Mount Rancour
Disclaimer: Read our Series of Queer Events. That has all the legal info.
A/N: Here's our Christmas treat! Our first HI fic and our first murder mystery. Every day this week, a new chapter will be posted featuring inventive murders, grand drama and a cozy Christmas feel. We'd like to welcome all our old reviewers as well as any new ones.
Let's get started!
Cast of Characters
At the Hotel
Richard Lewis: The Patriarch
Minerva Lewis: The Power-Mom
Selina Lewis: The Ingenue
Eddy Lewis: The Family Dog
Walter Adams: The Fiance
Jocelyn Adams: The Supportive Sister
Roger Adams: The Party-Animal
Yvette Schneider: The Singer
Eliezier Groman: The Agent
Emilia DeStefano: The Grande Dame
Rudolph DeStefano: The Philantrophist
Kathy Smith: The Tourist
Christopher Lewin: The Student
Lois Burkely: The Teacher
Nicholas Antoni: The Writer
Frances Antoni: The Publisher
Gloria Miller: The Clutz
Ben Hastings: The Brickhouse
Igor Weiss: The Manager
Hildregarde Vishtko: The Cheif of Staff
Hans Toblar: The Master-Chef
Frau. Bilkenau: The Tabby Cat
In the Village
Rachel Bartow: The Shop-Keeper
Gerard Dietrich: The Gondola-Operator
Ernst Reynald: The War Hero
Geraldine Reynald: The House-wife
Zaccarias Oscow: The Cabby
Maria Benardine: The Reporter
Erzebeth Flaton:The Town Matron
Wilhelm Carris: The Town Constable
Oscar Gobler: The Deputy
These People Are All The Targets of a Mad Killer
In the Sleepy Village of Geimhaven, Austria nothing ever happens,
except murder
At the Weinbeck Hotel above town, a party gathers for a week of Christamas fun, they too will begin to die
Who is the murderer?
One of them
One of them
One of them
Chapter 1, Whirr, Whirr, Whirr, Ka-Thunk!
Zaccarias Oscow sat at the wheel of his rusty bus, looking over the ridge onto the worn stone road. This road led through the mountains from Zaccarias' home of Geimhaven to the local train platform. Of course, 'local' in this case meant: 'five miles away'. It was Zaccarias' job to bring people to and from the village to the trains as he was the owner of the only bus company in the village. Though, in this case, there was only one bus and it hadn't been in it's prime since the 1960's.
Today, Zaccarias, or 'Zach' as his friends knew him, was going to bring a large party up to to the Weinbeck Hotel on Mount Rancour, the slope above town. They had all paid a great deal of money to be included in the week-long Christmas party. Zach thought it was all a great nuisence. At twenty-five, he had seen very little of the world beyond Geimhaven and moreover, he did not wish to see it. These groups of international tourists would come up to the Weinbeck once or twice every year and gush on the 'rustic charm' and 'simple joys' of living in a place like Geimhaven. Really, if they had any idea what it was like to work all the day and spend every waking moment in the freezing cold,they wouldn't be gushing. The Weinbeck itself was just an attempt to make money by expoiting a simple town and having people gawk at them.
Zach sighed and switched on the bus, heard it cough and sputter for five minutes and finally kick into gear.
He drove down the mountain.
"Honey, where's Selia?"
"I think she's still in the compartment."
"Could you fetch her?"
"Yes, dear. You get a porter."
With that, Richard Lewis walked from his wife, Minerva and went off to search for his daughter, Secilia.
The train crew was bustling up and down the corridor, unloading luggage and assisting disgruntled passengers. It was in the family compartment that he shared with Minerva where he found Selia, curled up into a ball and sleeping.
Richard shook her gently, "Selia, wake up, honey. We're at the station."
Selia stirred qiuetly and said to her father, "Good morning, Daddy. Where's Walter?"
Walter Adams, Selia's fiance, had been the one who insisted on them all going into the mountains for a Christmas party. Well, of course, it would be his idea! Richard barely had enough money to support his family of three. It was really one of the main reasons he had allowed his swooning daughter to take Walter's hand. Walter was the middle son of three children. A wealthy, influential family.
There was a sound of sharp yapping and through the bunk sheets emerged Selia's little beagle puppy: Eddy. Eddy had recently been born of their older dog, Sally. Selia had insisted on little Eddy going with them on the trip while Sally stayed with a housesitter in New York.
"I'll be dressed in a moment, Daddy." Selia told Richard, "And please take Eddy to get some breakfast. He likes chicken."
With that, the little dog was thrust into Richard's arms and Richard marched back into the corridor.
"Chris, where's my camera bag?" Kathy Smith asked her apprentice, Christopher Lewin.
"Have you checked your duffel?"
"You know what, dear? I didn't. Now, you go and stretch your legs a mite. It'll do you some good."
"Sure." Chris nodded. He loved helping Kathy, an old friend of the family. When she had won tickets for herself and a friend to go to the Weinbeck Hotel, she wasted no time in recruiting the favorite student from her senior photography class at the University of Virginia.
Kathy stretched up to her overhead rack and pulled down her duffel bag. Unzipping it, she found her camera, tripod, lens cap and extra memory cards.
"There we are!" she nodded approvingly.
Slinging her duffel over her shoulder, Kathy left the compartment.
