Chapter 8:

He did not know what had woken him at this hour. The sound of wind and rain banging against the various windows of his compartment, or the shrill cry and commotion coming from the corridors of the train. The young man had then quickly straightened up, his heart beating. He stormed out of the softest bed he had ever slept in and quickly opened a curtain. It was still dark outside, and he wondered what time it could be. He put on the closest jacket he could find and unlocked his door. He stuck his head through to see Madam Savard's head also out of her compartment.

"But who could be screaming like that at this hour? Dawn hasn't even broken yet." she complained wearily, her eyes tired and her hair still tangled in curlers.

William rolled his eyes. Such a howl, it could only be important.

"Honey, come and go back to bed…" William heard the drawling voice of Mr. Savard, who was certainly still lying between the sheets.

The woman looked at William for a few moments then finally decided to enter the compartment again, to the great relief of the young man who thought for a moment that she was going to come with him. His detective instinct then took over and he almost ran out of the hallway. He hurried to where he thought the scream had come from and passed several heads peering curiously out of their compartments, eyes still veiled with sleep. He finally disembarked in one of the central corridors of the train and caught his breath when he saw Chief Inspector Brackenreid along with Walid Champagne and a few other passengers in front of a compartment. William walked over and spotted Colleen among the customers who had decided to come and see what was going on.

Inspector Brackenreid suddenly saw William approaching and turned to him, looking very displeased.

"Ha, Murdoch!"

When William was in front of him, he frowned as he looked around. He saw nothing. He simply noticed that in the open compartment was Madam Hébert crying on her bed while her maid, Marie, was mopping her forehead, as if she were about to breathe her last.

"What's going on? I heard a howl."

Brackenreid simply nodded and gestured to Murdoch, taking him by the shoulder to lead him away from the crowd, away from prying ears.

"Sir?" he asked curiously.

"Madam Hébert has lost her dog…" Thomas whispered, his face contorted by what William now understood to be frustration and anger at having been woken up for so little.

"Her dog?" William repeated stupidly. "Is that why she screamed like that?"

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Worrying even. I thought there had been a murder or… I don't know."

Thomas rolled his eyes, as amazed as William.

"The problem is that this lady is a great friend of Mr. Champagne. He asked me to investigate the disappearance of the dog…"

William remained unmoved. "I don't understand, I think."

"Yes, yes, you understand." Brackenreid laughed nervously, patting Murdoch on the back.

"But sir… The dog must have… Well, he must have fallen off the train." William whispered. "He wasn't even two centimeters tall."

"You abuse it. When could he have fallen? Her dog was in her room when she went to bed. He must have gone into hiding somewhere."

"Well…" William sighed and turned back to the compartment and saw with amazement that Julia Ogden had joined the small crowd.

She was in a nightgown, her hair braided to the side, and she met his gaze that William managed to hold this time. She finally looked away and the young man smiled to himself for being the strongest this time around.

Finally, William had spent a good quarter of an hour in the company of a completely devastated Madame Hébert. Her dog – Bobby – was never separated from Elizabeth. He was constantly with her and in her own words "he couldn't survive without her". She had had him for ten years now and she loved him more than anything.

"Find it! I beg you find it!" she pleaded, her eyes watering.

William had come out of the compartment and closed the door behind him, deep in thought. He had found Marie quite silent in reality.

"Obviously the same person stole my watch."

The young detective turned to the hallway door to find Julia Ogden leaning against the door frame. She straightened up with her hands clasped in front of her.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, it's obvious there's a thief on the train." she declared haughtily, approaching him slowly.

William could not help but sigh in annoyance and roll his eyes. "But that's completely unrelated. Madam Hébert has lost her dog! She hasn't lost an item."

"I haven't lost my watch." Julia insisted, her cheeks immediately turning red with annoyance. "Someone stole it from me."

"Ok." laughed sarcastically William, who immediately regretted inwardly.

In fact, he wanted to provoke her and make her angry. He did not know where that need came from. He did not understand his own reactions in the presence of the young woman.

"Didn't you ask your blond-haired friend then? Maybe he stole it from you while he was keeping you company last night."

Julia smiled falsely. "You mean Magnus. He didn't steal my watch."

"Well, then if 'Magnus' didn't steal it from you, you lost it. Just like Madam Hébert's dog has surely run away and is now hiding in a corner of the train. Probably under a table." reasoned William in turn, haughtily.

Julia raised her eyebrows, unconvinced. She nodded slightly and turned to walk away. The detective finally breathed as she closed the hallway door behind her. This stay started really well… And now? It was 6:30 in the morning.

Note: This stay begins really well... How could the relation of William and Julia evolve. Did Madam Hébert's dog just run away? And where is Julia's watch after all? Maybe she really lost it.

Thanks for the last comment! It makes me really happy. But maybe everyone is nice and perfect on this train, who knows? ;)