Somnambulism

I don't remember inviting any of you people into my cabin.

"You mind telling me what in God's name is going on?" Rev. Cash says a beat before Zandra can ask him the same question.

The gun in question rests on the Murphy bed. It's a Beretta Bobcat.

Cherry Peach's pistol.

Zandra spots it the same time Captain Mel does. The sound of an attendee or a crew member approaching from down the hallway forces them both, and Ivy, into Cabin 27.

The cabin feels cramped for a single person, much less six. Ivy and pDano® shuffle into the open bathroom so they don't need to take turns breathing.

"I wondered that when you weren't where you were supposed to be," Zandra says to Rev. Cash. Then to Cherry Peach, "How lucky of you to find your missing gun."

Cherry Peach, arms and legs crossed on the floor, sneers at Zandra. "The reverend told me about Aaron, but don't try to pin it on me. We found the gun in your room."

What?

Zandra's eyes travel from the Murphy bed up to the wall. Someone removed the vent, leaving a square hole. The sight injures the part of her brain that would come up with a response.

"Yeah, your door was unlocked, Zandra. We just came in, started looking around," pDano® says from the bathroom.

Unlocked?

In a normal situation, Zandra would "read" the room, searching for tells that someone is lying. She's surrounded by screaming body language, but she can't hear any of it. Not even the autopilot in her subconscious can deliver anything useful.

Captain Mel fills in Zandra's blanks. "Let me get this straight. The preacher and Dan-trademark were supposed to keep Peaches in her cabin, because the psychic lady pegged her as the quarterback's killer. The preacher let this all slip to Peaches, and then the three of you went into this here cabin, correct?"

"That's correct," Rev. Cash says.

"And what made you think to go into Cabin 27?" Captain Mel says.

"We were walking by and saw the door open."

"And you did so willingly?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Just making sure no one here is a hostage," Captain Mel says.

"Do I look like a hostage?" Cherry Peach says from the floor.

"Frankly, Peaches, I figured you'd be the hostage taker," Captain Mel says.

Ivy butts in from the bathroom. "What about the scratch marks on the walls in the hallway?"

"Ask Zandra," Cherry Peach says with a snort.

Can't blame her for being bitter about me accusing her of murder. I still could be right about that, though.

"I'm not sure that's important," Zandra says. She leans against the wall to keep from tipping over. Stress isn't good for her ankle.

"Really? Because I think it's pretty damn important," Cherry Peach says and rises to her feet. "You do a lot in your sleep, don't you, Zandra? With weapons?"

There are too many eyes on me to not tell the truth. Maybe obfuscating the answer will get them confused enough to give me an opening to regain control.

Fuck, I hate not being in control.

"Somnambulism," Zandra says.

"What?" Ivy says.

"Sleepwalking," Cherry Peach says. "Go on, Zandra. Show them the knife."

Then again, maybe it won't.

"Knife? What's she talking about, Zandra?" Ivy says.

Zandra folds her arms across her chest to hide the outline of the sheath up her sleeve.

"We're talking about a gun, not a knife, child. Your gun. You showed it to me, after you told me about Aaron giving you a bad feeling," Zandra says. "And now, somehow, that same gun is in my room."

"Isn't this a gun-free event?" Ivy says, sounding more exasperated with each question.

Cherry Peach thumps a finger into Zandra's folded arm. "Yeah, it's my gun, but I lost it last night. The night before that, you were sleepwalking, dragging a knife against the walls in the hallway. Starting to get the picture?"

"That hardly means I killed someone in my sleep, child," Zandra says.

Cherry Peach throws her hands up in the air. She turns to Rev. Cash and says, "Did you catch that?"

"Catch what?" Rev. Cash says.

Yeah, what? I honestly don't know.

"Whenever Zandra tries to pull some bullshit, she says, 'child.' It's a tell," Cherry Peach says. She twists and points at Zandra. "Look at the way she's got her arms crossed. That's another tell. That's what liars do when they're being defensive."

I...I...oh, shit.

Zandra relaxes her arms. Cherry Peach uses the chance to yank up Zandra's sleeve, revealing the sheath. Ivy gasps.

"Who does this? Who wears a knife up their sleeve?" Cherry Peach says.

Fuck you, that's who.

Zandra jerks her arm free from Cherry Peach.

