Chapter Text
CHAPTER I: NO BODY, NO CRIME
Oh mama, mama, mama
I just shot a man down
In central station
In front of a big ol' crowd
Oh, why? Oh, why?
Oh mama mama mama
I just shot a man down
In central station
TONI
The car sputtered up the expansive driveway; headlights shining on the towering stone walls of the mansion. It held itself with a certain grandeur as it shone golden against the black night. Toni killed the radio and turned in her seat to face Martha, bringing one leg up to her chin. Martha looked at her with a nervous smile. She looked rather glamorous in her floral-print dress with her hoops and her fiercely drawn eyeliner. “You have your letter?” Toni asked, pulling a folded piece of paper out from her blazer pocket. She, too, was dressed in a fancy way, donning a slim fitting black suit with a white button up. Of course, in rugged Toni fashion, the top three buttons were undone. Martha leaned over and buttoned up the third one as she spoke. “Yep. It’s all very mysterious isn’t it?” She patted Toni on the shoulder. Toni’s eyes fell on the letter as she unravelled it. She read it for the fifth time that day.
Dear Ms Shalifoe,
You are invited to attend a dinner party this upcoming Friday at eight o’clock. Please come dressed in your finest attire. We look forward to meeting your acquaintance.
187 Grimtorian Street, Klein Manor, LA
She brought her glance away from the letter and directed it toward the mansion.
“Would you look at the size of that thing?” Toni’s eyebrows drew together as she examined the garden through the windshield. Perfectly manicured hedges lined the edge of the cobblestone driveway and a decaying oak tree stood proudly to the right of the mansion atop of some freshly cut grass. Toni was reminded of a certain beautiful lychee tree. The memory shook her for a moment; it stirred in her head with a hazy sort of bliss. She shut her eyes, soaking in its warmth before Martha placed a hand softly atop of hers.
“Hey, you alright?”
Toni kissed the memory goodbye with the wave of her hand. “I’m all good. Shall we go in?” With a nod from Martha, Toni pulled the keys from the ignition and climbed out the door. They strolled together toward the entrance of the manor, passing a kennel with two pugs inside it. Toni found herself playfully rolling her eyes as Martha knelt down to pat them. Toni stepped forward cautiously as she examined the detailed stone arches that outlined the elegant wooden door. She pushed her thumb against the doorbell and heard a series of chimes sound from within. Through the stained glass panes on the door, she watched a figure tread briskly towards her. The door opened with a slight creak and she was greeted by a man in a tuxedo. His hair was slicked back off his face and his eyes met hers intensely.
“Uhh hi, we’re here for the dinner party thing,” Toni said, pulling out the letter from her pocket and holding it up like a ticket of admittance. Martha joined her and held out her own. He scanned the paper briefly before pulling the door open wider.
“Please. Come in.”
The pair took a hasty step in, flicking polite nods towards the man as they entered the hall. They were quickly overwhelmed by the scenery, it was a lot to take in. A grand gold-trimmed staircase went sweeping upwards to the left of them to rooms that were just out of sight. Their heels sent off echoey clicks as they stepped across the marble floor. Toni couldn’t seem to recall a time she’d ever been in a place so expensive. As they walked through the wide hallway, she observed a large painting hanging against the white wall, the subject being the two idiot canines she saw upon entering. A wooden chest sat below the painting, opposite a green leather armchair on the other side. The hallway soon opened up into a ballroom-ish foyer. Toni’s imagination cracked into gear at the sight of the grand, open room. She imagined couples dancing, dressed to the nines with lacy masks to cover their eyes.
She imagined herself and Shelby. She imagined Shelby’s arm wrapped around her shoulder and her palm clasped tightly in Toni’s other hand. They would spin around the marble columns. And they would dip under the glistening crystals of the chandelier. And Shelby would be laughing along to one of Toni’s stupid jokes.
It was sad to blink and have that reality gone. Toni knew she was only hurting herself when she imagined the blonde girl back in her life. She dipped her head solemnly as she stood with Martha, hands in her pockets, suddenly unable to match her friends’ curiosity. Martha turned, undoubtedly to make a comment on the elegance of the room they were in before noticing Toni’s hung head and hunched frame. Biting the side of her cheek she spoke softly. “Are you thinking about her again?”
