Night Train to Murder

by Simon R. Green

  ‘When you’re a young reporter just starting out on the political beat in London, and you haven’t had a chance to build up your own stable of reliable contacts like the older guys, the best place to pick up useful information is in the bars around Westminster – where the people who work for the people in power go to drink, and try to forget the kind of day they’ve had. Just by being pleasant and personable, and keeping them company while they drink, and most importantly not bothering them with questions, you can learn a lot.

  ‘Everyone was talking about Sir Dennis being awarded an important new position he definitely wasn’t entitled to. I wasn’t the only one who found that suspicious. Sir Dennis has never been more than just another arse-kissing functionary. Word is he got his knighthood for warning someone in the last Cabinet that a fetish club they belonged to had been infiltrated by a tabloid journalist.

  ‘Anyway … an awful lot of people were spitting feathers over this new promotion, even if none of them seemed to know exactly what it was. Some were outraged because Sir Dennis was getting a job they thought the people they represented should have had, while others were taking it as a personal affront that they hadn’t been consulted. They’re a fragile lot in politics; they bruise easily.

  ‘I kept my head down and quietly eavesdropped in all directions while they took it in turn to bitch to each other. All I could make out for sure was that Sir Dennis had been appointed head of some really secret part of the MOD. Which was more than usually interesting, because no one with half a brain would let Sir Dennis anywhere near a secret that mattered. So how did he get the job? No one seemed to know – and these were people who prided themselves on knowing the kind of things most people never get to hear about.’

  Sita leaned back in her seat, smiling cheerfully. She was on a roll, so involved in impressing us with her insider knowledge that she’d forgotten we were the enemy and not to be trusted.

  ‘I smelled a rat,’ she said gleefully. ‘A sudden jump that far up the ladder could only be the result of nepotism, cronyism, bribery or blackmail … All tactics Sir Dennis had been known to use to get what he wanted but wasn’t entitled to.

  ‘Working the political beat taught me to be suspicious of everyone and cynical about everything … but Sir Dennis was in a class of his own. An openly corrupt, back-stabbing bottom-feeder, who’d only survived for so long because of all the dirt he could spill if he wasn’t kept happy. Not that unusual in today’s politics, but the thought of someone like Sir Dennis as head of an MOD department made my blood boil. So I decided to do something about it!’

  Sita finally lurched to a halt because she’d run out of steam and had to take a break to get her breath back. She looked searchingly at Penny and me, gauging our reaction to what she’d been telling us. I was perfectly prepared to believe her. I’d heard a lot worse in my time. And Penny took her cue from me. Sita seemed a little taken aback that we weren’t more surprised or shocked. I think she would have preferred it if we had been, so she could sneer at our naivety.

  ‘Don’t you find it disappointing?’ Penny asked Sita. ‘Never being able to believe in anyone or anything?’

  ‘Of course not!’ said Sita. ‘That’s what keeps me going! Searching for just the right story I can use to bring one of those arrogant bastards down. When you’re fighting power and influence and Very Important Scumbags protecting each other, the truth is the only weapon you have.’ And then she stopped and fixed both of us with a sudden scowl. ‘Speaking of which, who is it you work for, exactly? Because I’m telling you everything and you’re not telling me a damned thing. If I’m going to trust you, I need more than an obvious runaround like security to go on.’

  ‘Who do you think we work for?’ I said, with just the slightest of smiles.

  Sita started to say something and then broke off, as her mind tried to run off in a dozen directions at once. She sat silently, not even looking at Penny or me as she ran through all the possibilities. Or at least the possibilities she knew about. Underground groups survive because no one knows they exist, so if you’ve even heard of a group, the odds are they’re not that important. Several times Sita started to ask me something and then stopped herself. I decided to let her take a break, while I had her off balance. I’d learned a lot from Sita. Not enough to clear or incriminate her, but enough to give me something to think about.

  ‘That’s all for now, thank you,’ I said.

  Sita broke off from her deliberations to look at me sharply. ‘Really? I was only just getting started! There’s a lot more you need to know, and a hell of a lot more about you two that I need to know!’

