Murder can occur ANYWHERE.

The Murder Occurs

It was a tiring day for poor Jane at work. She just couldn't bear it anymore that she had to take an hour off to consult her doctor. She was sure that she was having Migraine Headache. Her car stopped at the Los Angeles Railway Crossing. The train to San Francisco was about to pass by. The train was passing by and Jane casually looked at it. To her utter horror, she saw a person hidden by a curtain stabbing a woman whose face she could not see. 

It was just a quick glimpse in a few seconds, but Jane was sure it wasn't a Hallucination. It was quite natural for people having Migraine headache to have hallucinations but they usually realized after awhile that what they had seen wasn't true. But Jane was sure what she had seen was true. 

She rushed to the police station. The inspector immediately reached the next stop of the train and the 4th compartment was searched thoroughly but no body was found. The inspector told her she had been imagining things and calmed her down. He said these kind of things happened often these days. Over burden at offices set that right.

But Jane knew, for sure that she had seen the murder occur. But there was no evidence to prove her right. The occupants of the compartment had gone to have tea and snacks and they admitted that they had heard no sound. All occupants of the 4th compartment were present, so that took all doubts away.

Jane was a staunch supporter of justice. She believed that every person should be brought to justice. She could not bear it that a murder should go unpunished. But what could she do. After all it was maybe a hallucination only. Of course a murder does not go unpunished though, the person remains afraid that his guilt be exposed, he lives an unhappy, useless life but yet Jane was not convinced.

Jane's POV

I was so upset. I was sure utterly sure it was true. I then tried to forget about it and consulted my doctor. He advised me to take a few days off work and rest. He said it was nothing much to worry about, it was just that I was getting overworked, and then I remembered my nephew..... he was a private detective.....he had solved many tricky cases........ George West. 

I called him and requested a private audience. He told me he was currently travelling.......to San Francisco!!!! What a lovely coincidence it was!!!! I told him there was a murder on his train and I had seen it with my own eyes.

George's POV

I Utterly never expected this. I had heard that some stupid woman said there had been a murder on the train, but no body found. Everybody was saying the lady must have been mad. But certainly Aunt Jane wasn't mad. She was a quite clever and observant lady from his experience. Something told him that his aunt wasn't lying. She was very observant and nothing could miss her keen eyes. 

I had heard her tale. What she was saying was quite true. Even if a person had hallucinations, he would gradually come to know it wasn't true. And that certainly wasn't in her case. I was sure she had really seen the murder, but to make the police believe I had to find the body.

 I was sure the police would have searched the compartment thoroughly. Then he had an idea. That was the only most unlikely place the police would not have bothered to search.

It was getting dark. After the lights were off and everybody had slept, George reached the 4th  carriage. And yes, just as he had expected, there lay the body of a dead woman, stabbed 5 times to ultimate death covered by a clean white cloth along with the white pillows and bed sheets kept in plenty in a very small shabby and dark room in a corner of the 4th carriage.

George knew one thing for sure. This had not been a single handed crime. There was more than one person involved. Because to manage the thing so quickly and so cleverly was impossible for a person ALONE. The perfect opportunity had been seized. The motive was still unclear. But no one had been reported missing yet. That was the dilemma.

It was quite easy for the murderer after washing his hands nicely to just clean up the blood completely with a white cloth and then randomly rap four or five bed sheets around it and put it in the very end. So many pillows and bed sheets were never required but yet they had a stock. It was a cleverly planned crime.

Then I was surprised to get a phone call. It was from Aunt Jane. I grinned when I heard what she said. A Miss Hannah Wetherby had been reported missing and she was supposed to get off the train at San Diego but she hadn't reached her home and the Los Angeles inspector had called Aunt Jane to the station immediately. Now she was in the station. 

The train was coming from Tijuana to San Francisco. And she was supposed to have got down at San Diego but she didn't, she was murdered. No wonder no one on the train was found missing.

I told Aunt Jane to hand the receiver to the inspector. "Inspector Graves speaking" "I have Miss Wetherby here with me. " "What? You kidnapped her?" " No, no, I have found her body. And inspector, you need not panic. Give me a day, I'll hand the murderer red-handed to your clutches