AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ella drove back to the precinct while Ripley tried to wrap her head around the concept of a true crime podcast. Ella couldn’t believe she’d never heard of one before, given their widespread appeal. But in fairness to her, Ripley still hadn’t come to grips with CDs.
“So these people – these nobodies – talk about famous murders?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then what?”
Ella shrugged. “Then nothing. They just talk about them. Sometimes they discuss theories and suspects and all that jazz. They’re all the rage these days.”
Ripley rubbed her shoulder, as though the confusion was severe enough to cause physical pain. “But why?”
“I guess it’s like a documentary, just without pictures.”
“Who listens to that garbage? Why don’t they just read a book? It’s not like these nobodies have anything new to add. Surely they’re just rehashing the same old crap you can find anywhere.”
“They sometimes have guests. Criminologists and psychologists and that kind of thing. I guess some people find it easier to digest than a TV show or a book. I was on one once, as it happens.”
Ripley sighed, disgusted. “You? You were on one of these circle jerks? You didn’t give any private info out did you?”
Ella laughed. “Of course not. I listen to one where they mock up behavioral profiles of fictional characters. I guested on an episode about Norman Bates. You know the guy from Psycho?”
“Yeah. He was just Ed Gein in a motel. But anyway, what does this tell us about our victim? Anything? You know more about this stuff than me.”
The truth was that Ella didn’t know, but there had to be a connection there somewhere. “If we’re going Occam’s Razor, then the killer knew that Eliza Matthews had recently listened to a show about the Black Dahlia murder. Who knew that information? Eric Martin for one, but he has an alibi for last night.”
“We need to get some eyes on him for the next few days. Make sure he doesn’t try and flee. My gut tells me he’s not but he could still be involved somehow.”
“Right, I agree it probably wasn’t him. Eliza Matthews must have had other friends that she texted with. I doubt she just had one secret friend. She could have sent that link to a ton of people, then one person could have been inspired by it. There’s also the possibility that the killer listened to the same episode recently and decided to copy the Dahlia murder. If it’s a popular ‘cast and that episode just came out, it could easily fit.”
“Your brain makes some strange connections, Dark. There’s also the chance it has absolutely nothing to do with it. If there’s as many of these podcasts as you say, isn’t this a statistical probability? Some podcast will cover a murder case, then a similar murder case will pop up somewhere in the world?”
“It’s possible but Eliza literally talked about the case in the days before her death. That can’t be a coincidence.”
Ripley gritted her teeth as she suddenly clutched her shoulder again. “Ah, Jesus wept,” she cried.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just a surge. It happens with stitches. Any sudden movements feel like my skin is being torn.”
“Sorry. We should probably go rest. The doctors told us not to work our asses off, and here we are working our asses off.”
“No, it’s fine. Let’s hit the precinct and make some headway.”
Ella wanted nothing more than to dig into the new angle they had, but she didn’t want Ripley to slide into retirement as a cripple. As the future of this profession, she needed to treat her peers as she would herself.
“Not happening. If your injuries flare up again then you’re gonna be no use to anyone. You wanna go back to that hospital with your tail between your legs?”
“Come on Dark. I’ve spent most of my career injured. This is nothing new.”
“Well then heal up now so you don’t spend the first year of retirement on your couch. You wanna pick your grandkids up? Play ball with them? Chase them around the living room? Then you gotta take it easy, and working while you feel like crap isn’t going to help that.”
Ripley had no comeback. She held up her hands in defeat. “They ever do a psychological profile of Frankenstein’s monster on that stupid show?” she asked.
“No but it’s a good idea.”
“Well maybe they should consult me because I feel like that mad doctor sometimes. I got my own creation sitting right next to me.”
