Page 189 of Good Boys Don’t Bite

“What?”

“That.”

“Affection?”

“Disgusting.”

“Right.”

Ronan settled beside him again. Elliot stared at the ceiling. For approximately three minutes, everything felt normal. Then Ronan's phone vibrated. Neither moved. Again. Elliot's stomach tightened. Ronan reached toward the nightstand.

“Don't.”

He paused.

“What?”

“Leave it.”

“It could be Vance.”

“It could be whoever's fucking with us.”

“Exactly.”

Ronan grabbed it. Unknown number. Elliot sat up. The message contained a video. No text. Ronan looked at him.

“Don't open it.”

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

Ronan opened it. The video lasted seven seconds. Dark. Shaky. Recorded from a distance. A parking lot. Mason Kerr walking alone toward his car. Timestamp in the corner. FRIDAY · 11:41 P.M. Less than an hour before Mason disappeared. Mason reached his car. Stopped. Turned. Someone entered the edge of the frame. Black clothes. Tall. Male. Face hidden. Ronan paused the video. Elliot's heartbeat stopped. Not because of the figure. Because he knew the angle. He knew exactly where the camera had been. Across the street. Behind the fence. Someone had been there. Watching. The video resumed. Mason stepped backward. The figure approached. Then the recording ended. Ronan replayed it. Once. Twice. Three times.

“That's him.”

Elliot forced his voice steady.

“Who?”

“The killer.”

“Maybe.”

Ronan enlarged the final frame. The figure's face remained impossible to see. No mask visible. Just darkness. Ronan stared.

“He's about my height.”

Elliot said nothing.

“Build too.”

“Half the men on campus are your height.”

“Not half.”

“Enough.”