Rev. Cash nods and says, "It all makes sense now. I remember Zandra made that finger gun sign at Aaron. It was during the first group dinner, when she did that reading. I noticed it. Like it was a threat."

Fuck you, too, reverend. Burn in hell.

"No, that wasn't anything," Zandra says.

"Oh, I think it was. You wanted to send him a message, and you certainly did," Cherry Peach says.

Might as well try this then.

"I'm a psychic. If I do something that suggests something will happen later, and then it happens, I can't be held responsible," Zandra says, fighting the urge to use the word "child" at the end.

"Shut the fuck up," Cherry Peach says.

OK, how about this?

"Fingerprints. That would solve this," Zandra says.

"Mine are on there. Yours, too," Cherry Peach says. "You held the gun when I showed it to you, remember?"

I'm getting motherfuckered here.

"Better to let the police sort that out," Captain Mel says and reaches for Zandra.

Zandra backs away. "Hold on, hold on. Wait."

"What?"

"The vent," Zandra says. "Do you really believe these three just happened to find a gun in the vent, after stumbling into my unlocked room? Isn't it a little convenient that I'd forget to lock my door? And it's not like the reverend exactly adores me."

"I don't," Rev. Cash says.

"Thank you," Zandra says.

"Convenient? I'll tell you what's convenient," Cherry Peach says. "Convenient is you using your bullshit psychic powers to blame me for what you did. You killed Aaron."

Captain Mel raises a calming hand. "That's the police's job to figure out."

"And they're going to figure out only Cherry Peach has a motive. Nothing matters without a motive," Zandra says.

That's not entirely true, but no one needs to know about Aaron's special business relationships with Gene.

Unless someone else already knows. But what would that mean?

"I didn't kill him. Period," Cherry Peach says as flat as the floor. "Not in self-defense. Not intentionally. Not even a little bit."

The shock of the gun discovery behind her, Zandra can focus on reading "tells" again.

Cherry Peach, unfortunately, is telling the truth.

She keeps her words steady, she's assertive, and—most importantly—her eye blinking is consistent. This is why it's so important to establish a baseline. When people tell the truth, even in moments of high stress, the frequency of their blinking stays the same. Their mind is "normal" enough to maintain homeostasis; they're not hyper focused on every little movement.

Zandra blinks.

Is anyone watching my eyes?

"I've heard enough," Ivy says. She nods to Captain Mel.

Captain Mel reaches again for Zandra.

No.

Zandra draws the lawnmower knife. Everyone takes a step back.

"I didn't do nothing," Zandra says.

Cherry Peach scoffs. "A double negative. Another tell."

Zandra flips the knife in her hand so that the point faces down. She raises her hand so that the paracord-wrapped handle touches her chest.

"You sure don't look innocent right now," Rev. Cash says. "Don't be bearing false witness, Zandra. Confession is good for the soul."

Shut up.

"Put the knife down," Captain Mel says.

You can shut up, too.

Cherry Peach picks the gun up from the Murphy bed. She aims it at Zandra. "Drop the knife."

Oh, this is rich. Is everyone seeing this?

"You don't look so innocent yourself, Peaches," Zandra says.

"I won't be if you get any closer with that knife," Cherry Peach says.

In the bathroom, pDano®'s motivational speaking abilities motivate him to leave the cabin. He beats a quick exit from Cabin 27, slamming the door shut behind him.

Captain Mel motions to Ivy and Rev. Cash. "You two should get out of here, too."

They don't argue.

That leaves Captain Mel, Cherry Peaches, Zandra, the lawnmower knife, and a pistol in Cabin 27.

"OK, if one of you is serious about killing the other, go ahead and do it. I won't stop you," Captain Mel says. He takes his skipper's cap off to wipe his forehead with the back of his hand.

Zandra stays in place. So does Cherry Peach.

"That's what I thought," Captain Mel says. He steps toward the door. Cherry Peach, keeping the gun on Zandra, slowly makes her way to join him.

"We'll let you know when the police get here," Captain Mel says.

"Captain?" Zandra says.

"Yeah."

"This isn't what it looks like," Zandra says.

Captain Mel doesn't respond. Zandra watches the pair leave Cabin 27 and lock the door behind them with the master key.

Zandra sheaths the lawnmower knife and sits on the edge of the Murphy bed.

What the hell am I going to do now?

She gets up and tries the door. It doesn't budge. The master key overrode the lock. She's stuck in the small cabin.

What the hell am I going to do now?