[https://i.imgur.com/wMEkaVM.jpg]
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A shot rang out in the carriage. Just as calm had returned and the passengers had agreed to sit down again so as not to disturb Annie, Tessa and Deshya in their investigation, a man was shot: to be more exact, shot in the head. A bullet in the forehead that takes his life instantly. The cries of babies, children and even adults clash with the sound of frightened screams. Passengers push each other to get out, but a wall gets in the way. Not only to stop them getting out, but also to protect the girl behind it. That wall is 'Tessa' and the girl behind it is 'Deshya', on the floor and suffering from the unbearable noise caused by the gunshot.
- LET US THROUGH!!! THERE'S A KILLER HERE!!!
A woman screams and even slaps Tessa, but she gives her a black look that could scare a bear. The woman takes a step back, pushing a man who pushes her back. Tessa grits her teeth and quickly observes Deshya, who seems to be slowly recovering. People from the other carriage arrive, but they are stopped in front of the teenager with long purple hair, beautiful pink strands intertwining in her long braid and others decorating the frank in front of her forehead. The black cap she loves so much is still on her head, despite the lady's rather violent slap. The two muscular men take their turn shouting, asking everyone to sit down, and even using force on some who struggle. Annie stands in front of the corpse, fists clenched, teeth gnashing. A bullet in the forehead and right in the middle. Whoever shot this man had good aim. He must have been the culprit's target.
- So Deshya was right…
Annie would have preferred her to be wrong, but as she expected, it was her theory that turned out to be right. Unfortunately, the second victim has already died. Annie tries to reassure the crying lady, huddled in her corner, sitting right next to the man who has just been killed. Annie looks to her left and notices that the body of the other man, called Nikolas Aidalro, is very close to that of the second victim. However, their places are not in the same row, which may reduce the number of culprits. Nevertheless, given that the three main suspects — 'Dera Nomura', 'Megure Afronai' and 'Trisha Keryun' — the three people around the same table as the first victim, are not far from the second…
- The culprit is between the three of them... I'm convinced of it..." Annie thinks, her eyes crinkling.
Even so, something's bothering her. After all, she'd searched them. Them and their suitcases or bags. So... how? How did the culprit do it?! Where did he get that pistol or gun?!
The passengers return to their seats one by one, forced out by the two muscular men and others who agree to help. Mista and Minerva stay in their seats, looking at each other, both shocked by what's happening in this carriage. Ketty too, the man with the umbrella, remains in his place silently, his arms trembling gently.
Five minutes later, everyone is back in their seats, but even if the noise has died down, that doesn't mean the passengers' hearts are free of worry. Tears continue to flow, and some are praying to their God for safety and protection. An invisible smell wafts gently, but fiercely through the carriage.
The one of Death.
Deshya struggles to her feet and Tessa helps her. She thanks her and touches her head before gesturing to the woman at the end of the corridor: Annie.
- Let's see what happened...?" asks Deshya.
Tessa nods, but before she starts walking, she turns her face towards her friend. Deshya questions her with his eyes.
- Deshya…
- Yes... ?
- You know... when the shot rang out, actually—
- I know. I heard it too.
Tessa squints and Deshya imitates her.
- There were two in a row, weren't there?
CHAPTER 10
⎾The Never-Stopping Train ; Part 5⏌
Tessa doesn't respond directly to Deshya, but she does eventually chuckle and nod.
- Yup. D’you think the victim was shot twice or nah?
- I don't know…
Deshya began to walk down the corridor, but Tessa stayed behind, motionless for the moment. She looks to her right, then to her left, her eyes attentive, but finally moves forward in her turn, catching up with Deshya. Both approach Annie and see, at the same time, the corpse still seated in its chair. Deshya grimaces and Tessa scratches her cheek.
- It's not as gory as the movies I watched as a kid..." she says to herself.
Here, however, it's the real thing. There may not be as much blood, guts spilling out of bellies or even expressions that seem to come out of the underworld, but it's still real murder. She's not disappointed that she's not traumatized just by looking at a corpse. She's just making an observation. Despite this, she closes her eyes and sighs inwardly.
