natural authority. I know there’s a lot of opposition to the Women’s Force but I think girls like Alice could do certain things much better than we can.’
‘That’s exactly what I thought when I visited the Stein house,’ recalled Marmion. ‘I was following up that rape allegation. I never actually spoke to the victim herself — she was still in shock — but I felt very awkward as I talked to her mother. It was exactly the sort of situation where a woman would have come into her own.’
‘You should have taken Alice with you.’
‘She is
It was Marmion’s turn to recount details of an interview. He told Keedy how struck he was by Miriam Stein’s dignity and by her steely determination to seek justice for her daughter. At a time when she was coping with one family catastrophe, she had the strength to deal with another one. She’d been able to pass on two significant details about Ruth’s attackers. Keedy was interested to hear of them.
‘It took one phone call to find out what I wanted,’ he said. ‘The only soldiers who embarked for the Continent today were members of the East Surrey Regiment. They’re going to Ypres as reinforcements.’
‘Then they’re brave men. Ypres is a real hellhole.’
‘The two people we’re after are not brave, Joe. They’re cruel, heartless bastards and their names are somewhere on this list.’ He indicated the sheaf of papers in front of him. ‘I had this sent over from the War Office. They were very reluctant at first, then I threatened to set the commissioner onto them. That did the trick.’
‘Have you discovered who the two men are?’
‘Not yet, I haven’t. Bring that other chair over and help me.’
Keedy picked up an upright chair, placed it behind the desk and sat beside the inspector. Marmion spread the pages out.
‘How far have you got?’ asked Keedy.
‘I’ve had a first glance through the names and there are four Olivers in the regiment. One is a major, so I think we can discount him immediately. We’re looking for two uncouth characters. They’ll be somewhere in the ranks.’
‘What was the other name Mrs Stein mentioned?’
‘Gatty.’
‘Could that be short for Gareth or something?’
‘If it is, we’re stumped. There’s no Gareth on the list.’
‘Let me see.’
Keedy pulled the pages closer so that he could scan them. When he’d been through the Christian names of all the men, he went quickly through the list again and concentrated on the surnames. Finding what he was after, he jabbed a triumphant finger at the name.
‘That’s him,’ he decided. ‘John Gatliffe. I’d put money on him being called Gatty.’
‘You could be right, Joe.’
‘I am right. There’s no other surname like it.’
‘If Gatliffe is our man, we can soon unmask his friend, Oliver.’
‘How can you do that, Inspector?’
‘By comparing addresses,’ said Marmion, opening a folder to take out another list. ‘Friends usually live close to each other. Let’s see where our three Olivers live, shall we?’ It took him less than a minute to identify the man. ‘Here he is — Oliver Cochran. He lives in Ewell and so, by a strange coincidence, does John Gatliffe. It
‘Then they’re both culpable.’
Marmion gathered up the pages. ‘I promised to have these sent back at once to the War Office. They’ve fulfilled their purpose.’
‘What’s the next step, Inspector?’
‘The commissioner will have to go into battle for us.’
‘Do you think there’ll be opposition?’
‘I’m certain of it, Joe. The army won’t want any of its men subject to a police investigation. They need every soldier they can get. Sir Edward will have to use his full weight,’ said Marmion. ‘We must have warrants for the arrest of those men and documents that give us access to them. Apart from the rape, they may have also been guilty of looting the shop.’ His jaw tightened. ‘Gatliffe and Cochran are in for a big surprise.’
They had never been abroad before and the sheer novelty of France diverted their minds from the uncertainties that lay ahead. Private John Gatliffe and Private Oliver Cochran of the East Surrey Regiment were amazed by the long straight roads lined with trees and by the quaint villages through which they were driven to the cheers of the locals. When the procession stopped for refreshment and everyone hopped out of their respective lorries, the friends were able to have a quiet chat together. Gatliffe lit a cigarette then used its tip to light the one he’d just given to Cochran. After inhaling deeply, they blew out smoke in unison.
‘It’s so
‘Yes,’ said Cochran, gloomily. ‘We’re heading for a war zone.’
‘I was talking about the countryside and the people.’
‘The countryside is all right but I don’t like the look of the people. All we’ve seen so far are scrawny old men and ugly peasant women. I loathe the French.’
‘But they’re our allies.’
‘That doesn’t mean I have to like them.’
‘I’m hoping to learn some French while I’m here.’
Cochran was mystified. ‘Whatever for?’
‘So I can talk to them in their own language.’
‘That’s stupid, Gatty. If they want to talk to us, let them learn English. The only time we might need French is if we go on leave and find a brothel. Two words will do — “How much?” That’s unless we can get it free, of course.’
Gatliffe was uncomfortably reminded of the incident on their final night in England but he did not bring it up again. Cochran had told him to forget all about it and that was what his friend was trying and failing to do. After another pull on his cigarette, Gatliffe looked ahead.
‘What do you think it will be like, Ol?’
‘Where?’
‘At the front.’
‘I’ve got no idea.’
‘You hear such terrible stories.’
‘I just ignore them,’ said Cochran, airily.
‘Aren’t you afraid of the Germans?’
‘No, Gatty, I’m more afraid of the bloody Frenchies. They’ll let us down. They can’t even defend their own borders. If it wasn’t for us, the Germans would have occupied Paris by now.’
‘Why did you join up?’
‘You know why.’
‘I know you got that white feather — so did I. But was that the real reason? I enlisted because my cousin was badly wounded at Mons. They shipped back what was left of him and he hung on until this year before he died.’ Gatliffe hunched his shoulders. ‘Pete was just nineteen. When he first came home, I couldn’t bear to look at him. He’d lost both legs and an eye. I wanted to hit back at the Germans who’d done that to him.’ He went off into a reverie for a few minutes. When he jerked himself out of it, he turned to Cochran. ‘What about you, Ol?’
His friend blew out a smoke ring. ‘I was bored, Gatty.’
‘What — bored with living in Ewell?’
‘I was bored with everything. I was bored with my job, for a start. Mending roofs all day is no fun, I can tell you. I was bored with living at home and arguing with Dad time and time again. Most of all, I was bored with being asked by people why I hadn’t joined the army and gone off to fight for my country. In the end, I just wanted a bit of adventure so, when you decided to enlist, I did so as well.’
‘Weren’t you scared of the danger?’
‘No,’ said Cochran, emphatically. ‘You’re used to danger if you work as a roofer. I’ve seen two men badly
