Nobody said anything for several moments after the radio had successfully contacted the ranger station. It might have been a minute, it might have been ten. Nobody was really paying any attention. Boredom was the apex predator for an idle mind so to keep it at bay, someone inevitably spoke up and that someone was Rebecca.

“What do you want the medical supplies for? Cory, well...”

Andrew didn’t respond at first, casting his gaze down as if in a minute of silence to honor his dead friend. “I know it's impossible to save him now,” he explained, slowly. “But if we assume this was the work of someone here...” 

After the small triumph of the radio call, nobody wanted to start thinking about who the culprit was again. Well with the exception of perhaps Christina, but we also all knew how important a conversation it was. Even I did, but I dug my heels in and only let the truth take me kicking and screaming.

“I just don’t think anyone here is capable of that,” I plead with everyone.

“I know! A ghost did it!” Christina said sarcastically. “It was someone, Walter.”

I gritted my teeth and said “Maybe it was a ghost!” But of course I didn’t actually think it and nobody took me seriously. 

Kicking. And. Screaming.

“Come on, babe,” Alison said softly. “We can’t get that desperate yet.”

Despite my apprehension, if anyone could figure this out, it was Alison. If she wasn’t studying to become a nurse, a detective might have been the next best thing for her! She was always doing puzzles from puzzle books, Sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper. I supposed she just got bored easily, but her perception of people was razor sharp too. All in all, she had all the skills needed in this scenario. It did help that I was in love with her and trusted her implicitly but that was beside the point!

I nod at her. Okay, Alison, hit us with it!

“I agree with Christina,” Alison continued. “It has to be someone. I don’t want to think any of us were capable of something like this either but it's the only logical conclusion to come to at this point.”

Everyone silently agreed.

“Which is exactly why I want the medical supplies.” Andrew concurred. “Just in case...”

Iris looked uneasy. “Just in case what?” When nobody responded to her, she rushed toward the exit of the room. “I’m going to go check on Syl.”

Everyone else watched her go. Then Christina turned her attention to her brother-in-law-to-be. “Why are you trying so hard to pretend this isn’t happening? You know it was Matthew.”

I grew slightly frustrated with her. “I don’t know that, and neither do you!” I snapped, and spared a nervous glance to Andrew who seemed to be giving me a pass as his brother.

“Who was it then?” Christina insisted. “You were there with us in the living room. He was the only one who went in the direction of the north wing. The girls weren’t in the right spot to do it.”

I didn’t like this line of conversation but it looked like I was being dragged into it, whether I liked it or not. When she wanted to be, Christina could be quite stubborn.

“We don’t know that one of them couldn’t have snuck toward the north wing after we saw them head to the south one.”

Rebecca looked crossly at me. “You’re accusing me? I’m standing right here, you know.”

“Of course not, Rebecca” I say placatingly, holding my hands up in a defensive posture in front of me. “I’m just saying, it’s possible for any of you to have done it, not just Matthew. I’m not accusing anyone.”

“He’s still doing his kumbaya bullcrap,” Christina said, bored. Andrew sniggered. I ignored them.

“I’m sure Rebecca will tell us that none of them did it, right Rebecca?”

Rebecca nodded. “All three of us went to bed and I didn’t hear any doors open until after Matthew screamed.”

“How good is your hearing?” Christina scoffed. At this point, everyone other than Andrew was ignoring her.

Alison placed a hand on Rebecca’s shoulder and the other looked up at her friend. “Were you the last one to go into your room, Bec?”

Rebecca thought about this for a moment. “No... Actually, I was the first.”

Alison nodded, thinking deeply to herself. “Then it would have been possible for only one of the others, Iris or Sybil to have gone into their bedroom.”

Rebecca looked puzzled. “What and then the other one snuck off to murder Cory?”

Alison smiled, gently. “It’s possible,” she said.

“Wouldn’t I have heard the door when they came back?” Rebecca asked, indignant.

It’s true that a snag like this might hinder a typical mind but not Alison’s.

“Not necessarily. Even assuming you have perfect hearing, which nobody really does, she wouldn’t have to go back in once they were finished.”

Alison’s remarks seemed to be agitating Rebecca, and I can only assume that was because they were making too much sense to her.

“But when I left my room after hearing Matthew, both of them were already in the hallway! And - and just before then, I heard their door open!”

“If one of them snuck off to murder Cory and then snuck back but didn’t enter the bedroom, instead, staying in the hallway as they waited for someone to discover Cory’s body... Then, when they heard a scream, the other opened the door... Under those circumstances, the illusion that they both stayed in their room the entire time would be created.”