Toni brought her head up quickly and forced the sides of her mouth upwards. She started to shake her head quickly, eager to prove Martha wrong. Martha just pressed her mouth into a thin line. Her eyebrows were pinched as she stared sympathetically at her friend. “It’s okay Tones, I miss her too.” Toni felt uncomfortably sad at these words. She frowned at the floor, frowned at the melancholy moonlight that shone through the windows and down onto her worn out vans. The moonlight got lost though in the warm glow of the chandelier that lit up the entirety of the room, not an inch was shrouded in shadow.
“Can I offer you some champagne?”
“Oh technically we’re not old enough to dri—“
“Yes please.” Toni cut Martha off quickly before reaching out and lifting a sparkling glass from the silver platter the man from before was holding out so kindly. She raised her eyebrows at Martha who paused for a beat before shrugging and grabbing a glass for herself. “Thank you mister..?”
“Thom,” he replied abruptly before disappearing beyond the foyer and into what Toni could only assume to be the kitchen. She took a generous gulp from the glass, earning a raised eyebrow from Martha. She simply shrugged in response. Martha took it upon herself to start exploring the room a little more. Toni too, slowly rotated on her heel as she took in the feng shui of the room. The ceiling stretched up to a ridiculous height to a point where she could only just make out the detailed etchings on the skirting boards. A Victorian wallpaper with curly black and red patterns stretched up three quarters of the wall where it tapered off into elegant white stone arches. The arches met in the middle of the ceiling where a glass chandelier hung.
Thom was returning from the kitchen with another tray of drinks when Martha asked “So um are there other guests coming?”
Before he could answer, three brass chimes of the doorbell rang out around them. He passed by Toni and Martha, making a swift beeline to the door. The girls exchanged perplexed glances as they began to follow him. He set down the tray on the cabinet below the painting and reached for the door handle. As he pulled it open, Toni’s heart fell in her chest.
There stood Fatin and Leah, with expectant smiles and clasped hands. Their faces dropped as they saw Martha and Toni. For a moment there was silence. And then pushing past Thom, Fatin started running down the hall towards the pair and crashed into Martha, wrapping her up in a fierce hug. Leah practically flew down the hall, with a smile as wide as the Los Angeles skyline and slammed into Toni, causing a bit of champagne to spill from her glass. Toni squeezed her arms around Leah’s tall frame, her mind buzzing as it tried to grapple with the reality of Leah being right there, in her arms.
“What the fuck are you bitches doing here?” Fatin yelled out as she swapped with Leah, now wrapping her long arms around Toni’s small frame. She wore a black dress that fell just above the knee and had a lacy floral pattern that snaked up her arms and around her décolletage. “We could ask you the same thing,” Martha exclaimed, her face lit with exasperation.
“We got these weird-ass letters,” Leah explained, pulling an all-too-familiar piece of paper out of her side bag. Like the rest of the girls she was dressed nicely, as per the invitation. She wore a dress that sparkled red and blue and dipped low down her chest into a V.
“We got the same letters,” Toni replied, her heart still racing from the fact Fatin and Leah stood before her. Fatin had wrapped her hands around Toni’s free one, her eyes scrunching and her nose wrinkling as she peered nostalgically down at her. The four of them were awe-stricken as they basked in each other’s presence. These were the girls Toni loved the dearest.
“How have you guys been?” Fatin asked, now holding one of Martha’s hands.
“I mean not bad considering all the shit we went through,” Toni replied with a stubborn chuckle. Fatin dropped their hands and her stare was focused now. Leah had asked Martha a question and they seemed to be engaged in their own one-on-one conversation.
“Have you talked to her?” Fatin asked with an insanely soft voice. Toni forced herself to maintain eye contact.
“No.” The reply was short and simple. It was met with the dip of Fatin’s head. “I’m really sorry.”
Toni’s eyebrows drew together as she shrugged, trying to play it cool. Fatin opened her mouth to ask another question when three chimes entered their ears. The pair frowned at each other as they turned to look at the door. Thom pulled it open with regality to reveal Nora and Rachel standing in the landing. The same level of shock flushed the room as they registered who was standing before them. Nora, as always, was like a little sprite as she sort of jumped on the spot and yelled “Oh my god!”. Rachel on the other hand was momentarily still with shock before her face cracked into a disbelieving grin and laughter started to jut out from her chest. The sisters moved swiftly down the hall and into the foyer where they were enveloped in a passionate group hug.
