Night Train to Murder Read online

  ‘Ishmael, we don’t have time to check everything!’

  ‘Then we check what we can,’ I said. ‘Starting with the darkened carriage.’

  Penny frowned. ‘Why there? I mean, we already know it’s completely deserted.’

  ‘We start with the next carriage because it’s the only thing that stands between us and the rest of the train,’ I said. ‘If anything about that isn’t what we’ve been told, then all our previous ideas fall apart.’

  And, I thought but didn’t say, because I’m damned if I can think of anything else to do.

  I got to my feet and headed for the door, and Penny followed along behind me, saying nothing, just trusting me to know what I was doing. I admired her faith. I only wished I shared it. I was having trouble convincing myself I wasn’t simply going through the motions, to make myself feel as if I was doing something. But since I would rather die than let Penny down, or let a murderer get away with killing someone right under my nose, I had no choice but to keep hammering away at the problem until either it broke or I did.

  Brian looked at me sourly as I came down the aisle, and made no move to get out of the way. I stopped before him, and Penny was quickly there at my side.

  ‘You should have let me run this investigation,’ Brian said flatly. ‘I’d have got the truth out of someone by now.’

  ‘You might have intimidated a confession out of someone,’ I said. ‘But that’s not the same thing.’

  ‘It’s better than nothing,’ said Brian. ‘Which is what you’ve got.’

  ‘My investigation isn’t over yet,’ I said. ‘You keep an eye on the passengers, while Penny and I check out the next carriage.’

  Brian glanced back over his shoulder. ‘There’s no one in there; I’d have noticed.’

  ‘I never said there was,’ I said calmly.

  ‘Then what do you expect to find, in an empty carriage?’

  ‘Something I didn’t see the last time I looked,’ I said, doing my best to sound confident.

  Brian sniffed and shrugged. ‘Go ahead. Knock yourselves out. You’re the ones who’ll have to explain to the authorities in Bath why you haven’t arrested anyone for Sir Dennis’s murder.’

  I let that one go, as though I hadn’t even felt the breeze of its passing. ‘Try not to let anyone get up to anything while we’re gone.’

  ‘But don’t break them,’ Penny said firmly. ‘Play nicely, Brian. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?’

  He smiled briefly. ‘You were never in the army.’ The smile disappeared as he shot me a hard look. ‘I want my gun back.’

  I had to raise an eyebrow. ‘You think you’re going to need a gun to cope with two businessmen and a reporter?’

  ‘It’s my gun,’ said Brian.

  ‘You can have it back when we get to Bath,’ I said. ‘If you’ve been good.’

  I looked at him steadily until he lowered his eyes and stepped aside. This whole alpha-male routine was getting very old, but it appeared to be the only thing he knew how to respond to. I brushed past Brian, and the door hissed open. I stepped out into the vestibule, and Penny hurried through to join me. The door closed behind us, and she let out a sigh of relief.

  ‘Damn, I’m glad to be out of there. The atmosphere was getting so thick you could slice it up and hand it round on a plate.’ She looked at me. ‘Do you still see Brian as a suspect? Is that why you don’t want to give him back his gun?’

  ‘I’m not putting a weapon in that man’s hand as long as I’m trapped in the same carriage as him,’ I said firmly. ‘Brian has the unmistakable air of someone who’s been trained to shoot first and let someone else ask the questions afterwards.’

  I looked around the vestibule. It was brightly lit, completely empty and very quiet. Penny walked over to stand before the toilet cubicle. I moved in beside her.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘When you said doubt everything,’ she said slowly, ‘did you consider the possibility that Sir Dennis might not actually be in there?’

  I looked at her. ‘You think he might have got up from his throne and gone for a little walk?’

  ‘Wouldn’t be the first time on one of our cases,’ said Penny.

  I tried the door. ‘It’s still locked. And Sir Dennis was quite definitely dead, the last time I looked.’

  ‘I refer you to my previous comment,’ said Penny. ‘But even if he is one hundred per cent deceased and not at all in the mood for a stroll, someone might still have removed the body. If our killer was able to break into a locked cubicle to attack him, why couldn’t they do it again to get at the body?’

