At least with the Orient Express, the killers had the grace to acknowledge what they’d done.
A full-scale mock-up of a high-speed train, is displayed at the Capitol in Sacramento, on Feb. 26, 2015. The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s biennial business plan, released Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, shows the estimated cost of the project rising by about $5 billion, compared to the 2020 plan, up to as much as $105 billion. “Stop where you are,” declared the mustachioed detective, in a European accent, as he entered the Assembly chamber.Legislators looked puzzled.
“I’m M. Hercule Poirot and I was on the express to Istanbul when Interpol called. I flew Turkish Airlines to SFO, took BART to catch the Amtrak to Sacramento, which was lovely but empty. Then I made the mistake of trying Sacramento light rail, which smelled like a crime scene … but, Mr. Speaker, you haven’t answered my question.”
“Why are you crediting the Democrats for the murder?” interjected the Republican leader. “We’ve been working to kill high-speed rail for years.” “And hasn’t that worked well?” the detective asked rhetorically. “Also, you demand wages that would be considered extortionate even among the guilds of the European continent. Your demands have made building high-speed rail, or anything else, scandalously expensive in this state. Please consider yourself under suspicion for the death of this project and the California dream.”