Bottle 9: Pieces of the Puzzle

After setting the crate on the porch, the stranger left without saying another word. Abby creeped back inside and once again, gathered the group around the coffee table, her resolve hardening. The cabin’s oppressive silence was broken only by the crackling of the fire, its flickering light casting shadows that danced across their tense faces.

"We need to figure this out. Now," she said firmly.

Traci glanced nervously at the shard of green glass lying on the table. Its jagged edge seemed to gleam maliciously in the firelight. "There has to be something we’re not seeing?" She asked hesitantly.

Abby leaned forward, resting her palms on the table. "Then we start from the beginning. Jamie’s death, the bottle, the man, the messages. Just everything."

Eve nodded slowly; her eyes narrowed in thought. "Let’s start with the blood upstairs. There’s no way it just appeared out of nowhere."

"And the cork and label," Nina added, her voice quiet but steady. "What does it mean?"

"Yes, it all comes back to the label and the cork" Abby said. "Eve is convinced that someone switched the bottle. It does not match the cork at all. Someone wanted this to happen."

Sara, who had been silent up to this point, finally spoke. "But why? And who?" Her voice wavered, betraying the fear she had been trying to suppress. "We all loved Jamie. None of us would ever..."

"We don’t know that" Eve interrupted sharply, her tone edged with suspicion. "Do we? Jamie had his secrets. Maybe someone else had theirs too. Like, who knew Nina and Jamie were fighting?"

“We were not fighting” Nina exclaimed

The room fell into uneasy silence. Each member of the group shifted uncomfortably in their seats, their minds racing with unspoken doubts. Abby’s gaze swept across them, lingering on each face for a moment longer than necessary. She could feel the undercurrent of mistrust thickening, threatening to tear them apart.

"Let’s not start pointing fingers" Abby said firmly. "We need to focus on the clues we have, not the ones we’re imagining."

"Then where do we start?" Traci asked, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to ward off an invisible chill.

Abby straightened, her eyes locking onto the shard of glass. "The bottle. Jamie’s wine was his pride and joy. If someone tampered with it, we’ll find the proof there. Do we know if there are more bottles?”

The group reluctantly divided once again, this time with clearer purpose; find bottles. Abby and Eve returned to the kitchen to inspect the wine rack, while Sara and Traci searched the dining room for anything that seemed out of place. Nina and Lori elected to reinspect the bloodstained bedroom.

In the kitchen, Abby meticulously inspected each bottle of wine, her fingers trailing over the labels and necks. “These bottles also look odd” She paused when she reached a bottle tucked in the back of the rack. The label was slightly askew, the adhesive curling at one corner. “I Know What You Did” she said curiously

"Eve," Abby called, holding up the bottle. "Look at this."

Eve stepped closer, squinting at the bottle under the harsh beam of the flashlight. "What the hell does that mean? ‘I Know What You Did?’"

Abby carefully inspected the bottle only to discover a small sticker on the punt. Handwritten on that sticker was a name. Her breath caught as she gasped.

Eve’s brows furrowed. "What does it say?"

Abby tilted the bottle under the light, her voice barely above a whisper. "It says……Eve"

Upstairs, Lori and Nina worked in strained silence, their flashlights sweeping over every surface. Nina stopped abruptly; her beam fixed on the edge of the bedspread.

"Lori," she said, her voice tight. "There’s something here."

Lori crossed the room, her hands trembling as she crouched beside Nina. Just visible beneath the bloodstained fabric was a small, crumpled piece of paper. Nina reached for it, unfolding it carefully.

The note was hastily written, the letters jagged and uneven, as though the writer’s hand had been shaking. It read:

"After me, you will have to take care of the others.”

Lori’s breath hitched. "What does that mean?"

Nina shook her head, her face pale. "I don’t know. But it’s not good. Are we all in danger?"

In the dining room, Sara and Traci sifted through drawers and cabinets, their nerves fraying with each passing minute. Traci opened a drawer filled with placemats and napkins, her fingers brushing against something hard and metallic. She pulled it out slowly, her heart pounding.

"Sara," she whispered, holding up the object. It was a corkscrew, its handle stained with something dark and dried.

Sara’s face went pale as she stared at it. "Is that... blood?"

Traci quietly nodded, placing the corkscrew on the table between them. The two women exchanged a look, the implications settling heavily over them.

The group reconvened in the living room, their findings laid out on the coffee table: the scratched bottle, the bloodstained corkscrew, and the ominous note from upstairs. Abby looked at each item in turn, her mind racing to piece together the puzzle.

"I Know What You Did Eve," she said, pointing to the bottle. "Someone wanted us to find this."

"Come on! I am not involved, and the bottle does not say that – well at least not the way you just said it" Eve asked. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

“You tell us Eve” Nina said with a scowl.

“Shut up heffa!” Eve snapped back

Lori explained the letter she found, “It seems whoever did this is not remotely finished.”

Abby’s jaw tightened. "Calm down everyone. Maybe someone here is next and not necessarily involved in the killing. But then that would mean that whoever is behind this isn’t finished yet."

“Killing? Next? Not finished?” questioned Eve

To be continued October 31st, 2025.