The Island With No Parallel

A Killer at the Party

Yunara carried a tray of mussels teeming with bright vegetables in the shell to the table of party goers. They all conversed amongst each other in their own language, Yunara surprising herself with the amount she was beginning to understand. But only surface level conversation. When the conversations got deeper, it was harder for her to comprehend.

Lucia was right that mostly none of her guests asked her for anything. She mainly took all her orders from Julio, who spoke enough English from his own travels to Caorfi.

Lucia was a natural magnet for attention. All of her guests were completely enthused by what she had to say. She seemed to be telling stories, mostly, the other guests listening as she spoke, Lucia laughing at her own tales before she could even finish them. When she laughed, everyone just seemed to naturally follow.

One would never guess she was at a table of all enemies.

Julio came out of the kitchen and approached Yunara. "Yunara, Kailu, ven aqui," he said.

Kailu came from the other side of the table and followed Julio into the kitchen with Yunara.

"Listen," he said in English. "Lucia will do what she can to get the guests talking. What you both will have to do is just listen and most importantly observe. If you find someone suspicious, give Lucia a signal and let her know. She'll take it from there."

"What do you define as suspicious?"

"Carlos Ruiz supposedly died in his bed in Granada, but a week before that, he was investigating the mountains in Basque country following a lead. Look out for anyone mentioning having been in that area, or having seen Carlos before he died. Now, take these trays out." Julio gave them more plates full of delicacies to bring out to the dinner table, and Yunara and Kailu went their way.

The two of them monitored the table, but nothing out of the ordinary was transpiring. Yunara felt unsettled being at a table with so many members of the Aracs here on earth, but she supposed since they were humans, she had nothing to worry about. They couldn't see her. But knowing that fact didn't make her any more comfortable, and she noted Kailu looking perturbed as well.

But Lucia's plan of disguising them as servants seemed to be working. No one paid them any mind at all, something Yunara was already used to. The invisibility of being a maid was going to serve to their advantage tonight.

"Sometimes I think that being rich must be the most boring thing in the world," Kailu commented at one point. "Look at how everyone is together, yet none of them have any actual interest in one another. It's all just a grand show."

Yunara knew what she was talking about. Though Lucia was the one putting on an act, the truth was all of them were. She knew first-hand from Cadri that the pretenses they had to put on were constant and miserable, always pretending to be pleasant, proper, and correct. Which was why Cadri found refuge in shedding the facade with Yunara.

"I suppose looking at it like that, it's no wonder Lucia can play her role so well," Yunara added. "It's only one more trick of light to add to the rest."

Kailu shrugged in agreeance, crinkling her nose. "Well, I for one, hate role-playing as a servant. Look at how they pretend we don't even exist. It's good that the plan is working, but also quite obnoxious at the same time."

Yunara understood her annoyance, but at the same time was used to it. She spent her whole life in this role. She was used to it now.

Then Lucia changed the tone of the conversation she was having with her guests, and Kailu explained to Yunara in a low voice what she was saying. "Oh, have you all heard about Carlos Ruiz?"