  ‘Why would they want to?’ I said.

  ‘To make the body disappear?’ said Penny. ‘It wouldn’t do much for our credibility, would it, if we opened the toilet door when we arrived in Bath and there was no one in there? And it’s always possible there’s some evidence on the body that would incriminate the killer.’

  I shook my head. ‘We can’t open the door without the guard’s remote control device. And I really don’t want to have to search the whole train for Mr Holder if he isn’t where he’s supposed to be.’

  ‘We could always send Brian to go fetch him,’ said Penny. ‘Having something useful to do might calm him down a bit.’

  ‘But then who’d watch the passengers in First Class?’ I said.

  ‘You really think they need watching?’

  ‘They’re still the only real suspects we’ve got,’ I said. I turned away from the toilet and gave the door to the darkened carriage my full attention. ‘Unless we can find something useful in there.’

  ‘Why don’t you just break into the toilet?’ said Penny.

  ‘Because then I’d have to explain how,’ I said. ‘No normal human would be strong enough.’

  I broke off as a thought occurred to me, and I turned back to the cubicle, leaned in close and pressed my cheek flat against the door.

  ‘Ishmael?’ said Penny. ‘What are you doing?’

  I inhaled deeply and then straightened up again and stepped back.

  ‘He’s in there. I can smell the body through the crack in the door.’

  ‘Oh, ick,’ said Penny.

  I moved over to the door to the next carriage and peered through the glass partition. Penny crowded in beside me.

  ‘Can’t see a damned thing,’ she said after a moment. ‘It’s completely dark.’

  ‘I can see enough to be sure that no one’s home,’ I said.

  ‘So nothing’s changed.’

  ‘Not necessarily,’ I said. ‘The last time I was in there, I didn’t take the time to search the carriage properly. I didn’t see the point then.’

  ‘You really think we need to go in there?’ said Penny.

  I looked at Penny, careful to keep all traces of amusement out of my face and my voice. ‘Trust me: there are no rogue psychics, professional assassins or any kind of bogeyman hiding in this compartment.’

  ‘So what’s the point of going in there?’ said Penny.

  ‘To search for any evidence I might have missed the first time,’ I said patiently. ‘If, by any chance, it turns out that I am wrong, and something unpleasant should come looming up out of the dark, you have my full permission to punch it in the face.’

  ‘That would make me feel better,’ said Penny. ‘What sort of evidence are we looking for? I mean, Sir Dennis was killed in the toilet.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I just can’t shake this feeling that I’ve overlooked something. Think about it: this is the only carriage on the entire train where the lights failed. There must be a reason for that, and the most obvious one I can think of is to hide something important from me.’

  ‘That’s a bit of a stretch, darling,’ Penny said tactfully.

  ‘It’s a hell of a reach,’ I said. ‘But it’s all we’ve got.’

  ‘All right!’ said Penny. ‘This is a wonderful theory, and I am all for it! Let us proceed immediately into the dark and spooky deserted carriage and inve
stigate the shit out of it. I will be right behind you, ready to punch out anything that moves.’

  ‘I love it when you have such faith in me,’ I said.

  I stepped forward and the door hissed open. And then I stopped to consider that. Penny made a startled noise as she bumped into me from behind.

  ‘Give me some warning, Ishmael! Why have we stopped?’

  ‘I’m just wondering why this door is still working,’ I said, ‘when there’s no power in the carriage?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Penny. ‘Because the door’s on a separate circuit?’

  ‘Ah,’ I said. ‘Yes, that would do it. Sorry. For a moment there, I was sure I was on to something.’

  I entered the carriage. The light spilling in behind me was only just enough to illuminate the nearest seats. Beyond that I could make out basic shapes, but no details. I looked around slowly, checking for anything that seemed out of place. ‘I still can’t see anything,’ Penny murmured from just behind my shoulder. ‘Shouldn’t the emergency lights be working at least, to point out to passengers where the exits are?’

  ‘The whole system must be down,’ I said. ‘Which, of course, isn’t in any way suspicious.’

