The Circus Train Conspiracy

by Edward Marston

  ‘It was meant to be, sir. See it as a justifiable riposte. When someone insults my intelligence by telling me a farrago of lies, I feel duty-bound to respond. I’ve been to Shropshire and spoken to the housekeeper. She told me how regularly Mrs Pulver went to London. If I look at your wife’s diary, I’m sure that they’ll correspond with days when you were absent from home. In short,’ he went on, ‘you had a series of assignations with another woman in the nation’s capital. I know that’s where you bought her that ring because the jeweller’s name was inside the box. Am I right?’

  Furnish was stung. ‘No, you’re not.’

  ‘Perhaps you’ve forgotten when it was. A glance at that diary would help us.’

  ‘I deny all these spurious accusations.’

  ‘Would you prefer to have your wife and her diary in here with us?’

  ‘There’s no need for that,’ said the other, quickly.

  ‘Does that mean you’d appreciate a moment alone with her so that you can explain why I’m going to arrest you on a charge of murder and take you off to Newcastle with me?’

  Furnish leapt up. ‘You have no reason to do that.’

  ‘Circumstantial evidence is very strong, sir.’

  ‘I have not set eyes on Mrs Pulver for years,’ claimed the other.

  ‘Would you swear to that in court?’

  ‘Yes, I would.’

  ‘Then you’d be committing perjury.’

  ‘I’m stating a simple fact, Inspector.’

  ‘Before I became a policeman,’ said Colbeck, ‘I was a barrister. As a result, I became very familiar with the way that murder trials are conducted. I know when a guilty verdict is more or less inevitable and it certainly is in this case. Killers like you always make mistakes, you see.’

  ‘I am not a killer,’ insisted Furnish, stamping a foot. ‘Why should I murder a woman I liked?’

  ‘It was because she grew to like you far too much, sir. And I can see why. You have obvious appeal for her and belonged to a profession that she greatly admires. When a woman is caught up in the throes of passion, she can make awkward demands on a man. Is that what Mrs Pulver did, sir?’ asked Colbeck. ‘Were you being forced to choose between her and your family?’ He stood up to confront the man. ‘Did the saint of Shropshire threaten you with exposure?’

  ‘Don’t talk about her like that!’ snarled Furnish. ‘You never knew Margaret.’

  ‘I know how revered she was by everyone around her.’

  ‘She was an amazing woman.’

  ‘One of her other admirers would agree with that, sir. By an odd coincidence, he lives in Hexham and used to work for the NCR.’ Furnish was shocked. ‘You can’t expect such a beautiful woman to reserve her favours entirely for you. He actually confessed that he met her in London on one occasion.’

  ‘You’re only trying to provoke me.’

  ‘His name is in her address book. I checked.’

  ‘There was nobody else, I tell you! She swore to me.’

  As he yelled out, he realised that he’d given himself away and collapsed onto the chair. He cut a sorry figure. All the bravado had seeped away. Though he had no sympathy for the man, Colbeck did have sympathy for his wife.

  ‘Do you have children, sir?’ Furnish nodded. ‘They’ll have to know in time. Your wife must be told first. At this stage, you might simply wish to inform her that you’re coming back to Newcastle with me. That’s up to you.’

  ‘She deserves the truth.’

  ‘Then I’ll wait here while you speak to her.’

  Colbeck moved to open the door. After lapsing into remorse, Furnish stood up and straightened his coat. He stared at the detective with a blend of hatred and gratitude, resenting the fact that he’d been caught but thankful that he was not being hustled away in handcuffs. That would have been mortifying. It was time for him to speak to his wife. Before going out, he ran his tongue over dry lips then took a deep breath. Colbeck left the door wide open and waited.

  Leeming, meanwhile, was standing beside the stables and shivering in the strong breeze that had suddenly blown up. Minutes fled by. The long wait gave him time to compare himself with the inspector. They operated in totally different ways. The sergeant saw only what was directly in front of him whereas Colbeck could envisage what wasn’t actually there. If he’d seen a plan on the wall of Darlow’s office, it would never have occurred to Leeming to connect it with the one in Mrs Pulver’s house. And since he would have been unable to open the secret drawer in her desk, the ring and the telltale list would have gone undiscovered. Even if he had seen them, he knew, they would not have sent him after an engineer called Nathan Furnish. Leeming contented himself with the thought that, while he could never compete with Colbeck, he nevertheless had qualities that made him a good detective. Some of those qualities now came into play.

