AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t either.”
He was delusional. “How can you say that?”
He shook his head as he left the room. “Fuck you, Lila.”
Chapter Six
Present Day
This is Nia Simms andGone Missing,the true crime podcast that discusses cases—big and small—in your neighborhood and around the country. While we usually delve into cold cases, pick apart the clues, and talk about other possibilities, and we will get back to that, we’re switching gears today. Just like last week, we’re focusing on the case everyone is talking about.
We usually don’t jump in and review an active case for fear of getting in the way, but this one is happening right in our backyard, and it’s possible one of our listeners saw or heard something that might be helpful.
We’re talking, of course, about Karen Blue, the SUNY Cortland sophomore. Campus video shows she got in her car about eight weeks ago and left school to visit her parents for their anniversary weekend, and was never seen again.
We know this case is all over the news. This is a multiagency investigation. There’s a task force. Local and state police are onit. The sheriff’s office weighed in, and now the FBI is stepping in. That’s a lot of resources with no resolution.
We’ve all seen the grainy video of Karen putting a bag in her trunk before getting in and driving away. That was sixty-one days ago. Since then? Not a word from Karen. Law enforcement have ruled out the idea of her voluntarily leaving or hurting herself. This is a case of foul play.
Her parents are frantic. The police have searched her boyfriend’s house twice. One of Karen’s friends gave an interview talking about the boyfriend’s temper. This was looking like a relationship turned violent. A horrible but not unheard-of story. But notice I said “was”...
Let’s think about this case another way. What if Karen wasn’t the first woman to go missing in the area without any explanation over the last few years? We’ve spent weeks looking into this question and believe something bigger, more malicious, might be happening in this part of New York. We actually have a trio of missing women, and we’re going to talk about the one question the police have refused to answer: What if the disappearances are related...
“Lila?”
She hit pause on her tablet. The voice cut off midsentence through the all-house speakers as her brother-in-law shut the front door and walked down the hall toward her.
He leaned over the kitchen island and kissed her on the cheek. “What the hell are you listening to?”
“I was trying to keep my mind busy.” Which wasn’t a lie. Itwasn’t easy to have a nice lunch when her dead husband might not be dead.
“Uh-huh.”
“You know, background noise.” When he continued to stare at her, she tried again. “It’s that true crime podcast that’s been all over the news.”
Jared’s expression went blank. “What?”
“The one started by the Syracuse University graduate student as part of a class project.” When Jared didn’t move, Lila tried again. “Her name is Nia. She’s on once or twice a week and sometimes does interim videos with updates of the cases she and her followers are reviewing. She’s been interviewed on the news.”
Still not one bit of recognition on her brother-in-law’s face, so she tried again. “She’s very determined, which is great because from what I can tell she has a big following of armchair detectives who are experts at using the internet. She’s using those minions to keep pressure on law enforcement, the media, and this task force about Karen Blue’s case.”
Jared shook his head. “You lost me at ‘podcast.’”
Really? The guy needed to step out of his office now and then. “Karen Blue? Straight brown hair. Athletic. Really pretty.”
“Do I know her?”
“Forget it.” Lila eased the seat around and jumped off the stool. “Coffee?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. Jared always said yes to coffee. If she offered water, he said yes. A cookie, he took it. He was the most agreeable person she’d ever met.
“Brent called.” He took the seat she’d just vacated and reached for the mug when she offered it. “Have you heard anything? What are the police saying about Aaron?”
The slight tremor in his voice had her glancing up. Where lately Aaron’s mood bounced around, Jared’s hummed along nice and even. He was the older Payne brother by fourteen months. Slightly shorter at six foot with a young-looking face. Perfect nose and soft blue eyes. Women in town whispered about him being the objectively more attractive brother, but not as good of a catch as Aaron. Aaron was husband material. The one they praised for grocery shopping and running errands... or so the town gossip went.
Little did they know.
Lila viewed Jared as stable and with a seemingly bottomless well of kindness. He’d welcomed her into the family and the community, using his contacts to help launch her real estate career.
