Dinner among Friends?

On a stormy October evening, five guests arrived at the eerie Wilson Estate. George the caretaker became the butler for the evening. The maid Lizzie Bell was there as well. She had prepared the house within only two days. A cook named Bessie was hired for the evening due to the prior cook leaving her position. George nervously awaited the guests' arrival. He had only received a letter stating that the guests would be there in two days time. Sir Wilson did not say if he was going to attend as well and this was what made George nervous. Sir Wilson was not an easy man to work for. His short temper and deep need for everything to go the way he wanted had always made the staff nervous. Sir Wilson had been abroad for many months however and this made taking care of the house very easy. George was dressed and ready to receive guests by noon however they did not begin arriving until four. At four, the door bell rang and echoed throughout the house. George ran down the hall towards the door, adjusted his jacket and hair and slowly pulled the door open.

 A tall older gentleman stood on the front porch. He wore a black suit with a white shirt and black bow tie, his gray hair showed slightly under his black fedora hat. "Hello ole' boy, I am Sir Hubert Whitley. Is this the Wilson Estate? I received a invitation to dinner at this residences." Sir Whitley explained. "Yes sir it is, please come into the parlor." George answered. Sir Whitley walked in and George closed the door behind him. "This way." George said, leading him towards the parlor. They walked in and Sir Whitley looked around the room, "Would you like a drink sir?" George asked. "A glass of Whisky if you please." Sir Whitley said. George walked over to a small table in the corner of the parlor and poured a glass of whisky. As he handed it to Sir Whitley he heard a noise in the kitchen. "Excuse me a moment." He said, then quickly walked out of the parlor. George opened the kitchen door, "What happened?" He asked quickly. Lizzie was sitting on the floor looking at her knee. George knelt down, "Lizzie are you alright?" He asked. "I fell in water that Bessie spilled and skinned my knee." Lizzie answered. George helped Lizzie up off the floor, "How is dinner coming Bessie?" George asked. "It will be ready." She answered.

The door bell rang and George quickly walked down the hall to the door. He opened the door and saw a young man standing on the porch holding a jacket. "Is this the Wilson Estate?" He asked. "Yes sir, please come into the parlor." George answered. As he walked in he threw his jacket at George, "Don't wrinkle the jacket. It cost more than you'll ever see." He snorted as he walked in. He found the parlor on his own and walked in, George walked in behind him. "Can I get you a drink sir?" George asked. "I will have what this old man is having." He said with a grin. "Old is in the eye of the beholder young man. What's your name?" Sir Whitley asked. "Marcus… Marcus Flurry." Marcus answered proudly. Marcus held himself as if he thought he was better than everyone else. "Oh, I knew your father. He was a very kind hearted man he always gave money at benefit's." Sir Whitley said. "My father was a fool. He squandered millions on the poor." Marcus answered. George handed Marcus his drink and walked out of the parlor. Sir Whitley realized what kind of man Mr. Flurry's son had become and said nothing more. Instead he walked over to the sofa in front of the fireplace and sat down. Marcus walked around the room looking at the portrait's and figurines "They call this an estate?" He said aloud. The door bell rang and George rushed to the door and slowly opened it. A man and a woman stood on the porch. It was raining and they were wet, "Hello sir, I am General John B. Flint, is this the Wilson estate?" The man asked. "Yes sir it is. Please come in." George said. They walked in and George closed the door. "Could she have a towel please? I saw her walking in the rain and picked her up. But she was already soaked." General Flint said. George nodded and led them to the parlor. "Thank you General Flint, for being so kind to me." The woman said as they walked in the parlor." You are most welcome." General Flint answered. "General huh? What war were you in?" Marcus asked. General Flint turned and faced Marcus "World War one." He answered proudly.

George brought in a towel "Here you are miss." He said. "Thank you sir." She said. She sat down across from Sir Whitley, "What is your name young lady?" Sir Whitley asked. "Lena Kelly." She answered. "And what is your profession?" Sir Whitley asked. She began drying her hair with the towel "I am a school teacher." Lena answered. "Lena? That's a Jewish name if I am correct." General Flint added. Lena looked over at him, "Yes sir, it is." She answered. "What are you doing here?" Marcus asked mockingly. "My family fled here from Germany." Lena replied. There was another knock on the door. "What is your name?" Lena asked. "Oh, Sir Whitley. And before you ask, I am a writer." Sir Whitley answered smiling and Lena smiled at his comment. . George opened it and saw a woman in a green dress "Hello I am Odette Hartwell am I at the Wilson estate?" She asked. "Yes ma'am, please come in. "Thank you." Odette answered. Odette walked into the parlor "Hello everyone." She said. George appeared in the doorway of the parlor, he cleared his throat and everyone's attention was on him "Dinner is served. Please follow me to the dining room." George said. Everyone got up and followed him to the dining room and took a seat at the table. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and desert was the menu. "Lena how would you like some ham?" Marcus asked smiling. "No thank you, I prefer turkey." Lena replied nicely. "I believe that was a rude insult to miss Lena." General Flint said. "How was asking her if she would like ham rude?" Odette asked. "You were not here when we all had this conversation." General Flint answered. "What conversation?" Odette asked. "Miss Lena is Jewish. Jewish people do not eat ham." Sir Whitley added. "I didn't know that." Odette answered. "It's okay that you didn't know most don't. And some know about it and still feel the need to torment." Lena said calmly."What did I do wrong?" Marcus asked. "Don't worry about him Lena. Some people don't see it when they do something wrong." General Flint added. "What is that supposed to mean?" Marcus asked.