  ‘You have eyes like a hawk,’ said Penny. ‘Or an owl. Is anything standing out to you?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m not seeing, hearing or even smelling anything out of the ordinary.’

  ‘I still think I’ll stay behind you,’ said Penny. ‘I’ve always found you make an excellent human shield in times of danger. For someone who isn’t actually human. I am still ready to throw a punch over your shoulder, if need be.’

  ‘Why are you so obsessed with hitting someone?’

  Penny sniffed loudly. ‘Doesn’t this entire case make you feel like punching somebody really hard?’

  ‘You may have a point there.’

  I slowly made my way down the aisle, out of the light and into the dark, bracing myself against the rocking of the train. I carefully studied each row of seats I passed, straining my eyes against the gloom. Behind me, I could hear Penny bumping into practically everything, as she did her best to follow me down the aisle. I’d given her eyes time to adjust, but there wasn’t enough light in the carriage for human eyes to work with. She stopped suddenly and called after me.

  ‘This is useless, Ishmael! I can’t even see you, never mind what you’re doing.’

  ‘Then go back and guard the door,’ I said, not glancing back over my shoulder in case it broke my concentration. ‘Make sure no one gets past you, from either direction.’

  ‘I can do that,’ said Penny. I heard her bump and thud her way back to the door, and then her quiet sigh of relief once she was safely back in the light. ‘OK … I’m looking into the vestibule, and no one’s followed us here from First Class.’

  ‘Is Brian watching us?’

  ‘No. I can see his back through the glass partition.’

  ‘Good. Keep an eye on him.’

  ‘There is a definite limit to how many directions I can look in at once, darling.’

  ‘Well … do your best.’

  I carried on down the aisle, a few steps at a time, and then stopped abruptly. There was something blocking the aisle, right up by the end door. I moved forward cautiously until I was close enough to recognize the obstruction as the private detective Dee’s trolley. The one she’d had such trouble controlling in her role as a tea lady. It was standing alone and abandoned, with no sign of Dee anywhere. I checked the trolley carefully, but there was nothing about it to suggest what might have happened to Dee. No sign of a struggle anywhere around it, and no drops of blood on the trolley itself.

  It was always possible Dee had just abandoned it, along with her role as tea lady, now her true identity had been established, but I didn’t think so. I just knew something bad had happened to her.

  I called quietly back to Penny, filling her in on what I’d found, and then I eased past the trolley and stood before the end door. I knocked loudly and called out to Eric. He opened the door immediately, and light spilled in from the vestibule. He looked at me enquiringly.

  ‘What is it, sir? Has something happened?’

  ‘Did Dee go past you when she came back this way?’ I said bluntly.

  ‘No, sir,’ said Eric. ‘I haven’t seen her since she insisted on going back to First Class. Sorry about that, sir. I know I shouldn’t have talked to her, but …’

  ‘I understand,’ I said. ‘She was a very forceful lady.’

  ‘That she was, sir.’

  ‘Are you sure she couldn’t have got past you, without you seeing?’

  ‘No, sir. I’ve been here all this time, guarding the door. I was starting to get worried that I hadn’t seen her for a while.’

  ‘Lock this door again,’ I said. ‘And whatever happens, don’t leave the vestibule unless I tell you otherwise.’

  ‘Of course, sir.’

  He closed the door, and I waited till I heard the lock turn. I looked at the trolley again. It proved Dee had got this far at least, but how could she have vanished between First Class and the railway guard’s vestibule? There was no way out of the darkened carriage; the only doors were in the two vestibules.

  I was sure there was no body hidden anywhere in the darkened carriage. Could the murderer have killed Dee and then stuffed her body in the First-Class toilet cubicle, along with Sir Dennis? No, I would have picked up her scent when I smelled Sir Dennis. So what did that leave?

  I smiled suddenly in the dark and got down on all fours. I ran my hands over the thinly carpeted floor, pressing my fingertips into the fibres. I couldn’t feel anything unusual – no tears or rumpling or anything to indicate a struggle had taken place.

