– they can do no wrong in the eyes of their nearest and dearest.’
‘That’s a fair point.’
‘Look at that man we arrested last month on a charge of beating a pimp to death with an iron bar. His wife swore that he didn’t have a violent bone in his body. She never even asked what he was doing in that brothel in the first place.’
‘Guttridge’s case is somewhat different.’
‘It all comes back to family loyalty,’ insisted Leeming. ‘Most people have got it. If he had nothing to do with his father for three years, this Michael Guttridge was the odd man out. How could he turn his back on his parents like that? I mean, how could he look at himself in the shaving mirror of a morning?’
‘Very easily, Victor. He’d had a miserable childhood.’
‘It makes no difference, sir. There are obligations .’
‘You were clearly a more dutiful son than Michael Guttridge. The pity of it is,’ said Colbeck, drinking some more whisky,‘that it robs us of a valuable line of inquiry. Since he shunned his father all that time, Michael was unable to give me the names of any possible suspects. Come to that, nor was the dead man’s wife.’
‘We’re in the dark, then.’
‘Not necessarily. One thing is self-evident. If you supplement your income as a cobbler by hanging people, you are not going to make many friends. Jacob Guttridge must have aroused undying hatred among the families of his various victims.’
‘Lots of them will have wanted to strike back at him.’
‘Exactly,’ said Colbeck with a sigh. ‘Our problem is that we may well end up with far too many suspects. Still, you’ve heard my story. What did you discover at the morgue?’
‘Very little beyond the fact that the place scares me.’
‘Whom did you speak to?’
‘Doctor Keyworth.’
‘Leonard’s a good man. He knows his job.’
‘What he told me,’ said Leeming, flicking open the pages of his pad in search of the relevant place, ‘was very interesting.’
He gave a halting account of his talk with the doctor, struggling to read his own writing by the light of the gas lamp. Colbeck was not surprised to learn that there had been two earlier attacks on Guttridge. It accounted for the fact that he was armed when he went out in public.
‘Doctor Keyworth will have more to tell us when he’s finished cutting him up,’ said Leeming, closing his book. He opened it again at once. ‘By the way, sir, how do you spell asphyxiation?’
Colbeck chuckled. ‘Differently from you, I expect.’
‘I wrote in “strangling” just to be on the safe side.’
‘An admirable compromise, Victor.’
‘So where do we go from here?’
‘You must go home to your wife and family while I have the more forbidding task of placating the Superintendent. Because it’s bound to attract a lot of publicity, Mr Tallis wants a bulletin about this case every five minutes. That’s why I suggested that we meet here,’ said Colbeck, lifting his glass. ‘I felt that I needed a dram before facing him.’
‘I’d need a whole bottle of whisky.’
‘His bark is far worse than his bite.’
‘Both frighten me. Will Mr Tallis still be in his office this late?’
‘The rumour is that he never leaves it. Give the man his due – his dedication is exemplary. Mr Tallis is married to his job.’
‘I’d prefer to be married to a woman,’ confided Leeming with a rare smile. ‘When I get back, Estelle will make me a nice cup of tea and tell me what she and the children have been up to all day. Then we’ll climb into a warm bed together. Who does all that for the Superintendent?’
‘‘He has his own rewards, Victor.’ Colbeck became businesslike. ‘Tomorrow, we start the hunt for the killer. You can begin by reviewing the executions that involved Jacob Guttridge. Start with the most recent ones and work backward.’
‘That could take me ages.’
‘Not really. He was only an occasional hangman, taking over the work that others were unable to
‘That’s a fair point.’
‘Look at that man we arrested last month on a charge of beating a pimp to death with an iron bar. His wife swore that he didn’t have a violent bone in his body. She never even asked what he was doing in that brothel in the first place.’
‘Guttridge’s case is somewhat different.’
‘It all comes back to family loyalty,’ insisted Leeming. ‘Most people have got it. If he had nothing to do with his father for three years, this Michael Guttridge was the odd man out. How could he turn his back on his parents like that? I mean, how could he look at himself in the shaving mirror of a morning?’
‘Very easily, Victor. He’d had a miserable childhood.’
‘It makes no difference, sir. There are obligations .’
‘You were clearly a more dutiful son than Michael Guttridge. The pity of it is,’ said Colbeck, drinking some more whisky,‘that it robs us of a valuable line of inquiry. Since he shunned his father all that time, Michael was unable to give me the names of any possible suspects. Come to that, nor was the dead man’s wife.’
‘We’re in the dark, then.’
‘Not necessarily. One thing is self-evident. If you supplement your income as a cobbler by hanging people, you are not going to make many friends. Jacob Guttridge must have aroused undying hatred among the families of his various victims.’
‘Lots of them will have wanted to strike back at him.’
‘Exactly,’ said Colbeck with a sigh. ‘Our problem is that we may well end up with far too many suspects. Still, you’ve heard my story. What did you discover at the morgue?’
‘Very little beyond the fact that the place scares me.’
‘Whom did you speak to?’
‘Doctor Keyworth.’
‘Leonard’s a good man. He knows his job.’
‘What he told me,’ said Leeming, flicking open the pages of his pad in search of the relevant place, ‘was very interesting.’
He gave a halting account of his talk with the doctor, struggling to read his own writing by the light of the gas lamp. Colbeck was not surprised to learn that there had been two earlier attacks on Guttridge. It accounted for the fact that he was armed when he went out in public.
‘Doctor Keyworth will have more to tell us when he’s finished cutting him up,’ said Leeming, closing his book. He opened it again at once. ‘By the way, sir, how do you spell asphyxiation?’
Colbeck chuckled. ‘Differently from you, I expect.’
‘I wrote in “strangling” just to be on the safe side.’
‘An admirable compromise, Victor.’
‘So where do we go from here?’
‘You must go home to your wife and family while I have the more forbidding task of placating the Superintendent. Because it’s bound to attract a lot of publicity, Mr Tallis wants a bulletin about this case every five minutes. That’s why I suggested that we meet here,’ said Colbeck, lifting his glass. ‘I felt that I needed a dram before facing him.’
‘I’d need a whole bottle of whisky.’
‘His bark is far worse than his bite.’
‘Both frighten me. Will Mr Tallis still be in his office this late?’
‘The rumour is that he never leaves it. Give the man his due – his dedication is exemplary. Mr Tallis is married to his job.’
‘I’d prefer to be married to a woman,’ confided Leeming with a rare smile. ‘When I get back, Estelle will make me a nice cup of tea and tell me what she and the children have been up to all day. Then we’ll climb into a warm bed together. Who does all that for the Superintendent?’
‘‘He has his own rewards, Victor.’ Colbeck became businesslike. ‘Tomorrow, we start the hunt for the killer. You can begin by reviewing the executions that involved Jacob Guttridge. Start with the most recent ones and work backward.’
‘That could take me ages.’
‘Not really. He was only an occasional hangman, taking over the work that others were unable to
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