Gloria Miller stepped onto the platform, buttoned up to the neck in a wool coat, three mufflers around her neck and thick gloves on her hands. Someone came down the stairs from the train behind her, "Excuse me?" Gloria turned to see a man with the exact proportions of a tree. He was enormously built, with sandy hair and dark green eyes. "Excuse me, can I get by?" he said impatiently.
"Oh! Um, sure."
Gloria took a step back and fell headlong into a luggage cart. Damn! Why was it always her? Embarressing herself in front of this hunk of ice!
The man came over to her, "You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah." was all Gloria could get out.
"Cool." the man was indifferent as anything as he helped her to her feet and walked off, leaving Gloria cursing her clumsiness.
"Emilia, hurry up! The train's stopped!" Rudolph DeStefano tapped on the bathroom door in which his wife was showering.
"Rudi, what time does the shuttel come?" she snapped back at him through the sound of running water. "Nine o'clock." he told her.
"I still have time!" she insisted.
Rudi sighed, he sometimes wondered why he ever married Emilia. The woman was a bumbling ditz from a family of Venetian art collectors. He was a self-made millionaire and head of his own printing company. She had married him for money at first, but had grown to love him. Still, he didn't know why they had to leave Rome and miss out on Christmas with the family in order to go to some dull weakend atop Mount Rancour.
"Well, hurry up, then!" he advised his wife through the door, "And try not to put to much foundation this time. We've no time for that!"
Emilia gave a long, drawn out gasp which was apparently a sigh of contempt.
"One week with her?" Rudi rubbed his temples, "How in hell will I last?"
Nicholas Antoni dragged his sister and luggage out of the train. "When does the bus leave?" Frances had asked. "Thirty minutes from now!" He told her.
"Then why are we rushing?"
"I want a front-row seat." he winked at her.
"God, mom was right! You're such a prima donna!" Frances said playfully.
"Oh, shut your ass!" Nick nudged her, chuckling.
They went on through the little station, laughing and talking, until Frances crashed head-long with a harried looking woman in her forties.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The woman stood up and helped Frances to her feet while Nick retrieved the woman's little black case.
"No, it was my fault." Frances placated her, "We weren't looking where we were going."
"We?" Nick muttered under his breath. Frances ignored him.
"Well, thank you all the same." the woman smiled, "My name is Lois. What's yours?"
"I'm Frances Antoni, and this is my twin brother, Nick."
"Hi." Nick waved as best he could while being hindered by his and Frances' luggage.
"Are you going to the Weinbeck Hotel?" Lois asked them, interested.
"Yeah, we are." Nick said, "Are you?"
"Yes. It's about time I made use of Christmas vacation. Every year, school lets out and I stay at home preparing mid-terms."
"Oh, you're a teacher?" Frances wondered.
"Yes. I teach at a small high-school in Maine."
"That must be lovely! We're from Vegas, so we rarely see snow."
"Las Vegas! Oh, goodness, really? It must be wonderful being so close to the casinos."
"Actually..."
Nick rolled his eyes as the two women chattered on and on about everything imaginable.
So much for a front seat on the bus.
"Walter, come on!" Roger Adams rushed his older brother, Walter.
"I'm looking for Selia." Walter lagged behind on the platform.
"She's not gonna go without you!" Roger spread his arms wide. At nineteen years old, Roger was the most enthused in his family. What with their older sister, Jocelyn, being in charge of the family business and Walter fussing about stocks and shares and that wedding of his in May, Roger was the only bright one around. Unlike most people his age, Roger had money. A lot of it. And he was perfectly happy to use it to his heart's content.
"Selia will come. You shouldn't worry so much, bro!"
"What are you two doing?" came a familier voice. The two brothers turned to see Joyce herself come barging towards them, her arms full of suitcases.
"We're in deep shit now." Roger whispered to Walter, who was already running towards Joyce.
"You left the train without telling me. You left all the luggage for me to carry. Oh, and Selia's looking everywhere for you, Walter!"
"Where is she?" Walter sighed
"Back there." Joyce jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
Walter ran off.
Joyce took one look at Roger and thrust three cases into his arms.
"There's a good boy." she said approvingly as they continued on.
Joyce never wanted to be too hard on her siblings, but since Dad had died, it was up to her to be a parent. Walter was always glad to help but he was always out spending time with Selia now. Roger was completely hopeless, though. Every waking moment of his life was spent going to parties and sleeping with women in the back of the Lamborghni which Joyce of course had to pay for.
But Joyce loved her brothers as much as anything. Life was just frustrating. Her friends all envied her. They said she was so lucky to have money and influence. Then again, none of them were orphans. Joyce hoped this week with Walter and the Lewis' would help her family, and it's new members, come together at last.
She could only hope.
Yvette Schnieder stepped into the rickety, foul-smelling bus, followed by her agent: Eliezer Groman. The man in the driver's seat stared at them and said in broken English, "Tickets?" he prononced the word as though it were poison on his tongue.
"We have them here." Eli smiled as he spoke in his flawless, light acented English. That was one thing she liked about Eliezer, his eloquence. Actually, that might be the only thing she liked about him.
This deal had been hard to book. Singing at a Christmas party for the rich and famous. It would certainly provide the needed money to perform abroad and might even cover up her former job. Of course, the 'former job' was barely a job at all. Just something she had thought she could pull off to pay through college.
"Where do you want to sit?" Eli asked her.
Yvette answered by smiling and sitting in the front seat to the right, Eli sat next to her.
