Marmion and Keedy had a problem. Looking for one Samuel Pickwick, they were confronted by several others, all of them remarkably lifelike. Indeed, they came close to arresting the wrong man on three occasions. They eventually found Jonathan Ulverton in the shadow of the castle. With his back to the river, he was holding court to a group of friends that included three Scrooges, two Mrs Gamps and a rather fearsome-looking Joe Gargery, the blacksmith from Great Expectations. When he saw the detectives pushing their way through the crowd, Ulverton detached himself from his friends. He spread his arms wide.
‘Welcome to the Dickens Festival,’ he said, grandly.
‘It’s a case of hail and farewell, I’m afraid,’ explained Marmion. ‘We’re here to arrest you and take you back to London with us.’
‘You can’t do that, Inspector! This is my festival. I’m needed here.’
‘It will have to manage without you, sir.’
‘Saul Rockwell is already in custody,’ said Keedy, ‘and the Madam of your brothel has given us the name of the prostitute who was murdered when she tried to escape. Rockwell will hang alongside you.’
‘There must be some mistake,’ said Ulverton, blustering. ‘I know nothing of a murder.’
‘There were two, sir. The second victim was Gilbert Donohoe. His death was sanctioned by you. Rockwell garrotted him.’
‘According to your Madam,’ said Marmion, taking over, ‘your steward was given extra privileges. He could have any of the women he chose. As it happened, he preferred young men. That was his reward for the special services he provided for the club, like murdering one of its founders.’
‘Gilbert betrayed me,’ said Ulverton, shaking with fury. ‘He had the gall to try to take over the club and ease me out. I couldn’t let him do that. I was the real power behind the Apollo. When he started arguing with me, we shut him up for good. I’ve kept his tongue in a jar in the safe.’
Marmion took his arm. ‘You’ll have to come with us, sir.’
‘Take your hands off me! I’m Samuel Pickwick.’
‘No, Mr Ulverton, you’re not. From what I recall, Pickwick was a benign, warm-hearted character who wouldn’t hurt a flea. That disguise doesn’t fool us. We know the truth about you.’
Ulverton was breathing heavily and starting to sweat. If they had Rockwell in custody and knew about the brothel he’d established, then he was done for. He was destined to hang. Until the detectives had arrived, he’d been the toast of Rochester. What would they think of him now? Ulverton simply couldn’t face the trial and the accompanying disgrace. There had to be a way out. With a sudden push, he shoved Marmion aside and ran to the nearby bank, jumping into the River Medway and landing with a splash.
‘It’s a suicide bid, Joe,’ said Marmion. ‘He can’t hope to get away like that.’
‘Should we just let him drown?’
‘No, if we don’t go in after him, someone else will.’
‘That means me,’ said Keedy, starting to take off his coat.
‘You stay here, Joe. It’s my turn for the heroics and I don’t mind getting wet.’ He peeled off his coat, handed it to Keedy with his hat, then took his shoes off. ‘You deserve the plaudits for remembering Dulcie Haddon. What she told you changed everything.’ He walked gingerly to the bank through the gathering crowd. ‘See if you can rustle up a couple of towels. We’ll need them.’ He gazed down at the spluttering figure of Ulverton. ‘Don’t worry, Mr Pickwick,’ he shouted. ‘I’m coming!’
To the accompaniment of loud cheers, Marmion jumped into the river.
When she bought the newspaper the following morning, Ellen was pleased to see a photograph of her husband on the front page. He and Joe Keedy were credited with solving two murders, arresting the killer and exposing the truth about the Club Apollo, thereby causing its former members acute embarrassment. Scotland Yard was no longer under attack for its perceived shortcomings. With its strategy against the gang culture in Stepney as an additional success, it was lauded. At the end of a fraught week for the family, Ellen had the satisfaction of seeing her husband’s reputation vindicated and her daughter’s rift with Keedy well and truly healed. Paul was still missing but at least she knew he could survive on his own. He had no wish to come home again. Ellen decided that perhaps that was best for all of them.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EDWARD MARSTON has written well over a hundred books, including some non-fiction. He is best known for his hugely successful Railway Detective series and he also writes the Bow Street Rivals series featuring twin detectives set during the Regency, as well as the Home Front Detective series, of which Under Attack is the seventh book.
edwardmarston.com
BY EDWARD MARSTON
THE HOME FRONT DETECTIVE SERIES
A Bespoke Murder • Instrument of Slaughter • Five Dead Canaries
Deeds of Darkness • Dance of Death • The Enemy Within • Under Attack
THE RAILWAY DETECTIVE SERIES
The Railway Detective • The Excursion Train • The Railway Viaduct
The Iron Horse • Murder on the Brighton Express
The Silver Locomotive Mystery • Railway to the Grave • Blood on the Line
The Stationmaster’s Farewell • Peril on the Royal Train
A Ticket to Oblivion • Timetable of Death
Signal for Vengeance • The Circus Train Conspiracy
Inspector Colbeck’s Casebook
A Christmas Railway Mystery
THE CAPTAIN RAWSON SERIES
Soldier of Fortune • Drums of War • Fire and Sword
Under Siege • A Very Murdering Battle
THE RESTORATION SERIES
The King’s Evil • The Amorous Nightingale • The Repentant Rake
The Frost Fair • The Parliament House • The Painted Lady
THE BRACEWELL MYSTERIES
The Queen’s Head • The Merry Devils • The Trip to Jerusalem
The Nine Giants • The Mad Courtesan • The Silent Woman
The Roaring Boy • The Laughing Hangman • The Fair Maid of Bohemia
The Wanton Angel • The Devil’s Apprentice • The Bawdy Basket
The Vagabond Clown • The Counterfeit Crank
The Malevolent Comedy • The Princess of Denmark
THE BOW STREET RIVALS SERIES
Shadow of the Hangman • Steps to the Gallows • Date with the Executioner
COPYRIGHT
Allison & Busby Limited
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London W1T 6DW
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First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2017.
This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2017.
Copyright © 2017 by EDWARD MARSTON
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-7490-2128-3
Under Attack Page 30