Chapter 13
The lobby of Machinist Records is a microcosm of the building itself, tall with granite walls, marble floors, and giant stone arches.
But the first thing Naomi notices when she walks inside the legendary building is the familiar “MR,” written in industrial font and enclosed in a saw-edged circle—the logo that appears on screen before every one of Harlow’s music videos.
“I’m here to see Bobby Park,” Naomi says to the receptionist after passing through security.
The woman gives a generic smile as she points to the right. “Down this hall, third door on your left.”
Naomi knocks on the studio door three times before Bobby answers. He’s taller than she imagined, and handsome, with large almond-shaped eyes, shiny black hair, and a flawless complexion. In fact, he looks more like he should be the lead singer of a boy band than the producer behind them.
“Naomi?” Bobby asks, reaching out his tattooed hand. He’s wearing a pair of worn jeans and a baggy hoodie. “Great to meet you, I’m Bobby.”
“Thanks so much for meeting with me, especially on such short notice,” Naomi says. Jessie confirmed the interview only last night.
“No prob, anything for Jess! Anyway, come on in. I was just finishing up a new track.” Bobby gestures for Naomi to take a seat on the couch across from his swivel chair.
She admires all the equipment in the room, realizing that Harlow might have once sat on this exact couch, looking at this exact view.
Plotting her next murder, maybe?
On the other side of the glass, behind the equipment, is a room the size of Joel’s apartment, its floor, ceiling, and walls covered in wood of varying thicknesses. But instead of furniture, it’s filled with microphone stands, keyboards, a drum set, a piano, and a wall full of guitars.
“Pretty sweet, huh?” Bobby says. “Costs 500 an hour, this space.” He raises a hand and slicks his hair back. “So Jessie told me you wanted to know more about Harlow?”
“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to know anything you can tell me—what you think of her, the charges against her, what she was like to work with, anything.”
He nods in understanding.
“Do you mind if I record this?” Naomi holds up her phone.
He hesitates. “Can it be off the record, though? I don’t really want my name in any articles, Charlie doesn’t like anyone blabbing to the press.”
She nods, willing to compromise, and hits record. “So Harlow…”
He sighs. “I’ve been in the business for a long time. Longer than I care to admit. So, safe to say I’ve seen some crazy shit. But I’ll be honest, I think this one takes the cake. I did not see this one coming.”
While Naomi suspected as much, it was interesting to hear someone in the music industry, who knew Harlow personally and professionally, confirm that it took them by surprise as well.
“So you don’t think she did it?”
“No,” Bobby says. “I haven’t actually worked with her in years—not since Red, White, & Blue. But the Harlow I knew didn’t have it in her to do something like this. She had her issues, sure, but she wasn’t capable of murder. No way.”
Naomi bites her lip, surprised at his matter-of-fact tone. She was hoping her visit here would add weight to the serial killer theory, but now she’s doubtful. Maybe she has been spending too much time online…
“But what about her lyrics, they’re pretty dark, no?”
He waves his hand dismissively. “They aren’t any darker than anyone else’s. Plus, so many different people work together on creating those songs, it’s hard to tell who the lyrics even come from most of the time.”
“So she doesn’t write her own songs?”
“No, no, she definitely does now. From what I’ve heard, she’s killing it.
” His face reddens. “Sorry… poor choice of words, but yeah, I always thought she was a really talented songwriter actually. Especially with lyrics. But she was pushing for songs that were a bit too ‘indie.’ And the label had already acquired their ‘singer-songwriter’ artists like Kamryn Hart, and I knew Charlie didn’t want to lose his golden pop star, if you know what I mean.
” Bobby drops his elbows to his knees, hands clasped in front of him.
“Listen, at the end of the day, music is a business. More of a business than an art nowadays. So Harlow had to do what most other artists have to for their first few albums—until they get big enough to tell whoever they want to fuck off—and just do what the label wanted, and work with who they wanted her to work with.”
“Like Bill Lever?” Naomi prods. Bobby shrugs, looking slightly confused at the mention of the late producer. “There’s rumors…”
Bobby cocks his head. “Oh yeah?”
“That Harlow could also be behind Bill Lever’s death.”
Bobby cackles. “You can’t be serious?”
Naomi shrugs, playing the fool.
“No.” Bobby shakes his head. “No way.”
“You worked with both of them, right? Did you ever notice anything strange between Harlow and Bill? It’s weird they only worked on one song together, right?”
“Not at all. The label will mix up producers and collaborators for songs now and then, especially for hit singles like the lead track from One Heart.” Bobby strokes his chin and looks up at the ceiling.
“But strange between them? I don’t think so.
Not saying they were best friends or anything.
Harlow could be flaky at times, anxious.
And Bill wasn’t the sort of person to have patience for that.
