Blood on the Line by Edward Marston Page A

considerable interest to me. So – I ask you again – how long was Irene here?’
    Adnam refused to answer. In a show of obstinacy, he flopped down onto his stool, folded his arms and turned away. It gave Colbeck the chance to look around the small, fetid room and to assess the value of the man’s few belongings. Adnam had clearly had a far better standard of living at one time. His voice was educated and he bore himself like someone who had once held responsibility. What had caused his fall Colbeck could only guess but ithad been a very long and painful one. The man’s agony was etched deep into his face. Had the situation been different, Colbeck would have felt sorry for him. As it was, Adnam was obstructing a murder enquiry. He deserved no mercy.
    ‘It’s time for us to go, sir,’ ordered Colbeck.
    Adnam was flustered. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
    ‘If you won’t answer my questions, then I’ll hand you over to Inspector Boone at the police station. He has harsher methods than me and I’m told they always achieve the desired result.’ He took Adnam by the elbow. ‘Come with me, sir.’
    ‘But I’ve done nothing wrong!’ wailed Adnam.
    ‘You are impeding the operation of justice, sir.’
    ‘How am I doing that?’
    ‘Inspector Boone will explain that to you.’
    He lifted Adnam from his stool but the old man shook him off and limped to the corner of the room. Evidently, Boone’s name was known to him and it did not induce confidence. Adnam was like a cornered animal, searching for escape. Colbeck slipped a hand into his pocket and took out some handcuffs.
    ‘Do I have to take you by force, Mr Adnam?’ he threatened.
    ‘No, no – please don’t do that!’
    ‘Then tell me what I want to know.’
    ‘Irene came here, gave me some money, then she left. That’s all that happened, I swear it.’
    ‘And how long was she here – an hour, two hours?’
    Adnam looked both hunted and humiliated. The kind and caring daughter about whom he’d bragged in the pubthe previous night had to be revealed in her true light. He cleared his throat.
    ‘Irene was here for five or ten minutes,’ he admitted.
    ‘Thank you, sir,’ said Colbeck. ‘Now we’re getting somewhere.’ He pointed to the stool. ‘Why don’t you sit down again so that you can continue this discussion in comfort?’
     
    The visit to the home of Kingsley Adnam was unrewarding. Leeming and Peebles learnt that the man had six sons but no daughters. Nor was there anyone in his wider family answering to the name of Irene. Since the other address they sought was in an adjoining district, they decided to spurn a cab and walk there. After taking directions from a passer-by, the two detectives set off. Unlike Colbeck, they were not in disguise. Leeming was still nursing resentment against Peebles but he tried not to let it show. The Scotsman was inquisitive.
    ‘Is it true that you’re married, Sergeant?’
    ‘Yes, I have a wife and two children.’
    ‘Catherine and I have yet to talk about a family,’ said Peebles. ‘All that we can think about at the moment is the wedding itself. She saved my life, you know.’
    ‘Did she?’
    ‘Not that either of us realised it at the time, mark you. It was Catherine who persuaded me to leave the army. Until she and I met, I’d planned to spend my entire career serving my country.’
    ‘That was very patriotic of you,’ said Leeming, softening towards him. ‘But how was your life saved?’
    ‘Had I stayed in the army, I’d have joined my regiment in the Crimea and might well have been one of the many casualties we sustained. Sometimes, I feel rather guilty that I escaped death when several of my comrades did not but I’d given my word to Catherine.’
    ‘Yet you’ve only jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.’
    ‘I don’t follow.’
    ‘We, too, have our share of deaths,’ said Leeming. ‘They may not be on the same scale as in the army but they are there. You only have to think