Rogan the Detective ONC

The Scream

Do you know that feeling of trying to walk straight on a ship tossed up and down by the waves in a heavy storm?

Well, neither do I, but I imagine it would have felt exactly the same as I felt that night.

I was very sleepy, and the hallway felt like it was moving, twisting, and turning, making it much harder for my fuzzy mind to keep me on the right course. The fact that the scream kept going did help me, however, as I followed the horrid sound straight to its source.

"What's going on?" I asked, opening the door to the room the scream was coming from sluggishly.

It was a comfortable-looking library with a lively fire still going that I found rather odd but took no further notice. I just wanted whoever was screaming to stop. That was all.

"There has been a murder," a voice on the verge of tears said.

I am ashamed to say the first emotion I felt was an overwhelming joy. It woke me from my dazed state and caused a strong wave of energy to course through my body, supercharging me. I was awake and buzzing. It also helped that the screaming had finally stopped.

"A murder, you say?" I asked, tugging at my mustache as if deep in thought.

Even though I realized I sounded too chipper about it, I just couldn't contain my excitement at the game finally starting.

"Let me through," Thomas said, trying to make his way through the crowd of servants surrounding the body.

I was the first out of my fellow detectives at the crime scene, and I was very smug about it but tried not to show it.

The body was lying on the beautiful brown rug close to a comfortable armchair. I was happy to note the whole room was a very cozy library, one of those places where I would love to take some time and rest.

"I believe I know who the killer is, my friends," I said, even though what I was saying felt a bit off. It didn't sound as much like the novels and movies as I planned it to be.

By that point, Thomas and Elizabeth had managed to clear their way to me, giving me odd looks when I said that in a dramatic voice with my hand lifted in a gesture even I wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean.

"The butler did it!" I finished, adding even more theatrics to my performance because that was how you did it.

You build suspense.

"Ahem, Rogan, the butler is the one who is dead," Elizabeth whispered in my ear.

That was when I noticed Thomas had turned over the body that was lying face down on the ground checking for a pulse. It indeed was the butler lying there with makeup and fake blood all over him.

At least, that was what I thought at the time.

"Guys, he is dead," Thomas said, sounding as serious as a drunk person claiming they are sober.

"Of course he is," I immediately said, tired of the noobs who were not getting it. "This must be a murder mystery escape house type of thing. Isn't that cool?"

"No, I mean he is really dead. There is no pulse. This is not part of the game," Thomas said grimly as his whole demeanor changed, becoming as tense as a guitar string.

"Oh, come on, don't be naive," I said exasperatedly. "The guy isn't REALLY dead, of course. It's all just a game."

"I'm afraid he is," Thomas said, leaving no room for doubt.

"How do you even know that?" I asked, already annoyed with the guy.

"I'm a doctor," Thomas said, checking the body carefully. "And this is not a game. This man has been stabbed to death."