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"And Finn," Rob shouted from the platform with a pointed look, "Remember this is important. Please behave!"
Finn pretended he had misheard and feigned confusion. He shouted through the small opening at the top of the window. "Be brave!? As if I could be anything else!"
Rob shook his head and waved as the train gathered pace.
"I'll rock paper scissors you for the window seat?" Finn said.
"First come, first served," Amelia said, sitting down nearest to the window.
"Petty," Finn grumbled. "Very petty." He sat beside her.
Finn opened the file, his mind already diving into the details of the case. He immediately saw how light they were on details. The bodies had only been found that morning. No autopsies. Still at the scene. Finn started to wonder if it was going to be a wasted trip. It seemed to him that the deaths could have been accidental, and that the only reason they were being sent there quickly, was to somehow protect the reputation of the prime minister.
The train moved swiftly through out of the city and then through the English countryside, going deeper and deeper towards one of the most beautiful and rural parts of the country - Cornwall.
"Funny name," Finn mused out loud, closing the file.
"What is?" Amelia said, looking out of the window.
"Cornwall," Finn explained. "Do they grow a lot of it?"
Amelia laughed. "Cornwall is a special part of the country, but it's nothing to do with corn."
"It's just another county in England, isn't it?" Finn asked, genuinely curious.
"No," Amelia said. "Cornwall is English, but it's got an older tradition leading back to its Celtic heritage."
"Like back on Huldra Island?" Finn asked, referring to the Scottish island where their last case had taken place.
"A little," she said. "There are Celtic traditions here, too. But Cornwall just isn't a separate country like Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. There are some who would like it to be, though. It's an ancient part of the British Isles. Cornwall refers to the Cornish being a different people from some of the ancient Anglo-Saxons who once lived throughout England."
"And how much do I need to pay for this delightful guided tour into Cornwall?" Finn said with a grin.
Amelia turned to him and shook her head. "Hardly. I'm no expert, though I came to Cornwall a couple of times when I was a child on holiday. Have you read that?" She pointed to the file.
"Yeah," Finn replied. "It might as well have been a blank piece of paper."
"I know," Amelia said. "This case is so fresh, I think we're going to have to play it by ear. We'll no more when we get there."
“Today is going to be a great day,” Finn said, sarcastically.
Amelia didn't say anything this time, she turned to the window.
“So, anyway,” Finn said, deciding to continue. “What's been shaking recently in the world of Amelia? You been up to much?”
“Not much,” she said, not turning back to face him.
“A woman of mystery," Finn joked. "What does Amelia Winters do in her downtime?"
Amelia turned to Finn and smiled. But the smile looked pained. “Nothing interesting.” She turned back to the window.
“No pets?” Finn asked. “No unusual hobbies? Oh God... Don't tell me you're into... Watching... Soaps...”
Amelia didn't reply this time. She seemed in a world of her own, and it was a world in which Finn was not allowed, at least for now. He started to take the hint and shifted his gaze beyond her to the outside.
Time slipped away as the train carved its path through the English countryside. The landscape outside the window shifted, revealing the serene beauty of rolling hills and quaint villages bathed in the soft glow of the morning sun. Inside, however, the atmosphere was tinged with a subtle tension.
Finn had sat in relative silence for over two hours. He had occasionally tried to spark up a conversation, but Amelia had given polite, short answers. Most of the time, she had just stared out of the window into a distant thought.
