Chapter 3: The second night

Heather's question had everyone looking around now. The man was hard to miss with his disposition. All the other guests were here in the lobby except for Johann.

"You don't think something happened to him, do you?" Dagur asked with a frown.

"Maybe he fell asleep?" Astrid suggested but Heather shook her head.

"I went back to my room on the 8th floor after the whole garden episode and he stepped into the lift after I got out." Heather recounted. "He didn't look pleased to see me."

"Well sis, you did threaten to drop him like a sack of potatoes." Dagur shot back. "Your Jiu Jitsu is scary."

"What was I supposed to do?!" Heather retorted. "He might be a family friend but we're also his bosses! Johann was totally out of line."

"You guys can argue after we locate him," Ruffnut cut in. "Did you notice which floor he got off on?" She then asked Heather.

"I saw that he pressed up so I'm guessing the 9th floor?" Heather responded.

"The heated indoor pool," Ruffnut nodded. "Let's go. We need to check if he's alright."

It took longer than Astrid thought to reach the 9th floor. With the power still out everyone had to take the stairs. Her employers, Quintin and Abigail, were nearly out of breath by the time they reached the floor. So much for spending money on professional trainers. Going down flights of stairs had indeed been a lot easier.

Ruffnut opened the fire exit door and everyone entered what appeared to be a beige hallway. To the right were the locker rooms as well as restrooms. Both Fishlegs and Ruffnut checked those first but came up empty. To the left were the double doors leading to the pool area.

"Oh shiitake mushrooms!" Ruffnut exclaimed as she opened the double doors and stopped dead in her tracks. Astrid nearly crashed into the concierge. The pool was beautiful. It looked more like a Turkish bath than a pool actually. Also the view was stunning as it was so high up that the island was visible in its entirety. Astrid would have stopped to admire the view if it wasn't for the face down body of Johann floating in the middle of the pool. Not so far from Johann's body was what appeared to be a submerged radio.

"Well we know what tripped the breakers now," Tuffnut commented as he peered into the room.

Astrid looked back to where Heather and Dagur were standing. Both siblings seemed to be frozen yet Astrid sensed something odd about their reaction. True, anyone might be in shock after seeing this scene but it seemed more like both Heather and Dagur were frozen due to a sudden realization. Astrid had seen a lot of cases where people's emotions surfaced later but she would have thought one of the siblings would have looked away from the scene. Yet both were staring straight forward.

"It looks like we have a murderer on the island," Astrid commented to see everyone's reaction. The twins and Fishlegs whipped their heads towards her, Mala looked at her critically, her employers were staring incredulously at her and the siblings blinked for a moment as if they didn't know what to say.

"How can you be certain?" Mala asked. "Sorry, but I have to be critical here. If you are going to be accusing anyone of murder then you need to explain."

"The scene says it all actually," Astrid commented.

"Wait, can't this just have been an accident?" Heather now questioned. "The radio might have just fallen in if Johann was swimming and listening to music."

"That's highly unlikely," Astrid replied. "Johann is floating in the middle of the pool. It's most probably the exact location he died since there are no currents. Also look at where the radio is."

At Astrid's statement Heather and the others peered once again at the scene. "The radio is near Johann in the middle of the pool. If it simply fell in it would have been on the edge. Someone threw it." Astrid stated.

There was a murmur running through the crowd. "So one of us is the killer?" Abigail asked as she pressed close to her husband.

"One of us or one of the staff," Astrid frowned as she said it. She didn't have enough information on the staff and now she wondered where their living quarters were. The hotel had three floors of rooms. The 7th and 8 floors were occupied but the 6th floor was vacant. She supposed the staff might have their own quarters near the back of the hotel.

"For now we'll need to get the body out of the water as well as that radio." Ruffnut stated. "Then we'll need everyone's alibis."

Astrid agreed with that statement though she was feeling somewhat uneasy. This murder was blatant. Her emphasis was on 'this' as she was still skeptical about the first death.

Tuffnut and Fishlegs jumped into the pool to retrieve the body and Astrid stepped into the area, looking for more clues. There was a towel on one of the pool chairs with the name of the resort stitched into it. She spotted a towel rack a bit further away and thought that Johann might have gotten it from there. Heather hadn't mentioned that Johann had one when he stepped into the elevator.

"This wasn't his first time here was it?" Astrid asked the siblings.

"Well no," Dagur answered. "He went swimming yesterday as well. Johann, you can imagine he had a lot of stress so he particularly enjoyed heated pools."

Astrid nodded and then looked around some more. The pool was huge and could easily fit more than 40 people. Along one of the walls was a single bust that looked out of place at a pool though. She approached it and frowned. It seemed familiar but she couldn't place the face. There was a plaque below it that read 'Et tu, Brutus?' and then it dawned on her. This was the bust of Marcus Brutus. Julius Caesar's close general and the man that stabbed him in the back.

She had seen Caesar's bust in the lobby but what was this one doing all the way up here on the 9th floor. So far the other floors she had been to didn't have any busts.

"Damn, that looks old," Ruffnut's comment snapped her out of her musings as she turned to see her and Fishlegs inspecting the radio.

"What does?" Astrid asked as she approached.

"This radio, they don't make them like this anymore." Ruffnut said and then gestured to the drenched appliance.

Astrid looked at it and nodded as well. This thing looked like something out of the 90's. It looked like a boombox with only a tape deck installed. No CD reader. She bent down as she spotted something. Pressing the eject button on the tape deck a drenched tape sprang up. Astrid also noted that through all of this both Heather and Dagur were eerily quiet. There was no name on the tape so Astrid asked if Fishlegs could dry it for her.