"Have you spoken with the manager?" Yvette asked him.
"Yes. A peculier man. Name's Weiss or something like that. He'll provide you with a list of songs for the welcome dinner when we arrive.
"Thank you, Eli." Yvette said brusqely. She always thanked Eli like this. Quick and hurried. But did he really expect her to be warm and clingy to him after what had happened in the summer?
Yvette was brought out of her thoughts, though, as others entered the bus.
Minerva looked around at the others sitting around her. She felt it nescecery, considering that she was going to be living with these people for the next week.
They were all very different looking from each other. In one corner sat a powerful looking hulk of a man. In another, an aristocratic couple were sitting upright, trying not to talk to each other, from all appearences. In the seat behind her and Richard were a plump, matronly woman and a young man with several bags in his lap. The woman was fishing out an exepensvie camera, really the most lavish thing she seemed to posses and was poising it as though she was preparing to take pictures. Her daughter was sitting next to Walter. Minerva approved of Walter. He was more than able to support a family with Selia and he was very attractive. She didn't know why Rich didn't like him as well.
The bus struck the first of what would probably be many bumps in the mountain road and Minerva leaned her head against Rich, hoping to get some sleep.
Rachel Oscow sat at the Geimhaven gate, waiting for Zach to return with those people for the Weinbeck. Rachel was currently dating Zach and had promised to be ready for dinner with him tonight. Rachel also hoped that these tourists would like to sample some wears from the general store she managed. Zach dissaproved of the store. He had told her that it wasn't right to be 'ecouraging the leaches'. But money was money and God knows, Rachel despretly needed money.
There! At last! There was a distant sound and rumbling and clattering and Zach's bus came into view on the slope.
Rachal watched the old 'monstrosity', as Zach called it, slide into park in the icy lot just inside the gate.
There was a sharp 'clang!' as he door opened and the guests began to dismount. Among them, Rachel found that they were the usual lot. Touriosty, definitely. Flashy, some. She let them walk right past her, chattering amongst themselves. Making friends with each other, it seemed. There was one person with a rather fancy camera, with which she was snapping pictures of the mountain landscape, the village buildings, and the shiloute of the Weinbeck atop Mount Rancour. There was a young man with this woman, posing in some of her shots and taking pictures of her with a little digital camera of his own.
Last to step out of the bus was Zach, "Follow me." he said quite simply to the group. He looked rather sullen until his eyes fell on Rachel in the back. He gave her a little smile as he lead the tourists through the village.
"Oh, Chris! Look at those lovely porticos!" Kathy pointed to some worn stone arches in the town square. She proceeded to take several photos in black-and-white mode to hang in her classroom.
"Kathy, let me carry your bag." Chris said to her. Oh, dear, the boy was so sweet, sometimes!
"Oh, I can manage." she said kindly, "You go and socialize. Meet some of the others."
Chris nodded and said, "Sure. If you need anything, call me."
"Certainly."
Kathy hung back of the group to take more shots while Chris stepped over to one of the ladies: a woman so heavily bundled up that he wondered how she was able to move.
"Hi." he greeted her, she turned suddenly and said back, "Hello."
"I'm Chris. And you are?"
"Gloria."
Chris noted that she was dragging a wheeled suitcase in one hand and held a large duffel bag in the other.
"May I help you with that?" he asked.
"Thanks." she said, handing him the duffel.
Chris noticed that, as she followed him, she cast her eyes towards the big, blonde guy in front of the group.
Chris didn't blame her. The fairer sex had never been very friendly with him. Sure, he wasn't that bad looking, but he was more of a bookworm than anything else.
He attempted on small-talk with Gloria but she was still staring at the man.
Hmph. Just his luck.
Ben Hastings stayed to the front of the party, eager to get to the hotel where there was said to be a weight-room. Even in a season when one was meant to eat and lounge, working out was still formost in his mind. This vacation was the urge of some of his buddies in Colorado. They said he needed a break.
Well, there were some sexy girls on the trip, that was sure! There was the olive-skinned chick with the twin brother; she was great to look at but seemed too busy talking with some uptight older lady. He saw that black-haired girl, the oldest of three kids, he heard her telling the photographer lady. She was alright looking but seemed a bit too stressed out by something. There was another girl, pulling a little dog along on a leash. She was goregous but seemed to be engaged to that outright douche decked out in Tommy Hillfiger. There was also the girl he had scared at the train station. She was kinda pretty, but a little too scared-looking. Also, it didn't help that she kept staring at him. The last girl in the group under the age of forty was that blonde in the black coat. She seemed to be local because she was speaking to the too-suave-to-exist guy next to her in German.
Ben just hoped he had a chance to tap someone this week.
Emilia clung to Rudi's hand. It wasn't really out of affection. More that the village was built on a steep hill and the very roads themselves seemed angled to go upwards.
"Where the hell is that hotel?" she whispered to her husband.
"On top that mountain. Rancour or something."
"It's up there?" Emilia pointed at the peak in horror, "We're walking up there?"
"No." The bus-driver who was leading them turned to her. He continued to speak in uneven Italian, "A launch will take you to the hotel."
"Launch? What kind of launch?" Emilia asked nervously.
"You'll see." the man shrugged, clearly enjoying himself.
Gerard Dietrich sat in his chair, sipping a cup of hot lagar. The spirit warmed him up well seeing that the gondola station was drafty and didn't employ steam heat.
