It had been three days since Emily's original driver, Lawrence Rider came to visit his engine again. He had been enjoying himself on Sodor during his time with Emily. Now, morning had come to the island. When Lawrence woke up, he felt as though he wanted a chance to ride on a train again. As such, he arranged to ride on Gordon's night express. He had just purchased his ticket at Knapford Station and was quite excited.
"I'll be riding on an express on Sodor, Emily," he said as he left the platform.
"I hope you enjoy the ride, Lawrence," wished Emily.
"Thank you, dear," said Lawrence. And he left the station to go about his business while Emily kept on with her work. But after she left, Seymour Murphy came out of the Fat Controller's office after listening in on what Lawrence had said. Then he left to tell Sailor John about his next plan.
He returned back to his home and saw Sailor John waiting…and there was another man sitting beside him on the sofa. They were talking quietly together about something.
"Johnny…what is Kurt doing here?" inquired Murphy. Kurt was another one of Sailor John's henchmen, with a lean body and blue collar shirt.
"Excuse me, Kurt," Sailor John soothed. He got up and led Murphy into the kitchen for a whisper.
"Murphy, do you really think you can kill that emerald's driver on your own? They'll find out it was you in the end," said John.
"I MUST do it!" Murphy hissed angrily. "I loathe the Stirling Class, and I therefore loathe anyone having to deal with them!"
"You kill him alone, you have nowhere to hide from the law. You need leverage…and Kurt is your best chance at that."
"And just how does having him kill Lawrence give me my chance for revenge?" asked Murphy.
"You'll get your revenge, Murphy," said Sailor John. "I just thought that you'll need a setup for a shield. You kill Lawrence…but let the blame fall upon Kurt."
Murphy's eyes widened a little, then he grinned. "Well, when you put it that way…I suppose I can accept your offer."
"Lovely," said Sailor John.
"But don't you think we'll need a little diversion?" asked Murphy.
"Yes…but how?" asked Sailor John.
"We'll need something to distract the other passengers while I…take care of Lawrence. Have you a roll of dynamite?"
Sailor John nodded and Murphy began whispering something to him…
Later that evening, Sailor John and Murphy were at Henry's tunnel on the bridge…with a roll of dynamite and a shovel.
"This is the very spot, Johnny," said Murphy. "It's perfect. When Gordon derails, they won't see what I do on board…"
"No indeed," smiled Sailor John. "Am I clear to perform the landslide?" Murphy looked through binoculars far down one way…then turned around and looked down the other way.
"Yes. Make your move," he whispered. Sailor John winked and ran over to the hill beside the tunnel, just beyond the bridge. He laid the dynamite down, lit it and ran away. There was a dull explosion, churning up a great deal of earth and stone. Most of it slid down, blocking the line. Then Murphy handed the shovel to Sailor John so he could dig up the rest of the loose earth and pile it up on the line. When he was finished digging, the earth and stone was almost two feet high. Not very high, but enough to derail a fast-moving engine.
"Perfect, Johnny," said Murphy. "Gordon will be coming straight through here. Now, I must get my ticket for tonight's express. Kurt will need one too, so you better go back and tell him.
"Delighted, Seymour," Sailor John grinned. "And after that…it's just a matter of time before my revenge will be at long-last fulfilled…"
As night fell over Sodor, Gordon was waiting at the platform with his coaches for his passengers to arrive, when Seymour Murphy and the Fat Controller's doctor, Dr. Frederick arrived.
"Ahh, good. You're here, Gordon," said Murphy. "I'm looking forward to this ride."
"Thank you, sirs," said Gordon. A few minutes later, the passengers all arrived. Lawrence was amongst them to ride in the sleeper carriage. Gordon waited while the passengers boarded the express. He didn't see one particular man amongst the crowd though. That man was Sailor John's henchman, Kurt. He quietly placed himself inside the main passenger carriage, but not before winking to Murphy, who winked back, then boarded the carriage with Dr. Frederick.
Gordon's guard was about to close the last door and blow his whistle, when Detectives Phelps and Gallagher suddenly came by.
"Sirs? What are you two doing here?" asked Gordon.
"We've been investigating a case of several mysterious casualties on Sodor, Gordon," said Phelps. "We've already solved one major case, but we just want to keep an eye on board your train, just in case."
"Very well, sirs," said Gordon. "All aboard."
Murphy's heart jumped when he looked outside and saw the detectives. Having them on the express wasn't part of his plan at all. But he said nothing at all as the guards whistle blew, and Gordon set off with the express.