He was all business. So I could see them clashing. ”
“She was always anxious?”
“Yeah, long as I knew her. But it was more than frustration over not being able to sing her stuff. It definitely was rooted in her personal life. There’s lyrics she shared with me that have never made it into her songs.
But they came from her heart and I think they were about Colton.
Everyone thinks he’s this can-do-no-wrong hero, but judging by her emotional state during the times they dated…
he can’t have been as great as everyone makes him out to be.
” He raises his hands in defense. “But hey, that’s just my opinion. ”
Naomi cocks her head, debating how to classify this interesting bit of information. Could Colton have been the bad guy? she wonders. But then she remembers he was killed, which makes him the victim. Not Harlow.
She thinks of her next question carefully. “If, as you say, he wasn’t as great as everyone believes, perhaps he provoked her, then? Pushed her to a point where she finally snapped?”
“Nah, I stand by what I said. The songs she wrote tended to be very sad. Not angry. That’s why I was so shocked when I heard the news. If anything, I worried she’d try to harm herself. Not someone else. Harlow had a lot of heart but that’s not necessarily a good thing in this business.”
Naomi bites the inside of her cheek. Wanting to make sure she covers all bases, she unlocks her phone and finds the screenshot she saved of Bill and Harlow fighting in a parking garage.
“So does this change your mind at all? It looks like they were fighting?”
Bobby narrows his eyes, studying the photo. He slides his fingers over the screen to zoom in before handing it back to her.
“Um yeah… huh.” He seems conflicted. “I really don’t know. I never heard of any drama between them.”
“Do you know if the allegations made against him were true? Sexual assault…”
Bobby rubs his hand over his chin. “I heard a rumor or two. It’s the reason I wasn’t too upset when I heard he’d passed, to put it bluntly.”
Naomi is impressed by his candor on the matter. “I’m trying to figure out if there’s a pattern. If she killed Bill, then…”
Bobby cups his hand to his face. “No. I really don’t think she’s a killer.”
Realizing he can’t give any more insight into the serial killer theory, Naomi changes tack. “So tell me more about working with her.”
“Well, outside of her self-titled album, One Heart, and Red, White, & Blue, I worked with Mama Money’s team on ‘To the Nines’ and also did some mixing on ‘Endless Summers’ in 2021—not that many people liked that one—but the last album I worked on with her was 2019. Last one that was released, at least…”
Naomi raises an eyebrow.
He looks sheepish, like he shouldn’t have mentioned that.
“Well, there was a scrapped album in between Red, White, & Blue and Apotheosis that we started, but with COVID and everything, it kept getting dragged out and then everyone would change their mind on the songs and the sound. Harlow really wasn’t happy with it…
she was getting real sick of the generic pop stuff at that point and wanted to break out, write her own stuff, as I said, but there was a lot of pushback from the label at that time. ”
“This was in 2021?” Naomi asks. “Around the same time ‘Endless Summers’ was released?”
“Yeah, it was ongoing but that not doing well only made matters worse. Harlow tried to argue that that was proof she should be able to take a new direction, but Charlie said it was her fault… and yeah, I don’t know.”
“Her fault how?”
“Uh, I just think Harlow wasn’t into it. Her and Colton broke up around that time and it was a love song. She hated it but was kind of pushed to release it.”
Naomi thinks of the timing of everything, and how Jade’s death also occurred around then. “This is a long shot, but she never mentioned Jade Dutton to you back then? She was an aspiring musician.” Naomi quickly pulls up a photo of Jade.
He’s silent when he looks, but shrugs. “Nah, sorry, not ringing any bells. That the girl she’s accused of murdering?”
Naomi nods. He looks genuinely sad about it. Naomi bites the inside of her lip as she thinks. “What about Colton? You mentioned Harlow wasn’t in a good place whenever they were together. Do you think he was cheating? Possibly with Jade?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t put it past him, but I genuinely don’t know.”
Naomi makes another note. “Last question. You say you haven’t worked with Harlow in a few years. Not since Red, White, & Blue. Why did you stop working with her?”
Bobby runs his hands through his dark hair. “Good question. I wondered the same thing myself. But Charlie told me she wanted to go in another direction.”
“And she never gave an explanation herself?”
“Nope, never heard from her again.”
Naomi frowns, her intuition telling her there’s more to it. She ends the interview, eager to get back home to mull over the new questions swirling around her head.
Did Colton push Harlow to her breaking point?
If so, how? By cheating with Jade? And does any of this connect to Bill Lever?
Bobby seems sure Harlow isn’t a killer, but he hasn’t worked with her in years, doesn’t really know her anymore.
Plus, would someone as sweet and innocent as he claims not even extend him the courtesy of firing him herself? Or at least giving him an explanation?
Naomi doesn’t need all the answers to know something isn’t adding up.