Dead of Winter

by Rennie Airth

  ‘I was so happy to see her,’ she had told him, her eyes filled with tears. ‘Sad and happy. I found she was like me, always thinking of the past, of her family. But at least we could talk about the old days. We could share our memories of Warsaw. Now all I wish is that we had never met.’

  Once she had left him he had set about the problem of telephoning London, something that had now become a matter of urgency. Remembering the advice he’d received earlier that day, he had got the Liphook exchange to put him in touch with Leonard and had then asked the village bobby to use his authority to get through to the Yard.

  ‘I can’t explain now, Constable. There isn’t time. You must speak to Chief Inspector Sinclair. Ask him to ring me here at Mrs Spencer’s number. Tell him it’s urgent.’

  ‘Isn’t there anything I can do, sir?’

  It had been plain from Leonard’s tone that he wasn’t altogether comfortable with the request.

  ‘Not at this moment. Later perhaps. You’ll have to trust me, Constable.’

  Ten minutes later the phone had rung, and Madden, who had not left the sitting-room, had picked up the receiver and found himself talking to Sinclair.

  ‘I’m sorry, John, I was out of my office. They had to hunt me down.’

  Calm as his voice was, Madden had realized from his old chief’s tone that he was under some stress himself and he would do well not to waste time on preliminaries. Accordingly he had plunged at once into an account of what he’d just learned.

  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t speak to you about this before I came over here, Angus, but frankly I didn’t think it would amount to anything. I just wanted to find out who this other Polish girl was.’

  ‘Tell me quickly about her encounter with Ash in Paris. Did she see him face to face? Can she identify him?’

  ‘I believe so. The report you got from the French police is substantially correct. Only it wasn’t Rosa who went to Sobel’s house that evening, it was Eva Belka. She and her husband had been offered a lift to Spain in Sobel’s car and told to be at his house on the outskirts of Paris by a certain hour. They went there separately and Eva arrived first. She found the front door ajar, and when she pushed it open he was there. Ash. On his knees by Sobel’s body.’

  Recounting the scene to him earlier, the young woman had turned pale at the memory, biting her lip.

  ‘Ash must have strangled him moments before. He was busy gathering what Eva said looked like stones from the floor. The diamonds, obviously. She screamed and ran back to the street and he went after her. As she came out of the garden gate she saw a pair of patrolling gendarmes nearby and ran towards them. Ash was coming up fast behind her at that point, but when he saw the police he turned tail and fled. They went after him and one of them called to Eva to wait for them, but instead she carried on and when she reached the Metro station she met her husband, who was coming out of it with their luggage. She told him what had happened and suggested they go back to the house and wait for the police. But he stopped her. It was as we surmised. He saw at once how dangerous that would be for them. They’d be detained as witnesses by the French police in Paris and eventually fall into the hands of the Germans, and for him that would have meant a death sentence. He’d been part of a resistance group in Warsaw and there was a price on his head. Added to which, Eva’s Jewish. The only thing for them to do was to flee Paris at once.’

  ‘How did they get to England?’ Sinclair had listened in silence.

  ‘Via Spain and eventually Portugal. Partly on foot. When they got here Eva’s husband – his name’s Jan Belka – enlisted in the armed forces. He’s serving with the Polish Brigade. Some weeks ago he was wounded in Holland and brought back to England to recuperate. Eva went up to Norwich to see him in hospital. That was when she met Rosa.’

  ‘And Ash spotted her, did he?’

  ‘Without doubt. And she saw him, too. But her reaction wasn’t what you might expect. The train was standing in Guildford station when the door to the compartment opened and a man put his head in. Eva and Rosa were talking hard and at first they didn’t register his presence. This was what Eva told me. But then she looked up and saw he was staring at her. It was Ash. Eva recognized him at once – or thought she did – and it must have shown on her face. The next instant he slammed the door shut. That pilot I spoke to, Tyson, only saw the look on Rosa’s face. She seemed startled, but it’s clear now that what she was responding to was Eva’s reaction. She kept asking her what was wrong, but Eva didn’t say. She’d been struck dumb.’