"Express coming through!" he called into the night.
On board the express, Phelps and Gallagher sat together by the window. Murphy and Kurt were sitting on the other side by the other window. He could see Phelps and Gallagher clearly thinking about something, as if they were waiting for something to happen. After a while, Murphy got up and pretended to stretch.
"I'm tired, Kurt," he said. "Shall we go get some sleep?"
"Don't mind if I do," said Kurt. And the two men walked calmly down the carriage, until they reached the sleeper carriage. They went inside and closed the door behind themselves.
"Right. Now…where's my adversary's first driver?" whispered Murphy. Kurt quietly checked each passenger's bed. He silently checked behind the curtains of each bed compartment…until he tapped Murphy's shoulder and ushered him over.
"Is this him?" he whispered very quietly.
"Yes, Kurt. Good work," Murphy winked.
Lawrence was fast asleep with the other passengers…and Murphy and Kurt were in the perfect setup. Murphy reached into his pocket and put on a pair of black gloves to avoid finger print evidence from his actions. Kurt was all set to kill Lawrence. He began to step forward, but Murphy held him back.
"Not quite yet, lad," said Murphy. "Wait for the alarm to sound…"
"Fine," whispered Kurt. Both men kept their eyes right on Lawrence. They dared not make a sound while the passengers slept through the trip. Murphy grinned impressively. After working with Sailor John ever since his escape, he would finally get his turn of profit for helping the pirate. Then it happened. Through one of the open windows of the carriages, the passengers heard a warning.
"Landslide ahead!" called Gordon's driver. Gordon looked and gasped. He saw the landslide blocking the tunnel. He applied the brakes and they screeched loudly against the rails.
Murphy heard the brakes and knew this was it. "Let me through!" he whispered as he shoved Kurt aside. He stood over Lawrence…and suddenly drew a syringe full of morphine from his coat pocket. He suddenly bent down, and drove the needle into Lawrence's neck. Lawrence's eyes bulged open and he winced in agony…then suddenly went limp.
In that instant, Murphy swept out of the carriage, placing the syringe in Kurt's ungloved hands. Kurt almost followed…when he was suddenly thrown off his feet, dropping the syringe. Gordon had hit the landslide and swerved to the right, his front getting buried in more loose earth. His coaches derailed behind him, but luckily did not overturn. However, that did stir up all the passengers.
Both detectives were surprised by the sudden crash too. "Heavens! What was that?" exclaimed Phelps.
"Murder!" a woman cried out from inside the sleeper carriage. "Murder on the express! He's dead! Lawrence is dead!"
"Mr. Lawrence Rider, Dan! He's dead! Dead!" shouted Gallagher.
Phelps and Gallagher immediately rushed inside and saw Lawrence's lifeless body…and a line of blood painted down his neck.
"Dr. Frederick! Get in here!" Gallagher demanded. Dr. Frederick came inside behind the two detectives.
"You check the body, Doctor. I am searching out the passengers," said Phelps.
"How much do you suspect, Dan?" asked Gallagher.
"Me? I suspect everybody till the last minute…" Phelps winked. While Dr. Frederick examined the body Phelps marched back into the passenger carriage.
"Turn out your pockets, ALL of you! NOW!" Phelps demanded. All the passengers reached into their pockets, revealing nothing more than handkerchiefs, pocketbooks and tickets. Murphy was the only one who had anything more than that. He had a gold pocket watch and gold chain. But he had hidden the gloves within his shirt during the crash.
"Hmm," said Phelps. He remembered seeing Kurt before the crash…but now he was nowhere to be seen. "The killer had to be on this train. There's no way one could slip onboard, kill Lawrence then run off again, undetected."
Unfortunately, Phelps was gravely mistaken. Earlier in the derailing panic and confusion, no one saw Kurt open the sleeper carriage's door, get out, shut it again and disappear into the night. By now, he was far away, running back to Murphy's house.
Back in the express coaches, Dr. Frederick was examining the body, while the by-standing passengers waited in fear and worry for any answer. Phelps came back inside.
"What's the result, Doctor?" asked Phelps.
Dr. Frederick stood up. "Dead as doomsday, but he wasn't killed by the accident. He's been injected with morphine, right through the side of the neck. I'll transfer him to the SPD to confirm an autopsy, and hopefully discover the murderer."
"My God…" Gallagher gasped as he gazed at the blood. "Here's the syringe, Dan." But as Phelps took the syringe, he suddenly remembered. Kurt wasn't the only one who went inside the sleeper carriage. He hurried back to the main express carriage, right back to Murphy.
