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Published in The Quietus May 1, 2025 “Lacey Johnston: Victim or Victor?” By Talia Robinson   [DEVIATION]   The stale air in the back room of The Viper's Nest clung to Dirk Darkness like a second skin, thick with the scent of stale beer, cigarettes, and beer. A single bare bulb swung precariously overhead, casting harsh shadows that danced with every tremor from the bass thrumming through the floorboards. He slouched on an overturned amp case, boots propped on a stack of battered flight cases, a sneer permanently etched onto his pale, angular face. His hair, a greasy, spiky mess of shoe polish black, framed eyes that held a simmering, untamed fire. A ripped band t-shirt, emblazoned with a crudely drawn python devouring a stick figure, clung to his slender frame. He ran a hand over the stubble on his jaw, a restless energy buzzing beneath his skin. "Dirk, thanks for making time. The new release, ‘Lacey and the Snake’ – it’s certainly… generated a lot of buzz." I began. Dirk snorted, a

15 Lacey’s Letter Discovered by her roommate on August 12, 2025 as she was packing up the apartment as she prepared to relocate. Dear Janice (and anyone else who ends up reading this), I don’t know if you will ever find these pages, but I’m leaving them here because part of me feels that I owe somebody an explanation. You’ve been my closest friend in Williamsburg, my steady anchor during late-night cram sessions at Swem, coffee runs, the good and the bad. You’ve known me as a biology nerd, a procrastinator, a lover of snakes, a restless spirit. But there are pieces of me I never fully let you see, and if you’re reading this now, it means I’ve gone through with something you probably won’t understand. I’m writing not to sensationalize what I’m about to do, but to put into words the currents that have been pulling at me for years. It’s easy to caricature obsession. People hear “snakes” and they think of horror movies or fetish jokes. They don’t see the quiet curiosity, the

14 Case Timeline: The Disappearance and Death of Lacey Johnston March 28, 2024 24-year-old William & Mary biology student Lacey Johnston last seen leaving Swem Library around 9:15 p.m. She tells her roommate she’ll be back later, but never returns. March 31, 2024 Lacey’s Honda Civic found abandoned on a rural back road outside Williamsburg. Police begin a missing-person investigation. April 4, 2024 Police interview Janice Kensington, Johnston’s roommate, who reveals Lacey’s unusual fascination with large snakes and notes she had recently been “distracted” and “excited.” April 5, 2024 Lacey Johnston dies after feeding herself to a reticulated python named Monty. April 11, 2024 Search warrants executed at the residence of Alice LeBeaux, 40, in New Kent County. Investigators discover numerous large constrictor snakes, including a 22-foot reticulated python named Monty. Police note Johnston’s clothing, folded neatly, near the snake enclosure. April 14, 2024 Veterinary