- Someone's just been killed and I'm thinking that... I really have no heart.
She puts her hands in her pockets and looks at the corpse again. Deshya moves to Annie's side and she touches the scarf around her neck.
- One shot to the head... instant death.
Deshya observes the man in front of her. He must be almost the same age as the other victim, but their physiques bear absolutely no resemblance to each other. His short blond hair and a much more professional air give him a different style from the first victim. His glasses, set before his open but lifeless eyes, threaten to fall off his nose. A ballpoint pen emerges from his jacket pocket and a full suitcase, still closed, lies at his feet. Deshya notices the frightened woman being comforted by Annie. She's no longer crying, but it's clear that she's let the tears roll down her face because of the man who was killed beside her. Even if she didn't see the bullet coming, knowing she was inches from death must have traumatized her. Deshya looks at the corpse again before turning around.
- The murderer…
- It's not her, is it?
Deshya hears Tessa speak and turns to her.
- What?" asks Deshya.
Tessa gestures with her head towards the woman who is still curled up in a ball.
- If you want to kill someone discreetly, you don't shoot them in the head like that, but rather in the heart or stomach, otherwise it would be too easy to see you firing the weapon. The woman next to him and the man opposite can't possibly be the murderer, especially since they could never have killed the first victim anyway.
Tessa closes her eyes.
- Given that he died from a bullet to the head, the culprit must have been further away and surely didn't have a good view of his heart or stomach…
- Or maybe it didn't matter how they killed him, since they were guaranteed not to be seen, right?
Deshya finishes Tessa's sentence and she opens her eyes again, nodding.
- The three next to the first victim are probably the most suspicious, although I wonder how Trisha could have done it..." admits Tessa.
- Trisha should have stood up or done something to make her notice..." says Deshya.
She turns to the three of them and Tessa squints.
- Go ask them. I'll look for... you know what.
She starts to move towards the back of the train, where the impossible-to-open door is. Deshya watches her go, smiling. She turns around and observes the three passengers, who are chatting uneasily among themselves. Inside are probably the culprits of the two murders that have just been committed. Yet even after Annie's search, no weapon has been found. If Deshya can figure out how the culprit shot without being seen by anyone and with what, then this case will be settled more quickly. Then this train will be able to stop without the risk of exploding, and people will stop dying from a murderous bullet. Innocent people will finally be able to get out and join their jobs, their homes, their families. Even if Amora and Frie are safe in the other car, as long as the bombs are still on the train and they can't be sure of getting off unharmed, they're as much at risk as Deshya, Tessa or Annie. She's got to find out who's responsible... and as quickly as possible! Deshya nods blankly and leaves Tessa to look for her search, while Annie stays by the corpse and comforts the traumatized woman. The girl in the fox sweater is careful not to crush the corpse and arrives at Megure's side. The bald man turns to Deshya and questions her with his eyes.
- Excuse me, can I ask you a few questions, and this quickly?" she asks, hands in her pockets.
- Few questions?" replies Trisha, shocked.
- Y-You still think one of us is guilty?!" shouts Dera.
Deshya nods and the woman grits her teeth: she's clearly unhappy that she's still being taken as a suspect.
- The three of us were having a rest!" she shouts. I chatted with Trisha while Megure wrote in his newspaper!
The man takes out the newspaper Dera is talking about and opens it at a certain point. Deshya looks at it carefully and notices that the page is…
- Crosswords..." remarks Deshya.
- Exactly. I was doing my crossword when the shot rang out. Check it out.
He points with his index finger to a certain line that shouldn't be there. She doesn't need his explanation to understand what it means.
- He jumped as he was writing..." she thinks.
The line that speaks of the letter 'a' in the word 'creation', a word that was never finished. Deshya doesn't know if this is proof enough that he couldn't have shot the man from his seat, especially as Dera only knew that he had his nose in the newspaper, not that he was concentrating on a crossword. He could have drawn the line in advance to create an alibi, for example. Deshya turns his face to Trisha.
- So you were chatting to the woman opposite when the shot rang out?" asks Deshya, wanting to be sure.
