The Aftermath

The three of them were in the corridor and began to wonder why they were the only ones there.

"Why hasn't anyone else come to see the commotion?" the Vampire asked.

"I'll check the Criminal," the Cowboy said. "You two go see the Noble and the Mobsters. If any of them isn't where they should be, it can only be the vampire. We'll meet back here in five minutes. If you take longer than that, I'll start suspecting you."

The suggestion was good, and the duo had no reason to disagree, running back to the first class car. There, the Vampire opened her room's door, finding no one inside. They exchanged glances, and the suspicions about the Noble increased.

They ignored the fallen henchmen; according to the Vampire, they were all still alive. They moved to the second door. The Illusionist easily picked the lock with a pair of paper clips, and they saw the two men inside.

The Old Mobster and the Noble were seated at a table. The Old Mobster wore his typical menacing expression, while the Noble appeared confused.

"Why are you two here?" the Vampire asked, just as confused as her supposed companion.

"The Old Mobster invited me for a glass of wine, and I accepted," the Noble replied.

"And you didn't go check out the huge commotion outside?" the Illusionist asked, incredulous.

"There's a vampire on the loose! And my four henchmen were in the corridor. We thought we'd be safer here, don't you?" the Old Mobster answered tensely.

If the two of them were there, neither of them could be the killer. There were only two people left who hadn't been checked: the Criminal and the Heiress. The Illusionist left them in a hurry and went to the next room, despite protests from the Old Mobster.

He didn't need to pick the lock; for some reason, her room was already unlocked. He entered and found the Heiress in a frightened state in the corner of the room.

"You! You met with the Cartomancer before she died, didn't you?" the Illusionist asked aggressively, approaching her. She might not be the killer since there was no way the assassin could have gone around and entered her room, but she still knew something.

"I don't know! I don't know what you're talking about!" she replied nervously. For a moment, he felt sorry for her, but this was still part of his act, and he needed to see it through.

"I know you saw each other! Did you kill her?" He was face to face with her when he heard the click of a firearm behind him.

"You have one second, or I'll make a ton of holes."

He heard the Old Mobster's order and turned around. He had a gun pointed at the Illusionist, looking more serious than ever. The Illusionist had already achieved what he wanted and left the room. Before any argument could start, they heard shouts from the car behind them.

"What's going on now?" the Illusionist asked, running with the others toward the front.

The door to the Cowboy's room was open, and when they arrived, they saw his body on the floor, with the Criminal handcuffed and seated in one of the seats.

The Illusionist immediately crouched down and could confirm that he was alive.

"What happened?" the Noble, who had also joined the group, asked.

"A masked guy showed up and knocked out the Cowboy."

"And what are you doing here?" the Illusionist asked.

He paused to think before answering. "Cowboy had me locked up here, interrogating me, thinking I knew more." He was looking nervously at everyone in the doorway observing him. "Obviously, I didn't know anything, or I would have told already, right? In fact, if anyone wants to set me free, I'd be grateful."

The Noble helped the Cowboy sit down and tried to wake him up while the Illusionist easily released the Criminal from his handcuffs.

So much was happening, and the Illusionist couldn't concentrate enough to piece it all together.

"And the masked guy?" he asked the Criminal.

"He left, quickly, as soon as he knocked out the Cowboy."

None of this made sense to the Illusionist. What was he missing? The masked guy should have been at the front of the train in a situation like this, but he felt that the assassin knew how to hide very well.

"What?" came the weak voice of the Cowboy.

"He's waking up!" the Noble exclaimed as the Cowboy tried to sit up but was still groggy.

"What happened?"

They went over everything for the Cowboy, who, even as he regained consciousness, still seemed confused.

"I don't remember meeting you guys in the corridor."

"Oh, the lad lost his memory from the impact," the Criminal said.

"What do you remember?" the Old Mobster asked, very engaged.

"I was in my room with the Criminal, asking questions. I heard a conversation in the corridor; they seemed agitated but not life-or-death agitated, so I didn't rush out immediately. That's when the door opened behind me, and that's the last thing I remember."

"It's strange that you don't remember our encounter, but still, why were you spared? The killer could have killed you."

"This vampire wants me to suffer, I'm sure of it. I'm also sure that it's not the Criminal, as he was locked up here the whole time."

There were so many conflicting pieces of information, and he just wanted a moment to breathe. But then the Cowboy spoke again, turning angrily to the Criminal.

"No more games. You said you know who the killer is! Tell us now, and we'll get this resolved!"

"What?" the Noble asked. "You've known this all along and didn't say anything?"

The Criminal's legs were trembling, and he looked at everyone in the room, fear in his eyes.

"Well, you see, I wanted my promised safety. Only then could I reveal the truth, and I don't see my safety here."

Losing patience, the Cowboy drew his revolver and aimed it at the Criminal's forehead.

"This will be your safety if you don't talk now!"

"Well, you see, it doesn't work like that. I'm very exposed here, sir. Shooting me won't help you find anything."

The Illusionist just wanted everyone to shut up; he felt so close to solving it, but he needed a bit of silence.

"I think I've figured it out," the Illusionist said, making everyone pay attention to him.

"Then speak up, man! Don't keep us waiting," the agitated Noble urged.

"I need to check something. Five minutes, everyone in the restaurant. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone," the Illusionist ordered in a way he didn't usually do.

They noticed that the Train Conductor was there and had heard everything.

"Right, I'll gather everyone," she said without understating everything, and she went to the front of the train.

"Five minutes, everyone in the restaurant. I'll be there. Keep an eye on everything and don't trust anyone."