Fic: Murder on the Outside Express: Interlude
Over on adwc, BKWillis remarked "I wish we could've seen a bit of Zoë's group". Catch me passing up a chance to write about King Charles's Head Zoë...
"Now, girls," Harry said. "Let's see if we've got anywhere, shall we?"
"Please do not call me a girl," Leela said.
"Sorry, old thing."
"Or 'old thing'. My name is Leela."
"Well, then, um, Leela," Harry blushed slightly. "Have you got a theory of the crime?"
"That it was the act of a traitor. Nobody with the least honour would strike from behind, under cover of darkness. Mark my words."
"Oh. Well, how about you, Miss Pallister?"
"I'm positive it's the Colonel," Vicki said.
"Why?"
She shrugged. "Instinct. I just know. I'm never wrong about these things."
"You are," Leela told her bluntly. "The Colonel is a man of honour. He would fight his enemy by the light of day, not skulking in the shadows."
"And what would you know? You're not even English!"
"Ladies, ladies." Harry glanced over to where Zoë was fidgeting, a bulging notebook on the table in front of her. "Miss Heriot, do you have any suggestions?"
"I've drawn out all the possible permutations," Zoë said brightly. "Now I think we should try to assign some probabilities, based on the other evidence we've collated."
"Sorry, that went straight past me."
"And me," Vicki added.
Zoë shot her a frustrated look. Vicki might have attended a prestigious finishing school, but that didn't seem to translate into anything that she, Zoë, would consider actual academic achievement.
"It's a simple logic diagram," she said. "All we need to do is look at each combination in turn and see if we can rule it out of consideration."
"Combinations?" Harry laughed. "I don't see how underwear fits into this."
With difficulty, Zoë refrained from bashing her head against the table.