I drew a shaky breath, watching my roommate now.

Seeing the outline of his profile, Yora’s eyes fell to the ground. His hands were still fisted.

Wanting to say anything, I stopped when I heard a scream from the hallway. It made me flinch away from the door.

It hadn’t sounded like it was very close, though. It could’ve been an owl screeching from outside, but I knew that it was certainly one of the men in our party.

Springing into action, I moved swiftly away from Yora to yank at the door handle. I tried and I tried, again and again, until I remembered what the professor had told us.

‘You must exit your dormitories.’

The professor had locked us inside our rooms.

“Yora.” I said, more loudly than I intended.

He tried the door too with his own keys, and it would still not open.

“Is there a skeleton key?” I asked.

“Only the staff would have one.” He said. “I’m not even sure Mae has one on him right now.”

“So all of us are stuck in our rooms?” I said, frustration rising in my voice.

‘You will be expelled for missing classes.’

This time, I fisted my hands against the door, stopping myself from slamming my knuckles into the dark wood. If we couldn’t get out, then we’d die.

The anxiety of that thought was not helping the sudden adrenaline coursing through my veins at the unexpected appearance of the professor’s voice.

I had to think . . .

I had to think of something that could save us.

Out of the blue, I heard a small breath escape Yora’s lips.

When I sent him a look of concern, he put his own hand on the door, where mine had been.

It was then that I’d forgotten to ask him if he was okay. I’d been too busy to even remember that there was someone else with me. “Yora . . . do you need a moment?”

Becoming even more concerned when I heard him let out a short laugh, I waited until he said, “I believe you intimidated me more than the professor just did.” Yora said, “You read me so well . . . I was taken aback.”

I too was taken aback by his observation, and merely replied with, “Well . . . I am a detective, aren’t I?” I had to look elsewhere whilst saying that.

Knowing he was staring at me, I did not give him the pleasure of returning his gaze as he replied, “It is a comfort knowing that nothing will surprise me as much as you do.”

Ah . . .

There it was again. He was trusting me far too easily.

Returning back to the door, I tried not to let him sway me from what I really had to focus on. We had to get out, or else—

Pulling at the door handle desperately, I abandoned it after a minute to walk around the room. There was no other way out, besides through the window.

But it had rained, and the exterior of the house was slick with dew. We could slip and fall. It was too dangerous.

Yora, at the center of the room, caught me eyeing the window, “Are you serious?”

He hadn’t said it in a way that sounded like he hated it. He legitimately was asking if I was serious, as if he wanted to give me a helping hand.

“Are you serious?” I said, to confirm my assumption.

My roommate responded with his silence.

“You want me . . . to go out there?” I waved a hand to the window.

At last, some doubt crossed his face.

Without another moment to spare, I allowed my impatience for the situation to win over my common sense. I just wanted to get out of that room, now.

No one else was going to be able to do it, therefore I would have to be the one to pull the bandage before anyone. I did not have any plans of dying any time soon.

“Okay.” I said. “I’m going.”

It was Yora’s turn to spring into action, “Wait—!” He pleaded, appearing partly astounded.

“What?” I looked him up and down.

He had done what I had almost done minutes ago, when I’d reached for his arm. We were getting good at remembering not to touch one another. “ . . . aren’t you frightened?”

There were a million reasons to be afraid, but there were also a million reasons as to why I had to do this. Thinking of our conversation when we first entered the room, I figured I could prove to him that I was capable of being the detective that could save not only myself, but him as well.

I was not the type of person to give up so easily.

“You can’t stop me.” I said.

“Then let me help you.” He offered.

I examined him once more, “Fine.”

As soon as I reached out for the clasp that locked the window securely, I could feel the cold emanate from beyond the thick glass. It was freezing out there, especially since the rain had ceased.

It always seemed like the temperature dropped incredibly low after rainfall, which was all the more lovely for my situation. The uniform I’d been given was not made of a reliable material that would keep me warm. My shoes as well, they were not the best to keep me balanced on a rain-slicked ledge.

Pushing open the window, a gust of bone-chilling wind swept over us, giving me instant goosebumps. Fortunately, it looked wide enough for me to crawl through, which is exactly what I attempted.

Yora, keeping his promise, had pushed the nearest table towards me as I stepped onto it without hesitation, knocking down a few valuable knick-knacks in the process.

Despite how cold it was, I rolled my sleeves up as I outstretched my arm outside the window, to feel the stone exterior. It was definitely slippery, but beneath our window was a thick ledge, thick enough for two people to walk over into the other rooms on our right.

