Page 96 of My Killer Blind Date

‘Yeah, I think so. We gave her a gift subscription to our channel so that she could check it out, see if she vibed.’

‘And she was into it?’

‘I don’t know. That was right before Crystal disappeared, so I never got a chance to see Zoe again. When I’d kind of accepted Crystal was gone, I did send Zoe a text to see if the two of us could reconnect, but she wasn’t interested.’

My heartbeat drums against my ribcage. ‘Are you aware that Zoe disappeared six months after Crystal?’

He makes a sharp intake of breath. ‘Damn. Wait – how did you say you knew Zoe?’

‘She was my roommate.’

‘Fuck,’ he swears softly.

‘Is there any way you could share the texts you exchanged with Zoe?’

‘I mean … yeah. Sure. I have nothing to hide. If she’s in trouble, if this helps … I’ll text you screenshots.’

After a minute of silence, my phone dings. I look at the texts. Based on the date, they were sent a few weeks after Crystal’s disappearance.

Hey pretty girl, u still open to talking?

Beneath it is Zoe’s response. No thanks. But tell Crystal I said hi.

Finally, his response. Sure, will do. Call me if you change ur mind, we can take things one step at a time.

‘Why’d you say you’d tell Crystal hi?’ I ask. ‘She was already gone.’

He sighs. ‘I didn’t have the heart to tell Zoe. Especially not over text, like, oh yeah, my girlfriend vanished. Kind of a mood kill. At that point, I didn’t know for sure that Crystal was dead, but obviously I pictured the worst.’

‘Was there anyone you thought might’ve done it?’

‘A fan? I don’t know. But we kept things really private. She was Bad Kitty to them. No one knew her real name.’

I don’t respond, but if someone on Reddit put it together, obviously it wasn’t impossible to crack …

My mind is busy putting the pieces in order. Big Dog and Crystal solicit Zoe to join their relationship. Crystal disappears. Then, six months later, just after Crystal’s body turns up, Zoe disappears.

‘Did you know Zoe was an artist?’

‘Yeah, I think she mentioned that.’

‘I’m pretty sure her final painting was of Crystal.’

‘Really?’

‘Did you know she was working on that?’

‘No. It sounds cool, though. I’d love to see it.’

‘I’ll text you a photo.’`

I feel like I’m closer than ever to unlocking something important. But what? I can see the pieces – it feels so close, like it’s on the tip of my tongue—

‘So you’re trying to find out what happened to Zoe and Crystal, both?’ says Big Dog.

‘Actually, four women total. Kayleigh Aimes and Brooke Walsh are the others. Did you know Kayleigh or Brooke?’

‘Never heard of Kayleigh. But Brooke Walsh – the tradwife lady? Yeah, she’s a big deal. And you’re saying she disappeared, too?’