Chapter 33 Sierra
Sierra
It looked to Sierra, as the studio’s lobby sofas were quickly occupied, that everyone was at this meeting. Not just the contestants but Fitzy, Vera, Elijah, Lisa, the stylists, the lighting operators, the set crew, the interns, the director, the receptionist, even the shuttle driver.
Everyone except the Game Master.
“Seriously? Now what?” said Nadia. “It’s supposed to be our day off. I’ve got passes for the Getty Center this afternoon.”
Vera was videoing the crowd when Ranielle marched over and snatched her phone away.
“Hey!”
“No recordings.”
Vera took a bewildered step back.
“What’s this about, Ranielle?” said Fitzy.
He was sitting on the arm of one of the white leather sofas, and it took Sierra a moment to realize what looked different about him today.
Without the crisp linen shirt, the carefully tousled hair, or the makeup creating the illusion of flawless skin, he looked . . . normal.
Only once everyone was settled and quiet did Ranielle pace to the front of the crowd, her fingers in front of her red-lacquered lips.
“Before I explain, I want to remind you about the nondisclosure agreements you’ve signed.
What I’m about to tell you is to remain confidential until further notice.
Anyone found discussing this information outside of this studio, and with anyone not currently in this room, will be immediately terminated from their position here on The Escape Game and facing a very severe lawsuit. ”
She paused, letting this threat sink in.
Then— “Where’s Louis?”
The question came from Gabriela, her brow knitted as she scanned the crowd, and it spurred a flurry of confusion as everyone looked around, confirming that the Game Master was indeed missing.
Sierra ran her tongue against her lip piercing, keeping her eyes on the executive producer. Yeah, Ranielle, she wanted to say. Where’s Louis?
Ranielle briefly met Gabriela’s eye, then let her gaze drift over her audience.
“Last night, my husband’s body was found in a hotel room.” She paused before adding, “He killed himself.”
Gasps.
Ranielle went on. “I have not received the coroner’s report, but the medical examiner suspects an intentional overdose.”
Sierra wondered if Ranielle would mention that it was Carter who had found the body, after being invited to the hotel room for an “interview.” She wondered how much Ranielle knew about her husband. She wondered how many contestants he’d preyed on before.
She wondered when Ranielle had started planning his murder.
“But . . . why?” said Fitzy, his voice barely a whisper. “Why would he . . . ?”
“Louis was a talented man,” said Ranielle, “but he had his demons to fight, as much as anyone.”
She went on to tell them that this show had been her husband’s life’s work, and he would want them to continue, to have fun, to complete these very last puzzles he had set for his beloved contestants. The show must go on, and all that.
She did not say that Louis’s death was a tragedy. She did not say that he would be missed.
She did not even pretend to be sad.
She also did not mention his confession. The suicide note had not been made public, but Sierra assumed it was only a matter of time. The police would probably be glad to get Alicia’s cold case permanently off their desks.
They weren’t even considering that Louis’s death could be a homicide. Ranielle was going to get away with murder. Again.
“I expect a police report to be made public soon,” Ranielle added, “at which point you will be free to discuss this with friends and family. Until then, should you feel the need to talk with someone, grief counselors will be provided.” She smacked her hands, as if brushing off something dirty.
“We’ll be back here on Monday to film the semifinals, as scheduled.
I’m sure you have many questions, but at this point I am not at liberty to answer most of them. ”
Fitzy’s hand went up anyway, a little hesitant, like a student afraid of getting yelled at by the teacher. He even waited for Ranielle to give him a scowl before he asked, “W hat about next season? Is this . . . I mean. This isn’t the end of the show, is it?”
“That is one of the questions we need to work through,” she said. “So far, Hitflix is hopeful that we will be able to continue.”
Fitzy sank back. He looked shell-shocked, like the rest of them. “This show means too much, Ranielle. To all of us.” He swept his arm toward the crowd and received nods of agreement. “I don’t know how we’d do it without Louis, but if there’s a way . . .”
“He wasn’t irreplaceable,” said Ranielle—and there, finally.
That hint of fury Sierra had been waiting for.
“No one here is irreplaceable.” She let her gaze linger a moment on Fitzy, and hurt flashed across his eyes.
Then she turned and said directly to a grim-faced Vera, “Let’s try to remember that, shall we? ”