“Yeah, but ... It was weird. She wasn’t too fussed about it. She said she’d talked to a friend, who explained that it was just a kind of religion. It freaks me out, though.”

“Do all the girls know about it?”

Vee shook her head. “I just told Claire because she was my roommate, and she seemed smart, so I wanted to hear what she thought. I’m the only one who knows. Except Alastair. He ... he helps Megan sometimes. With the rituals and stuff. They do them in a room behind the shed, late at night, when everyone’s sleeping. I saw them once. I think that’s why Alastair likes Megan so much. She’s cast a spell on him.”

I struggled to keep a straight face and nodded. Why are humans so enamored with the myth of love spells? Even at my most desperate, I wouldn’t have been tempted by a spell to make Adam fall in love with me. My ego is way too healthy for that.

I asked Vee what she’d seen. There was nothing, though, to suggest Megan and Alastair were more than typical adherents doing typical protection rituals, like the one in the shed.

“They do sacrifices,” she said, when I didn’t seem impressed enough. “That’s what Claire told me.”

“Animal sacrifices.”

“So she said.”

“You think Megan had something to do with the murders?”

She shifted in her seat.

“Did you hear anything that might suggest a ritualistic link?”

“No, but ...”

I waited. Nothing.

“But ...” I prompted.

“Alastair was gone the night those town girls died.” She blurted it as fast as she’d told me about the Santeria. “I got up for a glass of milk. I don’t sleep too well. When I was in the kitchen, I heard the door open. It was Alastair. He looked ... sick. He looked sick.”

“Was Megan with him?”

“No, but do you really think she’d take care of the bodies? She had him do it. She killed those girls in a voodoo ritual, then she made him take the bodies into town. It wasn’t his fault. He had to protect her.”

There were a lot of holes in this theory. Still, it bore investigating.

“Did you tell anyone else?” I asked.

“Just my roommate. She left after that. I think it freaked her out.”

Claire’s friend, Tamara. I doubted it was a coincidence that Claire had ended up rooming with Vee. If the cult was as popular as they claimed, Tamara’s spot would have been filled before Claire decided to investigate. She must have maneuvered to get the same roommate as her friend.

“What about Claire?” I asked. “Did you tell her what you saw?”

“No.” The denial came fast. In other words, yes, she had and she feared that’s what got Claire killed.

“Did you know Claire was investigating the group?” I asked.

“Huh?”