  ‘For the moment, we’re just getting a feel for who everyone is,’ Penny said smoothly. ‘We’ll get back to you, once we’ve finished speaking to the others.’

  Sita looked at her narrowly and then at me. ‘You have to promise to keep me informed.’

  ‘When we know something, you’ll know something,’ I said.

  The look on her face made it clear she wasn’t at all convinced about that, but she got up out of her seat with a minimum of bad grace and stalked back down the aisle to her original seat, so she could settle down to some hard thinking. Rupert and Howard both took a break from their deliberations to look at her curiously, probably wondering what she could have been telling Penny and me for so long, but she didn’t even glance at them. Penny looked at me expectantly, but all I could do was shrug.

  ‘That was all very interesting,’ I said. ‘But we’re still no closer to figuring out who killed Sir Dennis, or why, or how they did it.’

  ‘At least Sita confirmed what we suspected,’ said Penny. ‘Sir Dennis wasn’t short of enemies. Any number of people had good reason to want him dead. Including people afraid of what a man like Sir Dennis might do once he had access to that kind of power and influence.’

  ‘But I didn’t hear anything to suggest that any of these political insiders knew anything about the Psychic Weapons Division,’ I said. ‘Professional jealousy might result in some parliamentary back-stabbing, but I can’t see it as a motive for murder.’

  Penny looked at me thoughtfully. ‘Do you think Sita knows about the Division?’

  ‘I doubt it. She wouldn’t be able to keep a story that big to herself. She’d be hitting us with all kinds of questions, desperate to dig some sort of confirmation out of us. A story about the Division’s existence would be much more important than the murder of a mid-level functionary.’

  Penny nodded slowly. ‘Do you think all that stuff about Sir Dennis was true? Was he really that bad?’

  ‘Wouldn’t surprise me,’ I said. ‘Sita was being very careful to report only what she’d heard from people in a position to know.’

  ‘But there’s always the possibility she only told us the things she did in order to avoid telling us something else,’ said Penny.

  I looked at her. ‘Like what?’

  Penny smiled ruefully. ‘That’s the point, isn’t it? We were both so fascinated, listening to her spill secrets from behind closed Westminster doors, that we never got a chance to ask her anything about herself. And I can’t help thinking that might have been the point.’

  I grinned at her. ‘You’re getting the hang of this interrogation thing. It is frustrating, though, isn’t it? Circling round and round the truth, knowing it’s there but never being sure whether you’re getting any closer.’

  ‘All right, what do we do now?’ said Penny.

  ‘Keep asking questions, and checking the answers against each other, until finally something sticks out.’

  ‘And if it doesn’t?’

  ‘Then we’re in trouble.’ I looked down the aisle to where all three passengers were conspicuously not looking at us. ‘I think it’s time we talked to Rupert.’

  ‘We are not going to browbeat him, Ishmael,’ Penny said firmly. ‘I think he might actually fall apart under rough handling.’

  ‘Unless that’s what we’re supposed to think,’ I said.

  ‘My brain hu
rts,’ said Penny.

  ‘Join the club,’ I said. ‘We have T-shirts and secret handshakes.’

  I called down the aisle to Rupert. Sita and Howard turned quickly to look at him. Rupert stared at Penny and me for a long moment, not moving. He looked like a man facing the prospect of his own execution. He finally took a deep breath to brace himself, got up from his seat and walked unsteadily down the aisle. His eyes darted back and forth between Penny and me as though trying to decide which of us might prove the most sympathetic. He sat down facing us and folded his hands together in his lap. And perhaps only I would have noticed he was doing that to hide just how much they were shaking.

  ‘It’s time to answer a few questions, Rupert,’ I said.

  ‘We’ll try to get through this as quickly as possible,’ Penny said reassuringly. ‘How are you feeling, Rupert?’

  He shrugged listlessly. His face was drawn and tired, and I only had to look at him to understand he didn’t want to say anything because he didn’t want to give away something that might be used against him.

  ‘Why are you on this train, Rupert?’ said Penny.

  ‘You know why,’ he said quietly. ‘And I really don’t want to talk about it.’

