Sin of Greed

Ophelia

   Indah squinted at the sudden light shone into her eyes. She glanced at her surroundings. Fortunately, everyone was still breathing and animate. Charlotte spoke to everyone. "It's pleasant to see that everyone is well. I think the scheme may have worked."

  "But what was that noise? And Jamila hasn't returned yet." Indah fidgeted with her shirt while peeking through the door.

   The one in the dress paused to ponder before she answered. "Let's give it another minute. If she doesn't return by then, we shall check on her, alright?"

  Everyone was still for the next moment. Indah stared intently at the clock hanging on the wall. Her eyes moved every time a hand ticked. Charlotte tapped her heel against the floor with her arms folded. A scowl was visible on her face. A minute passes, and Charlotte placed her hand on the door knob before twisting it. The wooden door swung to the side and collided against the wall. The participants slinked through the gap and through the hallway to reach Vinny's room. Indah could barely make out that the bathroom door was open, but she could not see what was past that point. Vinny had left the light switches off in his room, so the area was quite dark. Charlotte nudged Omar's elbow and murmured. "Do you still have your lighter with you?"

  "Uh, yeah, lemme get it. Just a sec." Omar's hand shuffled in his left pocket to find the lighter in it.

   He pulled it out and turned it on. It dimly illuminated the room, allowing Charlotte to locate the switch and flick it. Indah was entirely still once she could discern clearly. Her eyes widened at the horrendous sight. She did not bother to remove her foot from the floor stained with blood as she was too shocked to even flinch. A colossal chime had damaged the floorboards and the rope under it. It had flattened someone, which was shown by the massive clots of gore that scattered across the ground and the foot that escaped from being crushed.

  "That foot... It belongs to..." Indah paused mid sentence by reason of the lump forming in her throat.

   Mikah bunched their hands into fists. "B-But how? We were all staying together."

  "I think the murderer killed her with a mechanism of some sort. We looked all over our room for any secret tunnels, and we didn't find any. Do you think they had some sort of trigger with them?" Ezra acknowledged.

  Charlotte shook her head. "No, evidently. They wouldn't be able to hide it from everyone. They'll be caught the moment someone asks to empty their pockets. The culprit must've set it up like a trap."

  "Yeah... there does seem to be a tripwire here. It totally got crushed, though." Omar stated as he leaned toward the crime scene. "How'd they even get it up here?"

  "I don't know. This looks too heavy for it to be transported through the elevator. The passageways are too narrow for it to fit." The one with a hair bun commented.

  Charlotte remarked. "Actually, it may be plausible. The slayer would have to ascertain the weight of the bell and the weight capacity of the elevator. They'd also have to obtain something that is able to assist the culprit in carrying the bell to the fifth floor. They'd also have to find a time of day where no one would spot them setting up the snare, and they'd have to do it without alarming anyone."

  "Well, I saw some rope and a sled in the storage closet on the day of the party. Maybe they used that." Omar added.

  Mikah interjected. "Would the sled even be able to support that? I mean, we saw it give the floor some pretty bad damage. Isn't also kinda strange that Jamila was the victim? Wouldn't the murderer try to aim for people who don't identify as a she?"

  "Perhaps they did not intend to kill her." Replied the actress. "If you consider the situation they were in, they could not freely slaughter whoever they want in the dark as we would instantly notice them, hence the trap. This is also why they couldn't use a more efficient method of murder."