Sir Whitley signaled for George who was standing in the corner. "Where is the rest room?" He asked. "Up the stairs and down the hall to the left." George said. Sir Whitley pushed his chair back and stood up "Excuse me a moment." He said. He walked out of the dining room and everyone continued eating. "I don't think you should make fun of her because she cannot eat certain foods. What if someone did that to you?" General Flint asked Marcus. "No one would ever do that to me. Because I am rich and handsome." Marcus scoffed. "There is nothing wrong with being rich." Odette added, while smiling at him. "No, unless you are cruel to those who aren't." General Flint said. Meanwhile during this conversation the dinner plates were collected and desert was served. Sir Whitley had not come back from the rest room yet. "Where is Sir Whitley?" Lena asked suddenly. "I believe he went to the rest room. Don't get so worked up." Marcus said rudely. "And do men take this long?" Lena replied. She got up from her chair and walked out of the dining room. Slowly Lena crept up the stairs and down the dimly lit hall. When she reached the bathroom she knocked on the door "Sir Whitley, are you alright?" Lena asked aloud. Lena waited but she heard nothing, "Sir Whitley?" She asked turning the door knob.

Lena pushed the door open and was very surprised to see no one in the room. "Hello?" She whispered as she walked in. Then the strangest thing happened. She tripped over something on the floor and grabbed the towel holder to steady herself, and the wall opened at the side of the room. Lena who was now very curious as to where Sir Whitley went, entered the secret passage. As she walked in, the wall closed behind her leaving her alone in the dark. "Sir Whitley." She called out. As Lena was walking in the dark she was startled by a sudden change in the floor. She bent down and felt around, as she did she realized that there were stairs. Slowly and carefully she walked down them holding onto the wall as she did. When she got to the bottom of the stairs there was a door. She opened it and was surprised at where she was at, Lena was now standing in the parlor. The door had opened right beside the fireplace, but where was Sir Whitley? Lena walked back in the dining room "Well that took a while. Did you get lost?" Marcus asked. Lena sat down in her chair and noticed that Sir Whitley was still not in his. "Did he come back?" Lena asked. "No." General Flint said. "He went to the bathroom Lena. He didn't leave the house." Marcus scolded. "He wasn't in the bathroom!" Lena said harshly. "Calm down Lena. We will find him." General Flint said calmly. "Eat some of this lemon pie." He continued as he cut a slice. Lemon was Lena's favorite so she ate it and thoroughly enjoyed it. "You over there in the corner. What's your name?" General Flint said. "My name is George." George answered. "Where did Sir Whitley go?" General Flint asked as he stood up. "I don't know Sir. He asked to go to the restroom." George answered nervously.

"Alright we will all split up and look for him."General Flint said. "Marcus you and Odette look downstairs. Lena and I will go upstairs." General Flint continued. "I have to work?" Marcus moaned. "Come on cutie, it won't be that bad." Odette added smiling. Lena followed the general upstairs. "You go look in that room. I will look in this one." General Flint said. Lena walked in the first room while the general looked in the other. They both came out at almost the same time "I didn't find anything." Lena said. "Me either." General Flint added. They continued looking in all the rooms and still found nothing. Then suddenly they heard a scream and both went running downstairs. When they got downstairs Marcus and George was standing in front of double doors. "Marcus who screamed?" General Flint asked. "It was Odette. She cannot handle seeing a dead body apparently." Marcus answered. "A dead body?" Lena asked. They walked into the room and saw Sir Whitley laying face down on the floor. Lena gasped, "What happened to him!" She shouted. "How would I know?" Marcus asked. "I think she was asking in general." General Flint said. "Odette are you alright?" General Flint asked. "No!" She shouted, "I have never seen a dead person before." Marcus moaned "So which one of you killed him?" He asked. "How do we know it wasn't you." Lena asked him. Marcus scoffed, "What makes you think it was me? It could have been him." He said pointing at George. "Me? I…I didn't do anything." He answered. "How are we suppose to know?" Odette asked. "I was in the kitchen the whole time, ask the cook or maid." George said. Suddenly they heard a scream coming from the kitchen and they all went running. When they reached the kitchen and walked in they saw no one "Look around." General Flint whispered.

