Free Inspector Colbeck's Casebook by Edward Marston

the incident, Andrews listened to the harpist for another few minutes then headed for the pub where he’d spent so many happy times with his friends over the years. They gave him a warm welcome and someone bought him a drink. He revelled in the banter. Dirk Sowerby, his erstwhile fireman, then came in. Andrews insisted on treating him and moved to the bar counter. When he reached inside his coat for his wallet, however, it was not there. He came to an immediate conclusion.
    ‘I’ve been robbed!’ he protested.
     
    ‘It was embarrassing, Maddy.’
    ‘I can see that.’
    ‘Instead of buying Dirk Sowerby a drink, I had to borrow money off him to pay my way. I felt such a fool.’
    ‘Are you absolutely sure that you had the wallet in your coat?’
    ‘Yes,’ replied Andrews, irritably. ‘Of course, I’m sure.’
    ‘I’ve known you forget things before,’ Madeleine reminded him.
    ‘I’ve never forgotten my wallet and my watch, Maddy. I wouldn’t leave the house without them. You know that.’
    Madeleine nodded. During all the years she’d lived with her father, she couldn’t remember him forgetting anything of real importance. Andrews had a routine from which he never wavered. The truth had to be faced. Her father was the victim of a pickpocket. She was angry on his behalf but schooled herself to think calmly.
    ‘Do you have any idea when it might have happened, Father?’
    ‘I think so. It was when I listened to that harpist.’
    ‘Go on.’
    He recounted the events at Euston station and declared that the man who’d bumped into him was the culprit. Distracted by the music, Andrews felt, he’d been targeted. He was determined to get his money back.
    ‘I didn’t come here to seek Robert’s help,’ he said. ‘A detective inspector has more important things to worry about than a pickpocket. I just wanted to talk it through with you so that it became clear in my mind. It’s
my
turn to be a detective now,’ he went on, rubbing his hands. ‘I’ll show my son-in-law that he isn’t the only clever policeman in the family.’
    They were in the drawing room of the house that Madeleine shared with her husband, Robert Colbeck. She was an alert, attractive woman who had moved froma modest dwelling in Camden Town to a more luxurious home in John Islip Street in Westminster, slowly settling into the latter. Always pleased to see her father, she was sorry that he’d brought such bad news on this occasion.
    ‘Would you recognise the man again?’ she asked.
    ‘I think so. He wore a frock coat and top hat.’
    ‘Hundreds of men answer to that description, Father.’
    ‘I may only have seen him for a second but I’m sure I can pick him out.’
    She was dubious. ‘Be very careful,’ she said.
    ‘They’re obviously in this together, Maddy.’
    ‘Who are?’
    ‘The harpist and the pickpocket,’ he told her. ‘The one holds your attention while the other moves among the crowd, looking for prey.’
    ‘I think that’s unlikely,’ she said. ‘An old man with a mangy dog doesn’t sound as if he’d have anything to do with a well-dressed gentleman.’
    ‘He was no gentleman – he was a thief!’
    ‘What do you propose to do?’
    ‘I’ll go back to the station tomorrow to see if the harpist is there. If he is, I’ll watch from a distance to see if the dipper is there with him.’
    Madeleine was alarmed. ‘Don’t do anything rash,’ she said. ‘It might be better if I came with you tomorrow.’
    ‘I can manage on my own,’ he insisted. ‘I don’t need you and I don’t need the famous Railway Detective. This is my case, Maddy, and I mean to solve it.’
     
    Early next morning, Andrews was part of the hustle and bustle of a major railway station once again. People queuedfor tickets then went in search of the appropriate platforms. There was constant noise and movement. From a vantage point near the main entrance, Andrews kept his eyes peeled. Hours oozed past but there was no sign of the