Peril on the Royal Train (36 page)

‘It’s from Superintendent Tallis,’ she observed.

‘He’s finally recognised my true worth.’

‘This is very gratifying. You must show it to Robert.’

‘He’d only be jealous,’ said Andrews, jokingly. ‘I know that he and the superintendent are not the best of friends.’

She looked up. ‘They work well together in spite of that.’

‘What do you think of it, Maddy?’

‘I think it’s overdue. It should have come days ago. You saw something that nobody else would have seen. Scotland Yard is in your debt, Father.’

‘That’s what I want to ask you about,’ he said. ‘You’ve told me that Robert has used informers in the past.’

‘The police get information from any source possible.’

‘But some people are
paid
, aren’t they?’

‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘There are criminals who try to curry favour with the police by helping them and they do expect more of a reward than a letter of thanks.’

‘What about me?’ asked Andrews.

She handed the letter back. ‘Your help has just been acknowledged.’

‘It’s more than help, Maddy. But for me, the royal family would be setting off to Scotland without realising that someone was waiting to ambush them. Don’t you think that deserves some reward?’

Madeleine was shocked. ‘You’re not expecting
money
, are you?’

‘Yes, I am.’

‘Father, I’m ashamed of you!’

‘I’ve saved lives.’

‘And you’re entitled to take some pride out of that,’ she said, ‘but that doesn’t mean you should get paid. It’s an almost indecent suggestion.’

Andrews was adamant. ‘Robert gets paid for solving crimes. I should be rewarded for uncovering one.’

‘Robert is a detective. You’re just a member of the public.’

‘I’m involved in this case, Maddy.’

‘You were, I agree, but you’re not any longer. And neither am I. As for claiming all the credit, I think you should remember that this all started when I had a conversation with Mrs Renwick. Some people,’ said Madeleine, ‘would argue that
I
should have received a letter of thanks. What I would never do is to expect or demand payment. It’s unthinkable.’

‘
I
think about it.’

‘Well, you can stop doing so. It’s so mercenary. I’m shocked at you, Father, I really am, and Robert will be shocked as well. This is so unlike you. I don’t know what put the dreadful idea into your head.’

Her outburst silenced him and he became repentant. After reading Tallis’s letter, he slipped it into his pocket and looked apologetically at his daughter. He hated having upset her so much. Yet though he wanted to placate her, he was not entirely ready to dismiss the hope of financial gain.

‘What about that reward offered by the Caledonian?’ he wondered. ‘Is there any chance I could have a slice of that?’

On the train journey back, Colbeck saw evidence that the sabbatarians had been continuing their campaign. As they approached Motherwell, over a dozen miles south of Glasgow, he caught sight of another bold message gouged into the turf of an embankment. Colbeck had missed it on the journey south because he’d been seated on the other side of the compartment. Closer to Glasgow, there were other signs of sabbatarian activity. Paint was daubed and banners had been hung. It was costing the Caledonian a lot of money to remove the exhortations to preserve the Sabbath for its original purpose. The campaigners did seem to be concentrating on one particular railway company.

After their earlier meeting, Craig had been despondent when he left them at the hotel. Colbeck was glad to have good news to impart at last. Once they’d found what amounted to buried treasure, they covered it up again and made it look as if the ground had been undisturbed. The conspirators would be back. They had to believe that their hiding place had been undiscovered. Jamie Farr had been elated and Colbeck had had to warn him that there was some time to go before there was a chance to make any arrests. Like Craig, he was irritated by the shepherd’s obsession with the reward. Angus had been satisfied with a burst of praise and a congratulatory pat. Farr wanted more. He didn’t realise the significance of the find and Colbeck didn’t enlighten him. The shepherd would be staggered to learn that something they’d uncovered on a remote Scottish hillside posed a threat to the royal family.

When he arrived back at the hotel, Colbeck saw that Leeming was waiting for him in the lounge. They’d adjourned upstairs so that they could talk in private. It was Leeming who spoke first, bemoaning the fact that he’d been sent to Perth.

‘It’s the ancient capital of Scotland,’ said Colbeck. ‘If you’d taken the trouble to go to Scone Palace, you’d have seen the Stone of Destiny.’

