100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 155: Prometheus Ball II

Private Estate, Annecy

Sam and Levi rode silently in the backseat, dressed for the night. Levi in a tuxedo and bowtie, hair in its usual slicked style. Sam, on the other hand, had her shoulder-length hair placed in a loose side bun exposing her gorgeous slender neck.

Her make up had that 50’s feel to it, black eyeliner and bold red lips. In contrast, her gown was a long-sleeved evening dress, with gold lace appliques beads, floor-length.

The moment the two reached the Venue, in a private Estate in Annecy they exchanged mischievous grins.

They were ushered into the ballroom upon their entrance, eyes scanning their surroundings, wanting to remember everything in the event. About 12O people were present, all from different parts of the World, respected in their fields. There were also a few chosen benefactors in the room.

Sam smiled at the familiar face coming towards them; it was her Anthropology Professor Francis Morris.

"Professor!" She greeted, and the older man gave her a gentle hug. He was about her grandfather’s age if he was still alive. And it was evident on his face how happy he was to see her once more.

"Dr. Gray, I knew that blowing up carcasses will do the trick!" He claimed, enthused, knowing full well she rarely went to any event. And this time she even asked for a plus one. Prof. Morris noticed the tall man standing beside her, he had both classic good looks and exotics features, and he assumed he must be who she asked the plus one for.

Sam gestured to Levi, "Professor, This is Levi Jackson. Levi, Prof. Francis Morris." she introduced them. Levi shot the man his signature smile, and the two exchanged a handshake and short pleasantries. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Not long later, Dinner was served, and everyone ate, and an announcement was made.

"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, we’d like to inform you that we do have something especially set tonight, a game." the voice over the speaker said. "The game will be played in either a pair or as a group of 8. Each group will be trapped in a room, and you will need to figure out how to escape while fighting against the clock. Forty-five minutes time limit for Breakout, the participants have to solve puzzles, look for clues, crack codes and find secret passages to find their way out."

Levi and Sam exchanged looks; she knew he wanted to participate, puzzles were his favourite after all. "If you’re willing to participate, we would advise you to create your group, and sign up in a few minutes. The challenge is to finish it as soon as possible, the team with the shortest amount of time wins."

After Dinner finished, people dispersed, busy building groups of their own. Sam’s eyes scanned their surroundings with a curious brow, "They are taking this far too seriously." she said, earning a nod from the Irishman.

Prof. Morris popped from behind them, "Understandable; the winners will receive a ridiculous amount of money for any of their chosen research." he explained.

"Makes sense", Sam replied casually, causing the Professor to smile, knowing she wasn’t interested in any of that.

Unlike the other participants, Sam and Levi decided to visit an exhibit on the same floor, the main reason they attended was to see things that were generally banned in many countries. It featured real human bodies doing different physical and mental activities, allowing people to see the exact nature of the inside of the physical body.

"Hello." A woman with a Russian accent greeted the two, causing them to turn away from the sight of preserved black lungs displayed. The woman before them had long, straight blond hair and stood around 5 feet and 7 inches.

"Hi," Sam greeted back. The woman offered her hand to each of them, "Olivia Roman, I’m a Biochemist" she introduced. The two shook her hand, "Sam Gray---Forensic Pathologist" she said, "Levi Jackson, psychologist." he said.

Olivia gave them both a curt smile and went direct to the point, "Actually, I came here to invite you two to join our group." she said, gesturing to 2 men standing not far away, looking at them sheepishly. Sam and Levi exchanged looks; naturally, they wanted to work by themselves.

"Thank you for the offer. However, we’d rather play with just us." The redhead curtly declined, knowing full well the blond Irishman wouldn’t play well with others, and her real concern was making this experience as enjoyable as possible for the both of them. The only way that would be possible was if Levi was comfortable.

Olivia looked at them like they were stupid, something Levi read on her body language. "Are you sure? With a bigger group, we could have a greater chance of finishing the game faster." she reasoned, knowing full well that more members will increase their chances of succeeding; considering the majority of the teams haven’t been very successful at the task.

"You make a fair point; however, we work better on our own", Sam replied, slightly confused that she was still insisting when she already said no.

"Still, it would be a waste if you--"

Levi found her persistence annoying, and he decided to take the matters in his own hands by stepping closer to the woman and invading her personal space. He leaned forward since she was a few inches shorter than him. Took her hand in his and smiled his best charming smile, "Yes, thank you Olivia. We’ll be fine, good luck with your group." causing her cheeks to redden at his proximity. He reckoned that based on her terrible personal grooming, it’s not common for her to receive attention from good looking men like himself.

"Okay." She replied, walking away with a smile on her face.

Sam arched a brow at the blond; she’d seen him using his charms on women many times before. Usually to get ahead of cues and to get information for a case but he usually avoids physical contact, so holding someone’s hand just to get rid of them was somewhat a surprise. She half expected him just to be blatantly rude, but it may be possible he didn’t want to make a scene.

Sam elbowed the blond playfully, "Mr. Jackson making women blush." she teased. "Whatever makes her shut up", he said, turning to look at her and offering his elbow to her so they can proceed to the next exhibit.

10minutes later, another group was called over the speakers, then another. While the two gawked at a Tsantsas or shrunken head Exhibit. An ancient traditional technique of the Jivaro Indians from Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador. Tsantsas were made from enemies’ heads cut on the battlefield.

"Neat." Sam and Levi said in unison, grinning, reading the step by step process of shrinking human heads.

First, the skin and hair had to be separated from the skull to allow them to shrink at different rates. Then, the eyelids were sewn shut, and the mouth was stuck closed with a peg. And for the actual shrinking, the heads were put in a big pot and boiled for a precise amount of time. Then,

Once removed from the pot, the head would be about 1/3 its original size and the skin dark and rubbery. The skin would then be turned inside out, and any leftover flesh scraped off with a knife.

The scraped skin was then turned with the right side out again and the slit in the rear sewn together. The process wasn’t done yet. The head was shrunk even further by inserting hot stones and sand to make it contract from the inside. This also "tanned" the inside, like tanning an animal hide, to preserve it.

Once the head reached the desired size and was full of small stones and sand, more hot stones would be applied to the outside of the face to seal and shape the features. The skin was rubbed with charcoal ash to darken it, and as tribesmen believed, to keep the avenging soul from seeping out. The finished product was hung over a fire to harden and blacken, then the wooden pegs in the lips were pulled out and replaced with string to lash them together.

"Do you think Marco would like a homemade shrunken head for Christmas?" Levi asked out of the blue, causing Sam to guffaw, "I doubt it." She answered sincerely, knowing full well one of these days Levi might try out the process himself. She hoped not, as fascinating as some cultures were, she wouldn’t want a shrunken head for a Christmas gift either.

"Dr. Gray and Mr. Jackson." Their names were called from the speakers; the two looked at the man sporting the staff tux. The man ushered them to a room and left them there till Prof. Morris came in.

They were given short instructions, one of them was given a pocket watch to monitor their time, but ultimately they will be removed in the room if they are not able to escape the room in the allotted time. Blindfolded, they were taken somewhere after asking them to ride a golf cart which drove them to the location.

Almost 5minutes later, they heard a voice from an intercom saying that once they remove the blindfold, the time will start.

"Ready?" Sam asked since she was the time manager. "Yup," Levi answered, his voice held an edge of excitement and Sam could faintly imagine his lips curved up in a smile.