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“Or what about the CEO? He also had keys.” Cass sounds unconvinced.
“Well, of course, he had keys, and I feel like the game really wants us to believe it was him,” I say, breaking down my logic as everyone listens to me. “But here's the thing. He has the most to lose because of the murder. The office will have to be shut down, pending investigation. He's going to lose business, he's going to lose money.”
“And the janitor will lose his job,” Cass says, eyeing me carefully.
I shake my head. “That's the beauty of it. Even if the place is shut down and not making money, the janitor is still going to be a necessary part of the day-to-day function because the place has to stay clean. Even if no one's in it. He will only have to avoid the room where the actual murder took place.”
My friends all look at the board, puzzling over what I've said.
“I think she's right,” Ben says.
“Same,” Amy says.
But Cass doesn't seem convinced.
“Look, I know the CEO is always the bad guy, but I think in this case it is just the janitor. They really want you to believe it's the CEO.”
“But what motive does the janitor have?”
“The oldest motive in the book. He has a crush on the secretary. It's always love or money, right?” As soon as I said those words, a cold sensation rushes over me and I gasp.
It’s always love or money.
More than ever, I want to share Damien’s story with my friends just to get their perspective. But is it really my story to share? I worry that if I tell them too much, I'll make him uncomfortable when he finds out they know. He's too important to me to not respect his privacy and feelings.
But I also can't help but wonder - what if talking it out with my friends helps me get to the bottom of what really happened? I know that this game isn't real life, but I’ve seen enough true crime to know that it’s always money or love. So maybe we can piece together some clue that’ll give Damien closure.
He deserves that. And I think he’d forgive me no matter what I do.
And I think the single most important thing to think about is the fact that a vast majority of murders are carried out by people we know who are close to us. And that might mean considering people Damien isn't willing to look at like suspects.
Maybe starting with Cameron. He'd been so dead set against the possibility that Cameron might have had something to do with his father's death. But it's clear that Cameron has some kind of vendetta against him.
I make a split decision and decide to open up to my friends about it. I clear my throat and say, “Guys, can I talk to you about something?”
“Of course, anything,” Amy says.
“It's about Damien or Damien's dad, I guess.” I feel slightly uncomfortable sharing this information, but I remind myself, these are my friends and they want what's best for me and by extension, what's best for the man in my life.
They all perk up and I sense they're listening very carefully. “His dad was found dead at the company he works at.”
Amy gasps and the other two stare at me as if unsure what I’m saying.
“That’s not funny, Zoe,” Cass says.
“I'm not joking. He thinks his dad was murdered, but the cop said that it was just an accident.”
“Wow,” Ben says, breathing out and staring at the pizza boxes.
“Well, if the cops said it was just an accident...” Amy says.
“But Damien doesn't think it was, and he hasn't been able to get closure.”
My friends all look at the board game, then at me. “That's horribly tragic, but I don't think that playing this murder mystery game is enough to make us amateur detectives,” Cass says, ever the realistic one of the group.
“I know that, but I'm just wondering if maybe we can try to solve it or see if we can find any information that might be helpful just to bring him some closure.” I'm not really sure what I'm looking for because Cass is right; we're not detectives. Maybe it was silly of me to say anything.
“Well, I could always call my cop boyfriend and ask him.” As Amy says the words, everyone around the table stares at her with their mouths open.
