Mike Ashley - The Mammoth Book of Locked-Room Mysteries And Impossible Crimes

Julie shook his head. “You’re insane. How d’you imagine I could dispose of six bodies? And I was with you when Senko disappeared. How am I supposed to have killed him, when I was with you?”

Paxton gave a humourless smile. “Tanya’s been helping you.”

A soft footfall in the snow made Paxton spin around quickly. Tanya stood behind him, wearing her heavy outdoor gear. She was holding the plastic sample container filled with Lake Vostok water, cradling it carefully in both hands. Paxton gazed at her, wondering where she had been hiding when they had searched everywhere.

“You caught us,” she said ruefully. “Not that it matters, since you’re the last one.”

“You killed them,” said Paxton slowly. “You killed Senko with the can of milk he was looking for. I saw it on top of the pile, so he should’ve found it immediately, yet he spent some time rummaging for it. You’d moved it.”

Julie and Tanya exchanged a glance that told him he was right. He continued.

“You hit him over the head with it – a strand of his hat caught in the rim. I was looking out of the window at the time, so Julie pulled that trick with the popping stove to distract me.”

Julie nodded. “We had to take you one by one or you’d have been able to overpower us. After Tanya brained Senko, I stabbed Hall.”

“But you managed Morris and Bannikov at the same time.”

“Morris was a stroke of luck,” said Tanya. “He took a swig from Bannikov’s flask to give him courage when they went into the drill-house. The compound’s got no taste or smell, so they only knew it was poisoned when it was too late.”

“Senko heard Morris moaning,” recalled Paxton. “Julie told us it was her.”

“Bannikov died quickly,” elaborated Tanya. “But Morris drank less and took longer. We tried to quieten him, but Senko heard anyway.”

“Senko’s death was carefully arranged, though,” Paxton went on. “Julie claimed there was no milk, so he’d fetch some. But there was plenty of milk. Hall opened a new can yesterday.”

Julie nodded. “If any of you’d had the sense to look in the can that Hall knew was virtually full, I’d have been caught in a lie.”

“And Wilkes was strangled,” said Paxton. “I found his necktie, twisted like it had been used as a garrotte.”

“He was easy,” said Julie. “He came alone to the drill-house, and I distracted him while Tanya slipped up behind.”

“But why?” asked Paxton, bewildered. “I thought we were friends.”

“We were,” said Julie. “And a more congenial and pleasant team we couldn’t have hoped for. But whoever analyzes that sample from Vostok will have a reputation for life. Why should we share? Hall was always boasting about how much money Americans have for science, and Bannikov and Senko have the backing of their government. Tanya and I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“But we will now,” said Tanya. She glanced down at the container she held. “And we were lucky we did put our plan into action, given that you lot only managed to retrieve this one bottle. There isn’t enough here for eight people to share.”

“You killed five people just to promote your careers?” asked Paxton, aghast.

Julie nodded, unabashed. “There’s a lot at stake here. Whoever publishes first will be famous.”

“There may even be a Nobel Prize,” suggested Tanya hopefully.

“But how can you expect to get away with this?” asked Paxton, horrified. “When the plane comes, you’ll have to explain why all your colleagues are dead.”

“That won’t be a problem,” said Julie smugly.

“Hall’s radio messages,” said Paxton, suddenly understanding why she had been so keen for McMurdo to be informed about the ludicrous notion that something from the lake was responsible for the disappearances. “You’ll claim he went insane and killed everyone.”

“Leaving only two frightened survivors,” confirmed Julie. “Our only way out of here is on a plane sent from McMurdo, so we had to invent a story they’d believe. People go crazy on these remote polar bases all the time – why not here, with the added stress of being on the verge of a great scientific discovery? Anyone who knows Hall won’t be surprised that he convinced himself some monster was on the loose. He watched too many videos altogether.”

“How did you guess I was Julie’s accomplice?” asked Tanya curiously.

Paxton sighed tiredly. “Because as soon as I knew Julie was the culprit, I also knew she couldn’t have done it alone. You were the first to go, so it had to be you – using your disappearance to frighten the rest of us until you were ready to kill your first victim. I also found a scrap of wood with some of your hairs attached – caught when you struggled into your hiding place before anyone could see that you hadn’t disappeared at all.”

“And where was my hiding place? You searched the whole camp and didn’t find me.”

“The drill-house roof. You climbed up the drill and slipped between loose planks, which was why you were able to lock the door from the inside.”

Tanya nodded.

“And you hid the bodies there, too,” Paxton continued. “The snow on the roof is thick, and it’d be easy to hollow out coffin-shaped grooves that aren’t visible from the ground. And a small ice cave would be an ideal hiding place for you – not too cold and out of the wind.”

“But only for a short period of time,” said Tanya. “That was why we had to act quickly.”

“When I suggested we use the drill-house roof as a high point to scan the ice, Julie immediately volunteered to go because she said she was the lightest… ”

“If you’d gone, you’d have seen our hollows,” said Julie. “Not to mention the winch we assembled to haul the bodies out of sight quickly. Would you like to see them now?”

Paxton gazed at her. “So you can kill me and be saved the bother of taking my body up there?”

“You’re the last,” said Julie dismissively. “It doesn’t matter whether we put you there or not. There’s no one left to hide your body from.”

Suddenly, her penknife was in her hand, and she was moving towards Paxton with grim determination. Tanya shoved the sample container in her pocket and darted behind him, dividing his attention. He realized he still held the heavy milk can that had killed Senko, and he hurled it as hard as he could. It hit Julie in the chest, knocking her from her feet so that the knife flew from her hand. Paxton was inclined to run, to escape the women who had murdered his colleagues, but there was nowhere to go. He would die on the ice just as surely as if Julie stabbed him.

He dived for the knife, aware that Tanya was close behind him. He skidded and lost his balance. Tanya was on him in an instant, clawing and scratching at him, and trying to prevent him from reaching the weapon. Meanwhile, Julie had recovered and was on her hands and knees, inching slowly towards the weapon.

In the distance, there was a dull growl that grew steadily louder. For a moment, Paxton thought it was something to do with the drill, but he glanced up and saw a tiny black speck in the sky.

“It’s a plane!” he yelled, trying to scramble to his feet. “You made McMurdo so concerned by allowing Hall to broadcast his insane messages that they’ve braved the fog and sent help.”

“But not soon enough to save you,” said Tanya grimly. “Our plan will still work.”

She lunged to one side, and Paxton felt his hood tightening around his neck. While he used both hands to try to loosen the choking grip, Julie finally reached the knife and climbed unsteadily to her feet. She staggered forward, the weapon poised for a swipe that would see her and Tanya the sole inheritors of the contents of Lake Vostok.