"Seymour! Do you know anything about this murder?" interrogated Phelps.
Murphy was being clever again. "I was about to settle in with the other passengers…but then I saw Kurt standing over Lawrence…I tried to stop him, but when we heard the warning, he made his move. I tried to stop him, but then we both fell off our feet with the crash."
"Really? Then why were you running out back in here when we crashed?" inquired Phelps.
"Oh. Well, I wanted to warn you about the sudden death, but I was too late to stop him. It was all him. So unfortunate he slipped out before I could hand him over."
"He escaped?" Phelps asked very quietly.
"Leave him to me, sir," said Murphy. Phelps finally turned away to join Gallagher again.
"Who's the killer? Do we know yet?" asked Gallagher.
"…it's unsolved," said Phelps. "We have work to do."
Rocky was called in to help Gordon and his coaches back on track. Jack was called from the Construction Company to clear away the landslide. Eventually, Lawrence's body was taken away by Dr. Frederick to take to the SPD, and Phelps and Gallagher left to spend the night in a vacancy, then return to the SPD, while Gordon carried on with the express, feeling rather iffy after what had happened.
The next morning, Emily was back at Knapford Station, preparing for her own passenger run for the day. She had been expecting to see Lawrence again so he could tell her about his ride on the express, but no one had said anything about him. Thomas stopped beside her.
"What is it, Emily?" he asked.
"I'm wondering about Lawrence," said Emily. "I thought he'd come by to tell me about his ride on the express, but I haven't seen him…"
"Hmm…He must be busy," said Thomas. "Who knows?" And he huffed on for his Branch Line. Emily sighed and set off for her day's work.
Meanwhile, at the SPD, Phelps and Gallagher were talking to the chief about what had happened on the express.
"It was just so sudden," said Phelps. "Murphy and this lad named Kurt went inside the sleeper carriage to get some sleep…or so they said. Not long after, we heard Gordon's driver shout of a landslide due to the open windows."
"Then after the crash, panic ensued and we discovered Lawrence's' body," said Gallagher.
"Murphy claims that Kurt killed Lawrence," Phelps continued. "I intend to check the fingerprints on the syringe to investigate further."
"I see," said the chief. "If Kurt is the murderer, you must find him and arrest him as soon as possible."
"We'll have to wait for the autopsy to be sure," said Phelps.
"Well, for that matter, I hope the autopsy is completed soon. You're dismissed," said the chief. With that, Phelps and Gallagher got up and left the office.
"What shall we do?" asked Phelps.
"You check the fingerprints first…then I say we talk more with old Murphy," suggested Gallagher. "I would like to know what input he had on the matter…"
"I'm not sure…but after all, why not? If so, that would explain everything," said Phelps.
So Phelps took the syringe to be checked very closely for the fingerprint pattern. Once he managed to get a picture of the fingerprint, he kept it safe with him, then set off with Gallagher to find Murphy for more information…
That night, when Gordon returned to Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas saw him looking alert and a little afraid.
"Gordon…are you alright?" asked Thomas.
"Ohh…Thomas, last night was frightful!" Gordon shook. "I ran into a landslide by Henry's tunnel…and my entire express got derailed!"
Emily suddenly looked alert. "Was anyone hurt?" asked Thomas.
"No one was hurt," said Gordon. "But…" he almost thought of mentioning what happened, but he was so shocked by that event, he couldn't speak it. "It was a nightmare!" he finished.
"Lawrence was on that express…" Emily said, sounding a little frightened. "I do hope he's alright. I still haven't seen him…"
"Maybe he was just frightened and didn't want to tell you anything shocking, Emily," said Thomas. But unfortunately, Thomas was very wrong, and Emily would soon learn a tragic truth…
The next afternoon, Phelps and Gallagher were back at the SPD, still discussing the matter, when they suddenly got a knock on their study door. Dr. Frederick came inside with a serious look on his face.
"Murphy was right, sirs," said Dr. Frederick. "It was indeed Kurt who injected Lawrence. I checked old fingerprint records…and I think they match."
"I thought so," said Phelps. "Let's check with Murphy once more. He might help us find Kurt."
Only an hour later, Murphy and Kurt were inside his house…when someone knocked at the door.
"John! Hide!" Murphy whispered. "I'll manage this." Sailor John scurried into the basement, while Murphy opened the door.
"Detectives Phelps and Gallagher," said Phelps. "Mr. Murphy, it seems you were right. Kurt did kill Lawrence. If you don't mind…can you point out where he is?"
