believe that the man who killed Rosa boarded the train at Guildford; that he may have spotted her then. Do you remember anything out of the ordinary; anything about that trip that sticks in your memory?’ Madden paused, and when Tyson failed to reply at once — he appeared to be searching his memory — he added: ‘Colonel Chadwick told me you were in the same compartment as Rosa going up to London.’
‘Yes, that’s right, sir.’ The pilot nodded. ‘But we didn’t really talk during the journey. She met a friend on the train, you see.’
‘A girl. She was Polish, like Rosa. They knew each other.’
‘Good heavens!’ Madden made no attempt to hide his astonishment. ‘How strange that she never came forward.’ He pondered a moment. ‘Of course, it’s possible she doesn’t know about Rosa’s murder. There was only a line in the paper about it. Who was she exactly?’
‘I’m not certain. All I know is what Miss Nowak … what Rosa told me …’ Tyson hesitated. ‘You see, I didn’t really know her either. I’d only heard her play at that concert, and when I saw her on the platform I went up to her and introduced myself and she told me her name. I said how much I’d enjoyed her performance, but we only exchanged a few words. She was very shy. Withdrawn, rather. When the train arrived I helped her on with her luggage — she had a basket of food besides her suitcase — and found a compartment with a couple of empty seats. The other girl was already sitting there and they recognized one another at once and started talking — in Polish. They were obviously excited to have run into each other.’
‘Their meeting was a surprise, then? They weren’t expecting it?’
‘Oh, no, definitely not.’ Tyson shook his head. ‘In fact, after a minute, Rosa broke off and apologized to me. She introduced the girl — I’m sorry, I’ve no recollection of her name — and said they had known one other in Warsaw. They’d been at the same college studying to be teachers. I got the impression they’d had no idea they were both in England. Rosa said she was sorry again and asked would I mind if they talked together — meaning would I mind if she didn’t talk to me — and I said of course it was all right and I understood. And that was more or less the end of it as far as I was concerned. We didn’t exchange another word other than to say goodbye when we reached Waterloo. I was in a hurry — I was hoping it wasn’t too late to catch my train to Oxford — and I left them there still getting their things together in the compartment. The other girl had luggage, too. Anyway, it was the last I saw of them.’
‘Tyson stubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray. But he appeared to be thinking hard, frowning with concentration, stroking the side of his face where the scars were, as though for a moment he had forgotten about them. Madden stayed silent, waiting for him to speak again.
‘You asked if there was anything out of the ordinary, anything I remembered …’
‘Yes …?’ Madden prompted him.
‘Well, there was something. It’s just come back to me. Only I don’t think it meant anything …’
‘ on.’
‘It’s just that they suddenly stopped speaking … the two girls …’
‘Stopped speaking?’ Madden frowned in turn. ‘What do you mean?’
‘They were talking non-stop — in Polish, of course — chattering away as though there was just too much to say, as though they had to cram in everything that had happened to them in the last few years. At least, that’s what I remember thinking at the time.’ Tyson flushed. ‘Of course, you know what happens when people do that in a compartment. Other people get upset, they don’t like the noise.’ A grin came to his lips. ‘ old boy sitting opposite me started coughing and rustling his newspaper, I recall. He was clearly getting fed up with them, but they didn’t realize it and just went on talking … until suddenly they went silent.’
‘Why?’
‘I’m not sure. We’d stopped at a station, I remember, so their voices had seemed even louder until the moment when they stopped. It was as though they’d been struck dumb. The old boy looked up in surprise, I remember, and so did I. I was reading a newspaper and when I glanced up I saw Rosa looking stunned; or surprised, anyway. She was sitting on one of the seats opposite, so it was her face I saw. The other girl was beside me and she’d gone silent, too. Something had happened; but I’ve no idea what.’
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
