So Then There Were None

by Annie Adams

  He reached over me and lifted his shirt sleeve off of the bed and produced a key card.

  “Why wouldn’t she just tell me that? Instead she made up some stupid story about your room key,” I said.

  “Sounds like she just panicked.”

  “I guess…”

  “It must have felt awkward for her when she came in the room,” he said.

  Poor Eva, I thought to myself. The cool thing about having conversations with yourself in your head is that you can be as sarcastic as you want and nobody else knows.

  “I’m guessing she thought I went to find you and K.C. after we talked and had no idea I had come back to the room until she heard the shower going.” He looked at me to see if I was buying it. “Maybe?”

  “Maybe that’s what happened,” I said.

  He leaned forward so that I would have to look at him, and then he gave me “the eyes.”

  “Can I ask you a favor?”

  “Of course,” he said. “Ask me anything.”

  “Please don’t ever start an answer with ‘You don’t want to know.’”

  He made a sad laugh and wiped a last tear from my cheek as he gazed at me with his deep brown eyes. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I never want to do that. I love you.” His lips felt so soft and full and comforting as he pressed them to mine.

  I pushed my hand under his robe and ran my palm over his chest.

  He deepened our kiss and pulled my legs on top of his lap. We fell back on to the bed.

  “Alex,” I said in between kisses.

  “Hmm?”

  “I need to tell you something.”

  I felt his smile against my skin. He leaned over on top of me so we were face to face. “Are you trying to get back at me?” he said playfully before he bent his head and kissed my neck.

  “No, but I don’t want you to panic.”

  He stopped everything and pushed up on his arms. “Panic? About what?”

  “Maybe I don’t mean panic, just worry.”

  “About?” He sat up completely. Why couldn’t I have waited to tell him? It wouldn’t change anything, we were still on the island whether he knew we were stuck or not.

  “The last boat is gone.”

  He smiled hesitantly. “What?”

  “The girls who were helping with catering. They took the boat that was docked—the one we saw earlier? They were mad at Chad because he cheated on one of them with Candee. And now we’re stuck on this island without any phones. I was going to tell you about it as soon as I saw you, but you were in a towel with Eva when I first saw you next and then,” I took a deep breath, “you took my breath away and I kind of forgot. Until now.”

  We’d agreed to play it cool when we came downstairs. Alex would check out the maintenance room and see if he could figure out the phones. If so, he could call one of the guys who had not stayed in the hospital with food poisoning and figure out what to do with the boats. If all else failed, maybe Candee had found a spot where her cell phone would work.

  I had asked him if Eva knew more about the mystery game than the rest of us, since she seemed to be in charge of the lodge for the weekend, but he said he didn’t know. He hadn’t known she was in charge of the keys for the lodge until she approached him.

  I thought it was kind of weird that the employees like Chad and Johnny and the girls weren’t in charge of such things, but what did I know? And really, why should I care? Unless it was related to us solving the mystery, and then I should care about every detail I could get a hold of.

  I hadn’t minded getting dressed up for dinner as much as I thought I would. Alex wore dress slacks and cornflower-blue shirt without a tie. The blue color complimented the golden tone of his skin and the blond highlights in his light brown hair. He was sure to get some attention at dinner but I had prepared myself for that.

  I wore an actual dress I had brought out of my own closet. It felt like years since I’d worn a dress for anything other than a wedding or a funeral. I felt like a feminine match to Alex’s handsome look. Of course, I didn’t wear high heels, my feet wouldn’t have allowed that. I opted instead for a simple ballet flat that didn’t increase my height.

  I held Alex’s hand with my right hand as we came down the stairs and made one final check of the engagement ring on my left hand. It was an heirloom from Alex’s grandmother. I’d thought I had lost it after he first gave it to me and never wanted to go through that horrible experience again. Especially the part where I would have to explain to his mother how I had lost it.

  Piano music drifted throughout the foyer. We followed the sound to the parlor, where we found K.C. cranking out ragtime music as she tickled the ivories. She’d donned her flapper costume again only she didn’t wear the wig this time. Her powder blue, glitter eye shadow extended out to her temples, and she’d lined her lids with black, liquid eyeliner.

  She sang and played “Hello Ma Baby,” and “The Maple Leaf Rag,” while the other women in the parlor clapped along.

  When she finished playing, everyone applauded and there were some whistles and even cat-calls. She took it all in, obviously relishing the attention.

  “Hello, you two,” K.C. called out from behind the piano. “Any requests from the audience?”

  “Oh my gosh, you guys, look at this!” Megan said.

  “I don’t think I know that one, dear,” K.C. replied.

  “No, look at this,” she held up a letter sized piece of black cardstock. The design resembled the list of 1920’s slang we picked up on the first day. “I found it over here, next to this old-fashioned turn table.” She motioned toward a gramophone, with an ornately carved cone where the sound came out.

  “What does it say?” Eva said.

  “It looks like a poem,” Megan said.

  “Read it to us,” Audra said.

  Megan cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

  “Te—”

  The door flung open and Chad came in, red-faced and trying to catch his breath.

  “Rude,” Regan mumbled.

