234 Going to Rijssen

It was early in the morning, on Friday, 4 October 1968 EH. Graham Hymes and Luuk van der Meer were standing in the busy train station, waiting for their train to come. It was a cold late autumn morning, the air starting to hurt their faces.

Wearing a thick maroon sweater and a pair of denim pants, Luuk kept himself warm while Graham was wearing his usual dark brown trench coat. The detective didn't seem to show any sign of being cold despite the low temperature. It was probably because the train station was bustling with activity, or because his body was supernaturally warm. Even the fed bracelet on his wrist didn't affect him in the slightest.

"Yes, your hair looks weird in some spots like something's been chewing on it," Luuk said honestly, looking at the detective with green eyes next to him.

Graham had asked his neighbor if there was something strange about his hair and the answer disappointed him. He thought he had tried his best to make it look natural, but alas, he was no hairdresser. Feeding Gloom's Redress every day had finally shown its effect now.

Putting the brown trilby back on, he replied shortly, "Something has actually been chewing on it."

Resting his hands on the cane, Graham returned to waiting for the train.

The train station that morning was already very busy, despite it being only Friday. The rows of seats were packed with passengers waiting for their trains and the walls were lined up with people leaning back. Brown, orange, and black were the dominant colors of what the people bustling there were wearing.

The sounds of chattering and the engines of the trains filled the giant building with steel beams decorating the walls. The station's ceiling, up high above, was installed with glass panels to let the morning sunbeams through, and steel bars lined up there for the electric lights to hand down from.

Being in the train station always filled Graham with awe.

"Our train should be here any moment now," he said, looking at his brown watch that showed almost seven in the morning.

He lifted dragged the large suitcase behind him and went closer to the track, standing behind the yellow line for safety. Luuk, who carried only a smaller suitcase than Graham and a backpack on his back, followed suit.

The sound of a train engine could be heard getting closer and closer rapidly. It got louder and louder as the big metal giant approached and made its stop.

Choo! Choo!

The black locomotive stopped right in front of the two men, looking tall and manacing like some kind of metal monster. The locomotive operator, whose seat was up high, got off right after, climbing down a ladder from the other side.

With the help of portable steps, Graham and Luuk entered the car that was painted all black on the outside and wooden brown on the inside. The interior looked classic, with brown seats rowed up all the way to the front. There were two seats on each side and a big enough leg room since it was the executive class train. The train floor was decorated with a beautiful carpet with brown zebra patterns on it.

Looking at their tickets, Graham and Luuk went to their assigned seats, the latter took the one near the window. Their seats were in the middle row on the left side, with the numbers G1 and G2 respectively.

"How long until we reach Rijssen?" asked Luuk, adjusting the backrest a little bit to make himself comfortable.

Doing the same, Graham then replied once he finished, "This is a fast train, so it should take us ten hours, whereas if we took the coach, it would take us twelve hours."

"Then I can probably sleep first," the young man said.

Without answering, Graham agreed with what he said, although he himself was not sleepy. He was more interested in looking out the window later because the view on the way from Sloten to Rijssen was magnificent. He chose the aisle seat so that he could look through both the left side and right side windows.

They waited for five more minutes before the train finally started moving. Besides the two of them, the car was filled with only fifteen other people when Graham finished counting. The seats in front of and behind them were empty, as well as the one right next to them. Most of the people filled the back and front rows, leaving the middle part alone. Making use of the fact that no one could see him, he used divination to observe all the other passengers on the train.

On the front row seats, there was a group of four people who seemed to be traveling together. one man and three women. They looked like university students going on a vacation, wearing bright sweaters and carrying a lot of stuff. Behind the group, there was an old couple that looked to be in their fifties. On the seat on the right side on row F, a rich-looking woman was sitting alone with an expensive-looking suitcase resting on the empty seat next to her.

Two rows behind Graham and Luuk were two men in business attire sitting together. They seemed to be business partners. Right on their right, there was another couple that looked to be in their late twenties with their five-year-old son squeezed in the middle. Farther to the back, on the row 'I' which was second to the last, a lone man wearing a trench coat and a hat was sitting leisurely. However, his eyes were apparently observing his surroundings carefully.

On the last row, there were two women that looked rather intimidating. They were wearing blue uniforms that Graham didn't recognize. The women also seemed to be observing the surroundings. Once he finished observing everyone, he got rid of the illusory flame and made sure no one had seen anything.

Choo! Choo!

The loud sound of the whistle marked the departure of the train. With that, they slowly left the station of Sloten.

The train station was located on Westeinde, and the track would go south of there and circled the city through its southern part. The northern part was too mountainous and the ground was not level, that was why the track was built there.

Snore...