"Just a moment, sirs," said Murphy. He left the doorway, and in one minute, he was back, with Kurt.
"There you are!" exclaimed Phelps. "You killing beast!"
"Yes. This miscreant must have been acting under Sailor John," said Murphy. "You should know better, Kurt."
Phelps seized Kurt and cuffed him. Gallagher ran to the nearest telephone booth and called a police van. Kurt struggled and protested, but before he had a chance to mention Murphy's involvement, one of the officers struck him with a police club and tossed him in the van to imprison and sentence. Phelps and Gallagher went back to the SPD and collected a fingerprint sample from Kurt. The sample was then taken to Dr. Frederick to check if the sample matched the syringe's print. It matched perfectly.
"Well, it seems Murphy was truthful this time…" said Phelps, still a little suspicious. "But, this case is at least closed now."
"Dan…" Gallagher said, a little gravely. "We were busy yesterday and the night before…but I think we need to tell Emily…as much as I don't want to…"
"Oh dear…" Phelps sighed. "Perhaps we should…"
That evening, Emily had just returned to the yards after her day's work. She was really wondering about Lawrence and why she had not seen him for two days. She began to worry…then she heard someone call her name.
"Emily?" She looked, and saw Phelps and Gallagher walking towards her.
"Sirs? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We've been very busy for the past two days, working on another case…about Gordon's express," said Phelps. "But…we have something to tell you. It's urgent."
"What is it?" asked Emily. "Is it about Lawrence? I haven't seen him for the past two days! Do you know anything? How is he?"
Phelps looked down for a moment or two.
"Please, where is Mr. Rider?" Emily asked urgently. Phelps suddenly looked up again…and held out a driver's hat.
"I'm afraid…Mr. Rider has been lost," he said sadly as he placed the hat on Emily's lamp iron. "He was injected with a morphine syringe…on board Gordon's express. One of Sailor John's crewmen had stowed away on board. I'm very sorry, Emily."
Emily had heard everything and felt her heart stay still. Her original driver was gone…just after he came to visit her again. It was quite a shock indeed. Even though she had not seen him for many years, to lose him just after seeing him again was very shaking for her. Phelps and Gallagher removed their hats and bowed their heads, remaining silent. When they looked up again, they saw Emily's eyes beginning to water. Then she began to speak.
"Lawrence Rider was a…" she closed her eyes as two large tears trailed out. "Wonderful driver. The kindest and most relatable driver…that any engine could have…but he knew the risks, as we all do. I'm just so grateful I got to see him again while I still could. Thank you for telling me, sirs. Rest in dear peace, Lawrence Rider. Amen," she concluded. With that, she huffed slowly out of the yards.
At Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas saw that Emily did not talk at all. She didn't even look at any engine. Not even after the other engines fell asleep. Finally, Thomas broke the silence.
"Emily, what happened?" asked Thomas. Emily looked at Thomas with quivering lips.
"L-Lawrence…" she whispered. "He…he was…"
"What, Emily?" said Thomas.
"He was killed…on Gordon's express!" she finished before sobbing heavily.
Thomas gasped then nearly cried himself. "Oh no…I'm so sorry, Emily…"
"It just happened so suddenly…and after he just met me again!" sobbed Emily.
Thomas could not help but wonder briefly about his little talk with Emma on that foggy night. It made him suspicious again…if Sailor John had something to do with this.
"We're all here for you, Emily," soothed Thomas. "I'm sure Lawrence is watching over you as we speak…"
"Oh…Thomas!" Emily sobbed. "It's so terrible!" Thomas turned to Emily's berth and buffered to her.
"It's alright, Emily," he whispered. "Just cry as much as you need to. I'm right here…"
Emily felt pleased to have Thomas comforting her yet again. She spent most of the night crying into Thomas' hold until she finally stopped crying and fell asleep with him. That very night, after so much had happened on Sodor, most of the engines involved in some of the horrific events could not help but begin to raise their own theories about why all these terrible things had happened and what the answer could possibly be…but that's another story.
Right, so as I said, this is based on "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie, so it felt most appropriate to adapt it for a Thomas story, that and I love being dark and cruel in my stories whenever I can get the chance and/or get away with it. Introducing Emily's old driver and killing him off after only reuniting with her after so many years is one of those cruel instances. Yes, Seymour Murphy hates Emily and the Sterling Single Class, and anyone involved with them, hence why he murdered Lawrence Rider. Why? You'll find out soon enough, there's only one story left before the grand "climax". So leave your reviews, and we'll see you next time.