Gideon_CO.boy:You’re so sexy!
Ed3n_Halliday:Please stop messaging me, I’ve had enough of your harassment.
Gideon_CO.boy:honey don’t be mad it was never that serious
I scroll through a few more posts, and the comments that this kid leaves are all similar, most of which she never responded to.
I go back to his account and scroll through his videos. He posts several times per day, so it takes me awhile to find what I think I might be looking for.
On July eighteenth, he made a post. It’s the sunset in the mountains. One single line of text, and one hashtag in the caption.
The sunset looks good tonight. I know they were always your favorite. #LLEH
That’s it. The comments on the video are turned off, and this is one of the videos that got quite a bit of attention.
It’s not even the day that they announced that she was dead; he posted it on the night that the coroner is pretty sure that she died.
I link all the videos with notes so I can come back to them later.
The farther down the rabbit hole I go, the more I find, and the less it looks like a coincidence.
Every single girl that has gone missing since they started suspecting a copycat killer is somehow related to this account.
Comment sections are all filled with the girls asking the same thing;please stay away from me. Him not caring and calling them some kind of pet name. Then he posts a video every fucking suspected death day, something to do with them and the sunsets, or whatever they ‘liked’ with a single hashtag.
I pull up the footage from my vest cam and run his face through our database. It takes awhile but eventually it does pull up a match.
Twenty-six-year-old Gideon Matthews of Denver, Colorado.
I stare at the screen, seething.Was he targeting my sweet girl? Was she going to be his next victim?
I sit at my desk just staring at his picture. He has three things on his record: two speeding tickets, and one arrest charge from when he was in high school for being a peeping Tom on some girls in his grade.
I look over at Sloane, grateful that she’s here and that she’s safe. I know that I won’t be able to let her out of my sight now until this guy is in prison, because I’ll be damned if he gets anywhere near her ever again.
Several long hours later, and after a few phone calls, I close my laptop. I turn to my printer to collect all the papers and notes that I now have.
“Beck…” Sloane’s sweet voice carries through my office; it’s softer than normal, and a little scratchy from all the crying she did before she fell asleep.
I’m out of my chair and by her side in an instant. I sit on the edge of the couch, my hands finding her face and looking down into her eyes. They are a little puffy and red, but they are still as gorgeous as ever.
“Yeah, baby, what do you need?” I whisper, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Can we go home?” she whispers, and I nod.
“Of course, baby. Let me grab my stuff,” I whisper, leaning down and kissing her forehead.
She nods, her eyes closing for a moment, and Mocha kisses her face. She lets out a small huff of laughter, a sound that I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of. A sound that I’ve never been more grateful for.
I give her leg a squeeze before getting up. I go back to my desk, pack up my bag, slip my notes into a folder, and slide it into my bag with my laptop.
I grab my vest off the hook. I turn off all the computers before going back over and making sure that she’s ok. I help her up off the couch and wrap her in my arms.
She doesn’t say anything the whole way home, just curls up on the front seat, Mocha snuggled closely to her.
When we’re home, I help her inside and sit her on the couch.
“I’m going to go change. Mocha will protect you. I just need two minutes,” I whisper, making her look at me. She nods softly, hiding her face in Mocha’s fur. I quickly run up the steps and change into some comfy clothes before going back downstairs. She hasn’t moved at all, and it makes me frown.
