“Right. So, according to our records, you were on the train when the incident happened. Is that true?” he held the pen in his hand expectantly for my answer.
“If you say so,” I answered, still in the dark as to what the incident was exactly. I mean…we all know there was a body found, but how did they die?
Strangely, the last person in the world I expected to think of appeared in my mind. Carrie, the mean girl, who told me of the rumor that the Warwicks had something to do with the dead body. That’s the problem. There seemed to be only rumors and hunches, but not a single person was a witness to the death of the body and had a clear story about it. In fact, I hadn’t heard anyone mention the name of the victim.
“Do you remember which carriage you were in?” he asked, and I got the impression he already knew.
“Um,” I blushed because I couldn’t remember what was written on my ticket. “The fourth one down from the engine.”
“The fourth one? Could it be carriage D?” he pressed, slightly impatiently.
“Yes, I think so,” I seemed vague, but he shouldn’t expect me to remember everything. It was two weeks ago, and I’ve been so busy since and barely had time to think about it.
“According to your file, you were assigned a seat in Carriage D,” he informed me.
And I felt as though I was being scolded for having a bad memory, or maybe he thought I was trying to hide something. “Okay.”
“Did you stay in that carriage? You didn’t move seats into another carriage?” he questioned.
“No, I stayed put for the entire journey,” I told him honestly.
“Did you leave your carriage at any time through the journey to say go to the eatery or perhaps have a look around?” he asked me.
“Um, I went into Carriage C to use the bathroom because…” I froze dead midsentence as the image of Ezrah Warwick was in the bathroom, threatening someone. What a prick? “Because the bathroom in my carriage was in use and I was bursting.”
Magone: “And you didn’t leave Carriage D for any other reason?”
I shook my head. “I had food and water that I brought from home, so I did not need to leave apart from using the bathroom. And um, I am new to Castlehill. This is my first year, and I transferred from my old college, so I didn’t know anyone and didn’t talk to anyone for the entire trip.”
Did I say too much?
“Did you see anything suspicious going on in your carriage?” he persisted, and my head spun.
“Like what?” I shrugged, then felt bad because my tone was harsher than I intended, and I didn’t want to come across as being unhelpful. Weirdly, I felt guilty even though I knew I wasn’t.
“Like say bullying, threats, weapons?” he rattled off, and my mind couldn’t move on from Ezrah threatening that loner guy.
“No,” I lied. “As I said, I left my seat only once and didn’t see or hear anything.”
He leaned back in his chair, pulled out a photograph from under the file, and placed it on the table. “Have you seen this man before?”
I picked up the photograph and immediately recognized the man as the same man that Ezrah was threatening in the bathroom. But he was still alive when the train arrived at our destination, and we left the carriage. He was sitting in the seat, staring out the window. Admittedly, he wasn’t happy, and I tried to console him, but he wanted nothing to do with me.
“Do you recognize him?” he pressed when I didn’t answer him, tapping his finger on the table.
“I don’t know his name, but he was seated in my carriage,” I told him honestly.
I was speaking the truth, but leaving out an important detail that criminalized Ezrah Warwick. Now, I know why he needed me to keep my mouth shut. The man in the photograph seemed about my age and had a loner vibe that I recognized because I was the same.
“Is he the one who died?” I needed to hear him say it to clarify how serious this situation was.
“Sadly, yes, unfortunately,” he replied, taking the photograph back and slipping it under my file.
My throat felt constricted, and I had to clear my throat again. “How did he die?” Fear coiled through my body as the skin prickled along the back of my neck, traveling down my spine.
He shook his grey head, “We’re not at privy to give those details over yet.”
I wanted to ask more questions, but it was obvious that he wasn’t prepared to tell me. And the words that circled in my mind repeatedly were,Ezrah Warwick, killed that man. Ezrah Warwick killed that man.