Toni couldn’t believe that her fingertips were falling on the backs of Rachel and Nora. What was this? Some kind of reunion?
But that would mean—
The glorious harmonies of the doorbell rang out once more. Toni stood frozen to the spot. Her vision of the room started to move in slow motion like the frames of a broken film reel. Her hands went numb as she was suddenly well aware of the quickness of her pulse. Her hand clasped tighter around her glass of champagne.
Thom swung the door open and there she was.
There she stood with her southern-girl smile stretched tightly across her face. There she stood with her wavy blonde hair falling over her shoulders. There she stood in slim black slacks and a white button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled halfway. The top few buttons were undone, just like Toni’s. Dot was beside her, although the excitement of her presence was strangled by Toni’s impression of a deer in headlights. Dot moved quickly and was soon enveloped by the group, just as Rachel and Nora had been. Shelby had started making her way down the corridor before stopping abruptly. Her eyes fell upon Toni. Her lower lash line was covered in neat eyeliner. Toni watched as a series of emotions flew past her face, her mouth fell open and shut. She turned to give the other girls a hug, making her rounds with all the members of the Unsinkable Eight. Dot came over and gave Toni a vigorous fist bump. Toni barely registered it, her eyes still following Shelby around the room. A loud, high pitched conversation erupted amongst the girls. Shelby had stepped away and was standing in front of Toni, her eyes soft and disbelieving as they fell on hers. Toni’s heart was beating like a hammer; death by uncertainty. That’s when Shelby’s lips pulled into a small smile and she opened her arms up. Toni stepped into her embrace, like it was the most easiest thing in the world. “Toni,” Shelby whispered into her hair. They stood wrapped in each other for a moment. Revelling in the collision of old worlds. The smaller girl eventually pulled away. She quickly wiped under her eyes and sniffled hastily.
“Shelby,” was all she could muster in response. Before any more words could be exchanged, a dinner bell rang.
The pair were just staring at each other when Leah came over and jumped on Shelby. Shelby was laughing as she tucked her arms around the brunette, swaying slightly as they embraced. Toni’s stomach was swirling with a storm of energy. Her face was beginning to prickle with a stinging heat. She turned away from the two girls and found Martha, grabbing her hand and leading them to where the dinner bell had rung. They walked forward out of the ballroom and into a dining room that was just as elegant as the rest of the house. Two chandeliers hung over a long black marble table. Gold etchings stretched valiantly along the edge of it, like a rich moat. There were small name tags positioned across from each seat. Toni’s eyes fell on Shelby’s and she kept moving until she found her own, across from Dot. She pulled a white padded chair out and briskly sat down, Martha sitting down to the left of her.
“Are you okay?” Martha asked, seemingly concerned by Toni’s erratic movements. Toni was fidgeting with the sleeve of her blazer. She was sick of remaining calm around Martha. “I can’t believe she’s here.” She flinched from the pain of a certain memory.
...
“It’s just too hard, we live on opposite sides of the country.”
Shelby’s voice was breaking through the phone, along with Toni’s heart. “We- we’ll work it out. I’ll move to Texas.” The tears were travelling quickly down her flushed cheeks. She could feel Shelby shaking her head on the end of the line.
“My dad. He- he’s threatening to send me to another conversion therapy.”
“Then move here! You’d never have to see him again.”
“Toni I can’t. Not right now at least.”
Silence fell over the line. Toni brought the phone away from her ear so Shelby wouldn’t hear her whimpers. She pushed it back to her cheek.
“I just want you to be safe and happy,” she finally said, now unable to hide the waver in her low voice. A strangled sob fell from Shelby’s side as she choked through her next sentence.
“And one day I will be.”
...
Martha stared at Toni with sympathetic eyes. She blinked slowly as Toni continued. “It’s just a lot to process.”
…
Toni rolled over on her side and stared at the wall as hot tears snaked down her nose. She opened her music app and played a song. She fell asleep quietly humming along.
You're the fire and the flood
And I'll always feel you in my blood
Everything is fine
When your hand’s resting next to mine
Next to mine
You're the fire and the flood
Since we met I feel a lightness in my step
You're miles away but I still feel you
Anywhere I go there you are (anywhere)
Anywhere I go there you are
Late at night when you can't fall asleep
I'll be lying right beside you counting sheep
Anywhere I go there you are (anywhere)
Anywhere I go there you are (anywhere)
There you are
There you are
…
There she was. Sitting across from Toni, to the left of Dot with her elbows propped on the table, cupping her chin. She sent an earnest look in Toni’s direction which Toni reciprocated with a small smile. Another lonely night struck through her head.
