That night, after Timmy had gone back to the sheds at Tidmouth, Thomas exploded in a rant.
"What right does Conan have to leave me in favour of some girl?!" he shouted. "I have more in common with him than she does, why's he picking her?!"
Luci, who had been the victim of Thomas' jealousy before, piped in.
"Conan may be bonded to you," he said, "but he's still his own person. You don't own him, so you can't control what he does."
"That doesn't excuse him abandoning me!" Thomas snapped.
"Conan's not abandoning you, he's living his own life," said Luci sternly. "He'll spend time with her and time with you."
"If that was true, he'd still come visit every so often!" shouted Thomas. "But he hasn't visited in months!"
"Alright, Thomas, that's enough," said Edward. "Luci's right: Conan's allowed to live his own life. Now let's get sleep: we got a busy day tomorrow."
Thomas huffed and proceeded to do so.
Ever since the Fat Director's trial had ended, Conan had been spending more and more time with Jewelie, to the point where he didn't work on the railway so much. I'm sorry to say this was making Thomas jealous: he couldn't understand what Jewelie had that he didn't. While Edward was patient, the other engines were getting tired of his constant ranting, even Emily and Luci.
At first, Conan wasn't very aware of that: Thomas kept his mouth shut around him mostly, though Conan couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling around the E2. It was late one afternoon when Conan arrived later than usual.
"And where have you been?" Thomas asked.
"I took Jewelie out to lunch," Conan answered. "She asked me to take her to this new place that opened and I did. Why do you ask?"
Thomas couldn't help but grit his teeth.
"Anything…else…you…did?" he growled.
"Well…I later went with her to one of her cheerleading performances," Conan answered, oblivious to the fact Thomas was getting angrier. "And after that, we just stayed in the park for a while."
"Is that it, really?" asked Thomas.
"Uh…yes. During lunch, we actually shared…"
"Oh, that's just great," said Thomas. "You share something with her and nothing with me."
"What are you talking about?" asked Conan.
"Like you don't know," said Thomas. "You've been spending a lot of time with that Jewelie."
"Of course I have," said Conan. "She and I…"
"Then where does that leave me?!" shouted Thomas. "You've been spending more time with her and less with me!"
"And? I can spend my days with whoever I want!"
"So that's your excuse to abandon me?! Your bonded partner?!"
"You don't own me, Thomas! Why are you so jealous?!"
"Jealous? JEALOUS?! I have more in common with you than that orange haired bitch ever will!"
"Jewelie's not a bitch, she's a great person! Much more than you will ever be you oversized failure of a shunter!"
Thomas could not believe what he had just heard! Conan's fury blinded him for a few seconds, but he soon realised what he'd said.
"So that's how you see me, is it?" Thomas growled. "Fine, I'd rather hang out with somebody who doesn't ditch me for a stupid girl."
And he steamed off angrily. Conan huffed and walked back home, now regretting his bond with the E2.
Thomas ended up running into Edward, who was quick to notice his foul humour.
"Is everything ok, Thomas?" he asked.
"Conan's ditched me in favour of that girl," snorted Thomas. "Even called me a failure."
"Are you sure you're not the one who ditched him?" Edward asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Did Conan actually apologise?" Edward asked.
"Well…I left before he could," Thomas admitted.
"Then I'd say you're the one who ditched Conan, not the other way around," said Edward.
"Well…he still shouldn't be hanging out with Jewelie more!" snorted Thomas, and he steamed off. Edward sighed.
Meanwhile, Conan complained about Thomas to Jewelie.
"He's just so stubborn," he said to her. "He feels like he owns me, nobody owns me! Well, except my grandparents, but they don't control my decisions! I wish I never bonded with that steam-powered brat!"
Jewelie just listened patiently, knowing what Conan was going through. She could tell he was upset and needed to vent. All the same, she couldn't help feeling concerned.
"Well, what exactly are you going to do?" she asked. "You can't exactly sever your bond with him."
