Nick leaned forward and squinted. “You might be right.”
“I know I’m right. Can you fast-forward to the credits?” I said.
“There are no credits,” Robin said. “The project got canned before it went to post.”
“You didn’t recognize Stanger the first time we watched this?” Dave said to Nick.
“I only saw him once before, at the game. He had a full head of hair and wasn’t in red face paint,” Nick said. “And he didn’t have horns.”
“I’m sure it’s him,” I said. “Billy told me Kyle took acting classes.”
“After this was shot, I assume.” Robin laughed. “If I were Kyle, I wouldn’t put this disaster on an audition reel.”
Tidbits of information spun through my mind. Kyle’s veiled resentment of Jarret. Kyle’s relationship with Laycee. Kyle’s absence from the gym on the morning of the murder.
“Kyle has Jarret’s garage door code. He was familiar with the symbol. He left Laycee, his date, at Fifth Base with Jarret the night before the murder.” I turned to Dave. “What if Kyle was angrier at Laycee and Jarret for staying together that night than he let on? Would jealousy, coupled with his knowledge of the symbol, make him a suspect?”
“Depends on the story Stanger gave Carla about that night,” Dave said. “Carla should see this clip. Stanger will be in the fingerprint database from his drug arrest. The forensics from the crime scene should be in by now. The killer could have worn gloves but, yeah, Stanger’s knowledge of even part of the symbol, especially the scene of him drawing the pentagram on the body, makes me suspicious.”
“What’s on the rest of this footage?” I said.
“We watched all of it before you got here. Nightmare sequences, ghosts, and witches stirring pots.” Nick ejected the DVD, gave it to me, and shut off his computer. “You saw the only scene that caught our attention—the devil drawing the pentagram on the woman’s body.”
I dropped the disc in my purse and then perched on a stool next to Robin and Dave at the kitchen counter. Nick pulled beers out of the refrigerator and gave us each a bottle.
“The fascination with the devil has gone on for centuries,” he said, settling next to me. “Religions and belief systems on every continent conjured a dark god or spirit who caused evil and catastrophic destruction.”
“Blame your troubles on the outside opposing and malevolent entity,” I said. “Before contemporary psychology and the concept of the subconscious, some scientists and philosophers ascribed undisciplined emotions like anger, greed, or jealousy to possession by the devil.”
“Believe me, some lawyers still do that. It’s called the insanity defense,” Dave said.
“Belief in the devil spread so widely that by the Middle Ages, the myth transformed into fact. He or she,” Nick said with a nod to Robin, “became real. Hell was positioned at the earth’s core, devils stuffed the damned into pots, and sinners were thrown in the fire.”
“And don’t forget the female healers they labeled witches,” Robin said.
“Very true,” Nick said. “Women were accused of signing pacts with the devil. Thousands were burned at the stake—young and pretty, old and haggard—their appearance didn’t matter. Often women were accused of witchcraft as an excuse to take away their property. Diseases were labeled curses. Stories spread about witches dancing naked with the devil and preparing food made from corpses in the gallows, marinated in wine casks. Women’s groups were labeled witches’ councils.”
I put down my beer. “What did you say?”
“Food was made from corpses in—”
“No, the women’s groups and witches’ councils.” I covered my face, shaking my head. “I can’t believe I forgot about this. Laycee and I had a hairdresser in Atlanta who called herself a witch. Laycee went to a witches’ council meeting with her and came home with a book of witchcraft spells.”
“And?” Dave said. “The hairdresser followed her to Jarret’s house in L.A. and killed her?”
“No. I get it,” Robin said. “If Laycee kept the book in their house, Forrest could have seen an inverted pentagram. When he caught her at Jarret’s, he smeared the sign on her back to curse her.”
“We’ve established that everyone on the planet except the three of you has seen a version of the inverted pentagram somewhere,” Nick said. “However, only Laycee’s killer understands the significance of the five. Schelz related it to vengeance.”
“What’s the standard interpretation?” Dave said.
“Give me a century, a religion, a sport, a science, a—”
“Are you sure you saw the number 5 and not the letter S—for Stanger?” Robin said.
Dave cocked his head, smiling. “Or Superman?”
“Five. The top edges were sharp.” Nick turned to me. “Liz, earlier you said something about Forrest Huber going to jail.”
“You heard me?”