Free Blood on the Line by Edward Marston Page B

of his past investigations. Had he known about the involvement of a woman, Tallis would have been apoplectic. The superintendent felt that policing was essentially a male preserve. He’d be astounded if he knew how much Colbeck had relied on Madeleine to collect evidence on his behalf.
    ‘Now that you’ve told me your news,’ she said, ‘I can pass on mine. Brace yourself for a shock, Robert.’
    ‘Is it that serious?’
    ‘It is to me – Father is going to retire.’
    He was startled. ‘Does he really mean it this time?’
    ‘He was going to hand in his resignation this morning.’
    ‘Well, that is an unexpected disclosure,’ said Colbeck, ‘but it’s a pleasing one. After all those years of sterling service, he’s earned the right to retirement. A lesser man would have given up when he took that beating from the train robbers but your father fought his way back to full health and was soon back on the footplate.’
    ‘It will bring about some changes,’ she cautioned.
    ‘Yes, you won’t have to get up early every morning to make his breakfast and to send him off.’
    ‘That’s a benefit but there’ll be hazards as well.’ Her gesture took in the whole room. ‘The main one is that I’ll lose my studio. I work best when I’m alone and I’m going to have Father here.’
    ‘There’s a simple answer to that, Madeleine.’
    ‘Is there?’
    ‘Yes – you can use a room in my house as a studio. After all, it’s only a matter of time before you move in there permanently.’
    ‘That’s what I was coming to,’ she said, tentatively. ‘Father has been badgering me to set a date for the wedding. I know that you don’t wish to be rushed and I understand why, but it would be helpful if I had at least some idea of when it would be.’
    Colbeck took her impulsively in his arms. ‘If it were left to me,’ he said, softly, ‘I’d marry you tomorrow. But the demands of my job won’t permit that, alas. Since the time we became engaged, I’ve had one case after another to deal with. I work from dawn to dusk seven days a week, Madeleine.’
    ‘I accept that,’ she said, pushing back a strand of hair from his forehead. ‘As soon as one investigation finishes, another one starts. I can see that this latest case will eat up all your time. That’s in the nature of police work. It’s just that I would like to have a date to give Father so that he’ll stop hounding me.’ She smiled hopefully. ‘Is that an unfair request?’
    ‘No, Madeleine,’ he answered. ‘It’s an extremely fair one. You are right about this investigation. It will need my full commitment and take precedence over everything else. I have personal reasons for wanting to catch Jeremy Oxley. It’s something of an obsession, so I must ask you to bear with me. When it’s all over,’ he told her, ‘I promise you that we’ll sit down together and finally set a date for our wedding. Will that please your father?’
    She laughed happily. ‘It will please me a lot more, Robert.’
     
    Oxley was the best lover she’d ever had. He knew how to take his time and to ensure that Irene enjoyed full satisfaction. He was the first man to whom she gave herself completely. With the others, she’d always held something back. Irene had been in her early teens when she learnt how to use her charms on a man. She would secure his interest, tighten her hold, then tease, torment and ensnare him until he’d do whatever she wanted. All of her early victims had been young men lured by a promise of surrender that was often never fulfilled. When they made the mistake of putting absolute trust in her, she chose the moment to strike then disappeared with their money or other valuables. Many were too embarrassed by their own gullibility to report the crime to the police. Those – like Lawrence Holte – who did want her arrested discovered that she was remarkably elusive.
    As she lay naked in bed with Oxley that evening, she did not have to think about