11 - Ticket to Oblivion (22 page)

‘Well,’ he said, ‘what have you decided?’

‘The kidnappers have chosen well,’ replied Kee. ‘This junction allows them to travel in almost any direction. They could ride off overland, of course, but the railway will be much quicker. Before they meet you to collect the ransom, they’ll already have bought tickets to their next destination.’

‘They’ll never get there.’

‘That’s my hope, Mr Tunnadine.’

‘It’s not a hope, man, it’s a necessity. We must rescue the hostages and kill the scheming devils who had the gall to abduct them.’

‘Shooting them must only be an option if all else fails, sir.’

‘I want them dead.’

‘I appreciate the sentiments,’ said Kee, ‘but you might get more satisfaction in handing them over to suffer the full force of the law. Besides, didn’t you tell me that Sir Marcus Burnhope was offering a large reward for their capture?’ He gave an oily grin. ‘You’d be in a position to claim that.’

The thought appealed to Tunnadine. He stroked his chin pensively.

‘No,’ he said at length. ‘I’d be in a position to claim it
and
to turn it down. That would redound to my credit. I have no need for the money and it would put me in my father-in-law’s good books. More to the point,’ he added, ‘it would impress the dear lady I am to marry.’

‘You will do that simply by coming to her rescue, sir.’

‘That’s true.’

‘If we have to draw our weapons,’ suggested Kee, ‘let’s shoot to disable them rather than to kill. A bullet in the knee will cripple them and cause agony.’

‘It’s good advice. We’ll aim for the legs. But when we’ve
got them squirming on the ground,’ said Tunnadine, ‘I’ll kick them hard until they beg for mercy.’

‘You’d not do that in front of the ladies, surely?’

‘I’ll rely on you to divert them.’

‘We are, of course, assuming that the hostages will actually be there,’ said Kee, cautiously. ‘At the first exchange, there was no sign of them. They used a decoy.’

‘They won’t try the same trick twice.’

‘Perhaps not, sir, but they’re wily enough to invent a new one.’

‘Then we must be on our guard.’

Tunnadine was glad to concentrate all his thoughts on Imogen’s rescue. It saved him from thinking about the way that he’d treated Lucinda Graham. She’d committed the cardinal sin of joking about blackmail. He felt that he’d been right to attack her and to drive her out of his life forever. She belonged to his past now and his future would be built around his wife. Once the marriage had settled into a rhythm, he decided, he could search for someone to replace Lucinda Graham. A mistress served a purpose that a wife simply could not. The notion of flitting between the two appealed to him greatly. At the moment, however, he had neither mistress nor wife. It was a thought that kept his brain simmering.

Alban Kee spread out an ordnance survey map on the table.

‘The ransom will not be handed over in the town,’ he concluded. ‘They’ll want to draw you out into the open so that they can ensure you are on your own. I’ve been looking at possible choices.’

‘Good work!’

‘I’ve marked them on the map.’ He indicated some crosses. ‘They’ll pick a spot where they can be hidden while you are exposed to their scrutiny. It won’t be far away from the town because they’ll need to get back quickly in order to catch a train. The first thing I did when I got here yesterday,’ said Kee, ‘was to hire a horse and ride out on reconnaissance.’

‘They will doubtless have got the lie of the land themselves,’ said Tunnadine, looking at the areas marked by crosses. ‘Which would
you
choose?’

Kee jabbed a finger at the map. ‘This one, sir – it answers all their needs.’

‘What about
our
needs?’

‘I’ve not neglected those. They’ll expect you to come in a trap so that you can drive the hostages away. I’ve hired one that will allow me to lie concealed beneath a rug. Even with a telescope, they won’t be able to spot that there are two of us in it. You can hand over the ransom,’ said Kee, ‘in the knowledge that I won’t be far away. Once the ladies are safe, I can come out of hiding.’

‘I like the device,’ said Tunnadine.

‘All that I’ve done is to think ahead, sir.’

‘You’ve given us the advantage of surprise and that’s crucial.’

‘What will happen afterwards, sir?’ asked Kee.

‘I’ll be hailed as a hero and you’ll be richly rewarded.’

‘That’s not what I meant, Mr Tunnadine. The point is that you chose not to apprise Sir Marcus of the fact that you received the ransom note. How will he react when he realises that you acted on your own without consulting him?’

