#murder 6

“Don’t you just love dancing? It’s truly romantic, isn’t it? Unfortunately it wasn’t such a ball for Teja Desai now was it? Let me tell you how it was done. It started with that morning before, I gave you all some shoes, all of them special. But Teja’s were an extra special type of shoe. Giving her a pair of sparkly blue wedges I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist. But, these shoes had a needle on the inside, small enough for no one to notice. The needles were attached to a pouch that was stuffed inside the wedge and was filled with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide can be a deadly chemical, however, I had diluted the chemical with water, and it was not being injected directly into her bloodstream like a vein or artery since the needle was so small. Along with that, the chemical was being injected into her foot rather than anywhere else that’s closer to any vital organs. Instead, what this did was make her wosy. I also got rid of any traction that may have been at the bottom of her shoes. I then went and delivered shoes to everyone else. Everyone else’s shoes had extra traction on the bottom. I did this because I went downstairs and shined the floor of the ballroom. And while I was down there, I set up the rig that I had prepared. What I did is put BB gun into the eye of a Kek statue. The BB gun was set to a height where when set off it would hit Teja on the head. I went back upstairs to wait for our little dance party to start. When it did, you may have noticed Teja struggling to dance a little bit. This was due to the fact that she had no traction on the slick floors and because the hydrogen peroxide was beginning to really take some effect. I was watching her the entire time, and when she got to the center of the dance floor, I hit a button on my remote control. This remote control cut the lights and the music, and everyone froze in fear. I then clicked it again, and the BB gun inside the statue went off. Due to her wosy state and her terrible shoes, the BB gun was able to hit her right on the head, which caused her to fall. She fell and hit the back of her head, hard, and this is what caused her to die. Pretty simple, but also very extra. Make a wish for next time, in hopes you won’t get killed. -Your Killer”

The guests squirm in their seats as Kamilah hands out the cards.

Kenji: Spared

Lily: Scared

Matt: Spared

Estela: Scared

Jake: Scared

In the past Matt’s loud singing would wake her up better than any alarm, seeing how their rooms had been attached at one point. It felt so odd to have everything be so... quiet? Maybe she was just noticing the silence of the house, especially when their louder companions had slowly gotten picked off. Hah, maybe that was the killer’s real motive and the whole case solving thing was a hoax. At this point, she wouldn’t be surprised.

She was safe this week, which was the only fact that Mimi really deemed necessary at the moment. She felt bad for the Ace Loudmouth, and the Director Dire, or was it Producer Prude? Pfft, as if she would ever say that. It was rude even for her tastes. Like, thank god there weren’t any mind readers in here, especially since most of her day was spent cursing out Shelly for taking so long to bring things into their next stages.

It felt like weeks had passed since Matt’s death, and now there was a silent threat floating in the air.

Be careful. You will die if you make one wrong move.  

“...eh, whatever.” Mimi brushes the feeling off, hurrying towards the main floor bathroom. In the morning all the early birds like Daryan and Alita would hog the bathroom, and latecomers like Luke and Lana never managed to let her shower in peace without making nitpicky comments. She could hear the sounds of an early lunch being prepared, and Shelly debating with someone or another. It was almost bizarre how common this all was now. How very routine.

“And that’s when I said, ‘I’m just a humble ice cream server!’ right after I tried to assassinate a foreign president,” Shelly says with pride, only to be rebutted by several outcries and someone calling him a sleaze, if Mimi heard correctly. Hah. 

Grabbing a towel from the cabinet that sat outside the bathroom, Mimi throws it over her shoulder along with her clean clothes, and takes a step into the bathroom.

She was going to make this easy and simple. Wash her hair, use one of Cammy's avocado face masks, and finally-

She didn’t have a moment to think before her ears were hit with the sharp crash of something, and in the next instant Mimi found herself lying on her back, smoke and debris flying out from the morgue as a huge tremor hit the building.

“What the hell was that!” someone's voice shouted, water spraying from the sky.

A second tremor shook the building, and the lights flickered before shutting off completely. In a moment the emergency lights flicker on, and the foyer is filled with smoke and the sounds of gathering.

“What has happened here?” Shelly’s voice is shaky, which is almost more shocking than the god damn explosion that just happened two inches from her face. Mimi clutches her head and scoots back into the wall, her eyes focusing on the crowd surrounding her at the mouth of the now destroyed communal bathroom.

Alita’s shriek catches her attention. “Was that a bomb?!”

Redd coughs into the air. “Huzzah! Two glorious bombs-" he's cut off by his own lack of breath.

“Was anyone in there?” Lana shouts, her voice a ghost in the room.

