Murder on the Orient Espresso(37)

I couldn’t tell if the commemorative cake had been cut with Pavlik’s Swiss Army knife or just gnawed off.

‘Oh, dear,’ said Missy. ‘I never did put the plates and forks out.’

Oh, dear, indeed. ‘I hope the cleaning team has a vacuum.’ Or a sheepdog. My Frank would make quick work snuffling up the leavings. Hell, at this point I was nearly hungry enough to do it myself.

‘We lose our deposit if we don’t return the train spic-and-span, so I’m afraid that little task falls to me,’ Missy said unhappily.

I knew I should offer to help, but the truth was I was downright exhausted. It had been a very full day since we stepped onto our plane at Mitchell International in Milwaukee. ‘Shouldn’t the train be pulling into the station soon?’

‘Yes, but I fear the rain has slowed us down. Haven’t you noticed we’re barely creeping along?’

Honestly, no. But now that she said it – and I’d become accustomed to the train motion – it did seem as though the critters in the Everglades could probably have outpaced us.

Missy stopped at the cake to rectify the plate situation, though I wasn’t sure why she bothered. The crumbs that were left in the flat box required a thimble at most.

Resigning myself to a not unpleasant – if perhaps ill-advised – liquid diet, I continued on to what had been the first car on the train and now was the last: the club car. There I found Pavlik, Zoe and Audra standing at a high table with Carson. The agent stood a little apart, as if his need for personal space was greater than everyone else’s and they were happy to cooperate.

At the adjacent bar, Boyce was serving coffee. I waved to him and sidled in next to Pavlik. ‘I see the murder has been solved and all is right with the world.’

‘It is now,’ Pavlik said, sliding an arm around my waist. ‘Would you like something?’

I weighed my options, trying to be an adult. Though I truly wanted a drink, another martini or even a glass of wine might send me over the top.

‘I’ll just grab a cup of coffee when Boyce has a moment. I heard the applause,’ I said, turning to the others in the group. ‘Did things go well?’

‘Jacob was a marvelously villainous victim,’ Zoe said. ‘And we’re very grateful to Carson for stepping in as Poirot.’

I turned to Audra. ‘Wait. Your husband never showed up?’

Her eyebrows shot skyward. ‘We all assumed you’d found him and he declined to participate.’

‘It wouldn’t be the first time.’ Carson took a sip of what looked like bourbon in a small clear plastic cup. I wondered if he’d brought both himself. In a Baggie. ‘Your husband – and my client – is a very stubborn man.’

Another wrinkle. ‘You represent Larry Potter?’

‘And Audra.’ Carson nodded to the woman next to him. ‘My very first husband-and-wife writing duo.’

Pavlik leaned down to whisper in my ear. ‘You didn’t see any sign of Potter?’

‘Signs, yes.’ I beckoned the sheriff away from the group. ‘I think he went back for a smoke. We found his matches on the floor near an exit and a cigarette butt in the toilet of the room where you were playing dead.’

Pavlik looked surprised. ‘Toilet? I didn’t even see a bathroom.’

‘Not a full one, just a sink that flipped out from the wall and a toilet. You might have thought the cover was a shelf.’

‘Huh – some observer I am. I didn’t smell cigarette smoke when I entered, but Potter would have opened the window to let it vent into the fresh air.’

‘Exactly. We assumed he’d snuck in there to bolster his nicotine level,’ I was saying as Missy joined us from the next car. ‘Did you give up?’ I asked her.

‘On what?’ asked Pavlik.

She waved her hand. ‘Oh, nothing. Just all the cake crumbs.’

‘There’s no housekeeping service,’ I explained, ‘so Missy feels responsible for returning the train in the condition it was when we boarded. Meaning, mostly clean.’

‘Well that’s absolutely ridiculous,’ the sheriff said.

‘It is?’ Missy was wide-eyed.

‘Of course. We can’t let you do that alone. We’ll be glad to help, won’t we, Maggy?’

I nearly groaned, but the fact was that despite my worst intentions, I wouldn’t have left the girl to clean the train alone.

If Pavlik and I were scrubbing and vacuuming, however, I was going to make damn sure Zoe Scarlett did, as well.

Which reminded me. ‘When Zoe announced the solving of the crime—’

‘What are you saying about me?’ Apparently feeling left out, the woman in question had pivoted in place, effectively abandoning Audra and Carson for our party without having to take a step.