Chapter 44:
A little later, in the early evening, William was in his bath. But he was not alone. He was lounging in the hot water with his lover, Julia. He smiled. The young woman had wanted to take a shower here since she had a corpse in her bathroom.
He had then had the idea of taking a bubble bath together, which she immediately accepted. She was lying on top of him, while he himself was lying on the ledge. They faced the large window with a spectacular, albeit static, view of Alaska. He had positioned his arms around her abdomen, stroking it gently as she placed her hands on his, sighing in satisfaction.
William kissed her wet neck, and he could see a purple mark near her jaw. The young man grimaced. With any luck, she would realize this once she was back in her own compartment…
"Julia?"
"Hmm?" she replied, distracted by his caresses.
"I found you skeptical when I told you about the train breakdown. Tell me what's bothering you." he prompted softly.
"Don't you find that strange?" asked Julia, turning her head towards him. "This breakdown there at the same time as the murder?"
"Yes, of course… I thought about it. And I'm sure it's sabotage. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about it, and I think anyone could have hidden skills to do this. I could only find out once in Toronto… It's serious."
"That's not really what scares me." declared the young woman.
"What do you mean?"
"What worries me is what this breakdown hides. Why a breakdown? Why was this time needed?" asked the young woman rhetorically.
William thought seriously about these questions. He had not seen it that way. He had rather wondered who had caused this breakdown and he was focused on this question.
"What do you think about it?"
"I…may have found something in the victim's stomach." confessed Julia.
William got up slightly, very surprised.
"Oh, yes? Something like drugs?"
"No, no, not at all. There is a lump in his stomach." continued the young doctor.
"Like an object?" William asked eagerly.
"I wouldn't want to speculate, but it could be the murder weapon."
The young man remained silent in shock. He could never have gone this way without Julia.
"The pocket tissues?"
"Yes... And I was thinking that the failure could have been caused in order to give the stomach time to dissolve the tissue or, at least, a good part... On the pocket tissues, there is, in general, the initials or the first name of its owner. This is not always the case, but it is a theory…" explained the young woman with reserve.
"Keep going…" William simply encouraged, open-mouthed.
"Tissue can dissolve in the stomach in five days. The return trip takes three days. Knowing that we would have had access to a coroner that when we returned to Toronto, we had to delay our arrival. But it was without counting on my presence." Julia joked lightly.
William laughed and kissed her cheek lovingly.
"Because of the violence of the murder and the breakdown, one can easily imagine that it was premeditated. So why an easily identifiable tissue handkerchief with initials or a first name on it? You will tell me; it may be a diversion. It may not be the handkerchief of the killer or an accomplice. But in this case, why go to so much trouble for the hidden? Because to put a tissue in the stomach of a corpse, passing through its throat… Well, you imagine."
The detective grimaced but said nothing, letting her continue her theory.
"In that case, let's imagine…" Julia thought for a moment. "The killer sabotages the train during the night, after the murder. He knows enough about it for him to stop but for it to be restorable. And the stop occurs far from any surrounding towns. Good…"
The young woman paused slightly, trying to put her thoughts back in place. William was literally overwhelmed by her quick-witted mind that was spinning at breakneck speed. She was made for him. He was even more sure now.
"He goes down to the engine room. Lamoureux also goes down there and attacks him. Only, it doesn't go as planned. His real weapon – with which he had decided to kill Lazare – falls to the ground during a fierce battle. Lazare does not let himself be done, the killer panics, takes the first thing he finds on him – his pocket handkerchief. He strangles him with such force that blood spurts out. His handkerchief is stained, he panics and shoves it into Lazare's stomach, telling himself that he can't come up with it and risk having the time taken to hide it or throw it out the window…" tried to explain the young woman.
"It would mean that he had decided to leave the murder weapon behind. On the other hand, he couldn't afford to leave the handkerchief with his initials on it…" concluded William.
"Exactly."
"That's all on its own, Julia. Honestly." said William impressing. "I was thinking about something too. For before the murder, why would Lamoureux have gone down to the engine room? Someone must have arranged to meet him. I would be surprised if he went there to check if the machines were working well…"
"It's certain." she reacted, shaking her head.
"But who could have arranged to meet him?" the young man asked suspiciously.
"Alecia Champagne? His lover?"
"No, she has an alibi for the time of the murder…"
"Yet they argued on the first day." added Julia.
"In reality, Alecia had asked him not to make the trip because she had learned that she was going to do it with her husband and daughter. Apparently, he had said yes, but he decided to make the trip anyway. She was furious, she was afraid that he would reveal the truth to Walid Champagne." explained William "No, I was thinking more of Nora Champagne actually…"
"Yet she too has an alibi."
"Yes... But not the Novak brothers, no, and let's remember that they are both very much in love with her..." the detective subtly declared.
Julia turned around again to meet her lover's gaze, gradually understanding what he was saying.
"Do you think she manipulated them into killing Lazare Lamoureux?"
"Or that she manipulated at least one. Bastien, for example, who does not seem as popular with her as his brother and who is also younger." William continued.
"And why would she do that?"
"Nora discovers her mother's affair with Lazare. She is angry because he has an infamous reputation, and she thinks he is manipulating her mother. And she fears that her father will not recover from this betrayal. She tells a lie to Bastien to manipulate him, making him believe that she was raped by this man. And since he has this kind of reputation, Bastien does not take long to blindly believe the one he loves and for whom he would do anything." imagined the young man.
He paused, thinking hard as he felt the young woman relax even more against him.
"Following this, Nora writes a false note in which she threatens Lamoureux to reveal their affair to her father and Lazare panics. If his relationship is revealed, Champagne will never let him board one of his trains again. And since I heard he had family in Sitka, it doesn't really help him. He goes down to the engine room and Bastien is waiting for him there to kill him on the orders of his beloved."
"It makes sense, William." replied the young woman, imitating her previous answer. "Are you going to interrogate Nora Champagne?"
"No, the Novak brothers rather…" concluded William.
"Ok." smiled the young woman before placing her back against William's chest and sighing contentedly.
Note: Everything seems to be slowly falling into place. I hope it's clear and that you manage to follow haha! Thanks to Ruthie Green who left me such nice comments on my previous chapters :)