He knew he was to be expecting this year's Christmas party to arrive at noon. He just wished he was paid more. He had worked at the hotel since it had opened seven years ago and himself had to pay by moving from his home in Vienna and living in Geimhaven. He used to like reading the morning paper and watching the news on the TV he had had in his living room. There was no newpaper in Geimhaven and TV was an expensive luxury here.
He heard footsteps coming up the drive to the station and hid the lagar behind a file cabinet.
"Come in!" he called.
The door opened and that Zaccarias boy entered with the party of about seventeen.
"Guten afton." he nodded amicably. He repeated the statement in English and again in Spanish and again in Italian as his contract required him to do.
"Eight to a gondola." he instructed, gesturing to two top-of-the-line enclosed gondolas. He repeated the command in German and once more in his other required languages.
Zaccarias gave them all a half-hearted wave and left.
The guests had already begun filing into the two gondolas when Gerard realized that they had one too many guests than the weight restrictions would allow.
'But,' Gerard thought, 'it's just a one person difference. What could happen?'
In the first gondola that had set out, Selia was sitting with her parents, Walter, Joyce, Roger, and that brother and sister. The gondola operator had been a bit upset that there were an uneven number of them, which would unbalance the cords. He had relented, though, and had sent them off. The others were going behind them in the second car while the operator stood in the station, moving dials and pulling levers that caused the cars to move up the sturdy wires toward the top of Mount Rancour.
"Look, honey! There's the hotel!" she pointed out the window, directing Walter's gaze to the approaching Hotel Weinbeck.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" she gasped.
Indeed, it was. The Weinbeck was a five floor manor-like building. Hewn of stone, with decoritive paneling in dark wood and picture windows looking out on the mountains.
"You're gonna love this week." Walter kissed her, "You're really gonna love it."
"I know I will." she smiled, ignoring the dissaproving look her father was giving him from across the car.
In the corner, Roger was talking to the male of the strangers who was telling him about how he was planning to have his new book published, Roger was feigning intrest. The writer's sister was talking to Selia's mom about what they were planning to do this week. Joyce was sitting next to Selia's dad and talking awkwardly with him.
Selia hoped that her father would learn to love Walter, and Joyce would learn to love her. She was going to get married in a matter of months! She couldn't have her in-laws looking coldly at each other for the rest of her life!
Lois looked around her at the other people in the gondola, That wealthy couple sat across from her, not socialzing with themselves or any of the others. Next to her was that ferrety girl who always looked frightened, bless her. In the corner was that enormous and ravishingly handsome man and in the other corner the blonde woman and her friend sat. By the window, the nice boy was helping the older lady tack pictures of the mountains from out the window. Lois had never been in such an exotic setting before. Much less, surrounded by such exotic people! Her son was right, she did need a vacation.
She just hoped she would enjoy it.
Igor Weiss bustled through the halls of the Weinbeck Hotel, making final preparations for the arrival of the guests. His cheif of staff: Hilderegarde Vishtko was organizing the maids and porters to ready the luggage carts and make sure the beds were all proper. The head chef, Hans Toblar, was directing the rest of the kitchen staff in preparing the welcome banquet. Igor himself had the distinction of greeting the Christmas guests. This was the fifth annual Christmas party held at the hotel and he was hoping everything would go well as it had the previous times.
He heard a faint 'bzzz' come from the gondola port.
Like the wind, Igor dashed down the stairs and through the back kitchen into the little room that served as the landing point for Gerard Dietrich's gondolas.
The first car had already slid gently in and Igor opened the door.
Out came a group of eight people, most of whom seemed to already know each other.
"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" Igor greeted, arms spread wide, "Welcome to the Weinbeck Hotel! I trust you all had a pleasent journey?"
"It was very nice, thank you." remarked an elegant older lady, shaking his hand, "I'm Minverva Lewis. My husband, duaghter and I booked the family suite."
Igor was a bit put off by how the woman cut straight to business but nodded and said, "Ah, yes! The Lewis'. Your room is ready. Just step into the the lobby and a porter will meet you there."
"Thank you." said a man, probably Minerva's husband. The family of three walked off, the young woman kissing another man before she left, pulling a little beagle behind her.
There was another buzzing noise and the next car slid in.
Igor once again opened the door and repeated his welcome speech to the new arrivals. This time, the one to reply to his 'pleasent journey' remark was a plump woman with a camera around her neck.
The woman said, "Oh, it was beutiful! The view was stunning! You don't know how many panormas I was able to shoot!"
Igor stared, "You took pictures of the mountains?"
"Yes."
"To do that you would have had to open the window."
"I did."
"You leaned out of the window?"
"Sure did!"
Igor shuffled his feet and said, "Very well, then!" If you would all please go to the lobby, your luggage will be brought to your rooms by a porter."
The group walked off, Igor being grateful to everything that that woman hadn't fallen out the gondola window.
He just couldn't afford a lawsuit.
