Chapter 23
No. No. No. This can’t be happening. Naomi’s phone drops to the floor. She lifts her hands to her head and squeezes.
When? How? For the police to have arrested Harlow in the first place for not one but two murders, they must have had strong enough evidence to convince a judge to sign off on the warrant. So how the hell does the case just get dropped in less than a week?
Naomi rereads the article, scouring the page for further details of what prompted them to drop the case or if they have another lead. But there’s nothing else. All it says is the DNA wasn’t a match, and the judge felt that was grounds for dismissal.
Naomi clenches her hands into fists as anger bubbles inside her. How could they let her go, this potentially deranged murderer, without even having another lead? How could they just rip justice away from the families like that? From Emily. From Naomi.
She scoffs, shaking her head. She knows exactly what got her released. Money. Power. Influence. People like Harlow always get away with everything.
“Fuck!” she yells out in frustration, hot tears stinging her eyes.
Her hands tremble as she bends down to get her phone. She exits out of the article and calls Leo, desperate for answers.
He answers on the first ring. “Hey.”
“Harlow,” Naomi cries. “She’s been released. All charges dropped.”
“Well, yeah. Must be innocent.”
He sounds wildly confused by her intense reaction. “Sorry, I feel like I’ve missed something. You find some evidence I don’t know about?”
She pinches the bridge of her nose, imagining how crazy she must seem to him, not knowing everything she does. She became so absorbed by the case over the weekend, she forgot not everyone else’s life revolves around it too.
She thinks of the autopsy reports. Of the same level of fentanyl in both Jade and Faye’s systems.
“Well, I found some stuff out. Some pretty crazy… I don’t know… this weekend…” She huffs, unable to form a coherent sentence.
“Everything alright?” he asks.
No, everything fucking isn’t alright, she wants to scream. My sister was probably murdered and her killer has just walked free.
But Leo doesn’t even know Naomi ever had a sister, as far as she’s aware. “Everything’s fine.” She bites her lip. “But I could do with a big favor.”
“Okay…” He waits for her to explain.
“Could you try to find out who the detectives are—were—on the Harlow case? I need to speak to them. Or, if you can talk to them first, just try to get any info you can.”
He sighs reluctantly, but she presses on. “I know it’s really annoying and I’m sorry to ask. But I need to know what they know—what evidence they had, if they think she really did it, or if they have any other leads…”
“Uhh…”
“Please? It’s… I just need to know. I promise I’ll explain later. Or whenever you’re free. Are you free later?” She knows she sounds frantic, can hear the frenzy in her voice, but hopes it will convince him to do what she is asking and not ask any questions.
“I can meet you around four? Just let me know where.”
“Thank you! I’ll text you the address.”
After convincing him one last time she is indeed fine, Naomi hangs up, slightly embarrassed she called him so hastily. He must think she’s a mad woman. But she doesn’t care. She needs answers.
She stares at her wall, filled with photos, news clippings, lyrics, Post-it notes, and thread. She should start taking it all down. Case closed, right? But it’s not even close to over for her. Her investigation has only just begun. Not that Joel knows that.
Joel: Did you see the news? Guess you can come back to LA now…
Naomi: It’s bullshit. Going to stay and keep looking into some stuff.
Joel: Okay. Feel free to write a wrap-up piece, but remember… be objective.
Joel: Anyway, big scandal happening with cast of Bravo show, about to meet a source. Talk later.
Naomi: Good luck!
*
The rest of the day seemingly disappears as Naomi arranges and rearranges her investigation wall, only feeling more frustrated than she did in the morning. She’s caught off-guard when her phone vibrates, a text from Leo coming through alerting her he’s outside.
“Thanks so much for coming,” she says once she opens the door. “I’m sorry to be a pain.”
“Hey, no worries.” He smiles and hands her a six-pack of Budweiser. “You sounded like you might need a drink, though.”
His smile fades as he studies her. “Shit, your lip’s bleeding…”
Naomi’s hand flies to her face, suddenly aware of the copper tinge of blood in her mouth. She vaguely remembers picking at the peeling skin earlier. She looks up at him, about to explain, but he’s not looking at her anymore. He’s staring straight ahead at the wall, eyes wide, jaw slack.
“Woah…”
Her face flushes, realizing how it must look. Like she’s lost her mind. The papers, photos, and string take up the entire wall now, stretching from the breakfast bar to the living room windows.
Naomi pulls out two bottles of beer from the pack. She twists the caps off both, not flinching as the sharp corners bite into her flesh, and then hands one to Leo.
He takes a swig, shaking his head as he stares at the wall. His gaze moves to her, his eyes wary. “You sure everything’s okay?”
“Yes, I just… I have a lot to catch you up on,” she says. “But first, did you find anything out?”
“DNA wasn’t a match,” Leo shrugs. “Apparently, they were comparing DNA found under Jade’s fingernails to Harlow’s. Had reason to believe it would be hers, based on the evidence found at Colton’s place…”
“The video evidence? Any more details on that?”
“Yeah, some sort of sex tape. From 2021.”
Naomi nods, her suspicions confirmed. She turns away from Leo to look back at her wall, eyes shifting from Jade’s blue-eyed, innocent gaze to Harlow’s mysterious smirk.
“So they didn’t find Harlow’s DNA on Jade, but what about on Colton?”
“Apparently, Harlow claimed they started seeing each other again, so any DNA found on him or at his property had a simple explanation. She said he must’ve taken the drugs after she left. They tested the packets and she never touched them.”
“Right,” Naomi scoffs. She guides him into the living room, gesturing for him to sit on the couch. “I just don’t understand how they can just drop it all based on DNA under Jade’s nails not matching if they have all this other evidence.”
“Well, DNA is DNA. It doesn’t lie. Must be someone else.”
“So they have another lead? Another match?” Naomi plops down on the couch, cross-legged.
“Don’t think so, no.”
Naomi huffs, blood rushing to her face.
“Honestly, the detective I talked to seems as baffled as you do. Said the prosecution was convinced she did it. In Colton’s case, they even had a video of her arriving at his penthouse that night. Text messages that gave her motive…”
Naomi grabs her notebook and pen from the side table and quickly jots down what Leo said.
Text messages proving motive?
He rubs his chin. “Well, I didn’t get the specifics, but sounds like he was holding something over her.”
Blackmail?
As Naomi writes, she recalls her previous suspicions about Colton. But if he was the one holding blackmail over Harlow, then she was the one with the secret.
“So with those links plus the video evidence, they were shocked when the DNA came back as not a match. They were sure it would be. So now, everything else can be explained away—they have no concrete proof that shows she injected them with the drugs. Her lawyer is obviously saying he simply overdosed after she rejected him, and the Jade murder charge was already flimsy to begin with, and certainly falls apart when the Colton charge does.”
Naomi chomps on the inside of her cheek as she yanks off a cuticle. She presses down on it to stem the blood.
She watches Leo’s Adam’s apple bob in his exposed throat as he takes a swig of beer. She imagines Harlow leaping on Colton, putting her hands around his neck and strangling him like she did to Jade.
“But what if there are other victims out there?” she asks.
Leo furrows his brow, darting his gaze to her. “What makes you say that?”
Naomi nods toward the investigation wall and finally tells him about her sister.