The Silver Locomotive Mystery

‘I only saw her on a few occasions and always through the window, of course. She was well-dressed and looked respectable to me. I thought her attractive and agreeably wholesome.’

‘Did she and Mr Voke seem like close friends?’

‘Oh, yes – she always took his arm as they walked away.’

‘Is there anything else you can remember about her?’

‘Only my wife’s observation,’ said Meyrick, ‘and she has sharper eyes for such things.’

‘What sort of things?’

‘Age and class, sir. She felt that the young lady was a little older than Mr Voke and came from a higher station in life. For all that, they seemed well-suited.’

‘When did he actually leave your house?’

‘Last Saturday – a cab came to pick him up at the door. I helped him to carry down his luggage. Mr Voke was very grateful. He thanked us for looking after him so well.’

‘Do you know where the cab was taking him?’

‘Yes, Superintendent,’ said Meyrick, ‘I heard him tell the driver to take him to Paddington Station. He was leaving London altogether.’

On his way back to the hotel, Colbeck called in at the police station to keep Stockdale informed of the latest developments. When he heard of the reaction to the latest ransom demand, the superintendent was very impressed.

‘Winifred Tomkins is a braver woman than I took her for,’ he said with mild astonishment. ‘I’m not surprised that her husband refused to provide the money even though he could afford to pay fifty times that amount and not miss it. It’s the wife that I admire. There are not many women who would take such a risk.’

‘I agree,’ said Colbeck, ‘and that was before Mrs Tomkins knew that I intended to hide in the carriage with her. She will not be entirely unprotected.’

‘How was the situation left?’

‘According to that letter, the exchange will not take place until twilight. That gives them the best part of a day to decide what they’re going to do. Mr Tomkins will try to talk his wife out of what he sees as an act of madness while she, I suspect, will hold firm.’

‘Even if it means that she has to pay the ransom money herself?’

‘Appear to pay it,’ corrected Colbeck. ‘Mrs Tomkins must look as if she’s obeying the instructions. As well as keeping her from any harm, I hope to retrieve both her money and her coffee pot.’

‘We’ll catch them this time,’ said Stockdale, confidently. ‘I feel it in my bones. It’s a pity that the sergeant won’t be here to enjoy the moment.’

‘What Victor needs to enjoy is the comfort of his wife and family. That’s why I put him on the train back to London this morning. He’ll have to give a full report to Superintendent Tallis, of course, but he’ll be able to sleep in his own bed tonight. That’s important to Victor.’

‘The love of a good woman is important to any man.’

‘Too true,’ said Colbeck, thinking of Madeleine Andrews.

‘Yet you’ve remained single, Inspector.’

‘Yes, I have.’

‘It can’t be for want of opportunities,’ said Stockdale with grin. ‘Even someone as ugly as me has caused the odd female heart to beat faster. A handsome fellow like you could pick and choose.’

‘At the moment, I choose to devote all my energies to my work,’ said Colbeck, crisply, ‘and I know that you’re as keen as I am to solve this particular case.’

‘I am, Inspector, but these villains are proving devilishly hard to find. They must be in Cardiff somewhere,’ he said, ‘yet we’ve drawn a blank in all the hotels and boarding houses. There’s no sign of them. My men have looked into every nook and cranny.’

‘They’ve been searching for a man and woman but the chances are that the pair of them split up to avoid detection. They’ll only get back together again when they’re ready to seize the ransom money. And as we’ve discussed before,’ said Colbeck, ‘it could be that the woman in question actually lives in the town.’

‘Miss Carys Evans.’

‘We must keep watch on her, Superintendent.’

‘I’ve been doing just that,’ Stockdale told him. ‘I paid her a call this very morning. I told her that we’d become aware of the fact that she was in the hotel at roughly the time of the murder and asked her if she saw anything unusual while she was there. Miss Evans said that she did not.’

‘Did she explain what she was doing at the hotel?’

‘She was visiting a friend though she refused to give me a name. It could, as we speculated, simply have been Sir David Pryde. From the way that she rebuffed my question, however, I felt that it was not him. It may not even have been a man, of course.’

‘Then why was she so evasive?’

‘That’s in her nature, I’m afraid.’

‘Yes,’ said Colbeck, ‘I noticed that about her.’

‘Miss Evans did admit one thing of interest.’

‘What was that?’

‘She actually visited Mr Voke’s shop in London. She went there on the recommendation of a friend – the same one, no doubt, who recommended the silversmith to Mrs Tomkins.’

‘Sir David Pryde.’

‘Surely, he can’t be involved in these crimes.’

Colbeck had no time to reply. Someone rapped on the door then it opened to disclose the figure of a burly uniformed sergeant. He told the superintendent that someone was demanding to see him.

‘Who is it?’ asked Stockdale.

‘That actor from the Theatre Royal, sir,’ said the man. ‘He seems very upset.’

Colbeck’s curiosity was aroused. He followed the superintendent through into the outer office where a distracted Nigel Buckmaster was pacing restlessly up and down. When he saw Colbeck, the actor rushed impulsively forward to grab him by the shoulders.

‘You must help me, Inspector!’ he cried, shaking him. ‘We are facing calamity – Miss Linnane has been abducted.’

* * *

It was a new weapon and it was used to great effect. During their long marriage, Winifred Tomkins had always got her way either by nagging her husband incessantly or resorting to a fit of temper. He had usually bowed to her will. She deployed none of her customary tactics now. Retreating into silence, she simply ignored him. Clifford Tomkins did not know how to cope with such treatment. He reasoned, he shouted, he threatened and he even pleaded but all in vain. Her mind was made up and nothing could dissuade her. As she was putting on her coat to leave the house, he made one last intervention.

‘This is insane, Winifred!’ he cried.

‘Out of my way, please,’ she said, coolly.

‘The bank manager will tell you the same thing.’

‘It’s my money and I can do what I wish with it.’

‘Before he’ll sanction it, he’ll want to know why you’re withdrawing such a large amount of capital at short notice.’

‘Then I’ll tell him the truth,’ she replied. ‘The money is to meet an emergency and my husband has declined to help me.’

Tomkins flushed. ‘Think how that will make me look!’

‘It makes you look like the miserly and unloving husband that you are, Clifford.’

‘Now that’s unfair!’

‘When I really need you, I’m badly let down.’

‘Everything I own is at your disposal,’ he said, recklessly, ‘as long as it’s for a worthy purpose, that is. In this case, you’re proposing to throw away a large sum on a whim and it’s my duty to stop you.’

‘It’s your duty to support me,’ she snapped. ‘Were Lady Pryde in this position, I’m sure that Sir David would