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It had been a perfect setup, really. Ed had created accounts for the three of them, and they went online nearly every day to fan the flames. Ed had even managed to score an invite to one of the private servers on Discord where Bella-haters could discuss their basest fantasies without worry of reprisal.
Ed had identified one of the most vocal of Bella’s detractors, whose car trunk would conveniently be found to contain remnants of the bomb they planned to use to kill her. They’d nicknamed him Comic Book Guy because he literally lived in his mother’s basement and spent his waking hours online. His real name was Jerry Engel and he lived just over the Texas border.
Framing Jerry Engel would make Bella’s death appear to have been caused by the online haters, not Doyle. That the haters had glommed onto Rick’s idiocy last night was truly an unexpected boon.
“That started last night after Rick’s video went viral,” Ed said. “Is there anything new?”
“Oh yeah,” Bobby said. “I checked Ed’s Discord account. The one guy who said on Reddit that they should finish what Rick started got an invite, too. The private server has been super active.”
Corey had learned more about online forums and their users over the past few months than he’d ever wanted to know. Reddit was a series of open boards where users could read or talk to others about everything from food to bridezillas. Anyone could read posts and no privacy was expected. Discord, on the other hand, had real-time chat rooms, both public and private. The private rooms were where the Bella-haters went to plan their revenge in graphic detail.
Some of that shit turned even Corey’s stomach.
Ed was the manager of the accounts, but Bobby took the most pleasure in fanning the flames, especially on Discord. He could go full-throttle insane with conspiracy theories about Bella Butler and had been responsible for starting some truly horrific fantasies.
“What are they saying on Discord?” Corey asked when Bobby paused dramatically.
“They’ve listed Cardozo’s address and posted a photo of the boy. One clever bastard suggested a reward fund for whoever takes either Cardozo or his kid out of the picture.”
“Let me guess,” Corey said dryly. “You’re the clever bastard?”
“Aw, shucks,” Bobby drawled. “Thank you, Corey.”
Corey snorted. “How much did you offer in reward?”
“I didn’t. Another poster took up the idea and they’ve started a pledge drive. So far they’re up to five grand. Now, none of it’s real money, but there’s definite interest. If we can’t get to Bella by the end of this week, grabbing Cardozo’s kid could be our plan B. We cut Cardozo at the knees and we can still blame it on Comic Book Guy. If the DA’s office is out an ADA, they’ll delay the trial and buy us a little more time.”
“It sounds good on the surface,” Corey admitted, “but that won’t work any more than Rick’s plan would have. They’ll just assign another ADA.”
“I know,” Bobby said patiently. “Which is what some clever bastard—also me—said in the private channel. The trial would likely go to Cardozo’s second chair. The users went wild, talking about taking both Cardozo and his second out in simultaneous hits. Like I said, plan B. It would definitely throw the DA’s office into a tizzy.”
“Only as a last resort,” Corey said. “But get the second chair’s info in case we have to go that route.”
“I already did,” Bobby boasted. “My pal came through again and I dropped it into the private channel.”
Corey was impressed, he had to admit. “Who is this mystery pal of yours, B?”
“He won’t let me say. Says if I blow his cover, he’ll stop feeding me info, no matter how much I pay him.”
Corey didn’t like that, but he respected the need for anonymity. “You’ve been busy this morning, B. Did you get Dewey to the camp?”
They needed to keep the older man from seeing the news. He’d either disappear again or he’d make sure the cops knew that Jace was the driver. Either way, they needed him gone. Probably permanently.
“I did. I told him that we needed to fix Aaron’s boat so we could sell it. He wasn’t happy about the selling part. He seems to think that the boat belonged to their business, so it should now belong to him. I told him to take it up with you when you got back.”
Corey frowned. “I thought you were just going to take care of him.”
“I was, but then he started talking. He was asking all kinds of questions about Rick and the abduction. Wanted to see Rick, asking if he could talk to him. He never pays attention to Rick, only to Jace.”
Corey frowned. “Did he see the press conference? Does he know we blamed Sixth Day?”
“No. He got here at about nine thirty and the first clips of the interview didn’t upload until nine forty-five. But there’s something going on with him. Was Rick getting his drugs from Dewey? If so, maybe Dewey wants Rick to keep quiet about it.”
“I figured he was getting them from either Dewey or Aaron. Or stealing them, since he doesn’t have a job.”
“Makes sense. I didn’t want Dewey intimidating Rick into silence before you got here to question him. My gut says that we should talk to him together. So I’m stalling for time.”
“I trust your gut.” Bobby had kept them from getting caught more times than Corey could count. “And I’ve been wondering how Rick knew where to find Cardozo’s kid. Makes sense that Dewey would want to get Aaron out, too, but I honestly thought Dewey was smart enough to know that wouldn’t work.”
