don't know that. I keep my address secret and change it regularly. When I go back home tonight,' said Rogan, confidently. 'I'll do so without a qualm.'
'That's more than I'll do.'
'You're perfectly safe here.'
'Not as long as Inspector Colbeck is on the case.' His gaze shifted to the painting above the fireplace and hovered there for while. 'How many men of his standing do they have at Scotland Yard?'
'None at all.'
'He must have an assistant.'
'Victor Leeming was the man beaten up in France,' said Rogan. 'He's not even involved in the case anymore. Colbeck will miss him and that's to our advantage. From what I've heard, Leeming is hard-working and resolute.'
'There must be other capable men in the Department.'
'Not one of them can hold a candle to the Railway Detective.'
'So he is irreplaceable?'
'Completely, Sir Marcus.'
The old man stood up and walked across to stand in front of the fireplace. He looked up at the swirling action in the oil painting on the wall. As rich memories were ignited, he drew himself up to his full height and stood to attention. He could hear the sound of armed conflict and it brought a nostalgic smile to his lips. When he spoke to Rogan, he kept staring up at the battle of Waterloo.
'Did you ever serve in the army?' he asked.
'No, Sir Marcus.'
'A pity – it would have been the making of you. Military life gives a man the best start in life. It shapes his thinking. It imparts courage and teaches him the virtues of patriotism.'
'Nobody is more patriotic than me,' claimed Rogan.
'Winning a battle is quite simple,' said the old man. 'You have to kill your enemy before he can kill you.' He turned round. 'That way, you remove any threat to your life, liberty and prospects of happiness. Do you understand what I'm saying, Rogan?'
'Extremely well, Sir Marcus.'
'We have an enemy. He's trying to hunt the pair of us down.'
'What do wish me to do?'
'Get rid of Inspector Colbeck,' said the other. 'He's the one man with the intelligence to find us and I'll not let that happen. It's time for him to meet his Waterloo, I fancy. You have your orders, Rogan.'
'Yes, Sir Marcus.'
'Kill him.'
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Superintendent Edward Tallis was in a buoyant mood for once. He had just received a letter from Thomas Brassey, expressing formal thanks for all the help that had been rendered by the Metropolitan Police Force. The commissioner had then complimented him on his wisdom in dispatching Robert Colbeck abroad and, even though Tallis had been strongly opposed to the notion, he was happy to claim some credit for it now that the French expedition had paid such dividends. But the main reason for the superintendent's good humour was that he was at last in possession of a murder suspect.
'Luke Rogan,' he said, rolling the name off his tongue.
'I have men out looking for him at this very moment, sir.'
'But you do not know his home address.'
'Not yet,' replied Colbeck.
'He sounds like a slippery customer.'
'He is, Superintendent.'
'A former policeman, operating on the wrong side of the law. That's very distressing,' said Tallis, clenching his teeth. 'It sets a bad example. He needs to be caught quickly, Inspector.'
'Rogan is not the only person we need,' Colbeck reminded him. 'He was merely the agent for someone else. The man who employed him is equally culpable.'
'Unfortunately, we do not have his name.'
'You are holding it in your hands, sir.'
They were in the superintendent's office and there was no sign of a cigar. Cool air blew in through a half-open window. When he had delivered his verbal report, Colbeck had also shown his superior the list of those who had attended Gaston Chabal's lecture. Tallis looked at it more closely and noticed something.
'Why have you put crosses against some of the names?'
'Those are the men I've been able to eliminate, sir.'
'How?' asked Tallis.
'Some of them – Alexander Marklew, for instance – invested a sizeable amount of money in the Mantes to Caen Railway. They are hardly likely to connive at the destruction of the project when they have a financial stake in it.'
'I accept that.'
'As for the other names I have set aside,' said Colbeck, 'that was done so on the advice of Mr Kane.'
'He's the secretary of this Society, isn't he?'
'Yes, sir. Once I had persuaded him to cooperate with me, he was extremely helpful. Mr Kane pointed out the civil engineers who were in the audience that day. Men who make their living from the railway,' Colbeck reasoned, 'would not be inclined to inflict damage on one. They would be violating an unwritten code.'
'So how many names are left?'
'Just over thirty.'
'It will take time to work through them all.'
'If we arrest Rogan, we'll not have to do so. He'll supply us with the name we want. It obviously belongs to a man of some wealth. He spent a large amount on this whole venture.'
'Luke Rogan must have been highly paid to commit murder.'
'I suspect that he needed the money,' said Colbeck, 'which is why he was prepared to take on the assignment. Judging by the size of his office, his business activities were not very profitable. It was very small and he could not afford to employ anyone to take care of his secretarial work.'
'Then why was he chosen?' said Tallis, frowning. 'Wouldn't his paymaster have gone to someone who was more successful?'
'No, sir. That would have been too risky for him. Most private detectives would have refused to have anything to do with such blatantly criminal activities. They are far too honourable. They would have reported to us any such approach. What this man required,' Colbeck said, 'was someone who was less scrupulous, a mercenary who could not afford to turn down such a generous offer. He found what he wanted in Luke Rogan.'
'How soon do you expect to apprehend him?'
'I could not say. He's proving rather elusive.'
'Was there nothing in his office to indicate his whereabouts?'
'Nothing whatsoever,' replied the other. 'I searched the place thoroughly this morning. Rogan was canny. He left no correspondence in his office and no details of any clients.'
'He must have had an account book of sorts.'
'Kept at his home, I presume.'
'Wherever that might be.'
'Mr Kane had an address for everyone on that list so that he could inform them about future events that took place. Luke Rogan had supplied what purported to be his home address but, when I got there, the house did not even exist.'
'What about the police in Paddington?'
