The Last Train
January 11, 2025
The night was thick with fog as Detective Rachel Monroe stood at the edge of the platform. The train station, typically bustling with commuters, was eerily quiet. A single light flickered overhead, casting long shadows that stretched across the empty tracks.
Rachel pulled her coat tighter against the cold as she gazed down at the chalk outline that marked the spot where the body had been found—James Griffin, a successful businessman known for his high-profile investments, had been struck by the last train of the night.
“Another one,” Rachel muttered to herself, crouching down beside the outline. She studied the area, looking for anything out of place. There was no sign of struggle, no sign that Griffin had been pushed onto the tracks. It didn’t add up.
Her partner, Detective Ben Carter, joined her, his footsteps muffled by the fog. “What do we have?”
Rachel stood and gestured toward the tracks. “Griffin’s body was found just like this—nothing looks out of the ordinary. No signs of foul play, no robbery… nothing. But something’s off.”
“Yeah,” Ben said, squinting into the mist, “this doesn’t feel like an accident. The train operator swore he didn’t see anyone on the tracks. No one was supposed to be there.”
Rachel’s brow furrowed. “But someone was there. And it wasn’t a random accident. Griffin was pushed—or at least, that’s how I’m starting to feel.”
At the station, Rachel and Ben spoke with the train operator, a nervous man named David. His hands shook as he recounted the events.
“I swear I didn’t see him,” David said, his voice breaking. “I was at the controls, and everything looked clear. I didn’t hear any cries or anything unusual until the brakes were slammed. When I went back, he was already on the tracks. I didn’t even have time to stop.”
“You didn’t see anyone else in the area?” Ben pressed.
David shook his head. “I told you. It was just me and the tracks. It was all foggy, but I didn’t see a thing.”
Rachel glanced at Ben. Something about David’s story didn’t sit right, but there was nothing concrete to pin on him.
Their next stop was Griffin’s apartment. The lavish condo overlooked the city, an oasis of luxury and wealth. Inside, it was as pristine as a showroom. Rachel ran her fingers over the smooth glass of the coffee table, her mind whirring.
“We’re going to need to talk to his family and colleagues,” Ben said, flipping through the paperwork on Griffin’s desk. “But there’s something here. A file—look.”
He pointed to a folder half-hidden under a pile of receipts. Rachel opened it to find a stack of financial records, all pertaining to Griffin’s recent investments in a company called Veridian Technologies.
“I’ve never heard of them,” Rachel said, scanning the documents. “But these numbers… they’re all over the place. Big sums, frequent transfers. Maybe Griffin was in over his head.”
“You think someone killed him over bad investments?” Ben asked.
Rachel hesitated. “I think we need to talk to his business partner, Thomas Waters. He’s the last one to see Griffin alive, according to the records.”
Thomas Waters greeted them at his office the next morning. He was a tall man, impeccably dressed in a suit that seemed too sharp for the early hour. His smile was forced, and his eyes darted nervously when he saw the detectives.
“I didn’t kill James,” he said before they could even introduce themselves.
Rachel studied him carefully. “We’re not accusing you of anything. We just want to know about your partnership with Griffin.”
“He was a genius when it came to investments,” Waters said, his voice flat. “But lately, he’s been reckless. He was pulling money from Veridian Technologies left and right. I warned him against it. We were about to lose everything.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone about the situation?” Ben asked.
Waters shifted uncomfortably. “Because I didn’t think it would come to this. I didn’t think anyone would kill him over it.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t think he was in danger? What about his enemies?”
Waters looked away. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
The breakthrough came when Rachel dug deeper into Veridian Technologies. A small, anonymous email led her to a former employee of the company who had been let go under suspicious circumstances. The man, Patrick Miller, revealed that Griffin had been involved in a shady deal involving the company’s intellectual property.
“They were trying to push a product they knew would fail,” Patrick explained. “Griffin and Waters—together. But when things started to unravel, Griffin wanted out. Waters didn’t take that too well.”
“So, you’re saying Waters had a motive to kill Griffin?” Rachel asked.
Patrick shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. But I do know that Waters wasn’t going to let Griffin walk away from the mess he created. If anyone was going to pay for this, it was going to be Griffin.”
Rachel and Ben returned to the station and reviewed their findings. Rachel stared at the file on her desk, piecing the puzzle together. Griffin’s betrayal had left Waters with nothing but a sinking ship—and no way out. But it wasn’t just the bad investments that led to Griffin’s death. It was what Griffin had known about Waters’s involvement in the shady dealings at Veridian Technologies.
With that, Rachel realized the killer’s true motive wasn’t just money—it was desperation. Waters was trying to cover his tracks. He couldn’t afford to let Griffin speak out about the fraudulent deals.
The arrest of Thomas Waters came the next day. He had tried to make it look like an accident, but the evidence was clear.
As Rachel stood outside the courthouse, she watched the news coverage, the fog of the night still lingering in her thoughts.
“You did well,” Ben said, standing beside her.
Rachel nodded, her mind still racing through the details. “We always miss something, don’t we? A small mistake. A broken pattern.” She paused, her eyes narrowing as she watched the news anchor. “And sometimes, that mistake is just the one that gets us caught.”
Ben smiled. “Yeah, but it’s never too late to find the truth.”
As the last train pulled into the station behind them, Rachel couldn’t help but wonder—how many more secrets were still hidden in the shadows of the city?