Blood on the Line

‘He was standing right here only minutes ago.’ He looked around the faces. ‘Do we have any witnesses? Did anyone see the fellow lurking in the trees? I believe that he had a cab waiting for him. Did any of you happen to notice the way that it drove off?’ When the faces remained blank, he became exasperated. ‘Good God!’ he yelled. ‘Are you all blind? One of you must have seen something.’

There was a long, awkward, embarrassed silence during which they traded sheepish glances. An elderly man eventually spoke.

‘I might have seen them, sir,’ he said, stepping forward.

Tallis glowered at him. ‘Them?’

‘I took my dog for a walk earlier. On my way back, I saw a cab pulling up over there.’ He pointed a skeletal finger. ‘A man in his thirties got out with a young woman. They went towards those trees. I thought nothing of it at the time and went home. Do you think that they could be connected to what happened?’

‘I’m certain that they are,’ said Tallis. ‘I’ll want you to show me the exact place where you saw the cab.’

‘The woman must have been Irene Adnam,’ said another man in hushed tones. ‘I saw that report in the paper as well. She’s the one who shot a policeman on a train. It’s dreadful to think such people are on the loose. We should be protected from such villains.’

‘We were trying to protect, sir,’ snapped Tallis, rounding on the man. ‘Constable Peebles was in the act of arresting Oxley when he was shot. The Metropolitan Police Force does all it can to make this city safe for its citizens. Courageous men like the constable are ready to sacrifice their lives in that noble cause. So don’t you dare to criticise us.’ He threw out a challenge. ‘Which of you would tackle an armed man with a record of violence?’

‘Did you know beforehand that he was armed?’ asked the elderly man.

‘There was every chance that he would be.’

‘Then why did you let your colleague try to arrest him alone?’

‘Yes,’ said the woman who’d spoken earlier. ‘Why didn’t the two of you go after him?’

‘And if you knew that he might have a gun,’ continued the old man, ‘why didn’t you carry weapons yourselves?’

The woman was accusatory. ‘Why didn’t you bring more men?’

‘Why didn’t you surround him?’

‘How many more will die before you actually catch him?’

‘And catch her,’ said the man. ‘She’s another killer.’

There was collective agreement that the police were to blame for allowing Oxley and Adnam to remain at liberty. So many questions were hurled at Tallis that he felt as if he were facing a verbal firing squad. There was far worse in store for him. These were simply concerned members of the public airing their opinions. The really searing questions would come from the family of Ian Peebles and from the young woman who was expecting to marry him.

Meeker was so shaken that perspiration was still pouring out of his brow as he gabbled his story. He was a portly man of middle years with a flabby, weather-beaten face. Seated in a chair in Colbeck’s office, he kept glancing over his shoulder as if fearing an attack. The cab driver had arrived at Scotland Yard not long after Colbeck had returned there. Instead of being able to report to the superintendent, Colbeck found himself listening to a grim narrative.

‘Let me stop you there, Mr Meeker,’ he said, taking a bottle of brandy from his desk and pouring some into a glass. ‘You’re talking so fast that we can’t hear much of what you’re saying. Why don’t you drink this and take a few moments to calm down?’ He handed over the glass. ‘There’s no hurry. What you have to tell us is very important and we’re grateful that you came to us. The sergeant and I want to hear every word.’

He and Leeming waited while their visitor took a first sip of brandy. It seemed to steady him. After a second, longer sip, he felt ready to continue. He spoke more slowly this time.

‘It was like this, Inspector,’ he said, still sweating profusely. ‘I picked up a fare in the Strand. It was a man and woman. They looked very respectable. The man gave me no destination. I was to drive north up Tottenham Court Road until he told me to stop. It took well over twenty minutes but I wasn’t going to complain, was I? He was paying and it was a pleasant enough evening. I kept going until we came to a road with big houses in it. He tells me to pull over and to wait. Then he and the woman went off into this clump of trees for quite a long time. You can imagine what I thought was going on,’ he added, rolling his eyes. ‘Well, it was none of my business. As long as they weren’t trying to do it in my cab, I was ready to let them get on with it. Then, just as I was running out of patience and wondering if they’d simply gone off without paying, this shot rings out and the pair of them comes dashing back to the cab. Before they jumped in, the man – I’ll never forget this as long as I live – puts a gun to my head and tells me to drive off fast. What else could I do, Inspector? He’d have killed me.’

‘Where did you take them?’ asked Colbeck.

‘Euston station, sir.’

‘What did you do then?’

‘To be honest,’ said Meeker, ‘I just sat in my cab and cried. I’m not a weak man as a rule. I’m very strong- willed. You have to be if you drive a cab because you pick up all sorts of odd people. But I’ve never stared down the barrel of a gun before. I thought he was going to blow my skull apart.’

‘I suppose that they didn’t even pay you,’ said Leeming.

‘Not a brass farthing. They hopped out of the cab at Euston and went off into the crowd. The man had warned me not to follow him but I couldn’t have done that even if I’d wanted to. My legs were like jelly.’ He took another sip of brandy. ‘Anyway, I waited until I felt a little better, then I told this policeman who was on duty there what had happened. When I described my two passengers, he said they sounded just like the ones involved in a foul murder up near Wolverhampton way. The policeman told me to come here at once and to ask for you.’

‘He did the right thing,’ said Colbeck. ‘Where exactly were you when you heard the gunshot?’

He unfolded a map of London on his desk and Meeker stood up to study it. After much deliberation, he jabbed a finger. Colbeck knew that he was telling the truth. It would have taken him all of twenty minutes and more to get to that location from the Strand. Leeming confirmed the identity of the two passengers.

‘It must have been them, sir,’ he said. ‘That’s exactly the place that Oxley wanted you to go to. I read his letter.’

Colbeck was annoyed. ‘I wish that I’d been allowed to do so.’

‘The superintendent thought it might contain crucial evidence.’

‘I’ll take the matter up with him when he returns. As for you, sir,’ he went on, turning to Meeker, ‘you are to be congratulated. You’ve been through a terrible experience and had the sense to confide in a uniformed officer. Thank you for coming here.’

‘I had to get it off my chest, Inspector,’ said Meeker.

‘I can appreciate that.’

Leeming was sympathetic. ‘I hope you’re feeling better now.’

‘Oh, I am, Sergeant.’ He held up the glass. ‘This is good brandy.’

‘The inspector keeps it for times like this.’

‘It’s exactly what I needed.’

Meeker downed the glass in one noisy gulp then put it on the desk. After thanking them both, he waddled across to the door. Before he left, he remembered something and produced a hopeful smile.

‘Does this mean that I get the reward?’ he asked.

‘I’m afraid not,’ said Colbeck. ‘It goes to the person who gives us information that leads to the arrest of the two suspects. You’re just another one of their victims, I’m afraid.’

The cab driver gave a resigned shrug before going out. Closing the door after him, Colbeck was able to confide his fears to Leeming.

‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Victor?’ he asked.

‘That depends, sir.’

‘Oxley’s letter gave me a specific time and place.’

‘It’s exactly the spot that Mr Meeker went to.’

‘But who else went there? That’s my worry.’ He glanced in the direction of Tallis’s office. ‘When was the last time the superintendent left his desk?’