  “You guys, there’s a girl down by the water and a golf cart and it’s wrecked and I—”

  Suddenly Alex was next to Chad in the doorway instead of standing next to me. “Show me,” Alex said as he ushered Chad out of the room.

  The rest of us followed along, but soon got left behind in our fancy dresses and shoes. The two men had almost escaped our view once we exited the front entrance of the lodge. They ran toward the rocky area next to the woods.

  “I’ve got to stop,” K.C. said. “I’m outta gas.” The tinkling of the bead garlands on her skirt slowed then stopped.

  Eva continued on down the hill but she had to take her heels off. Once she was barefoot, she had to tiptoe gingerly to avoid the sharp pieces of gravel on the asphalt path. The other women stopped near me and K.C.

  “There’s no point in all of us going down there,” Audra said. “I’m sure Alex knows what to do.”

  I didn’t agree with Audra about there being no point. Maybe he would need assistance. But, I didn’t dare leave K.C. in the state she was in.

  Pam came up to K.C.’s other side. “Are you okay, K.C.?” she said.

  “Oh, I’m fine, dear. I just need to catch my breath. I’ve already reached my exercise quota for the day.”

  “I know. You’ve really been around today, haven’t you?” Pam said.

  Something about the way Pam replied to K.C. stuck in the back of my mind and it bothered me. Kind of like a piece of celery stuck between the molars in the back of your mouth.

  “Eva’s coming back,” Megan said.

  She walked slowly up the slope, her shoes dangling from one of her hands. When she reached us, I could feel the energy surrounding her, it was dark and bode bad news without her having to say a word.

  Eva cleared her throat, then her quiet voice came trickling out. “I think we have the second victim for our mystery.”

  “That’s…a good thing, right?” Audra said. “It means no one is really
hurt?”

  “I guess so,” Eva said, her voice not reassuring at all.

  “What’s going on, you guys?”

  I recognized Kourtnee because the smelly trait of her smoking habit had preceded her. She’d seemingly appeared from nowhere.

  “I came up to the house for dinner and no one was there,” she said.

  “Where have you been?” Regan asked. “You’ve missed out on everything.”

  “I was just…” Her focus shifted to Chad and Alex, who were coming up the path. Her expression changed and then lingered as she kept her gaze on Chad.

  “Unbelievable,” I muttered.

  “What was that?” K.C. asked.

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  “Sydnee’s gone,” Eva said.

  “What do you mean, gone?” Regan asked.

  Alex had just reached the group. “She’s not there.”

  And just then a ball of fear rolled through my insides. The steely way Alex’s voice had told us she was gone, I knew something had to be terribly wrong.

  “Why don’t we all go inside,” K.C. said. And this time, her suggestion was perfect for the situation. It felt comforting to have a grandma figure like that telling us what was best.

  I hung back as the others made their way up the asphalt path and across the lawn. Alex knew I was waiting for him. I didn’t ask him what he saw, I would find out soon enough. He put his hand on the small of my back at first, and then it slid around my waist. But not like he was making a move. By the time we reached the front doors of the lodge, it practically felt as if he were leaning on me, although I didn’t feel any actual physical weight.

  I glanced up at him as he reached for the door and he must have caught me looking. He made a quick fake smile and I just looked at him questioningly.

  He glanced back at me quickly, his brown eyes dark and troubled. He didn’t look as if he wanted to talk.

  “Hey gang, let’s all go back to the parlor and talk things over,” K.C. said up ahead of us.

  I let go of Alex’s hand and moved toward K.C.’s voice, trying to give Alex some space. I was learning to do that with him whenever he had that brooding look. He would eventually talk when he was ready, but it didn’t work to try and push him before then. I was trying very hard to be more comfortable in the silence, since my first instinct is to babble when it’s too quiet.

  Eva hung back and I passed her. She and Alex spoke quietly, about eight feet behind me. As we came to the parlor, I thought I overheard Alex say, “This isn’t how it was supposed to work.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “So what just happened?” Audra said.

  “I swear she was down there,” Chad blurted out. “I’d just come off the trail from the tent,” all eyes shifted to look at Kourtnee, who tried, very unsuccessfully, to appear un-phased.

  I glanced at K.C. who raised her eyebrows and nodded in acknowledgement of the comment I’d made when we were outside and Kourtnee showed up. Chad continued, “I saw the golf cart down at the bottom of the rocks, by the edge of the water. I went to check it out and then I saw a foot with painted toenails, sticking out. There was a girl there, the one who wears the visor all the time.”

  “So we’re sure it’s Sydnee?” Megan asked.

  Chad almost looked as if he were going to throw up. “She looked dead. I didn’t know what to do so I came up here for help.”

  “Well, where is she?” Regan said.

  “We don’t know,” said Alex, who had slipped to the back of the room.

  “Are you sure that’s who you saw?” Pam asked Chad.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “What do you think happened to her?” Megan asked no one in particular.

  Regan let out a heavy sigh. “We’ve been looking for her all afternoon. She could’ve been down there all day waiting for someone to see her.”

