Trouble on the Tracks, Chapter 1
Enjoy the first chapter of the seventh book in the Travel is Murder mystery series!
Alex's entire body tingled with excitement. King Street Station's grand ceiling soared above her, and the cavernous station echoed with the conversations of fellow travelers.
She scanned the room, but the passengers themselves barely registered beyond a vague curiosity about how many were checking something off a list, and how many simply needed to get from one place to another. The journalist in her wanted to find out. But the woman who'd just spent eight days alone driving up the Pacific coast wasn't quite ready to leave her cocoon.
An open spot on a bench near a pair of doors called her name. While she wasn’t sure if those were the doors she’d be exiting to get to the train, she figured it was a good spot to settle in. She'd spent the morning wandering downtown Seattle, ending up at Pike Place Market, where she'd picked up a bag of single-serve coffees from one of the independent roasters and a bar of dark chocolate studded with espresso beans. She was debating on whether to dig into her treat or wait until she was on the train when her phone buzzed.
“Guess where I am right now?” she answered.
“Nepal? Edinburgh? Yuma?” William guessed.
Alex laughed. “Oh, you’re so close, but none of the above.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense. I’m bored to tears.”
“You are never bored.”
“True. But I’m perilously close. Billy’s not getting off work for another three hours and Bessie’s been packed for days. I need some vicarious excitement, although I should probably be napping since we’ll be driving about nineteen straight hours.”
“Why in the world would you do that?”
“Because Mr. Detective can’t take unlimited time off. At least we both like to drive.”
“Where are you two lovebirds headed this time?”
“Believe it or not, Great Falls, Montana.”
Alex perked up. “Let me guess–the Lewis and Clark Museum?”
“That, and a mermaid bar.”
“A what?”
“Nope. Not so fast. You still haven’t told me where you are. Last I heard, you were driving up the Pacific coast. So, Alaska?”
Alex guffawed, startling the woman at the other end of the bench. She mouthed a sheepish apology before answering. “Not that far. I’m in Seattle, at King Street Station.” She waited. She loved teasing him, and she had time to spare before her train boarded since she’d arrived early.
“King Street Station, eh? You’re taking the Glacier Run?”
“Ding ding ding! First try.”
“Let me get this straight. You flew out to San Diego, drove up the coast, and you’re taking the train back to Chicago. You’re literally doing planes, trains, and automobiles.”
“Exactly. Although that wasn’t my original intent. It just worked out that way.”
“Are you writing about this? Scratch that. Of course you are.”
Alex laughed again. “I’m sure I will, although I didn’t book this trip for a story. But you know me. I can’t resist.”
“You and me both. I find a good trail or campsite and I have to tell the world, which has gotten me in trouble with a few people who wish I’d keep those kinds of places secret.”
“I hear you. I’ve been told I can’t ever write about certain places, and if I do, to mention frequently that they’re full.” As travel writers, Alex and William had a shared passion for telling the stories of the places they’d been. They knew that if they loved it, others would, too. There was more to it than sheer enthusiasm, though. William wove conservation into every piece he wrote, and Alex focused on the people she encountered. She believed the more people knew about others, and could connect with them through her stories, the more empathetic they’d be. They both believed they were making the world a better place.
“So how’d this all come about?”
Alex shrugged, although William couldn’t see her. “I’ve been wanting to drive the Pacific Coast Highway forever, and I’ve also wanted to take the train from Seattle to Chicago. I had some free time, so I booked it.”
It had only been a few weeks since Alex had found herself with an opening in her often-busy schedule. While she loved traveling, nearly all of her trips centered around her work. That meant she had to be “on” the whole time, and while she was established enough to have a distinct niche and could specify with her partner destinations what activities she’d experience–and which she wouldn’t–she was still at their beck and call.
Alex had finished a particularly busy week exploring a small town in northern Illinois when an email promoting the legendary Glacier Run popped up. It was something she’d always wanted to do. Realizing the train began in Seattle, she thought of another bucket list trip she’d wanted to take for as long as she could remember: driving up the Pacific Coast. Within an hour she’d booked a flight to San Diego, rented an SUV for the one-way trip, reserved a hotel night in Seattle, and bought a ticket on the cross-country train.
