‘It was, Victor. I can vouch for that.’
‘The main thing,’ said Tallis, waving the report in the air, ‘is that the murder was solved swiftly by my officers. The Great Western Railway is delighted with the speedy resolution – though shocked to learn that one of its own drivers was responsible for the crime.’ He put the report back on his desk. ‘The search that you instituted has also borne fruit. The wallet and watch stolen from Matthew Proudfoot were found on an embankment about a mile away from Twyford station. They were wrapped in a silk handkerchief taken from the victim. The watch, I am told, is still in working order.’
‘What about the murder weapon?’ asked Colbeck.
‘That, too, was recovered nearby.’
‘As I anticipated.’
‘Well,’ said Tallis, complacently, ‘I think we’re entitled to feel rather pleased with ourselves. This case is well and truly closed. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I assigned the right detectives to the investigation.’ He gave one of his rare smiles. ‘Thank you, gentlemen. The Great Western Railway is in your debt.’
‘I can’t say that I enjoyed the work,’ confessed Leeming, loosening his collar with a stubby finger. ‘The simple truth is that I hate trains. I never feel entirely safe in them.’
‘You should try travelling on the roof of a carriage,’ said Colbeck with a grin. ‘You get the most wonderful view of the countryside up there and there’s always the possibility that – like James Barrett – you’ll reach the end of the line far sooner than you imagined was possible.’
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About the Author
www.edwardmarston.com
By Edward Marston
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
Inspector Colbeck’s Casebook:
Thirteen Tales from the Railway Detective
The Railway Detective Omnibus:
The Railway Detective, The Excursion Train, The Railway Viaduct
THE CAPTAIN RAWSON SERIES
Soldier of Fortune • Drums of War • Fire and Sword
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 HOME FRONT DETECTIVE SERIES
A Bespoke Murder • Instrument of Slaughter
Five Dead Canaries • Deeds of Darkness
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
London W1T 6DW
www.allisonandbusby.com
First published in 2014.
This ebook edition first published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2014.
Copyright © 2014 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 978–0–7490–1474–2