‘He’ll be too overjoyed to offer any criticism of what I did.’

‘Might he not at least be a little piqued?’

‘There’s only one thing that will annoy him.’

‘What’s that, sir?’

‘He picked the wrong detective,’ said Tunnadine, smugly. ‘While I chose Alban Kee, he made the mistake of putting his faith in Inspector Colbeck. And where, may I ask, is the celebrated Railway Detective now?’ His tone was contemptuous. ‘He’s chasing moonbeams in another part of the country.’

Wolverhampton was familiar to them. One of their most complex investigations had started there. A prisoner being transferred to Birmingham had escaped with the help of an accomplice and killed the two policemen guarding him. Like all people involved in law enforcement, Colbeck and Leeming had been deeply upset by the gruesome death of two fellow officers. It had made them redouble their efforts to catch those responsible. Their earlier visit to Wolverhampton had sent them off on a labyrinthine hunt that eventually proved successful. This time, however, they met with failure. They questioned almost everyone at the station. None of them could remember four passengers – two men and two women – purchasing tickets to another destination. One of the porters recalled seeing a beautiful young lady but he’d been too busy to take much notice of her. Evidently, the quartet had merged into the crowd to avoid arousing attention.

Leeming was dismayed. ‘They’ve got away,’ he said.

‘So it would appear.’

‘They may not even have taken another train.’

‘Oh, I think they did,’ said Colbeck, thoughtfully. ‘It’s the obvious thing to do. Travelling by horse and trap would be far slower. They’ll have luggage, remember. We’ll check the nearest stables but I fancy that they’ll not have hired from any of them. They simply caught a train.’

‘Then why did nobody see the four of them together?’

‘A party of four people might be distinctive, but who would look twice at two couples? They could have travelled in separate compartments. Neither of the two ladies would dare to raise the alarm because they’d know that their respective captors were armed.’

‘In which direction did they go, Inspector?’

‘Your guess is as good as mine.’

‘Well, my guess is that we’ve lost them for good,’ said Leeming.

‘No, Victor, they’ll be back again, I assure you. Don’t forget that they still have two priceless assets.’

‘What will they do with the two ladies?’

‘I’m certain that they’ll attempt to extort even more ransom money somehow and overplay their hand. That’s when we can step in.’

The sergeant was glum. ‘So we did all that dashing around for nothing.’

‘Put it down as healthy exercise.’

‘The superintendent will call it a bad mistake.’

‘He ought to applaud our enterprise,’ said Colbeck, ‘but I agree that he’s more likely to blame us for our incompetence. Let’s find out where the stables are and pay them a visit. At least we can be sure then that they haven’t fled by means of horse and trap.’

‘They could always have
stayed
here, sir.’

‘I think not, Victor. This is an industrial town with few hotels that offer outstanding facilities. Captain Whiteside has expensive tastes and he now has the money to pay for them. An isolated hotel is what he’ll want. There are not many of those near Wolverhampton. As you saw from all those smoking chimneys we passed on the way here, the Black Country is well named.’

‘It’s no worse than parts of London, sir,’ Leeming conceded. ‘There’s the same stink, deafening noise and grime.’

After taking advice from the stationmaster, they went off to visit the nearest places where horses could be hired. Now that the chase had ended, Leeming’s aches and pains returned. The prospects seemed bleak to him.

‘I’m not looking forward to seeing Superintendent Tallis again,’ he said.

‘But he’s going to welcome you with open arms,’ teased Colbeck.

‘We failed, sir.’

‘We had a setback, that’s all. The superintendent will appreciate that. He’s not such an ogre. He has enough experience to know that we’ll succeed in the end.’

While he wanted to admonish his detectives for their lack of success, Edward Tallis was forced into a position of defending them. He was seated behind his desk with an irate Sir Marcus Burnhope seated opposite him. Forgetting that he’d insisted on handing over the ransom in person, the visitor was acerbic in his denunciation of Colbeck and Leeming. Eyes protruding and voice rising, he slapped his thigh.

‘They let me down badly, Superintendent,’ he said.

‘I’d have to take issue with you there.’

‘Why didn’t they arrest that man when they had the chance?’

‘It’s rather difficult to put handcuffs on someone when you’re almost half a mile away,’ said Tallis, drily. ‘You took the initiative, Sir Marcus. Indeed, you made a point of doing so. As a result, you lost the money and left empty-handed.’

