One by One(54)

“Shit,” Carl says angrily. “Bloody little idiot. When did he go? Who saw him last?”

There are shrugs all around the group.

“I saw him at lunch,” Miranda volunteers, and several other people nod.

“I saw him at lunch too,” Erin says heavily. “He was… he didn’t eat. He wasn’t in a good state. He went off, I assumed to his room, but he might have gone to the ski lockers. Did anyone see him after lunch?”

Everyone shakes their head. Then Erin frowns.

“What about Tiger?”

We all look around at each other, and I can see a sinking dread mirrored on the faces of the others. Where is Tiger?

Without saying anything, Danny sets off in the direction of her room. We all follow him, like a flock of anxious sheep.

At the door he knocks. Nothing. I can feel the tension rising.

“Bollocks to this,” Danny says roughly, and he sticks his staff key in the lock. The door springs open—and everyone crowds inside, jostling to see. I am at the back, my view blocked by Topher’s broad shoulders. I hear Ani’s anxious, “Tiger?”

And then I hear a sleepy voice saying, “Hey, what’s happened?”

There’s an audible exhalation, a mixture of relief and exasperation.

“Jesus, Tiger!” It’s Miranda. Her accent is usually an upper-class drawl. Now she sounds sharp and annoyed. “Don’t do that to us! Didn’t you hear Erin’s speech? Stick together!”

“I locked my door,” Tiger says. Her normally unruffled voice sounds a little bit less serene than normal. “What’s the matter?”

“Inigo’s gone,” Miranda says. And then, to my astonishment, something in her polished facade seems to crack, and she begins to cry.





ERIN


Snoop ID: LITTLEMY

Listening to: Offline

Snoopers: 5

Snoopscribers: 10

We all go to bed very early, exhausted by a hideous, hideous day. Some people pair up, making sure everyone knows who they’re with. Miranda and Rik aren’t pretending anymore. After Miranda’s breakdown outside Tiger’s room earlier, they have been inseparable.

Now, Rik simply says bluntly, “I’ll be sleeping in Miranda’s room tonight,” and there is not even a ripple of surprise.

What is perhaps more surprising is that Tiger and Ani pair up, leaving Carl and Topher as the two remaining single men. I had thought that Ani and Topher would have gone off together too… but something has changed between them since Elliot’s death. What I can’t figure out is who initiated the reserve. Elliot died having tried to tell Topher something, something Topher never gave him the chance to say. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that maybe there was a reason Topher didn’t want him airing those suspicions.

But on the other hand, it was the fact that Topher was in bed with Ani that prevented Elliot from talking to Topher. It wouldn’t be surprising if Topher, on some level, however irrationally, resented that fact. And Ani was, undeniably, the person who took up that coffee. Or at least a coffee, I remind myself. Though it was Topher who asked her to do it, from what she said to me in the kitchen. Assuming she was telling the truth. Jesus. I am talking myself in circles here.

It’s Miranda who raises the question we’d all overlooked.

“What about Liz?”

There is an awkward silence as we all realize that, once again, everyone has forgotten about Liz. All eyes turn to her, and she seems to shrink into herself, wrapping her arms around herself as if she can protect herself from our stares.

“Do you want to, like, share with me and Tiger?” Ani says brightly, but Liz shakes her head.

“No, thanks, I’ll be fine alone.”

“Liz, no,” Miranda says, with some concern, “I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Erin’s right—we should stay together.”

“Honestly,” Liz says. There is something obstinate, mulish almost in her face. “I don’t like sharing a room. I’ll lock the door.”

“Full disclosure,” Danny says bluntly, “Erin and me, we’ve got staff keys. We can get in everywhere. Now, I’m not saying we’re gonna come and bump you off in the night, but these doors ain’t exactly Fort Knox, if you know what I’m saying.”

“I’ll put a chair under the doorknob,” Liz says. She folds her arms, and I exchange a glance with Danny and a minute shrug. We can’t make her take our advice.

“All right,” Danny says at last. “Your funeral.”

It’s only after the words are spoken that he realizes how they sound.





LIZ


Snoop ID: ANON101

Listening to: Offline

Snoopers: 0

Snoopscribers: 1

I know what they are thinking as we trail slowly off to our separate rooms. They are thinking I am mad. Perhaps they are right. As I shut and lock the door behind me, I can’t help wondering if this is a terrible, dangerous idea, making myself the odd one out like this. What if it gives someone ideas?

But I cannot explain to them how much the thought of sharing a room with Tiger and Ani fills me with dread. It has been bad enough during the day, jostling with these faces from the past, hemmed into a nightmare with people I barely know.