Truth. What is truth? Is it fact? Perhaps. Or perhaps it is something you want to believe to be fact. Whatever it is to you, it doesn’t matter. Not for our boy Johnny here, anyway. He’s dead. Found in his cabin with rope burn around his neck and stab wounds all over his body by the bus lad checking on him. The Polar Bus was approaching the pole after travelling for a week and Joshua had not been seen coming out of his cabin for the past two days.
At first, people thought he just wanted alone time, something they were glad to give him. No one could stand the stench on him, not even the heaviest of smokers. Me? I do not smoke. Never touch the stuff. I do partake in the occasional wine. Enough about me, back to Joseph. Jason is, well, was the boss of…it doesn’t matter. Just know that he had it coming. Probably. He was not a good person and now he’s dead.
The bus captain, bless him, implored me to investigate since I also happen to be one of the most brilliant detectives in the known world. According to whom, you ask? According to me, and it’s a valid reference. Why? Because I’m the most brilliant detective. Do try and keep up.
Anyway, I obliged, of course. Even though I knew the murderer would not be found. I had a duty to try.
Now, since we have been in transit since we left the station till now, never making a stop, everyone is naturally a suspect. But the facts speak for themselves. After having two minutes with each person on board, there are only four suspects among them. Let’s meet them, shall we?
First on the list is Hector Gad, Joshua’s PA. Their rooms were right next to each other and their beds were separated by a thin partition so if there was any struggle, young Hector would definitely have heard it. But he claims he didn’t. A bit of probing did show that he might have a motive. The boss was abusive and often blamed him for things that were not his fault. Only reason Hector stayed was the money. Oh no, not the paycheck. You couldn’t afford to live in a tent on Hector’s paycheck. Young Hector is rather industrious. He’s been embezzling money from his boss for years and was never caught. But I suppose he was starting to feel uneasy. Guess he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.
Next on the list is Reyna. Pretty little rose. Caught the attention of our boy Jeffery when she boarded the bus. Naturally, he tried to get her to join him in his cabin and naturally, she said no. Many times. Jordan wasn’t one to be turned down so he tried to get fresh with her. She decided introduced his chin to her fist and her knee to his happy place. The rose, as they say, has thorns. Boy, oh boy, that was quite a show to watch. You should’ve been there. Oh, did I mention that Reyna worked for Jory’s company? Or that said company refused to pay out insurance claims for her parent’s death in a train wreck in her youth? Interesting.
Moving on to Jonathan’s personal chef, Kit, who joined the bus’s kitchen because big boy here knew he made enemies and revenge can come anywhere. Apparently, Jonas never heard the saying about not messing with people that handle your food because he was not kind to Kit at all but Kit took it all in stride. He was milder than plain bread. Makes a mean peking duck, though. Kit lost his parents young and lived with Jamie ever since, learning to cook under the magnate’s personal chef at the time.
Let’s turn our attention to the doctor, Adom Lawrence. What kind of doctor? Well, never the kind that you need but always the kind you have. He is, however, very good with needles. He recently joined the Aurora Corporation as an on board physician. So what does he have to do with our knife cushion dummy here? Well, you see, Adom was once the head physician working for Julian’s company, that is until they had a disagreement about approval policies and the doctor lost his job, and his credibility. Or they had an argument over which sandwich is the best. Personally, I prefer to go with the latter.
Did I mention Kit makes really good peking duck? I don’t even like duck. Or Chinese food. Or the Chinese. I’m just kidding, I like Chinese food.
Ok, I’ve told you about the PA, the rose, the chef, and the doctor. Who else am I missing? I don’t think I left anyone out. What was that? How can there only be so few suspects with so many people on board? Surely, you’re seeing a pattern here. They all have some reason or other to want our boy here dead.
But I’m going to tell you that none of them did it. How do I know? I know because I’m the greatest detective ever. Let me break this down for you, shall I?
Hector was blackout drunk the last night his boss was seen in the common areas. The bartender made sure of that. Reyna had only been to the cafe and the gym starting from a day before Jared died. Someone decided to release a stink bomb in her cabin and hid it extremely well. Kit? Kit was preparing a breakfast that was supposed to be for Jeffrey the next morning but ended up in his own stomach when his boss decided to become a knife holder for his enemy. He was in the kitchen during the time the murder was committed. Doctor Adom was busy treating a string of food poisoning cases that night. Curious indeed that they all have strong alibis or reasons to not be anywhere near our poor victim here.
Here’s a few other nuggets for you think about. The bartender did not cut Hector off that night. In fact, he encouraged him. The cabin area was not anywhere near the cafe or the gym where Reyna hung around. Those areas were monitored the whole time and there was not a second where she could not be found. The breakfast order Kit was preparing was purposefully complicated. It was also not from his employer. There was also no way a kitchen with as strict standards as Aurora Corporation would allow their passengers to get sick from their food. The fact is, none of them could have done it, even if they wanted to, and let’s face it, they all do.
Think about all the facts I’ve told you. Consider them while you enjoy the northern lights. The murderer is in this very bus and still is, and the murderer will get away with it. That is the truth.
So tell me, what is truth?