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For a heartbeat, nobody reacted.
Another shriek. This one was louder, closer, and more desperate. Sasha shivered, and goosebumps rose on her arms.
“Is that the wind?” Naya ventured gamely.
Aroostine was the first one to the window. She pulled aside the heavy curtain and peered outside, scanning the woods behind the house.
“There’s a woman staggering through the trees. She’s not wearing a coat or anything.”
At her announcement, the rest of them crowded around the window beside her. It took a moment for Sasha to spot the woman among the wildly swaying trees. Her head was lowered, and she bent forward almost at the waist, fighting against the wind and blowing snow. Her long dark hair and the skirt of her slinky emerald green dress streamed behind her.
“She’s coming this way. Headed straight for the house.” Maisy turned away from the window and grabbed Sasha’s arm, wide-eyed and breathing fast. “What do we do?”
“She looks harmless enough,” Sasha mused.
Leo gave her a close look.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
The woman must have seen the group at the window because she began to run—or tried to. The strong headwind pushed her back. As they watched her struggle forward, she opened her mouth to scream again, but the gale tore the noise from her throat.
By the time she reached the small front porch, she was nearly on her knees. Bodhi was already at the door. He wrenched it open, and she dragged herself over the threshold and into the house with a swirl of snow. He hurried to shut the door against the cold outside.
She looked around the room, wild-eyed, and settled her attention on Leo. Her lips parted, and as she collapsed on the floor, she managed to croak a single word. “Help.”
* * *
Bodhi squatted beside her and pressed two fingers against her pale, bare wrist to take her pulse. Hank approached cautiously and crouched next to the forensic pathologist. He pointed at a dark stain that had spread across the bodice of her dress, taking care not to touch it—or her.
“Looks like blood,” he stated in a grave voice. He raised his eyes to search Leo’s face, then Sasha’s. “Do you know her?”
Sasha shook her head and turned to Leo. “I’ve never seen her before. You?”
He studied the unconscious woman for a long moment. “No.”
Hank turned to the rest of the group. As they murmured a chorus of negative answers, Leo caught Sasha’s arm and guided her toward the dining room. She turned back to watch Bodhi tend to the woman as Leo led her away from the others.
He pulled her into the room and gave her a serious look. “Did you do this?”
She blinked up at him, too stunned to speak at first.
“Tell me now if you did.”
She gathered her thoughts and sputtered, “DidIdo this? Dowhat?What are you saying?”
He twitched his lips to one side. “Is this part of the murder mystery game you wanted to play, Sasha?”
Realization dawned, and she began to laugh. At the look on his face, she swallowed her laughter. “No, I swear.”
He raised one eyebrow skeptically, and she elaborated, “She’s not an actor. Or at least, I didn’t hire her if she is. I mean, I still think it would have been loads of fun to play ‘Murder on the Menu’ tonight. Especially seeing as how I went to the trouble of creating it. But you were very clear that you weren’t a fan of the idea. Adamant even.”
His face softened. “Okay. You understand why I had to ask, right?”
“I guess so. But you clearly weren’t listening when I told you about it. I didn’t want to hire actors. We were all supposed to play a role. One victim, one murderer, and then the other eight of us solved it. But, nooo, you said our friends solve enough murders in their real lives and wouldn’t want to do that at a party.” She tried not to pout but failed.
“Probably not the best time to pitch the idea,” he observed. “What with the blood-covered stranger on the floor.”
