Peril on the Royal Train (18 page)

‘This is a tissue of lies,’ said McTurk, passing the newspaper to Craig.

‘And
you
were the person who told them,’ said Colbeck.

‘Did it never occur to you,’ said Craig, ‘that discretion is needed at a time like this? You should have had enough experience to keep your mouth shut. The press feed off things like this. Someone who heard you boasting in that pub obviously sold the story to a newspaper. Once they established from the police that suspects by the name of Ewen and Duncan Usher were indeed in custody, it gave credence to what you were bragging about. The villains had been caught by you,’ he added with sarcasm. ‘Three cheers for Superintendent McTurk!’

‘There’s been a misunderstanding,’ said McTurk, writhing in discomfort.

‘There has indeed,’ agreed Colbeck, taking over. ‘Overlooking the fact that Sergeant Leeming and I actually fought with the two men, there was a serious misunderstanding on your part. Ewen and Duncan Usher were not, after all, behind the disaster on the line. They had nothing whatsoever to do with it.’

McTurk’s jaw dropped. ‘But I thought—’

‘No, Superintendent, you didn’t
think
, you merely
assumed
and that’s fatal for any self-appointed detective. Granted,’ said Colbeck, ‘the evidence was stacked heavily against the brothers but it turned out to be misleading. Before you told your cronies in the pub that you had effectively solved the crime on your own, you should have waited until you knew the outcome of the interviews we had with Ewen and Duncan Usher.’

‘But they
seemed
so guilty, sir. They resisted arrest.’

‘Most criminals resist arrest, as you well know. As it turns out, there’s a whole string of offences for which they can be charged but they do not – contrary to what that newspaper article is telling its many readers – include wanton destruction on the Caledonian. You’ve made us all look rather stupid, Superintendent.’

‘None more so than yourself,’ said Craig, bitterly.

McTurk was mortified. He remembered trying to impress his friends in the pub but he hadn’t anticipated that his words would travel all the way to a local newspaper. In trying to harvest some glory for himself, he’d told outrageous lies, cast aspersions upon the skills of Colbeck and Leeming, embarrassed the company for whom he worked and accused two men of a crime that they didn’t commit. His brass buttons might be shining but his face was darkened by guilt.

‘I don’t know what to say …’ he began.

‘You’ve said far too much already,’ declared Craig, tossing the newspaper aside. ‘It wasn’t enough for you to steal information provided by someone else and to pass it off as your own. You also had to be the courageous man who caught the two most wanted men in Scotland. Your talents are clearly wasted here,’ he continued with withering scorn. ‘A man of your supreme abilities needs to spread his wings. Well, you’ll have the chance to do so.’ He pointed a finger. ‘You’re a disgrace to that uniform, Superintendent. You no longer have the right to wear it. I’m not only dismissing you so that you can no longer contaminate the Caledonian with your odious presence, I’m demanding that you send Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming a written apology for the way that you tried to sully their reputations. Then you can go to the offices of the newspaper and explain why you supplied so much false information.’ McTurk stood there dithering. ‘Get out, man! And change out of that uniform immediately.’

Hurt and humiliated, McTurk left the room with his tail between his legs.

‘You were justifiably hard on him, sir,’ said Colbeck. ‘You reminded me of someone at Scotland Yard.’

‘He deserved it, Inspector. He’ll never work for the Caledonian again.’

‘I was pleased that you mentioned the way that he made use of the evidence that came from that young shepherd. That was unscrupulous. However, while it didn’t lead to the capture of the men we’re after, the information did have a positive result. The Usher brothers have been robbing your freight traffic for months. They made a lot of money out of items stolen from your wagons.’

‘That’s right,’ conceded Craig. ‘You did make important arrests.’

‘Don’t you think that that fact should be recognised, sir? I’m thinking about Jamie Farr. Thanks to him, we’ve sent two villains to prison for a long time. I fancy that calls for a reward of some kind.’

The general manager’s brow crinkled and he gave a loud sniff.

‘Let me mull it over, Inspector.’