…
Martha pulled the car into the Burger King parking lot. Toni weightlessly wound the window down, sticking her chin out into the chilly Minnesota air. It nipped her face, small frosty kisses of reassurance.
“Would you turn the radio up Marty?”
Martha did so, then placed a gentle hand on Toni’s thigh. Toni’s eyes felt hot as warm tears trickled shyly out of them, tempering the chilly kiss of the wind. She closed her eyes to the music.
Would you change your mind again?
You're still too good to be true
Am I getting played pretend
That you wouldn't need to
Turns out it's quite hard to take
Something you don't yet believe
Have you fallen by mistake?
I'd feel selfish if you don't leave
I think I wished on a mirage
Just let me down easy
This perfect picture's a collage
I got too lucky
…
Rachel pulled out a chair beside Toni, Nora sitting to the right of her. Fatin was doing some sort of dance on the way to her seat next to Dot, earning a very amused smile from the smaller girl.
“Why do you think we’re here?” Fatin asked Dot who wore a black dress and round gold earrings. “Do you think it’s like the government or something hosting us a dinner as an apology for fucking us over with that plane crash? I mean this house is fancy enough to be owned by the Obamas.”
Dot looked contemplative for a moment, but Toni couldn’t help but feel like she was just appeasing Fatin’s curiosity. And this is based purely on the way she held herself. She sat confidently. Knowingly. Did she know why they were here? She was about to ask when Thom started bringing out dishes. He placed a plate of chicken Kiev topped with a rosemary garnish in front of Toni. The steam rose up and entered her nostrils pleasantly, causing her to acknowledge how hungry she actually was. Once everyone’s plates were down they all just sort of sat staring at each other. The room smelled amazing, the salty aromas of bread crumbs and marination swirled around them.
“Are we waiting on anyone else?” Rachel asked Thom who stood with linear posture in the archway of the ballroom.
“Your host should be here any moment,” he replied, still as a soldier.
“I thought you were our host?” Martha said with a certain confusion. As the words left her mouth, the blocky clicking of heels sounded from the ballroom. The clicking got closer until a woman of a tall build stood beside Thom, her head held high and her lips pulled into a tight smile. Silence fell over the group in the host’s presence. Her heels clicked again as she moved around to the head of the table, adjacent to Shelby and Martha.
“Hello girls, I will be your host this evening,” she announced, lowering herself down into the white velvety chair. Toni took this opportunity to start eating. The rest of the girls silently followed, all that could be heard in the moment was the sound of forks plunging into chicken and knives scraping plates.
“Thank god they gave me fake chicken,” Martha whispered to Toni who chuckled in response. The chicken in front of Martha didn’t look very fake.
“You’re probably all wondering why you’re here,” the woman began. “Let me start off by introducing myself. I’m Gretchen Klein and I am a researcher.”
Some modest nods passed around the table at this. Toni wasn’t thinking too critically about why they were here. She initially had figured their host was a rich journalist, looking to interview the girls or something of that nature. The dialogue this Gretchen lady was spieling seemed to be going in that direction.
“Now, we’ll skip the pleasantries, I’m about to tell you some information that may come off as shocking, but I encourage you to remain calm as I explain.”
A few knives were put down at these words. A sinister feeling snaked its way around Toni’s abdomen. A small frown landed on her face as her full attention was directed to the woman. Gretchen cleared her throat.
“The plane crash each of you survived just over three months ago was not at all a plane crash.”
The room was thick with confused silence.
“It was a social experiment I conducted regarding the peaceful nature of female governance.”
Toni’s chair screeched out from behind her as she stood, an animalistic expression creasing her entire face.
Shelby spoke. “Uh that’s- that’s not true our plane crashed- we felt it go down.”
Leah looked insane. “I knew it. I knew something was fucked.”
Gretchen was looking at Toni. “Please, Toni take a seat.”
She couldn’t find it within herself to bend her knees, she remained straight as an arrow until Martha grabbed her hand and lowered her down.
“You’re lying,” Martha said softly.
