Excerpt: Rubicon Rails And Otherwise Tales

"Indeed. Well, I'm going to draft you to collect data for me." she said. "Can you start with cataloging back the injuries I described?"

"Broken ribs. Internal bleeding, likely from the same. Concussion, blow to the back of the head, chest, face. Blunt force trauma, non-lethal but life-threatening. Probable motive is robbery, by someone the victim knew."

Doctor Rosengarten laughed. "Okay, you've done this before." she said. "Wait. Alex Truscott. Not the same one that cracked the case of the Strangling Ghost of Chelmsford, are you?"

Alex nodded her head. "The same."

Doctor Rosengarten nodded. "Well, good for you, then. I thought by the name the recorder was a man, but I'm glad to be mistaken. Not enough women in the field doing great things. Where's Ranger Westlake? I would have wanted to meet her."

"Missing." Alex volunteered. "That's why we were by this compartment earlier, but before you ask, no, we didn't manage to get in. Rule of law says that a locked door is private property."

"True enough." Doctor Rosengarten said, and then tilted her head to one side. "What was this about another body?" She turned to Gerhardt. "Why wasn't I summoned for this?"

"I am not sure, Doctor," Gerhardt said, "...but someone said that you could only be bothered if it was a medical emergency, and since the man was clearly not going to make it, nobody woke you up."

Doctor Rosengarten sighed. "I suppose there is that." She smiled weakly. "I'm a little bit tetchy when I haven't had my beauty sleep." She gestured at the prone man. "His identification has been stolen, but the monogram on his luggage reads 'C. Brooks'. Until we can get the Cargomaster to confirm his identity, that's all we have."

Gerhardt nodded. "Well, if you don't need me, Doctor, I'll continue doing passenger manifests with Mister Vespucci there. It's getting a little cramped in here for my tastes." he said.

"Really. Going to leave me in here with the prime suspect?" Doctor Rosengarten said.

"None of you seem to think she's involved at all, despite circumstantial evidence. If you turn up dead, though, I'm pretty sure we have our assailant." He smiled at Alex, and squeezed by all of them to get out into the hallway.

Tadeo patted Alex on the shoulder before leaving. "We'll be back soon." he said, before he closed the door behind him.

Brooks stirred as the draft from the door wafted across his face; he tried to sit up, and nearly made it before Doctor Rosengarten pushed him back down. "Easy, easy! You're safe." she told him.

He stared about, blinking deliriously, and then pointed at Enzio. "You. Wait. I remember you... in the mountains." He subsided back on the cushions again, and groaned. When he coughed, a spatter of blood scattered across the front of Doctor Rosengarten's blouse.

"That's not good." Rosengarten said. "We need to tell the conductor to push the train's maximum speed." But she muttered under her breath, "..good luck on that happening."