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s the place where the king of Scotland was traditionally crowned.’

‘But they don’t have any kings here now.’

‘That’s a source of great bitterness in some quarters, Victor. The Scots have long memories. English armies might have subdued them but there are still those who yearn for independence. It’s not beyond the bounds of probability that that’s what’s prompting this attack on the royal family.’

‘Well, I couldn’t wait to get away from Perth,’ said Leeming.

‘Why was that?’

‘I went a very long way to answer a very simple question. The reason that it was possible to steal that gunpowder from the Black Watch is that the regiment is in India. The barracks was almost empty.’

‘To whom did you speak?’

‘I got no further than the main gate, sir. The sentries wouldn’t let me in. They were very rude to me.’

‘I did say that you might get a dusty answer.’

‘There was no need for it.’

‘Did you tell them we were engaged in a murder investigation?’

‘Yes,’ said Leeming, ‘but they still wouldn’t let me in because they claimed that they had no connection with the crime. According to them, no gunpowder was stolen from there.’

‘They were lying, Victor.’

‘I was about to tell them that but they both had loaded rifles.’

‘We mustn’t blame them,’ said Colbeck, tolerantly. ‘They’re under orders to deny that the barracks was so vulnerable. It must have been embarrassing for them to have their security breached. But I’ve just seen incontrovertible proof that the gunpowder did come from there.’

‘What proof is that, sir?’

‘The name of the regiment was on the barrel.’

Colbeck told him about the visit to Jamie Farr and how the sheepdog had helped them to find the gunpowder. Leeming shook off his boredom at once. He was convinced that one crime had been solved and that another could now be prevented. Since they knew when and where the next strike would be, all that they had to do was to lie in wait for the would-be assassins to arrive then arrest them.

‘So the place they chose this time is not far from the original crash,’ he noted.

‘It offers them the same advantages,’ said Colbeck. ‘An explosion at that point on the line would cause rock to hit the royal train with destructive effect.’

‘They’re merciless!’

‘They’re also clever and resourceful. We mustn’t underrate them.’

Leeming grinned. ‘They’re in for a nasty surprise.’

‘We must set the trap with great care, Victor.’

‘Mr Craig is going to be overjoyed when he hears the news.’

‘It should renew his faith in us. That’s been sapped of late.’

‘What about Inspector Rae?’

‘He never had any faith in us at the start,’ said Colbeck. ‘When we bring this investigation to a happy conclusion, he’ll be enraged that he was not kept informed. But all that he was told to do by the procurator fiscal was to prepare a report on the first crash. He’s totally unaware that there’s a second, far more serious crime in the offing.’ Colbeck became pensive. ‘I was just thinking about your comment on Perth.’

‘I hope I never have to visit the city again, sir.’

‘You said that it was a long way to go.’

‘The journey seemed endless,’ said Leeming. ‘We stopped at every hole in the hedge. I thought that we’d never get there.’

‘An obvious question springs to mind, Victor.’

‘It’s not obvious to me.’

‘Perth is some way north of Glasgow yet the train crash was nearly seventy miles south of it. Do you follow my reasoning?’

‘I can’t say that I do, sir.’

‘Why go all the way to Perth to steal gunpowder when they had a supply of it close by at the quarry? Yes, I know that the barracks had only a skeleton battalion there but they’d still have had an armed guard on their arsenal. That wouldn’t happen at the quarry,’ said Colbeck, developing his argument. ‘There’d probably have been no more than a nightwatchman on duty. There’d certainly have been no trained soldiers there to act as sentries. My first question leads on to another. Why raid the barracks in Perth when there are regiments stationed much further south? They’d all have a ready supply of gunpowder.’

‘I’ve no answer to either of those questions,’ admitted Leeming, ‘but I can add a third one of my own.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Who
are
these devils?’

When they caught the train at Euston, they travelled in separate compartments so that they wouldn’t be seen together. While other passengers complained about the long and irksome journey, they held their peace. Had the distance been twice as far, they’d have voiced no protest. They were travelling north for a purpose that fired them so much that all else was blocked out of their minds. Aches and pains were irrelevant. Lengthy delays on cold platforms caused no irritation. They were buoyed up by a missionary zeal. When the train rattled past the site of the earlier crash, they both afforded themselves a quiet smile.

