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“As would I.” A small crease appeared between her eyebrows, as she watched him closely. He broke eye contact first, picking up his mouse and fiddling with it. “One might assume someone was preventing them from doing so.”

No one had anything to say to that. I ran a hand through my hair, wondering how to bring up my idea, but Isabel broke the silence for me.

“I believe Adam is correct.”

He studied her, his eyes wide. “I often am, though to which matter are you referring?”

“This is… torture, of a kind. Psychological warfare.”

Tom frowned. “It’s not exactly pulling teeth and fingernails…”

“Not all torments are visited upon the flesh.” She returned his curious look before addressing the rest of us. “It seems clear at this stage that the killers are playing a game – toying with you, Erin, as a means of targeting Nick.” Nicholas frowned at her as she continued. “He is certainly the strongest common denominator, which leads me to wonder if your meeting at all might also have been orchestrated – though one wonders what they might have to gain from such an action, unless they had hoped you might kill one another.”

“But—” I began.

“Of course, the moment Nick saw you, he knew who you were. What you might mean to him,” she went on. “He would never hurt you, or let harm come to you. But it is unlikely the killers could have predicted such a scenario.”

Nicholas barked a bitter laugh. “I havnae exactly kept her safe so far.”

“No. And yet she is physically well enough. Mentally though…”

I gazed at the floorboards. She wasn’t wrong.

“They could have killed you already, and they chose to give you back.” Adam surprised me by agreeing with Isabel. “It may have been a test of your limits, but it was also an effective way to make Nick suffer, just like leaving a body that looked like you on the doorstep for him to find. If even temporarily, they made him believe you were dead.”

Tom made a low whistling sound, staring at Nicholas. “I don’t even want to know what you did to deserve this.”

Nicholas said nothing. He’d done plenty – everyone presentknew as much. But was it any more than Isabel, or anyone else?

I cleared my throat to break the awkward silence that fell, choosing my next words carefully.

“Okay. So they brought us together. They’ve done… awful things,” I paused. “And they’re escalating.”

“Go on,” Adam encouraged.

“They’re one step ahead, watching us. They know everything about us, apparently.”

“I’m not sure you need to reiterate—”

I cut Tom off. “Give me a minute. So why has it worked? Why haven’t we done something, or learned more by now?”

Isabel looked thoughtful. “I suppose we have been hindered by a lack of cooperation,” she mused, glancing at Tom. “The killers have chosen to remain in the shadows, using false identities… And of course, Nick and I sleep during the day, which has likely had an unfortunate effect.”

“Lack of cooperation is a funny way of putting it,” Tom chimed in.

“Yeah, but she’s right.” I gave him a hard look. “You and I have barely been speaking since Maggie died. I’ve been trying to manage on my own – so Jolt’s taken a downturn – and you’ve only shared your giant genius brain with these guys in the last few days.” I smiled a little to soften my words. “Everyone in this room has had some kind of conflict with at least one person here.”

“You’re suggesting our continued discord has allowed them to remain one step ahead,” Isabel murmured.

“Yes!” I nodded. “It’s why they’ve been playing dress up asyou two,” I gestured to Isabel and Nicholas. “They convinced Tom that Nicholas attacked him, and both of us that you guys were behind everything that happened in the beginning. It’s probably the reason all the women killed were redheads, too.”

Adam looked impressed. “I rather think you’re right.”

“And what would you have us do with such knowledge?” Isabel raised an eyebrow. “We are no longer at odds – mostly – but I would hardly call it an advantage on our part.”

“It is and it isn’t,” I edged. “If they’re paying as much attention as we think, then they’ve probably figured out the gig’s up, and it’s only a matter of time before we’re on to them. Whatever their ultimate move – probably to kill Nicholas – it’ll come soon.”

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose. “But we still don’t know how to find them. And if that’s the case, we don’t have time to go digging any more.”