Chapter 6
Eleven Thirty A.M. — Indoor Golf
The indoor golf wing looked more like a private country club than part of a mansion.
Artificial grass stretched across the floor in smooth rolling sections. Small sand traps and putting greens were scattered throughout the massive room. Soft music drifted from speakers overhead while guests laughed, drank, and moved from station to station.
A polished bar occupied one corner. Two maids worked behind it pouring wine, cocktails, and bottled water while another circulated through the crowd with a silver tray balanced on one hand.
The atmosphere felt light, carefree, almost normal.
Vicky and Celeste entered together.
"Well damn," Vicky said.
Celeste smiled. "Told you."
Women filled the room in designer dresses, athletic wear, and heels.
Some attempted to golf while others watched and laughed from nearby seating areas.
Near one of the putting greens, Darius stood behind an older woman helping her line up a shot.
His muscular arms wrapped around hers as he adjusted her grip.
"There you go," he said. "Easy."
The woman giggled like a schoolgirl.
Across the room, Tyreek looked completely out of place. His smile appeared forced. His attention kept drifting toward doors, hallways, and faces like he was expecting trouble to walk into the room at any moment.
Brenda spotted Vicky and Celeste immediately.
"There they are!" She glided toward them with a bright smile and a drink in her hand. "I was beginning to think y'all hated golf."
"I do," Vicky said.
Brenda laughed. "Give me twenty minutes. You'll be addicted."
A maid carrying a tray stopped beside them.
"Champagne?"
"No thank you," Celeste said.
The maid nodded and then paused.
"Have either of you seen Teresa?"
A putter struck a golf ball.
Laughter followed.
Then—
A scream.
The room froze as every conversation died at once.
Darius lowered his hands and turned toward the sound, while Tyreek looked up sharply from across the room.
Even Brenda's smile vanished. The DJ immediately cut the music and an uneasy silence settled over the indoor golf wing, stretching longer with each passing second until the atmosphere became thick with tension.
Then a second scream ripped through the mansion.
It was louder than the first, longer, and saturated with a terror that made the hairs on the back of Vicky's neck stand up.
Every sound in the room seemed to vanish at once.
Conversations died. Glasses froze halfway to lips.
A heavy silence settled over the crowd. Celeste's expression hardened immediately.
The relaxed woman enjoying a luxury getaway disappeared in an instant, replaced by the seasoned detective who had spent years responding to emergencies.
Before anyone else could react, she was already moving toward the source of the scream.
"Vicky, stay here," Celeste said, looking her in the eyes.
"No." Vicky didn't blink.
Celeste stopped and Vicky stood beside her.
"I'm coming."
"This could be dangerous."
"I don't care. I spent a week on a ship under siege by a maniac and his sister. I can handle a weekend. I'm tired of being scared."
Celeste stared at her for a second.
Then nodded. "Fine." Her voice became firm. "Stay behind me."
Darius stepped forward. "What happened?"
"I don't know yet." Celeste was already heading toward the exit.
Behind them, Brenda turned toward the security guards. Both men were on their feet.
"Stay here," Brenda ordered.
"But—"
"Stay here and protect the ladies."
She pointed toward the hallway.
"Celeste is a police officer. Let her handle whatever's going on out there."
Neither guard looked happy about it, but they stayed put.
Vicky followed closely behind Celeste as they disappeared into the hallway, the entire room watching them go. No one laughed anymore, no one touched their drinks, and no one cared about golf. Something had happened, and everybody knew it.
The hallway seemed longer than before as Celeste moved quickly, with Vicky staying close behind her. The screams had stopped, and somehow that felt worse. The closer they got to CC's suite, the quieter everything became until, finally, they saw her.
Sky sat on the floor against the wall with her knees pulled tightly to her chest. Mascara streaked her cheeks, and her eyes stared straight ahead, unfocused and empty.
"Sky?" Vicky almost screamed. She hurried forward. "Sky."
Sky's lips trembled. "She's dead," she mumbled. "Oh my God, she's dead." She hugged her knees tighter. "Oh my God... she's dead," she repeated with a sickness in her tone.
Celeste immediately looked toward the open suite door. "Sky." She looked down at her and got no eye contact. "Sky, look at me."
"CC is dead," she repeated again.
The words sounded automatic. Like Sky no longer understood what they meant. She was simply repeating them. Over and over.
Vicky knelt beside her and held her tight. "I got you baby. We'll get through this one too."
