Hello again! I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to my reviewers (again). You guys rock XD Okay, let's see if I can make this chapter any longer... I fear my entire story, and not just the chapters, is going to end up notoriously short if I don't try to lengthen it more XP So here's hoping for another good chapter!
Chapter Five: Splitting the Deck
Ignoring the unconcious Mr. Green for the time being, they all turned back to stare blankly at the spot where Mr. Boddy had lain.
"So... he wasn't dead, then?" Tayce T. said presently, a puzzled expression on her face.
"I hope not," Miss. Peacock mumured. "Ms. Scarlette, didn't you check for his pulse?" Everyone turned expectantly towards Pauline, who shook her head in a bemused fashion.
"Yes, I did, but I swear he was dead!" she said.
"Oh, good!" Gadd excalimed. "This must mean he's become a ghost, and he's walking around dead and alive right now! I'll bet he wants revenge on his murderer! This is fantastic!"
Kolorado looked at him like he was insane. "Fantastic that there's a vengeful ghost on the loose? I hardly thought that was a good thing. Supposing our late host doesn't know you got him either? He might be after all of us!"
Bootler shook his head. "Now, you all are forgetting that I myself am a ghost. And speaking from a ghost's point of view, I doubt that if he had become one he would have stayed. Once you die you don't really care about revenge. On the other hand, though, Mr. Boddy was always sadistic... he may become a poltergiest just for the fun of it."
By now Luigi had begun to come 'round again. He moaned and sat up, rubbing his head and looking around. "What happened?" he asked dazedly.
Pauline looked down at him. "You fainted when you saw Mr. Boddy was missing," she explained cooly, a small grin appearing on her crimson lips. "In fact, we were just discussing the possibilities of him coming back as a poltergiest and haunting and/or killing us all."
Luigi's face paled, and he fainted again, hitting the carpet with a dull thud. Miss Peacock frowned slightly. "That wasn't very nice, Ms. Scarlette," she said, putting her hands on her hips.
The brunette shrugged. "Geez, I was only funning.So the guy's a wuss; not my problem."
"Yes, but we'll need his help in the search of clues as to how and why Mr. Boddy's body has vanished," Gadd said pointedly. "Now that I get a second thought about it I somehow doubt that this is supernatural. Besides, if he'd become a ghost, his body would most likely still be there," he said.
"That could mean two things," Kolorado pointed out, holding up two short yellow fingers and counting off on them. "One, he wasn't dead to begin with, only KOed. When he came about he realized his plan had gone awry and scurried off. Or two, he was dead, and somebody dragged him off and stashed him someplace."
"Yes, but why would anyone want to hide the Boddy's body?" Tayce T. pondered. "We all already know he's dead, so what would be the point of hiding him?"
Bootler cleared his throat. "Well, that's what we need to find out. Now before we can figure out who killed Mr. Boddy, we'll have to find him. Mystery on top of mystery! It's going to be a long night," he murmered, half to himself. "Anyway, because we don't know where our ex-host went, we'll have to search every room in this house. We'll split up to save time."
"Hey, hold on a tick!" Kolorado said, frowning. "If we split up that means there's a murderer going free and unchecked."
"Well," Bootler explained, "We'll have to go in pairs, then. And we'll keep the weapons locked up just in case," he added, floating over to the coffee table and the pile of weapons. Picking up the revolver, the candlestick, and the rope, he said "We'll keep them in the safe, which is over here."
He drifted over to the safe, pulled out his master key and unlocked it, and stowed the weapons inside. He went back and picked up the lead pipe and the wrench, and then paused. "Wait," he said, his ashy brow furrowed. "Were's the knife?"
They all looked around until at last Prof. Gadd said "There it is!" He crossed the room to the sofa, where the knife was lying nearby on the floor. "Someone must've knocked it off the table by mistake."
"Yes, I suppose that's what could've happened..." Bootler said, taking the knife thoughtfully and bringing it to the safe, along with the other two weapons. He chucked them in, shut the safe door, turned the combination lock and locked it with his key as well. "There, that should be safe. Somebody bring Mr. Green to his senses, please. We're going to draw lots for pairs."
Miss Peacock knelt on the floor beside Luigi and poked him gently on the shoulder. "Hey, get up," she said. He didn't stir, so she poked him again. "Wakey wakey!"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud! That'll never do it! Here, let me," Ms. Scarlette said in exasperation. She stepped briskly up to the two, grabbing a cup of coffee off the table on her way. By now it had grown cold. "Wake up!" she shouted, and dumped the contents of the cup onto Luigi's face.
