Chapter Forty-One
Contains spoilersOverview
After stabilizing Jack Lapsford, Anna confronts Seamus Callahan about his hidden pills and learns he has a degenerative neurological illness and limited time left. Their fraught exchange culminates in an unexpected kiss and a renewed resolve to stay allied. The moment is cut short when Seamus discovers his gun is missing; while they search the lounge and observation car, Anna hears two gunshots from the next car.
Summary
With Jack Lapsford stabilized for the next hour, Anna leaves his room under the watch of Sal, Dante Wentworth, and Seamus Callahan. She checks Car 11 and finds Reginald “Reggie” Davis asleep, then collapses in her own room, too wired by the night’s events to rest.
Seamus enters and challenges Anna about nearly letting Jack die to extract answers. Anna counters by demanding an explanation for Seamus’s stash of pills, given a poisoning had been suspected earlier. Pressed, Seamus reveals they are prescribed muscle relaxants for an affliction causing tremors, spasms, and loss of motor control; the medication offers only temporary relief.
As Anna connects past moments of his shaking, Seamus admits the condition predates their partnership. She vows to find him better care, but Seamus says there is no cure. He discloses a grim prognosis—five years at most, likely less—describing an inevitable decline from walking difficulty to a wheelchair and total loss of control. He explains this urgency is why he answered Anna’s aunt and pushed to act now against those who killed his brother.
Anna promises not to abandon him, emphasizing their shared loss. Seamus impulsively kisses her, then apologizes when Anna tenses; she cannot reciprocate, and he asks her not to say more. Seeking to refocus, Seamus moves to check on their patients and reaches for his uniform pocket.
Seamus realizes his gun is missing. He last noticed it about an hour earlier in the lounge after Judd Davis was revealed to have faked his poisoning. Alarmed, he and Anna rush to search the first-class lounge, turning over furniture and scanning the floor. Seamus heads to the observation car while Anna continues the search.
Finding no gun in the lounge, Anna is about to check behind the bar when loud noises erupt from the next car: a bang, the shatter of glass, and another bang. She freezes as the mirrored shelves reflect her fragmented expression, and she recognizes the sounds as two gunshots.
Who Appears
- Anna
narrator and investigator; confronts Seamus about his pills, learns of his terminal illness, searches for the missing gun, and hears gunshots.
- Seamus Callahan
conductor ally; reveals degenerative neurological condition and terminal prognosis; shares a brief kiss with Anna; discovers his gun is missing and initiates a search.
- Jack Lapsford
passenger; recovering from a genuine heart attack and stable for at least an hour.
- Reginald “Reggie” Davis
FBI agent; found asleep in his room after being stitched up by Anna earlier.
- Dante Wentworth
engineer; present as Jack stabilizes.
- Sal
passenger; present as Jack stabilizes.