“I went to the solarium, but no one was there, then I checked the sitting room,” Dru said, then paused, uncertain how she could share the next part without getting herself into trouble.
It wasn’t fair.
“Go on,” Channing said. “Was someone there?”
“No,” she said. “I headed back into the corridor to check out the kitchen and then Brian came back.”
“Did he have anything with him?” Channing asked.
Dru was taken aback by the question.
“No,” she said. “At least he didn’t have anything in his hands.”
“Think back,” Channing encouraged her. “Try to picture his hands.”
“Oh, I can picture them just fine,” Dru said. “He, uh, he touched me.”
She could see Channing lowering the notepad in the semi-darkness.
“Please explain exactly what you mean,” he said softly. “You can take as much time as you need.”
Dru took a deep breath.
“He came right up to me and put his hand behind me on the wall,” she said. “He said he thought I must get lonely up on the mountain at night.”
She closed her eyes, smelling his rancid breath again.
“I told him I had to go, but he grabbed my shoulder and then my jaw,” she said.
In the darkness, Channing nodded sympathetically.
She was grateful to him for remaining quiet.
“I kneed him in the, uh, privates,” she said. “I don’t know if the police will find any bruising.”
“Good for you, dear,” Channing whispered.
“And then Viktor Striker came downstairs and told him if he caught him making unwanted advances again, he would report him to the police,” Dru said.
“It was very brave of you to tell me this,” Channing told her softly. “What he did to you must have made you feel powerless and angry.”
“Yes,” she said. “But I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you mean.”
“It’s not what I meant, but thank you for clarifying,” Channing said. “What about this Viktor Striker. Would he be willing to kill to protect your honor?”
“I don’t think so,” Dru said. “He’s very mild mannered.”
“Plenty of criminals are,” Channing observed thoughtfully.
“Nonetheless,” Dru said. “I really don’t think he had anything to do with it. And he was with me outside.”
Except for the time he was inside, getting my gloves.
Dru decided to leave that part out.
Channing shrugged. “We’ll get to the bottom of it somehow.”
And though he was a little bit ridiculous, and a lot over the top, Dru suddenly thought that Hugh Channing really might figure this thing out.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she told him.
“We’d better get back out there, before they all panic,” he suggested.
She nodded, and they headed back into the corridor.
“Oh,” Hugh said in surprise.
Viktor stood, half-shrouded in shadow, just outside the sitting room door.
“Drucilla, you shouldn’t be alone with anyone right now,” Viktor hissed. “Not even this guy.”
“A fair point, my friend,” Hugh said, clapping Viktor on the shoulder.
Viktor winced and didn’t respond.
Dru wondered how long he had been in the corridor.
But there was no time to waste on the question. Hugh Channing was sweeping back into the lobby with the two of them trailing in his wake.
3
Dru turned to Viktor when they reached the lobby again.
“Why were you lurking in the hall?” she whispered.
“You shouldn’t be alone with anyone right now,” he whispered back. “For all I knew, that little creep pulled you aside to murder you.”
His eyes were flashing and his jaw was tight with tension. She had never seen him like this. He hadn’t been this intense when he’d confronted Brian Thompson. Something had him on edge.
But she supposed a dead body was enough to put anyone off their game.
“Well, he wasn’t,” Dru said. “Channing seems like he’s really making every effort to help.”
Viktor shrugged.
“Are you… jealous?” she asked.
“Of course not,” he retorted, loudly enough that Angie Wilder turned to smirk at them. “We shouldn’t be whispering. It looks suspicious.”
“Literally everyone else is whispering,” Dru said, gesturing around the room.
“We need to think about what to do with the body,” Tyler Park said as he came back down the stairs from depositing Hazel and Honey in their room.
“We mustn’t disturb the crime scene,” Channing said.
“Did you see the tree that’s down over the driveway?” Tyler asked. “Do you know how long it’s going to take for the authorities to get out here? They don’t even know we need them yet.”
“Volumes of evidence are contained in that corpse,” Channing said.
Jenna Wilder let out a small gasp, presumably at the word corpse.
Jeffrey pulled her to his chest.
“Do you know what else is contained in that corpse?” Tyler asked. “Bacteria, bile, blood, and fecal matter, just to name a few things. As we speak, his body is cooling and stiffening, which will make it harder to work with each minute that passes. By morning, his skin will be marbleizing from the gases trying to escape. Blow flies will be using his body as a breeding ground, filling him with their maggots. And he will begin to stink. Soon, bloating from putrefaction will have his eyes and tongue protruding out of his face. Do you think he’ll be more fun to move then?”
More than one of the gathered crowd looked a little ill at Tyler’s words. Dru was glad to know it wasn’t just her.
“Dear God man, there are ladies present,” Channing cried.
Dru couldn’t tell if Channing really thought that the women in the group had more delicate sensibilities, or if that’s just what he felt the vaguely-southern gentleman detective he seemed to be inhabiting would say. She had to admit, his dedication to the craft was impressive. She might just have to go see one of his plays when this was all over.
“I think we should move him now,” Oscar said lightly, raising his hand as if he were casting a vote about whether or not to have a picnic on the lawn.
More hands went up.
“Okay, okay,” Channing said, throwing his own hands up. “Who would like to help.”
All the hands went down.
“That seems about right,” Tyler said, rolling his eyes.
“Gentlemen, step forward,” Channing said. “This falls to us.”
“Sexist,” Melody said, handing Mayor Tuck her camera and stepping forward.
“Thank you, dear lady,” Channing said to her.
“Don’t mention it,” Melody replied, rolling her eyes.
Angie Wilder snickered.
Jeffrey Wilder stepped forward too, giving his daughter a look that she studiously ignored.
Dru looked to Viktor.
He was pale and tense, but when he sensed her eyes on him, he stepped forward as well.
“Whatever,” Johnny Smith said, and joined the others.