Ooh mysterious!  What am I gonna do?  This is so well-written and suspenseful.

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Chapter Five

“The Game’s Afoot”

Spirit and QueenOfWolves were both awake before the sun rose. They both looked at their watches, which had both stopped at exactly 7 p.m. They both silently dressed, trying not to wake their roommate, and both crept quietly into the hallway, closing the door behind them. They both shivered as they walked down the cold hallway. They both slowed down as they reached a corner. They both pressed themselves up against the wall. They both tiptoed towards the corner, then looked quickly around it, hardly daring to even breathe. Queen clapped her hand over her mouth and screamed. Spirit stood almost unnaturally still.

“Oh, my Claaws.” Queen doubled over, trying to catch her breath. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine.”

“It’s pretty early… what are you doing up?”

“Exploring the grounds. And you?”

“Oh, I’m… heading downstairs. I left some of my colored pencils in the parlor. I’m going to... take them back to my room and go back to sleep.” Queen regretted saying this as soon as the words left her mouth. She was dressed in a sweatshirt and a woolly jacket -- definitely not clothes one would wear to bed. Why didn’t I just tell the truth? she wondered to herself. 

Because no one can be trusted, came the answer. Queen hated the thought, but she knew that it was true. Suddenly she was aware of an awkward pause. Spirit was staring at a point just above Queen’s head, and she seemed to be lost in thought.

“Right, well, I’m off,” Queen said haltingly. She walked slowly away, not letting Spirit out of her sight. Spirit returned her gaze until Queen rounded the corner into the entrance hall. Queen walked down the oak stairs and counted to one hundred, trying and failing to slow her heart rate down. That was close. Very close. She turned and walked towards the parlor -- now that she had been seen, she had to stick to her alibi. The fire that had been raging on the guests’ first night in the Manor had been long since extinguished. There were only a few candles burning, casting shallow pools of light on the furniture. Across the room, a large suit of armor stood at attention, ready to spring into action if any danger were to arise. I’ve got to stop thinking like that. It’s just a suit of armor and nothing more. Queen pulled a bundle of colored pencils out of her pocket, shivered and pulled her jacket closer to her as she turned to leave. There was a sudden clattering of metal on metal as Queen’s feet left the ground. She screamed again as an iron-clad hand covered her mouth.

“What are you doing?” said a familiar voice. “It’s dangerous to be out at night, you know that.”

“Magnus?”

“Yes,” the big robot sighed. “Sorry. It’s been a long night, and the Lady’s kept us up watching out for anyone unfamiliar. She also insisted that we wear disguises, and this was the only one that would fit me.”

Queen thought for a moment as she walked out into the entrance hall with Magnus. “So you think that the murderer isn’t one of the guests?”

“Goodness me, no! It couldn’t possibly be one of you. You’re all much too kind to be murderers.”

Queen shifted uncomfortably. “I dunno. Not all of us are as nice as we seem.”

“Maybe,” Magnus admitted, “but then, neither are we. Now, up the stairs you go.”

QueenOfWolves walked upstairs and back to the room she shared with PygmyOwl, her brain buzzing. “Neither are we” -- what on earth was that supposed to mean? Clearly there was something larger than just a vacation going on here, and she wouldn’t be able to figure out the whole thing herself. There was only one thing to do. 

“Pygmy, wake up,” Queen said as she entered the bedroom. “The game’s afoot.”

Majestic Mary had her room to herself for the second day in a row. She wasn’t sure when Spirit had left; there wasn’t even a note. Mary didn’t particularly mind, though. She liked having time to herself in the mornings. She had a routine and she was going to stick to it, no matter what. Lady Ellingham had said to continue as normally as possible, after all. Mary left her room to find a lot of activity going on in the hallway. Quill was admiring a painting of two women walking in a garden while Agent Winter looked at her incredulously. Pygmy and Queen were huddled together, whispering to each other and scribbling furiously in their sketchbooks. Pygmy appeared to be holding two other sketchbooks under her arm. Whatever those two were doing, Mary was pretty sure she didn’t want to be a part of it. Darkling and Nyx were talking about the mechanical animals they had seen earlier. The only people missing were Kitten, Spirit (not particularly surprising) and Luminescence. This was a little strange. Luminescence was almost always the first in anything -- whether that was the group entering the Manor for the first time, or the first of the CBers to witness a murder. Where could she be?

