The Writer's Dilemma

Banquet of Death

    Audrey’s eyes followed the back of Marius, making his way back into the hotel, she briefly wondered what the consequences would be. She gulped, turning back to Kerem. What little of his face you could see looked pale.

    “I apologize if you wanted him to take you away. I just didn’t like how he was treating you,” Kerem bowed his head. Audrey gave him a weak smile.

    “Just the opposite. I’m grateful to you.”

    “Audrey!” Jocelyn’s voice got her attention, forcing her to turn her attention onto her friend’s high strung, colorless face. She walked over to her manager, her face telling her that something was wrong. Her manager gasped for air, struggling to breathe. As she got closer, Audrey could see red rings around Jocelyn’s eyes.

    “What is it? Do we need to go to the hospital? You don’t look very well.”

    “No… No… that’s not it… The rest of my tests came back.” Jocelyn’s eyes shifted uncomfortable between Audrey and Kerem, pulling Audrey a little further away. Audrey looked back at Kerem, who seemed adamant about giving them their space to talk. “The doctor had called to let me know that I had somehow ingested a small amount of rat poison. Enough to make me sick but not enough to kill me.” Audrey paused to think back to the day that Jocelyn had gotten sick. A sudden fear stabbed at her, making her body shake.

    “Audrey?” Kerem spoke up, beginning to move toward the two of them. Audrey held her hands up toward him, silently telling him to stop. Her mind was in a daze.

    “I’m sorry Kerem. Let’s talk later.” Audrey hurried back to the hotel with Jocelyn. There was no hesitation in going straight to Audrey’s room, locking the door, and discussing the situation in the furthest spot from the door. A sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach.

    “Let’s end this now.” Jocelyn’s look implored her to comply, but Audrey couldn’t bow out now. She didn’t want anyone else to face what she was going through. Even with all that had happened, and her mental stability beginning to shake, she couldn’t give up and it took most of that afternoon to convince Jocelyn to keep the assignment. It took so long that it ran into their time for getting ready for the banquet and ended in them showing up fashionably late.

    The banquet was being held at another hotel a few blocks from their own. The large meeting rooms opened into each other, dividing each space. There was a room for eating, a room for speech-making and the last room, dimmer than the rest, was for dancing with a stage set up for an orchestra. Every room was elaborately decorated for the occasion. The first room was brightly lit, showing off the delicate-looking glass dishware. Mounds of food stood on elongated tables draped with a vivid colored cloth that the large crowd nibbled on.

    Audrey and Jocelyn moved together towards the table, picking at a few things to eat while roaming around the halls. Marius had already arrived and was surrounded by a group of important men and women, wearing a fine selection of designer suits and dresses. A short, bald man in a black tuxedo announced that the first speech was to be made. The crowd noisily turned all at once, moving in pods towards the next room. The speech room was decorated in two colors, alighting the room with an air of magnitude and importance. Audrey and Jocelyn remained at the back, remaining unrecognized by everyone else in the room. Once everyone was settled in the room with a glass of champagne in hand, a middle-aged man, whose brown hair was only just turning gray, took the stage.

    “Welcome to the annual Writer’s Guild Banquet! I’m once again, your host, Baron Von Richard! As is our custom, every year we recognize one of Canada’s finest writers. This year it is my pleasure to introduce to all of you… Mr. Kerem Bassett!” Claps erupted as time seemed to slow a little for Audrey. The familiar form of Kerem made his way up onto the stage in a very expensive look sleek, black tailcoat with a white vest underneath, outlining his broad chest. Audrey sucked in her breath, not understanding how one man could look so good.

    “Miss Marchand.” The whisper moved her attention away from the man on the stage to Pierre who was standing at her side, a sly smile placed delicately on his lips. “I must say… you don’t hide your expression very well,” Pierre chuckled, turning to look back at the stage.

    “I-I’m not sure what you mean,” Audrey bit her lip. Kerem blinked on the stage, raising a microphone up to his face.

    “I’m honored that Baron von Richard asked me to be here today! It’s delightful to see a lot of old faces again and even more so to the new faces here tonight.” There was a pause as Kerem’s eyes landed on her. Audrey felt her face heat up. Pierre nudged her.

    “He was talking about you, you know.”

    “Stop scaring the poor girl,” Jocelyn chuckled, sounding more like herself for the first time that day.

    “Now we dance!” Baron von Richard took up the microphone again. The crowd again, as one, shuffled towards the next room.

