For safety, the eloping couple wouldn't be running off with cumbersome suitcases. All their luggage had been entrusted to Briny and Hathaway. The two small cases were now at their feet. They weren't large, so their capacity was limited.
Jenkins hoped they were stuffed with cash. Otherwise, the two high-born youths might be forced to return due to financial hardship.
After waiting for about half an hour, Miss Rick surprisingly arrived early. She hurried out from a street corner, hugging the wall as she approached the carriage. She was dressed for a long journey, and the whole sight looked incredibly suspicious.
"First time eloping, after all. No experience."
He opened the carriage door for Miss Rick. The young woman took Hathaway's hand and ducked inside. She sat down, panting heavily, and said haltingly:
"Jennifer helped me escape. She's already gone back. Thank you to her, and thank you all."
As she finished speaking, she suddenly bent over and buried her delicate face in her hands. Jenkins could hear the faint sound of weeping.
Miss Rick's emotions were likely a tangled mess, or so Jenkins thought. Nerves and fear hadn't broken her, a testament to a faith in love that could conquer such things. But what the future held couldn't be determined by love alone.
Garcia appeared five minutes before the appointed time, just as nervous as Miss Rick. But he was clearly better at handling the pressure, or at least at keeping it from showing on his face. He projected the resolve of a mature man, so Jenkins and the two ladies offered no further dissuasion.
He took the two cases from Jenkins, setting them down beside him, then helped his love out of the carriage. Hathaway and Briny, however, were both in formal dresses, which would have been far too conspicuous in the train station. So they said their goodbyes in the carriage, leaving Jenkins to escort the eloping couple inside.
"One o'clock train, one o'clock train."
Along the way, Garcia kept muttering the same words over and over, making even Jenkins, an uninvolved party, feel a bit tense. Jenkins bought a standing ticket for himself and followed them onto the platform, waiting before the somewhat empty tracks for the train to arrive.
"Let's do a final check. The two cases?"
"Four train tickets, two as backups."
This was important, so Jenkins repeated it.
"In my pocket. The time and schedule are correct."
Garcia patted his breast pocket.
"The letter to contact the landlord."
"Brought it. I stitched it into my shirt."
A habit Jenkins shared.
"Good. Don't forget to write to us when you arrive, but don't use your real address."
Hathaway and Briny were worried about Miss Rick and wanted to know they had arrived safely.
"Alright, Mr. Williams."
Garcia thanked him in a low voice, but the questioning from Jenkins seemed to have made him even more nervous. The source of this content ɪs NoveIꜰire.net
It was now past midnight, officially Monday. The night was deep, but there weren't many people on the station platform. Most were listless with fatigue, and the loudest sound was the hissing of a leaky steam pipe on the wall behind them.
None of the three felt like finding a place to sit and wait. Instead, they stood straight by a pillar at the edge of the platform. Garcia seemed to remember something suddenly. He undid a button on his overcoat, flipped one side open, and from an inner pocket, he produced a striking red rose.
It had been crushed, its leaves badly damaged and the edges of its petals tinged with the yellow of wilting. But Miss Rick still covered her mouth as if about to cry. She took the flower, then rose on her toes to kiss him.
Jenkins quickly turned his head, hoping to god the damn train wouldn't be late. Otherwise, he'd be stuck standing in the cold wind for who knew how much longer.
In the thick of night, even a wilting red rose seemed to shine with extraordinary brilliance. It was like a flame in the darkness, igniting a woman's heart with a yearning for love, but also attracting the gaze of dangerous creatures.
Jenkins didn't want to intrude on their private moment, so he deliberately stood a little farther away, teasing Chocolate on his shoulder. It was past the cat's bedtime, and while Chocolate wasn't happy about being disturbed, it reluctantly played along.
Time ticked by, and as expected, the train was late. Jenkins guessed the two young women waiting outside had already fallen asleep in the carriage. He, on the other hand, had gotten enough rest at the opera and could just about manage to stay awake.
Seeing the young couple leaning against each other and whispering, Jenkins felt like a third wheel. He gave them a heads-up and went to check the timetable for departures to Shire City.
He had taken a train from here last autumn, but he didn't know if the winter schedule had changed. He couldn't leave today, of course; he would have to find a reasonable time to take a holiday.
Just as he was contemplating his future plans, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to find, of all people, Captain Bincy.
"Well, hello, Jenkins. What are you doing here so late? I thought Papa Oliver always warned you not to go out at night."
Jenkins was in formal attire and had no luggage, so Captain Bincy knew he wasn't planning on traveling.
"Hello. I'm seeing..."
He glanced over at Miss Rick and Garcia, who were still by the pillar.
"...some friends off. They're eloping."
He told the truth. If Captain Bincy became suspicious and told Papa Oliver, Jenkins would be in a world of trouble.
The middle-aged man paused, then gave a blank nod. He seemed to want to smile but knew it wasn't appropriate. "You should head home soon. Something's happened around here."
Captain Bincy's entire squad was here, vigilantly scanning the surroundings as the two of them spoke.
"It's about that last case—the Mr. Stein you gave the red rose to. He died, but his body—everything but the head—went missing, along with the lady he invited. We investigated for a week, and two nights ago, we found... what was left of Mr. Stein's body. Damn, it was disgusting. The conclusion... is that he was eaten."
Discussing such a topic on a cold winter's night sent a chill down his spine.