The sun rose towards the peachy sky, waking the guests up. Shona stretched and began to get ready. She had, admittedly, not the best sleep, seeing as she was still trying to quit her smoking addiction.
She walked onto the balcony and looked around at the birds circling the mansion, soundtracked by the beautiful dawn chorus.
As the birds flew towards the south, Shona's eyes followed.
Across from her, on the adjacent balcony, lay something that caught her attention.
She looked at it, puzzled, as the object was obscured by the slats on the railings.
She walked back inside and down the corridor to the other room. Etta's room.
She knocked twice on the door and called inside. When she received no answer, she tried the door handle. Realising it was open, she stepped inside.
As she looked around, she didn't notice anything that seemed out of place. She walked out into the balcony, and let out a gasp.
Etta's body was laid on the balcony floor, her head leaning to the side. Shona crouched down and cautiously moved a lock of Etta's curly brown hair from off of her face, revealing various bruises on her cheeks.
Lying beside the dead girl, was a tennis racket.
Shona walked into the dining room and all heads turned to face her expectedly, but their mood fell when they saw the look on her face.
She took a seat next to Stella and announced her discovery to the table. "One thing's for sure; these deaths certainly aren't accidental."
They spent the rest of their meal in silence, until Isla eventually spoke up. "We should start a buddy system." Everyone turned to look at her. "Hear me out. Since there's an even number, two of us should stick together at all times, which means if someone dies, we'll know who's doing it."
"Yeah, but... I don't really want to be used as bait for a murderer," said Archie, slightly shaken at the death of his friend.
"That's a good point. But, it's probably one of our only options. There's no phones in this house, and the invitation specially said not to bring one."
"Thats kind of suspicious now that I think about it," said Stella. "Surely there has to be a phone around here somewhere?"
"I checked the house, and as far as I'm aware, there's not. So I guess we'll settle it the old-fashioned way. Stella, you can go with Shona and me and Archie will still together."
"Sounds like a plan," said Shona, casting a smile at her partner.
YOU ARE READING
The Masquerade
Mystery / ThrillerSix guests are invited to Muirhouse Mansion for a Masquerade Ball, where the owner is harbouring a dangerous secret. Storyline is a retelling of Karl Jacobs' 'Tales From The SMP' episode on YouTube under the same name. I do not own anything to do wi...
