@Owlgirl and Grace--I haven't forgotten you! I only just realized that I didn't include you in the past few posts...SORRY!!!

  Day Four--Part Three:

Hm, thought the murderer noncommitally. She lasted quite a bit longer than I thought she would.

The festivity had left the CBers and gone far, far away, where they felt they would never find it again...the playful craft tables now looked hostile; mocking: The CBers felt ashamed that they had ever enjoyed any of the stuff that was all just one big piece in the murderer's plan...the cause for Icy's death...and that perhaps they, unknowingly, had worked with the acid-filled egg, helping the murderer's plan come to frutition.

"If Icy was here," Panda said glumly, "she would've figured out why the egg itself didn't dissolve."

A gust of wind blew a pile of paper clippings towards the lake, catching in her hair and the trees in the distance.

"Yeah," Hotairballoon agreed. "It probably had metal lining the inside...non-corrosive metal...How evil!"

"Well...off to the cemetery, I suppose," Lily suggested sadly.

Booksy approached the volatile eggshells. "Just a second...hey, this--hey!" she protested. "All the acid disappeared! It--that's--the egg is dissolving!"

"No!" Ember screeched. "That's unfair!"

"Why is it doing that?" Joan asked.

"Must've reacted with the oxygen! And the stuff lining the inside of the egg--it's--it looked like some kind of metal. But now it's completely gone," Booksy said.

"Could it be magic?" wondered Moonfrost. She looked at Dragonrider hopefully. "Does it look like it could be magic?"

Dragonrider thought. "Um...well, I mean...possibly. But I don't think...it doesn't seem likely, seeing as everyone was a--a--a ghost--when--they left..." She trailed off, staring at a pebble on the ground.

"Not everyone was a ghost," Booksy recalled quietly.

All heads turned to Poetic Panda and Dragonrider.

"Um. I wasn't exactly feeling...murderous...when I left the farm," Poetic Panda said warily. "I mean...I think we can all agree on that much."

"How do we know that, though?" Hotairballoon asked. "I mean, if you think about it, you don't really know how long a murderer plans its debut."

September nodded slowly. "Yeah...when does the murderer decide to start killing people? When does it start to plan? And...why?"

"Now's not the time to start putting up walls between each other," Panda warned. "Even if I am the murderer."

"But it's really...hmm. We can deal with this later. We should have Icy's funeral now," Joan suggested.

"Ouch!" Ariel said from beyond the huddle of CBers.

"ARIEL!" Joan roared, breaking from the group. "WHAT DID YOU DO???"

"Relax," Ariel told her. "I'm not in any dire emergencies. I just prodded this acid bubble and burned my finger."

The CBers then realized the danger of standing around a puddle of acid and quickly retreated to the backyard, where they had Icy's funeral.

About an hour and a half later, the CBers escaped the eyes and ears of Lily and Cassy to gather in their living room.

"Icy wanted me to read her notebooks," September said. "Where did she keep them?"

"Under her bed," replied Kate the Great.

"Thanks."

The AEs took over the couches, so the Chatterboxers sat on the floor or the coffee table, which was vacant of all coffee.

September returned shortly with a tall stack of notebooks. They were full to the brim of post-it notes, scribbles, and of course complete paragraphs on theories and such, as well as full descriptions on rooms and activities.

"She really worked hard on these," September said, flipping through each notebook. She came upon the last one, which was only half full, and turned it to the last few written pages. As she read through the cramped writing, she began to appear confused...then astonished...then incredulous...then grim.

"Wow...that Icy. Wait until you hear this."

Everyone leaned in close. "So...first off, she was nervous because the fingerprints were not matching up with the evidence. That's why she ran in to check one last time, I'm guessing. Apparently she kept the two weapons with her at all times...or at least your weapon, Brooklyn Newsie. This morning she used a spell to listen in on Lily and Cassy."

"ICY!" Brooklyn Newsie yelled, as if the ghost of Icy could hear her and feel her wrath.