    “Oh, please! Before Kerem ruins the mood. Tell me that I can have the honor of having the first dance with you,” Pierre pleaded, a pout sticking out. Audrey chuckled, nodded as she dropped her empty glass on the nearest table. The music was just beginning, with several couples taking up room on the dance floor already. “I heard they hire professional dancers, so as to encourage everyone to dance,” Pierre mused as they started in a classical waltz.

    “That’s extreme, isn’t it?” Audrey looked around her, hoping to spot the professional dancers.

    “Not for Baron von Richard,” Pierre accented the hosts' name in an elegant style. “He’s got money to spare in other words.” Pierre smiled, twirling her around. “Kerem always hates these things, but I rather enjoy them… gives me perspective on how the ultra-rich live, in case I want to write about them.” Audrey laughed, sensing Pierre’s playful and not so wealthy background. Her mind trailed off to Kerem.

“How are the two of you? I heard of the news about Wyatt…” Audrey bit her lip, mentally hitting herself for bringing up the topic. Pierre’s smile faltered slightly.

“It was a shock, for Kerem more than me. I probably shouldn’t say but… the police have already contacted Kerem. As far as anyone knows Kerem was the last to see Wyatt alive,” Pierre cleared his throat. “We have to leave directly after the banquet so we can get back to Quebec City.” Audrey bit her lip again, knowing the terrible feeling of hearing someone you know had passed away. “No matter what you hear, Kerem couldn’t hurt a fly.”

“He wanted to talk to me earlier. Any idea what it was about?” Audrey asked. Pierre shook his head.

“You should ask him yourself.” Pierre bowed; the song having come to an end. Audrey curtsied in return, turning to find Kerem approaching them.

“May I interrupt?”

“Be my guest. I see a Miss Jocelyn in need of a partner,” Pierre left the two of them without another word. The band had begun to start another song.

“May I?” Kerem repeated, holding out his hand. Audrey gave her approval and her hand. Dancing with Kerem was different. It was more serious than dancing with Pierre, who always seemed to hold her an arm’s length away. As Kerem and Audrey danced, it was as though their bodies gravitated towards each other, leaving no room between them.

“I’m sorry for this afternoon. I was dealing with something of a rather serious nature.”

“Don’t mention it. I was just worried that you had fallen ill. You looked sick after whatever Miss Fay told you.”

“I’m quite alright.”

“You look a lot better… I-I… I meant to say you look lovely this evening,” Kerem’s cheeks burned a light pink.

“Thank you. You look great yourself! Like a European gentleman,” Audrey smiled, a gleam in her eye.

“I dislike this getup but I’ve heard the ladies like it,” Kerem’s voice was filled with playfulness. “Not that I care about anyone’s opinion but yours.” Audrey, shocked to hear his words, continued to dance in silence. Her eyes making a lap from his mesmerizing set of chocolate brown eyes to his pinkish cheeks, down to his lips, and back up again. Kerem’s eyes looked like they were doing a visual scan of her as well.

“Tell me,” Audrey, almost losing herself in the moment, broke the silence. “What did you want to talk about earlier?”

“It hardly seems fitting to talk about it now.” Kerem pulled them towards the center of the dance floor. Audrey gave him a look. “Ok… I was sure you heard the news about Wyatt… I just didn’t want it to affect our collaboration… or us.” Kerem’s eyes were set on hers even as the dance ended. Their bodies drifted slightly away as Audrey’s heart fluttered madly at the thought of Kerem being worried about their relationship. A tap on her shoulder broke her gaze on Kerem, landing on Marius, who was directly behind her. Marius wasn’t even looking at her. Instead, his eyes were set on Kerem, hatred stemming from his gaze.

“Let’s dance,” Marius ordered, grabbing her tightly around the waist, pulling her forcefully into another waltz. “I told you there would be consequences.” The way Marius had a hold of her hand made Audrey wince in pain, unnoticeable to anyone else. Audrey held back the need to cry out. “You. Are. Mine. Stay away from him. Don’t you know he is a murder suspect?” Marius said between gritted teeth. Audrey whined, biting her bottom lip, as the two of them suddenly collided with another couple, knocking her away from Marius and into the waiting arms of Kerem.

“Are you ok?” Kerem’s steady arms and eyes held her motionless for a moment. Her reply was drowned out, the door to the room banging open as a woman screamed at the top of her lungs.

“A person was killed! The police are here!”