Thomas once again completed the challenge alone. He’d drawn the same conclusions as Bryce had. The reference to playing dress-up in old clothes, the reference to the famous elephant, Jumbo’s, trunk. The fact that this particular trunk was a container of some sort. All of that had led him to the attic, just like it had for Bryce.
But Thomas had figured it out much sooner. Plus, his normally cold and thin hands had kept his ice cube slightly cooler than everyone else’s. So he found the stairs to the attic on the fourth floor with enough time to complete the challenge.
When Thomas got up to the massive, cavernous attic that was as large as three school gyms put together, he wasn’t sure at first if he’d find what he was looking for. But the contraption was so large and so foreign looking inside an otherwise fairly normal attic that he noticed it pretty quickly even though it was all the way across the room. Which, in the case of a mansion that large, was almost forty yards away.
Thomas hurried over to it, the maid assigned to him struggling to keep up in her mandatory high heels.
The contraption itself was a large metal vat of some kind, almost the size of a bathtub. Except it had gears and hinges and levers and chains in all the places a bathtub wouldn’t. Plus, it had an industrial vibe, not a luxurious aura like a normal bathtub.
Then Thomas noticed the manual release lever, marked by a red rubber handle. He glanced at his notepad, at the end of the riddle where it said, “Here, you’ll see the device of a murder quite deft. And once you’ve found it, simply pull the switch and toss what’s left.”
His ice cube was nearly gone. So he wasted no time in reaching out and pulling the lever. As soon as he did, a rectangular panel in the floor of the attic opened up and the metal vat split apart. A clear, smoking liquid poured through the opening in the floor. Thomas looked down and saw it splash into Guadalupe’s empty bathtub, the spray freezing the walls around it.
He tossed what was left of his ice cube into the opening. It landed in the bathtub and a small explosion erupted inside the liquid.
Vavoom!
Even just that small amount of ice and water had created a reaction so violent that the bathtub, only bolted to the floor on one side, tipped slightly toward the window before settling back on all four claw feet.
Thomas turned and looked back at the maid. He gave her a satisfied and smug grin. She looked away without responding directly. Time was up and Thomas had apparently won the challenge yet again, for the second time in a row and third time overall.
CHAPTER 40
THE ACCUSATION
“The killer has reminded me that being a good investigator involves more than simply inspecting clues with magnifying glasses,” Giles said once they had all returned from the challenge. “It also requires a lot of paperwork. Hence, the killer wants to see how well you can lay out a murder case in writing, how convincing you all are on paper. Follow me.”
Giles led the guests, still on a gag order, so to speak, into the formal dining room. On the table, in four spots as far away from one another as possible, sat four yellow legal notepads and several pens. The maids and servants led each guest to an assigned seat.
“You now have precisely thirty-nine minutes, one for each year in Guadalupe’s life, to lay out your theories as to how she was murdered. We owe her at least that much time in death, don’t you think?” Giles said, pausing a few moments before continuing. “The killer has requested that you write legibly. He or she will view poor penmanship as the unclear arguments that they literally are. Your time begins now.”
The four guests picked up their pens. Thomas and Jacqueline began writing immediately. Bryce and Darrel each took a few moments to brainstorm before beginning. Ten minutes in, all four pens were scribbling furiously across the legal pads.
When the time was up, Giles walked around the room and collected the notepads. Bryce was still frantically writing and Giles had to take the notepad right out from under his pen, leaving a streak of ink across the page.
“Ah, crap, man,” Bryce said.
“When time is up, time is up,” Giles said quietly. “Now, lunch will be served and then you may all enjoy the estate as you wish until dinner, at which time the results will be shared. Dinner will be a casual affair this evening, out on the patio by the pool. Eight o’clock.”
Bryce spent most of the afternoon lounging alone in the game room, watching TV and shooting pool. After retiring to her room for a short nap, Jacqueline spent the next few hours smoking nearly a pack of cigarettes in the smoking room with Darrel, who didn’t smoke himself but did start drinking doubles of whiskey. They mostly talked about how screwed they likely were this time around. Thomas spent most of the afternoon in his room reading.
By the time dinner rolled around, the four guests were hungry even though they were also about to find out which of them were in danger of dying next. But as they were discovering, all too unfortunately, hunger pauses for very little. Not even the fear of death once you’ve grown accustomed to such.
Envelopes bearing their names were already waiting for them on one of the stone patio tables by the time they got outside. Giles was there as well and greeted each of them with a smile.
“Thomas, it seems as though you are getting quite good at this,” Giles said, once they were all seated and being served burgers fresh from the grill. “You once again have pleased the killer with your murder case. Please, open your envelope and then stand and explain to us how the killer managed to kill Ms. Ferrara this morning while eating breakfast with the rest of you.”
Thomas opened his envelope. Instead of printed words, this time the card inside contained only a crude drawing of a simple smiley face. He furrowed his brow at the unsettling picture and then stood to face the table.
