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Greyhound. He didn’t want to, you could see that. But he had no choice so he handedover a pound, moaning that it was his last and what would he tell his wife.” Rose giggled. “ ‘Tell her you gave it to the Spitfire fund,’ ” said Elsie. He didn’t try anything after that but I saw some of the looks he gave her. If looks could kill …” her voice trailed off.
    That didn’t surprise Tyler either. However, he didn’t think Ewen Morgan, whom he’d known all his life, was capable of murder, miserable old geezer though he was sometimes.
    Rose yawned and went back to the window seat. “I’m knackered.”
    “Just a couple more questions, Rose. Elsie was a pretty girl; did she have a sweetheart that you know of?”
    “Not
a
sweetheart, dozens. The blokes swarmed her like bees on jam.”
    She glanced out of the window. Tyler saw that Trimble was crossing the lawn, a dejected hen underneath each arm. “ ’Im, for instance. She even got ’im panting after her and he’s old enough to be her dad.”
    Tyler was momentarily taken aback. “Trimble?”
    “That’s him. Don’t get me wrong. Elsie didn’t give a fig for him, but she wangled some nice presents out of him. Silk stockings, some chocolates. He was fit to be tied when she told him not to come calling anymore. She could be like that. Generally, she let the young blokes down easy, but the slimy ones, she played them for what she could get.”
    “Was Arthur Trimble the most recent conquest?”
    Tyler noticed Rose’s hesitation.
    “No. She’d started going with somebody else … she wouldn’t tell me who it was except that he was a soldier. I mean, she would have eventually, we had no secrets from each other, but at first she liked to tease me a bit. This bloke was different. I could tell she was sweet on this one. She said he’d had a bad time over in France. She was always a softie for the lame ducks.”
    Tyler pushed away the frightening thought that flew into his mind. There were several young men in the area who’d had a hard time in France, including Bobby Walker and Jimmy. But it was Tyler himself who’d said maybe his son had found a sweetheart.
Oh God, let’s hope he had nothing to do with this
.
    Rose looked exhausted.
    “We’ll finish in a minute, Rose. Did you ever see Elsie with a gun, or did she ever mention knowing somebody who had a gun?”
    The girl blinked rapidly. “She told me once her old man kept a pellet gun to kill crows and she was scared he might use it on her. That’s why she left home as soon as she could and joined the Land Army.”
    “I found a bunch of white poppies that had been placed on her chest. Would you know anything about that?”
    “No. I know the ones you mean, but I’m not fussy about them myself. They don’t smell or anything. There’s a lady that sells them. She’s a bit of a queer fish, but she’s good to us girls. Mrs. Thorne, her name is. She brings soap she makes herself and lotion for our hands.” Rose held out her hands to show him. They were tanned and weather-beaten, the skin on the fingers cracked, and traces of dirt were still under her fingernails. “The hedgerows tear them up fierce. Elsie was proud of her hands and she tried to keep them nice.”
    “White poppies are an emblem of the Peace Pledge Union. Did Elsie by any chance sign the peace pledge? I know Mrs. Thorne is always trying to persuade people to join.”
    “Naw, not Elsie,” said Rose with a chuckle. “She said she liked having a war. It made men of the boys, was her expression. She said this had been the best time of her life.” Rose’s eyes watered but she bit back her tears.
    “One more question. I promise it’s the last,” said Tyler. “Thecorporal reported that when you first saw Elsie, you said, ‘I warned you.’ What did you mean by that?”
    He saw tension catch her shoulders, but she concentrated on the bangle. “I don’t remember saying anything like that.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Course