“Yeah, almost me!” Mimi snaps, wincing through the ringing in her ears.

“Luke? Dee? You better not be fuckin’ with us!” Daryan’s pomp is just barely visible through the smoke. “This is some bullshit! Who the hell would bomb the morgue?”

Shelly’s face appears, highlighted in red that cascades off of the emergency lights. “It seems the killer has made their move.”

Mimi scrambles to her feet, coughing. The taste of dust coated her mouth.

A bomb? Two? So early in the morning?

Was it Dee? Or was it Luke? Had anyone seen them at all this morning?

A figure appears from the fog, and everyone turns towards them.

“I live!” the voice shouts, and Luke throws himself into the fray, his body soaked from the emergency sprinklers. “Once again, the great ace detective frees himself from death's grasp! Success!”

“Jesus, how the hell does he keep doing this?” someone mutters from within the group.

Mimi doesn’t give a damn. She wipes the water from her eyes and snarls, “Then that means Dee’s fucked!”

She pulls herself up and stumbles towards the morgue, closely followed by her other housemates. Stepping over the broken sinks, battered doors, and the bench they had been using as an autopsy table, all eyes fall on a body laying at the end of the room.

Covered in blood and pieces of drywall, was Dee Vasquez.

For a moment, everyone is silent. The hissing of the sprinklers spraying water over their latest crime scene muffles the sound of their breaths. The ringing in her ears hasn’t stopped either. Despite feeling like they’ve waited forever for the next round to start, Mimi can’t bring herself to move towards the body.

From the back of the group, someone clears their throat. The group turns to let Shelly through the entrance of the bathroom. He steps over to a valve on the wall and turns it, shutting off the sprinklers. He takes his soaked gloves off, but doesn’t turn to face the group again.

“It seems that we now have a new case at hand. Once I turn the power back on, we shall divide into groups. As always, your options are the Morgue, the Crime Scene, and the Last Known Whereabouts.”

He pauses.

“Due to... the nature of this case, the morgue will be moved to another room permanently. Do not concern yourselves about making the necessary arrangements, I will take care of that myself. Simply focus on your investigations, as you always have before.” With that, he turns on his heel to leave the now ruined bathroom.

Without further ado, he reads from the paper.

“I am sure that this case has come as quite the surprise for most of you. Perhaps especially so for that of Ms. Miney, who got a front row seat to my little display. Of course, there was quite more occurring behind the scenes then what you all could even possibly comprehend.

Earlier in the week I had created a trap that would devastate even the most elusive of sleuths. I don't think anyone expected our morgue to become the final resting place of our latest victim, however it was quite easy to wait for Dee to enter the Morgue before setting off my bomb. One of two, as most of you have noticed. The second bomb, as located in the upstairs bathroom was a diversion to the first. It was necessary to allow an outlet for the water pressure, as to avoid flooding the entire estate with water. As for the bathrooms, two have become necessary collateral. A means to an end.

Within the utility closet there lay the switch that would activate both bombs. All I needed to do was wait until Dee entered the designated zone before activating the bomb I had prepared in the office above. If any of you had been within the morgue as well, I am sure you would have also become a victim in all this.

Although unoriginal, I do believe I have made my point that I could kill any of you at anytime. Isn't this an alluring game-”

Shelly pauses, sweeping over the faces of confusion that surround him, especially considering how cut and dry this case seemed to be.

“I apologize, but I can not continue to read such a blatant lie.” Shelly folds the paper with sharp, crisp movements. “Our killer attempts to deceive you, and in the process, protect themselves for what might be the truth of this case.”

“What do you mean?” Lana questions, her face pale.

“It is no secret that the bomb that I had assisted in placing a week ago in the office had been moved into another location,” Shelly says briskly. “Despite the killer wanting us to believe the morgue was the prime location of the bomb, the fact that the ceiling is intact betrays the fact that the bomb was lowered- the new location being that of my room, as seen by the ample damage.”

Shocked gasps come from a few members of the group, but it appears this wasn’t a surprise to all.

“As I was distracted making breakfast, the killer had been collecting resources. Piano wire and guitar strings have been going missing in the Music room, both of which would be used to capture Dee Vasquez prior to the bomb. With her arms tied behind her, and as shown by the evidence of the blood on my room’s door, Ms. Vasquez was dead before the bomb had ever gone off.”

“But how- ?” Redd asks, only to but cut off by an upraised hand.