"I'll figure something out," said Conan. "There's gotta be a way to do so. Just gotta do some reading…" Jewelie sighed, clearly frustrated by how stubborn Conan was being. She decided to talk sense into him.
"Listen, Connie. How many friends do you have, not counting Thomas?"
Conan thought about this, and sighed: Jewelie was right, he didn't have any friends. Thomas and Jewelie were the only real friends he had. Even so, he still wasn't sure if he wanted to forgive Thomas just yet.
"Maybe you can talk to Edward? He may have been through something similar," Jewelie suggested.
"Yes, I think I will," said Conan. "I'll do it when he and Thomas aren't together."
Conan returned to the station that afternoon, and walked up to Edward, who was waiting in Platform 1 with a stopping train.
"Penny for your thoughts Conan?" the K2 asked.
"Yes: the Water Bond: how would I be able to sever it?"
Edward was outraged!
"What on Earth is wrong with you?!" he shouted. "I know you're mad at Thomas, but that's no excuse to cut off your bond! Do you have any idea what that can do to you?!"
"Yes: we won't be bonded anymore," said Conan dryly.
"It's not that simple," said Edward sternly. "First off, you would suffer from dehydration, then you would be bedridden for months as the strength you shared with Thomas leaves you. And that's assuming that you manage to properly sever it without killing yourself or your partner. Even worse, it could be only half severed, and you don't want to know what happens to someone who fails to sever a water bond."
Conan gulped: suddenly, breaking the bond didn't seem like a good idea.
"Well," he said, "you had a water bond. Did you two get into fights when he spent more time with other people than you?"
Edward thought back to those days, and sighed.
"At first, I did," he confessed. "My partner did have another girlfriend in his teenage years, this was before the one who broke his heart. When he started spending more time with her, I too felt jealous."
"How did you get over it?" Conan asked.
"I wouldn't say I fully got over it," Edward admitted, "but we did talk to each other and figured out ways to evenly split time between us. This lasted until they broke up, mutual in this case. I didn't ask him why: I felt no need to."
"So you're saying I need to talk to Thomas?" Conan asked, as the guard blew his whistle.
"That would be the best solution," Edward replied, slowly departing the station. "I'd do it sooner if I were you." And with that, he was gone. Conan stayed around the station for the rest of the day, keeping an eye out for Thomas. It seemed, however, that Thomas managed to find ways to avoid being seen by him.
Eventually, Conan had enough and walked over to Thomas while he was resting in a siding.
"Thomas, we need to talk," he said. Thomas just glared.
"We've nothing to talk about," he said.
"Actually, we do," said Conan. "It's about our current issues. You know, you, me, and Jewelie…"
"I don't want to hear that name!" shouted Thomas. "She's the reason you've been ditching me!"
"Look, Thomas, I'm…"
"Stow it! I've nothing to hear from you! Now buzz off!"
"I'm trying to apologise, dammit!" Conan shouted.
"And what will an apology do? It won't change what's going on," growled Thomas.
"You're my only friend! My only male friend!"
"So? You only seem to care now," said Thomas. "Throughout most of this week, you've been spending more time with Jewelie and…"
"Not this again!" shouted Conan. "I told you before: It's not that I'm ditching you! It's… It's just that… I… think I'm in love with Jewelie."
"And where does that leave me?" Thomas asked.
"As my best friend," said Conan.
"If that were true," said Thomas, "you would be spending more time with me than her."
Conan sighed.
"I've had enough of this," he said. "IF you can't accept her, then I see no purpose in us anymore." And he walked back to the station. Thomas was unrepentant, even after Emily came over, having overheard everything.
"You really shouldn't be so possessive," she said. "Do you understand what love is?"
"No, and I don't care," said Thomas.
"Well, you should," said Emily firmly. "Love is different from friendship. Love is a strong bond between two people, a desire to be with them no matter what. And love can be shared with more than one person."
"I don't have time to listen to lectures," snorted Thomas.
