All twelve men and women sat at the dinner table next to the kitchen. They ate in relative silence with only Hunter constantly trying to talk to those next to him. Adrian had Richard on one side much to his chagrin and Shanice on the other who just ate in silence while staring at everyone with shrewd eyes.
So much for ‘socializing’, Adrian thought. He looked down at the food on his plate. They had grilled two whole marinated chicken they had found in the fridge (which was surprisingly big on the inside) and made salad out of the vegetables.
The dinner lasted no more than twenty minutes. The first one to leave was Raj and others soon followed with Adrian opting to stay behind on Hunter’s suggestion to wash the dishes.
“We need to eat again tomorrow. And it’s not like our host is going to clean for us,” Hunter had said.
Tharonby and Raven, who seemed to have bonded quite well, volunteered to stay back as well.
“Well, I guess team right-side is sticking together eh?” Hunter had commented.
Adrian and Tharonby started carrying the plates from the table to the sink were Hunter began washing them. Beside him, Raven was busy cleaning inside the grill they’d used.
“Um, Adrian?” Tharonby said as they walked back into the dining room to gather the plates.
“Yeah?” he answered.
Tharonby looked to the door shiftily and with lowered voice said, “I know who you are.”
Adrian stiffened. “What do you mean?” he asked with as genuine a confused expression he could manage.
“You’re not an assistant professor, are you?” she asked. She started grabbing the glasses on the table.
“I most certainly am.”
“No you’re not. You’re the detective.”
“Well, I sure would love to be one but trust me, I have absolutely no detective skills.”
“Please don’t lie!” Tharonby hissed in a low voice. “I know you’re the detective. I’ve read about your cases in the paper. I recognized your name and your face. You solved the apartment murder six months ago – the one with the beheading! You’re the one who proved that Olympics athlete guilty of murder in a restaurant! You’re the one who solved the case where the body was found in a shower inside a locked bathroom! And I know you’ve solved a lot more cases than that.”
Adrian just stood there staring at Tharonby who stared back with equal intensity.
“You know, I can’t wash the plates if they’re not here!” Hunter’s voice came from the kitchen.
Adrian hastily grabbed the rest of the plates and walked to the sink where he handed them to Hunter. Tharonby followed him, handing the Australian the glasses before moving to wipe the kitchen counter. Raven was still busy working on the grill.
“You know, before I was a teacher, I used to work in a boozer in Melbourne,” Hunter was saying. “That was back when I was still a student at La Trobe Uni over there. The pay was good but the manager was a real whacker. I couldn’t work under him so I had to quit.”
He kept talking as Adrian began to dry the plates and place them away. Raven had finished cleaning the grill, and left the kitchen along with Tharonby, who had finished wiping the counter and gave Adrian a stare as they left.
After they were gone, Hunter turned to Adrian and said, “I think it’s either that Tharonby or that Antoine guy who’s the kidnapper.”
Adrian narrowed his eyebrows. “Why would you think that?”
“Well, the voice on the speaker – it had a British accent. And those two are the only ones here who are, in a way, British.”
“It’s possible but unlikely. Accents are easy to fake. For instance,” Adrian suddenly changed his accent, “this right here is the standard Californian accent. Hello, I am Adrian from the West Coast.” He switched back to his original accent. “I learned to fake that accent while I was studying in the States. I can fake a British accent too although not as good as a native speaker. Talking about which it’d be even easier for you since you’re Australian. That’d make you a good suspect as them.”
“I suppose you’re right. And, there’s the bell.”
A bell had rung throughout the mansion – probably the same one that the announcement had mentioned.
“That means it’s ten o’ clock and we should probably be heading back to our rooms,” Adrian said.
“There’s still an hour left. What’s the hurry? You go. I’ll go play a few round of pool,” Hunter replied.
Turning off the kitchen lights, both of them exited the kitchen. The library doors were wide open; Adrian could see Richard reading a book inside. He could also hear the sound of a cue stick striking a billiard when Hunter opened the doors to the pool room. Adrian contemplated grabbing a book from the library but discarded the idea upon realizing he would probably have to talk to Richard.
He walked upstairs to his room and took a shower in the adjoining bathroom. He had been lying in bed for a while afterwards, thinking about the events of the day when the second bell rang.
“Eleven o’clock,” he muttered to himself.
He could hear footsteps outside his door as the individuals walked to their room. Very soon, all became quiet and he drifted off to sleep.
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