As Mike looked over his shoulder out of the rear windows of the train car he saw the lights from the prison fading into the distance. He then glanced over the interior of the car. It had a small desk with a light perched over it, a sofa and what appeared to be a bathroom of small proportion towards the front of the car. He was seated on a chair just opposite from the sofa and that chair felt very comfortable compared to the cot he'd just vacated in the cell. Most of the shades were drawn except for the last two at the rear of the car. Though excited by the realization that he'd somehow actually made it onto the train, he felt relieved and his heart began to beat normally once again. He relaxed in the chair and for a brief moment he felt himself beginning to believe what had just happened.
Back at the prison, two guards unlocked the door to the now vacant holding cell.
“It's empty!” shouted Officer Payne. “Tell the Sarge in charge that we lost another one.”
“Will do, Payne.” yelled a voice from the hall, almost as if the prison guards were used to this happening by now. “Did he leave any notes or anything?”
“Nope. Just a sweaty pillow and his dinner tray. Looks like he ate pretty good too. I guess he wasn't expecting to stay long.”
“Guess not”
Back on the train Mike was beginning to just doze off a bit when the door at the front of the car slid open. A man calmly walked in and sat on the sofa across from Mike. He was dressed in a white jacket, with a light blue shirt and black slacks on and a casual pair of sneakers on his feet. He had a mustache and a short length of beard on his face and he wore a cap on his head with the letter “I” stitched onto the center of its black fabric.. His hair was brown and long and tied back behind his head. He then looked Mike directly in the eyes and said “Hello.”
“Hello” replied Mike in what sounded more like a question than a direct answer.
“You look like a man who is swimming in questions, Mike, so relax and I'll explain a few things to you first to ease your mind a bit.”
“You know my name?”
“I know a lot of things, Mike, but let's first address a few of your immediate concerns, OK?”
OK.” he said, now relaxing a little bit. “Sure.”
“Let me begin by saying that you're now safe and free and yes, the prison knows what happened and no one is going to ever come looking for you. They'd had this happen before and will undoubtedly be expecting it to happen again for as long as time continues as we know it. For now just sit back, take your shoes off if you want to and relax as you're going to be riding on this train for a few hours until we reach our destination late tomorrow morning.”
“And where might that destination be?” asked Mike.
“Why home, of course. I'm taking you home.”
“As in home to my wife and kid home? That one?”
“That's right.” replied the Conductor calmly. “Home.”
“Okay” said Mike sounding a bit confused. “Could be worse but I guess that home is where I really want to go anyway.”
Then the Conductor asked “Do you want anything to eat? I know that you had a big dinner earlier tonight but we've got a well stocked dining car. Coffee and cheesecake perhaps before retiring?”
Mike thought for a minute. “Yeah that does sound good. A little celebration snack before bedtime. I'd like that! And can I get....”
“Strawberries? Sure not a problem. And coffee with just cream just the way you like it. I'll be back in a few minutes.”
Then Mike quickly asked “But how do you know all this stuff about me? I mean, even the way I like my coffee and what I wanted on my cheesecake?”
The Conductor paused by the door and said “I know all there is to know about you Mike, and I have for a long time. But I'll explain all that to you before we arrive tomorrow. For now just relax, enjoy the ride, freshen yourself up in the bathroom if you'd like. I'll be back with your order in a few minutes. In fact I might even join you as we do have some great cheesecake on board. We'll talk more then, all right?”
“All right. Oh and I didn't catch your name?”
“That's right, you didn't. But you will in a little bit.”
And the Conductor shut the door and left Mike to relax, now on the sofa that the Conductor had just occupied.
“Home.” he said to himself dreamily. “I'm going home.”
Within 20 minutes the Conductor returned to Mike's car and found him sleeping on the sofa. After a soft nudge to the ribs Mike hazily woke up and smiled.
“Back so soon?”
“Sure. The dining car is just a short walk from here and we've got the fridge and pantry well stocked. Are you ready for some great cheesecake and coffee or would you rather sleep for a bit?”
“I never refuse an offer of cheesecake no matter what hour it is. You might say it's sacrilegious.” The two men shared a laugh as they sat down to engage in some late night munchies.
Mike took up the conversation. “So, as you seem to know, I'm chock full of questions and you seem to be the guy who has all of the answers to them.”
“That's an accurate assessment of the situation. Good strawberries Mike?”
“Incredible! This is some of the best cheesecake I've ever had! Not too sweet, not too tart. It's like—perfect! I thought this kind of stuff only existed in my dreams! Where do you get these strawberries anyway? They taste too good to be from anywhere around here.”
“Glad you like them. They're grown organically with no chemicals or pesticides at a place I know very well and visit often.”
“Do you think I could get some to bring home to my wife? I mean if it's not too much trouble. My wife is crazy about strawberries and she'll really fall in love with these.”
“Sure that's no trouble at all. I'll fix you up a nice batch for you to take with you when we arrive at your stop. The coffee is excellent too. Jamaica Mountain Blue. We like to spoil our travelers on a regular basis, as you can see.”
“This is amazing! Thank you! And by the way what's the charge for all this? I mean, this can't all be free, can it?”
“Oh yes it can. Your transportation, meals and anything else you require have been paid for in advance. Just sit back and enjoy.”
“Paid for by who?” asked Mike.
“By me”, answered the Conductor. “I've known all along that you didn't kill those 3 people. And by the way, the two men who actually did kill them should be getting picked up right about....now! The police are getting them both on an armed robbery charge so they'll be singing their confessions to their arresting officers very soon. They'll be meeting with Old Sparky eventually unless they turn their lives around while they have the time. “
“What are you, some kind of a psychic or something? You seem to know a lot of things about me and just about everything else. In fact, I'd say that you did know everything else!”
“You're getting warmer, Mike. More coffee?”
“Yeah. But I guess you already know that too.”
“That's right. And more. Much more.” he said as he finished his cheesecake and placed his plate on the tray between them. The Conductor sat back on the sofa and looked Mike straight in the eye. “Mike, the only people who get to ride on this train are the ones who really belong here. We've never had a guilty passenger ride these rails in the history of this railroad, and that won't ever change.”
“So then you must be getting some inside information from somewhere.” said Mike. “I take it that you've read the transcript of my trial too and saw how the wonderful justice system we have framed me, or at least tried to.”
“Actually I was at your trial Mike and I saw everything that went down” he replied. “Your trial was another travesty of justice that should never have happened the way it did, but unfortunately I've seen lots of these cases that ended up the same way.”
“Wait a minute! I don't remember you being there! What were you hidden in another room or something?”
“Yes I was watching from a different location. But I saw everything that hap
pened in that courtroom. The evidence they had to prove their case against you was pretty flimsy at best but at the time they had no one else that they could pin the murders on. Not even remotely, but they do now. I'll be keeping an eye on that situation too.”
“So you really do keep up on legal cases. I'll bet you have quite a computer to do that. I mean because a lot of those cases are shut to the public eye so not just anyone can watch them, right?”
“Yes you're right Mike. Many court cases are never seen by the public and many verdicts are not made public either, mainly to protect those involved. It's a Right To Privacy thing that is a bit too complicated to go into at this late hour.” Then the Conductor said “Getting sleepy, Old Boy? You've had a pretty full day so I see some hazy clouds starting to follow you.”
“Yeah I could use a few winks before we get home. Before I get home I mean. Mind if we talk more in the morning?”
“No I....”
“Yeah I know. You know that too right?”
“You catch on pretty quickly Mike. This sofa folds out and is pretty comfortable too. The dimmer switch for the lights is on the wall to your right.”
“The rocking of this