‘The fellow was wholly without honour!’

‘He’s a criminal. They operate by different standards. You should have expected that. As for Colbeck, please remember that it was he who retrieved the horse and trap for you. It was a feat well beyond me and the sergeant is no horseman. But for the inspector,’ Tallis emphasised, ‘you might have had a long and tiring walk back to the railway station.’

Sir Marcus reluctantly accepted that he had been at fault but he still nursed resentment against the detectives. To mollify his visitor, Tallis opened his box of cigars and offered it to Sir Marcus. The two of them were soon puffing away and filling the room with cigar smoke. There was a noticeable release of tension. Sir Marcus contemplated his fate.

‘It’s dreadful,’ he said, mournfully. ‘Losing my daughter was the first shattering blow. Surrendering all that money was the second. But the worst of it is that there may well be a third.’

‘I fail to see it, Sir Marcus.’

‘Publicity, man – think of the newspapers.’

‘To be honest, I try not to do so. They’ve never treated me kindly.’

‘Imagine what they’d do to me if this story ever got out. Sir Marcus Burnhope, Secretary of State for India, has been robbed of his daughter and deprived of a veritable fortune. How my enemies would love that!’ he cried. ‘I’d never hear the end of their taunts and howls of derision. You must protect me from that, Tallis.’

‘The best way to do that is to rescue the hostages, capture the men who abducted them and restore your money to the bank. Nobody else need ever know what happened at the two earlier meetings with the kidnapper.’

‘The press will be sniffing around, Superintendent. They know that Imogen is missing because I’ve offered a reward. What if they learn the full truth?’

‘It will not come from my lips, Sir Marcus, nor from those of my men.’

‘Do I have your word on that?’

‘In a case like this,’ said Tallis, seriously, ‘discretion is vital and that is what I can guarantee. I’ll tell the press nothing. They have an unfortunate habit of getting hold of the wrong end of the stick – as I know to my cost.’

The two of them continued to draw on their cigars and create a fug. When there was a knock on the door, Tallis invited the caller to enter. He was a fresh-faced young detective who’d recently joined the department. Plainly in awe of the superintendent, he delivered his message in something close to a whisper.

‘Speak up!’ ordered Tallis. ‘I can’t hear a word.’

‘There’s someone asking to see you, Superintendent.’

‘They’ll have to wait. I’m in the middle of an important meeting.’

‘The gentleman was most insistent.’

‘Then he’ll need to be taught the value of patience.’

‘He said that, if I gave you his name, you’d admit him immediately.’

‘I very much doubt that. Who is the fellow?’

‘His name is George Vaughan.’

‘Heavens!’ exclaimed Sir Marcus. ‘It’s one of my nephews. What on earth is George doing here?’

‘We’ll find out. Send him in,’ said Tallis, dismissing the young detective. The man went out. ‘George Vaughan is an artist. Why should he be so desperate to see me?’

Sir Marcus was droll. ‘Perhaps he has come to confess to some terrible crime,’ he said. ‘Even his mother has begun to despair of him.’ He got to his feet as George Vaughan came into the room. They shook hands. ‘How are you, young man?’

‘I didn’t expect to find you here, Uncle Marcus,’ said the other, ‘but I’m very glad that I did so. You should hear what I have to say.’

‘I understood that you wished to speak to me,’ said Tallis, stiffly.

‘That’s right, Superintendent. I have to report a heinous crime.’

‘Of what nature is it?’

‘A young woman has been brutally assaulted by a man.’

‘Report that to the nearest police station, Mr Vaughan. It’s not the sort of crime that we deal with, as a rule. I take it that the two people involved were well known to each other?’

‘Yes, they were.’

‘Then it’s a domestic matter in which we don’t usually get involved.’

‘I’ve seen her,’ said the artist, earnestly. ‘He beat her to a pulp and threw her out of the house. Doesn’t that arouse at least a scintilla of compassion in you?’

‘Go back to your earlier remark,’ said Sir Marcus, interested. ‘Why were you glad to find me in here with the superintendent?’

‘You know the man, Uncle. He’s a friend of yours.’

Puffing on his cigar, Sir Marcus fell back on pomposity. ‘My friends do not assault defenceless young women.’

‘This one does,’ insisted George Vaughan. ‘If he can batter his mistress like that, imagine what he might do to his wife.’