Chapter Six

I woke early after a night of restless sleep. When I glanced at the clock, I saw I still had time before we were due to meet for breakfast. Grabbing a pencil and notepad from the drawer, I sat on the bed and tried to organize my thoughts in an effort to find some clues.

I made a list of everyone's names and jotted down a few notes about what I knew about them, along with my general impressions. Dylan didn't seem to care what anyone else thought of him, but would the killer come across as so flippant and rude? Or would they be more likely to act outgoing and approachable, like Paul? Was Victor's professional demeanor a cover-up for brutal crimes, or was the flaky Brittany secretly a criminal mastermind?

As I'd said to Adam, no one stood out to me as a prime suspect. I flipped over the piece of paper and sketched the layout of both floors of the lodge. If I couldn't figure out who, maybe I could determine how one of the murders occurred. I labeled each bedroom on the second floor with the occupant's name, going in order. Isabel, Mary, Laura, Veronica, Adam, Jeremy, Paul, Dylan . Someone had caught Mary alone the previous morning, but had it been one of her neighbors or one of the men closer to the staircase? Would someone like Paul or Dylan have been able to get back to his room after throwing her to her death without the rest of us hearing anything? Or could he have lured her closer to him?

Frustrated, I turned my attention to Ruth's murder. The staff's rooms were on the lower level of the lodge, giving Victor and Brittany easier access to the kitchen and everything inside. I also assumed the two of them had arrived before any of the guests, making it easier for them to tamper with the tea and otherwise plot out their crimes. But on the other hand, just because they had more opportunities didn't mean I could rule anyone else out.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. I'd accomplished nothing more on my own than we had as a group. In fact, that's all any of us had accomplished: nothing. So far, the killer had done a spectacular job of covering their tracks. If there were any clues left behind, no one had stumbled across them yet.

Peeling off my pajamas, I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. As I stepped beneath the spray, more pleasant thoughts entered my mind. Though I hadn't been able to eliminate Adam from the pool of suspects, my heart wanted to believe he had nothing to do with the gruesome deaths. Despite my instincts and better judgment, I enjoyed his lingering glances and flirty touches. I hated to admit it, but it had been a long time since I'd been on the receiving end of such attention, never mind from anyone worthwhile.

As I dried off, I attempted to focus on more important matters. I needed to be vigilant and aware of my surroundings. If I survived long enough to get off this mountain, I could worry about Adam and his dimples then.

At eight o'clock on the dot, I opened the door a crack and peeked out onto the landing. No dead bodies. The day was off to a good start. I stuck my head farther out and found Laura doing the same from the room next to me. "Good morning," she said.

"Morning." I didn't move.

One by one, the other doors opened. Through the bars of the railing, I saw Victor cross the foyer to the bottom of the staircase. Brittany followed soon after, heels clicking on the parquet floor. Everyone had survived the night.

We left our rooms and gathered downstairs. "Looks like the sun's trying to come out," Paul said. "I'm going to walk down the road a bit and see what's going on while it's dry outside. If nothing else, maybe I can at least get a cell signal to call for help."

Dylan snorted. "Sure you're not trying to escape, leaving us here to explain your victims?"

"Positive." He headed for the front door. "Save some breakfast for me."

Dylan had a tendency to rub me the wrong way, but I wondered if he had a point. What was Paul doing whenever he left the house? Had Adam's speculation been correct? I rubbed my temples. Trying to decide who to trust threatened to give me a headache, especially since I was used to dealing with prospective clients and other strangers via email from the safety of my own home.

"I'll get out the bagels and stuff from yesterday," Laura said. "If anyone—or any two or more people, I should say—wants to give me a hand, I'll be in the kitchen."

"I'll come with you," Isabel said.

"I will, too." Victor straightened his bowtie. "Like many of you, I'm starting to feel a bit restless."

The rest of us sat in our usual spots around the dining room table and attempted some trivial conversation. I hadn't said anything to Adam yet, or even looked at him. Thinking about our conversation through the window last night made my cheeks warm. If we were somewhere, anywhere else, would he be interested in me? Or was he just being nice by distracting me when I asked?

Was he a murderer?

Laura and Isabel came through the swinging door to the kitchen, each carrying a tray of food. Victor entered after them, holding a pitcher of orange juice in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other. "While obviously not super fresh," Isabel said, "the bread and pastries should be okay." She set down her tray in the center of the table and picked up a croissant. "Some of them might taste a little stale by tomorrow, though, assuming we're still here. But I think I saw some eggs in the refrigerator."

"I doubt we'll starve." Adam reached for a cheese Danish.

