The Iron Horse

when two of your men bang on my front door. What are my servants to think? That their master is under suspicion for some dastardly crime? This whole business could have been handled more discreetly.’

‘We wanted an immediate answer, Lord Hendry.’

‘Damn it, man – you offended me, don’t you see that?’

Tallis met his gaze without flinching. In view of what his detectives had found out, he was glad that they had visited Lord Hendry at his home. He certainly felt no need to apologise. There was a lengthy and uncomfortable pause. Lord Hendry finally broke the silence when he took a handkerchief from his sleeve and held it to his mouth as he sneezed.

‘God bless you!’ said Tallis.

‘I’m still waiting for your comment.’

‘I’ve none to make, Lord Hendry.’

‘Won’t you admit you were wrong to send your men to my house?’ demanded the other, slipping the handkerchief back into his sleeve. ‘Or do I have to take my complaint to the commissioner?’

‘I’d advise against that.’

‘Why?’

‘Because the commissioner has been made fully aware of the details of this case,’ said Tallis, tired of being glared at. ‘Like me, he knows that you lied to my detectives when they called on you. And, like me, he knows that the lady for whom you bought a hat and hatbox in Jermyn Street was not, in fact, Lady Hendry.’

‘How dare you, sir!’ yelled Lord Hendry, getting to his feet and frothing with rage. ‘That’s a monstrous allegation and I insist on a retraction.’

‘Insist all you will,’ said Tallis. ‘But before you issue any more denials, I should tell you that Sergeant Leeming visited the Angel Hotel in Cambridge recently. He not only discovered that you and a certain young lady had stayed there on more than one occasion, he learnt that the hatbox was not stolen from the hotel. Why did you tell my officers that it had been, Lord Hendry?’

‘This is insufferable!’ howled the other. ‘Is a peer of the realm to be allowed no private life? Since when has it been the function of detectives to pry into the personal affairs of a man who has committed no crime whatsoever?’

‘Your private life has a bearing on a brutal murder.’

‘I’ll not be watched, Superintendent,’ warned Lord Hendry. ‘I’ll not be treated like the basest scoundrel in London.’

‘You’ve been treated with the respect you deserve,’ said Tallis levelly. ‘Inspector Colbeck believed that you bore false testimony and he set out to prove it. Had you told him the truth in the first place, the visit to Cambridge would not have been necessary.’

‘Heavens above – I’m married!’

‘At moments like this, I’m pleased I remained a bachelor.’

Lord Hendry frowned. ‘Are you mocking me, Mr Tallis?’

‘I am simply observing how much easier life is for a single man.’

‘I have no interest in your observations, sir.’

‘Then I’ll keep them to myself.’ Sitting behind his desk, Tallis clasped his hands together. ‘Now that you’ve made your complaint, Lord Hendry,’ he said, ‘I’ll avail myself of the opportunity to make mine.’

‘I haven’t finished yet.’

‘You have another grievance?’

‘I need to report a crime,’ said Lord Hendry petulantly. ‘That’s why I hoped to see Inspector Colbeck. Yesterday, near the stables where my colt is trained, an attempt was made to kill Odysseus.’

‘An unsuccessful attempt, I hope.’

‘Fortunately, it was. Odysseus was due to be moved to Epsom in his travelling box but my trainer had a strong suspicion that someone was keeping a close watch on the stables. Fearing danger, he took steps to avoid it.’

‘In what way?’

‘Instead of putting Odysseus in the travelling box, he used a substitute – one of the bullocks from the adjoining paddock. As it was going up a hill, the travelling box was uncoupled from the cart pulling it and it careered down the slope before turning over.’

‘Was the bullock injured?’

‘One of its legs was broken,’ said Lord Hendry. ‘Do you see what I am up against, Superintendent? Someone is out to destroy my chances of winning the Derby. Had my horse been in that box, he would have broken his leg instead and we’d have had to put him down. I want you to find the man behind this outrage.’

‘We’ll do all we can to apprehend him as soon as we can,’ Tallis promised him. ‘Can you suggest the name of anyone capable of such a heinous crime?’

‘Two names command especial attention.’

‘And who might they be, Lord Hendry?’

‘Hamilton Fido and Brian Dowd.’

‘Your great rivals, as I understand it.’

‘I mean to win by fair means – they’ll resort to foul ones.’

‘I’ll need to take a fuller statement,’ said Tallis, reaching for his pen and moving a piece of paper into position. ‘I want the time and place of this incident and the names of any witnesses whom we can contact.’

‘First things first, Superintendent – when we do move Odysseus to Epsom, I’ll need police protection for the horse. There may be a second attack.’

‘We’ll look into that, Lord Hendry.’

‘Make sure you question Fido and Dowd.’

‘Inspector Colbeck has already spoken to both gentlemen.’

‘Really?’ Lord Hendry was amazed. ‘Why did he do that?’

‘Because he is accustomed to leaving no stone unturned,’ said Tallis. ‘There are certain things of which you have clearly not been apprised, my lord, and they may alter your view of events. The severed head has been identified as belonging to John Feeny, a groom at the stables owned, coincidentally, by Hamilton Fido. The hatbox was on its way to Brian Dowd in Ireland before it was intercepted in Crewe. Feeny, it transpires, once worked for Mr Dowd.’

‘How do you know all this?’ asked Lord Hendry.

‘As I told you, Inspector Colbeck is famed for his thoroughness.’

‘So both Fido and Dowd are tied in some way to the murder?’

‘Let’s move one step at a time,’ said Tallis, pen poised. ‘What brought this crime to light was a hatbox that sprung open on a railway platform. That leads me to a question I’m compelled to ask, Lord Hendry, and I’m sure that you understand why.’ He cleared his throat. ‘What was the name of the young lady from whom it was stolen?’

‘She has no name,’ retorted Lord Hendry, eyes blazing with defiance. ‘The young lady ceased to exist several weeks ago. That being the case, Superintendent, I regret that I’m unable to help you identify that person.’ He thrust out his jaw. ‘Do I make myself clear?’

The long cab ride back to Scotland Yard gave Robert Colbeck and Victor Leeming plenty of time to discuss their visit to the Green Dragon. The sergeant was impressed.

‘Mr Fido must have made a fortune,’ he said enviously. ‘He owns a stable of racehorses, a tavern in Bethnal Green and a big house somewhere else. Yet he comes from a poor family.’

‘Perhaps that’s what spurred him on, Victor. But he’s not the only person from the working class who went on to succeed. I’m sitting beside another example right now.’

‘Me?’ Leeming gave a dry laugh. ‘I don’t think I’m a success.’

‘You are, in my eyes,’ said Colbeck, letting his affection show. ‘Most people with your background never escape it. They’re doomed to live the same kind of hard, joyless, unrelenting lives as their parents. By sheer determination, you managed to better yourself and – unlike Hamilton Fido – you did so by entirely legal means.’

‘That’s no consolation, sir.’