Luuk had fallen asleep when the train left the city. Graham, on the other hand, was busy looking out the window with his chin resting on his right hand. The view suddenly changed once the train left the tunnel, which marked the exit of the city. On both sides of the train were now prairies, brownish in color and the morning light shining upon them.

Graham then stood up. He wanted to go to the back of the train where there was a small balcony. He wanted to feel the wind on his face and get some fresh air. Leaving his sleeping neighbor alone, he walked to the back, past the man with the hat and uniformed women, who gave him a glance. He also noticed that the father of the five-year-old wasn't in his seat.

Drag!

He pulled the back door, which was heavier than he thought, open, and found the man there, smoking. The strong wind blew his smoke away.

"Good morning," he greeted Graham politely with a smile.

"Good morning," Graham raised his hat a little and nodded.

He did not fancy cigarettes or the smoke, but the train was moving fast enough for it not to bother him.

"Want a pull?" he raised the box of cigarettes, offering Graham.

"No, I don't smoke, but thanks," he refused politely.

The man nodded, took another puff, and blew the smoke in the other direction. He then put the box back inside the pocket of his cotton pants.

"One of these days I just want to be left alone with my cigarettes. Are you married?" he asked casually. His brown eyes that showed a hint of fatigue looked at Graham's.

Shaking his head, Graham replied nonchalantly, "Nope, and not seeing it in the near future."

"Good. Enjoy your days while you can. Once you're married, everything will be about your family. Your 'self' is no more, especially once you have a child," he spoke with longing in his voice.

Graham didn't want to respond, so he just nodded and smile.

"Are you going to Rijssen as well?" asked the man.

Since the train was stopping in several small towns along the way, it was a valid question.

"Yes. Are you?" he asked back.

The man shook his head and took another puff before answering, "No. We're going to Schiedam to see my wife's mother. Will probably go to Rijssen once our business is done. It's just a shame to miss it since the town is so close to the city. Is it your first time?"

It was now Graham's turn to shake his head.

"No, it's my second time. But the first time was more than two years ago, so a lot of things surely have changed," he explained shortly.

"A beautiful city, isn't it? And the seafood just keeps making people come back. I also love their salted herring. It goes really well in sandwiches with some pickles and barbecue sauce," the man started blabbering about food, "And it's also perfect for this cold weather since the sun somehow shines brighter there and the sea is always warm, err... kind of."

Graham smiled and nodded, "It's true. That's why I'm also looking forward to going back there. It's still a long way to go, though."

He looked around and was greeted by the sunshiny prairies whose grass was swaying gently in the breeze. Autumn leaves were falling off the trees and blown away, carried by the wind to a faraway land.

Choo! Choo!

The train honked loudly to announce its presence in its surroundings.

"How long are you going to stay in Rijssen?" asked the man.

"It's going to be a while. It will depend on how fast I can finish my business there," Graham replied honestly without giving away any concrete information.

"Then it's perfect if you want to go around, isn't it? The city is truly gorgeous, so you shouldn't miss any corner of it. I know you've been there, but I can't help but want to say good things about the place since my father was born there," the man added. His tone was merry, "Those white buildings with blue roofs, they just look magnificent, especially with the vast ocean in the background."

The man's cigarette was almost finished. With one last puff, he was left with only the cigarette butt, which he discarded into a metal tube that he had taken out of his pocket.

"What business are you doing in Rijssen anyway? You kind of look like a detective," the man asked curiously with a kind of inquisitive tone in his voice.

"I am indeed a private detective, how did you know?" asked Graham nonchalantly. He actually had known about the man's occupation from observing him through divination back then and from his mannerisms.

"I am a Police officer, so this kind of thing is a part of my job, you know," he replied with pride in his voice, "But I'm on a vacation with my family currently, so I am but a normal person."

"Either way, it's reassuring to have a Police officer on board with us," Graham said.

The man must be a normal Police officer and not a member of the Contractbound division since Graham didn't recognize him. Although, he hadn't actually met all of the members so he could be wrong.

"Yes, and a detective will help a lot in case something came up," he added, "My name is Milan van Dijk," he offered his hand.

Giving the man a firm handshake, Graham replied, "Graham Hymes, private detective."

He wasn't concerned about giving his real name since the Police Contractbounds already knew about him anyway. Besides, if things turned for the worse, he could always erase Milan's memory using Valentine's ability that he had copied to Purloin.

"Somebody, help!"

Suddenly, a muffled shouting came from inside the car, which alerted both men. Quickly, they returned.

Once they were inside, the noise of the engine was muffled by the car, giving them some quiet moment. They looked at the crowd of people gathering near the seat of the two businessmen. One of them was standing among the crowd.

"What is happening here?" Milan asked after making sure that his wife and son, who were sitting right next to the crowd, were alright.

"He... he's not breathing!" the man in the business attire shouted hysterically while pointing at his companion on the seat.