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.556Please respect copyright.PENANAZd2uaYli1u
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. 556Please respect copyright.PENANALWNGHO5xu1
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. 556Please respect copyright.PENANA3zVLiSIUuV
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. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAVHdzE00ujO
“There are still a few pistachios left,” Elliott said. “If anybody wants any.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAb364c8HAeU
Nobody even looked at him. 556Please respect copyright.PENANA736HIgbJNy
Elliott sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands. He now had a severe headache. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAXgk3nPRaPW
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. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAz5usudu0Ld
Frances walked over to the couch that Kathleen was sitting on. 556Please respect copyright.PENANARiePwI0ssq
“Kathleen?” Frances asked, quietly. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAFA4X59DZmw
Kathleen looked at her. 556Please respect copyright.PENANApMcPAsFSdd
“Yes?” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAYwBew5fHFj
“I think it was him, too.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAfrHB85HUJp
Kathleen stared at her for a minute. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAfOZJO05N8s
“You think it was Anderson who killed Freeman?” she asked, quietly. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAXmCTCqPCkF
Frances nodded. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAA1SGQxNl5t
“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.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAVdDkti0MQ5
“I know why she is married to him. It’s just because he is rich. She doesn’t really love him.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAUEisYJUauV
“Anderson has no qualities that can be loved.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANASIQ6stuRpv
“I agree, entirely.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAjU8e2SzPBb
Frances looked around the room, trying to make sure that nobody had heard them. Then, she turned back to Kathleen. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAsVSwf2qp1W
“Please don’t tell Nadia that I said that,” she said. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAofJbA2lHf2
“I won’t,” Kathleen promised. 556Please respect copyright.PENANABTq8X8Nlty
Frances smiled and walked over to his husband, who looked liked like he had been in a train wreck. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAEVmSr4OFsi
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. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAc23F8NPvJo
Nadia still denied that her husband was the culprit. She consistently glared at Kathleen, who would not look back at her. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAfhp1RfTcfA
“Don’t worry, Nadia,” Lucille said to her. “Your husband is not a murderer. I am almost sure that it was Stewart.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANA3xpHpv7M7E
“I am not worrying,” Nadia said, flatly. 556Please respect copyright.PENANA2tvSRADtUM
“I don’t think it was Stewart,” Victor said. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAyUxBp5sWRV
Lucille looked at him. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAkUy2kmnSN5
“Then who do you think it was?” she asked. 556Please respect copyright.PENANA1c1tJcqaeS
“I’m thinking it was Sullivan,” Victor said, patting Dominique’s back. 556Please respect copyright.PENANA9zt6DoN2nl
“Why do you think he did it?” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAvQ6XmFYIdq
“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.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAymZo7d0CRE
Unfortunately for Victor, Katy heard what he had said. She had stood up and was staring at him, wide-eyed. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAmzDh7anKNx
“Are you pointing the fingers at my husband?!” Katy shrieked. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAwN1NZtvQLn
Victor turned red. He had now fallen into a hole that he shouldn’t have dug. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAIkh0qxuxIP
“Can you not be so loud?” Victor said. “My kids are sleeping.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAQRuV5JgFgQ
“Don’t say Jason is a killer!” Katy yelled. “He would never do such a thing! Never!!” 556Please respect copyright.PENANA67r7z2wgHk
She plopped back down on the couch. Kathleen could see tears in her eyes. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAWyVhLYtwCq
Fortunately, Billy and Dominique were heavy sleepers, so Katy’s screaming did not wake them. Victor was regretting having said anything. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAX83XmtWYfD
Kathleen had regrets as well. Her accusation had created a large amount of tensions between the guests. 556Please respect copyright.PENANAe0xYASjegl
“Mommy?” Ava asked. “Daddy didn’t kill anybody. Did he?” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAynWI2j6mby
“No, Sweetie,” Katy said, stroking Ava’s black hair. “Daddy would never kill anybody. He never would.” 556Please respect copyright.PENANAeV6gpPtVx7
Ava squeezed her brother’s hand. 556Please respect copyright.PENANALhD9uIqihC
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.556Please respect copyright.PENANAJdk53XW6UX