‘I did apologise.’
‘That was not enough.’
‘Wait a moment,’ said Sholto, wilting under his stern gaze and feeling the need to defend himself. ‘Do not forget what I have done on your behalf. Who helped to set up the train robbery? I did. Who committed the two murders? I did. Who ordered Jukes and the Seymour brothers to blow up the Kilsby Tunnel? I did. Who dressed up as a policeman and abducted Miss Andrews from her house? I did. Ask yourself this, Humphrey — where would you be without me?’
‘I would not be looking at a man who disobeyed instructions and was nearly brained by a wine bottle as a result.’ His voice softened and he tried to make peace. ‘Look, I know that you did all those things, Thomas, and I’m eternally grateful, but you’ve made a handsome profit out of the enterprise.’
‘So have you.’
‘In my case, there have been losses as well as gains.’
‘Only if Inspector Colbeck overhauls us,’ said Sholto, ‘and what chance is there of that?’
‘None whatsoever — for the next few days at least. Meanwhile…’
‘Yes, yes. I know. Leave Miss Andrews alone.’
‘If you don’t,’ cautioned Gilzean, ‘then I’ll be the one coming at you with a wine bottle in my hand. And I can assure you that it will not be to offer you a drink.’
Victor Leeming could think of several places that he would rather be at that particular moment. Travelling by train on the Great Western Railway, seated opposite Superintendent Tallis and Inspector Colbeck, he was in considerable discomfort. The improved stability offered by the broad gauge track failed to dispel the queasiness that he always felt in a railway carriage, nor did it still the turmoil in his mind. Since it would be late evening by the time they reached Berkshire, they would be obliged to stay overnight at an inn. It would be the fourth time in a week that he would be separated from his wife and there would be severe reproaches to face when he returned home again.
His uneasiness was not helped by the hostile glances that Tallis was directing at him from time to time. He felt the Superintendent’s silent reproof pressing down on him like a heavy weight. Observing his distress, Robert Colbeck tried to divert attention away from his beleaguered Sergeant.
‘At least, you must now admit that Sir Humphrey is the culprit,’ he said to Tallis. ‘That fact is incontrovertible.’
‘I was not entirely persuaded by your evidence, Inspector.’
‘But that letter was clear proof of his involvement.’
‘I am less interested in the letter than in the means by which you acquired it,’ said Tallis, meaningfully. ‘However, we will let that pass for the time being. No, what finally brought me round to the unpalatable truth that Sir Humphrey Gilzean might, after all, be implicated, was a visit from the wife of Arthur Jukes. While you and Sergeant Leeming were making your unauthorised visit to Upper Brook Street, she called to report the disappearance of her husband.’
‘What state was she in?’ asked Colbeck.
‘A deplorable one. I could not stop the woman crying. When I told her why her husband was missing, she wailed even more. I’ve never heard such caterwauling. Marriage,’ he pronounced with the air of a man who considered the institution to be a species of virulent disease, ‘is truly a bed of nails.’
‘Only when you’re lucky enough to lie on it,’ muttered Leeming.
Tallis glared at him. ‘Did you speak, Sergeant?’
‘No, sir. I was just clearing my throat.’
‘Try to do so less irritatingly.’
‘What did Mrs Jukes tell you, sir?’ said Colbeck.
‘Exactly what I expected,’ replied Tallis. ‘That her husband was the finest man on God’s earth and that he would never even think of committing a crime.’
‘She should have seen him at the Crystal Palace,’ said Leeming. ‘Jukes was ready to blow the place up. Fortunately, we were there.’
‘Yes, Sergeant — you, Inspector Colbeck and a certain Irishman. That’s another thing I’ll pass over for the time being,’ he said with asperity. ‘What I learnt from Mrs Jukes — in between her outbursts of hysteria — was that her husband had been out of work. Then he got a visit from a bearded man whom Jukes later described to her as a captain from his old regiment.’
‘Thomas Sholto,’ decided Colbeck.
‘So it would appear. Soon after that, she told me, her husband came into some money. Enough to pay off his debts and move house.’
Leeming sat up. ‘Did Mrs Jukes never ask where his sudden wealth came from?’
‘She was his wife, Sergeant. She believed every lie he told her.’
‘My wife wouldn’t let me get away with anything like that.’
‘You are unlikely to rob a mail train.’
‘Given the choice, I avoid trains of all kinds, Superintendent.’
‘We know this is an ordeal for you, Victor,’ said Colbeck with compassion, ‘but at least we have a first class carriage to ourselves. You do not have to suffer in front of strangers.’
‘That’s no consolation, sir.’
‘Forget about yourself, man,’ chided Tallis. ‘Do you hear me telling you about my headache or complaining of my bad tooth? Of course not. In pursuit of villains such as these, personal discomfort is irrelevant. While you and the Inspector were otherwise engaged today, I had a further insight into how many lives have been damaged by these people.’
‘Did you, sir?’
‘I had a visit from a gentleman whose identity must remain a secret and who would not confide in me until I had given that solemn undertaking. Do you know what he came to talk about?’
‘Blackmail?’ guessed Colbeck.
‘Yes, Inspector,’ continued Tallis. ‘Someone had accosted him with a letter he was incautious enough to write to a young man in Birmingham, offering him money if he would care to visit London. I did nor care to pry into the nature of their relationship,’ he went on, inhaling deeply through his nose, ‘but it clearly put him in an embarrassing position.’
‘Is he married, sir?’
‘No, but he has reputation to maintain.’
‘What price did the blackmailer put on that reputation?’
‘Two hundred pounds.’
‘Just for writing a letter?’ said Leeming.
‘A compromising letter, Sergeant,’ noted Tallis. ‘I advised him not to pay and promised him that the people behind the attempted blackmail would soon be in custody.’
‘He had the sense to report it to you,’ said Colbeck. ‘Others, I fear, did not. Stealing those mail bags must have paid dividends.’
‘It did the opposite to the Post Office. They have been swamped with protests from those whose correspondence went astray. There’s talk of legal action. Having spoken to this gentleman today, I can see why.’
Victor Leeming sighed. ‘Murder, robbery, assault, blackmail, kidnap, destruction of railway property, conspiracy to blow up the Crystal Palace — is there any crime that these devils have not committed?’