Robert Colbeck and Victor Leeming arrived early at Scotland Yard next morning so that they could compare notes about their respective visits the previous day before reporting to the superintendent. Colbeck was interested to hear Leeming’s assessment of Brian Dowd.
‘He’s a hard man,’ said the sergeant. ‘Mr Dowd was pleasant enough to me but I’m not sure I’d like to work for him.’
‘Why not, Victor?’
‘He has a real temper. One of his stable lads felt the full force of it. The last time I heard that kind of language was in a dockyard. He cursed him until the lad was shaking.’
‘Brian Dowd likes to assert his authority. I saw that in Ireland.’
‘There’s no love lost between him and Hamilton Fido.’
‘I know,’ said Colbeck. ‘They loathe each other and neither of them has a good word to say about Lord Hendry. Of the three of them, I think I liked Dowd the best.’
‘He seemed the most straightforward of them to me.’
‘And he obviously inspires loyalty. That’s why Tim Maguire has stayed with him. If I owned a racehorse, Maguire would always be my first choice as a jockey. I’ve seen him ride before.’
‘No wonder Mr Fido tried to bribe him.’
‘We don’t know that he did,’ said Colbeck, glancing at the letter again. ‘That was an assumption that Dowd made when he saw that this. The offer could have come from one of the many owners who’d love to have Maguire in their colours.’
‘It didn’t come from Lord Hendry,’ said Leeming.
‘How do you know?’
‘Because of something Mr Dowd told me. According to him, Lord Hendry is always short of money. He certainly couldn’t afford the five hundred pounds to tempt Maguire.’
‘He could afford to keep a mistress – until she walked out.’
‘How could he manage that?’
‘On credit, probably,’ said Colbeck. ‘People still respect a title. It can buy a lot of financial leeway.’ He handed the anonymous letter to Leeming. ‘Time to face the wrath of Mr Tallis,’ he added, getting up from his chair. ‘He expected arrests long before now.’
When they entered the superintendent’s office, they walked into a fug of cigar smoke. Tallis was behind his desk, glowering at one of the newspapers on the pile in front of him. After puffing on his cigar, he looked up at them with controlled fury.
‘Which one of you idiots did this?’ he demanded, tapping the newspaper. ‘Who released the name of John Feeny to the press?’
‘Not me, sir,’ said Leeming.
‘Nor me,’ said Colbeck.
‘It must have been one of you. Nobody else outside this room knew who the murder victim was and I wanted to keep it that way until I felt it appropriate to identify him publicly. Admit it,’ he went on, rapping his desk. ‘Which one of you let the name slip?’
‘Neither of us, Superintendent,’ said Colbeck, ‘and you’re wrong to think that we are the only three people aware of Feeny’s identity. You’re forgetting his uncle and Brian Dowd. More importantly, you’re forgetting his killer – he was very much aware of who and what the lad was. You can add someone else to that list as well.’
‘And who might that be?’ said Tallis.
‘Hamilton Fido.’
‘The bookmaker?’
‘When we called on him this morning, he already knew that it was John Feeny’s head in that hatbox.’
‘Incredible!’
‘Not if you’ve met Mr Fido,’ said Leeming.
‘He has agents everywhere, sir,’ said Colbeck. ‘One of them, I’m ashamed to tell you, works in this very building.’
Tallis was rocked by the news. ‘Are you certain, Inspector?’
‘Beyond a shadow of a doubt,’ Colbeck assured him. ‘We need to flush him out and I have an idea how it might be done. Before we get diverted by that, however, I think you should hear what Victor and I managed to find out yesterday afternoon.’
‘Yes, yes, please go ahead.’
‘Victor,’ prompted Colbeck.
‘Oh, I see,’ said Leeming uneasily. ‘You want me to go first.’
He launched into a long, rambling account of his visit to Brian Dowd’s stables and he handed Tallis the anonymous letter sent to the jockey. When the report finally came to an end, the superintendent waved the letter in the air.
‘Five hundred pounds for a jockey?’ he bellowed. ‘Is any man worth that amount for simply riding in a horse race?’
‘Tim Maguire is worth every penny,’ said Colbeck. ‘He’s ahead of his rivals in both skill and experience. The Derby is not an ordinary race, sir. Apart from bringing great kudos to the winner, there’s prize money of over six thousand pounds this year.’
‘Six thousand!’
‘That’s in addition to what the owner can make by betting on his horse,’ said Leeming. ‘You can see why they all want the best jockey. Mr Fido has tried to lure him away before.’
‘Is Dowd certain that Hamilton Fido offered this bribe?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Then all we need to do is to get another sample of Mr Fido’s handwriting in order to compare it with this letter.’
‘With respect,’ said Colbeck, ‘that would be utterly pointless. If Hamilton Fido
‘I agree,’ said Leeming. ‘He’s the sort of man who could walk through snow without leaving a single footprint.’
Colbeck took it from him. ‘It’s an educated hand,’ he noted, ‘and he’s used stationery of good quality. Lord Hendry, perhaps – now there’s a thought! If he had Tim Maguire in the saddle, Odysseus really would be unbeatable.’
‘Tell me about your visit to Mr Fido’s stables.’
‘It was very productive, sir.’
Unlike the sergeant, Colbeck had taken the trouble to prepare his report beforehand so that it was clear and succinct. Though he told the superintendent about his meeting with Bonny Rimmer, he omitted all reference to the fact that he would be using Madeleine Andrews to extract further information from the barmaid. It was another woman who excited Tallis’s curiosity.
‘Mr Fido spent the night in a hotel with this person?’ he asked censoriously. ‘Whatever happened to Christian values?’
‘He
‘My point exactly.’
‘He refused to give me the young lady’s name.’
‘Then he must be compelled to do so, Inspector.’
‘I think I found a way around that particular problem, sir. Mr Fido will advise her to come forward voluntarily. I’ve every hope that she’ll take his advice.’
‘Gentlemen consorting with unmarried women,’ said Tallis, exhaling a cloud of smoke. ‘Where will it end? First of all we have Lord Hendry sharing a bed with his mistress in Cambridge and now we have Fido indulging in lewd conduct here in London.’
‘It’s an intriguing coincidence, isn’t it?’ said Colbeck.
‘I think it’s abominable!’