  ‘But surely by the time they reached Waterloo she must have recovered enough to report it?’

  ‘Recovered, yes, but not in that way.’

  Madden paused. He was remembering the anguished look on the young woman’s face as she had tried to explain the workings of her mind to him.

  ‘All she’d managed to do by then was persuade herself that she’d imagined the whole thing: seen a man who resembled the one she’d spotted for an instant in the hall at Sobel’s house four years earlier. You see, this wasn’t the first time it had happened to her. On several occasions in the past few years she’s seen faces that reminded her of the killer’s. I didn’t say this to her, but a guilty conscience probably played its part in that. My guess is she’s been tormented by the memory and also by her failure to offer herself as a witness.’

  ‘Why on earth didn’t she, then? Surely after all this time … ?’ The chief inspector couldn’t contain his chagrin.

  ‘Time was partly the problem, Angus. The poor girl’s mortified, but I think I understand the way her mind worked. After all these years, what was the point? For all she knew, the real killer might have been arrested and dealt with long ago. The last place she would have expected to meet him was in England, and that only reinforced her feeling that she was a victim of her own fantasies. But the biggest factor in all this has been her husband.’

  ‘Her husband—?’

  ‘From the very start he’d been against her going to the authorities, not only in Paris, where it made sense, but here in England, too, and it seems he was persuasive. He took the view that there was nothing she could do to help in apprehending the man she had seen, at least until the war was over. She’d achieve nothing by going to the police here except involve them both in a situation from which no good could come. Technically she’d been in breach of the law in Paris, and the only likely result was that she’d be entangled in an enquiry which might well turn out badly for them, given their position as aliens. It’s a pity they’ve been apart so much, Eva and her husband, otherwise I think she might have persuaded him to the contrary. But she seems to have been reluctant to act against his advice. At least until she went up to Norwich.’

  ‘What happened there?’

  ‘She visited her husband in hospital and told him about her experience on the train. He repeated the arguments he’d used before, but something had obviously changed in her. By the time she returned to Liphook she had made up her mind to act, and though it took her a while to pluck up her courage she went to her employer a few days ago and told her the whole story. Mrs Spencer said the authorities had to be informed at once and offered to accompany her to police headquarters in Petersfield. It was agreed they would do so immediately after Christmas.’

  ‘And she had no idea of what had happened to Rosa?’

  ‘None at all. They never see a newspaper down here. Although she had given Rosa Mrs Spencer’s telephone number and was hoping to see her again, she had no way herself of getting in touch with her, or of finding out what had happened to her.’

  ‘I take it she didn’t see Ash again when they reached Waterloo?’

  ‘Apparently not, though I’m not sure how hard she looked. I think by that time she’d convinced herself it couldn’t have been him. We shouldn’t overlook how it must have seemed to her: the sheer unlikelihood of him turning up in England after four years of war. What matters, though, is the effect seeing Eva that day had on him.’

  ‘Why do you
say that?’

  ‘It explains what happened afterwards: what’s been baffling us. The speed with which he acted. He’d come face to face with the only witness who could send him to the guillotine, and from the look on Eva’s face he knew she’d recognized him. That forced him into recklessness: first, killing Rosa without any forethought; then, once he’d realized his mistake, getting hold of Alfie Meeks, someone he’d have done well to steer clear of. Admittedly the Wapping robbery came off, but he took a huge risk there, as well. The point was, he was running scared. His assumption must have been that Eva had reported his presence here to the police and that with Paris liberated now, word of the Sobel killing would have reached London.’

  The chief inspector grunted.

  ‘I won’t quarrel with your reasoning, John,’ he said. ‘It makes good sense. But unfortunately in one respect the situation hasn’t changed, and that’s what’s worrying me now. Eva Belka is still the only witness who can convict him.’

  There’d been a change in his tone of voice. Madden had picked it up.

  ‘What do you mean, Angus? Why do you say that?’

