Leo sends a thumbs-up.You familiar with K-town? Great place called Maze 32.
Naomi hadn’t been to Maze 32 before, but had been to Koreatown plenty of times. It was one of her and Faye’s favorite places to celebrate birthdays, from the energetic atmosphere, to the great food, to the bad karaoke. Faye loved K-pop and would drag Naomi to any place that had been visited by her favorite Korean idols.
See you there, Naomi texts back, followed by a smiley emoji. She exhales and dives back into Reddit.
The next post to catch her attention is one claiming that Jade Dutton had a stage name: “Jade Joan.” Naomi recalls her Instagram handle, @JadeJoanDuttonnn, having surmised it was just Jade dropping her last name. But why? For what? Curious, Naomi goes back into Google and types in “Jade Joan,” and is surprised as tons of YouTube videos fill the screen. She clicks the first one, titled “Acoustic Cover of Once Upon a Summer.” In the clip, Jade comes into view. She looks to be in her early twenties. Long blonde hair, a small button nose with big eyes. She seems sweet. Innocent. “Hey guys, it’s Jade Joan here. And in today’s video, I’m going to play a cover of Harlow Hayes’ ‘Once Upon a Summer.’”
Jade strums the guitar and sings, her voice breathy and light. Naomi can’t help but draw comparisons between Jade and Faye. Jade clearly had aspirations to be a singer too. As beautiful a voice as Jade has in this video, though, Faye’s was better.
A dull ache fills Naomi’s chest at the realization that it doesn’t matter. Because neither Jade nor Faye are alive to compete. Neither of their dreams ended in glory and fame. They ended in a fiery blaze for Faye and a pool of her own vomit for Jade.
But Jade’s story isn’t over. In fact, something tells Naomi that Harlow’s arrest is only the tip of the iceberg.
Chapter 10
Naomi’s entertainment reporting is usually a far cry from investigative journalism. She gets a tip and then writes a story—no need for hours of painstaking research and inquiries. And while this case has been abnormal from the start, she figured it would be straightforward coverage once the victim was revealed. That she’d write a story on the victim and their death, cover what their relationship to Harlow had been, and then eventually write another story based on the evidence.
But it turns out it’s much more complicated than that—especially since there are still so many pieces of the puzzle missing—so she starts making notes, listing everything she knows alongside any questions, old and new theories, plus any actions to take.
Harlow Hayes arrested for 2024 murder of Colton Scott + 2021 murder of Jade Dutton
Evidence:
none revealed
most likely will reveal a connection between the two deaths—investigation into Colton’s death must have led them back to Jade?
probable cause affidavitshould be made public next week during hearing
Cause of deaths:
rumors both were drug-related—possible Harlow staged accidental overdoses (see Reddit article)
needColton & Jade’s autopsy reportsfor confirmation
Motive:
Jade was a model and aspiring musician, Colton an A-list actor, Harlow a world-famous pop star
Did H somehow feel threatened by J career-wise?
Did C have eyes for J?
Did H hurt J, and then C recently found out, so H killed him to cover it up?
To do:
get probable cause affidavit for H’s arrest—ask Leo
get C + J’s autopsy reports—ask Leo
check J’s social media and see who she was particularly close to at time of death (roommates, co-workers, etc)—see if they can give connection to H or C
talk to officers involved in J’s original case, why foul play was originally overlooked, where was she last seen (before her body was presumably dumped?)—ask Leo if he can find anything out?
talk to officers involved in Colton’s murder investigation—might be difficult, ask Leo if he can get any more info about the callout to C’s penthouse that night
attend C’s funeral? Best opportunity to meet with family/friends who might know more about the case against H—find out date
