The 9 by Madalyn Morgan (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

swapped the packets, giving me the packet containing the poisoned pear drops.’ A cold shivered ran through her as the realisation of what had happened on the 9:45 to Bletchley hit her. Ena looked from one intelligence officer to the other. ‘Don’t you see? I didn’t have one of my pear drops, I had one of his, one that he had poisoned. That’s why there’s still five sweets in my packet. Then, when I was out for the count, he swapped them back again, closing the top of my packet by folding it over, the way the confectioner had folded his, which is not the way I close it. Look--’ Ena demonstrated, ‘I twist the top.’

Showing no sign of agreement, or even that he understood what Ena was saying, the man sniffed the packet. ‘Pear drops have a distinctive taste. Didn’t you notice anything different in the taste of the one you had on the train compared to the one you’d had in the car?’

‘Not at the time. I don’t remember anything after putting the pear drop into my mouth.’ Ena trembled. Fear of what might have happened to her if she hadn’t eaten the sweet, hadn’t slept, engulfed her. Her stomach churned. She thought again that she was going to be sick. ‘Could I have a drink of water, please?’

The officer next to her nodded to Tilly, who got up and went out of the room. She was back in a matter of minutes, with a jug and three glasses. She poured a glass of water and Ena drank it down.

‘What do you remember about this man? How old was he? What did he look like?’

Ena looked up at the ceiling, trying to bring the man’s face to mind. ‘It’s a bit of a blur, but he was around twenty-eight, thirty, with light hair… Blond. Yes, he had blond hair. I only saw him sitting down, but he looked fit – you know, muscular. And he was quite tall. At least he was taller than the other man, but not by much.’

The two officers looked at each other. ‘What other man?’ The officer opposite asked. ‘This is the first we’ve heard about a second man.’

‘That’s because I’ve only just remembered him.’ Ena squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remember. ‘I’m only getting snatches, glimpses, of two shadowy figures. Sorry.’

‘You’re doing well, Miss Dudley,’ the officer next to her said, pouring more water into her glass. ‘Tell us what happened in London?’

Ena took a drink and wiped a droplet from her chin. ‘When I woke up I was numb. I tried to move, to sit up, but my head felt as if it weighed a ton – and it ached. I had a terrible pain in my head and behind my eyes. Eventually I pulled myself up and looked out of the window in disbelief. I was in Euston. The first thing I did was look round for the case. I couldn’t see properly, everything was blurred, looked wavy as if it were swaying. Anyway,’ she said, ‘my vision was good enough to see that the case had gone.’

Ena shook her head. ‘It’s hard to explain. It was a horrible feeling. I felt dizzy and disoriented, and I had this awful headache. It was as if my head was packed with cotton wool pressing on my temples. And my mouth was really dry. Anyway, I managed to get to the buffet on the station and I bought a cup of tea.’

‘Did you speak to anyone?’

‘Yes, but--’

‘What did they say?’

’I only passed the time of day with a young American. The buffet was busy and there was only one spare seat. He asked if he could sit down and I said yes.’

‘Did he ask you any questions?’

‘No, not really. I had been crying and he gave me his handkerchief. And when he bought himself a cup of coffee, he bought me another cup of tea.’ The officer sitting across the table from her raised his eyebrows. ‘He was just being kind. Apart from his accent, he was just an ordinary young man.’ Ena was dreading the questions that would follow. They were bound to include, What did you talk about, and did you tell him you were going to Bletchley? She was saved by the telephone ringing.

The man opposite reached into the middle of the table, pulled the phone towards him, and picked up the receiver. Still looking at Ena, he said, ‘Yes?’ A couple of seconds later, he replaced the receiver. Shuffling his papers into a pile, he put them into his attaché case and stood up. ‘Time for a break. If you’d accompany Miss Dudley to the canteen, Miss Anderson?’ Without waiting for Tilly to reply, he said, ‘We’ll resume in an hour.’ He left the room. His associate followed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The noise and clatter of hundreds of people met Ena and Tilly as they approached the canteen. Ena leant against the wall. She felt dizzy at the sight of so many people, and the smell of cabbage was making her feel sick. She closed her eyes, letting several women enter ahead of her.

‘Would you rather have lunch in the interview room?’ Tilly asked. Ena nodded. ‘I’m not supposed to leave you, so you’ll have to come with me to the counter. Will a sandwich and a cup of tea do?’

‘Just tea for me, thanks,’ Ena said. ‘I don’t think I could keep any food down.’

Waiting for her interrogators to return felt like an eternity. Tilly must have thought so too, because she looked at her watch several times.

‘I’m sure you have better things to do than sit around here with me,’ Ena said. Tilly smiled and shook her head. Blinking back her tears, Ena stood up and walked around the table. ‘How long are they going to keep me here, Tilly?’

‘I don’t