Page 9 of Monster's Mystery

“I’ll start by going through her things. Maybe there will be a clue there.”

I hope.

I quickly set up my bed and clothes, leaving the decorations until later, and started methodically searching through Hazel’s belongings. There were no loose pages in her books, nothing hidden under her mattress, and no unexpected items in her closet. I frowned, at a loss.

“Why don’t we try to find the students that witnessed the argument?” Lilia suggested. “Who all was here last night?”

“Aiden was. He should be able to tell us a good number of names.”

“Why do you need names?” Aiden asked, strolling in the room at that moment. “Names of who?”

“Students who were here last night, who might have witnessed the argument,” I clarified.

“Hmm,” Aiden said, rubbing his chin. “Well, Bruce was here. I ate with him and then we went up to our room. I went to work out in the gym. I saw a bunch of others not from our year. I think Chuck was here…”

I wrinkled my nose. Chuck had thought we were destined to be together last year. I shivered. He was a racist prick.

“And I think your friend, Una, was here. I saw her with Hazel briefly at dinner,” Aiden finished. “Were you hoping that one of them might have seen which direction Hazel went?”

“Yeah. She didn’t sleep here. Her bed wasn’t disturbed. So she must have vanished before curfew.” I bit my lip. “I think I need to make a timeline of events.”

“Do you need to do it now?” Aiden asked. “I was hoping to ask you to dinner in Wellspring.”

I hesitated, unsure.

“We can talk to the other students that we see while we’re there,” Aiden offered.

“And I’ll grab the ones who stay here. I’ll enlist Brom’s help,” Lilia suggested. “Divide and conquer!”

I smiled at my friends. “That’s a great idea. We can discuss what we’ve discovered before bed.”

Lilia blushed. “I’ll be staying over in Brom’s room tonight. We can talk at breakfast?”

“Have fun,” I said, mildly disappointed but understanding the need to be with her mate.

Aiden wrapped me in a bear hug. “I can stay with you tonight so you won’t be alone. Whatever do you think we could get up to?” he murmured in my ear.

My knees wobbled slightly with desire. “I think I have a few ideas,” I replied.

“Shoo, then,” Lilia said to Aiden. “She needs to get ready for her date. Give us twenty minutes.”

Dropping a kiss on the top of my head, Aiden said, “I’ll meet you in the common room. Love you.”

“You two are such saps,” Lilia said, shaking her head.

“Like you’re any better with Brom,” I teased back. “Can you do my hair?”

“Sure thing, honey.”

I was out in the foyer in fifteen minutes, and I looked hot, if I do say so myself. I was wearing a leather-looking skirt that didn’t quite hit my knees, and a wrap-around crop top embroidered with flowers.

“You look beautiful,” Aiden said admiringly, standing up from the cream-colored chair in the common area.

“Thank you,” I said graciously. “What’s the plan for tonight?”

“I’m going to take you bowling.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Bowling? They havebowlinghere?”

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