Текст книги "Five Dead Canaries"

Автор книги: Edward Marston

Соавторы: Edward Marston
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‘Why?’

‘That’s what I’m off to find out. I’ll report to you first thing in the morning.’

‘Good,’ said Chatfield, suppressing a yawn. ‘And you’re quite sure that we’re looking for a local man.’

Marmion was adamant. ‘I’d stake my pension on it, Superintendent.’

Midnight found the two constables still on duty outside the Golden Goose. It was lonely work. The disaster had exhausted the curiosity of those in the vicinity so nobody came to pry. They chatted, complained about the chill wind, then moaned when a steady drizzle began to fall. Huddled in the doorway of the pub, they exchanged a few jokes to pass the time. Neither of them even saw the figure that approached silently on the other side of the street and kept to the shadows. When he reached the Golden Goose, the man stopped, looked at the debris, then walked on with a smile of deep satisfaction.

CHAPTER FOUR

When he heard the knock at the front door, Eamonn Quinn thought at first that it was a nosy neighbour who’d caught wind of the explosion at a pub in Hayes. Ready to dispatch the caller with a few choice words, he was taken aback when he opened the door and saw two well-dressed strangers standing there. Marmion performed the introductions and asked politely if they might speak to his daughter.

‘She’s gone to bed,’ said Quinn, abruptly.

‘I’m sorry to hear that, sir. We were very much hoping for a word with her.’

‘Well, it’s not convenient. Maureen will be fast asleep by now.’

‘Then we won’t disturb her.’

He was about to turn away when Maureen came into the narrow passageway.

‘Who is it, Daddy?’

‘Hello,’ said Keedy, recognising her. ‘It seems that your daughter is not quite so tired after all, Mr Quinn. May we come in and talk to her?’

‘Only if I’m present,’ insisted Quinn, annoyed that he’d been caught lying.

‘You and your wife are most welcome to sit in on the discussion, sir.’ He smiled at Maureen and indicated his companion. ‘This is Inspector Marmion who’s in charge of the investigation. He was keen to meet you face-to-face.’

‘Good evening,’ said Marmion, removing his hat. ‘I’m sorry that it’s rather late to be calling but this is in the nature of an emergency.’

Quinn grudgingly invited the detectives in, took them into the living room and asked his wife and younger daughter to leave. He and Maureen then sat together on the settee opposite their visitors. Arm around his daughter, Quinn adopted a protective pose and glared at them. The detectives could see that he might be a problem. Marmion turned to Maureen, perched nervously on the edge of her seat.

‘We’ve just come from Agnes Collier’s house,’ he explained. ‘Her mother is now aware of the tragic events at the Golden Goose. She bore up surprisingly well.’

‘Sadie Radcliffe is a tough character,’ said Quinn.

‘So is your daughter, from what I hear.’

‘She’s been brought up proper, Inspector. We don’t mollycoddle children.’

Maureen eyed them anxiously. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Well,’ said Keedy, taking his cue, ‘we’d really like a bit more detail about the other people at the party. Essentially, all that you told me earlier were their names and addresses. Because you were in such a delicate state, I didn’t want to press you too hard. But the inspector feels that we can’t leave without some indication of the sorts of people your friends were. We know a little about Agnes Collier, of course, from her mother – but what about the others?’

‘For instance,’ said Marmion, ‘tell us about Florrie Duncan. I understand that it was her birthday. How old was she?’

‘Twenty-nine,’ replied Maureen. ‘She was the oldest of us.’

‘What about you?’

‘I was the youngest.’

‘I spoke on the phone to Mr Kennett, the works manager’ said Keedy. ‘He was horrified at the turn of events. The one name that he recognised was Florrie Duncan. He described her as the kind of person who’d make an impression anywhere.’

‘That’s true,’ agreed Maureen, brightening a little. ‘She was always so full of life. Florrie looked out for us. If there was ever any trouble at work, she’d always step in and help.’

‘What kind of trouble?’ asked Quinn, bristling.

‘Oh, it was nothing serious, Daddy. It’s just that some of the men-’

‘Did they pester you, Maureen? You should have told me. I’d have put a stop to that right away. I won’t let anyone hassle my daughter.’

