SETTLING THE BOOKS

Impatient lawyer JADE CAMDEN (late 20s) fills in for her father who wrote the will. Jade reads off her father’s laptop. The heirs: unshakable private investigator SHANK FIELDS (40s), a hefty, less than couth newspaper tycoon #CORNELIUS PRESCOTT (late 40s), a middle-aged, multi-lingual, know-it-all rare book authenticator LUCINDA BRETMORE, the butler who wears a tie-dye t-shirt ANTON HALL (19), and Jade, all receive a preliminary gift, each one more bizarre.

Jade reads on: “Jade Camden having fulfilled her duties, is to receive --” Jade pages to the next computer screen. “-- receive a rest.” “I will take over now” booms the voice of the unseen Dalton over the intercom. The computer goes black. “This is not some hokey tape after death. I’m very much alive.” Several stand to flee. “Sit down!!” They comply. “You came here greedily after my books. Well, you will not be disappointed. I have ‘thee’ book. I’ve found The Castillian Cypher!”

Bam! The pillar slides into the ceiling, revealing a book display stand on a thin floor pedestal holding an ancient book. “The only copy, and it goes… to the last one living.” Some gasp. Several rush for the door. Bam! A steel sleeve slams down, seals the door. Their eyes dart around like the trapped rats that they are.

“People, pay attention. You’ve a limited amount of oxygen and time to figure a way out of the room. I will only tell you once.” Dalton wheezes, then speaks rapidly. “The book is the key. Both from day one and today, it contains the answer. You need only decipher the Cypher. Don’t let the fact that never has it been done in a thousand years discourage you. After all, you are motivated.” Dalton laughs, bringing on another coughing fit. Dalton’s mike goes quiet.

The heirs scramble to find a weak spot in the wall. Try their cell phones. No service. Try the computer. No electricity. Try slamming shoulders into the sealed door. No use. Dalton laughs, reveals what perceived great wrong each one has done him. Then silence from Dalton. The heirs work together. Can any survive long enough to solve the Cypher, and gain their release before they run out of light, air, and time?

If that wasn’t enough of a ticking clock, the bookseller’s voice returns at intervals to extract a confession from an heir before causing that heir’s death.

The twist: Shank was hired years before to track down MEGAN, a woman the billionaire Dalton wanted. Shank has hid her for years in plain sight. So much in plain sight that Megan is impersonating an heir, and so Shank must also keep her identity secret as he attempts to free everyone from the room.