Trisha nods, trembling. Deshya wonders if she too is traumatized by the shot that rang out. She wasn't standing next to the second victim, this time, but given that she was for the first, it's not impossible to think that she feels a certain fear inside: Deshya won't judge her. She doesn't want to tip her over the edge, but she's still a suspect and one of the main ones. Deshya can't cross her off the list simply because of the fear she shows: there's nothing to say she's not playing the game. However believable a person's emotions may be, Deshya can't tell herself that means he or she isn't the culprit. Deshya squints, but Megure prevents her from concentrating when he grabs her sleeve. She looks at him in astonishment.
- Say…
- What's wrong?" asks Deshya.
- ... You really think one of us is the killer?
Deshya doesn't reply. Silent, her eyes fixed on the man's worried face, she finally nods.
- You're standing next to the first victim and all three of you have a chance to shoot the second, especially as if the two women were talking to each other, you'd be able to kill him without being noticed.
- W-What?
The man didn't seem happy to hear this. However, Deshya didn't finish her sentence
- Of course, there's nothing to say that it wasn't one of the two women who shot him. However, Trisha would have found it difficult to shoot without being noticed. In short, you're the prime suspect in my eyes, Megure.
Deshya makes no secret of her suspicion. She frowns as she stares at Megure, not hesitating to challenge him with her eyes. Megure grits his teeth, but at the same time, concerns tears at his face. Deshya, however, isn't concentrating on him, but on the woman who's still trembling: Trisha. Something seems to be bothering her greatly... but what?
- Does she know anything...?" wondered Deshya.
While she's at the side of the three suspects, Tessa is looking for where the second one might be. What she heard when the first shot was fired. This is... the second shot.
- The victim was shot just once. There doesn't seem to be a wounded or dead body, or we'd have noticed by now. Anyway, the second bullet must have been fired somewhere else…
But where? And why? Two questions that Tessa considers important. If she can find out where the other bullet was fired, it's not impossible that she'll be able to understand why and where it came from. This could be the key to their victory: the way to find out where the culprit might have fired from by discretion. She turns her face to one of the train's windows and squints. The landscape is still unfolding, but…
- None of the windows are open or broken, so the culprit can't have come from outside. What really bothers me, though…
She starts looking around and Annie notices that Tessa seems to be looking for something, and quickly. The doctor apologizes to the other woman and approaches Tessa.
- What's going on?" asks Annie.
Tessa's face is up, her eyes scanning the entire train with great attention. She answers Annie without even looking at her, unable to stop looking even to chat.
- I'm looking for where the second bullet might be," she admits.
- Second bullet...?
Tessa nods.
- After the first shot, a second rang out directly. Deshya heard it too.
- I didn't hear anything…
- The first shot disturbed us all and the second was really left right afterwards.
- Yet the victim was only shot once…
Annie finds this very strange and looks around. There's no broken glass — and besides, if a bullet had gone through one, they'd have heard it. Annie squints and turns around.
- Is anyone hurt?!" she shouts.
The passengers all turn to the doctor and she moves a little further down the corridor. Deshya stops asking questions of the three suspects and looks at Annie too.
- I repeat, is anyone hurt?!
Annie looks around the car... but no one raises a hand or steps forward. No passenger stands up to warn her that the person next to her has been hit by a bullet or is even feeling ill. Annie continues to move forward, passing Deshya, but no particular movement is made. She gets very close to the door that joins the third carriage to the second and it opens automatically in front of her, but Annie doesn't go through it and simply turns around.
No one reacted.
Tessa notices this and continues her search. She doubted that anyone had been hit... but then, why had he fired the bullet? Would the culprit have missed the first time? Tessa isn't convinced.
- If they'd missed the first time, they'd have fired a second time a moment later, but not as quickly…
The timing between the two shots was too short for the culprit to notice that the first bullet hadn't hit his victim. In short, whether it was the first bullet or the second, something must have happened that caused him to fire a second time. Perhaps his gun malfunctioned? Or maybe he was frightened by the noise of the gun himself and pulled the trigger because of the noise?
- I don't really believe that one..." Tessa thinks, looking around a bit.