Rebecca looked at her, astounded, but I felt warm pride in my heart. Alison was so smart! It made me feel safer to be in this situation with someone like her.

“Ali...”

Alison smiled again, firmly this time. “From your perspective, it really could be any one of us. I’m not expecting you to believe such an unlikely scenario from mine.”

“Right.” Rebecca responded flatly. “‘It’s just possible.’”

Alison nodded in response and Rebecca sighed, staring at her shoes. “It’s going to happen again isn’t it? This is like one of those books by Amelia Christie.”

“Agatha,” Christina corrected, rolling her eyes.

Alison laughed gently at Rebecca. “It’s not going to be like a mystery novel, Bec. But I think you’re right about that other thing.... I think it will happen again.”

“Why are you so sure?” I asked, a question honestly directed at both of them, but it was Alison who answered.

“How long do we have?” she laughed.

“Long enough, Chicken. We’re waiting for my mum and Jacob, after all. Besides, I don’t think anyone’s gonna have any issues listening to the smartest woman here voice her opinions.” You could practically feel Christina vibrating with annoyance at that comment.

Alison beamed at me, and I reached forward and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“It’s their motivation. No one here has one.”

Of course. Isn’t that always the question detective types always asked in fiction? “What could be the killer’s motive?” Were they a jealous ex-lover? Were they after money? Were they settling an ancient sibling grudge? How could you find a killer who kills for no reason?

“Looking at Cory’s death from the angle of ‘why would someone want to kill him?’, it seems like this really couldn’t have been a murder at all,” Alison explained. 

“But he’s still dead,” Andrew chimed in.

“Right. He is still dead. Which means even though it seems like no one would have done it, someone did.”

“Get to the point, princess,” someone would have heard Christina say if anyone was paying any attention to her.

“Cory is Matthew’s friend, the rest of us barely knew him. Not even you knew him very well, did you Andrew?”

“I’ve met him a couple of times but I can’t say we were ever close. Still, I consider him a friend...”

“Of course you do,” Alison responded quickly, her voice dripping with remorse. “I’m so sorry, Andrew, I didn’t mean-”

Andrew cut her off. “It’s okay, Alison - really. I know what you mean. It’s true that I didn’t know him that well.”

“R-right! And the rest of us know him even less.” Alison looked wearily at the others, as if unsure she should continue with her theory. “When you consider all the usual motives for murder: money, revenge, love - even self defense - it doesn’t seem like any one of us has any of those reasons. He doesn’t come from a wealthy family. To my knowledge, he isn’t romantically involved nor has he ever been with anyone here and what reason would any of us have to take revenge on him?”

“Matthew could have had a reason~” Christina sang.

Alison regarded her and nodded. “I agree. He could... but we don’t know that he did. And if he was acting earlier, I’ve never seen anything like it! He should be cast in the next Hollywood blockbuster.”

Everyone understood Alison’s point well. Even if it were theoretically possible that Matthew held some secret grudge, nothing we had seen so far indicated that he did. Could someone really put on such a convincing act? 

“So, he wasn’t murdered?” Rebecca asked, puzzled.

Alison shook her head. “Maybe... But I don’t think so. With those injuries and the circumstances around how he died, no other explanation makes sense!”

“So you’re saying despite the fact that none of us have probable cause, it's still most likely that he was murdered.” Andrew clarified.

“Right! Which can only mean one thing.”

Revelation dawned on my face. “That whoever did this doesn’t have a regular motive!”

“Exactly!” Alison all but yelled, looking at me lovingly. “I can only assume that whoever did this, did it for reasons a normal person wouldn’t.”

Rebecca had started to go pale and looked worryingly at Alison. “Like what?”

“She’s saying they did it for fun, dummy!” Christina jabbed. Rebecca became openly hostile at that point.

“You know, just because you have something to say doesn’t mean you always have to open your mouth! Although, by the looks of you, your mouth isn’t the only thing you struggle to keep closed!”

Everyone stood, agape - most of all Christina. Rather than fighting back, however, she just shrugged the insult off and I had the sneaking suspicion she may have even respected Rebecca a little for it.

Andrew seemed like he wanted to clear the air. “S-So... A second murder is likely to happen because the first one probably wasn’t a crime of passion but the beginning of a spree? Because you think the killer is probably acting for the simple satisfaction of... murder...?”

Alison nodded solemnly.

“Well, Alison...” Andrew said, tone tight. “I hope you’re wrong about that.”