He looked questioningly at Madden; as though he might have the answer.
‘You’d stopped at a station, you said?’
The pilot nodded.
‘Could it have been Guildford?’
‘Yes, I rather think it was.’ Tyson replied at once. ‘We’d been travelling for a while, half an hour at least, and we’d stopped once or twice already.’
‘And presumably people looked into the compartment to see if there were any free seats? From the corridor, I mean?’
‘They must have, sir. As I say, the train was very crowded. As a matter of fact, Rosa and I got the last two empty seats in our compartment and it stayed that way until we reached Waterloo. No one else joined us.’
‘Yes, but I’m more interested in who might have looked in at Guildford. Stuck his head in the door for a moment, say, and been spotted by Rosa.’
Tyson took a deep breath: it was clear he was trying hard to be helpful. But after a few moments’ thought he shook his head.
‘I’m sorry, sir. It might have happened. People looked in every time we stopped at a station. But I just can’t say for certain.’
I understand.’ Madden smiled in encouragement. But tell me what happened after that. Did they go on talking as before?’
Again Tyson hesitated.
‘Yes and no,’ he said, after a moment’s reflection. They were quiet for a bit, then they started chatting again, but it wasn’t like before. The atmosphere had changed. I don’t know why. I wasn’t watching them exactly, but I did glance at Rosa once or twice and I had the impression something was bothering her.’
‘Why was that?’
‘It was her manner. I can remember her leaning forward at one point and speaking in a low voice to the other girl. She seemed concerned about something. They were both behaving oddly. They’d gone quiet; they were subdued.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m only guessing, you understand. Everything they said was in Polish, so I really have no idea what was passing between them.’
Madden rubbed the scar on his forehead; it was a sign of his preoccupation.
‘Tell me what happened when you reached Waterloo,’ he said.
‘Well, I was in a hurry, as I told you, but I helped Rosa get her stuff down from the overhead rack and did the same for her friend and then I rushed off. We’d got in very late and in the event I missed my train to Oxford …’
He looked at Madden expectantly, waiting to see if he had anything more to say. As they stood there in silence, a burst of laughter came from the open doorway and a couple lurched in.
‘Oops …’
The young woman giggled. She was leading one of the officers by the hand and they lingered for a moment, swaying on their feet, uncertain what to do, before backing out.
‘Did you happen to learn where this other girl came from?’ Oblivious to the interruption, Madden continued. Where she’d got on the train?’
Tyson shook his head.
‘But she must have been living in the country. When I got her luggage down from the rack I noticed she had a basket of food, just as Rosa did.’
‘Can you describe her?’
The young pilot reflected.
‘She was about the same age as Rosa, but red-haired. The compartment wasn’t heated and she was wearing a coat, so I can’t tell you what sort of figure she had. But she wasn’t tall, about the same height as Rosa, I should say, but not as pretty.’ He flushed again. ‘She had a nice smile, though. I remember that.’
‘Just one more question. Was the platform at Waterloo crowded when you got off?’
‘Packed.’ Tyson’s answer came promptly. ‘With the train so late, everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere. They were piling out of the carriages. There was a proper scrum on the platform.’
Madden smiled. ‘Thank you, Paul,’ he said. ‘You’ve been a great help. Now you can get back to the party and enjoy yourself.’
He waited until the young man had gone, then followed him back into the hall and stood watching, hands in pockets, while the dancers slowly circled the floor. He was lost in thought, however, and failed to notice Helen’s wave as she passed by; nor did he see the kiss his daughter blew him. It was only when a massive figure finally positioned itself directly in front of him, demanding his attention, that he was forced to return to the present.
‘Will!’ Madden collected himself with a start. ‘I was about to come looking for you.’
‘Were you, sir?’ Stackpole’s broad smile belied his tone, which was disbelieving. ‘You looked like you were miles away.’ Out of his uniform for once, the Highfield bobby was sporting a dark suit of ancient cut fraying a little at the edges.
‘No, really. I’ve a question for you. A problem, rather …’
‘Let’s hear it, then.’ Stackpole drained the glass he was carrying in a single swallow.
‘How difficult would it be to discover the whereabouts of a young woman living not too far away from here — at least that’s my assumption — name unknown, but Polish by origin?’
‘An alien?’
‘Oh, yes. And in much the same sort of situation as Rosa was, I imagine.’
‘Meaning what, exactly?’ Stackpole frowned.
‘I’ve just learned they were on the same train going up to London that day. This other girl was taking some food up with her, just as Rosa did. So she’s probably living in or near a village rather than a town. And somewhere down the line from here, because she was already on the train when Rosa boarded it.’
Stackpole pondered the question. ‘Have you got a description of her?’ he asked.
‘Not a very good one. She’s about Rosa’s age, but redhaired. Nothing beyond that.’
‘Polish, though — that’s the point.’ The constable nodded wisely. ‘It won’t be too difficult. A few telephone calls should do the trick.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Wherever she is, she must be registered with the police. She’s an alien after all. And if she’s living in a village or in the countryside, she’ll have done that with the local bobby, same as Rosa did with me. It’s just a matter of checking the stations where the train stops and talking to the bobbies involved. I know most of them, by name at any rate, at least as far as Petersfield. I’ll start calling in the morning.’
‘Would you? I’d appreciate that. It’s not something I want to bother Mr Sinclair with, not at this stage. I’m just curious …’
‘Curious, sir?’
‘I’ve just been talking to that young pilot over there, the one with the scarred face. He was also on the train, in the same compartment as the girls, in fact. I think Ash may have looked in for a moment when they stopped at Guildford. Shown his face. Something happened there. The pilot noticed it. Rosa may have recognized him, and if so it would explain why he moved to kill her so quickly afterwards. What I want to find out is whether Rosa said anything about it to this other girl.’
Stackpole was silent, taking in the information. Then he shrugged.
‘Can’t see that it’ll help much with the investigation, sir, even if you do find out. Nor with the hunt for this fellow Ash.’
‘That’s true.’
Madden acknowledged the fact with a rueful smile and a nod.
‘It’s why I don’t want to bother the chief inspector. He’s got enough on his plate. But apart from the air-raid warden Rosa bumped into in Bloomsbury, this girl was probably the last person she spoke to, and if so, I want to know that.’
He nodded to himself, as if in response to some unuttered thought.
‘I want to hear what passed between them.’
24
It had stopped snowing when Lily woke up the next morning, and after snatching a mouthful of breakfast with Aunt Betty in the kitchen — Uncle Fred wasn’t on duty until later that day and was still snoring in bed — she went out with a bowl of beef dripping wrapped in greaseproof paper in her hands and a list of errands in her pocket. The dripping was to be delivered to Ada Chapworth, who had a house in Star Street, fifteen minutes’ walk from Orsett Terrace where the Pooles lived, in return for four pig’s trotters, which Lily was then to take to the Harwood residence, just across the Edgware Road, in Marylebone, where she would receive in exchange from Ellie Harwood half a pound of sugar, a jar of home-made cherry jam and three eggs.