'In that case, he may have reclaimed any other items with which he was travelling and beat a hasty retreat. A severed head is hardly something that anyone would willingly admit to owning.'

'It gives me the creeps just to look at that hatbox.'

'Then you don't have to suffer any more,' decided Colbeck, taking pity on him. 'Your statement was very thorough and I'm sure it will be corroborated by the many that Constable Hubbleday took. We'll be staying the night in Crewe so, if I need to speak to you again, I know where to find you.'

'Off you go,' said Reade. 'Molly will be missing you.'

Hibbert was overjoyed. 'Thank you, Inspector,' he said, grinning inanely. 'Thank you, Mr Reade. Does that mean I'm in the clear?'

'As far as I'm concerned, that's always been the case.'

'Mr Fagge said there'd be repercussions.'

'Then he was wildly misinformed,' said Colbeck.

He opened the door to let Hibbert out, only to find a buxom young woman bearing down on them. Molly Hibbert had the look of a wife who has just been told that her husband is in grave danger. She flung herself at him and held him tight.

'What's going on, Reg?' she demanded.

'Nothing, my love,' he replied. 'I was just coming home.'

'I met Mr Fagge on the way here. He said you were being questioned by a detective from London and that you ought to face charges for what you did.'

'On the contrary, Mrs Hibbert,' said Colbeck politely. 'The only thing your husband will get from me is praise. My name is Inspector Robert Colbeck, by the way, and I'm here because a severed head was found in a hatbox that arrived at this station. Your husband not only showed bravery in coming to work with an injured wrist that must have given him constant pain. He inadvertently rendered us a great service. But for him,' he went on, patting Hibbert on the shoulder, 'a heinous crime would have gone unnoticed and therefore unpunished.'