Maria Bernadine strode up Geimhaven's high street, preparing for the second interview with her subject. In her mind, she went over all that she had retained last week, speaking with local World War II hero, Ernst Reynolds. He had fought on Hitler's army in the war and had been responsible for countless Allied deaths on the battlefeild. He had recieved the Third Reich's most prestigous honor: The Black Skull, for being one of three surviviors of an English seige on the Nazi outpost that had been stationed in Geimhaven. Of those three survivors, only Herr Reynolds was still alive and nearing the age of one hundred. Maria had been sent from Berlin to interview him on his apparent anti-Semetic, anti-Black and anti-Asian ideals. The man was said to be near raving and incredibly adverse to change. He had, in the eighties, been responsible for the assault of several Jewish missionaires who were staying at the local inn, which he had also burnt down. He was convicted and sent to jail for some time after this. This was all Maria knew. She supposed it would make a fine, fifth page headline: 'LUNATIC NAZI SYMPHAISER HATES EVERYONE'.
Maria would've taught her first assignment abroad would be more interesting than this.
She walked up to the little cottage on the edge of town and knocked.
The door was answered by a woman in her late sixties whom Maria had met on her last trip. She was Herr Renald's wife, Geraldine.
She looked at her, smiled, and said, "Hello again, Maria. Ernst has been waiting for you."
Maria couldn't help but roll her eyes. Herr Reynolds was old enough to be Geraldine's mother. Not to mention, that last time Maria had met him, he was shockingly unaware of his wife, instead preferring to stare at Maria's chest.
Maria allowed herself to be led into the house and into the little room that was where Herr Reynold resided.
Like last time, he was clad in his filthy white nightshirt, tucked in bed, and smoking a pipe as though he wasn't ninety-eight years old, and didn't need to worry about getting lung cancer.
"Good evening, Herr Reynold." she said softly, sitting down in a little stool and taking out her note-pad and pen,
"Ah! The bitch has returned." Herr Reynolds clapped his hands.
Maria sighed. This wasn't going to be fun.
Zach stepped into his workshop, looking for his tools. Just his luck that his bus had completely broken down shortly after arriving at Geimhaven. The radio was out of sync, the engine was faulty and the suspension needed to be checked.
There was a knock on the door.
"It's open!" Zach called in German.
The door opened and Rachel entered.
Zach kissed her, "Thank you for being patient with me. It's just that I had to work this morning."
"I understand." she said, "You could make it up to me. Dinner at my house. Nine o'clock sharp."
"I'll be there."
"And I'll be turned on. All the way on."
"Now you're just making me excited."
"Think of it as an early Christmas gift."
"I can't wait."
"Well I won't tempt you any more. See you tonight."
She blew him an air-kiss and walked off, leaving Zach in the best mood he'd been in all week.
Rudi sat in a corner of the lounge, smoking his pipe.
Most of his family thought him as very Victorian in that he smoked from a pipe and not cigarettes like his cousins and brothers. Rudi liked to think that it made him look sophistocated.
Emilia entered, "Rudi, are you going to tour the village with me?"
Rudi turned to see his wife wearing her 'outing clothes'. These clothes were a pair of too-tight walking pants, Gucchi boots and a little black running vest.
"Actually, Emilia, I was going to socialize."
"You have plenty of time to meet people, later!" she pouted, "Besides, they have some absolutely stellar cigar shops in town. I might get you a pack on my treat."
Rudi sighed, that was tempting. His cigar money usually went into Emilia's clothes budjet. It would be nice to have some money to himself for once.
"Okay, then. Let me get my coat."
"See how nice it is to coopererate?" Emila smiled.
Rudi rolled his eyes. To Emilia, 'cooperating' was him helping her get what she wanted.
Joyce paced the lentgh of the den in the suite that she and her brothers were occupying. Walter had gone to the ballroom with Selia's family to do something or other. So far, the only member of Selia's family that she liked was Mrs. Lewis. She seemed to be just as stressed out as she was, with a family to provide for by herself. She had spoken to Mr. Lewis on the ride up the mountain and from what she had heard, she could fairly comclude that he depended on his wife to support the family. Mr. Lewis had been repeatedly dropped into bankruptcy, his wife had rescued him. Mr. Lewis had been fired five times, each time his wife got him a new job.
Well, Joyce also liked Selia, even though she felt that she was stealing her brother from her.
Walter was pretty much Joyce's best friend. Roger was nice, but he was always absrobed in enjoying himself and himself only.
Speak of the devil, Roger walked in at that very moment.
"Sis, where's my razor?"
"Have you checked your backpack?"
"No."
"Well, go look."
Roger turned to go but looked back to her, "Hey, you're not still made about Walter and I ditching you on the train, are you?"
"No, Roger. I'm fine. Now, go and have fun." she gave him a small smile, feeling more like a mother than ever.
"Thanks, sis."
Roger walked back to his room.
Zach rummaged in the loft of his workshop, looking for his toolkit.
He needed to fix his bus's toner and give it an oil-change. Then, of course, he had to find time to get dressed for Rachel.
But the idea of seeing Rachel sped him up in his work. He knew that she was always as excited to be with him and he was to be with her.
Suddenly, Zach heard a sharp sound. Something like a crazed 'whirr!'
The sound was coming from downstairs.
"Hello?" Zach called, "Someone down there?"
He knew it wasn't a robber. For one thing, there hadn't been any real crime in Geimhaven in years and for another, he didn't own anything worth stealing.
"Rachel?" he started down the ladder. Perhaps Rachel had left her purse.
When he reached the back of the shop, the noise reached ear-piercing levels.
Zach moved to the storage room and tentativly opened the door
Standing in the shadows of the room, was a figure whom Zach could not see clearly.
