A Murder on Lake Ozark

The air is warm and wet alongside Lake Ozark as the sun begins to set on the pristine outdoor wedding laid alongside its bank, the modest crown begins to dissipate as families help pack up after the long and eventful night. You feel a bit out of place just sitting at one of the many wobbly collapsable tables adorned with handmade centerpieces, but this is not your event, you’re only here as your sister Sarah’s plus one. Even then, Sarah seemed hesitant to go in the first place. Nonetheless, Sarah had promised you that the bride, Laura, had planned an itinerary of things to do for the three days they’re stuck in her secluded cabin following the wedding, and you couldn’t resist a free lakeside vacation. You sit at your table, watching the crowd, wondering how the vacation will go. [[YOU ARE HOPEFUL]]

Hopefully the vacation will be fun, though. You know nothing about the groom, Mark but Laura herself seems nice enough. You don’t remember why your sister and her stopped talking in the first place but it couldn’t have been that bad if Sarah’s now one of her bridesmaids. The rest of the bridal party you’ve only heard from Sarah’s not particularly flattering word of mouth, but from what you could decipher the rest of the bridal party staying in Laura’s cabin, they were all extremely close with Laura. The maid of honor was Henrietta, Mark, the Groom’s friend from college. You couldn’t particularly remember what her major was in the first place but it had to have been undergraduate because she looks more like a celebrity than a dental hygienist. The entire reception you listened to her drunkenly sing along to Carrie Underwood, if anything she’d make the visit fun. Iden was apparently her boyfriend but you have yet to see the two together, he definitely seemed like the more quiet of the two. The entire night following the reception you’ve watched Henrietta socialize while Iden plays mobile games under the table. You would judge him, though it looks like the man may just not like weddings. Ana isn’t staying for the trip but she’s one of the only ones you particularly recognize. She’s a few years younger than you, around sixteen or seventeen, but she’s closer in age to you than any of the other wedding guests.It might be good to just lay low at her table. [[TALK TO LAURA]] [[TALK TO IDEN]] [[TALK TO ANA]] [[TALK TO SARAH]] [[TALK TO MARK]] [[TALK TO HENRIETTA]]

You decide the most supportive option would be congratulating the bride. You scan the ever-lessening crowd of families to make out Laura in a sleek, glimmering wedding dress, her shoes hanging carelessly in her hands. You awkwardly make your way over to her. “Hey! How are you enjoying the wedding?” She asks, swaying back and forth. [[COMPLIMENT HER DRESS]] [[COMPLIMENT THE WEDDING]]

You decide to talk to Iden, after all you’re pretty sure he’s playing Subway Surfers under his table and you kind of want to know his high score. “What’s up?” You startle him and he nearly jumps out of his seat to greet you. “Hey there! You’re Sarah’s sibling aren’t you?” [[ASK HIM ABOUT WEDDINGS]]

You decide your last resort is Ana, at least she’ll be on the same level of awkwardness you feel that night. “What do you want?” She asks as you approach. [[NICE WEDDING]] [[INSULT THE WEDDING]]

You decide to play it safe and float back over to your sister’s table. “Hey, how was the whole bridesmaid thing?” You ask tentatively. Sarah looks up from her phone and shrugs. “I don’t know, it’s kind of weird but it’s good to talk to Laura again.” [[ASK ABOUT LAURA]] [[ASK ABOUT MARK]]

You know absolutely nothing about Mark so maybe a good first step would be introducing yourself. You spot him slumped over by the pop up bar looking green, Henrietta fans him halfheartedly with a napkin as you approach. “Hey,” You awkwardly stammer out. Mark raises his head and gives a weak, “Hey” “I’m sorry hun,” Henrietta sighs, “I’m just about to get him up into his room. How embarrassing, I can’t imagine how embarrassing it is for Laura to realize she married a guy who can’t hold shit.” She laughs, waving you off. [[THE MORNING AFTER]]

Henrietta seems fun, you spot her at the bar with Mark, her freckled face flushed while Mark slumps in his seat. “Hey,” You awkwardly stammer out. Mark raises his head and gives a weak, “Hey” “I’m sorry hun,” Henrietta sighs, “I’m just about to get him up into his room. How embarrassing, I can’t imagine how embarrassing it is for Laura to realize she married a guy who can’t hold shit.” She laughs, waving you off.