As if on cue, Luminescence walked into the group. She had been shaken after her discovery last night -- this morning she looked positively petrified. Her eyes were opened wide, her hair was unbrushed. The shirt she was wearing had been buttoned askew. The group all looked at Lumi as she passed through the group and headed into the entrance hall.

“Gee,” said Darkling. “What’s with her?”

“Poor Lumi,” Nyx muttered.

Pygmy and Queen followed her down the stairs.

I should offer Lumi some of my lotion, Mary thought. She looks like she could use it.

Luminescence stood in the corner of the hall as if she had been turned to stone. Every so often, she would wake from her stupor and put a hand to her head, only to let it fall limply to her side again. Pygmy and Queen watched her anxiously from a doorway they had never been through.

“Do we just walk up?” Queen wondered aloud.

“Maybe,” Pygmy replied. “You’ve recorded this, no?”

“Yep,” said Queen, tapping her notebook with her pencil.

“Alright,” said Pygmy. “Let’s go for it.”

Lumi stared at the two self-proclaimed detectives as they walked up.

“Morning,” Queen said. “How are you doing?”

“I’m f-f-fine,” Lumi stuttered. Her voice was dry and husky. “Are you two well?”

“Indubitably,” Pygmy responded. “Ouch!” Queen had just elbowed her.

“Don’t scare her,” Queen hissed. “We’re just fine. Thanks for asking. We were wondering-”

“Yes?”

Pygmy and Queen weren’t sure how to phrase their question. “Kitten’s murder must have taken a toll on you,” Pygmy ventured.

“Oh, y-yes, it did. Her g-g-ghost didn’t h-help.”

Queen and Pygmy looked at each other in surprise. “Her ghost?”

“Yes, her ghost,” Lumi said eagerly, leaning forward. “I-it showed up and m-m-made a terrible mess in the room that w-we shared. I t-tried to ask her who k-k-killed her, but all sh-she would talk about was a thief. She s-said that there’s more to the M-m-manor than meets the e-eye, and that we n-n-need to find out its s-secret before it’s t-too late.”

Chapter Six

“Partners in Crime”

Darkling leaned back in her chair and sighed. “A ghost? Really?”

“Y-yes,” Luminescence said with conviction. “It w-w-was definitely Kitten.”

Darkling drummed her fingers on the dining room table. Whatever was going on, Darkling was pretty sure it wasn’t ghosts. She had seen too many episodes of Scooby-Doo and those ghost hunter shows to believe in anything remotely paranormal. She wasn’t about to say anything, though — in Scooby-Doo, the ghost always ended up being some guy in a suit that wanted money or something, and Darkling didn’t want to get tangled up in that sort of business. Besides, Lumi was enjoying telling her story to the other guests. The guests, on the other hand, did not really seem to enjoy the story as much as Lumi. Mary went very pale and excused herself. Spirit bit her lip so hard that it bled a little. Nyx kept looking around anxiously as if the ghost was about to jump out at her and drag her away. Quill was the only guest who seemed even remotely excited by the idea of dear departed Kitten roaming the hallways of the Manor.

When Roxann came out with a plate of scones, Lumi told her about the ghost too. Her eyes went very wide and she nearly dropped the plate.

“A ghost, you say? That’s-erm-very interesting,” Roxann said, trying and failing to put on a brave face. She put the scones on the table and nearly ran out into the entrance hall. Is she going to cry again? Darkling wondered.

PygmyOwl and QueenOfWolves, meanwhile, took note of Roxann’s strange reaction. They had taken note of anything that might be important (and several things that weren’t). At the moment, they were eating their scones and planning their next moves.

The CBers sat quietly and ate their breakfast. Mary returned and took her seat in silence. The exciting atmosphere that the room had had the previous morning was nowhere to be found, and the unnerving quiet was back again. It curled around the backs of the CBers’ chairs and pressed up against the windows. Finally, Lady Ellingham arrived, looking as peppy and energetic as ever.

“Morning, everybody!” she said. “Today, we’re staying inside the house. Follow me-”

She was interrupted by the creaking of the dining room doors, which swung open as Roxann ran back into the room.

“Oh... there you are... Lady Ellingham,” Roxann panted. “I… need to speak… with you.”

