The snow crunched under his feet. The moon's light was as cold as ice. The blackness of the sky drowned out the twinkling light of the stars. Ian's breath was steamy in the frozen darkness. His shadow extended before him, as if trying to reach the ends of all the earth. He was looking at his shadow when he noticed another shadow . . . but this shadow that lurked behind him was holding a knife. Before he had time to react . . . it was all over.

When sheriff Ted arrived, he had found nothing but the body of Ian Kabra, still in the snow, his crimson blood amazingly dark against the whiteness of the snow.
The doctor ... Ned... was out of town, and could not be called. The mafia had struck.

"What the heck? That's not fair!" Ian threw up his hands in mock exasperation. "If that was true, I would have broken the mafia's neck!"

Sinead frowned. "Sorry. The Doctor didn't pick you. I couldn't control it. Sorry."

Ian glared. "Well at least now I'll know who the mafia is, seeing as I get to stay awake for this round."

Sinead arched her eyebrows. "You better keep your mouth shut boy, or I know a mafia who will be quite mad at you." She checked her watch, and began again. "Everyone . . . go to sleep."

Hamilton, Reagan, Madison, Amy, Ted, Ned, Dan, Natalie, Jonah and Nellie shut their eyes. Ian kept his eyes wide open, and he glanced around suspiciously.

Sinead began to speak. "Mafia, you will remain the same. If I tap you twice, you are the doctor . . if I tap you three times, you are the doctor." She moved quietly around the circle of blinded Cahills, tapping her selected people.

"Mafia. Wake up." She announced, and glanced at the mafia. Ian drew in a quick breath, and muttered. "You!"

Sinead smiled. "Mafia, pick your victim." The mafia's eyes wandered over the circle of very vulnerable Cahills, and pointed at one. Sinead nodded, showing that she understood who the mafia's selection was. "Doctor. Wake up and select who you wish to heal." The doctor, blinking their eyes open, stared and pointed. Sinead once again nodded, and the process was repeated with the sheriff.

"Everyone wake up." Sinead said. "I have a sad story to tell you."

Hamilton groaned. "I suppose this means the mafia has struck again? And the idiot sheriff missed him?"

Sinead arched her eyebrows. "Possibly." She shut her eyes, and began weaving together a tale . . .

Natalie's hair was arranged in a beautiful up-do that complemented her features nicely. She was wearing an elegent dress, and was positively dripping with diamonds. They hung from her earlobes, her throat, and arrayed her delicate wrists. She did indeed make a pretty picture.

The wine was delicious.

Natalie groaned. "Do you have to make me be a glutton and drunkard? Why can't I die normally?"

Sinead smiled. "I never said you died, did I?"

At Natalie's slightly hopeful smile, she continued, After her third glass (Natalie rolled her eyes, and threw up her hands, shrugging.) . . . she had to pee. (Once again, Natalie groaned, and placed her face in her palms.) ... the water closet was only a quick trip away, and she excused herself, and hurried towards it. Rounding a corner, she thought she heard footsteps behind her. Whirling around, she looked at the empty hall behind her. There was nothing, so she continued on. And then she clutched her throat and gasped. Someone was pulling her necklace from behind.

Natalie struggled valiantly, but to no avail. The mafia was too strong, and the chain necklace too choking. She fell to the floor, her strength gone, and with no glimpse of the mafia's face.

But the mafia made a mistake! Thinking the girl was gone, the mafia was gone quickly, footsteps echoing in the empty hall.

Doctor Dan Cahill arrived just in time to revive Natalie. He called the sheriff, but sheriff Reagan had no leads, and no one to pin the blame on.

Natalie almost squealed. "I could kiss you, Dan!" She cried, her face an expression of pure delight. Her liquid brown eyes shone, and her lips were turned up in a smile.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Well, why don't you? It was so hard running out in the hall after you."

Ian frowned. Looking at the floor, (so as not to look at anyone) he said, "The mafia sure hates the Kabras."

Amy snorted. "And the doctor sure loves them."

Dan turned a beet red. "Hey!"

"Sorry."

Sinead smiled. "Shall we continue on?"

"Yes." Dan said. "I need to find this mafia, and murder them."

Sinead nodded, "Let's begin." Once again, the cycle was completed, with a new doctor and sheriff being chosen, the maifa choosing a victim, and the doctor and sheriff doing their appointed jobs.

"Everyone, awake!" Sinead announced cheerfully.

Dan's eyes gleamed. "Did the mafia strike, and did we catch it?"

Sinead smile fell from her face as she looked at Dan. "Would you just shut up?"

