The Party Murder

Chapter 1

I was standing at the long table full of an assortment of food and bubbly drinks. I took a sip of champagne from the ridiculously fancy glass. One of my hands held the glass with a relaxed grip while the other rested in my pocket. The tuxedo I wore had an annoying black bowtie which was thrusted upon me by my assistant, Alexi. However, apart from the flawed apparel at the top of my neck, the rest of the suit was comfortable and stunning. It was uncreased and untainted by too many washes or years of sitting in a dusty closet.

While I drank the warm and bubbly elixir from my glass, a man with articulate hands spoke to me, waving his appendages around with careless grace. I do not care for names, but I delved into my mind to try and recall his. I was sure he was a doctor, and his face reminded me of an encounter with Alexi, Nathan, she called him. Usually I disregard names, instead studying one's face. A lot can be told from a face, and so it trumps position in my mind over names, which can't tell you anything about a person (except if their parents loved them much as a baby). Being a detective, this helps a lot when it comes to deducing a culprit. Dr. Nathan was talking about something trivial, probably something to do with crime scene analysis, seeing how he was talking to me.

After a few more hours of jolly dancing and partying, we retreated to our temporary accommodations. A friend of mine, Miss Tia Sutton, had planned for us to come to her mansion for an overnight holiday. We are all grown adults, making her seem a bit childish, but after much coaxing by her, I admitted it sounded fun. I thought of all the laughs we would have, and even at one-point thought, "what's the worst that could happen?"

I laid on my bed, gazing up at the white ceiling. Alexi sat in the room next to mine, making an awful noise, which sounded like her ruffling through a million fancy dresses and shoes. Her door creaked closed; I believe. I wasn't thinking at all about it. Finally, after minutes of staring into nothing, I realised how cold the room had gotten, and hastily pulled the pristine covers over my body. No longer in my tuxedo, but instead pyjamas, my body sank into the comfortable bed, which felt amazing on my sore and tired back. My eyes closed without hesitation. Tomorrow, I thought, we would wake up to a hearty breakfast, and chat for a few hours. Soon, people would depart, one-by-one. And a little part of me was happy it would end so soon. Hopefully, it wouldn't snow, as I wanted to get home quickly.

I do not hate people.However, if I was to choose between staying home, curled up on the settee, withmy cat, or here, surrounded by people who saw me as 'Dr. Protan'. My choicewould clearly be home. Soon, sleep took me into their arms as I dreamt about mesitting with my cat. If only that was what I was doing.