"I'm not lecturing you, Thomas," said Emily. "I'm just…"
"Stow it!" snapped Thomas. "I have work to do, you big bossy boiler!"
And he steamed away, leaving Emily speechless!
"Never, in all my years, have I been talked to like that before."
"And his young age doesn't justify it this time," agreed her driver.
Later, Emily would tell other engines what had happened. They all agreed something needed to be done, but none knew what. So, Emily and Edward made a plan to confront Thomas that night at the sheds. The first thing they did was ask Luoc to help out with the Vicarstown night shift. Luoc had no problems going over to Vicarstown, and he was reassured by W&S #3 that the latter would look after Luoc's trains with no issue.
"If there is any issue," he said, "I'll have Lily handle it."
Emily also asked Olive to look after her evening express run. Olive agreed without asking any questions.
When Thomas was asleep, Edward stood on the turntable to make sure he couldn't escape. He then blew his whistle to wake him up.
"Whoa!" Thomas shouted, before spotting Edward. "Oh, hey Edward."
"Save the greeting, Thomas," said Edward. "You and I need to talk."
"What about?" yawned Thomas. "Can't it…"
"No, it can't wait until morning," Edward said firmly. "We need to talk about Conan, now."
"But it's late," groaned Thomas. "I need…"
"I don't want to hear it!" Edward shouted. "You owe Conan an apology and you had no right to call Emily bossy."
"She started it by nagging me!" snapped Thomas. "I've nothing to apologise for!"
"That's where you're wrong," said Edward. "Conan was trying to make peace with you."
"He's got a funny way of making peace," snorted Thomas. "If he wanted to, he actually would stop spending time with Jewelie."
"I'm sick of your selfishness, it ends now."
"Selfishness?! Conan's the one with selfishness! He's been ditching me for Jewelie!"
"NO, HE HASN'T! HE'S BEEN SPENDING TIME WITH BOTH OF YOU!"
"How exactly, Edward?! I've not seen him much lately!"
"He still comes by though: if he was truly ditching you in favour of Jewelie, he wouldn't be coming at all," Edward pointed out. "Can you really explain why he'd keep coming if he really was done with you?.
Thomas didn't reply, he couldn't! Edward had a good point: if Conan had abandoned him, why did he still come?!
"That's what I thought," said Edward. "Now, you may have noticed he tried to apologise and make up. I think you should let him and put this behind you. You owe him an apology too."
"Yes Edward," promised Thomas, "I will."
"Glad to hear it," said Edward with a smile. "And you'll also apologise to Emily: she wasn't trying to nag you."
"Of course, Edward," Thomas said.
Meanwhile, Conan was checking the night mail on his home, seeking more letters from his brother.
"Bills…bills…Newspaper…what's this?"
That particular letter had red-coloured stains. It also was sticky…for some reason. He unfolded the letter, it read, "Come find me." Conan couldn't understand why someone would send such a message. He looked at it, hoping to find more.
It was very hard to read, but it was there: "I murdered her. You're next."
A sudden chill ran through Conan's body: it was Henrietta's murderer, it couldn't be anyone else. He dropped it to the ground. Soon, he began to feel enraged. He only wanted one thing: revenge.
"You want me to find you? Find you I will."
He went to the kitchen, and armed himself with a knife, before he headed out, determined to find the killer and make him pay.
"It's self defence…This nutcase wants to kill me. Well, you mongrel, not if I get you first."
The next morning, it was Thomas who was keeping an eye out for Conan as he worked, determined to apologise and make things up. He kept a watch for his partner everywhere he went…but Conan was nowhere to be found. Thomas remembered what he'd said last afternoon, and began to feel depressed. A kind brake van was quick to notice.
"Everything ok, Thomas?" the brake van asked.
"I said something I shouldn't and now I'm trying to find my friend so I could apologise," Thomas answered. "But I can't find him anywhere."
"We've all been there," the brake van said. "I've had fights with many of my friends and some of them were scrapped before we could make up. Others were transferred away."
