“ ‘Congratulations on being the final four,’ ” Cliff read, pausing after the word “four” to let the implication sink in. Was Gary supposed to be here? If so, where was he? None of them offered any theories, so Cliff continued reading. “ ‘Welcome to the final challenge. Each of you is to choose one, and only one, of the items within this armoire. It may help you, or it may not, so please choose carefully. Once you have made your selection, then you each must choose one of the past crime scenes. You must then go alone on your own path to that crime scene. Take your chosen murder weapon to your chosen crime scene and also be sure to bring your wits and cunning. Several paths will lead to victory, the others to death. Here is a small riddle to help guide you in your choices. Failure to follow these rules will result in forfeiture of the prize and a swift execution of your life. Good luck!
“ ‘Four paths in a wood do cross, each leading its own separate way. Please choose a murder weapon to bring along, if you wish to play. Perhaps you’ll need it for defense, or maybe even as a key. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ll use your choice to identify me. The same goes for picking a crime scene to explore a second time. Choose carefully, and remember: sometimes a penny beats a dime.’ ”
Cliff stopped reading and set the card down. The three remaining guests looked at one another quietly. None of them were quite sure what to do next.
“So, it said four,” Whitney finally said. “Where’s Gary? Why isn’t he here? Was that just to mess with our heads?”
“I know, right?” Cathy agreed. “I mean, we found these things here in his room. This doesn’t make any sense.”
“I really think we’re probably best off following the directions and not asking too many questions,” Cliff said. “So, who’s picking first? Whatever order we choose the weapons, we should reverse the order for the crime scenes. That way it’s fair.”
Cathy and Whitney both nodded. That seemed reasonable enough to them. It was sort of odd that they were getting along so amicably now, being that soon they would be splitting up, essentially now in direct competition with one another for their lives. It had even occurred to Cliff that one of them could choose a very deadly weapon and simply kill the other two, ensuring his or her own survival. Unless, of course, Gary was still alive and was the killer and was monitoring their every move. Not following the rules and going rogue would likely just get them all killed if that were the case.
“I’ll go first if you’re both okay with that,” Cathy said. “Which means I go last for the crime scene.”
“I’m okay with that,” Cliff said. “Whitney?”
“I’ll go second both times,” she said, nodding.
“Okay, then, let’s do this,” Cliff said.