Tessa can't see a bullet in the wagon walls, so it's either in the floor, one of the chairs or the ceiling. She makes a quick glance towards Deshya and notices that she has joined Annie. She turns her gaze back to her face and puts her hands in her pockets, having to search for that ball at all costs. After all, she knows very well that the train can't go on indefinitely. It must have been on the tracks for over an hour, so if they don't hurry…
Then the train will be forced to brake and stop, even if the driver doesn't want it to. Anyway…
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
- Have you learned anything about the victim?" asks Deshya.
Annie nods and leans against the wall next to the automatic door, forcing it to stay open. Annie speaks softly so that only Deshya can hear her.
- His name is 'Simon Baybook', 45 years old. Like me, he's a doctor, but he works in a small hospital near the capital. The woman at his side is a friend with whom he used to visit Tetazo. But…
- But...?
Deshya notices the disturbed expression of the woman in front of her. Annie sighs and looks left, then right, but no one seems to be able to hear her. Deshya moves her head a little closer to her to make sure that only she can hear what Annie has to say.
- She told me he's in a group of ten people who were invited to Tetazo.
- !!
Deshya frowns. Does that mean...?!
- Was Nikolas among these ten people?" asks Deshya.
Annie nods.
- And who's the person who came up with this schedule?" asks the girl.
- You won't like the answer.
- Why...?
Annie's words don't reassure Deshya at all. Why shouldn't she be 'happy' with the answer she's about to offer? If they can find out who planned such a trip, then they can probably discover the identity of the culprit. However—
- The person who proposed this trip is anonymous and does not appear to be one of the ten people.
Deshya opens her eyes wide, but quickly crinkles them in frustration. Annie continues her explanation.
- She told me that Nikolas and Simon knew each other from afar, but I couldn't make a real connection between the two. Besides, the other members of the trip aren't all in this car.
- Who are the other people in this car, then?!
Annie tells her the two first names she could have gotten from the woman and Deshya turns around with shocked eyes. This person's first name has just been spoken...! Does that mean she's the culprit or...?
The next victim?!
Meanwhile, Tessa continues to search on her own. The lost ball must be somewhere: she can't have been dreaming! She heard it! Deshya heard it too, which proves that it couldn't have been her imagination. Tessa begins to feel frustrated, which leads to a certain anger inside her. The train isn't going to go on forever, and if they don't find out who did it before then, they're all going to die! Tessa strides down the corridor, watching the ceiling.
- Still, I'm intrigued by the message the station received…
Tessa turns her gaze to the right, then the left, but still sees nothing.
- Two men just died, and it's probably the same person who wrote the message that killed them both. However, they are taking their time: in short, they got to know that after a while, the train's going to stop on its own, right? If they intended to kill everyone on the train with themself, they wouldn't bother killing them one by one and risk getting caught, so the bombs must be an excuse to commit their crimes without interruption. They’re probably taking their time because they have noticed that Annie was in the same carriage as them, and the arrival of Deshya and myself.
Tessa watches from behind the seat of one person or another, bombarded by various looks from the passengers.
- They no longer have the opportunity to do what they want, and they know that if we see them doing it, then we'll stop them. They must have their phone on them and probably something to light the bombs, so if we prevent them from activating them, the train can stop without a problem.
Deshya told her about it. Tessa initially thought that the bombs reacted according to the speed of the train, but her friend in the fox sweater told her that this couldn't be possible: the bombs had to be planted in advance, probably the night before. Even if the bombs were only activated now, Deshya doesn't see how they could work with train speed alone. In short, he must have a remote control to activate them if the train slows down or stops. Tessa can't help thinking that it's not impossible for the bombs to react to speed, but she's also thought of something: even if they do, they have the possibility of being deactivated somehow. Why else would the culprit say he'll send a message when the train can stop? If these are bombs that go off if the vehicle drops below a certain speed, then whatever happens, they'll go off. Tessa lets out a frustrated noise without hiding the annoyance of the situation on her face.
- What am I supposed to think?!
Tessa wants to hit something and let go of some of her frustration, but she has to concentrate and find that damn bullet. She lifts her head, eyes raging, and there—
- !!!
— she finally finds the bullet.