“Above Guadalupe’s bathroom, above her bathtub to be exact, in the attic, the killer rigged a trapdoor inside the floor. Above this trapdoor, the killer installed a tank capable of holding liquid nitrogen. That morning, the pen delivered to Ms. Ferrara to write her parting letter had been engineered to explode ink all over Guadalupe once she started using it. The victim quickly drew a bath to clean herself off. When she pressed the button to switch on the Jacuzzi jets, it sent a signal to the trapdoor in the ceiling above the bathtub. The trapdoor opened, dumping several gallons of liquid nitrogen directly into the already full bathtub, instantly freezing the victim solid. Simultaneously, a chemical reaction initiated when liquid nitrogen is introduced to water created a massive explosion. The force of the explosion lifted the bathtub on two of its claw feet, as it was only bolted to the floor on one side, and ejected the victim right out the window and down onto the granite patio four stories below. Actually, right over there, as I’m sure you all remember.”
Thomas pointed toward where Guadalupe’s body had landed. It was a grisly memory, and all three of the listeners put down their half-eaten burgers.
Then Thomas sat down and picked up his own burger. He took a huge bite, ketchup and mustard staining the corners of his mouth as he chewed. The other guests watched him eat for a moment and then looked down at their sealed envelopes.
Giles gave no further directions, so Jacqueline eventually reached down and picked up her envelope. Her hands shook so badly she could barely tear it open.
“Scared,” she said, her voice so unusually quiet, it sounded like a whisper even though it wasn’t. She put her face in her hands and shook her head slowly from side to side.
Bryce opened his next.
“Spared,” he said, before taking a deep breath and sighing.
Everyone knew that likely meant Darrel was the other Scared contestant. In fact, he didn’t even open his envelope. He stood up and pointed a meaty finger at Thomas.
“You!” he snarled. “This is bull! This game is rigged. You’re cheating. You lied to us about your evidence! You’re… you’re the killer, aren’t you?”
He spun around and looked at Jacqueline, Bryce, and then Giles in turn, waiting for support. Nobody spoke. Most
of them avoided looking back at him. Except for Giles, who looked right back into Darrel’s eyes without even blinking.
“He’s clearly the killer!” Darrel shouted at the three of them, still pointing at Thomas. “I mean, think about it! He’s some kind of engineer, right? Aren’t you?”
Thomas shrugged. “So what?”
“So, all of these contraptions… the liquid nitrogen trapdoor?” Darrel shouted. “The self-flying helicopter? I mean, these aren’t things that just anyone can do! A retired nurse, a football coach, and a goddamned unemployed freeloading stoner aren’t capable of rigging these things up, or even conceiving of them! Plus, you keep getting everything right!”
“That’s just because I’m smarter than all of you,” Thomas said calmly.
Darrel made a move toward Thomas, but Giles quickly and smoothly stepped in the way.
“Mr. Gleason, I’d advise you to not do something you might regret,” he said, his calm demeanor seeming to rub off on Darrel somewhat. “Even if Mr. Gatling is the killer, he has still been playing the game by the rules, the same as all of you. Now, you better retire to your suite before things get any further out of hand. Yes?”
Darrel nodded slowly and took a few deep breaths. Then he turned and stalked off into the mansion.
CHAPTER 41
JAWS VERSUS THE GIMP
The next morning, the guests were jarred awake by an earsplitting scream.
They pulled on clothes and rushed downstairs, knowing that another murder likely had occurred in the night. Giles awaited their arrival at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer, like usual.
“This way,” he said once all three remaining guests were there.
He led them through the mansion’s large hallways lined with paintings, shields, armaments, tapestries, and the like. As they neared their destination, they passed by a visibly shaken young maid. Tear streaks stained her face, and another maid had an arm around her shoulders. They glanced at Giles and the guests as they passed one another in the hallway.
Giles couldn’t be sure, but he thought he noticed a look of pure contempt on the maid’s face. With only three guests left, it was becoming increasingly easy for the house staff to hate the guests collectively. After all, one of these three people was directly responsible for the horrors they’d all had to endure the past week. But Giles didn’t see it the same way. In fact, Giles pitied the guests. At least the estate staff possibly had a chance to survive all of this. Only one of the guests, aside from the killer, even had a remote possibility of getting out of here alive.
He led the three remaining guests to the mansion aquarium.
Jacqueline shrieked as soon as they entered the room. She dropped to her knees, shaking, and cried. Bryce knelt down next to her, trying to comfort the normally calm, motherly old lady. Thomas just stood there and stared vacantly at the shark tank along the far wall.
The water was stained red. Darrel’s body floated facedown near the surface, deeper red swirls blooming around it. Or at least it would have been facedown if it still had a face. Darrel’s corpse had no head.
The large bull shark circled the headless body, cutting paths through the swirling blood.
“It seems Mr. Gleason decided to go for a swim,” Giles said. “Little did he know these were shark-infested waters.”
“Dude, how can you be so… so mean?” Bryce asked, still crouched next to Jacqueline. “Saying stuff like that is sick, dude.”
“I must; cruel wit was specifically requested by the killer,” Giles said. “Per my instructions.”
Bryce scoffed and shook his head, helping Jacqueline get back to her feet.
