Chapter Forty-Nine
Contains spoilersOverview
Anna executes a risky ruse with Sally Lawrence and Jack Lapsford to bait Seamus by faking Sal’s death, which succeeds in distracting him and later enables Sal to knock out Agent Reggie Davis. After securing temporary alliances, Anna arms Dante with Seamus’s gun and orders him to guard Sal and Lapsford. She then retrieves bullets from Reggie’s room and loads Reggie’s gun, intending to end the threat. When Anna returns to check the corridor, she discovers Reggie has escaped through an open window.
Summary
In the aftermath of Sal striking Reggie Davis unconscious, Sal wipes off the lipstick and nail polish on her forehead that had faked a gunshot wound. Anna reflects on the improvised plan she devised when she suspected Seamus strangled Judd: to have Lapsford stage another heart attack while Sal faked being shot, using the staged chaos to distract Seamus and allow Sal to steal his gun. Anna acknowledges the risk and that her plan aimed to make one apparent victim and use the other as bait to catch Seamus.
Anna recalls the negotiation with Sal and Lapsford before the ruse: she offered them nothing but warned they were Seamus’s targets and would die if they refused. Sal admitted she could not be trusted but agreed there was no better choice, and both ultimately cooperated. During the staging, Anna pressed Lapsford with real questions to heighten urgency, which helped Sal lift the gun from Seamus’s jacket pocket without detection.
Back in the present, Anna and Sal step over Reggie’s unconscious body in the corridor. Anna reminds Sal that saving her does not make them even, and Sal agrees. They rush into Sal’s room, where Lapsford is hiding after his close call with Seamus. Despite being uneasy allies, they accept a fragile truce.
Anna hurries to recruit Dante, apologizing for previously accusing him as part of her trap. Dante expresses frustration at not being warned, but he agrees to help. Together they return to Lapsford’s door, and Dante advises tying up Reggie, who is still unconscious in the corridor. When Dante asks about Seamus, Anna tersely says he is gone and withholds details.
Inside Lapsford’s room, Anna orders Dante, Sal, and Lapsford to lock the door and remain inside until the train reaches Chicago. Anna asks for Dante’s trust and hands him Seamus’s gun, instructing him to protect them. She hears the lock turn as she leaves to secure more leverage against Reggie.
Anna searches Reggie’s compartment, dumping his overnight bag and finding a tie, a blood-flecked shirt linked to Herb, a list of names with three crossed out, and a full box of bullets. She loads six rounds into Reggie’s previously empty gun, determined to finish the ordeal.
When Anna returns to the corridor moments later, Reggie’s body is no longer where it had been. The nearby room’s window stands wide open, revealing that Agent Reggie Davis has escaped the train.
Who Appears
- Anna
protagonist; devises the ruse to fake Sal’s death, recruits Dante, arms him with Seamus’s gun, searches Reggie’s room, loads Reggie’s gun, and discovers Reggie’s escape.
- Sally (Sal) Lawrence
reluctant ally; fakes being shot using lipstick and nail polish, steals Seamus’s gun earlier, and previously knocked Reggie unconscious; remains under Dante’s guard.
- Jack Lapsford
reluctant ally; stages another heart attack as part of the ruse and hides in Sal’s room; remains under Dante’s guard.
- Dante
ally; initially frustrated by Anna’s earlier accusation, agrees to help, advises tying Reggie, and accepts Seamus’s gun to guard Sal and Lapsford.
- Agent Reggie Davis
antagonist; found unconscious from Sal’s blow, his room yields bullets, a blood-flecked shirt, and a kill list; escapes through an open window.
- Seamus
antagonist; off-page this chapter, identified by Anna as Judd’s strangler and earlier owner of the gun; status described as “gone.”
- Judd
victim; referenced as having been strangled (by Seamus, per Anna’s suspicion), motivating Anna’s ruse.
- Herb
victim; referenced via Reggie’s blood-flecked shirt found in his room.