‘Florrie kept an eye on me,’ said Maureen. ‘She could see off anyone. And if some of the managers got too bossy, she’d stand up to them. Nobody pushed Florrie Duncan around.’

Marmion was interested. ‘Were you in the National Federation of Women?’

‘Yes, Inspector – Florrie made us join even though trade union activity was banned at the factory.’

‘Now that’s something I don’tagree with,’ Quinn interjected. ‘I mean, it’s bad enough making women work in a place like that until they turn bright yellow. Getting them into a union is going too far.’

‘They’re entitled to protect themselves, Mr Quinn,’ said Keedy. ‘That’s what trade unions are for – to stop workers being exploited. Well, you must be in one yourself.’

‘No need, Sergeant – I deliver coal. Only a fool would try to exploit me. But you take my point? Trade unions for women– well, it’s just not right.’

‘Thank you,’ said Marmion, crisply, ‘your opinion is noted but it’s not really relevant. It’s Maureen we want to hear, Mr Quinn. She worked alongside these young women. She has information about that birthday party that nobody else has.’

Quinn was peevish. ‘Please yourselves.’

‘Go on telling us about Florrie Duncan,’ said Marmion, nodding at her. ‘It sounds to me as if she was a kind of mother to the rest of you.’

‘Yes, she was, Inspector,’ replied Maureen as if it was the first time that the idea had every occurred to her. ‘That’s exactly what she was. If you had a problem, you’d always turn to her. I remember when Enid – that’s Enid Jenks – was having terrible rows at home with her father. She asked Florrie for advice and things got a lot easier after that.’

The detectives let her ramble on. Now that Quinn had been silenced, his daughter was able to talk at will. Slow and hesitant at first, she became more animated, talking about her friends with a mixture of affection and sadness. The individual characters of the murder victims began to emerge. Evidently, Florrie Duncan was the dominant personality. Jean Harte was a pessimist, always fearing the worst and prone to a succession of minor ailments. Enid Jenks was a gifted violinist and had ambitions to be a professional musician until a patriotic urge had taken her into the munitions factory. Maureen was quite fluent until she reached the last of the victims. When she came to a sudden halt, Keedy had to prompt her.

‘What about Shirley Beresford?’

‘She was … very nice.’

‘Tell us a bit more about her.’

‘Yes,’ said Marmion, gently. ‘Was she single or married? What did she do before she came to work at the factory? Who were her closest friends? Did she have any hobbies? What do you remember most about her?’

It was all too much for Maureen. Having exhausted her ability to bring the women back to life, she was now overcome by the horror of their deaths. It was borne in upon her that she’d never see any of them and hear their lively banter. They’d been wiped instantaneously out of her life. Hands to her face, she burst into tears and bent forward. Her father put an arm around her and pulled out a grubby handkerchief to thrust at her. As his daughter continued to sob, he looked accusingly at the visitors.

‘Did you have to badger her like that?’ he said.

‘Your daughter has given us a lot of important information, Mr Quinn,’ said Marmion. ‘Until now, she was doing extraordinarily well. But I can see that we’ve gone as far as we can now,’ he added, getting up. ‘Thank you, Maureen.’

‘Yes,’ said Keedy, also on his feet now, ‘it was very brave of you. We’re sorry to intrude at such a time but you’ll appreciate that this is a criminal investigation. We need all the help we can get if we’re to bring the person who planted that bomb to justice.’

‘Make sure you catch the bastard before I do,’ growled Quinn. ‘If I get my hands on him first, there won’t be anything left for the hangman.’

In search of more comfort, Ellen and Alice Marmion had adjourned to the living room. Every so often, one of them would glance up hopefully at the clock on the mantelpiece, only to be jolted by the lateness of the hour. Ellen had been very unhappy at the notion of her daughter giving up her job as a teacher to join the Women’s Emergency Corps. While she admired the sterling work performed by the organisation, she feared – wrongly, as it turned out – that it would be filled with militant suffragettes who’d have a bad influence on Alice. She was even less pleased with her daughter’s move into the ranks of the police force, believing that law enforcement was primarily a job for men. They not only had the necessary strength and stamina, they were less likely to be shocked by some of the hideous sights they’d inevitably see and more able to cope with situations of grave danger.