  Chad stood up straighter and his face looked as if he were having a light bulb moment. “I saw you two down there a while ago. You were in a golf cart, too.” He looked directly at me then at K.C.

  “We didn’t go all the way down to the water’s edge,” K.C. said. “I was trying to show Quincy where the rock came from that was thr—” She paused and looked at me. I pleaded to her with my eyes, not to talk about rock-flinging ghosts. Thank goodness she seemed to catch on. “Well, there were some interesting rocks and I thought they came from down in that same area. We glanced in that direction, but then we saw you and wondered what you were doing, yelling at the water.”

  Chad tucked his bottom lip and shrunk back down.

  “What’s she talking about?” Regan said.

  “Our last boat. That’s what. It’s gone,” K.C. said.

  It seemed everyone in the room began talking all at the same time.

  The sound of a whistle sliced through the room, silencing everyone. It had come from Alex, who stood on top of a footstool. “One at a time, everyone.”

  “Obviously this is part of the mystery,” Audra said. “Sydnee wouldn’t just disappear after Chad saw her. It must have been her turn to be the victim.”

  Everyone gave their opinion of what Audra had said at one time. K.C. walked over to the piano and slammed her hand down on several keys. That got everyone’s attention.

  She surveyed the room waiting for all eyes to focus on her. “Have any of you ever participated in one of Mike and Christie’s other mystery games?”

  “I have,” Pam said.

  “Me too,” Regan and Megan said at the same time.

  Audra and Eva both raised their hands.

  “Okay, so is this time like the ones you’ve already participated in?”

  Megan replied, “It’s different each time. When we were on the yacht, we were all in the same room. We’d dressed up as a character they’d assigned us ahead of time.”

  “And they gave you your back-story when you got there,” Regan finished for Megan, but Megan didn’t seem to be annoyed at that. It seemed finishing each other’s sentences was a twin thing they were used to.

  “The one I went to was in a zoo, after hours,” Audra said. “It was kind of like a scavenger hunt for clues. They had little posters at the place where you found your next clue, so you knew you were in the right place.”

  “Phew!” K.C. made a sweeping gesture of wiping her brow. “Then this is definitely part of the mystery game, I would say.”

  Pam moved over to stand next to K.C. “I have an idea. What if the last person standing wins the money?”

  K.C. knit her eyebrows. “I can see where you’re going with it but I need a little more.”

  “I think that if a person figured out who the next person to be murdered,” she made air quotes, “is before they disappear, the person who guessed it wins the money.”

  “Oh, hang on a second.” Megan rushed over to the sideboard. “Remember this poem? It’s full of clues.”

  “Go on and read it, dear,” K.C. said.

  Megan held the document in front of her and waiting for everyone to stop talking before reading:

  “Ten Little Bridesmaids all stood in a line;

  One drank herself silly, and then there were nine.

  Nine Little Bridesmaids went searching for mates;

  One took a wrong turn and then there were eight.

  Eight Little Bridesmaids searched for signals from heaven;

  One looked too long and now there are seven.

  Seven Little Bridesmaids puffed on cigarette sticks;

  One’s camp caught fire and now there are six.

  Six Little Bridesmaids kicked a beehive;

  One got stung and now there are five.

  Five Little Bridesmaids went shopping at the store;

  One bought some lipstick and now there are four.

  Four Little Bridesmaids traveled across the sea;

  One ate some cake and now there are three.

  Three Little Bridesmaids chased kittens through the dew;

  One never came back and then there were two.
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  Two Little Bridesmaids left to tally their sums;

  One turned green with envy and then there was one.

  One Little Bridesmaid left on her own;

  This broke her heart, and so then there were none.”

  U.N. Owen

  * * *

  Chills raised the skin on the back of my neck. I didn’t know what charms most of the other bridesmaids had pulled out of the cake. But I knew I’d gotten a heart. What kind of a game would it be if I knew I was the last one left? The game mustn’t have been based on who was left if that were the case.

  “Now we know that Jill was meant to go first,” Regan said.

  “And Sydnee—oh my God…” Audra covered her mouth with her hand, “Regan and I must be the mates she was looking for—to hit some balls with her.”

  “Remember gang,” K.C. added, “these aren’t real murders. It’s all a game. Don’t tear yourself up, Audra.”

  “I took it more to mean searching for a soul mate, like a boyfriend,” Megan said.

  “Whatever it meant, she’s gone now,” Eva said.

  “What was the next line in the poem?” asked Pam.

  Megan read, “Eight Little Bridesmaids searched for signals from heaven. One looked too long and now there are seven.”

  “Who is the religious one here?” Kourtnee asked.

  Pam said, “I don’t know that one of us is more than the other. All of us look to heaven at different points in our lives.”

  “Right you are, Pam.” K.C. held her pointer finger up and opened her mouth, looking as if she meant to say something profound. Just then her stomach growled loud enough for me to hear a few feet away from her. Several giggles erupted and she shook her head. “Let me just be the first one to say that I am hungrier than a bishop on fasting Sunday.”

  “Me too,” Megan and Regan said in unison once again.

  Pam clapped her hands together. “Small problem. There is no dinner.”