A lot of good material for amateur sleuthing is on this page:
1. The attacker had to look at a photograph of the victim to be sure that he had the right person. Thus the attacker did not know the victim. So the attacker is someone with whom the victim has no personal relationship. This suggests that the attacker is a contract killer.
2. The victim was in a train yard holding a wrench. So he probably worked at the train yard.So the question is who would hire a contract killer to kill an ordinary railroad worker?
3. Railroad workers are unionized. So maybe the victim was trying to organize a strike and the railroad’s management had him killed. Or maybe he discovered that union officials were taking money out of the union treasury for personal use in secret and the union had him killed. Or maybe this had nothing to do with the union and he discovered that the railroad was doing something illegal and the railroad’s management had him killed to keep him from going to the authorities.
I know that this is all just guesswork and I cannot tell if any of my guesses are right. Nevertheless, it will be fun to see if any of my guesses turn out to be true as the investigation unfolds.
About the only thing we can be sure of is that the assailant in this page will be confused with the person the cops were chasing in the previous one, given the overall thrust of this chapter.
You forget the possibility he learned something that implicated someone powerful, that wasn’t associated, (legitimately,) with the railroad.
For instance, he may have been a star witness in an upcoming or ongoing trial for a drug kingpin that was burying bails of cocaine in the coal cars to be fished out a couple states later.
Also, he may have been a witness to a crime that had nothing to do with the railroad, such as a murder, and it took the hitman this long to find him.
Third possibility is the “hitman” is a vigilante, who is avenging someone, say the woman in the picture. Perhaps he is SURE the guy did his sister wrong, and people who hurt his family don’t live to repeat their mistakes.
Too many possibilities to consider. Too many variables within the distinct possibilities.
What do American buffers look like, then? I’m a rail enthusiast over here in Britain, but I haven’t been to America since I became one. I’ve looked online but all I could see is the coupler on its own on trains without buffers. Do they just not have buffers?
American couplings do not require, nor do they use, buffers. Buffers are needed because the European coupling is a chain, and so provides no resistance to the cars moving together. American couplings don’t use a chain, being solid on each side (so they resist the cars moving together, not just coming apart).
Are we wondering whether the hit man killed the right guy? After everything we just went through, and he’s making a life-or-death decision based on recognizing his appearance from a photo?
Ow.
Is it just me or does the wound shift to the left in the last panel? I know… Picky picky.
A lot of good material for amateur sleuthing is on this page:
1. The attacker had to look at a photograph of the victim to be sure that he had the right person. Thus the attacker did not know the victim. So the attacker is someone with whom the victim has no personal relationship. This suggests that the attacker is a contract killer.
2. The victim was in a train yard holding a wrench. So he probably worked at the train yard.So the question is who would hire a contract killer to kill an ordinary railroad worker?
3. Railroad workers are unionized. So maybe the victim was trying to organize a strike and the railroad’s management had him killed. Or maybe he discovered that union officials were taking money out of the union treasury for personal use in secret and the union had him killed. Or maybe this had nothing to do with the union and he discovered that the railroad was doing something illegal and the railroad’s management had him killed to keep him from going to the authorities.
I know that this is all just guesswork and I cannot tell if any of my guesses are right. Nevertheless, it will be fun to see if any of my guesses turn out to be true as the investigation unfolds.
About the only thing we can be sure of is that the assailant in this page will be confused with the person the cops were chasing in the previous one, given the overall thrust of this chapter.
You are right. But I already said that I don’t know if any of my ideas are right. Our positions are non-contradictory.
Seeing as how the person the cops were chasing was wearing a skirt and rollerblades, I’m not so sure.
You forget the possibility he learned something that implicated someone powerful, that wasn’t associated, (legitimately,) with the railroad.
For instance, he may have been a star witness in an upcoming or ongoing trial for a drug kingpin that was burying bails of cocaine in the coal cars to be fished out a couple states later.
Also, he may have been a witness to a crime that had nothing to do with the railroad, such as a murder, and it took the hitman this long to find him.
Third possibility is the “hitman” is a vigilante, who is avenging someone, say the woman in the picture. Perhaps he is SURE the guy did his sister wrong, and people who hurt his family don’t live to repeat their mistakes.
Too many possibilities to consider. Too many variables within the distinct possibilities.
Yes. But those possibilities will keep us all moderately entertained until discussion of the law finally resumes.
Most likely explanation is the dude is killing someone who is girlfriend or wife cheated with, hence the picture.
Clearly an anti-duckface crusader.
Any extra credit for noticing those are European buffers on the tank car?
Yes!
What do American buffers look like, then? I’m a rail enthusiast over here in Britain, but I haven’t been to America since I became one. I’ve looked online but all I could see is the coupler on its own on trains without buffers. Do they just not have buffers?
(Also, where IS the coupler there?)
American couplings do not require, nor do they use, buffers. Buffers are needed because the European coupling is a chain, and so provides no resistance to the cars moving together. American couplings don’t use a chain, being solid on each side (so they resist the cars moving together, not just coming apart).
Janney Coupler
Are we wondering whether the hit man killed the right guy? After everything we just went through, and he’s making a life-or-death decision based on recognizing his appearance from a photo?