He sat bolt upright, sputtering and wiping his face. "What was that for!" he said in surprise as he rubbed coffee out of his eyes.
"To get you on your feet," she said. "Get up lazy; the clock's ticking and we've got to solve this stupid mystery before the pigs show."
"Oh, that was so mean!" Miss Peacock said, helping Luigi to his feet. "You didn't have to use coffee! There's a glass of water sitting right there that would've done the trick just fine. Now Mr. Green's going to smell like mocha all night."
"Actually, dear, it's cappuccino," Tayce T. said. "And now there's a big coffee stain on the carpet," she added in disapproval. "Do you know how hard they are to get out?"
"It doesn't matter now, missus! What counts at the moment is gettin' this mystery solved!" the professor said. "Even splitting up it'll take a while to cover this entire house, by the look of things. We need to get cracking."
"That's right," Bootler agreed. "There are nine rooms all together, not including hallways and staircases and closets and whatnot. The lounge and the library you've already been introduced to, but then there's also the study, the conservatory, the ballroom, the billiards room, the dining room, the kitchen, and the hall."
"But you said we weren't counting halls," Pauline said, an eyebrow raised.
"It's not a hallway," Tayce T. explained. "It's a room called 'The Hall'. Mr. Boddy's eccentric, remember?"
"You mean was eccentric," Kolorado corrected.
"Oh, right..." she said softly, making a face.
"Well, time to draw lots," Bootler said. He floated over to the fireplace and took a bundle of long kitchen matches from a small vase atop the mantle. Returning to the group, he separated five of the long narrow matchsticks and placed them on the table for everyone to see. Then he picked up one and broke it in half, and laying it aside, went to the next and broke it into thirds. The last two he left long.
He gathered the peices and arranged them in one small white hand so that they all appeared the same length. "We all pick one," he explained. "Matching sticks go together. There'll be one group of three as well. Once we're all divided, we split up and search. We're looking for Mr. Boddy primarily, but be sure to keep a sharp eye out for clues. One group will want to search the lounge, which we all know is where the crime took place. Leave the library alone; we don't want to arouse suspicion in our 'guest'. All right, are we ready? Then draw lots."
Solumnly they all reached out and took a stick and then looked around, comparing theirs with each others'.
Professor Plum, Tayce T, and Bootler ended up in a group of three. Miss Peacock and Kolorado were another group, and Pauline and Luigi were the last. "Oh, great," they muttered in unison.
"All right," Bootler said, ignoring the last pairing's gripes. "Now that we have our groups we're going to split up. Like I said, search everywhere. Oh, perhaps I should mention the cellar," he added thoughtfully. "That ought to be looked into as well. Anyway let's go now."
They all went to the door and someone opened it, allowing the group to pile out into the foyer again. Through the closed library door they could still hear banging and rattling, as well as the stream of curses which had quieted to a steady muttering. Once in the foyer, which they agreed would be their meeting place once all the rooms were investigated, the groups decided on where to go first.
"Well, I suggest we search the crime scene first," the pofessor stated to the other members of his group.
Tayce T. nodded. "I was just about to say the same thing, Prof. Plum. The best place to start is the beginning, I always say."
"Hey, what's up there?" Miss Peacock said, pointing down the long broad corridor at a staircase.
"The upstairs portion of the mansion, I'd assume," Kolorado replied, twisting his small mustache. "Only one way to find out for sure, though, wouldn't you say?"
Luigi and Pauline looked at each other for a moment, then in unison declared "That way." Luigi was pointing to the left, Pauline was pointing to the right. They frowned.
"Bootler was right," Pauline sighed, crossing her slender arms over her chest. "This is going to be a long night."
Yay it's longer! Whoot! Go me, Go me... .:coughs:. Um... yeah. You wouldn't believe how many times I changed the title, really. I thought that splitting the deck might be clever because in the board game you've got the suspect cards and whatnot XD Anyway I hope you like this chapter, there should be at least three or four, and hopefully more chapters where they're searching for clues and what happens, what they find, etc. By the way, I also know almost for sure who did it and how and why and all that junk. Anyway please review! Oh and one more thing; I know this will sound really foolish, but does anyone know where the secret passages are and what they connect to? I think I know but I'm not sure, and I tried looking it up but couldn't find it : P