The Swiss Murder | Completed

19. A Second Murder?

It was the next morning, although it didn't feel like it. Grey clouds still loomed, the snow continued to fall down, not letting up at all. Thunder still growled but from a faraway distance now. The storm had shifted, but it had left a mark at Hotel Schilthorn.

The hotel was in the middle of a winter wonderland, except it wasn't so magical as it was spine-chilling.

Scarlett observed the view silently, her breakfast left untouched on her plate, coffee slowly turning cold, the vapors losing their intensity by the minute.

She, along with the others were present in the dining hall, sitting quietly in their seats, their posture rigid and their movements robot-like.

Emma hadn't touched the food at all as well, her eyes blank, hair tied loosely at the back.

Anthony was staring at nothingness as he slowly chewed his toast, gulping it down forcefully, then forking some more and repeating.

The toast was tasteless in his mouth, the texture like dust but he still willed himself to eat.

Nobody had gotten a chance to talk about last night, the revelation that Carter had killed Eric had shocked them to the core. They were all too disturbed, too caught up in their own thoughts as they had left the common room silently, Anthony being the last one to leave.

Now, forced to sit together at the huge dining table, they drowned in awkward silence, nobody knew what to say.

What were you supposed to say?

Levi was busy peeling his apple with slow precision, his movement calculated as his eyes bounced between everyone on the table. Only Mark seemed to be enjoying his food, unaware or unbothered by the whole thing.

Everyone was there... except for Carter.

His conversation with Carter flashed in his mind as a frown formed on his face, he lowered his eyes and scowled at the apple like the murder was its fault.

Levi had never felt like this before, he had never, ever, doubted himself. The feeling was so foreign to him, that he had completely closed off emotionally, his arrogance barely scratching the surface.

Scarlett's gaze was fixed on the grand seat in front of her, where Carter was supposed to be sitting. She didn't know what it was, but she and Carter sat opposite to each other whenever they could. At first, it was just a coincidence, but then it slowly formed into a habit.

She was so used to him sitting in front of her that she missed him now, despite...

The events of the previous day assaulted her mind again. Shaking her head clear of her thoughts, she quickly looked over everybody else. Did nobody notice Carter is not with us?

Scarlett coughed discreetly, gaining everybody's attention and said, "Carter is, um... Carter is not eating with us." She finished awkwardly, cringing internally as she thought about what the response would be.

Mark was in the middle of drinking his coffee when he snorted, "Why will he be? Would you dine with everyone after you were revealed as a murderer?"

Ella put her hand on his biceps, communicating with her eyes to keep quiet.

At the same time, Emma lashed out, her reaction startling everybody. Gnashing her teeth, she said, "It's not proven yet, you assh-"

"I think that's enough," Levi interrupted Emma, his voice deep and commanding as he stood up from his seat, dropping the neatly peeled apple into his empty plate.

"But she's right!" Scarlett argued in Emma's defense.

"Yes, she is..." Levi began slowly, "Detective Matteo will be here today to conduct the final investigations," he said, rolling his eyes, "Till then, everyone, behave yourself. Am I clear?