Alisa thought Harry was joking andughed, "Oh,e on, Harry. If you could really make that much money from killing people, count me in."
She didn''t take him seriously-just yed along with his ridiculous story.
Harry smirked. "Then show up at Golden River at eleven tonight. That''s when you''ll get paid."
Alisa had taken money from Harry before. He was always generous, and she wanted to believe him. Really, she had no choice. Harry was herst lifeline, the only hope she had to shake off those debt collectors.
"Alright, I''ll be there." Alisa''s heart fluttered with hope. Maybe this was her shot at getting rich—maybe she could be as well-off as Monica. Then she''d finally be able to hold her head high in front of Jason and Monica.
She was determined to prove to everyone who''d looked down on her that she was more than just a housewife with nothing to her name.
...
Police Station.
Jason walked back into the precinct, checked over thetest victim''s file, and said, "The killer seems to be getting some twisted pleasure out of this."
Hank frowned. "Jason, if we don''t catch this psycho soon, someone else is going to get hurt."
Jason''s face was serious. "Have we looked into the victim''s social life? Any enemies, friends, unusual contacts?"
"Nothing suspicious so far. Her phone''s been analyzed, but there''s nothing odd in her messages," Hank replied. "Honestly, Jason, it looks like the killer chose her at random. They probably didn''t even know each other."
"No, it''s not random." Jason walked over to the board covered in photos and case notes from the string of murders. He circled a fewmon details with a piece of chalk, then stepped back to take it all in.
Hands on hips, Jason spotted the pattern. "All these women have something inmon: no steady jobs, but always dressed well and looked put together. They seemed to have money, but there''s no record of where it came from. So, how did they afford their lifestyles?"
Hank nodded slowly. "You''re right. None of their families are rich, either. So where did the moneye from?"
The police had already checked out the victims'' backgrounds.
Suddenly, Jason asked, "Did their phones have any dating apps? Stuff like Tinder or Bumble?"
"I''ll check." Hank immediately understood.
He went to the evidence drawer and unlocked the victims'' phones. Sure enough, every single one had dating apps installed.
Jason''s eyes lit up. "Let''s follow this lead. Dig into their app chats, see who they were talking to, and bring those people in for questioning."
It was a huge task. The women had chatted with men from all over town-guys from every walk of life.
Basically, these women were using dating apps to scam men out of money, pretending to be looking for love. Many of the men brought in admitted to spending a lot on the victims, but none had any idea the women were dead.
Most of the men were just lonely, struggling to find someone in real life. When a beautiful woman messaged them first, it gave them a sense of pride-and hope. Some even started talking about marriage and kids, pouring money into gifts and dates. Others, after fanning out of cash, would get dumped, usually with a lot of drama.
These men ended up with broken hearts and empty pockets, but there wasn''t much they could do.
Piecing it together, Jason said, "The killer could be one of these guys-someone who got burned. Or maybe he thinks he''s some kind of vignte, out to punish these women his own way."
Hank winced. "That''s messed up, Jason. But with all these users on dating apps, how do we narrow it down? We can''t question everyone."
Jason nodded. "We start from the beginning. Find the first victim."
Hank frowned. "Wait, the first one we found isn''t the actual first victim?"
Jason shook his head. "No. Based
on the way she died, the killer had done this before. If he really sees himself as a victim, or a hero, he''d keep his first kill hidden-maybe as a trophy. The first victim would have the most clues. That''s why he''s hiding her."
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