AN:
Another chapter posted. I'm glad people seem to be liking this. I wasn't sure how it'd be received.
~Kelly~
Part Two
"Anyways I thought if we confronted him and turned him over to the police all of this would be over," the British man said casually. He hadn't been prepared to explain his motives to anyone especially the cops.
"And I guess he didn't take it very well."
"Not at all. He responded by giving each of the others a lethal gift."
"What do you mean by lethal?" Mac questioned although the numerous bodies gave him an idea exactly what Craig meant.
"Ms. McCall received a candlestick, Mrs. Benson a rope, Mr. Quartermaine a lead pipe, Mr. Cassadine a wrench, Dr. Drake a gun, and Mrs. Davis a knife. He seemed quite smug about the whole process."
"In your hand you each have a lethal weapon. If you denounce me to the police, you will also be exposed and humiliated, I'll see to that in court. But if one of you kills Craig now no one but the seven of us will ever know. He has the key to the front door, which he only said would be opened over his dead body. I suggest we take him up on that offer. The only way to avoid finding yourselves on the front page is for one of you to kill Craig. Now." Corinthos said closing the door and switching off the lights.
"... and then there was a shot followed by a woman's scream. When Mrs. Davis turned on the lights Mr. Corinthos was lying on the floor." Craig finished pausing to take a breath.
"Dead?"
"Apparently. I checked for a pulse and couldn't find one." Patrick said reliving the start of the weird and terrifying night.
"Who had the gun?" Samantha asked still clutching the rope.
"I did." the doctor said tossing the offending item on the floor.
"Then you shot him." Mrs. Davis accused the doctor while secretly happy the man was dead.
"I didn't."
"Well you had the gun. If you didn't shoot him who did?"
"Nobody." Patrick defended rolling over Corinthos. "Look there's no gunshot wound. Somebody tried to grab the gun from me in the dark and the gun went off. The bullet must have broken that vase on the mantel."
Everyone rushed over to inspect it. Immediately realizing that there was indeed a bullet hole in the wall. "How did he die?" Mr. Quartermaine asked speaking up for the first time.
"I don't know. I'm not a forensic expert."
"Well one of us must have killed him." Mrs. McCall shrieked chucking her hat across the crowded room.
"Well I didn't do it." Mr. Quartermaine stated tossing the lead pipe down.
"Oh I need a drink." Mrs. Davis announced the stress of the night becoming too much.
"Maybe he was poisoned." Patrick said suddenly causing Mrs. Davis to scream.
Mr. Quartermaine rushed over to the distraught woman. "Mrs. Davis it's alright. It's all right. We don't know anything yet." he said leading Mrs. Davis to the couch. "Sit down. Sit down," he said before giving her a firm smack across the face. "I had to stop her from screaming." Mr. Quartermaine told them defensively when everyone stared at him.
"Was the brandy poisoned?"
"Looks like we'll never know."
"Unless... unless she dies too."
"Then there was more screaming but this time it was outside the room. We all ran to the billiard room where we found Maxine frightened."
"You're alive!" the all exclaimed half surprised to see Maxine leaning back against the pool table.
"No thanks to you."
"What do you mean?" Craig asked from the doorway.
"You locked me up with the murder you idiot."
"So the murder is in this room?" Mrs. Benson asked looking around the small like the rest of the group.
"Oui."
"But where?"
"Where? Here. We are all looking at him or her. It is what Mrs. Benson said in the study on of you is the killer."
"How did you know she said that?"
"I was listening," she said pointing to the recording equipment on the pool table.
"But why where you screaming in here all by yourself?" Mrs. McCall asked as they all realized the maid was indeed alone.
"Because I am frighten. I also drank the cognac. I can't stay in here by myself."
"Come back to the study with us."
"With the murder?"
"There are safety in numbers my dear."
"So you went back to the study?"
"Yes but first I took the tapes for safe keeping. Then I admitted to having worked for Mr. Corinthos and how his blackmail caused my wife to kill herself."
"...Well to make a long story short."
"Too late."
"The suicide of my wife prayed on my mind and created a sense of injustice in me. I resolved to put Mr. Corinthos behind bars. It seemed the best way to do it, and free all of you as well, was to get everyone face to face, confront Mr. Corinthos with his crimes and then turn him over to the police."
"So everything is explained." Mr. Cassadine said pouring himself a drink.
"Nothing is explained we still don't know who killed him."
"Well we've got to find out in the next thirty-nine minutes before the police arrive."
"My god we can't have them come here now." Mrs. Davis shrieked causing everyone to stare at the woman.
"How can we possibly find out which of you did it?" Mr. Quartermaine asked glaring at the other guests.
"What do you mean which of you did it?"
"Well I didn't do it.," he countered back immediately. He had on intention of going to jail for a murder he didn't commit.
"Well one of us did. We all had the opportunity and motive."
"Great we'll all go to the chair." Mrs. Benson exclaimed leaning against the desk.
"Maybe it wasn't one of us." Mr. Quartermaine suggested much to everyone's surprise.
"Well who else is in the house?"
"Only the cook." Craig replied to Mr. Cassadine's question.
"The cook!"
"However when we arrived the cook was already dead." Craig admitted somberly to the police commissioner.
"Who would want to kill the cook?"
"Dinner wasn't that bad."
"How can you make jokes at a time like this?"
Mrs. Benson rolled her eyes in response. "It's my defense mechanism."
"Some defense. If I were the killer, I'd kill you next. I said if. Oh come on there is only one admitted killer here and it is certainly not me it is her."
"I've admitted nothing." Mrs. McCall denied back away from Mr. Cassadine.
"Well you paid the blackmail. How many husbands have you had?"
"Mine or other woman's?"
"Yours."
"Five." she stated easily.
"Five?"
"Yes just the five. Husbands should be like Kleenex soft, strong and disposable."
"How is any of this relevant?" Mac questioned when it became clear they had veered off track yet again.
"Of course it isn't."
"Alright is this when the cook's body was moved?"
"Yes well the first time anyways." the butler admitted easily. "I wanted to keep the kitchen tidy. So we moved the cook into study. That's when the real trouble started."