“Where’s the head?” Thomas asked, moving closer to the tank.
It was true, the head was nowhere in sight inside the large tank. At least not from their vantage point across the room.
“Go no closer!” Giles ordered in a stern yet still calm voice that took years of practice to perfect. “We have seen the crime, and now we must exit. Preparations need to be made for the investigation.”
The four of them exited the aquarium as several employees entered, likely to fish out the body of the killer’s newest victim.
CHAPTER 42
THE SEVENTH VICTIM
Giles led the guests to the recreation room. Once there, Jacqueline plopped down onto one of the large leather sofas, still sobbing.
“Since there are only three of you left, sharing information is a tricky, if not impossible, venture. Therefore, the killer has changed the rules of the game for this last round. You will be allowed to independently investigate all three areas: the crime scene, or aquarium; the morgue; and the victim’s last known whereabouts, which, according to security camera footage, was the study.
“However, any evidence found must remain in the area. A liaison, either myself or one of our esteemed maids, will be present at all times. Obviously the nature of the morgue investigation may lead to certain disturbances in the… materials there. Therefore, you may be either at an advantage or disadvantage by going to the morgue first or last. Thomas, as the winner of the most challenges among the remaining three, you will determine the investigation order for each area.”
Thomas nodded.
“There is one last detail to note,” Giles added. “The nature of this murder and the crime scene are somewhat unusual. Therefore, the body will remain at the crime scene. The morgue will contain something else of interest in this case. I also wish to remind you that this is our final crime. Solve this one, and you just may survive. Fail, and you will surely die.”
CHAPTER 43
THE FLOATER
Thomas stood in front of the massive glass separating himself from the crime scene. He hated not being able to get in there and touch things. To handle the evidence personally. He’d always been a very hands-on learner.
But, as it were, he’d also just as soon stay on this side where it was dry. And where there weren’t still large sharks and stingrays swimming around. The bull shark that had been in the tank earlier was now gone.
He’d chosen to go first for the crime scene, while Jacqueline took the morgue and Bryce the last known whereabouts. Then, when the timer sounded, he’d switch over to the last known whereabouts, Bryce the morgue, and Jacqueline the crime scene. And so on.
It was difficult, though, to investigate an area he couldn’t get any closer to. But that’s not to say he didn’t make a few discoveries of note. For one thing, up close, it wouldn’t take very long for someone to notice that the body’s hands were bound behind its back. But Thomas did have to wait for the partially submerged body to drift closer before he could see how. Once the body floated close enough, and at the right angle, a set of what appeared to be golden handcuffs could be seen holding the victim’s hands together. Thomas had never seen gold handcuffs before.
Then again, the only handcuffs he’d ever seen were the ones on TV.
The other unusual element of the crime scene was what appeared to be a long ribbon floating in the tank. It was dark colored, maybe two feet long and two inches wide. It floated on the surface like some kind of water snake. But it only took Thomas a few moments looking at it to realize that he recognized it. It was the same sort of blindfold that had been provided for him and Bryce yesterday when they were being led through Guadalupe’s bedroom and into her bathroom.
Jacqueline was the next guest to investigate the crime scene. It certainly wasn’t very comforting to have to stand there and look at Darrel’s headless body floating in the tank. She’d grown pretty close to the man, after all. But at the same time, somehow it didn’t feel nearly as horrific as what she’d witnessed in the morgue just moments ago.
The tank’s filters had apparently been hard at work in the time since his head had been severed, because the water was no longer tinged red with blood. There were now just the smallest tendrils of red leaking out from the body’s neck from time to time.
Jacqueline found the same two details that Thomas had, except that she hadn’
t recognized the blindfold for what it was. At least, not right then.
Bryce was the last of the three to investigate the crime scene. By the time he got there, the corpse had grown unnaturally pale. The arms and legs had faded to a sickly translucent white color and stuck out the ends of Darrel’s shorts and T-shirt sleeves like bloated and overcooked udon noodles.
He found the open wound at the neck somewhat mesmerizing and stood there staring at it for an uncomfortably long span of time, while the maid assigned to him watched. If she was creeped out by his fascination with the headless body, she didn’t show it.
Eventually, Bryce got to work searching for evidence or clues. He, too, noticed the golden handcuffs. But he never did spot the blindfold floating up on the surface. By the time he got his chance to investigate the crime scene, the blindfold had drifted back behind a fake treasure chest and then slowly sunk to the bottom and out of view.
It was an unintentional consequence of being the person Thomas had picked to investigate the crime scene last. What wasn’t clear just yet was how much of a blow not seeing the blindfold would be to Bryce’s eventual murder case.
CHAPTER 44
JAWS’S LAST MEAL
It had been a shrewd move on Thomas’s part to assign Jacqueline to the morgue first. He knew that she would likely be able to dissect, find, or do whatever medical-type procedure was needed to uncover real evidence better than the other two. So sending her in first would be the best way for him to uncover any hidden clues.
At least, it had been a good strategy in theory.
What Thomas didn’t realize was that in this particular case, there were certain beneficial elements to being the individual to uncover the evidence from its original state.
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