Murder On the San Juan Express by K.C. Sivils

Author:K.C. Sivils
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, FBI, World War II Fiction, espionage, railroads, historical fiction, murder mystery, narrow gauge railroads, crime noir
Publisher: Kevin Sivils
Published: 2020-11-20T00:00:00+00:00

Sheriff Ed Brown

I CHECKED OUT OF THE Strater Hotel early. I wanted to get breakfast at a diner down the street. As I sat eating my eggs and bacon over a cup of black coffee, I carefully worded an update for Callahan. There was having fun at his expense, and then there was being reckless. The problem was I didn't want to discuss the angle that somehow espionage might be involved.

Mueller being a physicist and working for the War Department, might make him a target for a fascist assassin, but that could be a stretch. His traveling to locations where the government was interested in certain types of minerals, especially minerals with unique properties, and the espionage angle got more attractive in a hurry.

Whoever had broken Mueller’s neck was a pro. The question I now found myself pondering was whose pro was he? Was Mueller a spy for our nation's enemies, or had he been eliminated because he was a crucial link in a top secret military project? If Mueller was a spy, his killer could have been on our side. A vital researcher with specialized skill and knowledge working on a super weapon would be a target for assassination during wartime or peace.

Callahan might have an answer to my questions. But I doubted the man would be forthcoming with any information that would clear the matter up. For now, I'd tell him I had a few leads to follow up on. Perhaps I could find a fact or two that would allow me to leverage more information from Callahan.

My message composed and breakfast consumed, I paid my check and walked down to the depot to watch the departure of the eastbound San Juan. Sitting outside the depot was the day’s consist, three baggage cars, laden with Railway Express Agency business no doubt, the RPO, a coach, and the parlor car Durango. Passengers were already sitting in their seats in the coach and the Durango. The last of the packages were being transferred from the green REA truck into a baggage car.

Sitting by what had to be the sand tower was another K-28, the power for today's train. The fireman finished adding sand to the sand dome, and the 476 began working its way through the yard to its waiting train.

“Agent Paine!”

Standing by the depot exit closest to the ticket window was Andrew, the conductor of the San Juan the day I'd made the trip to Durango. Standing next to him was a stern looking man. The man was tall and sinewy. It was apparent he possessed the strength a man gained through a lifetime of hard labor. He was dressed in khaki pants, boots, and a plaid shirt. The entire ensemble was topped off with a cowboy hat and a revolver hanging in a holster on the man's belt. Pinned on his chest, in plain view, for everyone to see was a badge. No doubt, I was looking at a local sheriff.

I smiled at my new acquaintance and walked over, my hand extended to the two men.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.