From Alice’s point of view, there was one great drawback to the move. She was under the strict supervision of someone who clearly disliked her.

‘Who is she?’ asked Ellen.

‘Thelma Gale,’ said her daughter, ‘or, as she insists on being called, Inspector Gale. If you met her, you’d see why her nickname is “Gale Force”. When her temper is up, she’s like a one-woman hurricane.’

‘And she treats you badly?’

‘She treats allof us badly. Power has gone to her head.’

‘But you said that she keeps picking on you.’

‘Yes, I can’t do anything right for Inspector Gale.’

‘Have you complained?’

‘What’s the point?’ replied Alice. ‘Her job is to give orders and mine is to obey them. That’s all there is to it.’

‘I don’t like the thought of you being harassed by her all the time.’

‘I’ll survive, Mummy.’

‘Why not ask your father to intervene?’

Alice smiled. ‘Daddy is at the root of the problem.’

‘Oh? I can’t see why.’

‘Everyone at Scotland Yard knows and respects Inspector Marmion. When he solved those murders in Shoreditch, he became really famous; and people still talk about his other triumphs. It was the first thing Inspector Gale told me,’ recalled Alice. ‘She warned me that I wasn’t to expect any favours because my father was in the Metropolitan Police. And she said it so nastily. That’s what upset me.’

‘Is there a Mr Gale?’

‘No, she’s not married. She’d frighten any man off.’

Ellen was disturbed. ‘She’s not one of those suffragettes, is she?’

‘Yes, and it’s the one good thing in her favour,’ said Alice before correcting herself. ‘No, that’s unfair. Gale Force is very efficient at her job and works like a Trojan. Women police are still very much there on sufferance but she won’t let any of the men patronise us. She’ll even stand up to the commissioner.’

‘That takes a lot of doing.’

‘I just wish that she wouldn’t keep throwing her weight around.’

‘Have you told Joe about this?’

‘No, Mummy. I can look after myself.’

‘He might be able to give you advice.’

‘Joe has his own problems with Superintendent Chatfield – so does Daddy, for that matter. Superior officers always like to pull rank. I’ll just have to grin and bear it.’ Alice glanced at the clock once more. ‘Heavens! Is it that late? I’d better go.’

‘You can always stay the night,’ suggested Ellen. ‘Your bed is made up.’

Alice spoke with quiet firmness. ‘It’s not mybed any more, Mummy.’

‘Well, it is to me.’

‘I must be off.’

The moment that Alice rose to her feet, the telephone rang. Ellen got up and rushed into the hallway to grab the instrument. Her daughter could hear the mixture of pleasure and fatigue in her voice. When she eventually came back into the living room, Ellen was beaming.

‘Your father’s on his way back – and so is Joe. You’ll have to stay now.’

Marmion and Keedy sat in the back of the car as they were driven in the direction of central London. It gave them an opportunity to review what they’d so far established.

‘Let’s start with the positives,’ said Marmion.

‘I didn’t know there were any, Harv.’

‘We’ve just talked to one of them.’

‘Maureen Quinn?’

‘She’s a survivor, Joe. She was in that outhouse only minutes before it went off. Without realising it, she’s a source of valuable information. If her father hadn’t been there, we’d have got far more of it out of her.’

‘Yes,’ said Keedy, ‘he was an awkward customer, wasn’t he?’

‘More to the point, he doesn’t like policemen. He made that clear. As a rule, that means one thing. He’s been in trouble.’

‘Is it worth checking up on that?’

‘I think so.’

Keedy lurched sideways as the car went around a tight corner.

‘Right,’ he said, sitting up straight again, ‘what are the other positives?’

‘The local police were very cooperative. They don’t always put the flags out for what they see as overpaid detectives from Scotland Yard.’

Keedy snorted. ‘Overpaid! Is that what we are? I can’t say I’ve noticed.’

‘We’ve got them on our side, Joe. That will save a lot of time arguing over boundaries. They accept that we’re in charge. Another positive is that man you spoke to when you went to the factory?’

‘Mr Kennett is the works manager.’

‘According to you, he promised all the help we’ll need.’

‘He sounded like a thoroughly decent man, Harv. He was close to tears when I told him that five of his female employees had been blown up at that pub.’

