‘I see nothing whatsoever wrong with it.’
‘This is my working dress, Inspector.’
‘And very charming you look in it, Miss Andrews.’
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Do you wish to see Father?’
‘Yes, please. I have some good news for both of you.’
She led him up the staircase and he watched her hips swaying entrancingly to and fro in front of him. Stepping into the bedroom, he was greeted by a look of surprise from Caleb Andrews.
‘Have you been fighting, Inspector?’ he said, staring at his face.
‘A light scuffle, Mr Andrews,’ replied Colbeck. ‘Nothing more. My injuries pale beside yours even though we may possibly have come up against the same man.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Three arrests were made last night. The men were all members of the gang involved in the train robbery.’
‘At last!’ said Madeleine.
‘We still have to round up the others, of course, but we feel that we are definitely closing in on them now. Last night was a turning point.’
‘Tell us why, Inspector,’ urged Andrews. ‘We want the details.’
Without even saying that they had been acting on his initiative, Colbeck told them about the successful ambush at the Crystal Palace and gave them the names of the three men in custody. Madeleine clapped her hands together in delight but her father shook his head.
‘Those names mean nothing to me,’ he said.
‘Perhaps their faces will, Mr Andrews.’
‘You’re going to bring the rogues here for me to see them?’
‘I already have,’ said Colbeck, taking some sheets of paper from inside his coat and opening them out. ‘These are only sketches, mark you, but I think that the artist caught the salient features of each man. Here,’ he went on, passing the first sketch to Andrews, ‘this is Harry Seymour. Do you recognise him?’
‘No,’ said Andrews, squinting at the paper. ‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘What about his brother, Vernon?’
‘Let me see.’ He took the second sketch then shook his head. ‘No, this is not the man either. He was bigger and with an uglier face.’
‘Perhaps it was Arthur Jukes, then,’ said Colbeck, showing him the last drawing. ‘Ignore the black eye,’ he advised. ‘That’s what I gave him when he had the temerity to fight back. Those whiskers of his are ginger, by the way.’
‘It’s him!’ asserted Andrews, waving the paper. ‘This is him!’
‘Are you certain?’
‘As certain as I am of anything. This is the devil who hit me.’
‘Then that’s one more charge for him to answer.’
‘Frank Pike was there as well,’ recalled Madeleine. ‘He probably got a closer look at this man than Father.’
‘I intend to call on Mr Pike to show him these sketches,’ said Colbeck. ‘If he agrees with your father that Jukes is the man, he can come and see him in person, just to make sure.’
‘Take me along as well, Inspector,’ said Andrews.
‘No, Father,’ said Madeleine. ‘You must stay here.’
‘I want to tell that villain what I think of him, Maddy.’
‘Mr Pike will surely do that on your behalf,’ said Colbeck, taking the sketches back and slipping them into his pocket. ‘Well, I’m delighted that we have such a positive identification.’
‘How many other men are involved?’ wondered Madeleine.
‘That has yet to be determined, Miss Andrews, but we intend to hunt down each and every one. Apart from the robbery, there are two murders and an explosion at Kilsby Tunnel to be laid at their door.’
‘And an attempted outrage at the Crystal Palace.’
‘Blowing up those wonderful locomotives?’ said Andrews, still appalled at the idea. ‘That’s worse than a crime — it’s downright evil.’
‘They were all saved for the visitors to enjoy them,’ said Colbeck. ‘And what amazing machines they are! After spending three nights lying beneath
‘A genius, Inspector.’
‘I only wish that I could persuade Sergeant Leeming of that. He hates trains, I fear, and being forced to sleep under a locomotive did not endear him to the notion of rail travel.’
‘Who is Sergeant Leeming?’ said Andrews.
‘Your daughter will explain — she’s met him. Well,’ said Colbeck, ‘now that I’ve passed on the glad tidings, I’ll be on my way.’ He smiled at the invalid. ‘I’m pleased to see that you’re looking somewhat better, Mr Andrews.’
‘I can’t say the same about you, Inspector.’
‘That’s not very tactful, Father,’ said Madeleine.
‘It’s an honest comment, Maddy.’
‘It is,’ agreed Colbeck. ‘When I saw myself in the shaving mirror this morning, I had quite a shock. It looks far worse than it feels.’
After trading farewells, he went downstairs and made for the front door. Madeleine was at his heels, determined to have a word with him alone. When he let himself out, she stood on the doorstep. Colbeck kept his top hat in his hand while he talked.
‘I hope that the news will act as a tonic for your father,’ he said.
‘It will, Inspector. It has certainly cheered me.’
‘I have the feeling that he can be a difficult patient.’
‘Quite impossible at times.’
‘Fretful and demanding?’
‘Only on good days, Inspector.’
They shared a laugh and he watched her cheeks dimple again. She had a way of putting her head slightly to one side that intrigued him. For her part, she noticed the sparkle of interest in his eyes. It implanted a distant hope in her breast.
‘Where are you going now?’ she asked.
‘To call on Frank Pike,’ he replied. ‘After that, I have to go straight back to Scotland Yard.’
‘Do you never rest, Inspector?’
‘Not when I am in the middle of an investigation.’
‘Your family must miss you terribly.’
‘I live alone, Miss Andrews,’ he said, glad of the opportunity to reveal his circumstances. ‘My parents died some years ago and I have never felt it entirely fair to invite anyone to share the life of a detective.’ He pointed to his face. ‘What wife wishes to see her husband coming home like this, especially after he has been absent from the marital couch for three nights?’
‘Some wives have to put up with a lot more than that, Inspector.’
‘By choice?’
‘Of course,’ she said, earnestly. ‘If a woman really loves her husband, then she will happily endure all the disadvantages that his job might bring. I know that that was my mother’s attitude. Being the wife of a railwayman has many drawbacks, believe me.’
‘Is that why you spurned the opportunity yourself?’
‘Not at all.’
‘But I understood you to say that you had rejected your suitor.’
‘Only because he was not the right man for me,’ she explained. ‘It was nothing to do with his occupation. If Gideon had been the husband of my choice, it would not have mattered whether he were a railwayman or a road sweeper.’
