CLOVER

Railway

He must have noticed that the suspicions in Sir. Beddington's mind started getting higher. He tried to think of something, but his mind was just an empty train of thoughts. William knew what would happen if Beddington found out that it was Jennifer. Guilty or not, William would be a suspect. Scarlett knew William would have it hard to answer, but still, she waited. She also wanted to know. 
"At Jennifer's house."
"Miss Bonheur's?" 
"She is our main suspect for now. Tomorrow she is heading to London. Me and Miss Jones will follow her."
"Do you understand what you are saying? Your secretary might be Clover. YOUR SECRETARY!"-he screamed, throwing everything out of his desk. "You spent 2 years on this case, William, and now you are finding out that  Clover is someone who helped you with her own case?!"
"Sir--."
"How come you are realizing this now? Or do you want to turn yourselves in at last?"
"I knew where this was going."
"Am I wrong?"
"Of course you are, and I will prove it to you."
William left the agency furious, with Scarlett following him. 
"You can go home."
"Will we meet at the train station?"-she asked him unsure.
William didn't answer. He didn't want to answer. He left without even saying goodbye to her. Scarlett didn't follow him. 
4.00 am. The heavy smoke of his cigarette filled the room. After that, rage filled his body. Complete rage. His face was burning, and a wave of anger was hugging his body. He got up from his couch and threw the glasses away along with the half full vodka bottle that he drank minutes ago. He was sweating from anxiousness. The house was turned upside down, but that didn't bother him. He laid down on his couch. Sweat dripping on his neck. He removed his shirt carelessly. What's wrong, William? Are you afraid?

"Oh, shut up. Nothing scares me." 
That might have calmed him, but we both know that isn't true, William. Max, his dog, started barking continuously. It sounded like someone approached William's house.
-"Max stop barking for God's sake!" 
Max continued barking more aggressively. 
"Shut it, Max."-he sighed lazily getting up from the couch. William opened the door. His hands were shaking, and his eyes weren't fully opened. 
"What's wrong, Max? It's 4 in the morning, and everyone is sleeping."
Max walked a few steps away, letting William see a tiny cartoon box standing not too far from his doorstep. He got outside to check if there was someone nearby, but the streets were empty. 
"How did this get in here, buddy?"-he murmured with his cigarette on the left side of his mouth.
He got the box with him and went inside the house with Max following him. The box wasn't heavy. It almost felt like there was nothing inside of it, but something was spinning around as if it were a piece of marble. He sat on his couch, opening the box with a pocket knife. 
"What the"
Knock, knock, knock.
He tilted his head towards the door and got up to open it.
"Whoever you are, you must be a psychopath to be up this early."-he said as he opened the door. "Oh. How the hell did you find my house?"
She stood there speechless. She couldn't utter a word. He was standing in front of her, shirtless.
His body is in the most perfect shape, and his golden curls block his eyes. The pants were falling down to his waist.
"Did a cat bite your tongue?"-he asked her, almost tripping over nothing.
"Gosh, he is drunk too."-she thought to herself.
"Ginger?"-he snapped his fingers at her face.
"Can't you put a shirt on?"
"Why are you here? To criticize me at my own house?"
"The train leaves in 30 minutes. We won't make it in time if we don't leave now."-she said, walking aside him entering the house.
"Who said we are going together?"
"Oh my, is that broken glass on the floor? What happened in here?"
"Please leave."-he whined.
"How much have you been drinking?"
"Enough with the questions. The door is still open, and you can leave."
"Go dress up, I will be waiting in your not so clean couch."
"You are a real pain, Ginger."
William went on his room to wear a new suit as Scarlett sat down on his couch, trying to make herself comfortable. She noticed the open box sitting on the other side of the couch. 
"Trenor, what was in this box? Do you collect chopped body parts?"
"What? That was your first assumption?"-he answered while buttoning his shirt. "It arrived a few minutes ago. Max found it on the doorstep, but I didn't see who left it there. There was a chess piece inside of it."
"A chess piece? Haha, good one."
"Yeah, it was a white knight." William left the room wearing his brown blazer.
"Trenor, there is dried blood inside the box."
"What?!"
He checked the box, and it seemed that Scarlett wasn't lying. That was the strangest thing someone would mail to another. A chess piece in a box drowned with dried blood. 
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Let's go."
The carriage stopped 2 blocks next to the train station. William ran to book the tickets, and Scarlett was waiting to see if Jennifer would appear.
"Here are the tickets. Did you see her?"
"I think she left at 3. Look, that is the train turning back from London. That  must have been the first train for the day, the train Jennifer got in."
"Let's go."
They both got inside the train and sat on their seats. The train stayed empty for a while until it started moving.
"Did anyone get in except from us?"
"Maybe they are in the front cabins. Besides, we are the only two maniacs getting in a train at 5 in the morning."
"There were also two other ones who got in a train at 3 in the morning."
Scarlett laughed at his not so funny joke. The train started speeding little by little. William was looking over the train as if he were trying to find something. He couldn't sit still.
"Something seems wrong here. Let me check the other cabins."
He tried to open the door that separated cabins from each other, but it wouldn't budge.
"Strange. Can you try to open the door in the back?"
Scarlett got up, but her door wouldn't open either. William looked over the little window of the door, and so did Scarlett. There was no one.
"This must be a trap!" 
"Calm down. We will find a way out. The train will stop at its station eventually."
The train's speed started increasing, and things were falling from the tables. 
"I think the only station this train will stop will be the graveyard!"
They started panicking, trying to open the doors once again, but each tried the train, which speeded through the railway way more than before. William looked around to find something to break the glass of the windows so he could reach the other side of the door's handle. He stopped short when he saw one of the tables on the train having something in it. He checked his pocket to reach the white knight. He looked at it and then the table. The thought of it seemed insane but this was all some sort of a medieval puzzle. There was no other way to connect all the previous events with one another. He turned to see where Scarlett was standing and shouted the stupid question.
"Do you know how to play chess?"