‘Then we come to the last and best positive.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘We don’t have to go back to the Yard to tell Chat what we’ve been up to.’

Keedy laughed. ‘That’s a huge relief,’ he said. ‘Chat is bad enough in the daytime when he’s full of beans. By late evening, he gets tired and that makes him even more fractious. He’s like a bear with a sore head.’

‘That’s why I advised him to go home.’

After exchanging a few jokes about the superintendent, they turned their minds back to the case in hand. Marmion listed all the things they had to do on the following day. They had to deliver a comprehensive report to Claude Chatfield, then appear at a press conference, asking crime correspondents of newspapers to broadcast an appeal for anyone who saw any suspicious activity near the Golden Goose recently to come forward. Detectives would be deployed to go from house to house in the area in search of potential witnesses.

‘That outhouse was kept locked,’ said Marmion. ‘How did the bomber gain access to it to plant his device?’

‘And how sophisticated was the bomb?’

‘It was sophisticated enough to do the job, Joe. That’s what really matters. But it will be interesting to see what the experts say when they’ve collected enough bomb fragments. It should tell us if we’re looking for a rank amateur or for someone who works at the factory and is used to handling explosives.’

‘Do you still think someone had a grudge against one of those women?’

‘Yes, I do – against one or all of them. It may be some crank who objects to the very idea of women doing jobs always done by men in the past.’

‘There’s another way of looking at this,’ mused Keedy.

‘Is there?’

‘What if the real target was the landlord? Somebody could have fallen out with him or been banned from the pub. When he blew up that outhouse, he might have been completely unaware of the fact that someone was inside.’

‘It’s an idea worth considering, Joe, but there’s one thing against it.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Anyone who hated Mr Hubbard enough to plant a bomb on the premises would surely want to cause maximum damage. He’d blow up the pub itself,’ said Marmion, thoughtfully. ‘And I reckon he’d do it after dark so that no customers would be injured. If the landlord was the target, the best time to set off an explosion would be when he’s completely off guard, snoring in bed beside his wife.’

‘I still think we shouldn’t rule him out, Harv.’

‘Agreed – we keep every option on the table.’

‘That brings us back to the five victims.’

‘Yes,’ sighed Marmion, ‘and it confronts us with a massive problem. You know how people are when they’re bereaved. They withdraw into themselves. The parents of those girls won’t like it if we start prying into the private lives of their daughters – well, look at the trouble we had with Mrs Radcliffe. She was very defensive. Like her, the others will just want to be left alone to mourn. We’ll be seen as intruders.’

‘There’s nothing new in that.’ Keedy was struck by a sudden thought. ‘Let’s suppose you’re right, Harv, and that one of those six girls wasthe target.’ He turned to Marmion. ‘What if it had been Maureen Quinn? Amazingly, she survived. When he discovers that, will the bomber have another crack at her?’

Though they tried to relax, Ellen and Alice were on tenterhooks. Every so often, one of them would go to the window and peer through the curtains. Marmion had rung home from Uxbridge police station. The two women tried to work out how long it would take a car to drive back to the house, assuming that it was keeping to the speed limit. Because her knowledge of geography was poor, Ellen’s estimate was wildly optimistic. During her time with the Women’s Emergency Corps, Alice had driven a lorry all over London and well beyond it. She had a clearer idea of how long it took to get from place to place. She was nevertheless impatient and chafed at the delay. When they heard a car approach the house and slow to a halt, it was Alice who leapt to her feet and rushed to the door. She was in time to see the detectives getting out of the vehicle and ran into Keedy’s embrace.

‘I’m so glad you’re back at last,’ she said, breathlessly.

‘Sorry about this evening, Alice,’ he apologised.

‘There’ll be other times.’

She kissed him on the cheek, then became aware of her father standing there.

‘Don’t I get a welcome home?’ he asked with a slight edge.

‘Of course, you do,’ she said, hugging him. ‘Hello, Daddy.’

The car drove off and the three of them went into the house. Ellen collected a routine peck on the cheek from her husband then took him into the kitchen. Keedy and Alice followed them.

‘There’s a meal in the oven, if you’re not too tired to eat it,’ said Ellen. ‘And there’s more than enough for you, Joe.’

