# Colonel Gordon Coombe — The Crime at Black Dudley character guide

> Colonel Gordon Coombe in The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Colonel Coombe, Coombe, the late Colonel

**First appearance:** 0001-the-crime-at-black-dudley

## Snapshot

The ailing master of Black Dudley whose long subservience to a criminal patron and sudden death set the whole tangle in motion.

## Who they are

Colonel Coombe is the nominal host whose seizure and death transform a weekend party into a locked-house mystery, but his real significance lies in the life that preceded it. For years he had been dominated by von Faber and had been trying to open negotiations with the Simister gang, a double game that made him valuable to some and expendable to others. His death is the pivot on which the plot turns, and the question of who killed him — and why the certificates were signed so readily — drives the investigators through the middle of the book.

## In the story

### [The Crime at Black Dudley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/the-crime-at-black-dudley)

The murdered host, whose death sets the events of the chapter in motion.

### [Candlelight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/i-candlelight)

Wyatt's uncle and host, an invalid with a flesh-colored mask covering a war injury, sits at the head of the table.

### [II: The Ritual of the Dagger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/ii-the-ritual-of-the-dagger)

The invalid host, wheeled into a corner; initially dubious about the game but does not strongly object.

### [In the Garage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/iii-in-the-garage)

Suffers a suspected heart attack during the ritual; his car's hidden Rolls-Royce engine is discovered by Abbershaw.

### [IV: Murder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/iv-murder)

The Colonel is deceased, lying under a sheet in his bed. Abbershaw's examination of the body confirms his suspicion that the death was not due to heart disease.

### [Doctor Abbershaw's Deductions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/xv-doctor-abbershaw-s-deductions)

Posthumously identified as the criminal mastermind who designed crimes for the gang.

### [XXVIII: Should a Doctor Tell?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/xxviii-should-a-doctor-tell)

The deceased; Whitby confirms he was cremated and claims he was murdered by a member of the Simister gang.

### [XXIX: The Last Chapter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/chapters/xxix-the-last-chapter)

The murder victim; Abbershaw's investigation centers on his death, revealed to have been killed by Wyatt.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/characters/colonel_gordon_coombe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_crime_at_black_dudley_se/characters