  He heard the soft tap of feet and knew that someone was running towards him on tiptoe. Standing behind the stable, he waited until a figure came out of the gloom and started to unbolt the door. Leeming stepped out to grab him by the collar.

  ‘Good evening, Mr Furnish,’ he said. ‘I’m Sergeant Leeming. The inspector had a feeling that you might try to escape.’

  ‘Let me go!’ cried the other, struggling.

  ‘I’m afraid that I can’t do that, sir.’

  ‘Get off me!’

  Desperate to escape, Furnish stamped his foot hard on Leeming’s toe, causing him to cry out in pain and loosen his grip. The engineer was off at once, running across the yard and out through a gate that led to a field. Although he could barely see the man, the sergeant gave chase and winced every time his injured foot hit the ground. Furnish was faster than his pursuer but he had none of Leeming’s tenacity and desire for revenge. When the engineer began to tire, the gap between the two men closed inexorably. The closer he got, the clearer Leeming was able to see his quarry. It gave him fresh energy. Squeezing a final spurt out of his aching legs, he got within reach of Furnish and dived onto the man’s back, causing him to lose his balance and stumble. The two of them came crashing down on the grass.

  Leeming was the first to recover from the impact. He turned the other man over and pummelled him with both fists to take away all resistance. Furnish finished up with his hands over his face, begging for mercy. He was hauled unceremoniously to his feet before being handcuffed. They headed back towards the house.

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ said Leeming, gasping for breath. ‘I needed the exercise.’

  Having heard so much about Scotland Yard, she had always wondered what went on inside it. Lydia Quayle now had her opportunity to find out. She arrived outside by cab and looked up at it. At first sight, it was rather forbidding but she reminded herself that it was where Colbeck and Hinton both worked and, as such, should hold no demons for her. Entering the building, she asked to see the detective constable and was dismayed to be told that he was now off duty. She would have to leave a message for him. Lydia was trying to write it when Superintendent Tallis came out of his room and noticed her. When he heard what had brought her there, he invited her into his room and offered her a seat. He returned to his chair behind the desk.

  Lydia was intimidated by his rank and by his looming presence. For his part, Tallis was always uncomfortable when talking to women so the conversation was very uneasy at first. She thanked him for assigning someone to her case.

  ‘I have a good memory, Miss Quayle,’ he told her. ‘I remembered that we investigated the murder of your father. That would have robbed you of the person to whom you could naturally turn for help in this situation. Because of that, I felt that we had a duty to assist you.’

  It was untrue but Lydia didn’t contradict him. Had her father still been alive, he’d have been the last person on whom she could rely for protection. Tallis already had details of her case so she handed over her brother’s letter to him and explained why she felt that Courtney was the man harassing her. Tallis was sympathetic. Since she’d befriended Madeleine, she’d heard a lo
t of criticism of the superintendent and his disdain for women. Yet he was now showing an almost paternal interest in her predicament.

  ‘The question we must ask is this,’ he said, returning the letter. ‘What is Mr Courtney doing in London?’

  ‘He’s come in pursuit of me, of course.’

  ‘I don’t think so, Miss Quayle. If that was the impulse that brought him here, he’d have arrived several months ago. My feeling is that he had a reason for being in the city and, once here, discovered where you were living. You tell me that he works in the family business.’

  ‘That’s right, Superintendent.’

  ‘Is it confined to this country or does it export its products abroad?’

  ‘Oh, they sell things all over Europe.’

  ‘Then it might well have a London office that liaises with foreign buyers. If I was a French or Italian businessman, I’d much rather come here than have to tramp all the way up to Nottinghamshire. Do you follow my reasoning?’

  ‘Yes, I do.’

