‘Why was that, sir?’
‘Not because of any shortcomings on our part,’ said Hindmarsh quickly. ‘Lady Hendry’s sudden departure was quite unexpected. When her husband got back from Newmarket, he was astonished that she was not here. After paying the bill, he left immediately.’
‘Did you find that behaviour rather strange?’
‘It’s not for me to say, Sergeant.’
‘Have Lord and Lady Hendry ever stayed here before?’
‘Yes,’ said Hindmarsh. ‘On two previous occasions.’
‘When there were races at Newmarket?’
‘Precisely.’
‘Did his wife accompany Lord Hendry to the races?’
‘No, sergeant – Lady Hendry always remained at the hotel.’
‘Does she have no interest in the Turf?’
‘Who knows, sir?’
‘You must have speculated on the reason.’
‘When guests book a room here,’ said Hindmarsh tactfully, ‘they can come and go as they wish. I do not keep an eye on them or pry into their private lives.’
Leeming was not hindered by any restraints. He was employed to pry. There was one obvious reason why the woman posing as Lady Hendry did not go to Newmarket. Lord Hendry was a familiar figure at any racecourse. Had he been seen flaunting his mistress, word would certainly have trickled back to his wife. Colbeck’s theory about the Lady Hendry with the hatbox had now turned into hard fact. The sergeant took out his notebook then licked the end of his pencil.
‘I need your assistance, Mr Hindmarsh,’ he said with what he hoped was a disarming smile, ‘and I don’t think you’ll be breaking a confidence in giving it to me.’
The manager was suspicious. ‘What kind of assistance?’
‘I want you to describe Lady Hendry to me.’
When he finished work that evening, Caleb Andrews paid his customary visit to a tavern frequented by railwaymen. He enjoyed an hour’s badinage with friends, a couple of pints of beer and, by dint of winning two games of dominoes, he did not even have to pay for the alcohol. As he sauntered home towards Camden, therefore, he was cheerful and the mood continued when he reached his house and found that Madeleine had supper waiting for him.
‘You’re back early for a change,’ she observed, giving him a token kiss of welcome. ‘Did you have a good day?’
‘Yes, Maddy – I’ve been to Crewe and back again.’
‘You must know every inch of that line.’
‘I could drive it in my sleep.’
‘Well, I hope I’m not a passenger when you do it.’ They shared a laugh and sat down at the table. ‘And thank you for coming back while I’m still up. It makes a big difference.’
‘I stopped playing dominoes while I was still winning.’
‘We could have a game afterwards, if you like.’
‘Oh, no,’ said Andrews, raising both hands as if to ward her off. ‘You have the luck of the devil whenever we play a game together. Cards, dominoes, draughts – it’s always the same. You manage to beat me every time somehow.’
Madeleine grinned. ‘I had an excellent teacher.’
‘It was a mistake to teach you at all.’ He forked some food into his mouth. ‘What have you been doing all day, Maddy?’
‘Working and reading.’
‘Have you started your latest painting yet?’
‘I’ve done a pen-and-ink sketch, that’s all.’
‘Will I be in this one?’
‘No, Father – just the locomotive.’
‘It has to have a driver,’ he complained.
‘Figures are my weak spot. I try to leave them out.’
He munched disconsolately. ‘What have you been reading?’
‘All sorts of interesting things,’ she said chirpily. ‘Robert lent me some books. He has hundreds of them in his library.’
‘I’m glad you mentioned Inspector Colbeck,’ he said, swallowing a piece of bread and washing it down with a sip of tea. ‘Next time he gets in touch, tell him I need to speak to him.’
‘What about?’
‘That severed head, of course. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I’ve got an idea of what might have happened.’
‘Why not leave the detection to Robert?’
‘He’s always grateful for help from the public.’
‘Only if it’s useful to him.’
‘Well, this will be, Maddy,’ he argued. ‘I’ve worked it out, see? It was a crime of passion. A married woman who lives in Crewe betrayed her husband with a young man from London. The husband was so angry that he took his wife’s hatbox to London – I may even have been driving the train that took him there – and killed the lover before cutting his head off. Then he took it back to Crewe to give to his wife.’
Madeleine grimaced. ‘That’s a horrible story!’
‘It could also be a true one.’
‘I doubt that very much, Father.’
‘Let the Inspector be the judge of that.’
‘He already has been.’
‘I know I’m right, Maddy. I’ve solved the crime for him.’
‘If that were the case,’ she said, ‘Robert would be grateful. But he has his own notions about the murder. To start with, that hatbox was not going to Crewe at all.’
‘It had to be – that’s where it was unloaded.’
‘Only so that it could be transferred to another train.’
‘You know nothing,’ he said, irritated at the way she dismissed his idea. ‘I’ve put a lot of thought into this. It was a crime of passion.’
‘Robert has discovered who owned that hatbox.’
‘An unfaithful wife in Crewe.’
‘Someone who lives in Surrey,’ she explained. ‘He gave me no details but he’s picked up clues that are sending him off in another direction altogether.’
Andrews was hurt. ‘You’ve
‘Not exactly.’
‘Why didn’t you keep him here until I came back? You know how keen I am to help, Maddy. I’m a bit of a detective myself.’
‘Robert didn’t call here,’ she said, ‘but he sent me a short note to say that he’d be away for a few days and would speak to me when he came back.’
‘Where has he gone – back to Crewe?’
‘Yes, Father.’
He clapped his hands. ‘I knew it!’
‘But only to change trains, I’m afraid,’ Madeleine went on. ‘He was planning to spend the night at Holyhead before catching the morning tide tomorrow.’
He was startled. ‘Where, in God’s name, is the man going?’
‘Ireland.’
Robert Colbeck’s passionate interest in railways was not only based on the fact that they could get him from one place to another quicker than any other means of transport. They also gave him a privileged view of town and
