The Silver Locomotive Mystery

‘Get this person out of my dressing room,’ ordered Kate, ‘and bring me my costume back.’

Laura was hustled out by the dresser and Kate slammed the door after them. Arms akimbo, she confronted the staring Macbeth.

‘Stop looking at me as if I’m Banquo at the feast,’ she said. ‘It’s me, Nigel. Do you really think I’d let some ambitious minx replace me as Lady Macbeth – never in a hundred years!’

‘We thought you’d been abducted,’ he gasped.

‘What ever gave you that absurd idea?’

‘I expected you for breakfast.’

‘I had an invitation to eat elsewhere,’ she explained, ‘and I could hardly refuse to see my brother.’

‘You went off with brother?’

‘Michael was in Cardiff for a few days on business and wanted to spend time with me. He’s in the audience right now. Oh, by the way,’ she added, ‘don’t worry about the time. I told them to hold the curtain for half an hour so that I have some leeway to change.’

‘You did this on purpose, Kate,’ he said, glowering at her. ‘You staged the whole thing to give us a fright. According to the police, you were seen getting on to a train to London with a man in a cloak.’

‘It was my brother and we only went as far as Gloucester. That’s where he lives now. I always intended to return for the performance. Unless, that is,’ she went on, throwing down the challenge, ‘you’d prefer that little baggage, Miss Tremaine, to play Lady Macbeth. If that’s what you wish, Nigel, you can have her.’

It was a defining moment and he was quick to recognise it as such. Kate Linnane was too shrewd not to notice the designs he had on Laura Tremaine but she was not ready to be supplanted yet. To show her resentment and to let Buckmaster see how indispensable she was to the company, Kate had conspired with her brother to prove her point. In pretending to be abducted, she had produced all manner of alarums and excursions in the company. Buckmaster had been forced to promote Laura Tremaine into a role for which she was plainly not yet ready. The new Lady Macbeth would have marred the evening’s performance. At least, they had been rescued from that. Wanting to throttle Kate for the trouble and anxiety she had inflicted on him, Buckmaster instead embraced her warmly.

‘Welcome back, my love!’ he said, effusively. ‘I knew in my heart that you’d never let us down. I was rightly chastised. Let’s put all that behind us and give the audience a performance to remember.’

‘Are we friends again?’

‘We are and always will be, Kate, you wondrous creature!’

‘Good,’ she said, kissing him passionately. ‘If you kill Duncan for me, you may find the door of my hotel room unlocked again tonight. That’s the best place for us to settle our differences.’

CHAPTER TWELVE

Her friendship with Robert Colbeck had not only brought her intense pleasure, it had also broadened the mind of Madeleine Andrews in every way. Even before she met him, she had been interested in books but had never been able to find enough suitable reading matter. Colbeck solved that problem. From his own extensive library, he loaned her a whole series of volumes. While many were related to the history of railways, he took care to provide her with a variety of novels as well. As she sat at home that evening, reading by the light of the lamp, she realised why Colbeck had urged her to read Dombey and Son. Two of the scenes in Dickens’ novel had been set in Camden and depicted the upheaval caused when the London to Birmingham line cut right through it. Madeleine had been a child when the railway had been built nearby but her father, who now travelled on it daily as an engine driver, had vivid recollections of the clamour and disruption. Charles Dickens was recreating it for her.

Because she expected to hear Caleb Andrews’ footsteps at any minute, she read on with her ears pricked. When a cab rattled down the street and stopped outside, her first thought, therefore, was that he had been injured at work and sent home. Putting the novel aside, she rushed to open the door only to see Colbeck paying the cab driver. Madeleine let out a cry of joy. Doffing his top hat, he gave her a kiss then followed her into the house. He noticed the book immediately.

‘Ah, you’ve started it, have you?’

‘Yes, Robert. It’s wonderful to see Camden portrayed in a novel. Thank you so much for recommending it.’

‘There are four railway scenes in all,’ he said, ‘and they’re very well-written. However, I’m not going to let Dickens come between us. I came here to see you and not to talk about him.’

‘I’ve missed you so much,’ she said, squeezing his hands. ‘What have you been doing and where have you been?’

‘I’ve been hunting a killer in Cardiff and he’s proving to be extremely elusive – so is the young lady, for that matter.’

‘What young lady?’

‘The one involved in the murder.’

They sat close to each other and he gave her a carefully edited version of the crimes he was investigating. Though she was intrigued to hear details of the case, Madeleine was also interested in the mention of Nigel Buckmaster’s theatre company.

‘You took me to see him playing Othello,’ she recalled. ‘I didn’t understand everything that was going on but I was deeply moved by Desdemona’s plight. She was such a helpless victim.’

‘Miss Kate Linnane excelled herself in the role,’ he said, ‘and, by all accounts, has been magnificent as Lady Macbeth. I only wish that I could have taken you to see it at Saturday’s matinee performance.’

‘Is there no hope of that, Robert?’

‘Probably not – this investigation may occupy me for some time. Besides, we might not, in any case, be able to see Miss Linnane in person. Before I left the town, we had a report that she’d been kidnapped and the police are still looking for her.’

Colbeck was unaware that the leading lady had now rejoined the company and he had been wondering how the young understudy had fared in her place. Madeleine was distressed to hear about the abduction and hoped that the actress would soon be found. She was also worried for Colbeck’s safety.

‘Murder, robbery and kidnap,’ she said in dismay. ‘Cardiff sounds like a very dangerous place.’

‘It pales into insignificance beside the rookeries of St Giles or Seven Dials,’ he told her, ‘and, though it could do with more men, it has an efficient police force. You’d feel quite secure walking alone down the main thoroughfares of Cardiff. With regard to the murder, of course, we’re not dealing with local criminals. The two people we have in mind came into the town from England to commit their crimes.’

‘What about the kidnap?’

‘I’m not in charge of that case, Madeleine.’

‘You must know something of the details.’

‘I’ve been too preoccupied with my own investigation to pay much attention to the fate of Miss Linnane,’ he admitted, ‘but I have the feeling that she’ll soon be found. Jeremiah Stockdale, the police superintendent, is very capable. It will not be long before he tracks the lady down.’

Stockdale simmered with anger. Having paid a rare visit to the Theatre Royal to watch Macbeth, he had expected Nigel Buckmaster to be playing opposite an understudy. Instead, he was startled to see Kate Linnane appearing as Lady Macbeth at a time when Stockdale’s men were still out searching for her. It spoilt the performance completely for him. While the rest of the audience was captivated by the swirling drama, he remained wholly uninvolved. When rapturous applause echoed around the theatre at the end of the play, Stockdale did not join in. Instead of clapping together, his hands were bunched tight like those of a prize fighter. He was livid.

There was no point in accosting them there. Nigel Buckmaster and Kate Linnane would be surrounded by admirers the moment they stepped out of the building. Among those rushing to the stage door would be the Town Clerk, who had come to worship at the feet of the leading lady yet again. There would be dozens like him, lonely and impressionable men enthralled by the beauty, passion and nobility of Lady Macbeth. Stockdale had to bide his time. Pushing his way through the milling crowd outside, he strode purposefully back in the direction of St Mary Street. He had a lengthy wait. It was almost two hours before the actor-manager and his leading lady finally