What he could see, though, was the powersaw that the figure was holding arc through the air and strike Zach's right arm, the arm that was holding the door open, at the elbow.
In an instant, Zach knew nothing but pain. He saw his fore-arm splayed on the ground, he felt the blood spray out of the remaining stump and splatter over the walls.
'Wait! Please!" Zach begged the figure, "What are you doing?" He tried to push the person back with his left arm, but in the process lost that as well.
Zach had by now lost so much blood that he collapsed on the ground, helpless to fight back as the figure, who was just begining to become apparent, ripped the saw through his neck with a sickining 'KA-THUNK!'
Zach couldn't even manage a scream, just a type of groan, as his neck snapped in two.
Nick looked out on the mountains, his laptop on the deck table in front of his and a cup of hot coffee in his hand. He had to finish the last chapter of his novel: Snakes and Lions before he got back from vacation. Frances had said she could publish it if it weren't complete crap. Nick really needed to get his first book onto the shelves. If he could do that as least, surely he would be contracted by a major publisher.
He didn't want to hurt Frances's feelings but her self-managed publishing company was barely managing to stay afloat.
He was thinking of one day signing a book-deal with Harper Collins or perhaps Penguin. Those would get him started.
The balcony door opened and Frances walked out to him.
"Nick, do you wanna go down to the village?" she asked him, "We could get a cup of coffee."
Nick looked down at the cup he was already holding and said, "I'm all set, sis. Besides, you said you won't be able to publish Snakes and Lions any later then New Year's.
"But we just got here!" Frances nudged him, "Dinner's at eight and we've plenty of time to see the sights. Besides, I don't want you missing out just because of the deadline."
"But you told me..."
"That deadline only exits so it can be on the market in time for the after-Christmas discounts."
"Discounts?" Nick was shocked.
"Nick, newly released novels never cell at normal debut price unless they're from a major publisher. Nick, face it. You're not Agatha Christie and I'm not Little Brown. If you want yo get big, you have to start small."
Nick was insulted. His own sister thought he wasn't good enough for standard prices!
"Frances, Snakes and Lions is gonna sell millions! It'll be a hit!"
"Maybe so! But not right off the bat! The best books take some time to be discovered!"
But Nick wasn't hearing any of it. He closed his lap-top and marched back inside.
"Nick, wait!" Frances called after him.
She hadn't meant to hurt him. He was new to the business. Young. Impetuous. Frances loved her brother and she just wanted the best for him. She thought about going after him, but realized that that would make him angrier.
She would just have to wait.
"Ready for show-time?" Eli asked her.
Yvette looked at him.
"Yes. My career starts tonigt, Eli. Nothing can go wrong."
She spoke definitely, as though she was going to make sure that nothing did go wrong.
"Your outfit's downstairs."
"Not too revealing, I hope?" she asked. Yvette didn't need any revealing clothes with the past she'd had.
"You'll be covered as a Quaker. But not nearly as plain."
Yvette fidgited. He was flirting with her now. She hated that.
Well, she hadn't always hated it. There was a time, not too long ago, when Eli had not worked with her. She had worked for him, for one night at least. They had both enjoyed the night very much and in the end they had begun to date. That though, quickly turned sour.
Eli was a hot-blooded man. When he had an urge he could not resist it.
Yvette had learned the hard way which is why they were only on business-speaking terms.
"I'll get ready." she told him, "I'll be out of the bathroom in a second."
She turned on her heel and strode into the bathroom.
Erzebeth Flaton bundled herself up in coat and shawl and took off across the high street fot her nightly outing.
Erzebeth had lived in Geimhaven for all her seventy-four years and was the most well known and most-liked person in the village.
The air was bitter tonight: friged and icy cold. The sunset though, was to die for, purple and pink and midnight blue thrown up against the white and grey mountain-side. The clouds were thin and bright violet with Mount Rancour standing center in it, looking like God's throne perched on top of the world.
Erzebeth saw this every single night, but she was still just as facinated by it as she had been many years ago.
She started her walk, not noticing the tall blonde woman striding toward her.
When she did notice the woman, Erzebeth turned and said, "Good evening, Maria."
Maria Bernadine smiled and replied, "Good evening, Frau. Flaton. How was your day?"
"Very good, thank you."
Erzebeth felt bad for the girl, she had very few friends in Geimhaven as they all treated the reporter and a disease that would contaminate their quiet, reserved way of life.
"You're going to bed?"
"Yes. The apartment is starting to feel like home."
"I am glad to here that. How was your talk with Herr Reynald?"
Maria hesistated, "He doesn't like me very much. I'm afraid I won't have anything for my article if he continus to be so secretive."
"That's a shame. Herr Reynald though, is not liked by the community. His acts of hatred towards people of different color and creed have earned him many enemies. He seems to think that the old war was never won."
"I'm afraid he gives his wife a lot of trouble."
Erzebeth's face darkened, "Poor Geraldine had never had time to socialize. Ernst had her waiting on him hand and foot. The man's gravely ill pyshically. Probably mentally ill as well, if you ask me."
"I don't think it's very fair. He seems to hate her."
"It isn't fair at all. Unfortunately, a divorce is a scandel seldom seen here. Geraldine will have be ostricized."
"Well, have a nice walk, Frau. Flaton."
"And you have a nice rest, Maria."
The two women went their seperate ways along the road.
Selia poured some chicken puree into Eddy's bowl.
