ he asked, slipping an arm around her waist.
‘No,’ she replied with a laugh. ‘I loved every second of it.’
‘I always pay my dues, whether it’s to a friend or an enemy. It’s my code.’
‘You could be putting a noose around your neck, Bagsy.’
‘There’s no chance of that,’ he scoffed. ‘Those Scotland Yard detectives will think I took to my heels and ran away. They’d never expect me to stay in Exeter and neither would Superintendent Steel.’ He cackled. ‘I’d love to have seen his face when he saw that your cell was empty.’
‘Thank God you came for me — the food in there was like horse shit.’
‘We’ll have a proper meal this evening, a sort of celebration.’
‘What are we celebrating?’
‘I’ll tell you later,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to be late for the funeral. Heygate will be wishing he’d never upset me now — what’s left of him, anyway.’
He marched off, singing happily to himself.
In one respect, Joel Heygate was fortunate. The South Devon Railway gave him the sort of funeral that he could never have afforded and which was hopelessly beyond the means of his brother. No expense had been spared. Preceded by a mute, the coffin arrived in a glass-sided hearse drawn by black horses with black plumes. It was carried with great solemnity into the church by six men in mourning garb. The crowd assembled outside watched it all with hearts weighed down with fond memories of a man they’d never see again. The manner of his death gave the whole event an added poignancy.
Colbeck was grateful for the way that the railway company had honoured its former stationmaster. Quinnell was only one of a number of its directors there. The inspector had seen far too many paupers’ funerals where the deceased was treated with little more respect than an animal carcass and where the proceedings were almost indecently perfunctory. Heygate had taken care to avoid such a fate. When they’d searched his house, they found a record of the instalments he’d paid over the years into a funeral club, ensuring that he would be buried in a proper