“Now, this news while shocking will actually bring you a sense of understanding and clarity regarding the challenges you endured while on that island.”
Toni couldn’t quite believe her ears, and that seemed to be the case with most of the other girls, based on their expressions.
“Challenges?!” Shelby yelled, “We almost died every day.”
Rachel propped her severed hand on the table and stared at Gretchen, deadly.
Gretchen closed her eyes for a minute, taking in a deep breath. “The reason I called you here today is because, with your consent, I’d like to publish the results of this study in my upcoming monograph; Gynetopia in The Wilds. It’s time to stick it to the patriarchy and finally turn the tables on the corrupt men who continue to run our nations on violence and bloodshed.”
The room was silent once again, you could practically hear the cogs turning in each of the girls’ minds.
“No,” Leah deadpanned. Her eyes were watery as she stumbled around for the words to say. “You can’t in good conscience exploit the traumas of eight unknowing girls for a quick buck. Not to mention our ninth girl died.”
Gretchen removed a napkin from the table and placed it to her mouth calmly.
“Not all of you were unknowing.”
Shelby held a hand to her mouth before mumbling “I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Toni looked around the table to find Nora staring darkly at Gretchen. They were clearly in the midst of a silent conversation. Nora nodded slowly before Gretchen cleared her throat.
“Nora was a confederate, as was Linh, who you knew as Jeanette.”
Toni buried her face in her hands, feeling her pulse beat rhythmically in her ears; the rage building in her legs, turning her limbs numb. Martha to the left of her was staring at the floral vase on the table with an open mouth, tears slowly swelling behind her eyes.
What an evening of disbelief.
She brought her eyes over to Leah who was wearing a familiar look of insanity, lip bit and eyes wild. Dot was frowning down at her hands which fidgeted with little certainty along a napkin. Fatin’s stare was alarmingly cold as it fell upon Gretchen. Toni was glad to see these girls were just as mad as she was. Rachel was still with shock beside her, staring at the spot where her hand used to be. She wouldn’t look at Nora who began to fiddle uncomfortably with her hair.
Gretchen cleared her throat once again. “I legally require your consent to publish the study.”
“Consent wasn’t so important when you trapped us on an island for over a month,” Leah was becoming furious.
“Guys don’t let it be all for nothing,” Nora piped up. “Sure, it was dangerous and immoral and I feel so bad I wanna rip my skin off, but it was extremely therapeutic for all of us. And some of us even got a relationship out of it,” Nora explained rather poorly, gesturing to Shelby and Toni. Shelby began to play with her earring as she dipped her head down, suddenly becoming very interested in her plate. Toni just stared coldly at Nora. Who would’ve thought that to be something she’d ever do.
“To put it bluntly, if you don’t formally consent to the publication of this study, I will be forced to blackmail you all.”
Angry gasps flew around the table at this heinous announcement. The girls started yelling over the top of each other.
“Blackmail?! Bitch you can try—“
“I’m gonna lawyer up.”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“BLACKMAIL?!”
“The fuck?!”
“What could you possibly blackmail us with?”
Gretchen waited for silence. When the girls had stopped yelling and were now, as a whole, heaving angered breaths, she spoke.
“I have files on each of you. Don’t think for a moment it would be challenging to dig through your secrets for the darker secrets. I don’t think you girls would want me to do that. I don’t want to have to do that. Blackmail isn’t a resolution among reasonable people.”
The Unsinkable Eight were silent.
“That’s it I’m leaving,” Leah announced, pulling on her side handbag and pushing out her chair.
“I wonder how the authorities would feel about your romance with Jeff. And Ian; I wonder if he sleeps at night with his door locked.” Gretchen tilted her head deep in thought. Toni felt hot dread creep up her spine, she didn’t want Gretchen to expose anyone else. Leah stood blinking as if something was caught in her eye. Her hands were shaking, she struggled with comprehension.
“The birth certificate. You—“
At that the lights went out. Hoots of surprise spilled around the room. The clinking of a glass could be heard. And then a calamitous knock, followed by a thud and the fall of cutlery. Leah rushed for a light switch on the wall. As she flicked it on, they were faced with a most unpleasant sight.
A lifeless Gretchen lay on the table with blood snaking down her temple.
What a waste of a pretty face
What a waste, that face, that face, what a waste
What a waste of a pretty face
That face, what a waste, that face, that face
Will you want me when I'm old and dead?