Brittany collected the coffee cups on her side of the table and stood up to fill them. "You don't have to do that," Laura said.

"I don't mind." She took the pot and began to pour. "Like Victor, I need to do something before I go crazy in here."

She wasn't alone, I mused. With the possibility of another long day looming ahead of us, I also needed a way to keep my mind off of our perilous situation.

"Okay, then." Laura adjusted her glasses. "But I don't think any of us would mind if you and Victor changed out of your uniforms. We're all in this together, remember? You don't have to serve us."

Brittany shrugged and smoothed her poufy skirt. "Since we weren't supposed to be here this long, I didn't bring any other clothes with me."

Dylan smirked. "How about your pajamas?"

A sheepish grin spread across her reddening face. "I, uh, don't wear anything when I go to sleep."

He leaned toward her, his gaze drifting somewhere south of her flushed cheeks and neck. "Oh?"

I jumped in before Laura's glower somehow caused him to spontaneously combust. "I know our packets suggested semiformal clothing, but if people want to dress more casually, it's fine with me."

"Same here," Adam added.

"I don't care, either." Laura reached for the collar of her blouse and tugged at the crisp fabric. "I just have my normal work clothes, but at this point, I think it's fine if people want to be more comfortable." She shot Dylan another withering glare. "And no, I will not be running around here in my pajamas."

"Too bad," he said. "You'd probably have an easier time running from the killer than in those tight little skirts of yours."

She slammed her butter knife down on her plate. "You really are a pig, you know?"

"Can't blame a guy for looking." He jerked his head in my direction. "Besides, these two have been making lovey-dovey eyes at each other all weekend and no one's complained."

"Hey, wait a second," Adam said while I shrank back in my seat, hoping my face hadn't turned scarlet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please!" Victor placed his palms on the table and leaned forward, inserting himself between Laura and Dylan. "Arguing with each other will only make things worse. If we—"

The door opened with a bang, and Paul bounded across the threshold. "All right, here's the story," he said. Everyone turned toward him, and I silently thanked him for the interruption. "I didn't get very far because there are trees down all over the place. Big ones, too. We're lucky to even have power here."

Isabel sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Terrific."

"It gets worse." Paul scratched the back of his head. "I got as close as possible to the edge of the mountain to see what else I could find. You know the cute little bridge over the stream we all drove over to get here?" He paused for a second, then continued before anyone answered. "The stream's more like a river now. The bridge is completely washed out."

A chill rolled over me, and I hunched in my chair even more. "So…we're stuck here."

He turned up his hands in apology. "For a while longer, I would say."

Adam tapped his fingers on the edge of his plate. "Then what do we do now?"

Isabel cleared her throat. "Laura and I were talking in the kitchen about our situation, and the best way to stay alive and everything." She glanced around the table, her nose twitching. "I know it's a long shot, but don't you think there's a possibility there might be someone else in the lodge? I mean, other than all of us sitting here now?"

I nudged Adam's arm, then yanked my hand away, my cheeks still hot. "We thought of the same thing yesterday," I said. "Maybe the killer isn't one of us."

"I don't see how someone else could have gone unnoticed." Victor frowned. "Although the building is quite large."

Laura's eyebrows arched. "But it's possible , right? Did you check every single room when you got here?"

"No," he admitted.

"If we're not getting out of here any time soon," she said, "I don't want to feel like we're missing something obvious."

Dylan crossed his arms. "So, you want to search this place top to bottom because you believe you're going to find some psycho killer and convince him to stop murdering us?"

Her gray eyes narrowed behind her thick glasses. "Do you have something better to do today?"

"Anything sounds better than your game of hide and seek with a person who doesn't even exist."

"You guys can sit here sniping at each other all day," Paul said. "Me, I'm going to do something productive. Like seeing if I can find a cell signal somewhere on this damned mountain, assuming the storm didn't knock out all the local towers."

Victor nodded. "Good idea. Though we established, while you were gone, not everyone has the appropriate attire to go exploring amidst the trees." He scratched his chin. "Perhaps we should split into groups. Some of us can try to call for help outside, while the others search the inside of the lodge for any…unknown guests. If we stay in our larger groups, we should be safe."

"Works for me," Laura said. "I guess Brittany and I are definitely staying indoors."

Isabel wrinkled her nose again. "I'd prefer not to get all muddy, if it's okay with the others."

The idea of escaping the lodge and its horrors, even if only for an hour or so, appealed to me. "I don't mind the mud and pine needles and whatnot." I turned to Paul. "Let me run upstairs to grab my sneakers and phone, and I'll come with you."