  ‘All right,’ I said. ‘What kind of business are you in?’

  ‘Import/export,’ he said diffidently. ‘Bit of this, bit of that. Always looking to find a gap in the market I can take advantage of. Just a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles … I used to have that on my business card, but no one ever got it. I never get to deal in anything big or important, but it all adds up to a decent living.’ He smiled briefly. ‘My wife has never understood why I feel the need to spend so much time running around, chasing down one deal after another. Julia always says she has more than enough money for both of us – and, of course, she does. But I need to be doing something, if only for my pride’s sake. And I am very good at it.’

  He stopped abruptly, as he realized how much his mouth was running away with him. He’d started out telling us about his business and now he was talking about himself. I watched him make a conscious decision to rein himself in and be more careful about what he was saying. He fixed me with a forced smile, ignoring Penny because she was the sympathetic one. He knew I was the one he had to convince.

  ‘I had never even heard of Sir Dennis before I got on this train,’ he said flatly. ‘I’ve never been interested in politicians. Why should I? They’re not interested in me.’

  ‘We all heard what Dee had to say,’ Penny said gently. ‘About why you’re going to Bath.’

  ‘Is it true, Rupert?’ I said. ‘Do you have a girlfriend on the side?’

  He winced, as though he’d been hit. ‘Please don’t put it like that. You make it sound so sordid.’

  ‘It is what it is,’ I said. ‘Unless you tell us otherwise.’

  ‘Do we have to talk about this?’ Rupert said desperately. ‘If I give you my word that none of it has anything to do with Sir Dennis?’

  ‘The more you don’t want to talk about it, the more we’re bound to think we need to know,’ Penny said kindly. ‘Please, Rupert, just tell us what’s going on.’

  ‘You’re not the first man to have an affair,’ I said. ‘What’s so special that you have to keep it a secret?’

  ‘Because I don’t have a girlfriend,’ said Rupert. ‘I have a boyfriend.’ He broke off to breathe deeply, as though searching for the strength to continue. He looked down at his hands, clasped tightly together in his lap, so he wouldn’t have to look at either of us. ‘I’m on my way to spend the weekend with him in Bath. We’ve been seeing each other for almost a year now.’ He finally raised his eyes and looked searchingly at both of us, to see how we were taking this. He seemed to find some reassurance in our expressions, and after taking a moment to compose himself, he continued.

  ‘Daniel and I are in love. He has to keep it secret, because of the way his family is, and I keep it quiet because Julia wouldn’t understand.’ He smiled mirthlessly. ‘I’m not sure I do. I still love my wife, I really do. But the time I’ve spent with Daniel has been the happiest I’ve ever known.

  ‘You have no idea how much trouble I’ve gone to, to keep Julia from finding out about Daniel. To keep everyone from finding out … that I’m not the kind of man I always thought I was. But I suppose, in the end, I was making so many business trips it was bound to make Julia suspicious. It honestly never even occurred to me that she might have me followed.’

  He looked at me steadily and then at Penny. ‘I love Daniel, but I still love my wife. I don’t want to hurt either of them. But … I have to be true to myself. Whoever or whatever that is. I’m going to have to make a decision, aren’t I? Before we get to Bath. I have to decide who or what is really important to me.’

  ‘What do you think you’re going to decide?’ I said.

  Rupert smiled sadly. ‘I haven’t got a clue. All I can be sure of is that, whatever I do, someone’s going to be hurt. Almost certainly me. All I really get to decide is who else I’m going to hurt.’

  Penny put a hand on my arm, and I nodded. ‘Thank you, Rupert. I think that’s enough for now.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ said Rupert. He looked too worn out even to feel relieved the questioning was over. ‘We haven’t talked about Sir Dennis.’

  ‘You’ve given us more than enough to think about for the moment, Rupert,’ said Penny.

  He got up and went back to his seat. Sita and Howard looked at him enquiringly, but he had nothing to say.

  ‘Well,’ said Penny, ‘that was interesting. But not terribly useful.’