After the excitement of the two arrests, there came a worrying lull in activity. Nothing happened for two days. The investigation continued but it was fruitless. No new evidence came to light and no fresh suspects were unmasked. Leeming became increasingly restive. Staying in a hotel that unnerved him, he was trapped among people whose voices were often incomprehensible and he was in a city he’d grown to dislike more and more. As a result of their investigation, three criminals had been taken into custody but none of them had any link to the train crash. Whoever had brought a stretch of the Caledonian to a standstill seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Hopes of finding them diminished with each day.

Leeming’s principal task remained the arrest of Lackey Paterson. As other suspects were ruled out, the former railwayman sparked off additional interest. His work at the quarry placed him within easy reach of the crash site and his sudden disappearance aroused understandable suspicion. If he was indeed back in Glasgow, Paterson would by now be aware that the police were looking for him. Given the chance, the landlord of The Stag would certainly have warned him. Yet knowing that he was wanted, Paterson had failed to come forward to clear his name. Leeming reasoned that that either meant he was not in the city or that he’d gone to ground there. In a community that size, the number of hiding places was unlimited. A stranger like the sergeant could hunt for years without ever finding him.

He was alone in Colbeck’s temporary office when Inspector Rae called.

‘Ah,’ said the visitor, ‘I’m glad that I caught you.’

‘I’m afraid that Inspector Colbeck isn’t here. He went off to catch a train.’

‘You’re the person I was hoping to see, Sergeant. Let me say straight away that I didn’t believe for a second what that newspaper said about you and the inspector. I felt certain that you’d used appropriate force to make those arrests and needed no help. It was vindictive of McTurk to claim credit for catching those men.’

‘The superintendent has paid for his mistake,’ said Leeming, ‘and he sent me a written apology. The matter is closed as far as I’m concerned.’

‘Quite so – it’s time to move forward.’

‘Why did you wish to see me, Inspector?’

‘I wanted to correct a false impression you may have.’

‘I’m not sure that I understand.’

‘Well,’ said Rae with his familiar smile, ‘I know that the Glasgow police seemed less than cooperative when you first approached them. You must have felt that they were keeping you at arm’s length.’

‘They simply let me know I was encroaching on their territory.’

‘And on mine, of course, but I bear you no ill will. Lest you think that the police ignored your request for assistance, I’ve come to tell you that they did what they promised and kept their eyes peeled for a certain person.’

Leeming’s interest was kindled. ‘Are you talking about Lackey Paterson?’

‘He’s definitely back in Glasgow.’

‘Do you know where he is?’

‘All I know is that he was spotted by an alert constable who’d read the description of him. As soon as he called out the man’s name, Paterson fled. To my mind, that confirms his identity. It was the person you’re after.’

‘And where did this sighting take place, sir?’

‘It was in the Gorbals.’

Leeming’s hopes rose. The man had gone to see his wife and child.

Days had passed since his visit to Glasgow and Jamie Farr had heard nothing. It eroded his belief in Colbeck. The shepherd had placed little faith in the railway policeman to whom he’d given his evidence but he’d been convinced that the inspector would deal more justly with him. Colbeck had promised him that he’d be informed when arrests had been made as a result of the information supplied by the shepherd. No money would be paid over at that stage but at least Farr would know that the process had been set in motion. Ignorant of the slowness and complexity of a major police investigation, he’d expected almost immediate results. In the wake of the crash, many of the looters had been caught within a day. He knew some of them. They’d barely had time to eat their stolen food before police swooped down on them. Why couldn’t they catch those who caused the crash just as speedily?

As he sat on the hillside, munching a piece of cheese, he was resigned to the fact that he would get no reward whatsoever. Colbeck was simply a more polite version of McTurk, someone who brushed the lad aside with a false promise. Farr had no access to a newspaper and – even with the help of Bella Drew – no ability to read it properly. For all he knew, the case had been solved and the English detectives had returned to London. He’d never hear of them again. The most dispiriting aspect of it was that Bella would feel he’d let her down. When he came back from his trip to Glasgow, he’d been buoyed up by what he’d been told. He’d finally found someone he could trust and told Bella that the money was as good as his. Unable to take in the enormity of it all, she’d burst into tears and he’d held her in his arms. That little moment had sealed the bond between them. It might now be ripped apart.