“It can wait,” Lady Ellingham said shortly. “I’m about to take the guests up to the library.”

The guests instantly perked up. None of them, not even Quill, knew there was a library.

“It’s very urgent,” Roxann hissed, bouncing from foot to foot.

“Oh, all right,” Lady Ellingham sighed. “After I’ve taken them up to the library.”

The CBers gathered their things and set off, with Magnus and Lady Ellingham leading the charge. They went up the stairs in the entrance hall and traveled through a maze of hallways. Roxann followed anxiously, and had somehow managed to wrangle Barnaby. They argued about whether strawberry or raspberry jam was better as the group climbed another flight of stairs at the back of the house.

“The house has a second floor?” Agent Winter asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Magnus replied. “The Manor was designed in a way that makes it seem smaller than it really is. There’s… four floors, aren’t there?” he said.

“Don’t look at me,” Lady Ellingham chuckled. “I haven’t been to most parts of this house in years.” Her face suddenly grew very solemn. She shook her head and said, “Well, here we are.”

The group had walked down a long, draughty hallway and had now arrived at the end, where a small, unassuming oak door stood. Magnus opened it, and the CBers filed into the library. There was a collective gasp as the guests took in the beautiful room. The room’s ceiling was so high that it could just barely be seen. Bookshelves stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling. There were ladders, purple armchairs, and a few tables with brass reading lamps. A balcony wound its way around the bookshelves. The Manor’s tall windows showed a view of the forest that seemed to stretch on forever. The wind made a quiet rushing sound as it buffeted the old house.

“This is wonderful,” Quill said. “I can’t believe that I missed this place.”

“There’s always something interesting to see here in the Manor,” Lady Ellingham said. “It’s almost as if it has a mind of its own.” Magnus carried her surreptitiously away as the CBers grew comfortable in the library. Darkling, Nyx, Spirit, and Quill immediately scaled the stairs to the balcony. Quill climbed one of the ladders, while Nyx examined a large tome resting on a lectern. Spirit stared out the window, taking in the glorious views. Agent Winter and Mary stayed closer to the ground, sitting down in the two largest armchairs with Mechanical Engineering for Fun and Profit and Anne of Green Gables respectively. Lumi dragged her fingers along the spines of the books, savoring the comfort it gave her. QueenOfWolves and PygmyOwl, however, quietly followed Magnus and the twins. Their absence wasn’t noticed until a loud noise pulled everyone’s attention to the present moment. Win had gone to return Mechanical Engineering for Fun and Profit to the bookshelf and was now lying face down under an enormous book. Nyx ran to her almost immediately. The rest of the room stood very still.

“Oh, no,” breathed Mary. Luminescence looked up almost immediately. Quill stood dumbfounded on the ladder right next to a large gap in the bookshelf. Spirit stared blankly. Darkling, meanwhile, was muttering something under her breath.

“Someone go and get Lady Ellingham, now!” Nyx said impatiently. Quill slid down the ladder, took the stairs three at a time, and was gone before anyone could move.

“I’m worried,” said Roxann.

“Not a lot changes then,” Barnaby mumbled.

“If there’s a ghost around, do you think that means…” Roxann trailed off.

“What about the thief Kitten’s ghost was talking about? Do you suppose she…” For the first time since everyone had arrived, Magnus sounded anxious. No one seemed to want to voice their concerns.

“What are they so worried about?” Queen mouthed to Pygmy.

“Haven’t the faintest,” Pygmy mouthed back. The two detectives had swiped glasses from the dining room and were now standing in a room full of chemicals and equipment, using the glasses to listen to the conversation in the next room.

“I don’t know,” said Lady Ellingham. “We’ll have to find out for ourselves. Meet me in my bedroom at midnight tonight.”

There was the sound of a door opening. Someone’s voice — Quill’s voice — was talking so quickly that it was hard to tell what she was saying.

“What’s she saying?”

“‘Murder’! I heard her say ‘murder’!” Pygmy’s eyes grew wide with excitement.

“Come on, let’s get going!” The two girls sped over to the door. They threw it open and came to a sudden stop. There stood Magnus, Lady Ellingham, the twins, and Quill, all surprised by the detectives’ sudden entrance.

“Well, well, well,” said Barnaby. “We are in trouble now, aren’t we?”