The Stationmaster's farewell

‘Heygate was too inquisitive,’ said the man. ‘If he’d minded his own business, he’d still be alive now. You made the same mistake that he did.’

Ready to pull the trigger, he aimed the gun at Leeming. Colbeck immediately snatched up a handful of earth and threw it into the man’s face, distracting him completely. The gun went off but it discharged its shot harmlessly into the air. Leeming was galvanised into action. He dived for the man’s ankles and brought him crashing to the ground before hurling himself on top of him. The woman was no mere bystander. She raised the heavy lamp with the intention of smashing it down on Leeming’s skull. Colbeck stopped her just in time, seizing her wrist and twisting it until she was forced to let go of the lamp. It fell to the ground but she was not finished yet. Surprisingly strong, she grappled with him for minutes, kicking, screaming, biting and spitting at him. Evidently, she was very accustomed to a brawl and gave no quarter. Colbeck eventually slammed her against the side of the shed to take the fight out of her, then held her from behind with one hand around her neck and the other applying an arm lock.

Leeming was engaged in an even more desperate struggle against a man determined to kill him. Having failed to shoot the sergeant, he rolled on top of him and managed to hold him down long enough to get the shotgun across his neck. Pressing down hard on Leeming’s windpipe, he tried to choke him to death. As the pain became more intense, Leeming put every ounce of his remaining energy into an upward shove, dislodging his adversary and making him fall backwards. It was the sergeant’s turn to be on top now and the first thing he did was to wrest the shotgun away and fling it out of reach. The two of them traded punches and the advantage swung first one way, then the other. With the woman safely pinioned, Colbeck watched as the man finally shrugged Leeming away and tried to escape.

He got no further than the fence. Before he could scramble over it, he felt his legs being held securely. Leeming dragged him to the ground and pulled him over each of the two mounds in turn. Every time the man attempted to get up, he was knocked back down again by a well-aimed punch. In the end, drained of energy, he simply collapsed in a heap. Leeming reclaimed the shotgun.

An owl hooted nearby.

Dr Morton Swift worked long hours at the asylum. Though he owned a house only a mile away, there were times when he decided to stay at the institution instead of going home. He reserved a large room with an adjoining bathroom for his own use. It was far more comfortable and well appointed than the accommodation used by any of the patients. Much of the space was taken up by a double bed. When he finished work that evening, he adjourned to his private quarters. He was surprised when there was a knock on his door. Anticipating company for the night, he didn’t expect his visitor to come so soon. When he opened the door, he saw that there was no compliant young woman outside. The trio of men comprised Colbeck, Leeming and Steel. The superintendent was holding handcuffs.

‘May we come in, sir?’ asked Colbeck, pushing him back into the room and following him in. Leeming and Steel came behind him. ‘We must apologise for this intrusion but we’ve come to place you under arrest.’

‘What the devil are you talking about?’ demanded Swift, shaking with rage.

‘I thought I was quite explicit.’

‘Please leave at once. You have no right to barge in here.’

‘We have every right, Dr Swift. Our duty is to enforce the law.’

‘We’ve already made two arrests,’ said Leeming, pointedly. ‘Howard and May Gurney are both in custody. They’re friends of yours, I believe. As you can see, they were stupid enough to resist us in the garden.’

He gestured to his filthy trousers and showed his dirty hands. Mention of the two names was a like a hammer blow to Swift. He was reeling. Trying to control his rising panic, he fell back on bluff.

‘Don’t listen to anything that Gurney and his wife tell you,’ warned Swift. ‘Both of them worked under me as nurses and I dismissed them for incompetence. They’ll make up all sorts of weird tales to get back at me.’

‘Two tiny bodies have been uncovered in their garden,’ said Colbeck, regarding him with contempt. ‘The most recent of them was buried there on the night that Joel Heygate was killed. In fact, it was the reason that he was murdered. He saw something that he shouldn’t have seen and was battered to death as a result.’

‘This has got nothing whatsoever to do with me, Inspector.’

‘I think that it has, Dr Swift. The baby that the stationmaster saw was the murdered child of a young woman named Esther Leete, a patient at the deaf and dumb asylum. You were the father and you paid Gurney and his wife to dispose of the baby in the way that they’d disposed of the other child you fathered on a patient. Infanticide is a sickening crime,’ said Colbeck, sharply. ‘You incited it.’

Steel moved forward. ‘I need to put these handcuffs on you, sir.’

‘You can’t touch me,’ cried Swift in horror. ‘I’m essential to this place. I cure people with disordered minds. I’m a noted person in my profession.’

‘You’ll be noted for other reasons in the future.’

‘There’s obviously been a gigantic mistake.’

‘You’re the one who made it, Doctor Swift.’

‘Gurney and his wife have told us everything,’ said Colbeck, icily. ‘You suborned them and bought them that house in return for their services in getting rid of your unwanted progeny. When you heard that they’d killed the stationmaster, you helped Gurney to transport the body to the cathedral precinct on a handcart. But it’s not just his word and that of his wife on which we rely,’ he went on. ‘There’s the evidence of the two women you seduced and impregnated. One of them, I gather, was deaf and dumb. Could anything be more nauseating than the way you preyed on two vulnerable young women in your care?’

‘Hold out your hands,’ insisted Steel. ‘Your career here is finished.’

‘Come on,’ said Colbeck. ‘You shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near the patients in this institution. Gurney and his wife were nurses here until you realised they could perform a more useful function. You corrupted them.’

‘They were corrupt enough already, if you ask me,’ said Leeming.

Steel stepped forward and snapped the handcuffs on to Swift’s wrists.

The prisoner hung his head in shame. The people he’d employed and trusted had clearly made a full confession. The game was up. He was destined to join them on the gallows.

Canon Smalley was so shocked by the latest developments that he hurried to the bishop’s palace so that he could deliver his report. Plucked away from the dinner table, Phillpotts was in an irascible mood but it soon changed. When he heard that Dr Swift had been arrested and charged with murder, he refused to believe it at first and said that he had every confidence in the man. Smalley described the evidence amassed against the doctor and the bishop was stunned into silence for minutes. Finding his voice again, he pressed for detail.

‘Two young women were involved?’

‘Two gave birth to children,’ said Smalley, ‘but others fell victim to Dr Swift’s charms. According to his accomplices, there were several females and, since they were patients kept in detention, there was nobody to whom the unfortunate women could complain. Dr Swift had complete control over their lives.’

‘And over their bodies,’ said the bishop with a shudder. ‘The man has the cunning and instincts of an animal. The litany of his crimes is vile. He and his two accomplices deserve more than hanging.’

‘I inadvertently saw something of his power over a female patient.’

‘Did you?’

‘When I first introduced myself to Esther Leete, the deaf and dumb girl, she was held in a straitjacket and unwilling even to let me talk to her. The next time I saw her, she was walking quietly by Dr Swift’s side. In his presence, she was subdued. At the time, of course,’ said Smalley, ‘I was unaware of the full facts. Now that I am, Miss Leete’s wild reaction to a painting of the Madonna and Child is explained. Like any mother, she wanted her baby back.’

‘Dr Swift is guilty of inhuman cruelty.’

‘He and his accomplices will pay for it, Bishop.’

‘What about Bernard Browne?’

‘He was in no way involved in the murder,’ said Smalley. ‘Other crimes will send him to prison for a long time but he’s been cleared of the charge of killing the stationmaster.’

Phillpotts was disappointed. ‘So Inspector Colbeck was right all along,’ he said, sourly. ‘In the teeth of the evidence, he championed Browne’s innocence with regard to the murder. I hope he doesn’t come to me for an