Sierra ran her tongue against her lip piercing, keeping her eyes on the executive producer.Yeah, Ranielle, she wanted to say.Where’s Louis?
Ranielle briefly met Gabriela’s eye, then let her gaze drift over her audience.
“Last night, my husband’s body was found in a hotel room.” She paused before adding, “He killed himself.”
Gasps.
Ranielle went on. “I have not received the coroner’s report, but the medical examiner suspects an intentional overdose.”
Sierra wondered if Ranielle would mention that it was Carter who had found the body, after being invited to the hotel room for an “interview.” She wondered how much Ranielle knew about her husband. She wondered how many contestants he’d preyed on before.
She wondered when Ranielle had started planning his murder.
“But . . . why?” said Fitzy, his voice barely a whisper. “Why would he . . . ?”
“Louis was a talented man,” said Ranielle, “but he had his demons to fight, as much as anyone.”
She went on to tell them that this show had been her husband’s life’s work, and he would want them to continue, to have fun, to complete these very last puzzles he had set for his beloved contestants. The show must go on, and all that.
She did not say that Louis’s death was a tragedy. She did not say that he would be missed.
She did not even pretend to be sad.
She also did not mention his confession. The suicide note had not been made public, but Sierra assumed it was only a matter of time. The police would probably be glad to get Alicia’s cold case permanently off their desks.
They weren’t even considering that Louis’s death could be a homicide. Ranielle was going to get away with murder. Again.
“I expect a police report to be made public soon,” Ranielle added, “at which point you will be free to discuss this with friends and family. Until then, should you feel the need to talk with someone, grief counselors will be provided.” She smacked her hands, as if brushing off something dirty. “We’ll be back here on Monday to film the semifinals, as scheduled. I’m sure you have many questions, but at this point I am not at liberty to answer most of them.”
Fitzy’s hand went up anyway, a little hesitant, like a student afraid of getting yelled at by the teacher. He even waited for Ranielle to give him a scowl before he asked, “W hat aboutnextseason? Is this . . . I mean. This isn’t the end of the show, is it?”
“That is one of the questions we need to work through,” she said. “So far, Hitflix is hopeful that we will be able to continue.”
Fitzy sank back. He looked shell-shocked, like the rest of them. “This show means too much, Ranielle. To all of us.” He swept his arm toward the crowd and received nods of agreement. “I don’t know how we’d do it without Louis, but if there’s a way . . .”
“He wasn’t irreplaceable,” said Ranielle—and there, finally. That hint of fury Sierra had been waiting for. “No onehere is irreplaceable.” She let her gaze linger a moment on Fitzy, and hurt flashed across his eyes. Then she turned and said directly to a grim-faced Vera, “Let’s try to remember that, shall we?”
THE HOLLYWOOD HERALD
Louis Augustus Russell Found Dead of Cyanide Poisoning, Determined Suicide by Police
TV personality Louis Augustus Russell died after ingesting potassium cyanide, revealed a report by the Los Angeles Chief Medical Examiner early this morning.
According to authorities, Russell, 35, was found dead in a hotel room Wednesday night by a thus-far un-disclosed colleague fromThe Escape Game—the popular mystery-themed game show that earned Russell his celebrity status as the puzzle-loving “Game Master.”
The Chief Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that the police have ruled the death a suicide, citing a letter written to Russell’s wife and co-producer, Ranielle Russell.
Russell has been beloved among fans ofThe Escape Gamesince its inception as a YouTube series nearly three years ago. The show—in which teams of young contestants compete to solve riddles, ciphers, and clues in order to “escape” increasingly complex and highly stylized rooms—grew in popularity largely due to its avid fans, who refer to themselves as Clue Masters. It briefly earned a prime spot on syndicated television before moving to Hitflix after Russell received an Emmy nominee for his role as co-producer in the Outstanding Reality Competition Program category.
Russell’s death has come as a shock to his friends and fans alike, with an outpouring of appreciation and emotional tributes taking over social media. A statement on the show’s official media page said, “In the midst of our heartbreak over the sudden passing of our brilliant Game Master, we vow to continue Louis’s legacy—by moving forward with the show, the game, the escape.”
When asked if Russell’s death might have anything to do with the unsolved murder of season four contestant Alicia Angelos, the show’s representative declined to comment.
Sierra swiped black lipstick across her lips. She hadn’t worn herarmor all weekend. Sure, she also hadn’t left the villas all weekend, but she had no idea when she’d grown comfortable enough with her teammates to let her guard down around them. She might’ve wondered if finding a dead body was one of those life-changing experiences that bonded people, but then, it hadn’t exactly gone that way with her first team.
She stepped out of the bathroom to find Carter and Beck at the kitchen island, finishing off bowls of cereal. They’d been subdued these last few days. All the contestants had been. Even Jarius hadn’t acted half as obnoxious as usual around the complex.
Sierra had done a lot of baking. Chocolate chip cookies, scones, focaccia, a peach pie. Adi had escaped into his books—at least when he wasn’t staring at Alicia’s note, trying to figure out the secondary code she’d left behind, hoping it might further implicate Ranielle. Carter had been glued to her phone ever since news of Louis’s death had gone public, trying to keep up with the outpouring of emotion on the Domain. In the wake of the report, Carter had done her due diligence as a top influencer by releasing a video highlighting some of the greatest moments fromThe Escape Game. Sierra doubted that most viewers would pick up on the fact that she’d only included moments in which Fitzy, with his offbeat energy and goofball charm, made the Game Master look rather dull in comparison.
