“That is not comforting.”
“He’s not comforting,” Lost said.“He’s useful.”
“Also not comforting.”
Piney grinned.“You get used to it.”
I doubted that.
Anchor continued before I could ask twenty follow-up questions.“We didn’t know who the first guy was.Still don’t.No ID.No phone.Nothing.Then more bodies showed.”
“How many?”I asked.
The room went quiet.
Not good.
Pearl looked down at the table and Push’s jaw tightened beside me.
Anchor answered.“Four dead bodies were left on the island before Bernice.”
I looked at Pearl because I remembered the name Bernice.
Push had almost said something about her last night and stopped.
Pearl’s face softened in a way that told me this was not just a name.
“She was with you?”I asked quietly.
Pearl nodded.“She worked with me.She was… family by the end.”
Anchor’s hand settled on the back of Pearl’s chair.
Pearl drew in a slow breath.“The killer used her to get to us.He sent a USB drive with pictures of women.One of them was Bernice.We found her too late.”
My throat tightened.“I’m sorry,” I said.
Pearl nodded once, but she didn’t look away.“Me too.”
Prime spoke next, his voice low.“Shay’s picture was on that USB too.”
I looked toward Shay.
She held Prime’s hand tightly, but her chin stayed lifted.“Mine was recent,” Shay said.“Taken without me knowing.Prime found me and brought me here because they thought I was next.”
I blinked.Okay.That explained a lot about why Shay looked at the clubhouse like it was safe instead of insane.“You were on the killer’s list?”
“Pretty much,” she said.
“That sucks.”
Her mouth twitched faintly.“Yeah.That about covers it.”
Anchor nodded toward Vin.“Vin started digging through footage, old records, anything we could find.We figured out Shay had been on the island as a kid.”
Shay’s grip tightened on Prime’s hand.
“She had memories,” Pearl said gently.“Not clear ones at first.Water, lights, screaming.Bernice knew her when she was little.”
