Exminster. He was interested to learn how Agnes Rossiter had settled in and to discover if she’d been told about the arrest of a man believed to be the stationmaster’s killer. Leeming went with him and shuddered as they entered the County Asylum.
‘I don’t like the feel of this place, sir,’ he confided.
‘We can walk out at any time, Victor. The patients don’t have that option.’
‘I’d hate to end up in somewhere like this.’
‘They don’t all end up here,’ said Colbeck. ‘Dr Swift told me that several people respond to treatment and are allowed to return home to their families. It’s only those with incurable conditions who remain here until they die.’
‘Do you think that Mrs Rossiter will be one of them?’
‘I wish I knew the answer to that question.’
Since Dr Swift was not available to see them, they were introduced instead to Canon Smalley. Colbeck was delighted to meet him and he, in turn, was pleased to meet a man whose name he’d heard many times. He invited them into his office.
‘It’s my day for visitors,’ he said.
‘I hope that’s not a complaint, Canon Smalley,’ said Colbeck.
‘Far from it, Inspector. I spend my whole life visiting others. It’s a pleasant change to have someone calling on me. You come on the heels of the bishop.’
Having heard the disparaging comments made about him by Colbeck and Tallis, Leeming was tempted to feign surprise that they’d let the bishop out of the asylum but the sight of the crucifix on the wall made him hold his peace.
‘What was he doing here?’ asked Colbeck.
‘The same as you, I suspect,’ replied Smalley. ‘He asked after Mrs Rossiter.’
‘Has he taken a special interest in the case?’
‘Yes, Inspector — she’s aroused his compassion.’
‘Then I applaud him. The lady needs all the sympathy she can get.’
‘I can’t muster a lot of sympathy,’ admitted Leeming. ‘I worked very briefly under the lady when she was manageress of the refreshment room on Exeter St David’s station. Mrs Rossiter is a real martinet. My sympathy is reserved for the waitress there.’
‘Would that be a Dorcas Hope?’ wondered Smalley.
‘Yes, it would.’
‘I’ve heard all about her.’
‘Have you spent much time with Mrs Rossiter, then?’
‘I’ve spent as much as I can spare. But please don’t ask me to give you a medical diagnosis. That’s Dr Swift’s prerogative. All that I can tell you is that she’s in the clutches of a fantasy and won’t be talked out of it. At the moment, alas,’ he said, glancing up at the crucifix, ‘she’s beyond the reach of spiritual help.’
‘When will it be possible to visit her?’ asked Colbeck.
‘Dr Swift will make that decision. Mrs Rossiter will certainly be in no fit state to receive visitors for some time.’
‘Has she talked of the murder with you?’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Smalley, tolerantly. ‘She’s talked and talked.’
‘And does she know that a suspect has been arrested for the crime?’
‘I informed her of it this morning, Inspector.’
‘What was her response?’
‘It was rather violent, I fear. She said she wanted to be at the execution.’
‘Then she hasn’t been to one before,’ said Leeming, ruefully. ‘I’ve had to watch two or three. They’re grisly spectacles. If it was left to me, I wouldn’t allow women to be present.’
‘I wouldn’t allow any member of the public to be there,’ said Colbeck. ‘An execution should take place behind prison walls. It’s wrong to offer it as a form of ghoulish entertainment.’
Smalley nodded. ‘I couldn’t agree with you more, Inspector.’
‘What else can you tell us about Mrs Rossiter?’
‘I have hope for her. I have definite hope.’
He went on to give them a succinct description of his sessions with Agnes Rossiter and an explanation of his role at the asylum. They were both struck by his intelligence, humility and dedication. Some of the staff they’d seen had been grim and unsmiling and they’d heard howls of despair echoing along the corridors. Canon Smalley was an island of calm in a sea of pain and desolation.
When the chaplain finished, Colbeck thanked him for giving them so much time, then led Leeming out. On their way to the exit, Colbeck was interested in the paintings, but the sergeant simply wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Once back in the fresh air, he filled his lungs.
‘I couldn’t breathe properly in there,’ he complained.
‘Yes, there was an oppressive atmosphere.’
‘Canon Smalley is a brave man.’
‘He’s a good man, Victor. Only someone as selfless as him could take on the chaplaincy. Bishop Phillpotts chose well when he appointed him.’
‘That’s the first kind thing I’ve heard you say about the bishop.’
‘Well, he has rather tried my patience.’ As they headed in the direction of the station, Colbeck sighed. ‘How much longer will we be here?’ he asked. ‘I’m so eager to get back to London. I’m needed there.’
‘If you accepted that Browne was the killer, we could leave today.’
‘Not while there’s unfinished business.’
‘Are we still trying to link Michael Heygate or Woodford to the murder?’
‘No,’ said Colbeck, ‘we’re still hunting for a barn owl. Only when we’ve found it will we get to the bottom of what’s been going on. Then we can pack our bags and I can return to the arms of the dear lady I’m about to marry.’
The journey to Exeter resolved itself into a continual list of complaints. Forced to travel on the broad gauge of the GWR, Andrews poured scorn on everything he could. He criticised the locomotive, the driver, the upholstery in the carriage, the speed at which they travelled and the regularity with which they stopped. Nothing outside the window diverted him from his diatribe. The beauties of Bath went by unseen and the commercial majesty of Bristol went unnoticed. Madeleine, however, saw everything that went past, taking especial interest in Bristol because it was there that Colbeck had once rescued her from her kidnappers on a ship.
Having made the sudden decision to quit London, she began to have doubts.
‘I hope that Robert won’t be cross with me,’ she said.
‘We don’t even need to see him, Maddy. We can just enjoy looking at Exeter.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going all this way to avoid him.’
‘Well, I’m going in order to avoid Ivy Young,’ he said. ‘I want plenty of distance between me and that harpy. I wonder what Binnie would say if she knew what her sister had done.’
‘I think you’re better off without either of them, Father.’
He was wistful. ‘So there’s to be no second wedding?’
‘Not unless you’re prepared to propose to Mrs Young.’
He let out a groan of terror. Streaming through Devon, he was so preoccupied by memories of the two women he’d escaped that he forgot to resume his carping. Madeleine was able to close her eyes and luxuriate in thoughts of her forthcoming reunion with Colbeck.
Adeline Goss was beside herself. When they’d taken Bagsy Browne off to the magistrate, she’d had only the merest glimpse and was unable to get any message from him. Locked in her cell, she was helpless and there would be no chance of a daring escape this time. The man who’d rescued her was being charged with murder and the worst thing was that she really didn’t know whether or not he’d committed it. Even if he was a killer, Adeline would not desert him and she racked her brains for a way to save him. In the end, she devised a plan and demanded to see Superintendent Steel. He talked to her through the bars.
‘What have you done with Bagsy?’ she asked.
‘He’s on remand in prison.’
