shook their heads. Tom dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a moment of staring at the screen, he shook his head. “Mine still isn’t.”
“I tried the landline a little while ago to test it and it was still working. Hopefully it still is.”
“Even if you reach them, will they be able to get through in this weather?” Scott asked.
Meredith hesitated the slightest moment before admitting, “Maybe not.” She saw the panic flash across several faces and quickly added, “But I don’t know that for sure. Let me call and see what they say first. This is my first time up here in a storm this bad. The locals might be better at getting around in this kind of snow.” She wasn’t holding out much hope, but for the time being, it was better if everyone had at least a little. “Why doesn’t everyone come down and wait in the living room while I make the call?”
“What about Haley?” Rachel asked quietly. Meredith saw she was still staring at her fallen friend. “We can’t just leave her lying there.”
Meredith glanced down at the body. Haley’s eyes were now closed. Tom must have done it, a gesture of respect Meredith appreciated. “At the moment, this is a crime scene. We shouldn’t move anything until I speak with the police and see when they might be able to get here and how they’d like us to proceed. Let’s all go downstairs and I’ll make that call.”
She turned and started for the stairs, hoping the others would follow. A few moments later, she heard their muffled footsteps on the carpet behind her and exhaled slightly in relief.
The chandelier was aglow in the main foyer, shining sparkling rays of light across the staircase and marble floor below. Still, as Meredith reached the top of the stairs and peered down, she had to suppress a shudder. With no lights coming from the front windows or side halls, the foyer still seemed dim somehow, heavy with darkness and shadows. Meredith had never noticed before how the beams from the chandelier were diamond-shaped, pointed like little knives. There were small spaces between them, spaces that seemed darker, and there were so many places along the edge of the room they didn’t reach, leaving them in shadow.
She didn’t let herself hesitate, plunging down the stairs without missing a step. She kept her spine straight and her stride even, tamping down on the butterflies in her stomach. She couldn’t let anyone know she was the slightest bit on edge. They moved in silence down the grand staircase, the rugs silencing the sound of their steps, emphasizing the eeriness of their progression. Only when her feet hit the bottom and they veered off the rugs onto the marble floor did they make a sound, echoing into the high ceilings above.
The living room was just off the main hall. Meredith reached for the doors, ignoring the nervous tremor that quaked through her, and pushed them open. Flipping the switch inside the door, she flooded the room with light. A quick glance around the room revealed that everything appeared as it should.
She stepped aside to let them enter. “Here we are.”
The living room was the former front parlor, a big, comfortable space made for people to gather together and socialize. When she and Adam had taken over Sutton Hall, one of her first missions had been to renovate this room, figuring it would be the place most of their guests would want to come together to relax and hang out. The sofas and tables were set in a variety of arrangements, some to accommodate big groups, some for private conversations. It was a room they were all familiar with, having gathered there after dinner, where she and Ellen had served them drinks. It was one reason she’d suggested the room, figuring they’d be more comfortable here than anywhere else, since it wasn’t a strange place.
But as the group began to filter in Meredith didn’t miss the way they glanced around the space uneasily, as though expecting someone to jump out at them at any moment. No one took a seat, all of them moving to the center and standing there restlessly.
Greg immediately zeroed in on the bar on one wall and headed straight for it.
“Don’t you think you had enough at dinner?” Scott asked.
“Clearly not, because I am way too sober for this,” Greg called back over his shoulder. “Anyone else want anything?”
“What the hell,” Alex muttered. “I can’t