Chapter Twelve
That evening, after changing into sweats and pulling on my fuzzy Christmas socks, I work the flowers into my Brita pitcher because it turns out that I don’t actually own a vase. Is that sad? Probably.
As my frozen lasagna heats in the microwave, I stare at the flowers, centered on the kitchen counter. Pretty. Bright. Expensive. But also … I sniff. Cloying. Over the top. Too much.
‘What’s your game, Liam?’ I ask the flowers as if expecting the calendulas to pipe up. They’re silent.
The microwave beeps, and soon I’m installed on the couch with my laptop and dinner for my nightly sleuthing. I push my phone to the side, purposefully ignoring the fresh text from George that reads, Triathlon training tomorrow??? Pls say yes!!!!
An hour of hot yoga is one thing. Biking and running and swimming for miles on end in ice-cold water is another.
Picking up the TV remote, I put on Mysteries of the Deep Ocean in the background while I center myself on the task at hand.
First up, Kayleigh. I’ve scrolled through her Facebook before, but not super far back, not to mention I haven’t yet gone through all her friends to see if anyone strikes me as suspicious.
That’ll take a while, but I know it’s a worthwhile time investment.
As I click and scroll, I look up from time to time as the documentary narrator drops a particularly riveting nugget. ‘… and of course, the blobfish, which has no bones. The only thing holding its body together is the force of the water …’
Like me, I think. Holding it together under the pressure of finding out what happened to Zoe.
What will happen when the search is over? When I find the truth?
‘… so when brought to the surface, its body simply collapses and dies … they cannot exist without the enormous pressure of the ocean.’
Well that just sounds fucking great.
Hours slip by, and it’s only the rumbles of hunger that remind me to take a bite of lasagna every now and then.
I do learn more about Kayleigh as I go. Though her Etsy offerings took over her Facebook feed for years, even further back she was posting a verse of the day.
This is new information – she was religious.
Deep in the recesses of her feed, she posted a sign I don’t recognize.
I expand the image. Two infant footprints, one in pink and one in blue.
A quick Google search tells me it’s the image on the pro-life flag.
Mmmm. Could Crystal be religious too? Harder to say, since she didn’t have social media besides LinkedIn. But Zoe certainly wasn’t – not to mention, she was vocally and ferociously pro-choice.
When I finally check the time, it’s midnight. Ugh. And still no email from the restaurant group about the Wine & Thistle security cam footage. I send a quick follow up to my first email, then tap over to Reddit and resume the conversation on my old thread.
Looking_for_Zoe Crystal Cole doesn’t have a huge online presence … does anyone know anything about her other than what’s on her LinkedIn?
I scoop out the last, cold bites of lasagna while I wait. Sure enough, a couple responses pop in. Gotta love the late-night true crime Redditors.
KillMe_Softly No, but I have been wondering if the women somehow knew each other?? Zoe Dawson was an artist, right? Maybe she and Kayleigh could have met through the crafty world?
I shake my head as I compose my response.
Looking_for_Zoe Idk … Zoe was really high brow. She wouldn’t be caught dead at a street fair with craftsy people. For her, it was gallery or bust. So they couldn’t have met that way, but it is an interesting question …
Billyboyyyyyy I agree, that’s an interesting angle, KillMe_Softly. Could the killer have met all of them at some common location, maybe a bar? I still think he’s an incel, btw. Have you dipped into that community? Scary shit. What if he was sexually rejected by each of them and flipped?
KillMe_Softly I’ve done some deep dives on Kayleigh and she is NOT the bar-going type, trust me!!!!
I gnaw on my lip. What Billboyyyyyy said is kind of in line with my Liam theory – that he dated and killed them all.
Still, I have a hard time believing Liam’s an incel.
He did have that whole bit about never getting a second date, but he didn’t seem angry about it.
Just confused. Anyway, I bet he gets laid plenty on date number one.
What I’m finding more compelling is the idea that the three women might’ve known each other. Since I’ve never come across anything that linked them, it hadn’t occurred to me. I tap out a quick post.
Looking_for_Zoe The three weren’t friends on any of the social platforms – I’ve checked across Facebook, IG, BlueSky, Threads, X and LinkedIn. I’ve also scoured their photos and they don’t appear together in any pictures that I can find. I guess it’s possible they met? But how would we verify that?
YourMamasWife So I’ve literally been finding everything I can about Crystal Cole, who is by far the most intriguing to me since she was the most private, and even though this doesn’t shed any light on whether or not she knew the other women, you will NEVER believe what I came across!
I’m 99% sure this is her!! Someone who knows for certain, please confirm! Dropping the link here!
A hit of adrenaline buzzes through me, just like any time there’s a new discovery about one of the victims, no matter how small. I click the link. A website pops up.
‘Holy shit,’ I breathe.
Black scrolly lettering across a lush crimson background reads ‘Bad Kitty & Big Dog.’ On the landing page are two black and white pictures.
The first is a man and a woman sitting in a very interesting position.
The other image shows her in a lacy black teddy, bending over a bed, most of her ass exposed, with a riding crop in her mouth.
Behind her, a man with a mask over half his face holds a leather flogger.
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I right click and open the first picture in a new window so I can better zoom in on the woman’s face, and yep.
I have no doubt this woman is Crystal Cole.
Which, damn. Vet assistant by day, BDSM influencer by night.
How did I not find this until now? Months and months of digging, and I had no idea she led this shadow life.
Could Zoe have had a shadow life too? a voice in my head pipes up.
Possibilities sputter like dying fireworks in my brain, but nothing makes sense.
What the hell do a pro-life plushie-maker, a BDSM-loving vet assistant and my friend have in common?
The more I find out about the three women, the more different they seem from one another.
They wouldn’t have been friends. And it’s hard to imagine what commonality the killer latched on to.
My rational brain says that maybe nothing links them other than they’re women living in Chicago. But my gut says there’s something else. However untrustworthy my gut can be, I have to honor that little voice.
I navigate to the contact form on the website and compose a quick message to Big Dog explaining that I’m looking into Crystal’s death and would love to speak to him if he has a few minutes. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s a new lead, which means there’s the potential for new intel.
I hit submit.