‘It’s a pity that Inspector Colbeck won’t be here to witness it. He, after all, is the hero of the hour. If reports are correct, he pursued the villain for over a hundred yards, then jumped on him even though Browne was armed with a dagger.’
‘He showed exceptional courage, Bishop.’
‘He needs to be told how much we appreciate what he did.’
‘You wish to send him a letter?’
‘I’ll draft it immediately. I took Colbeck for yet another stubborn and single-minded policeman but he’s redeemed himself in my eyes. He had the wit to recognise Browne and the nerve to challenge him.’ Sitting at his desk, he reached for his quill pen and dipped it in the inkwell. ‘Now, then … how shall I phrase it?’
‘Before you commit pen to paper,’ warned Barnes, ‘there’s something you should know. There’s a rumour going round that Inspector Colbeck is still not entirely persuaded that Browne is the man who killed Mr Heygate.’
‘Of course he is!’ exploded Phillpotts. ‘It’s as plain as the nose on my face. Whatever is the inspector thinking? He goes to all the trouble of catching a brutal killer then has doubts about his guilt? It’s monstrous!’
‘That’s why I suggest you should hold fire, Bishop.’
‘Who does he think
‘I’ve no idea. I merely passed on a rumour that may or may not be correct.’
Phillpotts put the pen aside. ‘I’ll delay my letter until I know the truth of it,’ he said. ‘I’m certainly not going to congratulate a man who thinks that Browne is innocent of the murder. How can he be so blind?’
‘We may be maligning him unfairly,’ said Barnes. ‘Perhaps we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Inspector Colbeck won’t even have had time to question the prisoner. He may even be able to wrest a full confession out of him.’ Phillpotts laughed mirthlessly. ‘Given what we know of Browne, I accept that it may be next to impossible.’
‘Browne is a seasoned liar. He’ll confess nothing.’
‘He’s up against a worthy adversary, Bishop. In my estimation, Inspector Colbeck is a very astute man. Didn’t Mr Tallis tell us on Sunday that the inspector used to be a barrister?’
‘I believe that he did.’
‘Then he’ll know how to cross-examine the prisoner.’
They were taking no chances. Since Browne had rescued a prisoner from a police cell, extra precautions were put in place at the police station. Every door was locked and the man himself was handcuffed. He was interviewed in a bare room with a barred window. Policemen were on sentry duty outside the building. Before he could question the prisoner, Colbeck had returned to the Acland Tavern, glad that he’d had the foresight to bring a change of trousers with him. He would never have consented to question any suspect while wearing a pair of torn trousers, especially if both knees had been scuffed. As a courtesy, he permitted Superintendent Steel to take part in the interview. Arms folded, Leeming stood in front of the door to prevent any dash for freedom. While he was glad that Browne was at last in custody, he wished that he’d made the arrest. A tussle with an armed man was meat and drink to him.
Browne was seated on an upright chair with the wound on his head bandaged. Colbeck and Steel sat opposite him but the prisoner only had eyes for the inspector. It was a blow to Browne’s pride that he’d been captured and he bristled with resentment at Colbeck. Even though his hands were manacled behind his back, he looked as if he was about to launch an attack on him at any moment.
Colbeck was droll. ‘You’ve been rather busy, Mr Browne,’ he began. ‘A long list of crimes can be laid at your door.’
‘I’m innocent of every one of them.’
‘Do you deny assaulting a man by the name of Wyatt?’
‘Yes.’
‘He was a prison warder known to you.’
‘Then he deserved what happened to him.’
‘He recognised you in the street,’ said Steel.
‘A lot of people do. I’m a handsome man.’
‘Yet you still deny the attack?’
‘I was defending myself against a violent assault.’
‘You were being sought by the police,’ Colbeck reminded him.
Browne’s face was motionless. ‘Was I?’
‘Every newspaper carried details of the search.’
‘I never read newspapers, Inspector. They’re full of lies.’
‘You must have known that the police were after you.’
‘They’re
‘Whenever you come to this city,’ said Steel, rancorously, ‘you leave a trail of wreckage behind you. Last time, it was confined to theft and disorder. This time, the crimes are far more serious.’
‘Wyatt beat me black and blue in prison. Why not arrest him?’
‘We’re not talking about Mr Wyatt.’
‘You should do, Superintendent. You don’t know half of what goes on behind those prison walls. They flog you if you so much as fart.’
‘Let’s turn to another charge,’ said Colbeck. ‘On Sunday evening, you came in here and knocked the duty sergeant unconscious before rescuing a woman by the name of Adeline Goss. In the course of your escape, you wounded Superintendent Tallis of Scotland Yard.’
‘He was in our way.’
‘You came in here prepared to use a weapon.’
‘I told him to stand aside.’
‘It was a case of attempted murder,’ said Steel.
‘No,’ returned Browne, vehemently. ‘I gave him a prod, that’s all. If I’d wanted to kill him, I’d have cut his throat from ear to ear.’
‘At the very least,’ said Colbeck, ‘you face a charge of malicious wounding. That’s in addition to the other crimes you committed while you were here.’
‘A friend of mine was in trouble. I helped her.’
‘She was harbouring a wanted man. That’s illegal.’
‘She committed no crime. Since I’ve been in Exeter, I’ve seen Ad for less than five minutes. Someone saw us together and claimed I was hiding in her room. Did your men find me there, Superintendent?’ he challenged. ‘No — of course, they didn’t because I was never in Rockfield Place. Ad was wrongly arrested.’
‘She was your accomplice, Mr Browne.’
‘I always work alone.’
‘Then why did you put her on the train this morning?’
‘That wasn’t Ad,’ said Browne, blithely. ‘It was a woman I spent the night with. She never told me her name.’
‘I believe it was Adeline Goss,’ said Colbeck, ‘but we’ll soon know the truth of it. After Sergeant Leeming dragged you off here, I took the trouble to speak to the clerk in the ticket office. When I described your appearance, he remembered selling you a single ticket to Plymouth. I promptly sent a telegraph with enough detail for them to identify the lady in question. I asked that she be detained at Plymouth station and brought back here immediately. We’ll put her in the next cell to you,’ he went on with a disarming smile, ‘then you can discover the name of the person with whom you admit you spent the night. You can exchange fond reminiscences.’
Bagsy Browne shifted uncomfortably on his chair.
The train journey from Exeter to Plymouth was just over fifty miles, taking the passengers past some of the most glorious sights in the county. It was almost as if the line had been constructed specifically to display uninterrupted scenic beauty. Adeline Goss saw little of it and cared even less about it. Her mind was on the new life on which she’d just embarked. She’d be a different woman with a different name in a different town. There was a surface excitement but it was underscored by the disappointment of parting with Bagsy Browne. He was not the only man in the world — she’d very soon find others — but he was the most special. None of the others had ever indulged her so much or taken such risks on her behalf. Yet he’d now vanished and she might never see him again.
