Judd Dodge sat in a dark room after spending nearly six hours pretending to be dead—first in the lounge and then on a bed in Room C of the second-to-last car. He had stayed motionless beneath a sheet, worried someone might notice his breathing or correctly take his pulse, especially since Seamus had earlier missed it by an inch.

The strain intensified when he heard activity two rooms away, making the act harder while others were nearby. Against the original plan, Judd slipped away from Room C to avoid detection, even as he worried about what would happen if the larger plan failed.

Judd recalled how he realized the train had departed empty and inferred that Anna Matheson had orchestrated the journey to seek vengeance, a suspicion confirmed by the guest list. Anticipating this, he had prepared a plan of his own.

During an argument in the lounge, Judd focused on a cache of rat poison he had found under the galley sink and tucked into his pocket watch. He discreetly poured most of the powder into his martini when he opened the watch, ensuring some undissolved residue remained as visual proof. To complete the illusion, he applied red-flecked foam to his lips, which convinced everyone he was dead.

Judd believed the others now knew he had survived and understood his ruse. He looked at his hands in the darkness, confronting the deaths they had caused and reflecting that twelve years earlier he had considered himself only indirectly responsible—someone whose design killed, not his own hands.

Now, Judd accepted he was a murderer. He resolved that if necessary to escape the consequences awaiting him, he would kill again—every person on the train, if that is what it took.