"Except he's neither been transferred or scrapped," said Thomas. The brake van sighed.
"You'll just have to accept it," said the brake van. "If your friend doesn't want to be found, you won't find him. The only thing you can do is move on."
At around the same time, Jewelie had arrived at Conan's house, eager to see if he managed to make up with Thomas. The sight that greeted her was not one she expected: his grandparents were on the front lawn talking to a policeman.
"What's going on?" she asked, walking on over.
"Conan vanished!" shouted his grandfather, anguish clear in his voice. "I promised my boy I'd take care of his children, but it seems I couldn't do that." Jewelie was speechless!
"Do you happen to know anything about this?" the officer asked her.
"How could I know? I just got here!" Jewelie pointed out. "Are there any clues?"
"All we could find was this." The officer handed her the note. Jewelie read it, and gasped!
"This…this is the guy who murdered Henrietta!" she shouted.
The police officer had a solemn look. Conan's grandfather began to fume with absolute fury.
"Aila! Where's my rifle?! And where's the cavalry sabre a friend gave me for my birthday?!"
Everyone was horrified: this was a 60-something year old man, acting like he still was the soldier he used to be.
"Mr. Owens, I think you should calm…"
"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!' Mr. Owens shouted. "MY GRANDSON HAS DISAPPEARED! I CAN'T BE CALM WHEN THAT HAPPENS!"
"And how is shouting going to find him faster?!" Jewelie shouted back. "It won't do anything but disturb the neighbours!"
"I'LL SHOW YOU DISTURB THE NEIGHBOURS!" shouted Mr. Owens. He raised a hand and was about to slap Jewelie, but the officer thought quickly and bonked a baton onto his head. Within seconds, he was knocked out.
"I'm not gonna lie, if he didn't threaten to hurt another child, I wouldn't have knocked him out," the officer admitted. He turned to Aila. "Take him inside, I'm coming with you: I'll need to handcuff him to the bed just in case he goes into another rampage when he wakes up."
"I'll help too," said Jewelie. It took a lot of effort to drag Mr. Owens: he was very heavy. The officer helped, but it was still a struggle. They were all exhausted by the time they got him onto his bed. The officer still wasted no time handcuffing him to the bed.
"Your husband needs some serious help," he said.
"Nonsense! He's perfectly fine," insisted Aila.
"Call me insane, but trying to slap a girl that isn't his daughter doesn't ring like normal to me," said Jewelie.
"She's right, Mrs. Owens," said the officer. "It's a clear sign he has problems."
"Anyone who went to war would have problems, especially after his best friend was killed at Isandlwana by those ***** Zulus."
"At least you admit it," smirked the officer. "I know a therapist who helped me through my PTSD, he can help your husband with his problems too."
"You went to war?" Jewelie asked.
"Second Boer, answered the officer. "Lieutenant John Stuart. I retired after the war and now serve in the Police Force."
"I see…"
"Anyways, this letter might be a lead to the murderer, if you excuse me…."
"What about the keys?" Jewelie asked. "We can't keep Mr. Owens locked to his bed forever."
"Good point," said Lieutenant Stuart. He gave the keys to Jewelie. "Here, you take them. Keep them safe. Place them somewhere out of his reach just in case."
After that, he left.
Later on, Thomas had just brought some coaches to the platform at Vicarstown. He was uncoupled and prepared to leave, when suddenly, a voice shouted, "WAIT! WAIT!" Jewelie came running over, panting as she did so.
"Jewelie?! What's got you in a hurry?" Thomas asked. He wanted to snark about how she'd stolen his best friend, but caught himself, remembering what Edward said.
"I don't know how you feel about me," said Jewelie, "and frankly, I don't give a crap. We have a problem: Conan's gone missing!"
"MISSING!" shrieked Thomas.
"That's right," said Jewelie. "Only clue I have is this." She showed him the note, which Lieutenant Stuart had agreed to make a copy of.