"Yep. And wait until you hear this conversation...I don't know how Icy memorized it, but she did:

"'Hey, Cassy, so how are we going to plan out today's three events?'
'Um, I don't know. I thought you were in charge of all that?'
'I was. I mean, I am. But after the egg drop--I don't know how we're going to get the eggs for that--I mean, they don't have to be ostrich eggs...'
'You're right. But they can be anyway, right?'
'Good point, good point. But about the next one? The scavenger hunt? There's no doubt one team's going to hide something in the cave.'
'Tell them it's off limits?'
'No, that wouldn't work! The Alter Egos would probably go there anyway and try to see what's so mysterious about it!'
'Then plug it up!'   Lily hesitates. 'Yeah, okay. But I'll still have to order the supplies. Why don't we just let them find it anyway? It can't do that much harm, can it?'
Cassy looks strangely apprehensive. She's hiding something from her sister. 'It would do...a lot of harm.'
Lily is surprised. 'How?'
'I...ugh, Lily, I can't say!'
Definitely hiding something. Lily looks exasperated, but doesn't want to probe Cassy.
'Okay. Let's just tell them it's above-ground only.'   Lily suddenly peers at Cassy. An idea has just occured to her. 'Hey, wait a minute. I thought the murderer was supposed to be dead?'
Aha! WHAT DOES SHE MEAN BY THAT???
Cassy looks down, a sure sign she's about to LIE. 'Uh...yeah! You're right! But I like the idea of above-ground only. It'll make things quicker.'
Lily nods consideringly. 'You're right. We only have an hour for each team.'
Cassy looks relieved. But if I'm even half a detective, I can read between the lines. There's something here...something to be hidden...and it hinges around the fact that there is a murderer. What do these two know that we don't? And that, combined with the stamping of Cassy's foot...Yes, yes, something's up. But if Cassy lied about the murderer, she knows something we DON'T and that could mean the murderer's still alive! HOW WOULD SHE KNOW THAT? AHAAAA. I'm going to have to check the fingerprints one last time. But I'm supposed to be following everyone to the front of the house...I'll do it later...--'"

September looked around the circle of faces. "So...what do you all think about that?" 

Sorry, guys...I'm taking a break from this for a bit. I know it's hardly been a month, but...my writing just isn't good right now.

And I'm back! Sorry to keep you all waiting. I feel much better and refreshed now!

By the way, here's a scary story--I almost stepped on a copperhead yesterday! We went to the lake (the same lake that inspired this ski lodge) and I was walking along the shoreline to a small island, which becomes a peninsula in the winter months when they drain the lake. Since the water was almost all the way up, there wasn't much room between the shore and the lake, meaning all the little brush piles that had washed up were in my way--I couldn't go around them. As I was walking, snakes were on the top of my mind because, well, I always worry about snakes, it was seventy degrees outside, and copperheads LOVE wood piles. I told myself, just get past this brush pile and you can stop worrying.

Naturally, right after thinking that, to my utter horror, I saw this SNAKE stretched out right next to where my FOOT was about to go! (Miracle? Perhaps!)

And I screamed because my foot was STILL heading for the ground and there was nothing I could do. (A prime example of real life slow motion.) And then the snake pulled its head back (I think it hissed or something but that could've been its head sliding backwards over the leaves) and I turned around and ran for the shore, leaving my shoe behind in the process. To give credit to my faithful shoe, it was too big for me to begin with. (My dad got it back later, thankfully.)

It may not have been a copperhead, but it sure looked like one when I saw it; however, I only got to look at it for half a second before I ran. Copperheads are usually orangey...this one was more brown. I'm betting it was either a harmless northern water snake, a water moccasin (which is closely related to the copperhead), or a rattlesnake (hey, I've got to put down the worst-case scenario! And I didn't get a glimpse of the tail, so it could very well have been a timber rattler).

Anyway, my story is getting as long as the next installment! Just call me grandma Micearenice. :P Here you go--

Day Four--Part Four:

"I think...uh...it's lucky she let us read her notebooks," Puck offered.

"She spied on Lily and Cassy," September continued. "Normally, I wouldn't, um, like that. However...I just don't know...if Cassy knew the murderer was still alive, why'd she keep quiet?"

The CBers, AEs, and CAPTCHAs tilted their heads in thought.

"The stamping of Cassy's foot--I remember that," Ember said.

Pepper Star sneezed despite herself and cleared her throat. "Aahhum. Excuse me. Yeah. Seems that Lily and Cassy know a bit more about the Chatterbox than they want to let on."

