The remaining fifty-three guests met up back in the dining room to assess their situation. Unfortunately, none of them were any closer to figuring out who the killer was, though they weren't keen on giving up anytime soon.
Linda was pacing back and forth, shaking like a leaf from the nerves this whole night had brought out in her. "It's Millicent. It's gotta be Millicent. I mean, it has to be, right? She and Ed are the only ones who aren't here."
"Maybe, maybe not," Molly pointed out. "We thought Karen was the killer at one point, and look how that turned out. We can't prove anything. We're back at square one."
"So what now?" Ron asked. "Are we supposed to just keep searching and hope we eventually find the killer? It seems kinda hopeless, don't you think?"
Nai'a glared at her son. "Ronald Allen Kamehameha Pritchard, this is not the time to be a pessimist. Five people have already died tonight. If you don't want to be victim number six, I suggest you check your attitude at the door."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I'm gonna go play 'Super Smash Bros. Melee' on my GameCube. If anybody wants to join me, let me know." He headed off into the living room to try to unwind on his GameCube when he noticed that it was suspiciously missing from the TV stand. "Hey, who took my GameCube?"
Everyone else rushed in to see what the commotion was about. Sure enough, they could see that there was a GameCube controller nearby, but the video game console itself was nowhere to be found.
"He's right," Fred said. "There was a GameCube right there and now it's gone."
"It wasn't just any GameCube, either," Ron added. "It was a Japan-exclusive Starlight Gold variant I got off of eBay."
"I think we may've identified our blunt object," Brooks chimed in.
Fred nodded. "Right, so all we have to do now is find that GameCube and we'll have our murder weapon. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll find the killer, too."
"Alright, then." Brooks cleared his throat. "Attention, everyone, from now on, we're all going to be part of a single group. While we search the house, we're going to stay together and we're going to move together. If I see anybody break away from the group, I'm going to assume you're the killer, got it?" He just listened as everyone gave him a unanimous 'yes' in response. "Alright, let's go!"
Everyone proceeded to move together as if they were part of the Borg and search through every room of the house, starting with the ground floor before moving upstairs. The first room they stopped by upstairs was Nancy and Phoebe's room. As they prepared to search every nook and cranny of the room, Courtney noticed something that had been splayed out onto the bed.
"Oh my God!" Courtney exclaimed. "Is that a Mommy Milkers T-shirt from Spencer's?"
Samantha turned to see the shirt in question and snickered. "Oh my God, it is... wow, who knew Nancy had that kind of fashion sense? And who knew Ambrose was into that shit?"
"I know, right? I'm surprised he even knew what that phrase even meant."
"You'd be surprised to know what kind of a freak that guy was."
"Oh, for God's sake!" Bitsy exclaimed. "Can't we just be glad Nancy's dead?"
After searching every inch of Nancy and Phoebe's room and finding nothing, the remaining fifty-three guests moved on to another room and another and another. They then moved on to yet another room before eventually stopping by the guest bedroom where Nai'a had been sleeping lately.
As they prepared to search every nook and cranny of the room, Patrick spotted a painting hanging on the wall above Nai'a's bed. "That's a nice portrait you've got there, Nai'a."
"Thank you, Patrick," Nai'a replied. "I appreciate it."
"Who painted it?"
"I did. It's my best self-portrait in years, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah, I think so. I haven't seen your other paintings, though, so I don't know."
"Nothing short of artistic genius to create something like that. I'm probably the greatest painter my family has seen."
Bitsy glared at her cousin through her glasses. "You're so full of shit, you might as well be a septic tank."
Nai'a couldn't help but seethe at that. "Well, excuse me for taking pride in my work! In fact, if you're going to scrutinize it, why don't we just get out of here?"
"Not until we've searched every inch of this room," Brooks interjected.
Nai'a crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine."
The rest of the guests proceeded with the search, scanning along every nook and cranny for anything that could lead them to the missing GameCube. They searched everywhere from behind the TV stand to inside the chest tucked into a corner of the room and even underneath the double-sized mattress. They searched for a long while until Cole looked underneath the bed and gasped.
"What?" Molly asked, concerned. "What is it, Cole?"
"Uh, I don't mean to alarm you, but..." Cole retrieved the blood-stained Starlight Gold GameCube from underneath the bed and held it up for everyone to see. "...look what I just found."
Everyone else (except for Nai'a) gasped.
"Holy shit!" Jaiden yelled.
Once the initial shock had worn off, the rest of the guests turned to look at Nai'a. Most of them shot death glares at her, while a few slowly backed away from her.
"Well, well, well," Brooks began to speak. "Looks like we've finally found our killer..."
"Hold on, that's not mine!" Nai'a piped up. "I don't know how that got underneath my bed!"
"Uh-huh. You expect us to believe it just manifested underneath there?"
"Maybe? I don't know. I didn't kill anybody! What about Millicent and Ed? We still don't know where they are. They could've planted it there for all we know."
Brooks planted his hand on his chin. "Hmm... good point. We'll have to find them first."
"Hey, Brooks!" Cody called out to him.
Brooks sighed. "What is it, Cody?"
"Is it just me or is the TV stand leaking blood?"
"...oh, right. We should've checked inside, too. Alright, let's just get it over with."
Brooks stepped away from Nai'a to take a look at the bleeding TV stand. He then took a deep breath and braced himself.
"On the count of three, I'm going to open those doors and see where the blood's coming from," Brooks informed everyone. "Got it?"
Everyone replied with a 'yes' or an equivalent answer.
Brooks took another deep breath. "Okay. One... two... three..." He opened the doors and braced himself some more. "God, I hope that's a dead rat or something."
What he saw next shook him to the core and sent everyone else screaming. Staring right back at Brooks were the bloodied corpses of Millicent and Ed Crosswire. Millicent's corpse was more mutilated than her husband's, however, as it looked like someone had caved her face in with a round object until there was no face left.
A traumatized and upset Brooks turned to look back at Nai'a, white-hot fury evident in the way he restrained himself. "You're going away for a long time, Nai'a. A very long time."
"Like hell I am!" Nai'a yelled. "You're not taking me anywhere, you smarmy mainland bastard! Not you or anyone else! I'm not going to jail!"
Without hesitation, Nai'a started sprinting out the door, prompting other people to chase her.
"After her!" Brooks yelled. "Don't let her get away!"
The group quickly sprang into action, chasing after Nai'a as she sprinted through the hallway and down the stairs. Their footsteps echoed through the house as the chase went on. They could hear her desperate breaths and the sound of her feet pounding against the floor as she tried to escape. Just as quickly as the chase began, however, it ended on an anticlimactic note as she suddenly tripped and fell forward with a thud. Within moments, the group caught up to her.
"It's over, Nai'a," Brooks said as he brandished handcuffs on her. "Justice will finally be served."
"You can't do this to me!" Nai'a protested. "Get your hands off me!"
Brooks ignored Nai'a's protests and proceeded to handcuff her, ensuring she couldn't escape again. The rest of the group stood nearby, their faces filled with a mix of relief and anger.
"Oh man, I can't wait until 'Deadline' does an episode about you," Shaggy said. "Like, it'll be the best episode they've done in years."
"No kidding," Fred conceded. "Think of all the material she'll provide for the true crime enthusiasts out there."
As the group stood there, processing the events that had just unfolded, Brooks couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Finally, justice would be served for Millicent and Ed Crosswire. Nai'a's capture meant that she would have to face the consequences of her heinous actions.
