The High Priestess - The Darkest Desires Series

XXII

Cracks ran across the ceiling of her cell as Echo allowed her mind to doze. She was no longer hungry. A kind Officer had brought her a slightly stale sandwich and a drink from a vending machine when she'd yelled of starvation and prison battery. The wee little probationary officer shook from head to toe as he made his offering to her. Echo would have felt empowered, if it hadn't been for how pathetic he looked. His thick rimmed police hat that shook on his tiny head. Scoffing down the food, she also made use of the toilet quickly, enraged she had to with cameras watching, but still, she'd experienced worse humiliations at the House. This was really nothing.

She was also blessed with other luxuries in her tiny cell. A two-foot by two-foot window onto nowhere let in no light and no fresh air and an automatic sanitizer dispenser built into the wall should she feel the need to clean. A blanket had been thrown in one corner should she feel cold, but it smelt surprisingly of piss and so in the corner it had remained. Really, it was all the creature comforts should could ever need.

Relaxing now on the thin, mattress bed, she'd already run out of things to think about, so she allowed her mind to wander to more current problems. She wasn't the killer, she was more than aware of that and though it would take the Detectives two or more attempts, they would eventually know that too. So, who dun it?

The singular and fateful time Echo had been invited to a sleepover party they'd played the game Cluedo. Echo had been very disappointed when she discovered they didn't get to re-enact the crime screen and so the blood she'd brought along was left unused. Within a turn she'd found the game ridiculously boring and unrealistic. However, it did beg the question: how easy was it to solve a murder?

Well,she and the Sins were out, narrowing the suspect pool by a margin. To hang the bodies wouldn't have been hard, nor to transport them here so that left the gender equality line still intact. Then there were the dogs, and Echo knew Sydney was terrified of the things, and couldn't carry a hostess tray with more than six drinks. Woman, however, could be as dangerous and as strong as men, Echo knew that, but some women still fell short, so that ruled Sydney out. Jacob was strong enough, and the location was right. He was always lurking in the house and knew the ins-and-outs of the grounds. He made an interesting possibility but there was something about his silver smile that made Echo hesitate. If she were to peg him for a crime, it would be of world changing origins. Not a tiny murder with little to no horror.

Then there was Sandi. Sweet, sweet Sandi always hiding in the shadows waiting for the next sucker to believe he spun tail. Archer never deemed there be an entrance fee, getting more than enough once the customers were inside the House. Sandi belonged to Nic. For whatever reason needed, Sandi worked the door, shaking hands and fainting here and there on Nic's orders. What he got out of it, Echo didn't know; no one would tell her, even Jacob who doted on the girl. Either way, it was unlikely she was the killer either.

That left an outsider. Someone they didn't know. Echo pondered through all the guests that had entered the House over the years and was sad to say there were more than a few who were burned. Of course, all the Sins aimed to make the guests time at the House extraordinary; but for a husband to feel a new lease on life, a wife had to suffer. For a business plan to flourish, one had to be crushed and crumble. There were too many broken, dejected people out there who had suffered at the hands of the House. There was no doubt that the murders were aimed at the House as well. You didn't pin your neighbours' dead dog to the front porch with a knife unless it was to make a statement.

So, the killer wanted their attention and sadly, they hadn't gotten it. As she knew; the Sins did not care for morals, only the souls inside. Four dead some-what moral less people didn't even blip on their radar. It was the snooping Detectives that were catching all the attention and it wasn't good attention.