George looked in the pantry "Over here." He whispered loudly. Everyone rushed to him "What are we looking at?" Marcus asked. Lena moaned "You're not very bright are you?" She asked. Then she pointed to the back wall of the pantry. "Why is the wall open?" General Flint asked. "Come on." George whispered. Everyone slowly and quietly walked into the opening in the pantry wall. It was hard to be quiet with five people crammed into a very small passage. Suddenly they heard someone talking up ahead. Then they saw shadows of two people "Who's that?" Odette whispered peeking over Marcus' head. "How are we suppose to know?" Marcus asked pushing her away. "Please he just hired me for tonight." Someone shouted. Then they saw a shadow figure point a gun and shoot it. The shot echoed throughout the tunnel and Odette screamed.

Quickly everyone turned around and were trying to run out of the tunnel quietly "There are different doors along here. We should split up." George shouted. George ran on ahead, Odette opened a door and quickly closed it behind her. Marcus who was now crying, "I'm not ready to die!" waited on Lena to open a door and he ran in with her. Leaving General Flint alone, he heard footsteps behind him and quickly he found a door and locked it behind him once inside. All of them were now in different rooms in different parts of the house. Somehow, Lena and Marcus ended up on the third floor in a cob web filled attic. "Marcus stop crying! We've got to figure out how to get out of here." Lena shouted. "Lena someone is trying to kill us!" He shouted back. "I know that!" Lena added, "we have to be calm though. Now help me look for a door." She continued. While Lena and Marcus were looking for a door on the third floor, Odette ended up on the second floor in one of the bedrooms. Where she hid under the canopy bed trying to catch her breath. Suddenly she heard the door open and saw the shadow of a person walk in. "I know the truth of what happened to your husband." A voice whispered. "It's time you paid for what you did Odette Hartwell." The voice continued. Odette was now trembling with fear as she laid under the bed. She saw the shadow leave the room and the door closed, Odette took a deep breath. Slowly she crawled out from under the bed and walked towards the door when something grabbed her. Odette screamed as she was dragged into the darkness of the room.

George ran downstairs to the servants quarters and locked himself in his room. General Flint however was probably the bravest one there. The first thing he did was go to the telephone and call the police. For that was in fact a sensible thing to do in this situation. Meanwhile upstairs, Lena grabbed a baseball bat from the attic to carry with her. "I found the door." Marcus cried. Lena walked over to where he was standing, "I told you calm down." She said. "Sorry." Marcus whined. Lena and Marcus walked down the attic stairs, once at the bottom she opened the door. Quietly they walked out, "Let's look around for the others." Lena whispered. They walked down the hall peeking in each room as they went. Lena peeked in the last room at the end of the hall and thought she saw something. "Marcus down here." She whispered. He walked down the hallway and stood beside Lena in front of the room. "Do you see something laying on the floor?" She asked quietly. "No, why don't you turn on the light?" He asked as he reached in for the switch. "No don't." Lena said quick. It was too late he flipped the switch and as the light came on they saw Odette's body laying on the floor.

Shocked they backed out of the doorway, but at the end of the hall a man stood in dark clothes and was holding a gun. Marcus backed behind Lena with tears streaming down his face."Your next Lena Kelly." The man said in a scratchy voice. "Oh you think so?" Lena asked. "Come and try then." She shouted. He began running down the hall and Lena pushed Marcus in the room. She closed the door and locked it, "you locked us in here with a dead body!" Marcus shouted. "Shut up!" Lena shouted. "Look around for a secret door." She said rushing around the room. The man was banging and hitting the door trying to open it. "Here!" Lena shouted. She pushed open the door and they walked down the steps. They got to the bottom and opened the door and were in the dining room. Lena sighed in relief when she saw the general "Lena, I am glad you're safe." He said. Suddenly the front door swung open and police officers rushed in "Who are you sir?" The chief asked. "A guest the man you need is upstairs somewhere." General Flint answered. The officers rushed upstairs leaving the three remaining guests downstairs. Suddenly gunshots were heard along screaming and yelling. Then the lights turned off and they heard a loud thumping. The lights came back on and they saw the officers laying at the bottom of the steps. Marcus started crying, Lena and General Flint stood there not knowing what to do. The lights went off and they heard sinister laughing then a voice echoed through the house "You thought the night was over? It's just started!" Lena looked over at the General, "Can you still fight?" She asked. "Let's do this!" General Flint said.