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“Nothing’s changed on that,” Roy said. “But we’ve had some tips come into the hotline since last week’s press conference. They’re worth pursuing.”

I saw a few sideways glances around the table when Roy mentioned the press conference and hoped it wasn’t my own paranoia kicking in. If it were, my instincts had been right. Putting me out front was a bad idea. The last thing I wanted was to step on anyone’s toes.

“We’ve got three cases in particular with a potentially common thread,” Roy said. “A thin one. But in light of a call I took yesterday, we’re going to pivot and do a witness interview today.”

“On the fly?” I asked. There were few things I hated worse than walking into a meeting in which I didn’t already know the agenda.

“Three victims,” the man directly across from me spoke up. His name card read Jack Heller. He was with the FBI Chicago field office. “All young women between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five. All went missing after hooking up with somebody on this dating app. WhisprMatch. We’ve been trying to get it shut down for years.”

“On what grounds?” I asked.

“We can’t assume any of the victims are connected yet,” Roy said. “But this victim I talked to, Corrine Egan. She called the hotline to report she used the same app and met a guy a few years ago. It got creepy. Her words. He threatened her. A few of the things she said on the phone bear some similarity to the other women who went missing. She filed a report when it all happened. Nothing came of it. But based on those other similarities, she could be the only victim who didn’t disappear.”

“What similarities?” I asked. “I’ve not seen any files on these women. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing? Reviewing them for starters? Do you have Ms. Egan’s police report?”

“Look,” Roy said, reading my apprehension. “The old files are helpful, but we’ve got a bunch of new sets of eyes. We’re going to use them. I’ve asked Ms. Egan to come down today to be re-interviewed. It took some convincing, but she agreed. Let her just tell her story without any of us having any confirmation bias from reading the old files just yet.”

“I like the idea,” Tony Vega said. If memory served, he did digital forensics for the State Police.

Roy reached across the table and slid the conference phone closer. He pressed the red button at the top. “Belinda,” he said into the speaker. “You can send Ms. Egan over.”

A moment later, Belinda, one of our civilian clerks, opened the double doors and ushered a young, pretty, blonde-haired woman through. Petite, Corrine Egan wore a navy-blue print dress with a high collar. She clutched a leather bag to her chest and took the only open seat at the opposite end of the long table. She demurred when asked if she needed anything to drink.

“Thanks for coming,” Roy said. Corrine Egan’s gaze settled on me. I gave her an encouraging smile. As a young female crime victim in a room full of alpha males, I’m sure my presence was a comfort.

“Ms. Egan,” Roy said. “Corrine, is it okay if I call you that?”

Corrine leaned forward and put down her bag. “No, actually. My name… it doesn’t rhyme with chlorine. It’s cor-RIN. Rhymes with pin. And yes, first names are easier.”

“Sorry,” Roy said. “My mistake. Corrine, I know you know why you’re here. But if you have any questions before we get started, I want you to feel comfortable asking them. If you’d like to stop, if you need a minute… if you’ve brought someone with you, they can come in.”

“No,” she said. “I’m okay. I was surprised when you called me back. Nobody’s asked me about my case in almost five years. I’d given up.”

“We’re not promising this will go anywhere,” I said. Roy was good. But he was also a behemoth. Easily intimidating. Roy shot me a look of understanding and let me take the lead.

“We’d just like to hear your story in your words,” I said. “Let us get to know you and what happened to you. Then we’ll go from there.”

“Okay,” she said. “Where do you want me to start?”

“Wherever you’d like,” I said.

Corrine spread her hands flat on the table. “You know, I think I’ve changed my mind. Maybe I do need a glass of water.” She reached for one of the small water bottles at the center of the table and took a drink before continuing. “This is… this is hard. It’s been a long time. I’ve tried to put it all behind me. But if this man I knew is out there hurting people, I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t try to help.”

“We appreciate that,” I said.

Corrine nodded. “Okay. It’s maybe five and a half years ago now. I joined WhisprMatch. It was mostly terrible. Like, the pond was small, and the fish were weird.”

This got a muffled chuckle from Tony Vega. He quickly covered.

Corrine continued. “I started connecting with this one guy. He said his name was Matt Woodson. We were just chatting. Getting to know each other. He was kind of shy. I was thinking he was maybe agoraphobic. But he was kind. We talked about all sorts of things. My family. My job. I work for my brother. He’s got a microbrewery in downtown Ember Falls. So we talked about craft beers. It was all just easy.”

I jotted a few notes on the pad in front of me as she talked.

“How long did this go on?” Roy asked.

“A few months,” she said. “We finally decided we were ready for a real date. Matt said he’d come to me. He picked the restaurant. Looking back, I don’t know why I just didn’t have him come to my brother’s bar. But my brother and sister are already in my business more than I want.”

“Understandable,” I said. Though I didn’t, not firsthand. I had no siblings. No family at all other than Lock.