What Else Can I Do Now?
"Ten!"
Olaf pulled the trigger. Klaus and Sunny were not directly in line with the shot, so the force of the harpoon only knocked them to the floor. Violet had no chance; the harpoon pierced her heart.
Sunny screamed. Klaus cried out "NO!" They held their sister, but there was nothing they could do.
Violet frowned with effort as she tried to say a last word, "Quigley!"
Count Olaf looked shaken by what he had done, but he pulled himself together and aimed at Dewey Denouement.
"I have one more harpoon. The phrases, now!" he demanded.
Dewey turned white, and recited, "'ALLERGIC TO PEPPERMINTS'; 'POISON DARTS'; 'WHO KNOWS WHEN SOME SLIGHT SHOCK, DISTURBING THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN SOCIAL ORDER AND THIRSTY ASPIRATION, SHALL SEND THE SKYSCRAPERS IN OUR CITIES TOPPLING?'"
Olaf mumbled to himself, trying to commit the words to memory. In the background, Sunny continued to scream. The sound roused the hotel.
"What's going on?"
"It sounds like they're murdering people down in the lobby!"
"I can't sleep with murderers on the loose!"
"The readers of The Daily Punctilio have a right to know!" said the voice of Geraldine Julienne.
People in pajamas began to flood into the room from the stairs and elevators. Count Olaf hastily set down the harpoon gun on the floor next to the Baudelaires.
"Count Olaf killed my sister!" Klaus shouted. "Grab him!"
"Murder!" shouted Sunny.
"We should call the authorities!" said one guest.
"We should call the manager!" said another.
"We should call my mother!"
"We should call for a concierge!"
"Those are the concierges!"
"No, those are the murderous Baudelaire orphans!" said Geraldine Julienne. "I can see the headlines now: 'MURDEROUS ORPHANS MURDER MURDEROUS ORPHAN!'"
"That's right," said Count Olaf. "They shot their sister!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's what happened. They shot her," said Hugo.
"Liar!" yelled Sunny in a tearful voice.
"Count Olaf did it!" cried Klaus.
"They killed Count Olaf, too, right in my home town," said Mrs. Morrow.
"That was Count Omar," said Mr. Lesko.
"They're not criminals," said Hal. "I should know."
"So should I. They're guilty as sin," said Esme. "Look at the blood on them."
The children looked down at themselves. Their orange uniforms were indeed blotched with red.
"Ladies and gentlemen," called Justice Strauss. "Guilt or innocence is a matter for the law, not your personal opinions."
"That's not fair," said one man. "I went to all the trouble of coming down here in my pajamas and I should be able to say whether they are guilty or not."
"This is a case for the High Court," said Justice Strauss. "The authorities will be notified and my fellow judges will be here for a trial in a matter of hours."
"Isn't the trial on Thursday?" someone asked.
"In the light of this murder and the bank robber who was caught yesterday, we will be starting early," said Justice Strauss. "These and many other important matters will be decided once and for all."
"I guess that's all right," someone grumbled.
Justice Strauss and Jerome Squalor walked through the crowd to the Baudelaires.
"Don't worry," said Justice Strauss. "My fellow justices and I will straighten this out."
"Will you?" said Klaus in a cold rage. "Violet is dead. You let her walk in front of a harpoon and did nothing."
"I'm so sorry," said Jerome.
"So am I," said the Justice.
"Failed us. Again," said Sunny miserably.
"I'm going to have the managers lock you in Room 121 until the trial, just to keep you safe from the mob," said Justice Strauss.
"Ha!" said Olaf, pushing his way toward them. "Good idea. Lock them up so decent people will be safe."
"You will be locked up too, Count Olaf," said Justice Strauss. "Along with many other crimes, you are also accused of this murder, and there are multiple witnesses."
"I welcome the verdict of the High Court," said Olaf. "Ha!"
Frank or Ernest or Dewey escorted the Baudelaires to room 121 and locked them in. Sunny and Klaus held each other and wept bitterly.
Out in the night a taxi driver got tired of waiting and slowly drove away.
