A/N: I'm really sorry I haven't updated forever. Over winter break, I broke my arm and couldn't type as well and that slowed down my story progression. But now my arm is nearly healed and I have had a lot of time to think this story through. I appreciate the reviews! Enjoy this next chapter!

The First Murder

"Is the door locked?" Tawny asked as she pulled the photo album from her dresser.

Louis went and double-checked. "Yeah, as if that could keep her out anyway."

The group chuckled.

"Well, we've already looked through this once, I don't think anything has really changed," Tawny observed. "I wish we could get more photo albums, but that would be too risky. Miss Pateer could send us home at any second."

"Well, if she locked us up in a room, who's to say she wouldn't just send us home?" Twitty asked.

"Wouldn't that seem a little suspicious?" Allison asked, sitting on her bed. "She could always make up a reason for sending you home, but I think your parents know you and Louis well enough to believe you."

"Let's not think about that right now," Tawny said, turning her attention back to OLOP 14. "Here's that Patty girl again. But where's Eleanor?"

Tom looked over Tawny's shoulder at the picture. "Maybe she wasn't born yet. You saw the picture of Henry and his wife in front of their house. They had just moved here."

"But these pictures are probably out of order," Tawny argued. "There were tons of pictures in earlier albums that were definitely taken way after the house was built."

"Whatever you say." Tom raised his hands in defeat.

"Besides, there probably aren't a lot of pictures of Eleanor because she was killed pretty quickly after she was born," Allison pointed out. "Remember what Miss Pateer said? Her bones weren't developed enough. How old could she possibly have been?"

"Who knows?" Tawny said.

"Poor Eleanor," Allison sighed, staring down at her feet. "She had no chance. All because of Jacob Schemer." She looked up. "What do you think they Stevensons were like?"

"I don't know," Tawny replied. "You can't really tell from the pictures. They're old and worn, and no one is smiling."

"You can tell by their faces, though," Allison said. "Anyone with a warming heart has a warming face."

Tawny stared at the photo album in her lap. "Clarice looks kind of nice, if you think about it. It was the early 1900's, though. Parents were really strict."

"But there were always the mothers and fathers that treated their children like princes and princesses."

"Yeah," Tawny said. "But what could they have done to make Schemer do what he did?"

"Didn't Miss Pateer mention him wanting to show the family what happens when they show off their wealth or something?" Tom asked. "Maybe they weren't so nice a family."

Tawny examined a family photo of the Stevensons. "No. Jacob Schemer must have been a sick person. A sick, greedy, homicidal person."

The room was silent for a moment, until they heard a soft snore from the corner.

Everyone in the room looked toward the armchair, in which Louis has fallen asleep sitting up. With a groan, Tawny snapped close the album, marched over to Louis, and shoved him in the shoulder.

Louis woke with a snort. "Huh? What'd I miss?"

Tawny was about to make a remark, when they heard a shrill scream coming from down the hallway.

Without a word, the group dashed from the chairs and beds, ran out the door, and followed the distant sounds of rushing feet and chattering.

Before long, they were squished in the middle of a group of bickering 8th graders, all trying to move forward to see what had happened. The hallway had never seemed so small. Louis, Twitty, Tawny, Allison, and Tom tried as best they could to shove their way through the crowd, but had little success.

"Everybody quiet!"

The entire hallway seemed to quiet down at the sound of Miss Pateer's voice.

"What's going on?" a girl asked.

"Who is it?" someone else asked.

With one great push forward, Tawny forced herself through the rest of the people, stayed for a moment, and then rebounded back to the group.

"It's Ryan," she said.

The voices started up again, and it was impossible to make out one person's voice at a time.

"Apparently someone has strangled poor Colin Riverstone with some lace," came Miss Pateer's voice (referring to Ryan's character name). "Lace from a dress, perhaps?"

There was a soft rustling of clothing as everyone tried to find a girl with lace on their costumes.

"Now, now." Miss Pateer spoke calmly. "I am sure we can find the person responsible for this, and prevent any more tragedies. But for now, I would like all of you to gather around in the parlor."

The students obeyed, too frightened and confused to do otherwise, and slowly moved down the hall to the staircase.

"So what's gonna happen to Ryan now?" Twitty asked.

"Dunno," Louis replied, grinning. "Maybe she'll just lock him in a room for the rest of the week."

Tawny jabbed him in the ribs.

"Humph!" Louis clutched his stomach.

"This is actually kind of creepy," Allison commented as they made their way down the stairs. "Who knows who is going be next?"

Tom shook slightly. "Perhaps a girl next."

"Tom!" Allison exclaimed.

"Or maybe not." Tom redeemed himself.

By the time they reached the bottom of the staircase, the sofas and armchairs were already overloaded with students, so the group found a spot on the floor to sit.

Ryan stood next to Miss Pateer, who then handed him a card. "This will be your new character."

Ryan nodded and quickly sat down with his friends.

"Now, I know this is a bit exciting and frightening at the moment, but at this time I would just like you to talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes and try to note some suspects, people that seem a bit suspicious to you," Miss Pateer instructed.

"Well, Louis, obviously!" a girl blurted out.

"Yeah!" people agreed. "When wouldn't it be?"

"Hey!" Louis argued. "I've got my rights!"

The argument when on, but most people pointed their fingers at Louis. A few minutes later, Miss Pateer excused everyone.

"Well, obviously we have a few accusations. We will see where they lead you," she said.

Louis and his friends made their way over to Ryan, who was chatting with a couple boys.

"So, what was it like to be the first dude to go down?" Twitty asked, slapping Ryan a high-five.

"Well, actually, it was kind of weird," Ryan said. "All I remember is being alone in the dark, then someone whispering in my ear, and laying me out on the floor, telling me to stay still. Then they left, and a light went on. About 30 seconds later some girls saw me and screamed. Then everyone came and started yelling." He smiled. "It was not the most comfortable moment for me!"

"That is so cool!" Twitty smiled. "But that would be so freaky!"

"Did you recognize the voice?" Tawny asked.

Ryan shook his head. "It was like a ghost, almost, barely a whisper."

"Yeah, that's creepy," Louis said.

"Well, thanks," Tawny said to Ryan, and then led the group back to the stairs. "Maybe we should look around at the spot where Ryan was murdered."

"Wait—do you think the two stories are tied?" Allison asked. "The fake murder, and the Stevensons?"

"I have no idea," Tawny said. "But maybe we'll find something interesting anyway. And maybe, if we get a chance, we can find more photo albums."

"Are you crazy?" Louis asked her, bewildered. "We can't go back in there! Miss Pateer will know something's up!"

Tawny looked at Louis, surprised. "Since when do you take precautions?"

"I just don't want to get in too deep," Louis said. "I'll admit it—I'm kind of freaked out by this. Did you ever think that Miss Pateer might be. . .mad?"

"A madwoman," Tom said. "Yeah, that'll be a great thing to tell our parents after this trip."

"Well, the best thing we can do right now is play along with the murder mystery game like we're supposed to, but I think there's more to be investigated than we think."

"What could there possibly be?" Allison asked. "Do you think Miss Pateer would run this murder mystery house over and over again after our school leaves if she had something to hide?"

Tawny shrugged. "You never know what goes through some people's minds." She turned her head and watched Miss Pateer, who was examining the big bookshelf near the entrance to the dining room. "People have their own way of doing things. It's harder to figure out what they're up to, what they're planning, and what they are going to do."