The Railway Detective Collection: The Railway Detective, the Excursion Train, the Railway Viaduct (The Railway Detective Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

said.
    ‘You were not there to be entertained,’ observed Leeming.
    ‘We often slip into the mail van on such occasions. Nothing ever happens when we carry money. The train has never been under threat before. Ask yourself this, Sergeant. Who would even think of trying to rob us? It’s impossible to open those two safes.’
    ‘Not if you have the keys and the combination. What would have made it more difficult for them, of course,’ said Leeming, ‘is that they’d met stout resistance from two railway policemen hired to guard that money.’
    ‘We didn’t believe that it could ever happen, Sergeant.’
    ‘That’s no excuse.’

    ‘It was their fault,’ said the man, searching desperately for a way to redeem himself. ‘We were led astray. The mail guards pleaded with us to join them in their coach. They should carry the blame.’
    ‘If you wanted to play cards,’ said Leeming, reasonably, ‘you could have done that in the luggage van with your colleague.’
    ‘It’s not the same with only two players.’
    ‘Tell that to Inspector McTurk.’
    The two policemen quailed. They had already given accounts of the robbery to their superior, carefully omitting any mention of their visit to the mail coach. Thanks to the detective, they would now have to confess that they had lied to McTurk. It was a daunting prospect. In the event, it was Leeming who first informed the Scotsman that he had been misled. When he left the storeroom, he found McTurk lurking outside and told him what had transpired.
    ‘Hell and damnation!’ exclaimed McTurk. ‘They’ll swing for this.’
    ‘They pulled the wool over your eyes, Inspector.’
    ‘I’ll make them regret that they did that.’
    ‘You owe a debt to Inspector Colbeck,’ said Leeming, enjoying the other’s discomfort. ‘Had he not searched the mail van, this dereliction of duty may not have come to light. It explains why those employed to look after the mail and the money were caught off guard.’
    ‘I’ll see them crucified,’ vowed McTurk.
    ‘You need to review your safety procedures.’
    ‘Don’t presume to tell me my job, Sergeant.’
    ‘Your men were blatantly at fault.’
    ‘Then they’ll be punished accordingly,’ said McTurk,nettled by the criticism. ‘We have high standards to maintain. But I’ll thank you not to pass comments on our police force. Might I remind you that we’ve been in existence a lot longer than the Detective Department at Scotland Yard?’
    ‘Perhaps that’s why complacency has set in.’
    ‘We are not complacent, Sergeant Leeming!’
    ‘Patently, some of your men are.’
    ‘Isolated examples,’ argued the Scotsman, barely able to contain his fury. ‘And whatever their shortcomings, at least they look like policemen. I can’t say that about you and Inspector Colbeck.’
    ‘We belong to the Plain-Clothes Detail.’
    McTurk sniffed. ‘There’s nothing plain about your colleague’s attire. He struts around like a peacock.’
    ‘The Inspector puts a high premium on smartness.’
    ‘Then he’d be more at home in fashionable society.’
    ‘I agree with you there,’ said Colbeck, coming into the room in time to hear McTurk’s comment. ‘Fashionable society is often the place where serious crimes are hatched. Were we to wear police uniform, we would disclose our identity at once and that would be fatal. Being able to move invisibly in society gives us an enormous advantage. It’s one of the principles on which we operate.’
    ‘It’s not one that appeals to me,’ said McTurk, tapping his chest. ‘I’m proud to wear a uniform. It shows who I am and what I stand for.’
    ‘But it also warns any criminals that you represent danger.’
    ‘And what do you represent, Inspector Colbeck?’
    ‘The veiled sarcasm in your voice suggests that you’ve already supplied your own answer to that question,’ said Colbeck, tolerantly, ‘so I’ll not confuse you by giving youmy reply. I simply came to thank you for your help