"I keep a pair of rubber boots here in case I need to do any outdoor maintenance," Victor said. "I might be able to get farther outside in them."

Adam shrugged. "I don't have a preference." He looked at Dylan. "What about you? If we want to keep our ‘teams' even, I'll go with one group and you can go with the other."

"Poking around in every little dark corner with her or traipsing through the woods, swatting away the bugs?" He made a disgusted face. "What great options."

Sighing, Adam reached into his pocket and fished out a quarter. "Let's keep this simple. Heads, I'll be the one to stay inside; tails, you stay here."

"Whatever, man."

We watched the coin flip through the air, and I held my breath. I struggled to decide if I wanted Adam on my team or if I was better off keeping my distance from him. The quarter landed on the table, and he bent over to examine it.

"I'll be enjoying the great outdoors while you help out in here," he said.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Lucky me."

Laura pursed her lips, but didn't say anything.

I had enough to worry about without having to deal with the petty squabbles of the others. "Let me get changed and I'll meet you outside." Abandoning the remains of my breakfast, I stood and left the room.

***

I exited the lodge and walked past the fountain, fresh air filling my lungs. Murky clouds hung heavy overhead, threatening more rain, but it felt good to finally get outside and pretend there weren't three dead bodies in the building behind me. Paul and Victor stood at the end of the row of parked cars, the latter wearing a pair of bright orange galoshes with his usual suit. I grinned at the absurd sight, and my mood continued to improve.

Adam joined us a minute later, having also changed into more suitable clothing. "So, Victor," he said, "what do you know about these woods?"

"Not much, I'm afraid." Victor wrung his hands in front of his chest. "I always dissuaded the guests from venturing too far from the lodge, for liability purposes."

Paul tapped his cell phone against his palm. "Okay, here's what I'm thinking." He looked at each of us in turn. "If we split up, there's a better chance of someone finding a signal and being able to make a call. Each of us can take a separate direction, and we can plan to meet back here in about half an hour."

My jaw dropped. "Split up? Are you kidding?" I shook my head, my eyes wide. "No way. It's bad enough I could fall off a cliff or get mauled by a bear in the woods. If one of you is the murderer, I don't want to be an easy target, without any witnesses."

"She has a valid point," Adam said.

He let out a puff of air. "Fine. What if we split into pairs, then?" I opened my mouth to protest, but Paul put up a hand to stop me. "Wait, hear me out. I do think it's important to cover as much ground as possible before the rain starts up again, which might be any minute now."

A glance toward the sky supported his prediction.

"And if one of us is the killer, it would be kind of stupid and obvious for that person to kill their partner out here, right? He or she isn't dumb, and probably wouldn't take the risk."

I kicked at the soft dirt at the edge of the driveway. "I suppose…"

Paul resumed fiddling with his phone. "If there's no objection from these guys, you can pick who you feel most comfortable teaming up with."

Adam caught my gaze for a split second and then looked away. "It's okay with me."

"Yes, it's fine." Victor furrowed his brow at the darkening clouds. "If we want to attempt to find a signal, we should get moving soon. I think we're in for another storm today."

"So, who's it going to be?" Paul tapped his foot and watched me, waiting for an answer.

I considered my options. Paul seemed like a nice enough guy, and eager to leave the lodge, but it might easily be an act. Plus, someone of his size would have no problem overpowering me. I wanted so, so badly to trust Adam, yet something held me back. If I had to be alone with one other person, I decided to take my chances with the middle-aged man in slippery boots. "I'll go with Victor."

If my choice disappointed Adam, he didn't show it.

"Okay," Paul said. He pointed to the opposite end of the lodge, past the fountain. "We'll take the other side. Come on."

I switched on my phone while they left and waited to see if even one bar would pop up at the top of the screen. Nothing. "Where to first?" I asked Victor.

"Your guess is as good as mine." He moved toward the tree line, his feet squishing in the mud. "Follow me."

We wandered through the trees, and I stayed several paces behind him. Rainwater dripped off the branches above us. I shielded my phone with one sleeve. "How far out do you think we should go?"

"Navigating any slopes or inclines would be dangerous, especially with the heavy rain over the past two days." He held back a low-hanging bough to let me pass, and I warily kept my distance from him when I edged around it. "I recommend we try to stick to the flatter areas and keep track of where the lodge is at all times. We're leaving plenty of footprints, so I'm not too concerned about getting lost."

"Sounds good to me."