“It’s amazing, your dress is so beautiful!” You proclaim, beaming at her. Laura’s smile falters, and opens her mouth to form some kind of response. She remains silent for another moment before replying, “I wanted one of those big ones, with the wide skirts.” [[THE MORNING AFTER]]

“The wedding is beautiful, you said this was Mark’s family’s house, right? That’s so cool!” You reply. She smiles brightly at you, “Yeah, his Dad’s, I can’t wait for you to see the cabin. Have you ever seen Grown Ups? The first time I stepped in there that cabin was all I could think about.” Laura snickers. You smile politely as you notice Henrietta approaching but suddenly you hear your sister’s voice calling for your help taking down streamers and you duck away. [[THE MORNING AFTER]]

After everything was packed up and families went home, You, Laura, Iden, Henrietta, and Sarah all shed your wedding clothes and make it up to Mark’s cabin. Mark had passed out drunk at the wedding which Laura had refused to mention for the entirety of the walk back. When you were initially invited with Sarah you were a little confused as to why a newlywed couple would be comfortable with their friends crashing their honeymoon, but you soon realize that Mark is the type of drinker who requires a babysitter. Besides Mark who was banished to the guest room to sleep off his hangover, You and Iden were designated your own rooms in the cabin. Meanwhile, the girls all gather in the living room, comforting Laura until they fall asleep on the couch. The next morning as the girls rouse from their sleep and begin their tedious ritual of waiting to brew one cup of coffee at a time, you draw the short straw in waking Markup. “Come on,” Sarah insists, “Don’t make Laura wake up her hungover husband the first day they’re married.” “Give me a few minutes and I’ll wake him up, don’t make the kid do it.” Henrietta objects. [[LET HENRIETTA WAKE HIM UP]] [[WAKE HIM UP]]

“What a beautiful wedding, right? How does it feel to see your older sister finally get married?” You ask her, using your best I’m-Talking-To-A-Teenager voice. “There’s no age limit on when a woman should get married, what are you talking about?” She replies. That is not what you meant but you are so embarrassed you sit alone for the rest of the wedding. [[THE MORNING AFTER]]

“Did you notice the Groom is about to blow chunks?” You ask Ana, hoping the snarkiness will pay off in your favor. “Fuck, did he? I don’t know why Laura’s marrying him, he’s a serial cheater.” She states a matter-of-factly. You don’t know what to say and decide to retreat to your table for the rest of the event.

“So what’s the deal with you and Laura?” You ask her, and she immediately tenses up. “Nothing other than the fact that the girl still doesn’t have a spine after all these years.” She mutters bitterly. You decide to leave it at that and remain quiet for the entire party [[THE MORNING AFTER]]

“So what’s Mark like anyways? Have you noticed he’s slumped over at the bar?” Sarah scowls and shrugs her shoulders “He’s a cheater that’s what he is.” She bitterly snaps. You decide it’s not your place and remain quiet for the rest of the night. [[THE MORNING AFTER]]

“Do you not like weddings?” You ask him, and he purses his lips in a polite confusion for the moment before you elaborate, “You’re playing games under the table.” He blushes and raises his arms up, “You caught me.” The two of you compare your High-Scores for the rest of the night. [[THE MORNING AFTER]]

“Is it really okay if you wake him up?” You ask Henrietta nervously. It honestly made you feel a lot better to not have that obligation on your shoulders. Minutes later Henrietta goes to wake Markup but through her report, vomiting violently. On her suggestion, all of you decide to go out as usual, leaving Iden behind to take care of Mark as he recovers. When you guys return, Iden is in tears, proclaiming that Mark had driven off in an emotional fit and he couldn’t stop him from leaving. Laura is devastated but all of you comfort her. THE END

You decide to suck it up and wake him up. Peace offering of coffee in hand, you tentatively knock on Mark’s door to no response. Assuming he must still be asleep, you slowly creak open the door only to reveal a ghastly sight. Sprawled across the bed, Mark’s head is an indecipherable mush of tissue and your stomach begins to churn attempting to figure out where his neck began and his skull now ended. Still dressed in his wedding garb, the white button down of his shirt has crusted into a filthy red brown. A heavily adorned lampshade clumped with hair lays beside the body. You have to tell someone. [[TELL LAURA]] [[TELL HENRIETTA]] [[TELL SARAH]] [[TELL IDEN]]

You run out of the room frantically, sweat beading on your forehead. You don’t know what else to do other than tell Laura her husband is dead. “Laura, guys!” You scream, “Mark is dead!” They don’t believe you at first, Henrietta scoffing and telling you to “cut out the bullshit sweetheart” but the look on your face must have convinced them because they come running after your expression ceases to change from terrified. Horrified, Laura slumps against the wall, inconsolable. “We have to call the police.” Sarah breathes [[CALL THE POLICE]]

