Chapter 35:

Later, Julia was sitting on a chair in the main carriage. She was literally exhausted and the still bright light outside was not helping.

She watched William chat with Walid Champagne and the driver Pierre Barton. She had found him so impressive. Watching him do his job had been truly fascinating. He was so smart...

After it was revealed that all the passengers, apart from Pierre Barton who was driving the train, were suspected of murder, William dispersed the crowd. He had asked them to return to their compartments, quietly, and he had informed them that if he needed anything, he would come to see them personally. The crowd had then dispersed, the passengers still in shock and the room had emptied. William had asked Julia to stay and only Pierre, Walid, and Chief Inspector Brackenreid remained.

"Julia…" William suddenly called out to the young woman in a small voice as he approached her.

She smiled at him. "Are you alright?"

"It is complicated…"

"What happened then?" asked Julia worriedly.

"Well, the breakdown is real and has nothing to do with the murder." began William.

"You mean it wasn't Pierre who braked suddenly?"

"No, the train has stopped. A big breakdown and we won't be back for more than a day at least... Until Zachary Lauzon and Pierre Barton fix it..."

"Oh… More than a day…" Julia sighed. "We are also in the middle of nowhere."

"Literally. The nearest town is 420 kilometers from here…"

Julia could not help but laugh nervously at the situation.

"When the train stopped, Pierre Barton went down to the engine room and discovered the body."

"In the engine room?" Julia repeated, confused. "Then why was the body in the main carriage?"

"It was he who put it back here… He thought he was doing the right thing." William added, noticing Julia's grimace. "But that means…"

"…that the crime scene is polluted… It's annoying." finished the young woman. "What are you going to do?"

"Unfortunately, nothing…" William lamented. "We cannot estimate the time of death. It means that for the moment, everyone is suspect. Even questioning the passengers, it would be a monster mess."

"I can date the time of death…" Julia suddenly declared after a moment of silence.

William, who until now had his hands on his hips in thought, looked at her with wide admiring eyes.

"What? But how? You don't even have your medical instruments."

"I'll manage." laughed the young woman, waving a casual hand.

"Very well… But where do you think you are doing this? There is no place…"

"In my room. I'll be done by tomorrow night. If you help me carry the body to my bathroom, for example. It's not classic but we don't really have a choice…" Julia sighed, finally getting up from her seat.

"You are sure? Having a corpse in your room is…" William hesitated.

"We need to find out who did this. And the only way will be to date the time of death." she smiled quietly.

Note: Julia is going to do an autopsy! Thanks for reading, it's been a pleasure. And really super funny for the last review because precisely, at the start, when I had the idea, I almost gave up because I thought it was much too classic. Afterwards I said to myself : who cares, it's only a fanfiction, it's not like I'm writing a book haha! :)