  I moved carefully along on my hands and knees, heading back toward the door, checking the ground I’d already walked because I couldn’t afford to miss anything. And finally I caught a faint whiff of something. I pushed my face right down over the carpet, and the smell grew stronger. I breathed in deeply and the scents of a recent murder filled my head. The piss and shit the body always lets go at time of death, as the sphincters give up. Things that would have been retained inside Sir Dennis’s clothes, which is why the scents were so faint I missed them the first time around. Anywhere else they would have dissipated by now, but they’d been preserved by the still air and the contained environment. My first real clue – and just like that, I knew exactly what had happened to Sir Dennis.

  ‘Ishmael?’ said Penny. ‘You’ve been quiet a really long time, and I can’t see you anywhere. Are you all right?’

  ‘Fine,’ I said happily. ‘Just fine.’

  I rose to my feet, suppressed the urge to do a little jig of triumph – because I am, after all, a professional – and went back to join Penny. I told her what I’d found and started to go into details, but she shook her head firmly.

  ‘Ick. And I mean serious ick. Are you sure?’

  ‘Some scents are always going to be immediately identifiable,’ I said. ‘You’re welcome to go and smell them yourself.’

  ‘I am entirely ready to take your word for it,’ said Penny. ‘Tell me you didn’t get any of it on your clothes.’

  ‘There are no actual stains as such; it was all …’

  ‘Not listening! Hands over ears, not listening.’

  ‘But don’t you see what this means?’ I said. ‘This proves Sir Dennis didn’t die inside the toilet. He was killed right here, in this compartment. When he left First Class and stepped out into the vestibule, someone must have been waiting for him. Perhaps they called to him from the dark and asked for his help, to lure him in. Sir Dennis was murdered here, his body fell to the floor, and then the murderer carried the body to the toilet and arranged Sir Dennis in position, to make it look as if he’d been caught by surprise.’

  ‘To conceal where and when he was killed!’ said Penny.

  ‘All of which means we know who did it,’ I said happily.

  Penny looked at me. ‘We do?’
/>   ‘Of course,’ I said. ‘There’s only one person on this train who could have done it.’

  ‘You see?’ said Penny. ‘All it takes is one new clue, one new insight, and you’re a murder-solving machine! So who is it?’

  I looked behind me. ‘Hush …’

  Penny moved in close beside me and lowered her voice to a whisper.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I just heard the far door open,’ I said quietly. ‘Someone has entered this carriage from the other end.’

  ‘But that door is supposed to be locked and guarded!’

  ‘I know,’ I said. ‘Now stand quietly and wait for them to come to us.’

  I watched the dark figure make his way down the aisle. He moved easily and confidently, as though he could see as clearly in the dark as me. Penny gripped my arm tightly as she listened to the approaching footsteps. And then the figure stopped just short of us and turned on a flashlight. Penny cried out despite herself, blinded by the sudden glare, but I just narrowed my eyes and stared back into it.

  ‘Hello, Eric,’ I said to the railway guard. ‘Why have you left your post, after I just ordered you not to?’

  ‘Oh! You did give me shock, sir!’ said Eric, quickly lowering his flashlight and turning it off. ‘I didn’t expect you to still be here. And you, of course, miss.’

  Penny let out a sigh of relief, let go of my arm and glared at Eric. ‘You must have seen us here; why didn’t you announce yourself?’

  ‘I’m really very sorry, miss,’ said Eric. ‘But I wasn’t sure who you were. I just thought I heard some movement in here, and since I thought Mr Jones would be gone by now, and no one is supposed to be in this carriage, I thought I’d better check it out. I hope you’ll pardon me for being a little overcautious, but with a murderer loose somewhere on the train …’

  ‘Quite understandable, Eric,’ I said. ‘But why didn’t you use your flashlight till you were right on top of us?’

  ‘Didn’t think of it, sir. I’ve been walking up and down these carriages for so many years I could do it with my eyes shut.’ Eric shifted his feet uncomfortably. ‘And, of course, if you were someone I didn’t want to meet, the sudden light was the only weapon I had. If you could tell I was coming, sir, why didn’t you say anything?’