One of them alighted at Beattock. He was stolid man of middle height with curly dark hair and a beard. Tossing his luggage onto the back of a cart, he climbed up beside the driver who squeezed his arm by way of a greeting. The driver was tall, square-shouldered, clean-shaven and with close-cropped hair. Both men were in their thirties. A snap of the reins set the horse off at a trot. Almost nobody saw them leave the station and they were out of the little village within a couple of minutes. They talked with the easy familiarity of cousins.

‘It’s so guid to see ye again, Callum,’ said the driver.

‘Aye, it’s great to be back on Scottish soil.’

‘Did everything go well in London?’

‘It went very well,’ said Callum Matthews.

‘What aboot tha’ train timetable?’

‘Oh, we ken all we need to ken aboot tha’. And we’ve
ye
to thank, Davey. It was ye who told us to steal a look at it. We hired a burglar to do just tha’ for us.’

‘Did he ask why ye wanted it?’

‘He was paid
not
to ask questions.’

‘The man must have been curious.’

‘Aye, he was,’ said Matthews, ‘but he took his curiosity to the grave. We cut his throat and emptied his safe. Getting what we needed didnae cost us a penny.’

Davey Ure laughed. ‘Ye had some fun in London, then?’

‘We did what had to be done – nothing more.’

‘Well, I’ve no’ been idle heer. I’ve timed so many bloody trains with my stopwatch that I can tell ye the exact speed at a glance. He’s going to be pleased with me, Callum.’

‘Everything’s gone to plan so far. He’s very happy.’

‘Where will he get off the train?’

‘He’ll go as far as Carstairs,’ replied Matthews, ‘then cross to the other platform and catch the train back heer. By the time ye pick him up, it’ll be pitch-dark. Nobody will see ye together.’

‘Nobody will see
any
of us together. We’ll disappear as if we never existed.’ A flick of the wrist made the horse pick up the pace. Ure was excited. ‘Not long to go now, Callum.’

‘No,’ said the other, smirking. ‘Queen Victoria and her family will have a warm welcome to Scotland.’ 

As he sat in his armchair with a bottle of whisky at hand, Nairn Craig was downcast. He was facing problems of all kinds and their cumulative effect was almost too much to bear. While at work, it was necessary for him to wear a brave face and maintain his composure but there was no such pressure to do that at home. His true feelings were etched into his face. He was pale, drawn and melancholy. Frown lines had deepened and his stare was vacant. His high ambitions for the Caledonian Railway now seemed both ridiculous and unattainable. And the worst, he feared, was yet to come. Even the arrival of his visitors failed to lift him out of his gloom. He assumed that Colbeck and Leeming had come to bring more bad tidings.

A servant showed them into the drawing room where Craig accorded them a lukewarm greeting. He didn’t even rise from his armchair. In response to his limp gesture, they sat on the sofa opposite him.

‘Forgive us for bothering you at home, sir,’ said Colbeck, ‘but we have news that we felt could not wait until the morning.’

‘What sort of news?’ asked Craig, dully.

‘It’s the very best kind,’ said Leeming. ‘The inspector went to see Jamie Farr.’

‘He’s that crafty young shepherd I met, isn’t he?’

‘Whatever he is,’ said Colbeck, ‘he’s helped us to make the discovery that we needed in this case. He and his dog located the site of the next train crash.’

Craig rallied. ‘Are you sure?’

‘We found gunpowder hidden there.’

‘It was stolen from the barracks in Perth,’ Leeming blurted out.

‘Let
me
tell the story, Sergeant.’

‘I’m sorry, sir.’

Colbeck gave details of his excursion to meet Jamie Farr. While praising the shepherd for showing such enterprise, he also criticised him for asking repeatedly about the prospects of a reward. Colbeck made sure that due credit was given to Angus. The sheepdog was the real hero.

‘This is remarkable,’ said Craig, animated. ‘I should have put more trust in the lad. I misjudged him cruelly.’

‘He doesn’t know the implications of what he found, of course, and I didn’t tell him what they were. I’m not sure that Jamie could cope with the notion that what he found has a direct relevance to the safety of the royal family.’