September picked up another notebook. A bookmark stuck out at an odd angle, covered in hand-drawn exclamation points. Opening it with a rustle, September began to read.

"'Don't be down; you'll see them when you get back to the Chatterbox, right?'
Lily stamps on Cassy's foot. They're not very good at keeping secrets. 'Ouch! I mean, um, I'm just guessing, of course. After all, um...so! SHALL WE CONTINUE WITH VACATION?!'
The AEs cry their approval of such a statement; however, I, as the suspicious detective, feel differently. Cassy is not as good as Lily at keeping secrets. Lily is not as good as...well, she's just the same as Cassy at being subtle.
They obviously know a bit about the Chatterbox, or else have already had some connection to the Chatterbox before. Perhaps this is not the only group of CBers to have come to this lake site. Questions: Did Lily and Cassy lie? If so, why? If not, why did I think that they did? What secrets does this place hold? Are the mysterious letters on the doors linked to this mystery? Is the house oriented to form another secret clue? Do Lily and Cassy even know these secrets? Could they perhaps be hypnotized? Was there already a group here? How do Lily and Cassy know about the CB? Am I just imagining all this?'"

September peered imploringly at the CBers. They were all thinking about how astute a listener and observer Icy was, wishing things could've turned out differently.

"Hmm. Should we just ask Lily and Cassy?" September wondered.

"No. That would be rude," Ember said. "We have enough clues here to get us started."

"But Cassy said finding out whatever was in the cave would do a lot of harm! What if there's a trap in there?" Elvina exclaimed.

"How would Cassy know that?" Dragonrider wondered. "Unless...Unless she's spying on the murderer!"

The CBers gasped. "Hey! You're right! But if--Oh, no," Kate the Great said. "If that's the case, we just blew her cover!"

"I doubt the murderer would be tricked by Cassy," Hotairballoon said. "If she's spying on the murderer, she's obviously way better at keeping secrets than we thought."

Dragonrider deflated. "If she's spying on the murderer, why doesn't she just tell us who it is and be done with it?"

"Unless she just keeps seeing bits and pieces and isn't sure what she's seeing, but knows that SOMEONE had to set a trap here or there!" Autumn Leaves said.

"But Lily obviously knows what's down in that cave, too. She suggested we just find it. So...I have a hard time believing it's a trap. It doesn't have anything to DO with the murderer...but if there is one, it does harm to find it," September said.

"Only, Lily and Cassy know what it is. It doesn't do them any harm to see it," Ice Wolf said.

"You're right. It must only affect us...The CB!" Autumn Leaves exclaimed, leaping up.

"What? What about it?" Moonfrost asked.

"It all matches up!" she went on, turning. "There's a big giant thing we're not allowed to know about because it hinges around the Chatterbox!"

"And why wouldn't we be allowed to know about it?" Elvina asked.

"I don't know, but it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"What would anything about the CB have to do with this place?" Booksy wondered.

"I don't know. But if it's dangerous, we shouldn't go find it. We should leave it be, because if we've learned anything about anything from reading books, it's that you shouldn't stick your nose where it doesn't belong," Autumn Leaves finished.

"Unless it'll help us find the murderer," Joan suggested.

"We can give it a bit of thought," Autumn Leaves mended. "I guess that wouldn't do too much harm."

The CBers sat back, the topic of conversation burnt out. "So," Jayfeather said. "Shall we go get some lunch?"

---------------------------

It was a late lunch, and a light one. Preferring not to eat anything that was made with an egg, the CBers settled on fruit smoothies.

They ate with Lily and Cassy, who seemed not to find it odd to have all the eyes in the room focused on them.

Lily drained her smoothie and set the cup on the table between she and Cassy's plush chairs. They were once again eating in the large living/sitting room. "Do you guys feel up to the other two contests?" she asked.

The CBers glanced at each other. Curiosity had gripped them, and they couldn't help but say yes. They'd keep their eyes open for clues--anything that would lead them to more information on the strange business Icy had discovered.

Lily looked pleasantly surprised. "Well then! Cassy and I will set it up!" She pulled Cassy out of the room, away from the remains of her delicious smoothie.

The CBers glanced at each other and rose from their seats. And we'll go set ourselves up, they thought.