"Honey, are you dressed?" her mother called from her own room in the suite.
"Yes, Mom!" she called back, "But I'm not sure if the almond dress is appropriate for tonight. Should I go with the white? Or the blue?"
Her Mom came out to her, wearing her elegant black gown.
"The blue looks lovely on you, honey. It brings out your eyes."
"Thanks, mom!" Selia nodded, spreading the blue gown across the bed.
"Eddy! Food, boy!" she called.
Little Eddy trotted in from the bathroom and buried his face in his bowl.
"I can't wait for tonight!" Selia twirled in a circle.
"You and Walter are so beautiful together." Mom assured her, "You'll be the happiest couple on earth."
Selia took her mom's hand and grasped it. She knew that Mom had regrets for marrying Dad. That the only thing mom got out of the marriage was her.
She smiled and kissed her mom. In that kiss, she carried reassurence and comfort.
She hoped it would be enough.
Ben stepped into the dining room, wearing his plain dinner jacket and rumpled trousers.
He was the only person there except the frightened girl. The one was kept staring at him. He decided that, since there weren't any other women present yet, he would sit next to her.
"Hi. Gloria, right?" he sat down next to her, to her apparent delight.
"Hi."
"I'm Ben." he withdrew a cigarette case, "Can I offer you a smoke?"
"I don't smoke." she smiled faintly, "Knowing me, I'd probably set fire to myself."
She looked as though she immediately regretted saying that.
"That's cool. They have those electric cigarettes, now."
"There're electric cigarettes?" she was in shock.
"Yeah, I found out about them on Google. They probably suck, though."
"Oh." she looked pretty awkward but was relieved to see that others were filing in.
Walter took Selia's hand and led her out of the elevator where an enormous woman dressed all in black stood with a table of programs.
"Good evening." she said in heavily accented English, "I am Frau. Vishtko, the cheif of staff. If you have any problems during your week here, please see me."
She handed them each a program and let them pass into the grandly decorated dining room.
A great Christmas tree rose in the center of the room, adorned with sparkling baubles of green and red, silver wreathes, knots of holly and topped off with a ceramic angel maniquin.
The tables were centered around the tree and facing the stage on which a marvelously realistic Nativity set, over with was a glittering silver star.
"Where do you want to sit?" Walter asked Selia. "Anywhere's fine, so long as our families don't bust a fuse."
They sat at a table directly in front of the stage, "Do you think I should've brought Eddy down here?"
"Nah. He'll only bother the others."
Selia smiled playfully, "He can't help it if he's a bit mischievous. He's young."
"He learns from his mom."
Selia chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, "It's not my fault if I get a little rowdy with you. What other woman has a god for a fiance?"
Yvette looked down at her dress for the performance. Eli hadn't been lying: it covered her. What Eli didn't say was that the dress would make her look like a Christmas elf with cleavage. The dress was scarlet, with a buttoned bodice and the edges fringed with white fluff. "I look ridiculous, Eli." she told him as she prepared to come on stage.
"You look lovely." he held her close. Annoyed, Yvette pushed him away, not-so-gently. Weiss, the manager, bustled forward, "You're on, Fraulein." he told her.
Yvette sighed and stepped out onto the stage, standing in front of the Nativity. In the corner of the stage, a hotel staff member sat at a piano and nodded to Yvette to start.
She lookd into the crowd and saw that most everyone was already present, waiting to be served. The pianist began to play and Yvette started to sing:
"Hark the herald Angels sing, Glory to the newborn King." she began the first song on the list.
"Peace on Earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled." she was about to proceed to the next line when someone flashed a camera at her, nearly throwing off her concentration.
"Damn tourists." she thought to herself
Kathy snapped a fine picture of the singer on the stage, replendent in the decorations.
She was sitting with Chris and the school-teacher from Maine: Lois.
"She has a beautiful voice, doesn't she?" Lois remarked.
"Oh, yes, it's wonderful." Kathy nodded. Chris sat in his chair and remained still, occasionally raising his eyes to look towards the kitchen and then again to look at the stage.
"Are you alright, Chris?" Kathy asked him, Chris smiled and nodded, "I'm fine, Kathy."
"If you want to change your seat, you're more than welcome to."
"No, Kathy, I'm fine."
But Chris wasn't thinking about changing his seat. He was thinking about Gloria Miller.
Hans Toblar, the head chef at the Weinbeck, was directing the wait-staff to bring up the appitizer course.
"Quickly, you oafs!" he commanded in his strong voice, "They're liable to complain if the foo doesn't get to them in five minutes!"
Hans hated tourists. He hated the Weinbeck in general. Being a local man, Hans had only taken the job to get him on his feet after he lost his job as sous-chef as the old inn that Ernst Reynald had burnt down all those years ago.
"Hurry, hurry!" he barked as the appetizer trays were carried out to the dining room.
He just wanted to hop down to the bar.
"Christmas time. Miseltoe and wine. Children singing, Christian rhyme." Yvette trilled the notes of Miseltoe and Wine. She felt an uncomfortable forboding as she observed Eli standing off-stage, staring at her with a sick expression of wanting upon his face. As she continued singing, Yvette taught back to her previous lifestyle.
She had been a stripper, a high-end stripper. The money had been good and she had lived well. She hadn't felt demeaned or put down until she met Eli. And Eli had single-handedly ruined her life.
She was brought out of her reverie by applause from the audience.