"So that's the bastard who killed Henrietta," growled Thomas. "I swear, I'll turn him into a pulp!"
"Turn who into a pulp?" asked the Fat Director. Jewelie handed him the note, the Fat Director read it and grew stern. "I get the feeling," he said to Thomas. "There is one problem though: we don't know where he is. And we're a rail company, not vigilantes, I therefore order you to stay out of this."
"Screw your orders!" Thomas shouted. "Conan's in trouble!"
The Fat Director was taken aback!
"Did you…just…"
"That's right, I said screw your orders!" Thomas shouted. "Orders don't matter when my partner is in danger! If he dies, I'll likely die as well, you know that!"
"Thomas," said the Fat Director, "I think…"
"He's not overreacting," said Jewelie. "I know: Conan demonstrated the Water Bond to me last December after steam came out of his nose. I've been keeping it a secret ever since."
"And why wasn't I told about this until now?" asked the Fat Director suspiciously.
"Well, at the time, your trial was still ongoing," said Jewelie. "After it ended, I guess it just slipped our minds."
"Oh yeah, that's right, I forgot to tell you about Jewelie," said Thomas sheepishly.
"In all due fairness, sir," said Edward, backing down onto the train, "somebody else would be bound to discover the secret sooner or later. It happened to my old partner a few times."
"First off, we should take this conversation somewhere no eavesdropping passengers can hear…and YES, I'M LOOKING AT YOU, KATHERINE!"
A woman, looking slightly like a harpy, growled as she entered the coach.
"Well, if we're going to talk elsewhere," said Edward, "you'll need to find another engine to cover for Thomas and I respectively." Hearing this, the Fat Director turned to his assistant.
"Call for 98462 to take this train," he told him. "As for the station pilot duties, we'll have to do without one. It'll be inconvenient, but it'll have to do."
Arrangements were made and the Fat Director drove Edward to the yard, Jewelie riding in the K2's cab. Thomas followed them. Once back at the sheds, they stepped down and walked on over to the front of Edward.
"Now then, what do we do about Conan?" asked Jewelie.
"As I was saying, you're not a vigilante, Thomas. How exactly do you plan on finding Conan?"
"I…I…"
"You didn't think this through, did you?" said Jewelie. Thomas looked down at his buffers. "Edward, you said the Water Bond allows person and engine to feel what the other feels. Does the bond also allow you to sense where the other is?"
"That's a good question," Edward admitted. "I've heard some people say it does, while others disagree. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't really be too sure: I never was in a situation where I needed to know where my partner was."
"Do you think I should try?" Thomas asked. "It's the best chance we have."
"You might as well," said the Fat Director. "I don't see any other choice we have right now."
"Alright, here goes," said Thomas. He began trying to concentrate. Nothing seemed to happen.
"Is…anything supposed to happen?" asked Jewelie.
"Shh! Let him concentrate."
"And when has Thomas ever been able to concentrate on anything?" asked 98462, steaming into the sheds. "He loses focus way too easily!"
"That doesn't mean he can't try," Edward said sternly. "Now hush, let him concentrate."
The Caledonian 55 did so, mainly because he was intrigued by what was going on. Thomas kept trying to concentrate, focusing all he could. However, he got nothing..
"It's no good," he said at last. "I can't see where he's going."
98462 snorted as he went to fetch his train.
"I knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate," he huffed.
"Never mind, Thomas," soothed Edward. "Nobody gets anything right the first time they try anything. Unless you get lucky, but that's a rarity."
"Since that didn't work, we're back at square one," sighed Jewelie. "So what do we do now?"
"A good question, indeed," admitted the Fat Director. "We could get the police to help, but they can't search for him all the time."
"Not to mention they're already on the case," Jewelie added. "His grandparents called them. They were talking to Lieutenant John Stuart when I got there." The Fat Director gave her an odd look. "He served in the Boer War," she said.
"I don't think police ranks can be carried over from the military," Edward pointed out.
