Chapter 13 Thin-face Identified

The food that night was particularly good. It was our last night on the train, and Angus was determined to make it special. Judging by the looks on people's faces, he had succeeded. I only hoped that some of the food would be left over, for a poor starving waiter to enjoy. But it didn't seem as though any would be.

I was kept busy serving champagne. Mercer even allowed Sheridan some; but Mercer was still clearly not in the party mood, and Sheridan was looking blank, as if he had stopped thinking, or was thinking very deeply. I was pleased, however, to see that Xanthe was trying hard to get her father to enjoy himself. When the meal was over and the passengers demanded that Angus be brought from the kitchen, so that they could congratulate him, Xanthe was among the first to clap as he bowed awkwardly. The snow falling in the mountains outside added to the party atmosphere.

Nell was standing at the end of the dining-car, watching Angus, and I managed to position myself next to her.

'Xanthe wants to have a good time,' I whispered. 'Couldn't you rescue her from the rest of her family?'

'What's the matter with them?' Nell asked.

'Xanthe might tell you, if she knows,' I said.

Nell flashed me an observant glance. 'And if she tells me, you want me to tell you, I suppose.'

'"Yes, please, since you ask.'

'One day you'll have to explain all this to me.'

'One day soon,' I promised.

I went back to the kitchen to help with washing the dishes and to find something to eat. As I'd thought, there wasn't much. Afterwards, I started preparing the tables for breakfast the next morning. While I was doing that, Nell came in and sat down at the table I was laying.

'For what it's worth,' she said, 'Xanthe doesn't know why her parents are so upset. She says it can't have been something Mr Filmer said to them just before dinner, because that sounded so

silly.'

'Did she tell you what he said?' I asked.

Nell nodded. 'Xanthe said Mr Filmer asked her father if he would let him have Voting Right, and her father said he wouldn't part with the horse for anything. They were both still smiling and friendly, Xanthe said. It was just small talk, it seemed. Then Mr Filmer, still smiling, said, "We'll have to have a little talk about cats." And that was all. Mr Filmer went into the dining-car. Xanthe asked her father what Mr Filmer had meant, and he said, "Don't bother me, darling."' Nell shook her head in puzzlement. 'So anyway, Xanthe is now having a good time in the bar and the rest of the Lorrimores have returned to their own car, and I'm exhausted, if you want to know.'

'Go to bed, then,' I suggested.

'One of your better ideas,' she said. 'You've got a strange look in your eyes, though, as if you're planning something. What is it?'

'I haven't done a thing,' I said.

'I'm not so sure,' Nell said. She stood up and went off to bed. I knew that I didn't want to lose her. I had known her only a week, and my mind said that was not long enough, but my heart was already certain.

I walked up the train to talk to George Burley; he was in his office as usual. 'I showed that photograph around,' he said. 'Is that what you came to see me about?'

'Yes.'

'He's definitely on the train. His name's Johnson, according to the passenger list. He stays in his room most of the time, the attendant up there tells me, and never talks to anyone, except one of the owners who goes up to see him sometimes.'

'Really?' I said. 'How interesting.'

'It gets more interesting,' said George. 'The owner was up there earlier this evening, and it seems he and Johnson had a row.'

'Did your assistant hear what it was about?'

'Important, is it?'

'Yes, it could be very important.'

'Well, no, he didn't hear exactly. He said he thought the owner was telling Johnson not to do something Johnson wanted to do. At any rate, when the owner left, Johnson called after him, "You can't stop me doing what I like."'

'That's not much help,' I said, 'since we don't know what he likes to do — except that he can be violent.'

'I know,' said George, 'but I've got one more thing to tell you. My assistant has worked on the railway for over thirty years; he says he recognizes Johnson from before. Johnson used to be a railwayman, but he was sacked and now hates the rail company.'

'And he could know how to unhitch the Lorrimores' car,' I exclaimed.

'Exactly,' said George.

'But now we've got two people to worry about.Johnson must have told Filmer that the groom, Lenny, has gone, so Filmer knows that Daffodil Quentin is out of his reach. What will Filmer do next, and what will Johnson do next, now that he is threatening to act separately from Filmer? Do you think you could ask your assistant to travel in the horse-car-with Leslie, just to be on the safe side?'

'OK,' said George. 'No problem.' He set off immediately to see to it.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 534