She bowed her head slightly and readied for her next piece.
Gloria fidigted in her seat. Several people had come onto the floor and bad started to dance. Gloria wished she could, but no one had asked her, and she was too shy to ask anyone herself. She felt someone come up behind her and turned, seeing Chris, that nice boy who had talked to her on the way over.
"Hey." he smiled, "You look lonely."
Gloria blushed, "I'm just looking around."
"Want to dance?"
"Oh!" Gloria felt her cheeks burn and put on a sheepish smile, "I guess so."
"Cool." He grinned, leading her onto the floor.
Roger stood by the Christmas tree, sipping a whiskey and soda. He was scanning the crowd for a girl but no one looked very interesting. Well, Selia looked interesting but she was his brother's fiance, and all that other crap. Roger liked to dally on the fact that he had seen Selia first. Had even gone out with her for a few weeks. But Selia hadn't returned the advance and had fallen for his brother instead. Roger didn't mind, Walter deserved a woman that liked him.
He saw the girl, the twin sister of Nick, the guy he'd talked to on the gondola.
"Yo!" he called to her. The girl turned, allowing Roger to fully see her beautiful body, encased in a tight gold and orange dress.
"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes lighting up playfully.
"What's your name?"
"Frances." she replied, saying it with a kiss at the end instead of a sis.
"I'm Roger."
"Wanna dance?"
"Sure."
She smiled and extended her hand to him.
Roger stared at the extended limb, not sure if he was supposed to kiss it or shake it.
He decided to just get on with it and twirl her onto the dance-floor.
The dance began.
"Oh, night divine!" Yvette belted out her final song, her arms stretched out before her.
"Oh night. Oh night divine."
She relaxed her posture and bowed, to a fine amount of applause.
"Good night everyone!" she waved to the crowd as she stepped backstage and directly into Eli's arms.
"Eli?" she snapped in part surprise and part indignation, "Let go of me!"
"I just wanted to congratulate you." he said smoothly, "You sang like an angel tonight."
"Just let go!" Yvette wrenched out of his arms and stormed out into the lobby.
She was about to summon the elevator when Eli stole up behind her and grabbed her arm.
"Just give me one more chance!" he said, hard and steely, with a slight pleeding edge.
"Eli, you had your chance and you blew it!" Yvette said, trying to keep her voice regulated, "Just leave me be." she tried pulling away from him but her agent clasped her head in his hands and pulled her to his lips.
Yvette tried to struggle against his hold but he was too strong for her. She compensated, though, by kneeing him in the groin.
He groaned loudly.
"AND NEVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!" Yvette roared. She flinched a bit when she noticed that the woman at the call desk was staring at her and several of the guests were peering through the open doors of the dining room.
"Just go way, Eli. Just go away." She turned around and stepped into the elevator, trying to ignore the tears of rage cascading down her face.
Rachel sat at her dining table, clad in a titalating black evening gown. She had waited and waited for Zach to come. Had watched the roast go cold and the candles melt down.
Resigning herself to the fact that Zach would never show up, Rachel pinched each candle flama out one by one and sighed.
She had thought she and Zach had something.
Eli stormed to the gondola port, wanting to go down to Geimhaven and get a drink after his public humiliation. He found the door locked and resigned to the idea that the gondolas were out of operation at nighttime. He decided then, to take a walk in the evergreen forest that graced the top of Mount Rancour. Stopping ever so briefly in his room to fetch his black overcoat and fedora from his closet and his pack of cigars from his dresser.
The night air was cold, and the air smelled fresh and crisp with the promise of more snow. The trees in the forest were grown very close together and did not have much snow between them. Eli thought to himself, Peaceful place. Good spot to think. To think about how I've ruined everything.
He had liked Yvette. His seduction of her might have been considered too fierce and his various attempts to feel her up could have been called zealous.
But Eli had not meant any harm. He was just a tad impetous. He figured that this was not a proper excuse, but, still, he felt bad for her.
He stopped when he believed he was far enough into the wood and leaned against a tree trunk, withdrawing a cigar from his case. Striking a match, Eli touched it to the tip of his cigar.
Indeed, it was quite shocking when the cigar burst into flames. Giving a cry of fright and surprise, Eli dropped the burning cigar, stamping it out in the dirt.
Eli gave a sigh of relief, wondering what had caused the cigar to implode. But then, he felt a warm sensation on his leg: his pant cuff was on fire!
Screaming in horror, Eli shook his leg and dropped to the ground, trying to stamp out the flame. But the fire still burnt, scorching Eli's left leg and spreading up over him.
Eli was now in a state of hysterics, running through the trees as smoke and fire consumed him. He tried to make his way back to the Weinbeck to get help, but in his frenzy, he had lost all sense of direction. Eli, felt a small surge of relief, even in his madness, as he noticed the trees begining to space out around him.
Little did he notice, that he was charging right off of Mount Rancour.
If anyone had been watching from Geimhaven village, they would have seen a miniscule red dot, perhaps have heard a faint cry, as something plummeted into the jagged rocks in the valley below them.
A/N: It begins. Two people are dead. Countless remain. The week is just begining. R&R, folks! Also, I would like to point out that two characters in this story are based on us Plot Murderers! Those who are used to our stories shouldn't have much trouble guessing.
Chapter 2 Coming Tomorow, the title shall be 'Ding!' Make of it what you will.