"Perhaps he's a special case," said the Fat Director.
"Special case or not, how do we know they won't find him first?" asked Thomas.
A horrible thought crossed Jewelie's mind: Had Conan set out to get that murderer?
"G-guys…" she said, and the others turned to her.
"What is it Jewelie?" asked the Fat Director.
"W-What if…Conan set out to find the killer…on purpose?"
"That makes no sense: Henrietta wasn't his girlfriend," said Thomas.
"But, the letter did say, "Come and find me", You think…?"
They all went silent, realisation dawning on them.
"Oh shit…oh, fucking shit" muttered Edward.
"Thomas," muttered Sir Topham "Try again..and do not stop until we find him."
"Yes sir, of course sir," said Thomas. He began trying to concentrate once more.
Hours later, night had fallen, a snowstorm had begun, and Conan found himself near Crovan's Gate. He began to feel tired, and was thinking of returning home, where his grandfather had likely lit the fireplace, and…
"So you've come," said a voice. Conan stopped where he was. With the heavy snow, he couldn't recognize that figure…but he knew who that man was. Trouble was, the snow also made it hard for him to tell what direction it was coming from. He began looking around, trying to find anything that could indicate who spoke.
"Over here."
Conan turned, and there he was, wearing a cloak that covered him head to toe. Conan stared at the figure.
"You seem familiar," he said. "Have we met before?"
"Maybe, but it does not matter. You will be the next nail to pierce Noah's heart. Your death will compel him to do something that will cost him his life."
Conan suddenly gasped.
"It…it was you! You killed Henrietta!"
"That's right, and you're next!"
The man charged at Conan, but he sidestepped his attack, causing the man to trip on a stone. Conan ran off, the man chasing after him.
"Should I stand and fight, or run…this bastard wants to kill me…
He was interrupted in his thoughts when he accidentally mis-stepped and slipped down a slope. He landed on a part of the railway that ran under a road bridge, the man following.
"I've got you now, brat," he said. Conan, realising he had no choice, got out his knife.
"I'd like to see you try," he said.
The man also had a knife, and attacked, Conan barely blocked the attack with his own knife. The two traded blows, each attempting to strike the other.
Conan drew first blood, although not intentionally: after dodging an attack from the man, his blade made contact with an arm and sliced through it. The man screamed in pain, and dropped his own knife. Conan wasted no time: he grabbed that knife before the man could.
"Hey, give that back!" the man shouted.
"I don't think so," scoffed Conan. "You've lost! Now, I'll do to you what you did to poor Henrietta!"
"That's what you think," said the man, and he brought out a handgun. He pointed it directly at Conan. "Now, you can either hand the knife over or I can shoot you."
Conan wasn't sure what to do: the man would attack him if he returned the knife, and would shoot him if he didn't. Eventually, he made a decision.
"Nobody's getting this knife," he said, and he threw the knife into the air. It flew for a while until it was out of sight.
"You son of a bitch!" shouted the man. "That was a prize!"
"Nothing you steal is a prize," said Conan, and he charged towards the man.
Conan tried to stab the man in the heart, but the murderer was quicker and shot at Conan. The first bullet missed, but managed to trip Conan up. Conan decided to run for it, but the man shot at him again. The second shot hit him in the leg, preventing him from standing up. He came to a rest under the bridge, dropping his own knife. The man, delighted, began walking over.
"Look who's lost now," he said. "Time for you to say your goodbyes…"
"Fuck you," said Conan.
"Oh, I will," said the man, and he raised his gun towards the boy. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a whistle was heard. Thomas came rushing under the bridge, braking to a stop.
"You leave that boy alone!" he shouted.
"What's this? Bringing a little tank engine over? Hah, pathetic," snickered the man.
"Not just a tank engine."
The Fat Director and Jewelie stepped out of his cab.
"Jewelie…you're riding on Thomas?!"
"I'll explain later," said Jewelie, and she turned to the man. "If you don't leave him alone," she said, stomping on over, "I'll give you one big whopping."
