Dinner First, Murder Second

I walked into Olivia’s apartment with a toothy smile. I placed my fleece hoodie on the coat rack and kicked off my sneakers at the door. Olivia was hosting her annual dinner party with a collection of our friends from college. The smell of her famous turkey filled the room. Most of our friends, Liam, Mia, Tyler, and Gabriella, had gathered around the kitchen table. They were chatting amongst themselves waiting for dinner to cook. I heard pots clanking together from the kitchen, which was probably Olivia scrambling to make her side dishes. As soon as Gabriella saw me she jumped up from her seat and swung her arms around me in a tight hug. Tyler cheered at my arrival, but I think he was more excited about the case of beer I was holding. Liam and Mia were too locked into their conversation to notice me. I looked around for Dakota and Violet, but they hadn’t arrived yet. Everything seemed normal and familiar, but I knew it wasn’t. Tonight was my last meal. Someone in this room was going to murder me.

I denied it at first. How could I think that one of my friends would kill me? I went to Dakota and Violet’s wedding as a bridesmaid, I shared a dorm room with Gabriella, I played a fairy princess for Tyler’s four year old daughter’s birthday party (and crushed it), I helped Mia by babysitting her two kids while she was going through her divorce, I shared a passionate spring semester with Liam, and I used to work for Olivia. How could people so close to me want me dead? It was a thought that was too insane to indulge in, but it was the concrete truth. After dinner, I was going to die at the hand of someone I deeply trusted.

Most people try to run from their fate, especially when faced with their own mortality. No one wants to die. I didn’t want to die. But, a fate this strong was unavoidable. Me coming here tonight was my way of owning it. If I was going to die, then I was going to die with a tasty home cooked meal. Oliva was a talent in the kitchen. It was the only reason why everyone marked it on their calendars despite having growing families.

Despite being comfortable with my own demise, it burned at my mind that I did not know who was fated to hold the bloody blade in my back. I needed to know. I almost wished this party would end faster, just to see the face of my killer. I knew each one of my friend’s motives for killing me, but none of those reasons led me to believe, with certainty, it would be any more Tyler than Olivia. Who was angry at me enough to risk imprisonment for my death? I hoped that it would all make sense once I saw who pulled the trigger.

“I’m so glad you made it. I was a little worried by your silence in the group chat,” Gabriella said to me.

“That’s because I always go. I’m not turning down free food, especially when it’s cooked by Olivia,” I said.

“True. I can’t resist it either,” Gabriella said.

“I’m going to go say hello to Olivia,” I said. I just wanted to escape this conversation. It confused me why she continued to care about me. I knew that Gabriella’s motives for killing me were stronger than the others. Gabriella wanted me dead because I always took her for granted. I never gave her any attention, unless I needed something from her. It was something I felt guilty about, but at the same time I couldn’t stop. I just found her love for me extremely annoying and I wanted her to leave me alone. At some points I bullied her, just so that she would hate me. If she killed me tonight, then I’d know it was because I went too far.

I joined Olivia in the kitchen. It would be easy for her to kill me by poisoning the food, but I didn’t think that she would risk everyone else dying too. Even though she was my best friend, she was high on my list of suspects. Olivia owned a catering business that was starting to pick up traction when I joined the team. Long story short, I was in charge of scheduling and I had accidentally deleted a huge event off the calendar. She was furious. It was the maddest I had ever seen her. I was immediately fired, but her reputation took a hit that she was never able to recover from. She thought I had done it on purpose, and that underlying mistrust in me must have driven her crazy. I had decided that tonight, even if she were to kill me, I was going to pay her back with interest.

“Hey, Oli. The food smells great, as always,” I said, watching her slide the turkey out of the oven.

“Thank you. I hope the smell isn’t making everyone’s stomachs rumble, because I need about 15 more minutes,” Olivia said, basting the turkey.

“Olivia, I have something for you,” I said, feeling my heart race. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

“What is it? I don’t have time to play a guessing game,” she said, sliding the turkey back into the oven.

I pulled the cash from my back pocket and offered it to her. Her mouth opened and her lips moved, but there was no sound. She gently took the money and started counting. Her eyes widened as the last bill slipped into her other hand.

“It was my fault and I’m so sorry,” I said. I could feel my eyes straining as I held in my tears.

“Go sit down and wait for dinner,” Olivia said, avoiding eye contact. She placed the money in an empty cookie jar. I knew this action wouldn’t save me, but it made me feel a lot lighter knowing she accepted the money.

I returned to the dining area just when Dakota and Violet entered.

“Sorry we’re late guys! I was searching for this!” Dakota said, pulling a paper mache pig from behind his back. My mind flashed back to the day we all signed our names on that pig. It was the last day of classes and Dakota brought this pig to the dining hall. He had worked all week to make a memento of our friendships before we split off. I still never understood why he went with a pig, but it made me smile anyways. That was also when we decided to keep meeting for dinner once every year.

Everyone gathered around the pig, even Mia and Liam were pulled from their conversation to reminisce about our college days. The signatures were faded and the pig had a thin layer of dust covering its back, but otherwise it looked great. A chuckle escaped under my breath. It was dark, but it was funny how a symbol of our long standing friendship made an appearance on the same night I was to die.

“Can I put this on the table, Olivia?” Dakota said, gesturing to the pig.

“There won’t be enough room. Put it on the counter,” Olivia directed.

“Yes, M’am,” Dakota said, rushing to display his pig. Violet followed close behind.

