It’s strangely thrilling for Naomi to know that her article has prompted this tidal wave of response. Normally, she publishes a story and moves on to the next, unless she finds any new details to report. As far as she’s concerned, she’s just reporting on the truth, sharing the facts. Any outcry or resulting reaction isn’t usually of interest to her, she’s just the messenger. But this sort of fallout is different to anything she’s ever experienced before, and she can’t get enough.
She continues to scroll through the comments, getting more and more wrapped up in the reactions and theories, constantly refreshing for more. She wonders what Faye would have posted, imagining her as one of the fans defending her idol against all the haters. Whereas, at this point at least, Naomi is neutral. Neither for nor against Harlow. Just intent to find out what really happened.
Naomi refreshes the screen, trying to see if anyone who knew Jade has joined the conversation. Aside from the fact that she lived in New York City too, Naomi couldn’t find any meaningful connection between the young model and Harlow or Colton to include in the article, and didn’t have time to do much more research since she wanted to get the story out before anyone else. She was hoping she’d be able to learn more about Jade through the comments, but no one seems to know anything—or seems to care. They’re more fascinated by the fact that Harlow allegedly murdered “some random girl.”
But Jade wasn’t some random girl. She was a person. Naomi swallows down the lump that’s formed in her throat, imagining how Jade’s family must feel, their grief being yanked back to the surface after all these years. Like how researching this case has brought back her own complex feelings, the ones she’s been running from for so long.
Naomi’s phone lights up with a welcome distraction. An incoming call from Joel. She taps the green button and answers.
“Great work, article’s blowin’ up!” Joel says proudly. “Crazy about that random girl, though.”
Naomi rolls her eyes as Joel echoes the internet’s insensitive comments. “Yeah, really sad.”
“Got any more info on her yet?”
“Not really.” Naomi looks down. “Aside from her being a young model who lived in New York, that’s it really. Pretty girl. Social media is assuming Colton must have had an affair with her and Harlow killed her in a jealous rage.”
“What do you think?”
“I really don’t know. Part of me thinks it’s ridiculous and the other part of me knows people have murdered for less, so…” Naomi nibbles at a broken nail. “What’s getting me though is the timing. Why wait three years to kill Colton if that was the case? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“And they haven’t released any other details about cause of death or motive?”
“No, nothing. All we got was her arrest warrant and confirmation of the victims’ identities. The probable cause warrant should fill in the details, but I don’t think we’ll get that until her next court date.”
Joel lets out a sigh. “Well, see what you can find before then. Would be fuckin’ amazing if we could get ahead of that. See if your new police friend can get you any insider info.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Naomi responds, excited about the prospect of seeing Leo again. “Going to spend the next couple hours doing some digging, start making a list of people to interview.”
“Sounds good, let me know if you need anything.” He pauses. “And keep up the great work, kid.”
*
Naomi’s hands flit across her keyboard as her brain tries to make sense of the mystery. She’s finding it hard enough to wrap her head around Harlow killing Colton, let alone anything else. The pair hadn’t dated in three years, so what could have possibly happened between them? Was it that they secretly got back together after Colton ended his engagement to Meghan Rhodes, things went sour, and Harlow killed him in a crime of passion? Or was it more calculated than that? And, most confounding of all, how the hell does Jade Dutton fit into this?
After trying and failing to find any meaningful information on Jade through Google, Naomi types in “Jade Dutton Reddit” in her search bar, hoping true-crime enthusiasts have managed to dig something up. The Reddit sleuths are impressively fast these days and while many share baseless speculation, theories Naomi knows to take with a huge mound of salt, sometimes it’s a goldmine of information. Thankfully, today is one of those days.
Posted by u/sleuthanie 2 minutes ago
Harlow Hayes’ victim Jade Dutton’s original cause of death listed as overdose. Found this article about it. Says woman found dead in drug den in the Bronx in October 2021 was identified to be twenty-three-year-old Jade Dutton of Millbrook, NY. Police speculated death was drug-related, judging by fresh track marks in line with heroin use. https://nystimes.com/drugoverdosevictimidentified_jadedutton
Naomi shifts in her seat, unsettled by the details. She skims the article and then the comments, pausing on a rumor about Colton.
u/bethaninvestigates: my sources tell me Colton showed signs of drug-related death too. His body was found in his NYC penthouse. Guess they’re thinking she tried to stage their suicides? Still weird the deaths happened so many years apart though. She’ll most likely be released soon. Case seems flimsy AF to me.
u/milliecrimesolver: Or maybe they’ll find even more victims #HarlowIsASerialKiller
Another overdose? Naomi cocks her head to the side, chewing on her lip. She bites off a piece of dead skin, wincing at the sting.
The rumors baffle Naomi even more. As depressing as it is, these kinds of deaths aren’t uncommon. So the prosecution opening an entire murder investigation and actually arresting someone as famous and influential as Harlow Hayes for two suspicious overdose cases—including one fromthreeyears ago—is very odd.
Naomi knows she needs to get her hands on the probable cause affidavit to try and make sense of it all, so she texts Leo. Guilt gnaws at her as she sends the message, but she justifies it by telling herself she isn’t just using him for information. She wants to see him again. Plus, she did promise him a second date.
I owe you. Dinner later? My treat this time!
He texts back a smiley emoji followed by a text.No prob, happy to help. Dinner sounds great though… not that I’ll let you pay. I don’t get off until nine though. That too late?
Not at all, Naomi replies, excited.Can meet near you round 9:15? Just let me know where.
