Blood on the Line

been a heavy cross to bear. The woman is a monster. She betrayed me, stole irreplaceable items of my wife’s jewellery, broke Alicia’s heart in two and relieved Lawrence – idiot that he was – of his virginity. I’d not only pay to see her executed, Inspector,’ he growled, ‘I’d even volunteer to act as the hangman.’

CHAPTER SIX

Caleb Andrews had lost count of the number of times he’d brought a train safely into New Street station in Birmingham. As one set of passengers departed and another set converged on the carriages, he had time to wipe the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

‘I won’t be doing this for much longer,’ he announced.

‘You keep saying that, Caleb,’ said his fireman, ‘but I don’t believe you. The only way you’ll quit the railway is in a coffin.’

‘That’s what you think, Dirk.’

‘It’s what we all think.’

‘Then perhaps you should have a word with Mr Pomeroy.’

Dirk Sowerby shrugged. ‘Why?’

‘I handed in my resignation earlier on today. Mr Pomeroy accepted it with regret. The decision is made. I’m going to retire and put my feet up at last.’

The fireman was amazed. No driver in the LNWR had the same enthusiasm for railways as Andrews. It was at once a job and a passion for him. Spending each day hurtling up and down the track helped him to defy age. He seemed indefatigable. How the company would manage without such a dedicated servant was an open question. Sowerby would miss him, both for his companionship and for his fund of knowledge about the operation of the railway system. Firemen who’d been taught their trade by Caleb Andrews were uniformly grateful for his expertise.

‘Did you talk it over with your daughter?’ asked Sowerby.

‘I told her what I was going to do, if that’s what you mean.’

‘And Maddy had no objections?’

‘None whatsoever, Dirk. She’s seen the early shifts and the long hours taking their toll on me.’

‘When is she getting married?’

‘Sooner rather than later,’ said Andrews with a smile. ‘It’s part of the reason I decided to retire. If I’m at home all day, it will annoy her like mad and make her set a date for the wedding at last. I’ve been waiting an eternity for that to happen.’

‘I thought that they only got engaged last year.’

‘They did – but it seems much longer to me. I don’t want Maddy hanging around for ever when I retire. Not when Inspector Colbeck has a much larger house than ours. She should move in with him.’

Sowerby frowned. ‘Don’t you mind her marrying a detective?’

‘She can marry anyone she likes as long as she does it fairly soon.’ He cackled. ‘No, that’s not true,’ he said, seriously. ‘She’s found herself a good man and I couldn’t be happier with her choice.’

‘But he’s a policeman, Caleb.’

‘I don’t hold that against him.’

‘Have you forgotten what happened when we steamed into this station yesterday? Two policemen were left behind us on the track. They’d been murdered,’ said Sowerby, his frown deepening. ‘That tells you what a dangerous job it is.’

‘The inspector can take care of himself, Dirk.’

‘But he’s chasing the man who escaped from the policemen.’

‘I know and I mean to help him catch the fellow.’

‘This man who escaped – I think his name is Oxley – has no respect for the law or the people who try to uphold it. And there are far too many people just like him. I’d hate a daughter of mine to marry a policeman.’

‘You don’t have a daughter, you imbecile.’

‘I know,’ agreed Sowerby, ‘but if I did, I’d be afraid that she’d be a widow before too long. I hope that doesn’t happen to Maddy.’

‘There’s little chance of that.’

‘The inspector spends all his time chasing desperate criminals. It only takes one of them to fire a gun or pull a knife on him and you’ll be attending the funeral of your son-in-law.’

‘That’s arrant nonsense!’

Andrews’s vehement denial masked his deep anxiety. His fireman was only airing concerns that the driver had raised with Madeleine on a number of occasions. Loving his daughter and wanting her future happiness, he was troubled by the nagging fear that Colbeck might one day lose his life in pursuit of a suspect. Madeleine had dismissed the suggestion but it remained a source of deep unease to her father. It was why he kept urging her to set a date for their wedding. If Colbeck’s career in Scotland Yard was indeed to be foreshortened by disaster, Andrews wanted his daughter to have as full a taste of married bliss as possible. After years of waiting, she deserved that.

It was late evening when she heard the footsteps on the pavement outside. They did not belong to her father and, in any case, Madeleine did not expect him back until he’d repaired to the pub he routinely frequented at the end of the day. Thinking that the pedestrian would walk past the house, she was surprised when there was a knock on the door. It made her rise from the chair and cross to the window. The moment she looked out, she emitted a cry of joy and ran to open the door. Colbeck was waiting to enfold her in his arms and kiss her.

‘What a lovely surprise!’ she exclaimed. ‘The only time I know that it’s you is when I hear a cab drawing up outside the house.’

‘I made the driver stop at the end of the street this time,’ he said, ‘so that I could catch you unawares.’ He looked over her shoulder into the house. ‘Am I to be allowed in, Madeleine?’

‘Of course – nobody is more welcome.’

Ushering him into the house, she closed the door behind them before surrendering to another embrace. Only when they parted did he take off his hat and set it aside. He glanced at her easel.

‘Is there anything for me to see?’ he asked.

‘Not until it’s finished, Robert.’

He pointed a finger. ‘Can’t I just take a peek?’

‘No,’ she said, administering a playful pat on his hand. ‘You must behave yourself. An artist must not be hurried into displaying her work until she feels that it’s ready.’

He smiled. ‘I’m glad to see that you consider yourself to be an artist now. When I first urged you to be more ambitious, you claimed that you were nothing more than a painter with moderate talent.’

‘My attitude changed when I first sold something.’

‘I knew that it would,’ he said, kissing her cheek. ‘But I can’t tarry, I’m afraid. This is only a flying visit on my way to Scotland Yard. I have to report to the superintendent.’

She glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘Will Mr Tallis be working this late?’

‘He’s at his desk until midnight sometimes, Madeleine. Nobody can accuse him of being lazy. He’ll sit there until I turn up and tell him what happened in Manchester.’

‘Is that where you went looking for Jeremy Oxley?’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘You know about the case, do you?’

‘I know more than you think,’ she replied. ‘By coincidence, my father was driving the train when the prisoner escaped. Be warned, Robert. He thinks that entitles him to join in the investigation.’

‘He always did fancy that he had the makings of a detective.’

She was firm. ‘One detective is enough in any family.’