“Now we can start eating, right?” Tyler said, looking at Olivia with his hand on his belly.

“Almost!” Olivia said, running back into the kitchen.

“Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t see you come in,” Mia said, her hand on my shoulder.

“That’s okay. You were just distracted trying to make Liam your second hubby,” I said.

“Rose! Shush! I was just catching up. You know I’d never go after a man you’ve dated,” Mia said, her cheeks blushing.

“We were a blip in time. If you like him, then go after him,” I said. My death would be so meaningless if Mia killed me because she thought I loved Liam. The way I went out was not going to be a Hollywood cliche. There were zero lingering feelings and honestly, I don’t even remember why I found him so attractive.

“I will keep that in mind if I happen to theoretically like him,” Mia said. Her face was bright red.

“Just go back to ‘catching up’ please,” I said, not believing her story.

“Food is ready! Please find your seats!” Olivia shouted from the kitchen.

“I’ll go help her set the table,” Mia said, scurrying away.

Time was ticking to the inevitable unmasking of my killer. A strange surge of happiness flooded my veins. I was so excited to find out who would betray me tonight. I couldn’t think about anything else.

We all had decorative nameplates marking our spot at the table, which was new this year thanks to Violet. Violet was a banker at a popular bank in the city, but she always had a passion for decorating. She would never entertain the idea of making a career of it because she loved being financially secure. But, I saw how she decorated her wedding and I think that she would have been successful, maybe even happier. She wasn’t necessarily happy with Dakota, but he had smarts and being smart opened doors. One night I drove to the city to surprise her, and I caught a half naked man jumping out the bedroom window. She thought I was Dakota coming home early. I kept it a secret for years after, but maybe tonight she decided to finally silence me forever. I never would have said anything because I understood what she was doing, even if I didn’t agree with it.

That leaves me with the boys, Tyler, Dakota, and Liam. I looked at each one of their faces as they eyeballed the food and licked their lips. Tyler eagerly volunteered to cut the turkey. He was armed with the electric turkey cutter, but his focus remained on the meal. I thought about the time I accidentally lost his daughter in a mall when she was five, and I wondered if that would be a reason to kill. No harm came to her, but Tyler had stopped talking to me for months. Our relationship was never the same even when he did speak to me. Dakota could have found out about the affair and blamed me for not saying anything, but I knew that wasn’t his motive tonight. He had a serious gambling problem that was spiraling out of control. I found him outside of a casino cursing up a storm and throwing his shoes at the building. I confronted him, but he wouldn’t let me help him. Violet couldn’t know. Unfortunately, I told him she might already know. She handled their financials and would have seen large chunks of money missing. But, desperation isn’t logical. This one was the freshest motive, and he could still be angry. Liam was the only one I couldn’t figure out. I didn’t think he had any motive to harm me, but we haven’t talked in forever. Something I did could be boiling under the surface, to be left uncommunicated.

I dug my fork into the loaded mashed potatoes and slowly shoveled it into my mouth. I wanted to savor every bite. This was my last meal afterall. As I watched everyone else eat, I felt pity. It was a pity that they were never going to feel the beautiful taste of a last meal. I could taste all the love that went into the creation of this meal. It was as beautiful as watching a sunrise knowing that the night’s struggles were behind you. I wish they knew what it was like to enjoy their meal like it was their last. I’d like to believe that one day they will.

“Are you okay, Rose?” Liam asked. The room fell silent as everyone looked at me. My cheeks burned. I brushed my tears away, but they continued to drip out.

“Amazing,” I replied. I took a bite of the turkey. It was perfect, as always.

“Are you sure?” Gabriella asked, “Should we do a group hug?”

“I just didn’t know how great a last meal would taste,” I said. I scooped up a forkful of green bean casserole and closed my eyes as it entered my mouth.

“What?” Tyler asked.

“What do you mean, Rose?” Olivia asked.

“Rose?” Gabriella asked.

“Sorry, I was savoring that bite. I didn’t mean anything by it,” I said. I continued to eat like everything was fine, but everyone else seemed to be uncomfortable. They remained quiet though, keeping their eyes away from mine.

Soon enough my plate was empty and my belly was satisfied. The clock was ticking away the seconds to my demise. I stood up slowly as the lights flickered. I was so confident, now I found myself stricken with fear as darkness crashed its way into the apartment.

“What happened to the lights?” Dakota asked.

“Where are the flashlights?” Mia asked.

“In my closet. I’ll get them,” Olivia said.

I heard chairs scraping against the floor and multiple footsteps scrambling around on the hardwood floors. I heard something nearby tumble to the ground. I heard a gunshot. I heard Gabriella’s shrill scream. I grabbed onto my chair, but my body slammed against the floor taking the chair with me.

“What was that?!” Tyler panicked.

The lights flickered back on, lighting up my crime scene. My sight drifted to our memento pig lying on the ground. Its painted eyes stared into my slowly closing eyes.

“Rose!” Liam shouted.

“We gotta help her! Someone put pressure on the wound!” Gabriella shouted.

“It’s too much!” Violet shouted.

“Where’s the gun?” Mia asked.

“She’s unresponsive,” Dakota said.

“Is she dead, Liam?” Olivia asked.

I was losing consciousness, their words blurred and echoed in my ears. I needed to know who killed me. I needed to know who wanted me to die. I wanted to say something, but my voice was muted. I stared at that stupid pig trying to understand, but my brain didn’t want to think anymore. Exhaustion claimed my mind and I faded into the darkness.