“Good.”
It was a simple word, but Alex could hear the intention behind her friend’s statement. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled, feeling the weight of her emotions and fighting back tears.
“Are you okay?” William asked when she hadn’t spoken for a while.
She stared out the picture windows at the rows of trains waiting to be loaded with passengers. Some, like her, would go the entire distance to Chicago; others would get off along the way. Everyone who boarded would have a story, and while she intended to take time for introspection over the next two days, she also hoped to meet a few of those fellow travelers and discover why they’d decided to take the legendary line.
“Yes,” she finally answered, grateful that William always knew when to give her space. “Better than okay, actually. The last week and a half has been exactly what I needed. Ever since I finished treatment I’ve been going nonstop.”
“You do realize that driving from the southern end of the country to the northern is literally going nonstop.”
Alex laughed again. “Goof. Of course. What I mean is, I’ve gone on press trip after press trip, always with other people, always looking for an angle to write about. With the exception of that week in Gulf Shores, which was over a year ago, I’ve taken no time to slow down and breathe. To think about my new reality.”
“I get it. Life’s a little different now, isn’t it?”
“You could say that again.”
“Life’s a little different now–”
Alex could sense William’s grin through the phone. It made her wonder, for a moment, why they never did video calls, but just for a moment. She actually enjoyed picturing him in her mind based on his words and tone. It made her feel closer to him somehow.
“It definitely is,” she murmured. Alex’s cancer diagnosis nearly three years before had made her take a serious look at her life. She resisted thinking she’d been forced to make that assessment, though. Lots of people received devastating diagnoses and didn’t completely overhaul their lives. But for Alex, everything was different, and with every “bonus day,” as her other best friend Emily called it, she grew increasingly grateful that she had a second chance.
“No more putting things off,” she continued. “No more doing things that don’t matter. No more FOMO and a lot more JOMO.”
“Except for bucket list adventures like taking a cross country train by yourself. You are by yourself, right? Ethan’s not with you?”
“Not for this trip. I needed to do it alone. I’m still not sure where things are headed with him.”
“Understandable,” William said. “Promise me something.”
“Depends on what it is…”
“Ha! You know me well. Promise me you won’t stay in your room the whole trip. I know you like your alone time, but I bet you’ll meet some people with stories that’ll have you running to your keyboard.”
“That’ll be easy, since I didn’t get a room.”
“You didn’t get a–what? What do you mean?” he said, aghast.
“I’m riding in coach.”
“You’re doing what?!” William exploded. His incredulity was so loud Alex had to take out her earbuds.
“I’m riding in coach,” she repeated calmly.
“I’m appalled. Aghast,” William sputtered, confirming her suspicion. “Coach? You do realize you won’t be able to shower for two days.”
Alex laughed. “Says the man who’ll go camping for a week in the wilderness.”
“That’s different.”
“You’ve got your wilderness. I’ve got mine.”
“But you love camping! Unless it was all a lie.”
Alex shook her head, although she knew William still couldn’t see her. “Yes, my wild woolly friend. I love camping. And I love new adventures. This is one of them.”
“But coach?” He sounded positively heartbroken. “Have I taught you nothing?”
“You’ve taught me plenty, O Wise One, but I have a bit of experience traveling all by myself. You do realize I was a fully-formed human being, capable of feeding and even dressing myself, before we met.”
“Feeding, sure. Dressing yourself? Remember, darling, I’ve seen your wardrobe.”
Alex chuckled. She noticed the conductor walking towards the glass doors and stood up, shrugging her backpack onto her shoulders and slinging her overnight bag on top of her suitcase. “My wardrobe is fine, thank you very much. Look, this is fun, but I’ve got to go. They're going to line us up and I want to be near the front.”
“Overachiever. I bet you always sat in the front of the classroom and were every teacher’s pet.”
“You know it. Goodbye, William. Give Billy my love.”
Her friend harrumphed. “Coach seat. Fine. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” She ended the call and moved forward, joining the short queue of gathering passengers.
Find out what happens next! E-book available for immediate download. Paperbacks ship May 25, 2026. Get your copy now!