‘Do cover the corpse before you leave. And please do not vomit on the floor. I like my mansion clean. Now then detective, do your work but make sure no one finds out who you are unless you want them to die prematurely. I wish you all a very good morning. Have a nice day. Don’t let the dead woman ruin it.’
‘… not supposed to be the first one to die.’
So, the host hadn’t yet started killing in order, Adrian thought. That meant he still had no clue as to who would die next.
Hunter checked for Tharonby’s pulse in her hands, since the neck was out of question, and declared her dead. Richard, to make sure that Hunter wasn’t lying, checked for himself and verified what the Australian had said. The duo covered the body as per the instructions and left the room with everyone, using a piece cloth to stuff the empty space where the knob had been and use it to wedge the door shut.
“To be honest, I didn’t actually expect there to be a death. Up until a moment ago, I was still thinking that this was all an elaborate prank,” Hunter said to Adrian. They were walking a few paces behind the other nine as all of them headed downstairs.
Adrian nodded but said nothing; he was thinking about the death. More specifically, he was thinking about the dead body. The fact that the hands had been much paler than the face had piqued his interest. Dead bodies didn’t usually do that.
He had also observed the ease with which both Hunter and Richard had moved the hand. Given the flexibility of the dead woman’s muscles and the still partially liquid blood dripping down the side of the bed, the murder had occurred quite recently. He would put the time of death at about an hour or so before they had been informed of it via the announcement.
Once downstairs, Antoine suggested that they all have something to eat. As such, everyone headed to the kitchen for breakfast.
“Whoever the murderer is,” Shanice said out loud, “he is a psychotic person.”
All of them were sat around the dining table in the dining room.
“‘He’? It could also have been a woman,” Antoine said.
“Whatever the gender of the murderer, we can all agree that he/she wasn’t joking about killing us, my friends,” Raj said.
“And the worst part? The murderer is her with us,” Richard added. He panned around the room, fixating his gaze on Adrian for a little more while than others.
He suspects me, Adrian thought.
“Tharonby Huifeyl is dead and there’s not much we can do for now. The murderer may be here with us but there’s no hope of catching him/her without any evidence. So, anyone want coffee in the meantime?” Hunter asked, trying to defuse the tension in the room. He looked about the room in anticipation.
“Well, we did come here for breakfast on Antoine’s suggestion,” Adrian said.
“You know what, I’m not hungry. I’ll get something to eat later on when I feel like it,” Richard commented. He got up and walked out of the room.
“I’m willing to bet my entire savings account on the fact that that man has no friends,” Hunter commented. “So, again, who wants coffee?”
There was a murmur as everyone discussed with themselves if they were going to have a drink. In the end, Hunter ended up making coffee for himself, Adrian, Kel and Shanice. Everyone else opted for tea and Antoine volunteered to make it for them.
Adrian sat silently, staring off into the distance while sipping the hot beverage from his mug. He had more or less memorized the entire crime scene in the time he had been there. He didn’t usually do that when solving cases but he knew that he couldn’t risk getting caught going back to that room. Not without endangering the life of anyone who caught him.
Of course, there wasn’t anything of significance in the room anyways. He doubted he would have found anything in the bathroom even if he had looked, given the meticulousness of the host.
He took another sip and looked around at the people in the room.
All of them had a vacant look in their eyes as if lost deep in thought. He was sure he knew what they were thinking. He was thinking of it too.
Who would die next?
ns 15.158.61.20da2
