who expected them to be obeyed without question. Unlike the superintendent, Peebles had not been an officer but he had risen to the rank of army sergeant and was thus used to drilling those under his authority. Beneath his youthful exterior, there was palpably a core of steel. Even in his short time in the department, he’d shown flashes of inspiration. Colbeck believed that he would turn out to be a formidable detective.
It was detection of another kind that prompted Peebles. When he found himself alone with Colbeck in the latter’s office, he asked the question he’d be saving up for such a moment.
‘Is it true that you’re about to get married, Inspector?’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘Have you set a date for the wedding?’
‘It’s … under discussion,’ said Colbeck.
‘Catherine and I have already started to make arrangements. It will be a quiet affair as neither of us has a large family. That’s all to the good in my mind. I hate fuss of any kind. I simply want to be with the woman I adore.’
Colbeck thought about Madeleine. ‘We have that ambition in common.’
‘Where will you get married?’
‘The parish church in Camden. Madeleine has worshipped there since she was a small child. As in your case, we anticipate a very quiet wedding.’
‘Are you going to invite the superintendent?’
‘Oh, no,’ said Colbeck, laughing. ‘He will certainly not be invited and, even if he were, he would certainly refuse to attend. I don’t wish to put him in a position where he has to turn down the invitation.’
‘It’s strange, isn’t it?’ mused Peebles. ‘I’m talking about the way that your life can turn full circle as a result of a chance meeting. To be honest with you, I never thought that I’d ever get married. I had few opportunities to spend time in mixed company and fewer still to meet eligible young women. Besides,’ he said with a self-effacing smile, ‘I never considered that I had much to offer. I’m not the sort of person who courts the mirror or who has a large income to dangle in front of a prospective wife. I was prepared to stay married to the army instead. Then I met Catherine …’
‘And she rearranged your priorities for you, I daresay.’
‘It was rather frightening how quickly it all happened. I had no control whatsoever over it. Was it the same for you, Inspector?’
‘Not quite,’ said Colbeck, unwilling to confide too much about his own situation. ‘The demands of my work tended to slow everything down. But,’ he went on, changing the subject, ‘we shouldn’t be revelling in our own good fortune. The relationship on which we should concentrate is that between Jeremy Oxley and Irene Adnam. Though it falls well short of marriage, it’s just as binding in their minds. They are conjoined by murder. That makes them especially dangerous and I speak for her as well as for him. People who kill once will have few qualms about doing so again. We must beware.’
‘I faced death many times in the army.’
‘Yes, Constable, but you had a weapon with which to defend yourself. The rules of engagement are different now. We have neither rifles nor any other firearm. Our weapons are intelligence, swiftness of reaction and surprise. We must deploy all three. At the moment, of course, Oxley and Adnam think themselves supremely safe. That will change dramatically.’
‘Why is that, Inspector?’
‘We’ve tried to harness the power of the press. Until today, everyone was wondering about the identity of Oxley’s mysterious female accomplice. Her name will be voiced abroad tomorrow.’
‘What effect do you think that will have?’
‘I’m hoping that it will be twofold,’ said Colbeck. ‘With luck, it will prompt members of the general public to come forward with details of sightings of the couple.
‘It will put the wind up the pair of them.’
Colbeck nodded. ‘I think they’ll panic and, when people do that, they usually act on impulse. Oxley and Adnam will know that time is running out for them. They may well bolt from their hiding place.’
Madeleine made breakfast that morning with a sense of duty tinged with sadness. It was only a matter of weeks before her father could stay in bed for as long as he liked. Retirement would revolutionise their lives. It was an unsettling thought. Routine had been the salvation of Caleb Andrews. When his wife had died, he’d been inconsolable and his daughter had had to bear the crushing weight of his grief as well as her own sorrow. She’d rescued him from complete collapse by adhering to a strict routine, waking him for breakfast in the morning and having supper ready for him when he returned in the evening. On the occasions when he had time off, she insisted on taking him for a walk or invited friends and relatives to visit them. Madeleine never let her father be on his own for any length of time when he might surrender to his anguish. On Sundays she first went to church then visited her mother’s grave with him.
Shared bereavement drew them together and deepened their love. It took a long time for Andrews to emerge from the long, dark tunnel of his misery. When he’d finished blinking in the light and could see properly again, he realised just how much he’d depended on Madeleine and how much responsibility she’d had to shoulder. He felt guilty that he’d unintentionally turned her into a cook, domestic servant and nurse. Caring for him for endless months had deprived her of any independent life. It was time that could never be clawed back. He was deeply in her debt. He liked to think that he’d repaid some of that debt when the injuries he received during a train robbery had led directly to Madeleine’s friendship with Robert Colbeck.
‘Are you certain that you told him, Maddy?’ he asked.
‘Eat your breakfast.’
‘Does he know that I was driving that particular train?’
‘Yes, Father,’ she said, cutting a slice off the loaf of bread, ‘I made a point of telling him.’
‘Then why hasn’t he made the effort to see me? I can recount exactly what happened.’
‘I think he’s following other lines of enquiry.’
‘Dirk Sowerby and I were
‘So were all the passengers on the train but Robert doesn’t think it worthwhile to interview any of them because nobody actually witnessed the shooting and the escape.’
‘I’d still like to be involved, Maddy.’
‘You need to be involved on another train,’ she warned him, ‘and you’ll be late if you dawdle over your breakfast.’
‘I’ll walk to work faster,’ he said through a mouthful of food. ‘And if you do see him again, tell him I ought to be consulted about this case. I’ve got a theory about that woman, you see.’
‘Tell it to Dirk Sowerby.’
Gobbling the remainder of his breakfast, he washed it down with some tea then got ready to leave. As she gave him his farewell kiss, he pulled her close.
‘I haven’t forgotten what you did for me, Maddy,’ he said with sudden emotion. ‘But for you, I’d have died of grief. I was a heavy cross for you to bear. It was selfish of me to impose on you like that.’
She kissed him again. ‘That’s what daughters are for.’
‘Well, I won’t be a burden for much longer. When I retire from the railway, you can leave me to my own devices and start to enjoy life on your own.’ Nudging her in the ribs, he gave a low cackle. ‘Well, maybe not entirely on your own.’
‘Off you go, Father,’ she said, opening the door.
‘Are you throwing me out?’ he complained.
‘Yes I am, and I have only one request.’
‘What’s that?
‘Make sure that you bring the newspaper home with you.’
‘Supposing that I forget?’ he teased.
‘Then I’ll forget to cook you supper.’
He cackled again. ‘In that case, you’ll have your newspaper. It’s important for you to keep abreast of what’s happening in the world.’
