“Biding for what?” Her hands shook.
He lifted them in his and ran his fingers across the back of her hand in soothing strokes. “I’m guessing for him to get away, get in the parlor, and be seen there before Penelope figured it out and screamed.”
“But why kill Nat?”
“Maybe she caught him doing something,” Joel suggested.
“If only Nat could tell us who he is.” Cassie exhaled. “This has to stop,” she said, stepping back from the bed as he covered Nat with the sheet.
“I think to figure out his identity, we’re going to have to go about ruling others out.”
“Agreed. So what do we know?”
“Based on the cleanness of the cut on Brady’s throat and the large bruises on Nat’s neck, I’d say we’re definitely dealing with a guy, like we assumed in the first place.”
“Agreed. So we have our four possible: Lyle, Heath, Devon, and Scott.”
Joel refused to say it out loud, but Talbot had to be in there. He started dating Izzy not long before Cassie’s stalker showed up. He’d be shocked if it was him, but he couldn’t rule anyone out other than his brother. Jayce would never.
“Jayce has to be removed,” Cassie said.
“Agreed.”
“And I’d be stunned if it was my cousin Scott. I know him.”
“But isn’t that the case with everyone here? We know them all—or think we know them. Someone is not who they seem.”
Nineteen
COULD IT BE SCOTT?Lyle?Cassie’s mind raced. Who made the most sense?
“It can’t be Devon,” Joel said. “He was back well before he could have taken Brady up to the drop-off. That had to take time. Although...”
“Although what?” Cassie narrowed her eyes. “You’re making that face.”
“What face?”
“The one when you’re thinking really hard about something.”
He shrugged. “It’s just something that’s been bugging me.”
“What’s that?”
“The sled I found.”
“Sled?” She frowned.
“The one I found by Brady’s body when I rappelled down to lift him back up.”
“Of course, the one in your photos. What has you thinking about the sled?”
“I just realized it couldn’t have been down there long because it wasn’t buried in the snow.”
“All right. And what does that make you think?” She started running it through her head—the implications, the possibilities.
“I’d be surprised if a man pulled a body on a sled up to the overhang, but maybe I’m wrong. Although, there is a possibilityit could have been a woman. With Brady’s size, she’d need the extra help of a sled.”
“But you said a woman would have a hard time slitting Brady’s throat and strangling Nat.”