"Not if I whop you first," said the man. He aimed the gun at their chest and pulled the trigger. But to everyone's surprise, nothing happened! "You didn't die?! Inconceivable!" the man shouted. "This is a Mauser, the latest gun out there! How could you not die?!"
"Looks like your gun jammed," Jewelie pointed out. "Now stand down."
"You better do as she says," said the Fat Director, aiming his own gun at the man. "Or else."
The man looked at them, horrified, then regained his grit.
"Screw you, Fatty!" he shouted, and took out a stick of dynamite. He then lit it up and threw it over to the bridge. It landed on the top of it.
"Uh, hello, I'm standing over here," said Thomas cheekily. "Looks like somebody needs glasses."
"Wasn't aiming for you," smirked the man. Thomas was confused. Then suddenly, the dynamite went off!
With a groan, the bridge began to collapse.
"If you want to catch me," said the man, "you better say goodbye to your boy." And he ran off into the night.
"Let's get out of here!"
Conan tried to stand up, but couldn't.
"Ow!" he groaned, clutching his leg.
"You ok, Conan?!" Jewelie asked, running over to him.
"Bullet broke my leg," said Conan, still wincing. Jewelie looked around, trying to find a way to ensure she could get Conan to safety. Then she noticed something about the bridge.
"Thomas, I have an idea, but I'll need you to do what I say," she said.
"Anything to help Conan!" shouted Thomas.
"Right, move forward until you're underneath the bridge, trust me."
The E2 didn't need to be told twice. He steamed forwards slowly, not stopping until he was directly under the bridge. Jewelie then grabbed Conan by the shoulders and began dragging him. Suddenly, it seemed like Conan was being lifted by the legs!
"I've got his legs!" shouted the Fat Director. "Now hurry!"
Thomas found himself holding the weight of the bridge, long enough for everyone to slowly get Conan clear of the bridge.
Eventually, he heard Jewelie shout, "He's clear!"
"Right, off we go!" he said, and reversed just in time. Once he was clear, the bridge collapsed onto the railway line. Everybody stared at the remains. Thomas broke the silence.
"Jewelie, I was wrong: you're a clever woman, and Conan deserves you. I'm sorry for how I behaved with both of you." The E2 looked down in shame. "I have no excuse for my actions."
The teens looked at each other, then at Thomas, and smiled.
"We could never stay mad at you," said Conan. "I was out of line too. I forgive you."
"I've nothing to hold against you," agreed Jewelie.
"I don't know what this is about," said the Fat Director, "but apologies aside, we now have a collapsed bridge on our line. This is surely to delay operations. I have a feeling the Sodor Island Council will blame me for the collapse, especially since we can't prove it was done with dynamite."
Fortunately, the Council proved to be reasonable: while unhappy with the damage done to the bridge, an investigation was quick to reveal the railway was not at fault. The council and NWR agreed each would pay half the cost needed to repair the bridge. Work to do so took a month to finish, and during this time, all trains had to run through Ballahoo. This caused significant delays for the line. The passengers didn't mind: the war had already delayed passenger trains. Nonetheless, everybody was glad when the bridge was finally repaired and things could get back to normal.
In spite of this, the Fat Director decided these delays would not be welcome when the war was over. Thus, at the next board meeting, he brought up the idea to double the line that ran through Ballahoo.
As for Thomas and Conan, they made up and became friends once more. Thomas no longer felt jealous of Jewelie, and even asked the Fat Director if he'd be willing to hire her. Though the rest of the board wasn't pleased to have a woman working on the railway, Lord Harwick and the Fat Director managed to get her a job selling tickets, with both promising to eventually get her into a position that would allow her to work alongside the engines no matter what.
That said, one question still remained.
"Who was that man attacking you?" Thomas asked Conan. "He was wearing a hood, but that won't help the police much."
"Honestly, I can't say," answered Conan. "He sounded familiar, but that's it. I don't really know."