The Stationmaster's farewell

‘I never ask them their names.’

‘Oh, I think you know this man’s name and I fancy you’ll recall the night that he spent with you. Mr Browne was very generous to you, wasn’t he? How many of your clients give you that amount of money?’

Her manner softened. ‘Why are you asking about Bagsy?’

‘He’s sent you a message from prison.’

Victor Leeming took them to the Acland Tavern and arranged rooms for them. When they’d settled in, Madeleine and her father joined the sergeant for a discussion about the case. Careful not to give too much detail away, he told them enough for them to understand the references to an owl and a canary.

‘That young waitress seemed like a nice girl,’ said Andrews.

‘It’s very hard work in that refreshment room,’ said Leeming. ‘I should know. I took over her job while Miss Hope was being interviewed by the inspector.’

Madeleine grinned. ‘You were a waitress?’

‘It’s not what I expected to do when I became a detective.’

‘It gives you another string to your bow, Sergeant,’ teased Andrews. ‘When you retire from Scotland Yard, you can work in a restaurant. Not that I’d recommend retirement,’ he added. ‘It brings hidden dangers with it.’

‘The sergeant doesn’t want to hear about your private life, Father,’ said Madeleine.

‘Perhaps not,’ agreed Leeming, ‘but I would like your opinion on something else, Mr Andrews. What’s your view of the atmospheric railway?’

Andrews snorted. ‘It was a disaster!’

‘The inspector thinks it was a clever idea.’

‘That’s all it was, Sergeant — an idea. It should never have been put into practice. It cost a lot of money and ended in failure.’

‘Don’t listen to my father,’ said Madeleine, good-humouredly. ‘He doesn’t approve of anything that wasn’t used on the LNWR.’

‘It’s the finest railway company in the world.’

‘Mr Brunel would disagree.’

‘Brunel is an idiot. He lost a small fortune on the experiment of the atmospheric railway. That’s no way to power a train.’

‘All the same,’ said Leeming, ‘I’d love to have seen how it was done.’

‘Then you should have been here when it was tried on the line between Exeter and Newton Abbot. It was abandoned after less than a year.’ He cackled in triumph. ‘It ran out of air!’

‘Let’s come back to the case,’ said Madeleine, anxious to steer her father away from his ritual sneering at Brunel. ‘Miss Hope told us that she was a good friend of the stationmaster.’

‘That’s correct,’ said Leeming. ‘In some ways, she was his best friend. He trusted her far more than anyone else.’

‘Then his death must have been an appalling blow to her.’

‘It was, Miss Andrews. Luckily, she’s been strong enough to cope with it. She’s controlled her grief and got on with her job. The same can’t be said of Mrs Rossiter, I’m afraid.’

‘Who is she?’

‘She was the manageress of the refreshment room,’ said Leeming, ‘but not any more. They had to cart her off to the Devon County Asylum.’

It was only a stroll along the corridors of the institution but it seemed to do Agnes Rossiter some good. Canon Smalley accompanied her, pointing out some of the paintings on the way. When he took her into one of the workrooms, she saw dozens of women seated at tables as they sewed garments. None of them looked up at the visitors. Smalley escorted her back to her room.

‘When will I go home?’ asked Mrs Rossiter.

‘This is your home for the time being.’

‘My sister will pine for me.’

‘I know,’ said Smalley, gently, ‘and we hope you’ll be able to see her before too long. But you’re not ready to leave our care yet. Dr Swift will decide when he can sanction your release.’

Mrs Rossiter gave a nod of acceptance. Sitting on the chair, she was lost in thought. Smalley took his leave. When he came out of the room, it was locked by the nurse waiting outside. After paying a visit to a number of other patients, Smalley then returned to his office to collect a book. With the volume tucked under his arm, he went off to the room occupied by Esther Leete. The door was locked and he had to wait to be let in by the nurse inside. Esther was not being restrained but she was under permanent surveillance. She was very subdued and showed no aggression when he sat on the chair opposite her. After talking to her for a while, he gave her the book so that she could feel it in her hands.

‘It’s full of illustrations,’ he said to the nurse. ‘I find that they often help to stimulate the patients.’

When he opened the book for her, Esther stared dully at a painting of Christ on the cross. As the pages were turned over, she took no notice of the other illustrations either. Then Smalley turned another page and the woman immediately sprang into life. Grabbing the book, she jumped up and hugged it to her chest. When the nurse tried to take the book from her, Esther fought back.

‘Let her be,’ advised Smalley. ‘She can keep the book.’

‘I think you’d better leave her alone,’ said the nurse.

‘I’ll call back this evening. She may have calmed down by then.’

Canon Smalley let himself out and heard the door being locked behind him. Esther Leete puzzled him. Her reaction to an illustration in the book had been so fierce and unexpected. What she’d seen was a painting of the Madonna and Child.

Colbeck was able to spend only a few minutes alone with Madeleine at the Acland Tavern. He was full of apologies for having to leave almost immediately.

‘I understand, Robert,’ she said. ‘It’s my fault for arriving out of the blue without warning.’

‘It was the nicest thing to happen to me since I came to Exeter.’

‘I simply had to see you.’

‘You should have come alone,’ he said. ‘You don’t need a chaperone.’

‘Father had his own reasons for leaving London. I’m beginning to regret that I brought him with me,’ she said, light-heartedly. ‘He keeps arguing with Sergeant Leeming about the merits of the atmospheric railway.’

‘I’ll have to rescue Victor. We have some work to do.’

‘Was your visit to Totnes successful?’

‘I believe so.’

‘Will it make any difference to the case?’

‘It will make a great deal of difference. Our main suspect has been exonerated. We’ll have to look elsewhere for the killer.’

She was dismayed. ‘Does that mean you’ll be here for a lot longer?’

‘I’m not sure, Madeleine,’ he said, guardedly. ‘Much will depend on what Victor and I find this evening.’

‘What are you hoping to find?’

He smiled lovingly. ‘We’re searching for an owl.’

Dorcas Hope had seen little of the stationmaster throughout the day. When she was about to go home, however, he was waiting to waylay her outside the refreshment room. Woodford had reverted to his old authoritarian self.

‘If you want to earn my respect, Miss Hope,’ he said, reprovingly, ‘you can stop giving a false impression of me to Inspector Colbeck.’

‘But I didn’t do that, Mr Woodford.’

‘You told him that I blenched when I heard that the diary had been found.’

‘That’s exactly what you did.’

‘No, it isn’t.’

‘You turned quite pale.’

‘I was delighted by the news,’ he said, forcefully. ‘Try to remember that.’

‘I can only say what I saw,’ she bleated.