Page 95 of My Killer Blind Date

‘You’re leaving?’ The words are all the way out of my mouth before I realize how pathetic I sound. Of course, he has a job – and a life.

His voice is tender. ‘Just for a few hours. There’s actually a lead I want to follow up on. Let’s plan on meeting up for dinner. There’s a taco place near my condo; I swear it’s one of Chicago’s best kept secrets. We could talk about the case over good food.’

‘And make more plans for our domestic future?’ I whisper, beckoning him closer.

‘Sounds perfect.’ He gives me a peck on the lips, then peers behind the curtain and gives my body a long, ardent look. ‘I’m so tempted to join you …’

‘Tonight,’ I promise. It’s only when I hear his footsteps retreating that I call out, ‘What lead?’ but there’s no response. He’s already gone.

Chapter Thirty-two

When I emerge from the shower, my hair wrapped in a towel, the apartment is quiet – and clean. Liam has left the kitchen spotless, except for my purse guts, but the daylight streaming in does highlight how dirty the rest of the place is.

One day, I will deep clean this place. That day is not today.

The shower, alas, did not provide any eureka moments about where to head next with the investigation, so we’ll have to do it the hard way. Scouring the internet again in the hopes of finding a lead. I’m kicking myself for not squeezing more out of Liam about his lead. At least I won’t have to wait long to hear more.

There’s one thought I haven’t allowed myself to really face yet, but as I settle into the couch, I finally let it take up real estate in my brain. It’s what Liam was getting at earlier – that if Brooke is the latest victim, she could still be alive.

I didn’t find Zoe fast enough. But maybe I could find Brooke.

I settle in the living room and open my laptop. For a while, I scroll through articles about Brooke Walsh, but like Liam said, nothing stands out as important. I do some searches for Zoe and Brooke, and Brooke in combination with the other victims’ names, to see if any of them are connected to her, but find nothing.

Around lunch time, just as I’m losing feeling in my left foot, which has been wedged under my butt, an email notification pops up. Oh my God, Big Dog – Crystal’s BDSM partner. He finally answered my messages!

Thanks for reaching out and sorry for the delay – was out of town. Happy to talk, give me a call.

Adrenaline zips through me as I dial the number he shared. He picks up right away.

‘This is Big Dog.’

‘Hi, Big Dog. This is Margot.’

He chuckles softly. ‘Yeah, your message kind of surprised me. To be honest, no one’s been interested in Crystal’s case for months. So what are you, some kind of amateur investigator? Podcaster?’

‘Something like that …’

‘Well, I’m happy to tell you anything you want to know. Crystal was the love of my life. I want the fucker who killed her behind bars.’

‘Me too,’ I say fervently. ‘So, I’ll just dive in here – I was wondering if you and Crystal knew someone named Zoe Dawson?’

‘Shit, yeah. Zoe, absolutely.’

Immediately, a rush of blood roars through my head. Of course I was hoping there was a connection. But I didn’t really believe there would actually be one – there’ve been too many dead ends for too many months. Am I about to solve it? Stay calm, I coach myself, and ask good questions.

‘How did you meet her?’ I ask.

‘Crystal and I were at a club scoping out potential partners.’

‘Sorry … partners?’

‘Yeah. We had just agreed to open up our relationship and try to find another woman who might be up for joining us romantically. The three of us gelled so well on the dance floor. I made out with Zoe a little … Crystal made out with her a little … we’ll call it a mutual attraction.’ I can hear a smile in his voice. ‘We exchanged numbers at the end of the night and Crystal started to feel her out. They got together at least one other time.’

‘Like on a date?’

‘More like a sales pitch, to be honest,’ says Big Dog with a disarming chuckle. ‘Crystal was a bit of a proselytizer for our lifestyle; it really works for us, and people are pretty ignorant about what dom-sub relationships are actually like. We heard it all – that we were freaks, pervs, you know, pushing an anti-woman agenda – everything you could imagine. But there’s always gonna be haters, no matter what you do. Zoe seemed cool, though. And curious.’

‘So Zoe was considering joining your relationship?’ If she was, she never told me about it. Then again, it’s starting to seem like there were a lot of things she never told me.