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Chapter Four

I was in the thick of the game. I had played Clue a million times before. It was a game of strategery. Some of you might say that strategery isn't a word, but I disagree. President Bush used the word. I figured if a President makes up a word, it should automatically go in the dictionary.

Anyway, as I walked around the lower level I devised my plan of strategery. I assumed that the girls probably had split up on the first and second levels.

What they hadn't yet discovered was that there was a basement level.

That's where I was going to start first.

I headed down the hall. I didn't know why I couldn't hear the girls. Every step I made seemed to creak. When I got to the end of the hall I turned right. I passed two doors. I stopped. There was a set of stairs going down.

It was kind of freaky going down the stairs. One single bulb lit my way. I tried to push the thought of spiders out of my mind.

I had a feeling the basement was full of them.

Ugh.

Once I stepped safely off of the last step, I let out a sigh of relief. I spotted a door straight ahead.

My first room!

I touched my device to the panel by the door like Justin had explained. I heard the door unlock. I turned the knob and headed in. The door locked behind me.

I knew from the rows of padded chairs and the huge portable screen that I had entered the movie room. I glanced around. At first I didn't see anyone else. But then...

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Rochelle had a rope around her neck and she was swaying in mid-air. Her mouth was open and a thick line of blood dripped down off her face.

I know it was stupid, but the first thing I thought was that AJ was going to kill me.

I ran over. She looked even more grotesque up close.

"Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh--"

She began to laugh.

"Gotcha!"

I stared up. She stopped swaying. I looked down. Even though she looked like she was swinging in mid-air, she was standing on a clear box.

"I hate you," I said. My heart was still racing.

"It's Halloween. I brought my makeup. What did you expect?"

I pressed my hand against my chest.

"I have a heart condition."

Rochelle rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest Nick."

I glanced around. "So where's the first jump drive thing hidden?"

She smirked. "You've got to find it. Until then..."

She returned to her hangman position.

"You're no fun," I complained.

She gave me the finger.

I started to search the room. By about the tenth padded seat, I was beginning to regret choosing this room first. It was stuffy in the basement. And it smelled funny. Almost like decaying flesh.

Or maybe that was just my imagination.

Once I searched all the chairs, I headed up to the screen. I found the jump drive hanging off of the back. I grabbed it.

"A-ha!"

"Damn," Rochelle said. "I was kind of hoping you wouldn't find it."

"Then I'd be locked in here with you forever," I taunted.

"I would have kicked you out," she said.

I sat down in a chair and plugged the jump drive into my device. A second later the clue flashed on the screen.

Leighanne Littrell.

"Damn," I said. There went my theory that Leighanne was the murderer.

"I have a second clue for you," Rochelle said. She stuck a pale hand into a pocket of her skull-covered skirt. She pulled out another jump drive.

"Now, before I give this to you, I need to tell you that I'm not the murderer," she said.

I sighed. "Do I have to listen to all these speeches? Can't you save them for the girls?"

"Shut up Carter."

I folded my arms. Rochelle explained how she wasn't involved with AJ during the whole 'Lou' era and she had no possible motive. Blah, blah, blah.

"You done?" I finally said. She smirked and handed me the jump drive.

"Here you go."

I sat back down and plugged it in. The third clue flashed onto the screen.

Hall Coat Closet.

So it wasn't a rope, it wasn't Leighanne, and it wasn't the Hall Coat Closet. But, what it told me was that I needed to go back to the Hall.

Check.

"You solve the mystery yet?" Ro asked. I smiled.

"Well, sorry to leave you hanging," I said. "But no."

"Then get out of here!"

I laughed. "Love you too, Ro."

I handed her the jump drive back and walked back to the door. I pressed the device against the panel and the door unlocked. I heard it lock behind me.

All of a sudden, I heard footsteps on the stairs. I was going to stand there and turn into a Nicky kiosk but I caught sight of a black boot.

There was only one girl who was wearing black boots. Ivanka.

I ducked underneath the stairs. I watched her come down the stairs. She looked around. I saw her finger slide around and around her device like she was channeling some inner crazy to help guide her in the right direction. She finally walked towards the door I had just come out of.

A second later she was in and the red light came on above the door. I took off up the stairs.

"BOO!"

I jumped. Desiree was coming down the hall. I smiled.

"You caught me," I said.

"What do I get?"

A dirty comment was right on the tip of my tongue. Instead I reached into my pocket and pulled out a keychain I autographed.

"Here you go," I said.

She took it and held it up.

"Thanks!"

"I'll try to be more stealthy next time," I said. She laughed. We took off in opposite directions. She was heading towards the basement and I headed down the hall.

I wondered if she had already been in the coat closet.

I also wondered if the coat closet was one of the three empty rooms. I couldn't imagine trying to find something hidden with Howie and his Wookie head taking up the bulk of the space.

Plus, I loved the guys but I didn't want to chill out in a closet with them.

I got back to the hall and looked around. Several doors lead to empty rooms that we weren't using for the game. I stopped and looked around. I spotted a door with a panel. It had to be the closet. I brushed my device against it and I heard the door unlock. I pushed it open.

Empty. Phew.

I stepped in and the door locked behind me. For such a small room, the jump drive was well hidden. I finally found it hidden in the soft sponge of a mop that was leaning against the wall in a bucket. I sat down on the floor and connected the jump drive to my device. I was a master at this game. I was already on my fourth clue. And it was...

Library.

So the murder wasn't done in the library. That figured. Those librarians were always telling people to be quiet. Who could successfully murder someone there?

I stood back up. A big pile of dust came with me. I slapped at my jeans and put the jump drive back. With a tap of the device, the door unlocked.

I paused for a moment to think about my next stop. My stomach growled.

That's when it hit me.

The kitchen.