Murder on the Brighton Express

‘All in good time,’ said the other.

He put the card and the letter aside then perched on the edge of the desk. He waited patiently. The superintendent might be relaxed but Shanklin was squirming in his seat. Tallis locked his eyes on the suspect and spoke with deliberate calm.

‘Do you understand the seriousness of the crime, sir?’

‘I did not commit it,’ retorted Shanklin.

‘That’s not what I asked you. Please answer my question.’

‘Yes, of course I understand how serious it is.’

‘Twelve people were killed and dozens were badly injured, Mr Bardwell among them. Would you agree that a man who connived at such a disaster is nothing short of a fiend?’

‘I could not agree more, Superintendent.’

‘Then why did you do it?’ snapped Tallis, moving to stand over him like a vulture over a carcass. ‘Why did you and your confederate commit that crime? Why did you kill and maim innocent people in the reckless pursuit of a private feud? You and Dick Chiffney will hang for what you did. The pair of you deserve no mercy.’

‘No!’ howled Shanklin in despair. ‘I’d never sink to anything like that. It’s downright evil. What sort of a man do you take me for? You must believe me, superintendent. I had nothing whatsoever to do with the crash. As for Dick,’ he said, ‘I haven’t seen him for months.’

‘Then you do know the man.’

‘Yes, I do.’

‘That’s not what you told me,’ said Leeming.

‘We have a connection at last,’ said Tallis. ‘It needed one person to plan the crime and another to execute it, one person to spy out the right place with his telescope and another to act on his orders. I suggest that you, Matthew Shanklin, were in league with Chiffney.’

‘I’d never trust a man like Dick,’ said Shanklin.

‘Why not?’

‘He’s far too unreliable.’

‘Then you suborned someone else to help you.’

‘My only crime was to send that malicious card.’

‘Tell us how you know Chiffney,’ said Leeming, ‘and explain why you denied it earlier.’

Shanklin shook his head wearily. ‘I was too ashamed to admit it, Sergeant,’ he said. ‘Dick is a distant relative of mine. I keep as far away from the rogue as possible. He prevailed upon me to get him a job with the LB&SCR then he lost it by knocking out the foreman’s teeth. That was typical of him. Dick Chiffney is a menace.’

Chiffney was frustrated. Having been unable to carry out his orders in Brighton, he returned by train to London that evening and went into a tavern near the station to have a few drinks before he felt able to face Josie Murlow’s cross-examination. Instead of taking good news back to her, he had to admit failure. When he got back to the house, he went up the stairs and saw her waiting at the top, hands on her hips. She looked even more bellicose than usual.

‘Where’ve you been?’ she snarled.

‘You know that, my darling. I had to go to Brighton.’

‘You’ve been away all day, Dick.’

‘I’m sorry about that,’ he said, taking her by the arm to lead her back into their bedroom. ‘Let me explain.’

She was roused. ‘You’ve been drinking – I can smell it on you.’

‘I only had one pint.’

‘And what did she have?’ Josie challenged. ‘What did your fancy woman drink? That’s where you’ve been, Dick Chiffney, isn’t it – strolling along the promenade in Brighton with someone else on your arm! While I’ve been shut away here like a prisoner, you’ve been dipping your wick at the seaside.’

‘That’s a lie!’ he shouted. ‘You’re the only woman I want, Josie. You should know that by now. Nobody compares with you, my love. In any case,’ he said, pointing to his face with a harsh laugh, ‘this ugly mug of mine frightens women away. Only you had the kindness to take me on. Do you think I’d forget that?’

‘There’s nobody else, then?’

‘I give you my word.’

She was pacified. ‘So tell me what happened.’

‘I waited and watched in vain.’

‘What were you supposed to do?’

‘That doesn’t matter. The point is that I wasn’t able to do it.’

‘Were you there to kill someone, Dick?’

‘No, no,’ he said, evasively.

‘Then why did you take that gun with you?’

‘It was for my protection, Josie. There’s lots of thieves about. You can’t be too careful.’

‘Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes,’ she said. ‘Any thief would have more sense than to take on a man like you. That gun was given you for a purpose – and so was that rifle. Now stop feeding me lies or I’ll walk out of here now.’

‘You mustn’t do that, Josie – you could be seen.’

‘The police are after you, not me.’

‘Just let me do the job,’ he pleaded, ‘then the pair of us can get out of London altogether. I know you’re upset because all your things are back at the house but they can be fetched. As soon as it gets dark, I’ll sneak back and get whatever you want.’

‘The only thing I want is the truth,’ she declared, giving him an ultimatum. ‘If I don’t hear it in the next few minutes, then you can find someone else to lie to because I’ll be on my way home.’

Chiffney was in an awkward predicament. If he told her the full truth, he would be breaking his word to the man who was employing him. He would also risk losing Josie altogether. When she realised the enormity of what he had already done, she would be horrified and might well want nothing to do with him. While she would happily flout the law when it served her purpose, she would never condone the crime in which Chiffney had become involved. On the other hand, to withhold everything from her would provoke Josie into walking out and he was desperate to prevent that. After careful consideration, he decided on a partial confession.

‘I met this man some weeks ago,’ he began.

‘What’s his name?’

‘Now that’s something I can’t tell you, my love, because I don’t know it myself. He made sure of that. What I can tell you is that he lives in Brighton and he’s not short of money.’

‘Why did he get in touch with you?’

‘He wanted someone who could do a job for him without asking any questions. My name was mentioned to him and he got in touch.’ He smirked. ‘It was the best bit of luck I’ve had since I met you.’

‘What sort of job is it?’

‘A dangerous one,’ he admitted.

‘I knew it,’ she said, wide-eyed with alarm. ‘He’s paying you to murder someone, isn’t he?’

‘Let’s just say that he wants a certain man hurt bad. I hurt him once already and that’s why I got that money. But there’s more to come if I hurt him again.’ She was patently worried. ‘It will be over in seconds, Josie,’ he went on, slipping an arm around her. ‘This man means nothing to us – why should we care what happens to him?’

‘Who is he?’

‘He lives in Brighton, that’s all I can tell you.’

‘Why does the other man want him hurt?’

‘Revenge,’ said Chiffney. ‘I don’t know what he did to the man who’s paying me but it must have been something terrible. In other words, he deserves what’s coming to him.’ He pulled her close. ‘So now you know the truth, Josie. I’ve been living off you too long and it made me feel bad. When I had a chance like this, I couldn’t turn it down. I’m being paid more than I could earn on the railway in ten years. Think