Marquis had been with his girlfriend, Carmen, Kap’s girlfriend Angelina, and Jake ReVanche, all headed for the cafe for dinner when he got the call. He answered, then stiffened, halting in mid-stride. It was about three seconds before the others noticed that Marquis wasn’t with them; they turned around just as Marquis was hanging up the cell phone, staring out at the quad with a blank look.
The limousine pulled onto the final curve that led up to the gates of HT, which lay about half-way up the slopes of Mt. Rainier. “Your famille lives in a very high altitude,” Jake remarked in approval as the sleek car maneuvered its way up the mountain.
The day was nearing its end, the late afternoon sun lighting up the blood-red maple trees that were scattered across the acres that made up Crimson Crest.
Lt. Det. Danny Clark and his lover, Ray Smith, had slept past their usual wake up time, preferring to luxuriate in bed instead. Both had called out sick today, and decided to use the mental health day by seeing just how long they could stay under the covers, barring food and bathroom errands.
Pulling white bed sheets off his face, Robert Hill, a.k.a. Rah-Rah, peeked with one eye down towards the floor where his alarm clock radio lay broken to bits. It had startled him out of sleep, and in reflex his arm lashed out and swept the small electronic device off the bedstand.