Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
You know you’re wrong when the conspiracy theorist who took your door off the hinges and checked you for a brain implant makes the most sense.
“No secrets.”
He nodded, trusting me. Which made me fall a little harder for him. Wilder trusted no one. It was a huge deal for him to take me at my word. I wouldn’t betray that.
“We’ll talk later. Plan our next move.” He checked his watch. “I’ve got to get to the memorial, but I’m not going anywhere until you’re safe in the Gallery. Levi, Owen, and Wesley just became a lot more dangerous than they were twelve hours ago.”
“Are you sure you should go?” I asked as we set off.
“You’re going to look at the footage with Katie tonight, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I haven’t hacked her or the cops ’cause there’s no reason to risk the heat when she offered to show it to you anyway. Get names for everyone her cameras pick up around the pool, and I’ll get names for everyone who shows up at the memorial. I’m going because if I was the Phantom, that’s where I’d be. Bawling and pretending to be another grieving friend.”
I bobbed my head. “Good thinking. You know, I told Saylor Gabriella had a motive to kill Natale to mess with her, but while I was talking, I kind of convinced myself. I assumed his death had to do with the Phantom because he came to me in such a panic about them. But Gabriella was there that night too,” I said.
“Giovanni told me the police were going to interview him first thing the next morning. He was the prime suspect in Ashton’s death because he was the only one of them to leave his girlfriend to die at the bottom of a cliff. What if Gabriella was afraid he’d go in there and say it was her, not him? All her lies and lawyers couldn’t help her if both Annika and Giovanni put the blame on her.”
“Hmm. It is possible,” he confessed. “We did assume it had to be the Phantom, but Giovanni knew things that could destroy other people. The guy he paid to do his assignments for one. Royal Giovanni could buy his way into academic probation, but Dreg Andy Elrod would be expelled.”
“That’s who cheated for him?” Wilder nodded. “Students kill themselves to get in Regalia U. Not to mention an expulsion for cheating on his record would ruin his life. That’s motive for sure.”
“The only other people I can think of are Wesley, Owen, and Levi,” Wilder said. “Natale was the weak link, and that link was about to be interrogated by the cops. Levi in particular would’ve taken drastic steps to make sure he didn’t talk, but I doubt it was one of them.”
Surprisingly, I found myself agreeing. I knew all three of them were capable of shutting Giovanni up for good, and I’m sure Giovanni knew too.
“I doubt he told them he was going to confess to me,” I said. “Which is the only reason they’d risk following him onto Katie’s guarded property and crashing a party they weren’t invited to, around dozens of witnesses, to get him.”
“Not just that, but everything about Friday night screamed murder of opportunity.” Wilder drifted closer avoiding a bike rider. His sweet, bergamot cologne wafted over me, tickling my brain. Wilder always smelled like something you could gulp down with honey. “The killer used your stun gun to attack both of you. If he or she knew in advance what Giovanni was going to do, they would’ve brought their own weapon instead of leaving it to chance.”
I shook my head. “That just confirms it, doesn’t it? The killer was definitely on the guest list. They were there, they saw Giovanni follow me to the pool, and they acted fast. The wild thing is the one person we know for sure didn’t do it, is among the most vile Royals of them all. Saylor was with Rafael when it all happened.
“One cleared. Eighty suspects to go.”
“We’ll figure this out.” The Gallery loomed up ahead. “We just said the killer didn’t have a plan. They were desperate to stop Giovanni, so they acted fast. Which means they made a mistake. That mistake will get them caught—by us.”
I paused before our door and kissed his cheek. Wilder raised a brow at me like I did something curious, teasing me to giggle. “I’ll tell you what Katie and I find. Good luck at the memorial.”
“Stay inside. Don’t let anyone in but us. Decontaminate in the hallway.”
“I’ll miss you too,” I called at his back.
Chuckling, I went inside. Things between me and Wilder were undefined, but that didn’t worry me. At first it did after we kissed and then he found me in bed with Rafael. I’d thought there’d be jealousy, tension, or an awkward talk about having to choose between him and his friend.