“I think it’s actually Gabrielle. I think she’s killing these people and then making the jewelry to sell online, but she’s been buying from her own store so that she can have the keepsakes. I think that the abuse Archie did to her was enough to make her lose it.”

The hands in the room slowly started to fall. Noah made sense, and he framed the narrative in a way I hadn’t thought of before. “So you think the few chapters from the murderer’s POV is actually Gabrielle?” I asked.

“I do,” he said, looking proud at his detective skills. “Think about it. Both Gabrielle and the killer are obsessed with the color red, while Gabrielle is also obsessed with making Archie’s life a living hell. I think he’s going to be the final victim.”

“Damn,” Tristan said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I think you figured it out.”

“Too bad I can’t figure out the mysteries happening in my own life,” he said, shoulders slumping.

That did something to the room. Shifted the mood. Noah was going through a living nightmare, and I was sure that we all wished we could crack the case. Eric, who was sitting next to Noah on the couch, put a reassuring arm around his friend’s shoulder. He was a big bear of a man, his frame dwarfing Noah’s next to him. “Why don’t we put book club on hold tonight and try to use those detective skills on figuring out what the hell is going on?”

“I like that plan,” Yvette said, pushing a rogue curl behind her ear. “I’ll admit, I’ve been doing some googling. Trying to figure out how other stalking cases have been cracked.”

“What did you find?” Noah asked.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Nothing very helpful. It does always seem like the stalker is someone close to the person. It’s not usually some rando online that decides to fixate on you.”

“But the only person I can think of that’s close to me and would do something like that is Franky…”

“What about any guys you’ve been with after Franky?” Tristan set his book down and swapped it for his drink. “You hooked up with a couple, right?”

“Just a few,” Noah said. He glanced at me, and I wondered if he was nervous about opening up. I didn’t care that he’d been with other guys, not when I was the lucky one to claim him.

I leaned forward, feeling like we were onto something. “Were any of them extra clingy?”

He took a moment to think before shaking his head. Jess raised a finger. “Do you still have the messages? Maybe we can compare them to that threat you were sent?”

Noah shook his head again. “I deleted the app. The messages go with it.”