Page 24 of Lady Killer

“You know Aaron stalked me from my dorm and hunted me through the backwoods on campus,” I said.

“I told you that he didn’t suffer enough, didn’t I, darling?” Everest cooed, while Nixon rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut.

“Aaron wasn’t alone. There was someone else with him.”

Everest went rigid, while Alister’s grip on the arms of his chair tightened.

“Why didn’t you tell Lucian this?” Nixon snapped.

“He was interested in why I killed Aaron, not my entire life story. I didn’t think he’d care about the number of sheep that night.”

“Sheep?” questioned Alister.

“Yes, sheep. Aaron and the other person wore identical masks that night—plastic sheep masks.”

“And you believe that Melody was one of the sheep?” he asked, immediately connecting the dots.

“Yes, I do.”

“Because of what the text said. ‘What’s a sheep to a lion?’”

“Amongst other things,” I said, picking off a piece of invisible lint on my sweater.

“Petite diablesse.” Alister’s voice rumbled so deeply I practically felt it between my legs.

Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself. “She made a comment the night of the Christmas party that she knew Aaron was selling drugs.”

“That’s it?” Nixon scoffed.

Alister raised a hand to silence him before tilting his head at me to continue, and I briefly explained what I’d found on her TikTok.

Nixon groaned and rolled his eyes, while his brother looked at me contemplatively.

“What do you think the connection is between the killer and the sheep?” Alister asked.

“Killers.”

He arched a single brow.

I sighed, raising my own in response before indulging him. “The first two murders were too different from the third for them all to have been committed by the same person. And based on his behavior before his death, I’m fairly confident that Aaron was directly involved in killing Glory Van Holt . . .”

Pausing, I weighed the value of sharing the next bit of information.

“I believe the killer is the person who called off the sheep on Halloween night . . .”

“What do you mean?” Everest asked, suddenly sitting up straight.

He’d had no reaction to my revelations until now, confirming my suspicions that he also believed Melody was a sheep.

“Two sheep chased me into the woods that night. While I was hiding and they were searching for me, one of them got a call. I couldn’t hear what was said, but whatever it was, it made them abandon their hunt for me.”

“Another detail you neglected to tell my brother,” Nixon said, his lip curled into a sneer.

“I answered all the questionsyour brotherhad for me. If certain details didn’t come up or he failed to ask the right questions, it’s hardly my fault,” I snapped.

“Ehh.” Everest winced. “Best not keep details from Lucian in the future, darling. He can be a bit fussy about those kinds of things. I would know.”

Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.

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