So Then There Were None

by Annie Adams

  I grasped his hand and intertwined our fingers. “She had cameras in our room. She knew when we were coming and going. She stole your gun. It’s not like you carelessly left it out.”

  “She did what, now?” K.C.’s mouth hung open.

  “Pam got me into the boat with Alex’s gun.”

  “How did she get both you and you to different boats and then to the dock almost simultaneously?” K.C. asked as she nodded at each of us.

  Alex continued. “So, Pam had me put the cuffs on myself, while very thoughtfully reminding me not to make them too tight. Then she had me get into this little boat and she put a blindfold on me. She kept apologizing and telling me that soon, I would be with my real Quincy who would make it all up to me. I was physically ill at this point. I sat there for a while, and just when I thought I would take off the blindfold and make a run for it, someone got in the boat with me, and started it up. I could hear heavy breathing before the engine started, it sounded like a woman.”

  “It was probably Kourtnee,” I said. “Once she led me to the drop-off, she looked up at a certain point like she was signaling someone, I think. Then she took off in the direction of that dock you were at. I was looking for a way out when Pam appeared. They must have switched places so that Pam could act out the drama she’d imagined for so long.”

  “What do you mean, Boss?”

  “She implied that she moved to Utah months ago. I wonder if she’s been watching us for a while now. I could be wrong, maybe it was just here at the lodge that she invaded our privacy, but I know she’s been following Alex’s career since he came here.” I looked at Alex. “She moved out here to be with you, she told me.”

  “Jeepers-creepers,” K.C. said, making a face like she’d smelled sour milk.

  “What a freakin’ mess,” Alex said.

  “So how did it end?” K.C. asked.

  “Once we got Quincy into the boat—”

  “We?” I said.

  “Yeah, Pam helped me haul you in.”

  “Where is she now?” K.C. asked.

  “She’s in the Sheriff’s lock-up.”

  “How did you get her to help you when she had just tried to get rid of Quincy?”

  “I told her to shoot me.”

  “You did what?” I yelled at him. I couldn’t help it. Alex and K.C. shot looks over at the nurses’ station and then waved, both of them wearing cheesy grins.

  “We’re okay in here,” K.C. called out. “Having a good time.” The nurse at the desk smiled and waved back at them.

  “Why would you ever do that?” I asked him.

  “I couldn’t live with myself without you next to me.”

  “Oh dear, here come the water works. You’re just too much, you two.” K.C. reached into her bra and pulled out a tissue then commenced dabbing at her eyes.

  “I told her to give me the gun—and take off the handcuffs—and help me or to shoot me and get it over with. She wouldn’t shoot me. So that was that. I think she kind of snapped out of it as we drove back to the lodge. She sat with you and watched that you were still breathing while I steered. Once we got back we got into that same damned golf cart with you loaded into the back bed like a wounded football player. We got back to the lodge and she flipped the switch on the phone and we called out.”

  “I think she just wanted to be with you and feel like you were working together,” I said.

  “I think so,” he said.

  “You still didn’t answer my question,” I told him.

  “How’s that?” he asked.

  “We were floating away from the dock. By the time she pushed me into the lake, we were far away. How did you manage to get to me in time to pull me out of the water?”

  “Quincy, don’t you remember? I didn’t pull you out.”

  “I distinctly remember two hands grasping my arms and pulling me up above the water. I don’t remember much else.”

  He looked at me like I was speaking in tongues. “Babe, I didn’t get to you in time. You came up out of the water and grabbed onto the boat. I jumped in as soon as Pam pushed you and by the time I got to the boat, you were hanging on to the side. You went in and out of consciousness from then on. I didn’t pull you out of the water.”

  “But I can’t swim,” I said.

  “Apparently, you can.”

  “I’ve got the answer. It’s obvious,” K.C. said, finishing with a coy smile.

  “Oh yeah? So what is it?” Alex asked.

  “I’m not saying that place was haunted,” she said, trailing off the end of her sentence as she looked at us out of the corner of her eye. She tipped her head back and looked toward the ceiling. “But I think we all know what really happened.”

