“Michael was kind of quiet,” Dani says after a moment.“So was Jason, honestly.He was the blond one, right?”
Laurie shakes her head.“I thoughtJasonwas the brown-haired one andMichaelwas the blond.”
Jennifer cringes.“I am just picturing the same person.”
“Michael was blond, Jason had brown hair, and Ari must have been telling everyone about his aunt,” Wes says, and I remember he met all the men during cocktail hour.I don’t know if their conversations were as robust as the women’s down in the basement, but even if they were, the way men act around other men is different from how they act with women.While there’s every chance that Ari, Michael, or Jason is Heart Eyes, it’s just as likely that one of them is the dead guy in the hallway on the other side of the mezzanine.
“Who’s next on the list?”Laurie asks once we reach a communal impasse on the guys I can’t remember.
I point to another name.
“Lee and I were figuring out how he could get Nia’s attention—”
“Oh really?”Dani says, and when all eyes turn to her she looks a little disappointed.She tries to shrug it off.“I liked Lee.”
“He was sweet,” Laurie agrees, and when Jennifer nods, I know they’re all thinking that disqualifies him from being the killer.Being sweet and being interested in another woman shouldn’t make him a suspect, but we also haven’t seen him at all since the night took a sharp turn.He’s had just as much opportunity as anyone else to be the killer.
“There was John,” Laurie says.
John.
Since he left—since he hasn’t comeback—I have to admit the idea that it could be him has bullied its way into my brain.I can’t tell if the foreboding twist in my stomach is because he hypothetically had the opportunity to kill the guy in the hallway and leave the rose and card in the VIP room, or because he’s completely innocent and probably slashed to pieces somewhere.
“How did that date go?”Dani asks, and I feel the weight of Jennifer’s and Wes’s stares on the side of my face.My cheeks heat up and I hope no one can see it when I drop my attention back down to the card and shrug.We had a good date, I told him I liked Taylor Swift’s music, and he’s been missing forso long…
“It was fine.”Then on second thought I look up.Laurie got to experience all my dates after me.If I made such an incredible impact on one of these guys, you’d think she’d be the first to know about it.“How was he with you?”
“Nice.”She shrugs.“He seemed interested in our conversation.Present.Bare minimum stuff.”
“Our date wasreallygood,” Jennifer says, then she blushes.I don’t think she meant to put that much emphasis on the word.“I mean, it was good, too.Nice.”
“He was nice to talk to,” Dani adds.“I felt more comfortable with him than some of the other guys.”
Nice.Nice.Nice.It’s a unanimous assessment, but it doesn’t take that twist out of my stomach, because if he was standing here now, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
My mind flashes back to when we were all in the basement after Curtis was killed.John was a few feet away from me when we heard that scream, the one I’m sure belonged to the coat check attendant.
Unless he can be in two places at once, there’s no way he did it.
Not to mention, there are five other men who have been gone just as long as he has.I told all of my dates about my music preferences.And John and Jennifer’s date was clearlyreallygood.
The guilt for thinking that he’s a suspect, especially when everyone else is singing his praises, is quickly overshadowed by the guilt that I should have done more to make him stay.I should’ve gone after him instead of following the sounds of that unfortunate disembowelment.But then again, Heart Eyes could have found the others if I hadn’t caught him in the act.He could have snuck up on them and cut everyone down if I’d followed John.More people would be dead.Lauriecould be dead, and I’d never forgive myself if that happened because I was chasing after some guy.
Laurie moves in to look at the card.“Who’s left?”
“Me,” Wes says, and when the other women all glance at the space between the two of us, what little of it there is, I think it’s pretty obvious that for the most part our date could be considered successful.That could be a strike against him, but Wes was with Billie and Dani in the basement when Heart Eyes crafted his little display.He’s the only man we know of who hasn’t gone off on his own.
Laurie clears her throat, fully recovered from her spewing spell, and the slight quirk she performs with her eyebrow is a taunt I hear loud and clear.
Eye fucker.
Instead of dignifying or affirming her accusation with a response, I simply purse my lips and go back to the list of names.There’s only one more familiar one left.
“Campbell was supposed to be my last date, but then…”
“Curtis,” Jennifer and Dani say in chorus before we all fall silent.
“Hewasacting shifty, and hedidleave the group as soon as our backs were turned.”Laurie has returned to her logical mode.It doesn’t fully check out for me, though.Even though the Norman Bates vibeswere strong with him, it feels a bit too anticlimactic for a slasher.These days the shifty guy is rarely the killer.