  ‘Because he’s still after her. I’ve been waiting to tell you.’

  ‘After her … ?’

  ‘A private investigator was murdered in Paddington two nights ago. We’re fairly sure he’d been working for Ash, looking for a Polish girl on his instructions. A girl who wasn’t Rosa Nowak.’

  ‘Looking for her where?’

  ‘Somewhere outside London, in the country. We’ve no name, but it sounds like the same young woman: this Eva Belka.’

  Madden was silent. He was thinking. ‘Two nights ago, you say?’

  ‘Yes, but we’re not sure yet whether the detective – Quill was his name – had found her, and if so whether he’d told Ash. There’s no time to go into it now, but it seems this Quill was attempting to play Ash. To prolong the inquiry. He’d already been given an advance, and there’s a suggestion he was after more of the same.’

  ‘But if Ash killed him … ?’

  ‘It could mean he’d been given the information he was seeking. We simply don’t know. And since we can’t afford the risk, I’ve decided while we’ve been talking to take this young woman into protective custody. I’m sending Styles and Grace down to Liphook in a car. They’ll have orders to bring her back to London right away. Can you prepare her for that, John? Tell her it’s for her own sake?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ It took Madden a moment to respond. He was still coming to terms with the new situation. One question: how did Ash know she was Polish?’ Then, before the chief inspector had a chance to reply, he went on, Of course – it’s obvious. He stood there long enough to hear them talking. He may not speak Polish, but he probably recognized the language, and even if he didn’t he would have seen that paragraph in the papers about Rosa’s murder. It mentioned her nationality. I’m sorry, Angus. I’m rambling. How long will it take Billy and Grace to get here?’

  ‘At least two hours, I imagine. Perhaps longer with the snow.’

  ‘Then you might do me a favour and ring Helen at Highfield. Tell her I’ll be late getting back this evening.’ Madden’s mind was still busy. ‘There’s also the problem of Mrs Spencer,’ he went on. ‘’ll son. What if Ash comes looking for Eva?’

  ‘I’ve thought of that. As soon as we’re done I’ll ring Petersfield and tell them to send some men over. Armed officers. They’ll keep a watch on the house until this is over. In the meantime, what about the Liphook bobby? Should I send him out there?’

  Madden hesitated.

  ‘Better not,’ he said after a moment’s pause. ‘He’s a good man, but getting on. Past retirement age. He’ll be more use staying where he is. He can show Billy and Grace the way out here when they arrive.’

  Sinclair grunted his agreement.

  ‘I must say I’d feel easier if I knew whether that private detective tracked the girl down, or whether he was still stringing Ash along. Would it be possible to find out if anyone’s been snooping around? I gather Quill was a seedy character. His presence may have been noticed.’

  ‘I’ll ask Mrs Spencer.’

  The chief inspector cleared his throat. ‘I’m sorry about this, John. Truly I am. You shouldn’t have been landed with it.’

  ‘Perhaps it’ll teach me not to go wandering off on my own without consulting you.’

  ‘There’s always that.’ Enjoying the joke, Sinclair chuckled. Styles and Grace will be in a radio car. I’ll keep you abreast of their progress.’

  29

  ‘A GREASY LITTLE MAN?’

  ‘That’s how Evie described him.’

  Bess Brigstock stamped the snow from her boots. Ten minutes earlier, having completed her postal round, she had come clattering into the yard in her trap.

  ‘He called at the Grange one day while Mary was out. Evie had to deal with him and she was upset afterwards. I can see why now. He said he was a detective and made her give him her name.’

  As one they turned to look at the young woman who just then had taken Freddie Spencer by the hand to lead him inside. In the last few minutes it had started to snow heavily again, and although the small boy was all for staying outdoors in the yard, his mother had decreed otherwise. Mrs Spencer stood by the kitchen door with folded arms, her resentful gaze fixed on Madden.

  ‘Poor Mary, she’s finding it hard to cope with all this.’ Bess slapped her gloved hands together. Still bundled up in her coat and fur-lined cap, she stood planted in front of him, oblivious to the flakes that were falling on them. ‘She feels you’ve overreacted. I’m afraid she’s inclined to blame it all on you.’