  ‘If Philip Courtney has an office in London, the chances are that his son might run it. That’s why he’s here and how we’ll find him. Detective Constable Hinton will begin the search for him first thing tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Lydia, effusively. ‘Thank you so much.’

  ‘Meanwhile,’ said Tallis, ‘I believe that you’re staying with Mrs Colbeck.’

  ‘That’s right. Madeleine has been very supportive.’

  ‘Then perhaps you can pass on some news that will interest her. Within the last hour, I had a telegraph from her husband. The murder he was investigating has now been satisfactorily solved and a man is in custody. When the inspector has dealt with the other crime that sent him there,’ he added, stroking his moustache, ‘he will be on his way home.’

  Lydia left the building in a state approaching euphoria.

  It was Cyrus Lill who broke the news of the arrest. Though it was late evening, he returned to the circus and found both Moscardi and his wife still very much awake.

  ‘I was in the police station when the killer was brought in,’ he said.

  ‘That’s wonderful,’ said Anne.

  ‘It would be even more wonderful if he’d arrested the man we’re after,’ said Moscardi. ‘The inspector seems to have forgotten us.’

  ‘That’s not true, Mauro. We’ve had Sergeant Leeming almost living with us.’

  ‘He’s back here again,’ said Lill. ‘We left the police station together. The sergeant is using Mulryne’s tent to change into something more appropriate. He was keen to take off his frock coat. Because he had a tussle with the killer, it got torn and covered in grass stains.’

  ‘I’ll make a point of congratulating him,’ said Anne.

  Her husband tapped his chest. ‘And I’ll make a point of asking when he’s going to rid us of our problem.’

  ‘But we’ve had no trouble today, Mauro.’

  ‘He’ll be lurking out there somewhere.’

  ‘I’m not so sure, Mr Moscardi,’ said Lill. ‘When he let the lion out of the cage, I feel that he shot his bolt. There’s nothing worse he could have done. My feeling is that he’s admitted defeat and gone.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Anne.

  ‘The man is not stupid. He must have seen the patrols you put in place. That scared him off. We can at last sleep soundly in our beds.’

  Wearing his old clothes again, Leeming was seated on a log as he told Mulryne about the capture of Nathan Furnish. He was honest about his failings.

  ‘When I chased him across the field, my top hat was blown off and I had the most terrible job to find it in the dark.’ The Irishman shook with laughter. ‘It’s not funny, Brendan. I trod on it by mistake.’

  ‘I’ve had my share of losing things in a fight – teeth, mostly.’

  ‘Inspector Colbeck knew he’d make a run for it. That’s why I was in the right place to stop him.’

  ‘The inspector always thinks ahead. Did the killer confess?’

  ‘He did more than that,’ said Leeming. ‘He spent the journey back to Newcastle trying to justify what he’d done. His mistress got fed up with seeing so little of him that she began to make demands. Furnish said that the only way he could resolve the situation was by killing her. His family came first, he insisted. He had to protect his wife and children.’

  ‘Having a mistress is hardly the best way to do that.’

  ‘I told him that, Brendan. But he’s so convinced that what he did was the right thing that he wouldn’t listen to reason. He’s one of those men who will simply never accept blame for their actions.’

  ‘There are too many of them about.’

  It was close to midnight and the moon was obscured by low cloud. Braziers had been lit and some torches burnt to shed light. Apart from the occasional noises from the animals, everything was peaceful. The camp was largely asleep. It was soon jerked out of its slumber. The gunshot reverberated throughout the whole park and set off a tumult in the animal enclosures. Leeming and Mulryne ran in the direction from which the noise had come and eventually reached Gianni Moscardi. He was standing at the edge of the camp with the shotgun in his hands.

  ‘I saw him,’ he said. ‘I saw someone creeping towards the horses and trying to cut through the ropes to get at them. When I fired at him, he ran away.’

  ‘Did you hit him?’ asked Mulryne.

  ‘I couldn’t see in the dark. I ran towards him but he had a horse nearby and got away. It’s infuriating,’ he went on. ‘I thought we’d seen the last of him.’

