Lillyanne Plume's Arc

Chapter 15 of 22

Lillyanne stayed on her knees beside the body. The rug felt warm through her jeans. Marjorie's braid had come loose. A smear of red crossed the white hair like a mark someone left on purpose. Lillyanne's hands would not stop shaking. "Who did this?" Her voice came out thin. She looked up at Scott. "Who?" Scott crouched by the body. He lifted Marjorie's wrist, then set it down. He checked the pockets of the red dress. He tilted the head to see the cut. He worked fast and clean, like a man reading a hand of cards. "Doesn't matter," he said. "Whoever it was did us a favor." "A favor." "We have a victim. No other team can claim her. No fight for the body. No race to the tent." He pointed at the throat. "Clean cut. One stroke. They knew what they were doing." He stood and brushed his hands on his pants. "We find the clues. We hide the body so no one else can find it. Then we win this game." Lillyanne stood up. Her legs felt far away. "They weren't doing us a favor." "Lilly." "They did this on purpose." Her voice climbed. "They knew our room. They knew our victim. They picked her." "You don't know that." "I do know that." She stepped over Marjorie's arm and got close to him. "She's the postwoman who told me about this place. She warned me. Someone was watching. Someone killed her to punish her for talking. To punish me." Scott's jaw tightened. The strand of hair fell across his forehead. "She knew better than to talk." "She's dead on our floor and that's what you say?" “Don’t,” he snapped. “Do not accuse me of being cold, sweetheart. You knew someone would die and you entered the game anyway. But now that it’s someone you know, you want to get all emotional.” He stepped closer, his warmth against her skin. His breath brushed her lips as he whispered, “They are all somebody’s postwoman. Somebody’s mother or father or sister.” His voice dipped at the word ‘sister’, “You’re smart enough to have known that.” His silver eyes did not move from hers. "Everyone here knows the cost. You knew and decided to quench your boredom anyway." Lillyanne stared at him. Something behind her ribs went cold. She had come to him for a partner and he was already turning against her. He already had her pegged as a selfish, cold-hearted woman. But she hadn’t known this would happen. She thought death had been a metaphor or a cause of the game. She hadn’t know the victim would be unwilling. She turned back to Marjorie. She knelt and closed the woman's eyes with two fingers. The lids were still soft. She fixed the braid the best she could and tucked it against the red dress. "I'm sorry," she said, low. "I did this to you." Scott was already at the side table, tipping the lamp, checking under the base. "There's a clue in this room. Help me find it, or we lose the night and it's all for nothing." Lillyanne wiped her face on her sleeve. She stood. She would move the body. She would follow the clues. She would win the game. And when she found out who left this gift in her room, she would make them pay for it. She picked up the lamp on the other table and started looking.