You run out of the room frantically, sweat beading on your forehead. You don’t know what else to do other than tell Laura her husband is dead. “Henrietta, guys!” You scream, “Mark is dead!” They don’t believe you at first, Henrietta scoffing and telling you to “cut out the bullshit sweetheart” but the look on your face must have convinced them because they come running after your expression ceases to change from terrified. Horrified, Laura slumps against the wall, inconsolable. “We have to call the police.” Sarah breathes [[CALL THE POLICE]]

You run out of the room frantically, sweat beading on your forehead. You don’t know what else to do other than tell Laura her husband is dead. “Sarah, guys!” You scream, “Mark is dead!” They don’t believe you at first, Henrietta scoffing and telling you to “cut out the bullshit sweetheart” but the look on your face must have convinced them because they come running after your expression ceases to change from terrified. Horrified, Laura slumps against the wall, inconsolable. “We have to call the police.” Sarah breathes [[CALL THE POLICE]]

You decide to tell Iden, after all he’s the least connected to all of this and he may have the most rational reaction. You burst through his bedroom door in tears, “Iden, Mark is dead!” You proclaim and Iden jumps from the book he was reading and rushed to comfort you, “What do you mean, are you okay?” He asks, “Has anybody called the police yet? Show me what’s going on here, we can handle this, it's okay.” He puts his hand on your shoulder and you immediately begin to feel better. [[THEY DON'T KNOW]] [[LIE]]

You, Laura, Henrietta, Iden, and Sarah all gather together until the police arrive. When they do, a gruff man pulls each of you aside and asks for your testimonies and proclamations of potential suspects. When it is your turn, you nervously look at the officer and tell them… [[IDEN DID IT]] [[SARAH DID IT]] [[HENRIETTA DID IT]] [[LAURA DID IT]]

“They don’t know yet I don’t know what to tell them.” You sob, as he leads you to sit down on the bed. “You’re okay,” he repeats again, rubbing his hang along your shoulder. “You sit down on the bed, your mind racing in panic as Iden’s words ring numb in your ear, it isn’t until a massive force pouches you against the bed, suffocating you in cotton that you begin to realize something is very wrong. Your last thoughts are, why did I get such an anticlimactic death? As life leaves your body. THE END

“Let’s go to them and get this handled then, okay? We’ll call the police and get this figured out, okay?” He smiles at you, but the calm in his voice is becoming unnerving. [[CALL THE POLICE]]

It had to have been Iden, the guy was a total loner and Henrietta obviously had something going on with Mark. You expect there to be some kind of resistance to your testimony, but to your surprise Iden confesses on the spot. Henrietta kisses her boyfriend goodbye as he is taken into custody, and something about the way she looks at him as he is driven away doesn’t sit right with you. THE END

It had to have been Sarah, you’ve never known her to be violent but you definitely know her to be callous and vengeful. Laura, Henrietta, and Iden both back up your story and Sarah is taken in for further questioning. Still… Something doesn’t seem right THE END

It had to have been Henrietta, she was the last person seen with Mark and it would make sense for her to off him on his wedding day, especially if she were another one of his many scorned lovers. You give your testimony and the police seem to believe you. However, your testimony doesn’t match Laura, Iden, or Henrietta’s who all now claim that your sister Sarah was the last one seen with Mark. You and your sister are taken in for further questioning. This can’t be right. THE END

You don’t think it’s Laura, but you definitely have an idea as to how you can find out who it is. Whoever committed this crime definitely committed a crime of passion. However, you think that passion may be misdirected. You speak with the officer, and after returning from your interview a distraught Laura is immediately placed into handcuffs. “What are you doing?” She shouted, “I wouldn’t hurt Mark!” She begs. The bridal party looks over at you in horror, Sarah’s mouth agape in both betrayal and shock. The police begin shoving Laura through the door, when suddenly a voice rings out. “You get your hands off of her right now, she didn’t do anything wrong, it was me you fucking idiots.” Henrietta shouts, shoving her way past the bridal party to face Laura. “What did you do?” Laura asks in disbelief. “Everybody knows you’re a fucking pushover Laura, and I love you to death and any other night I could handle your freak of a husband getting grabby with me when I take him home drunk, but on your wedding night?” Henrietta looks at Laura with a stony expression, “Hell, you cut off Sarah because he couldn’t stop texting her, but you wouldn’t break up with the man breaking your so-called fidelity?” She huffs, and then continues, “We’re all sick of it. I’m just the first person to do something about it.” Henrietta and Iden are both arrested for Mark’s murder, You, Sarah, and Laura attempt to return back to your normal lives. THE END