Scream season 2, episode 9, “The Orphanage,” just finished airing and the puzzle pieces are finally coming together.

Emma having nightmares about killing Audrey, Noah, and Kieran doesn’t exactly help her case when it comes to convincing everyone she’s emotionally stable. But that also doesn’t change the fact that she’s being targeted by the killer, who has used a piece of Ms. Lang’s hair to hang a tape from Emma’s locker. On her mirror, “Play Me,” has been written in lipstick, and considering we just saw Stavo steal a tube of Brooke’s, it’s pretty clear that all murder signs are pointing toward him at this point.

What is also interesting is the information provided by Ms. Lang on one of her tapes about Emma. Lang admits that Emma has violent tendencies and that she’s probably a target now for Emma’s anger. This seems like a stretch to me, but then again, we don’t quite know how Emma reacted when she was in therapy. Perhaps she did strike out against those around her more so than in the moments we’ve seen so far this season, when Emma was clearly provoked or believed she needed to defend herself.

She definitely let her anger out on Audrey, who is crushed that Emma won’t listen to her side of the story. (Though you have to admit, her side of the story, however truthful, still sounds awfully bad.) Audrey figures out Zoe sent the file to herself, but Noah and Zoe both argue that it doesn’t mean she’s this Secret Friend who sent Emma the email. Noah is being a little naive here, but it’s true that they don’t have strict evidence Zoe forwarded the file. Her account could’ve been hacked just like Emma’s was.

We learn a little bit more about Stavo in this episode, including more about his friend’s death. Apparently, Stavo was calm and collected when the police finally showed up at the scene. He wasn’t upset or traumatized; he was simply drawing the body in his sketchbook. This could be on an episode of Law & Order.

Ms. Lang has quickly become one of the most enigmatic characters of this season, going from a simple psych teacher to person of extreme interest pretty quickly. She screams when she sees Emma, so it seems possible she truly is afraid of this teenage girl, but even stranger is the vase of daisies left for Ms. Lang, signed from Piper. It pushes Kieran to steal her house keys so they can dig deeper into her life.

Emma spots the clue in an upside down picture on the wall. It shows Piper and Lang in a photo from a foster home called Blessed Sisters. The two grew up together, which explains Lang’s obsession with Emma. I wonder if the book she was writing was more about Piper than Emma. Her childhood friend turning out to be a serial killer is quite an interesting subject, after all.

Noah, of course, knows all about Blessed Sisters, which used to be an insane asylum before it became a foster home, and then was eventually shut down due to an abuse scandal. There were even children in the attic, and I have to wonder if Piper was one of those kids.

Speaking of, Stavo is playing his particular brand of crazy close to the chest. He snuck into his father’s office and flipped through all the files on his desk (the sheriff should seriously lock those up for this exact reason). Stavo seems more annoyed than anything that his father has a file on him. He also finds a text message from Mayor Maddox to Jake that he subsequently brings to Brooke, showing that her father hired her boyfriend to burn down a failed development on the night he died.

In that case, it looks like Eli’s mother could be the culprit behind the fire Emma and Eli narrowly escaped since she’s the mayor’s new employee. Then again, the killer was seen at this property, which means she either dressed up to do the deed or the killer has known for a while of the mayor’s plans. Would Stavo really be privy to that information before now? It’s definitely a possibility.

But the most pressing matter at the moment is this Face the Mask party the killer is throwing at the shut down orphanage. It astounds me that everyone is unconcerned about potentially protecting the killer by wearing the Brandon James mask to the party, but as of late it seems like only a select few have their head on straight.

It also turns out our favorite Lakewood resident Haley knows exactly who the killer is, but perhaps not that he was actually behind the murders, as she becomes his latest victim, the slice of the knife juxtaposed against the thrall of the party in the background.

Stavo also shows up at the murder rave, putting another check mark next to his name and all but confirming he’s the killer. Meanwhile, Emma and Audrey are reluctantly working together, trying to keep Noah from being the next victim as well as figuring out why the hell Piper’s pictures are all over the wall. They soon find Piper’s rotting corpse propped up in a chair in the center of a room.

The killer wanted them both to find Piper’s body because they both killed her, but what connection does the killer have to Piper that they treat her with such reverence? Lang was attacked by the killer, so it’s doubtful she’s involved. If it is Stavo, how does he relate to Piper? Acosta keeps telling Maggie everything is their fault, but how does that translate to Stavo?

As we see Haley’s body strung up on the wall like another macabre decoration at the party, Stavo stops by Brooke’s newly purchased hotel room. The cinematography at the end here definitely makes Stavo feel like the killer, but would he ever touch Brooke? He’s had plenty of opportunities to hurt her, but I’m wondering if his love for her is greater than his blood lust. If she finds out he’s behind all of this, though, will his love trump his desire to keep his accomplishments a secret?

Killer potential

Half the fun of Scream is trying to figure out who the killer is. Let’s sees who’s most suspicious this week.

1. Stavo Acosta: He is absolutely the number one suspect right now when you put all the evidence down on paper. The drawings. The murder of his best friend. His obsession with Brooke. The lipstick. The convenient presence at the party. There’s all of that and so much more. If I had to bet money, I’d place it all on Stavo at this point, though part of me wonders if there’s another trick up his sleeve and Stavo isn’t the only one in on the act.
2. Zoe Vaughn: Something still seems off about her, and we know she sent that recording to herself. Did she end up sending it on to Emma? The evidence points to yes, but we already know the killer is good at hacking email accounts.
3. Emma Duval: I’m putting Emma down on the list for the sheer fact that she’s been having violent dreams and because Lang felt threatened by her. If Emma had a psychotic break, she might be acting without her knowledge. She was caught sleepwalking in this episode, after all, and with a knife in her hand no less.

Who’s your biggest suspect after ‘Scream’ 2×09, ‘The Orphanage’?