  Madden muttered an acknowledgement. His attempts thus far to convince Mary Spencer of the seriousness of the situation had fallen on deaf ears. Finding her alone in the kitchen following his talk with Sinclair, he had wasted no time in telling her of the forced change in her circumstances.

  ‘This will come as a blow, I know, but the police want to take Eva into protective custody. It’s for her own safety. There’s a car on its way from London now. She’ll have to go back with them.’

  Crouched in front of the iron range – she’d been adding more logs to the fire – she had gazed up at him in sheer disbelief.

  ‘Surely that won’t be necessary. It means she’ll miss Christmas with us. Freddie will be heartbroken.’

  Glancing out of the window at that moment, Madden had seen the young woman outside in the yard with her employer’s son. The snow had abated somewhat and they were making small adjustments to the snowman they must have built earlier, giving him ears in the shape of turnips and slipping an old clay pipe between his lips.

  ‘I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped.’ He’d forced himself to ignore her plea. ‘ man Eva saw in Paris – the one who killed Rosa – is still at large. In fact, to be on the safe side there are some police officers coming over from Petersfield now. They’ll keep a watch on your house in case he finds his way here. Unless, that is, you’d rather move somewhere else.’

  ‘Somewhere else … ?’ She had put a hand to her head. ‘Oh, no, I couldn’t do that. That’s out of the question.’

  ‘You’ll be quite safe here,’ he assured her. ‘And there’s every chance the man the police are looking for will be arrested soon. They’re on his trail.’

  His efforts to calm her had gone for naught. She’d turned on him.

  ‘But why should this matter so much now? What have you brought on us, Mr Madden?’ And when he failed to reply. ‘ you trying to frighten me? Is that it?’

  Before he could respond, a cry from Freddie’s lips outside had signalled the arrival of Bess and her trap, and he had turned to watch as, pursued by the little boy, she had guided the pony round in a circle before bringing it to a halt on the far side of the yard near the open doors of the barn.

  ‘Oh, thank heavens.’ Mary Spencer had taken heart from her friend’s arrival. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t discuss this further until I’ve spoken to Bess.’<
br />
  Offering no comment – she would find out soon enough that she had little choice in the matter – he had followed her out of the door into the snow-covered yard and then watched as she hastened over to where the trap stood and where Bess was in the process of heaving her heavy body off the seat and down on to the ground. Forgotten by all, Eva Belka had remained where she was, by the snowman, staring off into the distance. Madden had gone over to her.

  ‘I’ve spoken to the police in London, Eva, to the chief inspector in charge of the case. He’s going to take you into what’s called protective custody until this man has been caught. It’s for your own good.’

  She had turned her face towards his and he saw she had barely registered what he had said. Her green eyes were swollen with weeping.

  ‘I’m sorry … ?’

  ‘The police are going to protect you. A car is on its way from London now. You’ll have to go with them.’

  She had nodded dully.

  ‘Don’t worry about the rest. It’s true, you should have reported this a long time ago. But I think you’ll find them understanding.’

  She brushed a wisp of red hair off her forehead.

  ‘Rosa … how did she die … can you tell me … ?’

  ‘She didn’t suffer,’ Madden had reassured her at once. ‘It was quick, very quick.’ He’d examined her face. ‘You must try to get over this,’ he had said earnestly, laying a hand on her shoulder. He had seen the depth of her feeling in her eyes; the sorrow that weighed on her now. ‘There’s no going back. You have your own life to live.’

  She had nodded her thanks, murmuring some words that he didn’t catch, but before he could say more they had been interrupted.

  ‘Mr Madden … ?’

  Hearing his name called out he’d turned to see Bess Brigstock striding across the snow towards him. For the past few minutes she and Mary Spencer had been deep in conversation.

  ‘Could we have a word, do you think?’

  ‘When did this man appear exactly?’ Madden frowned.