‘I don’t hold with it myself,’ said Leeming. ‘Especially in the case of Lord Hendry – he’s married.’
‘There’s something that both of you should know,’ said Colbeck who had been saving the revelation until he could spring it on the two of them at once. ‘The young lady involved with Lord Hendry was, in point of fact, the same one who had her hatbox stolen from the Wyvern Hotel where she had been staying with Hamilton Fido.’
Tallis was flabbergasted. ‘The same one?’
‘That’s indecent!’ gasped Leeming. ‘She must be a prostitute.’
‘I fancy she’d prefer to be called a courtesan,’ said Colbeck, ‘and considers herself to be continuing a long and honourable tradition.’
‘Honourable!’ The superintendent almost exploded.
‘In
‘Sheer depravity!’
‘You can see why I’m so keen to meet her.’
‘I’ll leave that disagreeable task to you, Inspector,’ said Tallis with disdain. ‘I don’t want the creature near me.’
‘As you wish, sir.’
‘Wait a moment,’ said Leeming, weighing up the possibilities in the situation. ‘Did both gentleman realise what was going on?’
‘I doubt it very much, Victor.’
‘What if she was being used as a spy?’
‘At whose behest?’
‘Mr Fido’s,’ said Leeming. ‘What better way to learn how Odysseus is faring than by getting someone to win Lord Hendry’s confidence?’
‘No,’ decided Colbeck. ‘Hamilton Fido may be manipulative but I don’t believe that even he would loan a young lady for whom he really cares to another man. I learnt today that he has a romantic streak.’
‘Romantic!’ echoed Tallis incredulously. ‘What’s romantic about fornicating with a fallen woman? I saw too much of that in the army. I lost count of the number of drunken fools in the lower ranks who persuaded themselves they were in love with some damned whore because she offered them forbidden pleasures.’
‘I think you’re being unkind to Mr Fido, sir,’ warned Colbeck.
‘If the caps fits, Inspector, the man must wear it.’
‘I’ve just had another thought,’ said Leeming. ‘Suppose that a third person is involved here.’
Tallis rounded on him. ‘Third, fourth, fifth and all the rest of them, sergeant,’ he said harshly. ‘This woman is no vestal virgin.’
‘Hear me out, please, sir. My feeling is this, you see,’ continued Leeming. ‘A third person could be using this young lady to get information about the Derby from the two people who are his closest rivals. In other words, the man we should look at is Brian Dowd.’
‘I’ve already done that,’ said Colbeck, ‘and dismissed the notion at once. He has all the information he needs about the other horses and he would never resort to the tactics you suggest, Victor. Well, you’ve met the man. What was your overriding impression?’
‘He was blunt and direct.’
‘What about Hamilton Fido?’
‘I’ve never met anyone so sure of himself.’
‘Exactly,’ said Colbeck. ‘He’s supremely confident, clever and well acquainted with the ways of the world. A man as urbane as Fido would never let a woman be planted on him by a rival, however skilful she might be in the arts of deceit. He’s a handsome man who could have his pick of the most attractive young ladies in London. Since he chose this particular one, she must have outstanding appeal.’
‘Yes,’ added Tallis, putting his cigar down. ‘And we can all guess the nature of that appeal. Find this person, Inspector,’ he ordered. ‘We must know where she fits into the picture.’
‘Before I do that, sir,’ said Colbeck, taking a slip of paper from his pocket, ‘I wonder if I might remind you of the amount you owe me for my travel expenses to Ireland. As you will recall, I met them out of my own pocket.’
‘I’m still not convinced your journey was entirely necessary.’
‘I brought back the name of the murder victim.’
‘What I’m after is the name of the killer,’ said Tallis.
‘That will come in time, sir.’
‘Then we’ll defer any reimbursement until then, Inspector. If and when we do finally put someone behind bars, I’ll accept that your jaunt to Ireland should be paid out of our budget.’
‘Thank you,’ said Colbeck, putting the piece of paper on the desk. ‘This is a record of my expenses. I think you’ll agree that a small investment of time and money yielded a large reward.’
‘Make an arrest and secure a conviction.’
‘We’re bending all our energies to that end, sir. However,’ Colbeck went on, ‘it might be sensible to take time off to confront the problem we have here at Scotland Yard – namely, a spy.’
‘A traitor in our ranks?’ said Tallis. ‘He must be rooted out.’
‘That’s easier said than done,’ Leeming commented.
‘I don’t think so, Victor,’ said Colbeck. ‘We can catch him very quickly and you are the person to help us do that.’
‘Am I, sir – how?’
‘There are four people here who are above suspicion – we three and the commissioner. Somewhere among the rest of our colleagues is Hamilton Fido’s source. The bookmaker operates on the principle of
‘What’s that?’ rasped Tallis.
‘Knowledge is power. Fido collects intelligence all the time from his network of spies. That’s why he’s so well informed. I suggest that you gather the detectives together, sir,’ said Colbeck, ‘and give them a piece of information that would be very valuable to Fido. His informer will want to communicate it as soon as possible to him. Victor will be watching from an upstairs room in the Lamb and Flag. When someone leaves surreptitiously, we’ll know who our man is.’
Leeming liked the idea. ‘Do I arrest him, Inspector?’
‘You follow him until he meets up with Fido.’
‘Right.’
‘And when the rogue is apprehended,’ said Tallis mercilessly, ‘hand him over to me. I’ll make him wish he was never born.’
‘You approve then, sir?’ asked Colbeck.
‘I do, Inspector. We’ll put the plan into operation at once.’
‘Give Victor time to get across to the Lamb and Flag first.’
‘Off you go, Leeming,’ instructed Tallis.
The sergeant went to the door. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘And remember that you’re in that tavern to watch out for the criminal in our midst – not to sample the beer.’ Leeming nodded and left the room. ‘What is it that I’m supposed to tell my men, Inspector?’ continued Tallis. ‘You called it a valuable piece of information.’
‘Were it true,’ said Colbeck, ‘it would certainly be valuable to Hamilton Fido. When you tell the others about the progress we’ve made in the investigation, go on to say that I intend to arrest Mr Fido this very afternoon.’ He smiled conspiratorially. ‘That should inject a note of urgency.’
Victor Leeming was delighted with his assignment. He would be helping to unmask an informer, he would be doing so from the vantage point of his favourite establishment and no train journey was required of him. As he took up his position at the window in an upstairs room of the Lamb and Flag, the landlord came in with a tankard of beer for him.
‘I’m not allowed to drink on duty,’ said Leeming.
‘This is on the house, Sergeant.’
‘Then it would be rude to refuse.’
The landlord handed him the tankard. ‘You’ve been such a good customer for us over the years – so have
