think he’ll enjoy reading it?’
‘Not if it’s used against him in a court of law,’ said Colbeck.
‘There’s no real evidence there to convict him, sir. Besides, we already know who the killer was. He’s in custody and his name is Bagsy Browne. Did you send that telegraph to Superintendent Tallis?’
‘It would have reached Scotland Yard this afternoon. I know that Mr Tallis was advised to rest but he’ll have gone straight to his office and carried on working.’
‘He’ll be pleased that we finally caught the culprit.’
‘He’ll be pleased that we caught the man who stabbed him,’ said Colbeck, ‘but I’m still not sure that we’re holding the one who murdered the stationmaster.’
Leeming was incredulous. ‘It
‘Does it?’
‘He has a record of violence.’
‘Yet he’s always stopped short of murder in the past.’
‘He and that woman were in this together.’
‘Then why does he refuse to tell us where he was on the fateful night and why does Adeline Goss swear that he wasn’t with her? Browne has raised untruthfulness to the level of an art and he practises it like a master. There’s no doubt that he’s guilty of several crimes,’ said Colbeck, ‘but I maintain that the murder is not one of them.’
Leeming was bewildered. ‘If it wasn’t Browne who killed the stationmaster, then who on earth did?’
Colbeck tapped the diary.
‘The answer lies somewhere in here, Victor.’
Ivy Young watched from a vantage point further along the street. She had a good view of the house and was impressed by its size and state of repair. Caleb Andrews obviously knew how to look after a property. It was almost an hour before the front door opened and she realised that her vigil was about to deliver what she’d hoped. Madeleine emerged with a basket over her arm and headed in the direction of the market. Evidently, she’d be gone for some time. Ivy didn’t waste a second of it. Scampering across the street, she walked up to the house and knocked on the front door. After a few seconds, it was opened by Andrews. His jaw dropped.
‘Hello, Caleb,’ she said, sweetly. ‘May I call you that? I feel that we’re on first-name terms now. Forgive me for surprising you like this but I’ve got something important to tell you.’
‘What is it?’ he gulped.
‘I can’t possibly talk on the doorstep. May I come in?’
‘I was just about to go out, Mrs Young.’
‘You can call me Ivy.’ She glanced down at his feet. ‘And I don’t think you can be going out when you still have your slippers on. Let me in. I won’t stay long.’
Andrews was helpless. Before he could prevent her, she’d eased him aside and stepped into the house. When he closed the front door, she was looking around the parlour. She crossed to the easel and reached for the cloth covering the painting.
‘No,’ he said, rushing across to intercept her. ‘Don’t touch that. My daughter hates anyone to see her work before it’s finished. Maddy would be livid.’
‘There’s no need why she should ever know. Let me take a peek.’
‘I’m afraid that I can’t, Mrs Young.’
She beamed at him. ‘I do have a Christian name, you know.’
Andrews was nonplussed. She was so different from the woman he’d met earlier. Instead of the beaky and inquisitive sister, he was now looking at a handsome woman in her finery who was speaking in a low and confiding manner. The warm smile never left her face.
‘We need to talk,’ she said, sitting down.
‘Do we?’
‘I came about Binnie.’
‘Oh, I see.’
He sat down opposite her, embarrassed to be caught in his slippers and grateful that he was wearing a collar and tie. Andrews felt invaded.
‘I know how much you like Binnie,’ said her sister. ‘She’s very fond of you and I can see why. You’re a fine upstanding man, Caleb. What you need to know about Binnie is that she can be headstrong. She makes up her mind too quickly and that always leads to tears in the end. It’s happened before, you see.’
‘What has, Mrs Young? … Ivy, that is.’
‘I’m talking about her sudden passion for a gentleman. It flares up at the start but it soon burns itself out. The one before you lasted only three weeks.’
‘I didn’t realise that.’
‘There are lots of things you don’t realise, I’m afraid. Take your visit to her the other afternoon. What did you think of the food?’
‘It was delicious. Binnie is a good cook.’
‘That’s what she’d like you to believe,’ said Ivy, ‘but, in fact, she hates cooking and has never baked a cake in her life. Everything you ate at the house was my doing. I made it all for her.’
‘Why did you do that?’
‘My sister wanted to impress you.’
‘She certainly did that.’
‘Binnie said that you liked your food.’
‘I do. I’ve been spoilt. Maddy — my daughter — is a wonderful cook.’
‘I’m sure, she is,’ said Ivy, letting her gaze travel around the room before alighting on the easel. ‘She’s a wonderful cook, a gifted artist and she’s going to marry a detective whose name is always in the newspapers. You must be very proud of her, Caleb.’
‘Oh, I am. I couldn’t wish for a better daughter.’
‘The house will be terribly empty when she’s gone.’
‘She’s promised to visit whenever she can.’
‘It’s not the same as having someone to share your life with,’ she said, moving her gaze back to him. ‘Companionship is so important to people of our age. I daresay you thought that Binnie would give it to you, but her interest would soon flag. She’s not like me, Caleb. Once I make my choice, I stand by it.’
His collar suddenly felt very tight and sweat broke out under his armpits. He was in his own home and yet he felt obscurely under threat. Andrews didn’t know how much of what she was saying was true or why she felt obliged to say it. In her earlier hawkish mood, Ivy Young was intimidating. Now that she’d gone to the other extreme, she was even more overwhelming.
‘Were you thinking of inviting Binnie here to have tea?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I was,’ he admitted.
‘Don’t do it, Caleb. The closer you get to my sister, the more upset you’ll be when she lets you down. Leave her be for a while.’
‘But she’ll think it’s very rude of me to neglect her.’
‘Put yourself first. She’ll soon move on to the next one.’
He was dejected. ‘How many others have there been?’
‘You’d be too distressed to know,’ she said, getting up. ‘I must leave you in peace. I just wanted to pass on a friendly warning.’
‘Thank you — thank you, Ivy.’
‘Ease yourself gently away from my sister.’
He got to his feet. ‘I’ll do as you say.’
‘I knew that you would.’ Broadening her smile into a grin, she placed a hand on his arm and put her face close to his. ‘Just because the friendship between you and Binnie is more or less finished,’ she went on, taking a slip of paper from her pocket and handing it to him, ‘there’s no reason why you and I shouldn’t keep in touch, is there? That’s my address. Let’s meet again very soon, shall we?’
Andrews showed her out. When he shut the door, he not only locked and bolted it, he moved a chair up against it to bolster his defence. Then he went swiftly upstairs and put on a pair of shoes.