  ‘No,’ said Leeming. ‘I’m afraid not. He won’t give up.’

  ‘It’s the truth,’ said Mulryne. ‘He’ll be back again and again.’

  ‘Why is he picking on us?’ cried Gianni. ‘It’s so unfair. What does he have against our circus?’

  Leeming put a consoling hand on his shoulder. ‘That’s the first question I’ll ask when we arrest him.’

  Courtney and Son Ltd had an office in central London that handled the distribution of their products in the south of England as well as the company’s exports. As the man who ran the office, Bernard Courtney felt able to come and go as he pleased, leaving the bulk of the work to his clerks. When he finally arrived that morning, he gave a nonchalant wave to his minions then stepped into his office. Someone was waiting for him. The visitor got to his feet.

  ‘Mr Courtney?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘I’m Detective Constable Hinton from Scotland Yard. I need to ask you some questions regarding Miss Lydia Quayle.’

  ‘Oh, I see. Ask what you wish.’

  There was no hint in his voice that he’d done anything wrong. The description given of him by the hotel manager had prepared the detective to meet a good-looking man but he hadn’t expected him to exude so much charm. Courtney was relaxed, amiable and engaging. At his invitation, Hinton sat down and Courtney followed suit. His manner was familiar, as if he were sitting in his club with an old friend.

  ‘Now then, what seems to be the trouble?’

  ‘You have been following the lady,’ said Hinton.

  ‘Yes, I have – now and then.’

  ‘You also stole a dress of hers from a hotel.’

  ‘I must correct you,’ said Courtney, smiling. ‘I didn’t steal it, I merely borrowed it. I returned it undamaged.’

  ‘Unfortunately, the lady herself was not undamaged. You caused her a lot of discomfort and anguish.’

  ‘That certainly wasn’t my intention.’

  ‘Then what was, may I ask?’

  Courtney grinned. ‘I was simply having some fun.’

  ‘That’s not a credible defence, sir.’

  ‘Well, it’s the only one you’re going to get,’ said Courtney, tone hardening. ‘Why are the police involved? This is a matter between me and Lucas’s sister. We were at school together, you know, Lucas Quayle and I. For some reason, he never liked me. It might have been because I teased him a lot. Anyway, when I realised tha
t he had such a pretty sister who lived in London, I went in search of her when I was transferred here.’

  ‘Then you began your campaign against her.’

  ‘Don’t make me sound so hostile. I’m quite the opposite, I promise you. I adore the woman. Any red-blooded man would. Lydia Quayle is a—’

  ‘That’s enough,’ said Hinton, interrupting him and rising to his feet. ‘I’m afraid that I must ask you to accompany me, sir.’

  Courtney was astonished. ‘Whatever for?’

  ‘I’m placing you under arrest.’

  ‘But I’ve done nothing wrong.’

  ‘Stealing someone’s property is a crime.’

  ‘I meant no harm. Be reasonable, man. Haven’t you ever taken an interest in a young woman and wanted to know more about her? It’s what we chaps do. There’s a primal urge inside us that takes over.’

  ‘Then there’s the small matter of registering at a hotel in a false name.’

  ‘Well, I didn’t want to give myself away, did I? Besides, I’ve always had a soft spot for Daniel Vance. He founded my old school, you see, and we had a tradition associated with him. The name brings back vivid memories.’

  ‘We must go, Mr Courtney.’

  ‘This is absurd,’ protested the other, getting up. ‘Do you know who I am? Do you know how important a position I hold? I’m not having some petty officer of the law pestering me like this. Be warned. I’ll be speaking to your superior about this unwanted intrusion into my private life.’ He waved an arm. ‘Now get out!’

  ‘You’re coming with me, sir.’

  ‘You have no grounds for an arrest.’

  ‘I’ve already mentioned two.’

  ‘Damn and blast you, man! Stop treating me as a criminal.’

  ‘That’s exactly what you are, sir.’

  ‘I’ll have you dismissed for this.’

  ‘It all began – to use your own words – with an unwanted intrusion into a private life. Then it developed into persecution. You are no longer at school, sir. Your days of playing tricks on people are over.’