‘I’m starving,’ said Keedy.

‘We haven’t had a thing since we heard the news from Hayes,’ said Marmion, inhaling the aroma that came from the oven as Ellen opened the door. ‘That smells good. Thanks for having something ready for us, love.’

‘I know how hungry policemen can get.’

‘But where’ve you been?’ asked Alice. ‘And why did you go there? Tell me everything. I can’t wait to hear the details.’

‘They’re not very pleasant,’ warned her father.

‘Why is that, Daddy?’

He exchanged a glance with Keedy. ‘Let’s get some grub inside us first.’

‘I second that, Harv,’ said the other, rubbing his hands.

It was not long before all four of them were seated around the table. While Marmion and Keedy devoured their food, the women had yet another cup of tea. It was an odd situation but one which was likely to recur time and again now that Keedy was about to join the family. Ordinarily, Marmion would say very little to his wife about the cases on which he was working. He took special care to keep any horrific details from her but he could hardly do that now. Since his daughter was pressing him for information, Ellen was bound to hear it as well. She gave him an encouraging smile, as if indicating that she had no qualms about what he might say.

Choosing his words carefully, Marmion told them about the crisis that had made them hare off to Hayes in a fast car. Both women were appalled. The idea of one female victim was enough to upset them. The fact that five had been blown to pieces made them shudder. They found it difficult to imagine how gruesome the scene of the crime must have been. Alice was the first to recover from the shock. Ellen was numbed and left all the questions to her daughter.

‘Why would anyone want to murder some munition workers?’ she asked.

‘That’s not what they’ll be called in the papers,’ said her father. ‘They’ll be described as canaries. They’ll be robbed of their dignity and simply be lumped together as munitionettes.’

‘That’s terrible, Daddy. They were five separate individuals.’

‘We discovered that from the survivor,’ said Keedy. ‘She told us how different they all were from each other and Mrs Radcliffe – the mother of one of the girls – told us a little about her daughter. In the normal course of events, all six of them would probably never have been friends. Well,’ he corrected, ‘two of them might have been because they lived so close to each other in Uxbridge, but the rest were scattered all over the place in Hayes. What brought them together was the war.’

‘It brought them together, then killed them,’ remarked Ellen.

‘What a terrible way to lose their lives,’ said Alice, face taut. ‘They went off happily to a birthday party without realising that they were walking into a death trap. It’s dreadful. What kind of a monster could do such a thing?’ She swung round to face her father. ‘Do you have any idea who he could be?’

‘No, Alice,’ admitted Marmion, ‘but his signature tells us something about him. He’s cold, ruthless, calculating and has no concern for the value of human life. The chances are that he was ready to sacrifice innocent young women in order to kill the person he was really after.’

‘And who was that?’

‘We haven’t worked it out yet,’ said Keedy. ‘We’re still at a very early stage of the investigation.’

‘Needless to say,’ cautioned Marmion, ‘everything that we’ve told you has been confidential. Nothing – not a single word – must be repeated to anyone at work, Alice. When your colleagues know that I’m in charge of the case, you’re bound to be asked. You must lie your head off.’

‘That’s not easy for someone as honest as her,’ said Ellen.

‘Yes, it is, Mummy,’ said Alice. ‘When I know how important it is to be discreet, I can be. I won’t tell a soul.’

Marmion put a hand on her arm. ‘Good girl.’

‘But that doesn’t mean I want to be kept in the dark from now on.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well,’ she said, eyes glistening with interest, ‘this case is fascinating. It’s all about six young women of my age or thereabouts. I have some idea of how they might think and act. It’s the one advantage I have over you and Joe. I don’t want to be co-opted on to the investigation – that would be impossible – but I would like to know about any developments. Who knows? I might be able to offer some useful ideas.’

Marmion was caught momentarily off balance and Keedy looked less than enthusiastic about her offer. Both of them were having second thoughts about the wisdom of discussing the case so freely with her. Alice wanted to be included. They traded a look of mild desperation, neither of them knowing quite what to say.

Alice was forceful. ‘What have you got against me?’ she demanded. ‘I might actually be able to help. I’m in the police force as well, remember.’