Chapter 40:

At the end of the afternoon, Julia was almost starting to fall asleep standing up and she was hungry. She dried her hands and finally decided to take a break. She closed the bathroom door and opened the door to one of the cabinets. She reached out and opened a small cupboard that was there. Inside, there were sandwiches and drinks that were kept cold thanks to blocks of ice placed in waterproof bags. She took a sandwich, closed the various doors, and threw herself on the sofa. She ate quietly, feeling a small dose of energy running through her veins.

She suddenly heard a knock at her door.

"Come in!" Julia shouted, knowing perfectly well that it was, once again, William Murdoch.

Then she heard the door open and close.

"Julia?"

"On the couch…"

William then appeared in his field of vision, looking rather depressed.

"Everything is fine?" she asked him concerned.

He sat down next to her and sighed.

"Not really, I interviewed Alecia Champagne, and it didn't really go well. Walid insisted on staying and I had to reveal in front of him that his wife was having an affair with Lazare… He didn't know about it at all. He went completely livid, and they argued with such fury…"

"It's not your fault, William. You don't have to feel guilty. If these people make bad choices, that's not your problem. You are there to confront them with reality, that's all." Julia declared before laying a comforting hand on the back of the young man who immediately relaxed at her touch.

"Still, she told me he didn't know anyone on that train. They had argued because it had been agreed that he would sell his ticket and not be part of the trip."

"Why?" Julia asked curiously.

"Because she would be on board with her family. But in the end, he decided to come anyway, and it made him laugh to see her nervous and anxious apparently."

"Great couple what…"

"Apparently, he was constantly angry because Alecia didn't want to leave her husband. I think, on the contrary, he was very much in love with her…" sighed William.

"So, you haven't learned anything in particular."

"Nope. Simply that Walid was unaware of this affair and that Mr. Lamoureux had family in Sitka. He took this train once a month, he was a regular." said William. "Oh, and yes! She remembers seeing Marie Gosselin enter Madam Hébert's room around 9:10 p.m. as she walked with her family to the restaurant car."

"So, she is cleared at the moment. Innocent of the murder, in any case."

"Indeed. We will see if there were accomplices later. Either way, that narrows our list. I'm thinking of going to interview Matt Rojas and Magnus Duval."

Julia nodded thoughtfully. "You don't seriously think Magnus killed Mr. Lamoureux…"

"Why not?" William suddenly annoyed.

"Because he's not like that." Julia felt her heart pound in her chest at the look of jealousy on the face of the one she loved.

"What do you know about it?" the young man suddenly stood up. "You hardly know him."

"We also barely know each other." Julia said, her hand clenching on her sandwich as she sat on the couch, immediately regretting her last sentence.

"I see… If it's the same, then…"

Julia sighed as she watched the young man angrily slip away. She had not meant that. Of course, their relationship had nothing to do with the one she had with Magnus. They barely knew each other but she trusted him body and soul and she was completely in love with him. Besides, she did not want him to treat Magnus differently because of his jealousy...

Note: Ouch... Always the same subject that keeps them apart, it seems... Thanks so much for the review :)