The train had left Cologne just a short time ago - but Andreas had the feeling that he knew all about his fellow travellers. There was this rather agile woman in her sixties who was so interested in Boell's Irish Diary... There was another young lady who was carrying a portrait in her bag - which had been painted by a friend; the artist, though, couldn't possibly be Brian O'Donnell; and there was this young lady with the frizzy hair who was just talking to him.

"Excuse me, sir! I guess I must have seen you before. Aren't you a colleague of Mrs. Nagelschmidt-Boehlau? She used to be my favourite teacher." - - -
"Your favourite teacher??? Are you sure that we are talking about the same person?" Andreas hesitated for a moment. He had to be cautious. It was quite possible that this young woman was still in touch with her former favourite teacher. So he decided to change his strategy. "And what is so fascinating about her?" - - -
"Well, if you haven't found out by now, perhaps you won't ever find out about it. Maybe your problem is that you are a man."

At this point, the senior lady beamed at the young woman with dark frizzy hair. "Sounds like an interesting person. How old is she? And where does she teach?" Andreas didn't answer the question immediately. He was just staring at a young man who was wearing a catering service uniform and bumping into lots of people while crossing the carriage. "Looks like someone on the run. And somehow I feel that I have seen his face before."