"You think it's a clue?" Fishlegs asked.

"Who knows," Astrid commented. "Better safe than sorry. In the meantime I need to get everyone's alibi's."

"You can use the library on the 6th floor." Ruffnut told her. "It should fit everybody."

"You have a library on the 6th floor?" Astrid asked.

"Uhm.... yeah," Ruffnut said. "Who doesn't like to read?"

So that's how all the guests found themselves seated in the surprisingly spacious library. There were wall to wall bookcases as well as rows of bookcases in between. Above the bookcases near the oak ceiling were several portraits Astrid noted. She recognized Joan of Arc, Juan Peron, Napoleon and even Queen Elizabeth I. 'An odd set of portraits,' she thought. In the middle of the library were plush red chairs and couches along with a fireplace to the side. It looked actually pretty cozy and Astrid would have enjoyed this setting had it not been for certain circumstances.

"From the time in the gardens up to the lobby. Where was everyone?" Astrid asked bluntly. She wasn't going to give anyone the runaround since everyone already knew why they were here.

"I went to my room," Heather answered. "And Johann stepped into the lift after I got out. I already told you this."

"I went to the gym," Dagur stated. "No one else was around though."

"I was at the Bar," Mala said. "Tuffnut was making me drinks until the power went out again,"

"We went back to our room," Abigail and Quintin uttered.

"Was there anyone who saw you?" Astrid asked.

"You can't honestly be suspecting us?!" Quintin exclaimed.

"You know I have to ask given the circumstances." Astrid said.

"I think that young maid saw us. Marisol was it," Abigail replied. "I can't be sure though. We did see her pushing her cart along the hall."

"That's odd," Astrid mumbled. "I went to my room as well and didn't run into her. And no, no one saw me go to my room."

"So with the exception of Astrid and my brother everyone has an alibi," Heather commented.

"Well you don't have an alibi either," Mala spoke up.

"Excuse me?!" Heather's brows rose.

"Your alibi's dead," Mala said. "There's no one to corroborate your story."

"The hotel must have cameras," Astrid mused. "We should be able to see what went on up until the power outage."

Just as she said that there was a knock on the library door. The door was pushed open to reveal Ruffnut holding a clipboard. "I've gotten the alibi's of most of the staff," the concierge said.

"Most of the staff?" Astrid then asked with a frown.

"Uhm.... yes, we seem to be missing someone." Ruffnut looked a bit unsure as she said this.

"Again?" Astrid's brows shot up. The missing chef still hadn't been found and as if reading her mind Ruffnut added "It's not the chef, another staff member is missing."

"What?!" Abigail exclaimed. "Just how......"

"Two people are dead and two staff members are nowhere to be found!" Quintin added. "Don't tell me the body count is up to four!"

"We don't know. We actually haven't found them." Ruffnut stated.

"Did they get off the island?" Mala now asked.

"I doubt it," Here Astrid chimed in. "The storm destroyed the dock during the first night. If they had a hand in either death then they couldn't leave the island." Even as Astrid said this she had a sinking feeling in her heart. She turned back to Ruffnut to ask "Who's missing?"

"Our second Bellboy," Ruffnut stated. "He was supposed to be manning the elevator."

"Oh, Dagur and I saw him when we came down to the gardens." Heather said. "He was in the elevator with us."

"But he wasn't there when we came back," Dagur added. "I thought there might have been a shift change so I thought nothing odd about it."

"By the way Astrid, Fishlegs finished drying the tape with a hairdryer." Ruffnut said. "It did take him forever to find a number 2 pencil to roll the tape back onto the spool." She said as she handed Astrid the cassette. "And because I know you'd want to play it, I brought a radio!"

Ruffnut bent down and produced a battery powered radio with a tape deck. Astrid placed the tape in the deck and everyone held their collective breath to see what was on it. She pressed the play button and a smooth voice filled the library.

"If I go a million miles away. I'd write a letter each and every day.'Cause honey, nothin', Nothin' can ever change this love. I have for you." The voice sang. Even with the water damage the song was recognisable.

"Sam Cooke," Astrid said as she recognized the old song. She wouldn't have pegged Johann for a Sam Cooke fan but you'd never know. Everyone was confused and it showed on their faces. They thought it might have been a clue. The only ones not batting an eye were Heather and Dagur.

"Ruffnut can I speak with you outside?" Astrid asked. Both women stepped outside the library.

"I want to meet with him," Astrid got straight to the point.

"Him?" Ruffnut asked with eyebrows raised.

"The owner of the island. You know who I mean." She stated.

"Well that might be difficult," Ruffnut mumbled.

"Ruff, I know....." Astrid played a hunch.

"You know?!" Ruffnuts eyes widened. "Wait.... You know or you know?" She then asked.

'So there was something going on with the island,' Astrid thought and then said "Ruffnut I need to meet him."

"Well......" Ruffnut was hesitant. "I'll pass the message along but don't get your hopes up."

With that said the guests including Astrid retired to their rooms. Their dinner would be delivered to them given the previous events. None were really willing to socialize.

When Astrid got to her room she noticed an unfamiliar envelope on the coffee table along with the Briar rose that had now been placed in a vase. She opened the envelope and it read 'Midnight, the Ballroom'. Astrid closed the note. Midnight wasn't far off. It was time she got ready. Things were going to get interesting.