  ‘It turns out the problem isn’t getting these people to open up, after all,’ I said. ‘It’s getting them to stop talking. And what secrets they do have don’t seem to have any connection to Sir Dennis.’

  ‘None of them feel like professional killers,’ said Penny. ‘Or clever enough to have worked out a way to get past us to Sir Dennis, without us noticing. If there was anyone else in this carriage to point a finger at, I’d clear all of them as suspects. But where does that leave us? Back with the invisible psychic assassin?’

  ‘I still don’t believe in him,’ I said.

  ‘Maybe that’s what he wants you to think,’ said Penny.

  ‘Really not helping …’

  And then we both looked round sharply as Sita suddenly launched herself up out of her seat and came striding down the aisle. She shot Penny and me a brief contemptuous glare as she stalked past us, before finally slamming to a halt right in front of Brian, still standing guard at the door. I didn’t make any move to stop Sita – partly because I thought I could trust Brian to keep his mouth shut, but mostly because I was interested in what Sita might have to say. Brian looked at her coldly.

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Just to talk,’ said Sita.

  ‘I don’t talk to reporters,’ said Brian.

  ‘Why not?’ said Sita. ‘Got something to hide?’

  She tried to say it lightly, but that wasn’t how it came out. Brian moved forward, and Sita quickly retreated a step.

  ‘You should go back to your seat,’ said Brian. ‘And mind your own damn business.’

  ‘Why?’ said Sita. ‘What is it you’re afraid I might ask?’

  ‘I’m not afraid of anything,’ said Brian, pulling himself up to his full height. And then wincing despite himself as his injured knee complained. ‘Least of all a muckraker like you.’

  ‘Come on, Brian,’ said Sita, doing her best to smile winningly. ‘You must have some idea of what’s really going on. You were Sir Dennis’s official bodyguard. What made him suddenly so important? And why was he in so much danger that he needed someone like you to protect him?’

  Brian just looked at her. Sita waited, bouncing impatiently on her toes, until she realized he had no intention of saying anything, and then she made an angry sound, turned round and stomped back to her seat. She’d gambled on bypassing me and Penny in the hope of getting more information out of Brian, an
d now she’d failed in front of everyone. She threw herself back into her seat and scowled angrily out of the window, so she wouldn’t have to look at anyone else.

  A thought occurred to me, and I left my seat. Penny started to get up, but I gestured for her to stay where she was and keep a careful eye on everyone. I made my way down the aisle to where Rupert was sitting. He saw me coming and rose quickly from his seat to stand in the aisle and face me.

  ‘None of what’s happened is anything to do with me!’ he said loudly. ‘Why can’t you just leave me alone? There’s nothing more I can tell you. Why do you keep hounding me when there’s a professional killer on this train?’

  ‘He has a point,’ Howard said mildly.

  ‘Damn right!’ said Sita. ‘You tell him, Rupert!’

  Rupert glared right into my face, so angry now he was actually trembling with the force of his emotions.

  ‘You must have some idea who was after Sir Dennis! Is the killer some kind of terrorist? Is that what all this is about?’ And then he stopped abruptly, as he realized what he’d just said. ‘A terrorist … Is there a bomb on this train?’

  ‘Calm down, Rupert,’ I said. ‘I just wanted to ask you …’

  But he’d already turned away from me. ‘Everybody! Listen to me! There could be a bomb on this train!’

  Rupert’s gaze lit upon the communication cord, and he lunged towards it. I had to grab him by the shoulder and haul him back. He fought me fiercely, desperate to get to the cord, until I had no choice but to bearhug him. His legs buckled as all the breath shot out of his lungs, until I was the only thing holding him up. I eased him back into his seat, patted him on the shoulder and then turned around to address the rest of the compartment in my most reassuring voice.

  ‘There’s no need for anyone to panic. There is no bomb planted anywhere on this train.’

  ‘You can’t be sure of that!’ said Sita. She looked genuinely worried. ‘You haven’t had time to search the whole train.’

  ‘I can be absolutely certain there isn’t any bomb,’ I said patiently. ‘Because if there was, the killer wouldn’t have needed to kill Sir Dennis personally, would he?’