The inspector watched the last forensic investigator leave and silently saluted their gullibility. No single person should be left alone with a crime scene at such an early stage of an investigation. Still, what is the point of power left unused?
Only a few hours ago, the now deathly silent dining car would have been a hubbub of talking passengers and clinking cutlery. The steady rattle of the Elipsos Trenhotel winding through Spain would have provided a rhythmic accompaniment to the pleasant setting.
Until the targeted diner was murdered and had dropped dead to the floor, of course. The detective imagined the frenzied scene with a hint of morbid delight. Anguished clutching of the stomach. The fall amongst clattering cutlery. The cries and screams and the futile attempts at resuscitation.
How many murders had he investigated (and imagined from piecing together the evidence), yet how few had he observed first-hand? Too many of the first and too few of the latter.
The body had now been removed by the coroner but its immediate surrounds likely remained unaltered. Only the scent of feasting lingered after the final passenger had vacated the carriage.
The inspector picked his way between tables with half-eaten meals left beside half-filled glasses. These silent sentinels marked the moment when this little world turned from cultured refinement to shocked despair.
In contrast, the adjacent kitchen car retained its clean and metallic cleanliness. Such a small space demanded efficiency and order. Most of the cooking implements had been cleaned and stowed once their use had concluded for the evening meal. The inspector noted, with a satisfied smile, wet ice moulds shaped like small mountains, on a counter. These unique ice creations were served in drinks for the Grand-class passengers as a signature of the train line.
The inspector continued slowly into the food storage area and found containers of Fillico water, neatly stacked amongst the other items served to Grand-class passengers. Only the most pointlessly expensive items would do for the repulsive elite.
Introducing the first half of the poison into the target’s regular medication had been difficult. The inert toxin spent the next few days embedding itself within the victim’s stomach lining, awaiting its activation. It had been a much simpler matter of adding the tasteless catalyst into the water specifically used by the Elipsos. By itself, the catalyst did nothing, but when it encountered its poisonous counterpart, painful death occurred in moments. The inspector regretted that the pain would have been brief, and that he hadn’t been present, but one must prioritise.
A devilish obstacle. A sublime solution. A necessary evil.
The detective picked up the shipping manifest and related documentation and replaced these with near-identical replicas. Just a few key elements were changed to point the investigation in a new direction. The originals were placed into a clear zip-loc bag and secreted within his worn jacket.
“Can’t have something as inconvenient as evidence messing up my plans. What point unused power, indeed.”
