Cruel Minds by Malcolm Richards Page B

doorway, stared at them with angry eyes, then darted across the hall and into the opposite room.
    “I don’t like this,” Janelle said. “I don’t like the fact that Oscar is still hanging there. It feels so disrespectful just to leave him like that.”
    “Did anyone speak to him?” Daniel asked. “Who was the last person to see him?”
    “I saw him at dinner,” Jerome said. The others murmured in agreement.
    Emily thought about seeing him just after, when he’d been watching her from the foyer. But he’d gone up to his room then, hadn’t he? She glanced at Melody, who was pale and trembling, and her mind raced back to the lake, to the noises that they’d heard.
    “I think I’ll get some rest while we wait,” Daniel said. He glanced at Jerome, gave him a pained smile, then disappeared into Room Seven.
    “Me too. I need some quiet time to let it all sink in.” Janelle returned to her room, leaving the three of them stood in the corridor, silence closing around them like a clamshell.
    “How are you doing?” Emily reached out and touched Melody’s shoulder.
    Melody’s eyes glistened. “I’ve never known anyone that killed themselves before. It’s just horrible.”
    “It is. But the police will be here soon. Hopefully, they’ll be quick with their questions and then we can all go home. Do you want some company while we wait?”
    “If you don’t mind, I think I need to lie down. I feel ... strange.”
    They watched Melody return to her room and the end of the corridor.
    “So much for a relaxing weekend,” Jerome muttered.
    Together, they walked to Emily’s room. Jerome threw himself down on the bed.
    “It’s like a bad joke or something. Welcome to Meadow Pines, where you can rest in peace—permanently!”
    Emily didn’t laugh. Instead, she moved to the window and looked out across the meadow. She could see Marcia in the northwest corner, heading for the path that would take her to the Land Rover. She watched her disappear, then paced to the centre of the room, chewing on her lower lip. Her gaze moved to the wall.
    “What are you doing?”
    “It wasn’t Ben and Sylvia,” she said. “That’s Oscar’s room.”
    Jerome sat up. “As usual, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “Last night, I was lying in bed trying to get to sleep when I heard voices coming through the wall. A man and a woman arguing. I’d assumed it was Ben and Sylvia.”
    “God, they’re detestable,” Jerome said, his nose wrinkling. “And what a massive racist. Did you hear what he called Daniel? I’m surprised he didn’t want us sitting at separate dinner tables.”
    “They’re not the most pleasant of people. But if it wasn’t them I heard arguing, then who was it?”
    Jerome shrugged his shoulders, stood up, and crossed over to the window.
    “Janelle’s right, you know. It’s weird to think Oscar’s still out there, dangling from a rope. Did you see his face? How am I ever going to get that image out of my head?”
    “It had to be one of the other women here at Meadow Pines.”
    “What?”
    “I hear an argument coming from Oscar’s room. The next morning, he’s dead.” Emily moved away from the wall and paced across the floor. “Why would he come here to do it? I mean, he must have specifically chosen Meadow Pines”
    “Maybe he wanted some nice scenery?”
    “And what about the robbery?” She frowned, deep lines of worry creasing her brow. “Something’s not adding up here.”
    Jerome stared down at her, his eyes narrowing. “Oh no, don’t you even dare think about it!”
    “What?”
    “You’ve already got yourself into enough trouble this year without courting any more. The police will be here soon. Do yourself a favour and stay out of it.”
    “But don’t you think something’s going on?”
    “Maybe, I don’t know. But the only thing I’ll be concerning myself with is how the hell I’m going to afford to replace my phone. I suggest you do the same.”
    Annoyed, Emily