“Cliff, please stand and tell us how Ms. Hernandez was murdered,” Giles said.
It was later that evening, after dinner, after the challenge, and after their cases had been stated. Also after the killer had determined that one case stood well above the others.
Cliff’s case.
Cliff stood. They were outside on the patio, and the glow from the pool lights cast odd, wavy shadows across his face. He tried not to look too pleased. Gloating was not an attractive trait on anyone, especially not under these circumstances.
“As we all know, Jessica enjoyed drinking,” Cliff said, making the understatement of the year. “The killer knew that if left to her own devices, Jessica would likely mix herself a Bloody Mary and head to the sunroom to drink it, like she so often did. However, this time the killer had placed a tray containing ice cubes with shards of razor-sharp glass frozen within them. Jessica unknowingly made her drink using these glass ice cubes. Upon finishing her drink, she then set to work chomping on the ice cubes as she so frequently did. The glass shards shredded her mouth, with some getting lodged in her throat, either killing her or, at the very least, completely incapacitating her. The killer, in the adjacent laundry room, released a hungry giant python into the sunroom via the air vent. Having not been fed in weeks, the starving python sensed the heat coming from the victim and moved in for the free food. And, well, we all know how it went from there…”
“Very well, done, Mr. Jackson,” Giles said as Cliff sat down. Then he turned to face the rest of the guests. “Although you all did much better this time around, the killer has still deemed the rest of you as Scared. But you should all be pleased, you have done quite well. With only five of you remaining, you now have a one-in-four chance of survival, besides the killer, of course. Those are betting odds, ladies and gentlemen.
“Please, take the remainder of the night to do as you please. And as you’ve no doubt noticed, it’s gotten quite chilly tonight. Thankfully, you all have working gas fireplaces in your suites should you desire additional heat this evening. Do not hesitate to use them. I know I most certainly would be using mine if I had one.”