Shooting my gaze to my roommate, I questioned, “Why weren’t you hesitant when I suggested this idea?”

Yora managed a snicker, “Haven’t you ever snuck out before, Mr. Detective?”

I thought back to Bell, when he’d told me about how his cousins would sneak out. I shouldn’t have been shocked to hear Yora was included in that group.

“Let’s just say I had an important date I couldn’t miss.” He went on, holding onto the table firmly, so that I would not fall.

I scoffed, “You’re not scared of heights?”

He gave me a shrug, “ . . . sometimes. But I came up with a distraction.”

“Distraction?”

“I sang a song.” Yora said, though it came out more like a suggestion. “Are you afraid of heights?”

I answered honestly, “No . . .”

A look of doubt crossed his face, “Well, regardless—we should sing one that we both know.”

It would’ve been truly upsetting if Yora turned out to be the murderer, because then I’d have to sing a song before plummeting to my death at the hands of my roommate.

But if I had to take a leap of faith, then I had to do so immediately, or else I’d die at the hands of some unknown professor instead.

I closed my eyes tightly and tried not to let out a breath of frustration.

“I don’t really listen to songs other than the ones that I hear sometimes on the radio.” I admitted.

“Oh?”

“I prefer Chopin.” I opened the window more widely, and gripped the ledge until I found that I could swing my leg over. I would be soaked by the time I reached the next room.

“Well, then . . .” Yora pondered, “I guess we have to sing something new.”

Half-listening to him, I tried my best to plant my foot onto the solid stone outside. It must’ve been two feet in length, just enough for me to stand. The one thing that worried me was that I hardly had anything to grasp onto. Behind me, the small ledge was only half a foot long. I just couldn’t look down, or else I’d be really afraid. Thankfully, it was so dark, I could hardly see the bottom. It was just an abyss.

Inside, I could hear Yora’s voice, but I had not been listening to what he’d been saying once I fully stepped out.

I’d needed a good two minutes to adjust to the fact that I was even doing such a ridiculous thing.

I surely wouldn’t get paid enough for it.

Over my shoulder, I shakily said, “Y-Yora . . .”

The sound of his voice stopped, though when he replied to me, it was faint, like he was far. The elements outside made it hard for me to hear him clearly anymore. “Yes?”

“Mack The Knife . . .” I told him, as loudly as I could. I figured that hearing him sing would assure me that he was still in the room, for a little while. He could’ve been lying about not having a skeleton key.

There was silence, until he told me, “I’m not sure if you picked that song on purpose, but it works.”

That was the song that’d been playing in the taxi that had driven me to Westley Manor. Of course, it’d been a grim reminder of what I had been half-expecting upon my arrival to the great house.

“Unfortunately, my wit left me once I came out here, Yora.” I said to myself. “The song choice is completely coincidental.”

He had heard me. “Let’s save your wits for another occasion, then.”

I looked at him one more time. We didn’t say anything. We spoke with just our eyes.

Yora could leave the room and hurt someone, but I didn’t want to believe that. I didn’t want to believe that the murderer was the person who would be sleeping with me.

Truthfully, I didn’t want any of the men to be the murderer, though how could I deny the facts, and even the tension that surrounded us constantly?

It was now my time to get to know the guests . . .

I just wished Yora could come along.

I was aware that he couldn’t, because then that would mean that I might touch him in the process of climbing along the house.

For his sake, I wouldn’t do that. He had to stay in the room and wait for me, whether he liked it or not . . .

. . . and whether I liked it or not.

I felt annoyed about that, though I wasn’t sure why. I never had an official colleague that would help me with my undercover work, therefore there was no need for me to feel miffed about going alone.

Whatever the case, I had to get a grip.

Finding my footing, I turned to my right, to search for any windows with light. There were a few, but the nearest one was a good 6 yards away, considerably far.

I breathed out, watching my breath collect in front of me like cigarette smoke, and I continued on, slowly.

It was nerve-wracking.

“Could that someone be . . . Mack The Knife . . .” I sang, timidly.

One foot after the other.

I just had to avoid the edge. I could do it.

Disoriented, I grasped onto the ledge at my back, digging my nails into the tough stone. It was icy.

“Jenny Diver, Suky Tawdry, Miss Lotte Lenya . . . ” I tried to remember the lyrics. “ . . . Lucy Brown.”

Yora was singing along with me, but his voice was faint. I was getting farther.

Farther—

Until I couldn’t hear him anymore.