"Stay here with her," Celeste said then stepped around them.
She glanced at her trembling friend on the floor then turned toward the suite.
The bedroom door stood open. Inside, Teresa stood near the foot of the bed, her hands covering her face as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
Her breathing came in uneven gasps, and she didn't appear to notice Celeste had entered the room.
"Teresa," Celeste whispered. "Teresa," she whispered again. "Is anyone else in here?"
Celeste paused just inside the doorway and let her eyes travel slowly around the suite.
Years of instinct made her take in every detail without seeming to move at all.
She checked the corners first, then the partially open bathroom door, searching for any sign that someone else might still be inside.
Her gaze shifted to the closets, then to the balcony beyond the glass doors, where the soft afternoon light spilled across the floor.
Nothing appeared out of place beyond the horror already waiting in the room, but she continued her careful sweep anyway, examining every space before allowing herself to focus on anything else.
When she saw the body, her heart jerked and she told herself to breathe.
"Is anyone else in here?"
Teresa couldn't answer. She cried harder.
Celeste moved toward her. "Come on." She gently lowered Teresa's hands from her face. "Let's get outside."
Teresa looked completely lost. Like she couldn't remember how to move. Celeste wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Then guided her toward the doorway. Away from the room. Away from the bed. Away from the dead bride.
Darius watched Celeste and Vicky disappear through the doors. Something felt wrong. He started after them.
"Darius," Brenda called for him.
Her voice stopped him but then he kept walking.
"Darius, stop."
Still walking.
Brenda's smile vanished. "Stop him."
The two security guards moved immediately. One approached from behind and grabbed Darius by the shoulder. That was a mistake.
Darius trapped the man's wrist, pivoted, and drove a hard right hand into his jaw. The guard collapsed instantly. Gasps erupted throughout the indoor golf wing. The second guard reacted fast. His handgun cleared the holster and aimed directly at Darius.
"Don't fucking move!"
The room froze as every conversation died at once, the tension in the indoor golf wing becoming almost tangible.
Darius slowly turned toward the armed guard, completely unhurried, his expression calm in a way that made the situation feel even more dangerous.
His eyes traveled from the barrel of the gun to the guard's face, then down to the hand gripping the weapon.
The man's hand was shaking badly now, the muzzle wavering despite his efforts to keep it steady.
Darius studied him for several long seconds, taking in every detail—the uncertainty in his eyes, the tightness in his jaw, the fear he was trying and failing to hide.
He wasn't looking at a threat. He was evaluating a man.
Judging him. Measuring exactly what he was capable of.
Then Darius made a small nod toward the gun.
"Do it," Darius said.
The guard blinked. "What?"
"Do it." Darius took a step forward. "Let everybody in here watch you shoot an unarmed man in cold blood."
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The guard's finger rested against the trigger. But he didn't fire.
Darius shook his head. "That's what the fuck I thought. Old pussy ass nigga."
Brenda stepped forward.
"Darius, it's for your own safety."
He looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable, then let his gaze drift to the unconscious guard sprawled across the artificial grass.
The man hadn't moved since hitting the ground, and the sight only seemed to reinforce whatever conclusion Darius had already reached.
His eyes returned to Brenda, lingering there just long enough to make it clear he wasn't interested in hearing another excuse.
Without a word, he turned and walked away.
No one stepped into his path. The armed guard kept his weapon lowered and made no move to stop him, and the crowd that had gathered around the commotion parted silently as he passed.
A few seconds later, the doors swung shut behind him, cutting off the stunned silence he left in his wake.
A minute later he spotted Celeste, Vicky, Sky, and Teresa coming toward him from the opposite end of the hallway. The moment he saw Sky's face, he broke into a run.
"What happened?" he asked.
Nobody answered, so his eyes moved to Teresa, then back to Sky.
"What happened?"
Celeste didn't slow down. "Follow us back to the golf wing. I'll explain everything there."
Darius fell into step beside them.
"You shouldn't be out here," Celeste said.
"I wanted to make sure y'all were okay."
Celeste glanced over. "I got this out here. Security should've kept you inside the golf wing."
Darius laughed once. "They tried."
Celeste looked at him. "What did you do?"
"I knocked one out and told the other one to shoot me."
"And?"
"He shook like a lil bitch, so I left."
Despite everything happening around them, Vicky almost smiled and he noticed but nobody spoke again. The closer they got to the indoor golf wing, the heavier the silence became.