  Epilogue

  Maybe there are ghosts, or maybe the primal urge to stay alive helped those countless swimming lessons that never worked before to finally kick in.

  As I rode home from the hospital with Alex, I said a little mental prayer of thanks to whom— or whatever had saved my life.

  K.C. drove Zombie Sue, it turns out the battery ran down. Someone had disconnected something under the hood so that she wouldn’t start, but she wasn’t broken. Alex figured it out before we left. The zombie van rides again!

  We found out that Pam had enlisted Chad and Johnny as helpers and was paying them quite well. They thought they were just helping with the mystery game, but they did take off in the boat that Alex had helped them work on that night. I guess Pam got a little too scary for them. Kourtnee stuck around and helped pack up everyone’s stuff. She showed the Sheriff’s officers all of the secret passages and Pam’s control room.

  Alex got a hold of Eva. Apparently, each “murder” victim was alive and well, and had been staying at the nearest hotel. As each victim left the island on a boat captained by either Chad, Johnny, or Kourtnee, the previous victims’ luggage and possessions were returned with the current victim. A car service had been pre-arranged to pick people up at the parking area on the mainland.

  Eva reported that all the bridesmaids had continued the party at the new hotel and that no one realized, despite some of the weird turns it took, that the game didn’t go off as originally planned. She told Alex she had been in contact with the men who had been ill and that she would arrange for their luggage to be returned to them. We still don’t know how or even if Pam got them all sick. Eva also assured Alex that she would inform Christie and Mike of all the events that had transpired, once they returned from their honeymoon.

  As for Kourtnee, she’s hoping Pam doesn’t spill her guts as to her involvement in what led to kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon, and various other charges. I didn’t focus on that stuff, I was just happy to be alive and leaving the Harmony Lodge. Forever.

  And Pam…I hope she receives the counseling she needs. We learned it was true, she does have a degree in psychology and in some kind of computer technology. She didn’t tell anyone she was fired from her high-tech, high-level security job when she was caught spying on all of her coworkers. After being fired, she volunteered at the animal shelter for a while, but was asked to leave and never come back due to some kind of incident with her fellow volunteers. I wish her the best of luck, whatever eventually happens to her.

  As for me and Alex, we finally got to go home. The whole drive back, Alex worried what trouble he might be in due to the fact that his firearm was used in the commission of those crimes. But the Sheriff reassured him that he should be cleared seeing as how Pam had broken into our room and the safe where the gun was locked up. It’s not as if Alex left it lying around.

  I reassured him that the gun problem was the least of his worries. When we got within cell range on the way home, my phone blew up with texts and voicemail messages. Apparently, when Alex called my parent’s home to tell them I was in the hospital, my brother-in-law answered the phone. He relayed the message to his wife—my older sister—who then relayed the story to my mother.

  Now, we all know that my sister Sandy always assumes the
worst when it comes to me—guilty until proven innocent seems to be her motto. That mainstay, combined with her pregnancy hormones and lack of sleep created one bizarre story cocktail. A concoction that my mother eagerly drank up, as if it were her favorite malt from Skinny’s café.

  And that is why I asked Alex if he wouldn’t rather drive straight to the airport where we could book a flight to New Zealand.

  “Why New Zealand?” he said on a laugh.

  “Because it’s on the other side of the world.”

  He slowed the car and pulled to the side of the road.

  “At least our baby is safe,” I said.

  “What?”

  I showed him the texts on my phone. Among other things, my mother wanted to know why we hadn’t told her about our love child.

  Alex’s summer tan looked more like winter’s pale at that moment.

  “You’re not…”

  I smiled and shook my head.

  “But I’d be happy if you were.”

  “I know. But let’s get married first.”

  “Yeah.” He took off his seatbelt and leaned toward me. His eyes started doing that melty thing and I felt a leap in my chest. He put his hand over the cell phone that I still held. “We don’t need this,” he said as he slipped it out of my hand. He reached over to place it on the dashboard, when it rang, completely shattering the mood.