Going to Glasgow had been a terrifying experience but it had seemed worthwhile at the time. Taking the train to London was out of the question. Farr couldn’t find the time or the courage to travel all that way. Even if he did, the chances of his ever getting to meet Inspector Colbeck again were decidedly slim. He had to accept that he’d been tricked once again, cheated out of his reward and, as a possible consequence, robbed of the girl he loved. What would Bella think of him when he confessed that he wouldn’t get a penny? Their plans for a future together would crumble into dust. Farr was embittered. The railway was to blame. It not only killed his sheep and disturbed the calm of the countryside. It had led him astray, holding out a promise that would never be fulfilled. From an accident in which he’d rejoiced, he sought to make profit and it had seemed at one point that he might actually be successful. Then a long and ominous silence had descended.

The ugly truth had to be faced. Farr had been cast aside and forgotten. He’d never hear from Colbeck or from anyone else involved in the investigation again. He’d been sent back to the obscurity from which he came. Seething with anger, he hardly felt the nose of his dog nuzzling against him. To get his attention, Angus had to give him a gentle bite on the arm. Farr pushed the dog away.

‘What did you do that for?’ he said in annoyance.

Regretting his anger at once, he reached out to give the dog a pat of gratitude. Angus had only been trying to warn him that someone was coming. A well-dressed man was driving a trap towards them. When he recognised Colbeck, the shepherd leapt to his feet and ran towards him, arriving almost breathless.

‘Have ye brought my money?’ he asked between gasps.

‘Not exactly,’ said Colbeck, ‘but I have come to tell you that we acted on the information you gave us and arrested two men.’ Farr was elated. ‘Before you let your excitement get the better of you, you must know that neither of them had anything to do with the train crash.’ The shepherd’s joy turned to anguish. ‘They were, however, criminals, thieves who’d been robbing goods trains on the Caledonian. Since it was your evidence that led to their arrest,’ said Colbeck, putting a hand into his pocket, ‘the railway company decided – on my advice – that some sort of reward was due. It won’t be the four hundred pounds advertised, I’m afraid, but I hope that this will be some sort of consolation to you.’

Colbeck handed over the money. Farr was thrilled. It was only thirty pounds but that was a substantial amount to him. It was something on which he and Bella could build their plans. Having expected nothing at all, Farr was overcome with emotion. Tears in his eyes, he shook Colbeck’s hand.

‘Ye came all this way to see me,’ he said in surprise. ‘I can’t thank ye enough.’

‘I keep my promises, Jamie.’

Farr looked at the banknotes. ‘Is this all for
me
?’

‘You earned it,’ said Colbeck. ‘Your information put two criminals behind bars. Keep those sharp eyes of yours peeled. You never know what they might see.’

Victor Leeming had learnt his lesson. On his two previous visits to the Gorbals, he’d worn his customary clothing. His top hat and frock coat made him stand out like a beacon in the darkness. Before he set off a third time, therefore, he changed into rougher garb that enabled him to merge with his surroundings. Baggy trousers, crumpled jacket and dirty cap lent him invisibility. Colbeck had taught him the value of having such a disguise at hand, though he was reluctant to put it on himself because he took such pride in his appearance. Leeming was untroubled by vanity. Dressed as a labourer of some sort, he felt very comfortable. The only problem was that he had to leave the hotel in his new incarnation and he was immediately pounced on by a vigilant manager who blocked his path.

‘Excuse me, sir,’ he said. ‘May I ask what you’re doing here?’

‘I’m staying at the hotel,’ replied Leeming.

‘I very much doubt that.’

‘Inspector Colbeck and I have rooms here.’

The manager peered at him. ‘
You
are Sergeant Leeming?’

‘I am indeed,’ said the other, removing his cap to prove it. ‘If you’ll stand aside, I have somewhere to go.’

‘Yes, yes – I do apologise, Sergeant.’

‘It’s not necessary. I take it as a compliment.’

Leeming put on his cap and walked out of the hotel. His disguise worked. If it could convince the manager of The Angel Hotel, it could fool anybody. His confidence surged. It soon buckled slightly. When he tried to hail a cab, none of them would stop for him because he didn’t look like the sort of customer who could afford the fare. In the end, he walked to a cab rank and brought out a handful of coins to show that he had money. Settling into a vehicle, he was taken on the long ride to the Gorbals.