Dan looked at the floor. "Fine."

Sinead began: Our dear, dear, dear cousin Dan Cahill was walking to the bathroom.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Great."

He stepped into the stall, and was surprised when it suddenly shut behind him with a clang. Suddenly, the lights turned off, and a familar smell filled the air.

Poison. There was no escaping it. By the time the sheriff discovered his body, and called the doctor, it was too late.

Dan groaned. "I died in a bathroom? Seriously? Who is this mafia? Like seriously, I need to kill him, and now."

Sinead smiled. "Let's do this one more time, and see where it goes."

She told everyone to shut their eyes, selected the doctor and sheriff, and the game began again. When Dan saw who the mafia was, his gasp of outrage was slightly louder than a nuclear explosion.

Sinead smiled, and watched attentively as the mafia, doctor, and sheriff picked out their selected persons.

"Awake!" She called. Everyone opened their eyes.

The tension in the room mounted as they all looked at Dan, who looked as though he might spiral off into an asthma attack any minute.

She smiled. "Here we go!" Rolling her eyes up to the ceiling, she thought a moment, smiled, spoke a quick word instructing no one to interrupt her, and then began.

Sheriff Nellie Gomez was determined to take down the mafia. The mafia's identity was unknown, but Nellie Gomez had a lead, a lead that no one else would have noticed.

The mafia had left behind a tampon wrapper after killing Dan Cahill. Nellie had deduced that the mafia was a woman, and that she had been disguised as a man, in order to follow Daniel into the bathroom. But when nature calls, nature calls, and you must respond, whether you are dressed as a man, or a woman.

She visited the other sites where the maifa had struck, looking for any clues that might have been missed. But this mafia knew her business, and she was good. There was nary a clue anywhere.

The snow was cold under her feet, as she visited the last site, where Ian Kabra had been killed. His blood was still crimson on the snow underneath the pine tree. The sun was shining brightly, and birds chirped merrily in the tree above her. She couldn't believe that Ian had died in such a beautiful place.

And that's when she realized. Dan Cahill had been at a ball, along with Natalie, when the mafia had struck. The place was glittering with beautiful gems of all value.

And the site of Ian Kabra's death was equally beautiful.

Perhaps this mafia only went to beautiful places. There was a crunch behind her in the snow. The slash of the knife was quick, and Nellie fell to the snow.

The mafia was quick, but not quick enough for Nellie. In her dying moments, she captured the mafia's face with her . . . her . . . recording pen, and when the doctor arrived, she showed Jonah Wizard the video, which he posted on all of his social media sites, all 432 of them.

Mafia Amy Cahill was quickly captured and is now serving jail time for her crimes.

Nellie Gomez is recovering in the hospital from her injuries, and is expected to make a full recovery, thanks to Jonah Wizard's quick thinking.

"It was Amy?"

"What?"

"How?"

"I should have known."

"I can't believe it! I should have guessed though, since everyone was dying except her."

Amy smiled lightly. "I'd make a good Lucian, don't you think?"

Ian rolled his eyes. "No. Because your first target happened to be the branch leader so . . ."

Dan smirked. "More like she's in looooove with the branch leader, so of course she'd make a good Lucian."

Amy smacked him.

Nellie frowned. "Kiddo . . . why'd you try to kill me? I was your faithful au pair for a really long time, and you tried to kill me?"

Amy nodded. "I had a system. First kill of the evil Kabras, next my family, so no one suspects me. . . "

Ian interrupted. "The evil Kabras? Why us first?"

Amy smiled. "Ian. Everybody hated you two during the clue hunt. It would have been natural for anyone to kill you . . . " Ian shot her a look that would have made even the strongest Lucian wither.

Nellie cut her off. "You know what? I need some power food. All this talk is making my brain hurt. Let's go eat!"

The Cahills began filing out, ready to devour Nellie's gourmet dishes.

Ian stood by the door, and when Amy walked by, he grabbed her arm. They were the only ones in the room.

Amy looked up at Ian, her eyes questioning. "What?"

Ian smiled. "I need revenge."

Amy cocked her head, looking at Ian's amber eyes, which swirled with some mysterious emotion. "For what?"

Ian rolled his eyes. "Must I explain everything to you, Madrigal? For killing me."

Amy was undaunted. "What are you going to do? Punch me?"

Ian shook his head. "No. Kiss you."

His lips met hers with a blast of searing heat; his hands grasped her waist, and they were lost in their own little world . . . until Natalie found them.

This is just a short little oneshot I wrote for Etincelle.

Merry *late* Christmas!

Review, please!