CHAPTER
EIGHT: CHURCH BELLS
Everyone
woke the next day and put on happy attitudes to disguise their
suspicion. Breakfast was not so much a meal as a test to find out who
was against who through overcooked potatoes and someone
"accidentally" nudging someone's glass of milk off the table.
Peach was keen on having Wario, who had passed her the salt, use the
same shaker on his own food before she took any in case he had spiked
it with poison. She was satisfied when Wario poured heaps of salt
onto his eggs and passed it back to her, proving it was safe. Bowser
slept in late and arrived in the kitchen after everyone had already
started eating. Toad began to complain that his toast didn't have
enough butter and cheerfully asked him to pass him the butter dish.
Bowser obeyed.
Shy
Guy usually skipped breakfast, this morning for two reasons: one, he
would be forced to remove his mask to reach his mouth, and two, he
was exceedingly paranoid for reasons that nobody really cared about
and did not want to risk anything. He stood in the corner and watched
the others eat in silence. Some people avoided asking for drinks of
seasonings at all costs; others were careful to find out who their
enemies were. Toad, once again, asked Bowser to get him
something.
"Hey
Bowser, could you pour me a glass of water?" Bowser got up from his
seat, retrieved a glass from the pantry, and poured in tap water from
the sink. Toad took it and drank, having watched Bowser's every
move and was quite sure that his water was not poisoned. Toad did not
see, however, that he had gone out of his way to retrieve a glass
from the very back of the pantry that was chipped on the edge. Peach
eyed him suspiciously. Did Bowser's glass have some source of
poison in its form? Was the chip on the edge a mark of some kind to
remind Bowser which glass he had to take?
After
breakfast was over, everyone either stationed themselves in the
dining room and talked to each other or headed upstairs to the
bedrooms to participate in some activity of their choosing. Toad
retrieved a book from the bedside table, went back downstairs, and
sat at the end of the table, which was completely deserted. He opened
his book and began reading aloud to himself quietly.
"''I've
been hearing church bells all day,' he said…'"
Toad
appeared to be so engrossed in his story that he kept reading all
through dinner. Nobody bothered to make him eat. A few hours later,
Mario yawned.
"I
guess I'm gonna go to bed now, everyone," he said, stretching his
arms.
"Yeah,
me too," said Shy Guy. Everyone started yawning and stretching on
their way upstairs. Toad was left behind, sitting in his chair
reading. It was after everyone had hopped in bed that Peach realized
he was missing and went back downstairs to see what was taking him so
long.
"Toad,
it's… Toad? Toad! What's wrong?" Toad didn't answer. He
kept staring at his book without a sound. He never turned the
page.
"Toad…
Toad… Toad! Toad! Toad, get up!" Peach became frantic. She nudged
his head up to see his eyes closed. She put her ear up against his
chest; nothing. No heartbeat.
"I
guess I'd better see what's going on down there," said Mario,
wondering why Peach wasn't back yet. He got out of bed and tiptoed
down the stairs. Peach was in tears.
"Oh
my god… he isn't—"
"He's
dead!" Peach exclaimed, crying. Mario was horrified. More people
started shuffling downstairs.
"Who's
dead this time?" said Shy Guy heartlessly as he entered the room.
Peach cried even harder. Yoshi was silent with grief.
"YOU!"
Mario yelled dramatically, pointing his finger.
"Who,
me?" Wario said, dumbfounded.
"Not
you, Bowser!"
Bowser
stood behind Wario, gesturing at himself.
"Me?
I didn't do it—"
"YES
YOU DID! YOU POURED TOAD'S WATER!"
"What
the heck are you talking about, so what if I did—"
"You
had to get that SPECIAL GLASS, just for TOAD!"
"What
are you saying, I—"
"Let's
check the glass, guys," said Wario. "It should still be on the
counter." Nobody showed any objections.
"Where
is it? There must be something in there... look, there's a drip of
water left, somebody drink it, test it to see if it's what killed
Toad!"
"Mario,
that's horrible," said Shy Guy, unexpectedly. "Just inspect the
glass for anything that isn't water. Poison shouldn't be too hard
to find, should it?"
After
several minutes of intense inspection, nobody could find anything
wrong with the glass. It seemed completely ordinary and un-tampered
with.
"Let's
not point anymore fingers until we can find proof against someone,"
Wario said reasonably. "Even if there's reason to be unsure of
someone's… innocence…" Bowser shot him an ugly stare.