She turns and starts running down the corridor of the wagon, avoiding crushing the corpse of the first victim, and stops in front of Annie and Deshya. The passengers, still worried, watch them, wondering what's going on. Meanwhile, Mista and Minerva take photos together with their selfie sticks.
- Nice duck face the GOAT!" says Mista.
- Riiiiight!
Tessa feels like throwing up when she hears them, but she shakes her head and approaches the two in front of her.
- I found the bullet," she admits.
- Really?!
- Where?" asks Annie.
Tessa tells them to follow her, which they do. Annie walks slowly, looking around at everyone, while Deshya takes a more hurried step forward. Given what she's just learned from Annie, she figures she now has a good lead. The problem is figuring out which way that lead is going. She doesn't have time to think about it any longer: Tessa points to where the bullet is. Deshya and Annie see it quickly enough and observe.
- So the second shot…
- Almost in the ceiling.
The bullet can be seen with the naked eye and without having to pull it out: it's in the wall of the carriage, but just above the ceiling of the train. It's embedded in the wall, but you can see its backside sticking out, having failed to penetrate the wall any further than that. Annie tells them to stand back and asks one of the two men standing nearby if they can help her take the bullet: it's vital evidence of the case they're working on. Deshya explains to Tessa what she's learned from Annie, while in the distance, in the same car as them, a figure gnaws their teeth.
- They found the bullet... Shit! Shit!
The culprit is inwardly annoyed, not being able to believe that such a mistake could have been made on their part. They’ve almost finished with their revenge, so they can't let these three women get away with anything... The train is almost to its destination, so they need to think. If they rush in headlong, they'll get caught; if they’re too passive, it'll be too late to finish the job. They’re sure they've already noticed.
Even after this second murder, the train doesn't brake. This can only mean one thing…
- The culprit still intends to commit a murder, if not two.
- I feel the same way.
Tessa nods at Deshya's assertion and Annie crosses her arms. She puts the ball in a plastic bag and stows it in her little bag. It's next to her suitcase, guarded by one of the two men. She's sure they didn't commit the murder, given where they are, so she trusts them: especially since they'll be helping them keep calm in this car.
- No one's come or gone, have they?" asks Deshya.
- Nobody," says Annie.
Deshya turns her gaze to the long wagon corridor and observes her attentively. Tessa does the same, but she's thinking more about the bullet she found in the wagon wall. Why was it there? Could it be proof that the culprit missed his target the first time? It's hard to believe, especially as the second bullet was fired directly after the first.
- So why...?" wondered Tessa.
Deshya continues to observe the long corridor of the carriage silently. One of the passengers, male or female, happens to be the culprit in these two murders. The one who ended the lives of two people... both from the same trip. Deshya can't believe it's a coincidence, but it means that the next victim…
- …
If the culprit had wanted to kill the woman standing next to 'Simon', the second victim, then he could have done so directly afterwards. The time between the two murders is also something that disturbs Deshya. Why wait so long? Tessa and herself weren't in the car yet, and he couldn't have known Annie was from the police, the way she was dressed. Even if they knew her face, why did they need to wait so long?
- Probably because the murderer could quickly be noticed if he dared to shoot several times in a row... but this gives us more time to ponder.
- Shouldn't we get the potential victims out of the car?" asks Tessa.
Deshya has thought of this too and agrees. However, Annie doesn't seem convinced, which surprises both teenagers.
- If we leave them here, they'll probably get killed... says Deshya.
Annie rubs her scarf against her cheek, her gaze fixed on the automatic door on the other side of the carriage.
- I agree with both of you... but it's more complex than that," she admits.
- H-How so...?
- Already, there's nothing to say that the next victim will be one of these three. What's more, there's nothing to say that the culprit isn't one of these three. More like two, since the woman next to Simon couldn't have committed the murder, especially given the angle and location of the second bullet.
Annie noticed this and discussed it with the two teenagers: the angle of the bullet is such that only someone in the left-hand row could have fired it. If someone in the right-hand row, where Simon was shot, had fired the bullet, it would have gone through the wall much straighter, since it's on the right-hand side of the wall. In short, the three main suspects — Megure, Trisha and Dera — are in the sights of the two detectives and the doctor. The man with the umbrella, the one with the first name 'Ketty', is not to be crossed off the list either, especially as he moves between several places, perhaps to get a better angle on his target. Annie continues her explanation, arms folded.