Shelly continues as if Redd hadn’t spoken. “Within the utility room the switch I had planted for the office bomb and second bathroom had been moved. The glue that was on the switch showed it being removed. The killer, with Dee’s corpse left in my room, severed the wires of the bomb moved to make it appear as if it had been sabotaged. The second switch was hidden beneath the broken handle of the trophy room, so it could be turned and activated at any moment with delay. The handle would eventually turn and thus set off the bomb. Ms. Mini had almost walked into her own death, or that is how it may have looked. The wires used to tie Ms. Vasquez had been removed post mortem and hidden within the dining room.” His confession complete, he smiles bitterly. “It seems that I, too, have become a target in this game.”

Silence falls over the group, as everyone stops to absorb this information. At the corner of the a certain person’s lips, a smile appears, if only for a moment.

Shelly peers at the letter left disregarded on the library desk, “And now it has come to the moment where we reveal our greatest sleuth, which may come as a surprise. To the Ace Detective himself, Mr. Atmey, you have come closest to figuring out the truth to this mystery.”

Luke looks rather shell-shocked as this revelation.

“As for those with the worst cases... Mr. White and Ms. Skye, you are our bottom two.”

Lana and Redd turn to glance at each other, the reality of their fates now sitting fimly in the open.

“For the rest of the evening, I leave you to your own devices. I have matters to take care of.”

The next morning, Jake wakes up first, he gets ready and begins to exit his room. Outside of his room, is a note and a pair of shoes. He frowns and picks up the nice shiny shoes and reads over the note: “Guests, tonight we will be having a dance! Please remain in your rooms until seven o’clock tonight. Wear these shoes and the outfits provided to you in your closets. Breakfast and Lunch will be served to you. -Kamilah”

Next door, Estela’s door opens and she finds her own pair of shoes outside, with a note attached as well. “Looks like we’ll be matching.” She shows Jake her blue shiny shoes, each other them a colorful and bright royal blue.

“Looks like we all are,” Lily has exited her room and is now standing with the other guests. 

Kenji and Damien join the group, both of them holding up their own shiny pair of blue shoes. 

“Where are Teja and Matt?” Kenji asks as he looks over the group. The guests quiet down until a door creeks open. Teja exits her room and a moment later, Matt exits his own. 

“Looks like you two survived the night,” Jake tells them as they approach. “Anyone else believe the dance tonight is just a cover up?” 

“You may be right,” Teja sighs. “But at least we survived another night.” 

“Okay well, we read what our notes said,” Damien says. “I guess I’ll see you all tonight. 

Night finally falls over the manor, and each other guests get dressed up in the outfits provided to them. The ladies wear blue dresses while the gents wear black suits. All of their shoes match, and soon they head downstairs to the ballroom. 

Kamilah is also dressed up, but is decked out in all black. She smiles to everyone as they enter. Music is playing, a classical song, and food has been set up on the other side of the room. 

“Good evening, glad to see you all survived the day so far,” she glances at Teja and Matt. “I think it’s time we had a little bit of fun. Let’s mingle, dance, and have a fun time!” 

The guests clap and soon they begin dancing with one another. They pair up and spin each other around, some grab drinks off of the nearby table, laughing and having a good time. The music changes from a classical song to something more modern, back to a slower song, and to everything in between. The night goes on, everyone forgetting where they are as they mingle and being to get tipsy. 

Teja slips as she tries to get spun around by Kenji. “Seems like you’re slipping a lot tonight,” he asks with concern. She holds on tight to his shoulders. 

“I guess I have been,” she gives him a nervous chuckle. “Why don’t you ask Lily to dance with you, or even Jake. I’m... going to get something to drink.” Teja walks over to the other side of the room, slipping on the floors but catching herself before she can tumble to the ground. 

“Is she okay?” Damien and Lily approach Kenji as Teja stumbles away. 

“She may have had a little too much to drink,” he tells them. “But I think she’ll be okay.” 

“Hey Teja,” Matt calls across the room. The song changes to the waltz as he speaks. “Come on, I haven’t danced with you all night.” 

She smiles and trips a little on her way to meet him. He walks toward the center of the dance floor, his hand reaching out as Teja meets him. But the lights and music cut out before their fingertips can touch. The guests gasp as they are swallowed by complete darkness. 

“Guests, please stay calm,” Kamilah says, everyone can hear her heels tapping on the floor. “It’s just a little power outage.” 

As she finishes speaking, the lights flicker on and everyone squints in the bright room. “Oh my gosh!” someone yells and everyone else looks to the center of the room. 

Matt stands where he was before the lights went out, but now Teja lays on the floor, dead. 

“I guess it’s time to end the dance,” Kamilah ushers everyone out of the room. “I think you all know what to do.”