We proceeded forward, and I waited in vain to see if my phone would let me call for help. The stillness of the forest, minus the squelching of our shoes, made me uneasy again. I needed to focus on something other than the disturbing thoughts racing through my mind, or at least distract my potential killer with some conversation.

"While we're out here, I wanted to apologize for the confusion with me not being my sister and everything." I stepped over a protruding tree root. "I feel terrible about it, especially since…you know."

Victor glanced back over his shoulder and offered me a nod before continuing to lead the way. "Part of the mix-up was my fault. I shouldn't have assumed anything when you arrived."

"I still could have said something right off the bat." I checked my phone's screen again. No signal. "You've been doing this mystery thing for a while, right? Any insights?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know we were all supposed to act out a fictional story, but with your experience, I wondered if you had any ideas about who the killer is, or if you'd picked up on any clues." Shaking my head, I sighed. "And now that I've said it out loud, I realize it sounds kind of dumb. But I'm struggling to figure out who I should trust and who I should avoid."

"Your feelings are understandable," he said without turning around. "However, though I do have some suspicions, I'd prefer to keep them to myself for now. It's not that I don't believe you are who you say you are, but—"

"No, I get it. It's okay." Memories of the group's prior discussions flitted through my head, and I shivered. "We can't, or shouldn't trust anyone, the two of us included. Nothing personal, of course."

"Of course."

We plodded through the brush. Muffled thunder echoed across the skies, and I grimaced. Time was running out, and our mission to call for help had been unsuccessful so far. As I inspected my phone for what felt like the hundredth time, I heard Victor cry out.

Jerking my head up, I hurried over to where he'd been standing a moment earlier and caught myself at the edge of the embankment he'd tumbled down. "Victor!" I called from the top of the ridge. "Are you all right?"

With a loud groan, he pulled himself to his feet. Thick globs of mud clung to his suit. He attempted to brush them off but only succeeded in smearing them further. "Hurt pride more than anything else," he grumbled.

"Can you get back up here?"

"I think so." He took a few steps up the slope, lost his footing, and slid down a second time. "Damn!"

We stared at each other for an endless, wordless moment. A hint of anxiety flickered in his eyes. If I was the murderer, he had to think himself an easy mark, an opportunity too good to pass up. On the other hand, I reasoned, it would be equally easy for him to subdue me if I offered him any help. Would either of us be willing to take a chance?

After what felt like hours, Victor broke the silence first. "If you want to go get the others…"

I exhaled slowly. Despite our circumstances, I didn't feel right leaving him alone in the forest at the verge of another torrential downpour. Whether or not compassion proved a stupid choice remained to be seen. Looping one hand around a low, sturdy branch, I extended the other toward him. "Please don't drag me down into the mud. Or, um, kill me."

Planting my feet in the soft ground, I clung to the tree. He used my arm to climb to the top of the embankment. My sneakers slid forward, but I helped haul him out of the hollow.

"Thank you," he said, panting for air. "I'm not sure I would have done the same in your position."

"I figured if I was going to die out here, it might as well be while doing a nice thing. Besides, assuming you're not the one murdering everybody, you probably have the best shot at figuring out who is, since you know the most about the lodge and who's supposed to be here."

"You give me far too much credit." Victor chuckled, then frowned. He gestured toward the streaks of dirt on my sweatshirt. "I'm sorry about the mud and the mess. I'm afraid we both look a little worse for wear right now."

I tried to keep my voice light. "If we do manage to escape this place, I will be thrilled to do a load of laundry. Thrilled, I tell you."

I succeeded in getting another small laugh out of him. "Indeed."

Another low boom of thunder echoed through the sky, this one closer than the last. "I think finding a signal out here is hopeless by this point," I said. "And I don't really want to get rained on. Should we start heading back?"

"Yes, good idea." Holding the branches aside for me again, he let me pass, and we started retracing our path back to the lodge.

The first heavy drops splattered on the top of my head when we arrived at our parked cars. I yanked my hood up over my hair and spotted Adam and Paul approaching from the opposite direction. I raised my arm to wave, but something odd between us caught my attention.

Two long legs culminating in a pair of stiletto heels dangled from the rim of the fountain, grazing the cobblestones. A head and torso bobbed along the water's surface, floating lifelessly as the rain pelted their back. Across the driveway, Paul broke into a run.

I met him at the fountain with Victor and Adam close behind. Though it lay face down, there was no mistaking Brittany's body in the water. Lifting my gaze, I looked at each of them, silently imploring one of them to tell me I was dreaming, or we weren't too late to save her. Without bothering to check for a pulse, Paul shook his head. I swallowed back the dread bubbling up in the back of my throat.

The killer had struck again.