- What's more, if the culprit notices that you're taking out their next target or targets, they may start shooting at them to finish the job. That could be a solution, though: you bring them out, hoping he'll decide to finish the job without thinking about it, and one of you tackles him to the ground at the same time. Nevertheless, I'm afraid of the other possibility.
- The other possibility...?" repeats Deshya.
Annie nods.
- The reason the bombs have been placed on the train is to prevent it from stopping, so that he can commit the murders undisturbed: that's probably why he's managed to get the door to the third carriage, the one that leads to the fourth, blocked. The door to the second car, however, is not blocked.
- It's true that I find it weird..." admits Tessa.
- I don't know if it's a mistake on their part or if there's some other reason, but I'm thinking it's possible that it’s to have the road clear in front of them.
Deshya and Tessa look at each other, not understanding what Annie means. She notices the troubled looks on the faces of the two teenagers and smiles gently.
- What I mean is, they can go to the driver if they need to," she says.
- Aaaah, I see!
- However, that's way too extreme, isn't it?
Deshya asks the question with an almost amused air. Annie nods again.
- If bombs are really being planted on the train, it's far too extreme to simply kill them off like that. If the murderer's targets really are the Travellers, why put so much in place? They knew they were going to be on the train, but why wait until they were in the carriage to kill them? Couldn't they have taken advantage of their trip to Tetazo?
- I don't think that's possible.
- Really?
This time, Deshya nods in agreement.
- While you were analyzing the bullet in the wall, I had a quick word with the lady who was right next to Simon's body. She explained that on this little trip to Tetazo, they were all together and out in the wilderness, so if the murderer had tried anything at that time, they would inevitably have been seen.
- I'm guessing the culprit's targets aren't the ten people either, otherwise he could have found a better way of killing them all together than shooting them one by one on a train," says Tessa.
Annie looks at Nikolas' corpse, still in the long corridor of the wagon, and feels her heart beating faster and faster. The more they think, the more this case seems to move forward... as well as backward.
- The bombs on that train…
Deshya and Tessa look at Annie at the same time. The woman bites her lower lip.
- The bombs on that train... I was thinking of something.
Annie turns her face towards the two teenagers.
- As soon as this train stops, the police are bound to be around to search everyone, and I don't know how the culprit is going to avoid being fooled. Even if they want to force the train to stop suddenly, Gatito has sent me a message to warn me that two helicopters are watching the train and that the police in the other towns have already been notified. Whatever happens, I don't know how they'll escape without getting caught.
Deshya understands what Annie's getting at and her mouth opens weakly, unable to close. Tessa squints, but she understands in turn and turns her face to Annie with speed.
- Y-You don't mean...?!
Annie looks down the entire corridor, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes fixed on the door in front of her.
- Yes.
With a single word, she manages to stop both girls' hearts. Deshya clenches her fists and yells at Tessa to stay there before running out into the corridor. Annie grabs her phone and looks at the time: it's been 1h40 since the train left. It's not going to be on the rails much longer...! Tessa touches the brim of her cap, biting her lower lip.
- But if Annie's right... He's a maniac! This fucking murderer is a dirty son of a... Son of a bitch!!!
She starts to move down the corridor in her turn, but doesn't reach the second carriage like Deshya. She watches everyone with enraged eyes and starts to sweat. She almost feels like laughing: it's been a long time since she felt this bad. Her instinct alerts her too.
- If Annie is right... !
She didn't like feeling her heart racing like that. The stress preventing her from breathing properly, her throat dry and tight... Annie didn't know if she should have said such a thing to the two girls, but she couldn't keep it to herself. She rested her back against the impossible-to-open automatic door and sighed.
- For pity's sake, God, let me be wrong... or for pity's sake, let's find the culprit in time.
Because if Annie's right, then that means that even after killing his targets, the culprit intends to blow up the train in any case.
A journey that will never reach its destination, because only death awaits them at the end of this affair.