Once again, everyone in the living room was quiet again. The music continued to play on the television, but nobody paid much attention to it.538Please respect copyright.PENANA6atlbZkhah
Elliott, who had been sitting alone in the kitchen, had so much on his mind. He was now almost regretting having started the party. Of course, had he known this was going to happen, he would have had not had it. But he did, and now one of his best friends was dead, and his other best friend was locked in his basement. 538Please respect copyright.PENANACLDhuU2PuW
Elliott was also thinking about the guests who refused to leave the house. They now had turned on each other. If only they would go home. 538Please respect copyright.PENANASmKbUcs5p9
Elliott walked out of the kitchen into the living room. He just could not leave the guests in the room alone. The last thing he needed was for something else that he didn’t want to happen to happen. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAwKjlSfRbR4
“There are still a few pistachios left,” Elliott said. “If anybody wants any.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAeQcvslV8Y7
Nobody even looked at him. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAIR6KnU8FXC
Elliott sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands. He now had a severe headache. 538Please respect copyright.PENANA7PpsLjDu0X
Kathleen had not said a word to anybody after she made her accusation. She continued to sit on the couch, staring blankly. Katy and Mary sat next to her. Katy still held her two children, who were wide awake and clinging to her. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAzBv8GpWiy2
Frances walked over to the couch that Kathleen was sitting on. 538Please respect copyright.PENANA8QesMjc5iv
“Kathleen?” Frances asked, quietly. 538Please respect copyright.PENANALPfU2qejMk
Kathleen looked at her. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAJOgUUTOwUR
“Yes?” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAmb9MeamwdW
“I think it was him, too.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANA0vwfwjAXXb
Kathleen stared at her for a minute. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAhtKLLC4d3v
“You think it was Anderson who killed Freeman?” she asked, quietly. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAvWPguZa4in
Frances nodded. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAUvVHruipo8
“As much as I am friends with Nadia, I never understood why she married Anderson. Everyone knows that he would love Freeman to be dead. And now he is.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAFjHz0vnk6i
“I know why she is married to him. It’s just because he is rich. She doesn’t really love him.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANA88AoaLxqHI
“Anderson has no qualities that can be loved.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAt9wgUhcw2m
“I agree, entirely.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAVUiLvE5aaU
Frances looked around the room, trying to make sure that nobody had heard them. Then, she turned back to Kathleen. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAlZxc12m2Nx
“Please don’t tell Nadia that I said that,” she said. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAVpgT6Jh29q
“I won’t,” Kathleen promised. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAdGuu4Y1fn6
Frances smiled and walked over to his husband, who looked liked like he had been in a train wreck. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAo3jTpQRCgE
On the other side of the living room, Nadia sat on a chair while Victor Jenkins and Lucille sat on a couch next to her. Lucille held Billy in her lap and Victor held Dominique in his. Both twins were fast asleep. 538Please respect copyright.PENANANCJUYcuUJI
Nadia still denied that her husband was the culprit. She consistently glared at Kathleen, who would not look back at her. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAmwutyW4rlq
“Don’t worry, Nadia,” Lucille said to her. “Your husband is not a murderer. I am almost sure that it was Stewart.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAwUISLnqSaZ
“I am not worrying,” Nadia said, flatly. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAKBrxcxtU5W
“I don’t think it was Stewart,” Victor said. 538Please respect copyright.PENANA5O0D5BpeTa
Lucille looked at him. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAMQju8J6BSq
“Then who do you think it was?” she asked. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAoF8YwhAaqT
“I’m thinking it was Sullivan,” Victor said, patting Dominique’s back. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAJE1bJGbaqG
“Why do you think he did it?” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAQjE4KZFe6N
“Didn’t Sullivan work with Freeman? I am pretty sure that with his severe addiction, Freeman was not a great person to work with. My best guess is that Sullivan hated working with Freeman so much that he decided to get rid of him for good. That, to me, makes much more sense than Stewart angry about boat payments.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAQQd8kIY2EE
Unfortunately for Victor, Katy heard what he had said. She had stood up and was staring at him, wide-eyed. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAUhOhNxtlqw
“Are you pointing the fingers at my husband?!” Katy shrieked. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAA7lAkqnBOY
Victor turned red. He had now fallen into a hole that he shouldn’t have dug. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAoexV6mdnQv
“Can you not be so loud?” Victor said. “My kids are sleeping.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAhgbrY8odCm
“Don’t say Jason is a killer!” Katy yelled. “He would never do such a thing! Never!!” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAvTXgiEDwbb
She plopped back down on the couch. Kathleen could see tears in her eyes. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAjDEuZZpAz7
Fortunately, Billy and Dominique were heavy sleepers, so Katy’s screaming did not wake them. Victor was regretting having said anything. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAH9KItGVFaQ
Kathleen had regrets as well. Her accusation had created a large amount of tensions between the guests. 538Please respect copyright.PENANAi4tpyxS0N6
“Mommy?” Ava asked. “Daddy didn’t kill anybody. Did he?” 538Please respect copyright.PENANAaTZdB5PMnj
“No, Sweetie,” Katy said, stroking Ava’s black hair. “Daddy would never kill anybody. He never would.” 538Please respect copyright.PENANA0KDBzuIu7o
Ava squeezed her brother’s hand. 538Please respect copyright.PENANARKplLhDfH6
Kathleen now wished she would have kept her thoughts to herself. If she had, the only person that anybody would have been talking about was Alan Freeman.538Please respect copyright.PENANA5fyxgqUAgX