  “It’s your mom,” he said.

  “Don’t answer it,” I whispered, as if she could hear me.

  “Not a problem.” He switched the phone off completely.

  “Now, where were we?”

  “About to fly to New Zealand. Wanna come to the other side of the world?”

  “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.” He kissed me softly. “I love you, Q.”

  “I love you, too.”

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  Free Book!

  As a thank you for leaving a review of So Then There Were None, here is a free book for you.

  Death and A Dozen Roses is a prequel to the Flower Shop Mystery Series. Learn about Quincy’s Aunt Rosie, a heroine you’ll root for who knows a thing or two about solving crimes, unbeknownst to her family and friends.

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  Please enjoy, and THANK YOU!!!

  Cheat Sheet for the Reader

  1920’s Slang

  Barneymugging: sexual intercourse.

  Beat Session: a gossip session between two males, consisting of idle chatter.

  Be on the nut: To be broke

  Bee's Knees: An extraordinary person, thing or idea.

  Big Sleep: Death

  Blind: drunk

  Blotto (1930 at the latest): drunk, especially to an extreme

  Blow: Leave

  Bluenose: someone who is prudish, puritanical or morally uptight.

  Bum's rush, the: ejection by force from an establishment

  Butt me: Give me a cigarette

  Cabbage: Money

  Cash or Check?: “Will you kiss me now or do we wait until later?” Note: “Check” on its own means to take a raincheck on kissing or save the kiss for another time.

  Cat's Meow: Something splendid or stylish

  Cat's Pajamas: term of endearment as in "I think you are really really cool".

  Eel’s Hips: a phrase similar to “The Cat’s Meow” or “The Monkey’s Eyebrows.

  Face Stretcher: an older lady still trying to look young (and usually failing).

  Fire Extinguisher: the escort or chaperone for a social event. (Also use for “chaperone”: an “alarm clo

  Forty-Niner: a male gold digger.

  Ground Grippers: shoes or sneakers. (Also use: “kicks,” “stompers.”)

  Heebie-Jeebies - The jitters

  Hit on All Sixes: to perform at full-capacity or nail it one-hundred percent.

  Insured: to be engaged to marry.

  Know one's onions: to know one's business or what one is talking about

  "Now you're on the trolley!": "Now you've got it!".

  Screaming Meemies: the shakes.

  Sheba: one's girlfriend

  Sheik: one's boyfriend

  Ten Charms for Ten Bridesmaids Cheat Sheet

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  1. Candee: Her Charm: A Cell Phone—Blonde-bombshell

  2. Eva: Her Charm: The Eiffel Tower—Co-Maid of honor, petite and sweet

  3. Quincy: Her Charm: A heart—Florist

  4. Megan: Her Charm: A lipstick—Hairdresser, Regan’s twin sister

  5. Audra: Her Charm: Dollar bill—Tall, auburn beauty

  6. Pam: Her Charm: A kitty-cat—Long blonde hair, barely 5 feet tall

  7. Sydnee: Her Charm: A car—She’s a golf pro

  8. Kourtnee: Her Charm: Hiking boots—Outdoor enthusiast

  9. Regan: Her Charm: A Necklace--A jewelry designer, Megan’s twin sister

  10. Jill: Her Charm: A martini glass—Jet black hair, the life of the party

  So Then There Were None: a Tale of Ten Little Bridesmaids© 2019 Annie Whittaker writing as Annie Adams

  All rights reserved

  Published by Annie Adams

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. The book contained herein constitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, or stored in or introduced into an information storage and retrieval system in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

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  Cover Art © 2018 Kelli Ann Morgan / Inspire Creative Services

  Formatting Services Bob Houston eBook Formatting

  About the Author

  Annie Adams is the author of The Flower Shop Mystery Series and the Rosie McKay Mystery Series. She lives with her husband, two giant dogs, and two, too giant cats in Northern Utah at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. When not writing she can be found arranging flowers or delivering them in her own Zombie Delivery Van.

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