FREYA:

  It’s one of those things where in hindsight, you can totally hear the alarm bells ringing, but in the moment, your brain just scrambles to explain it all away.

  KENNEDY:

  Exactly. I’m pretty sure my dad had the same thought process as me, because when he heard the guy behind him, he didn’t look scared. Just confused. He turned around and slowly lifted his hand in a vague sort of wave, with his head tilted like he was asking a question. I couldn’t hear anything, but I’m pretty sure he would’ve been saying something like, ‘Hey, is everything okay? Did you need something else?’.

  FREYA:

  Yeah, I can totally picture that.

  KENNEDY:

  That’s when things started to happen. The man got really close and lifted his right hand, and there was a glint in the moonlight. I know now that it was a knife. But like I said, I was trying to rationalize things in my mind. So I just thought, ‘Is that his phone?’.

  [Brief beat of silence.]

  I still mentally kick myself for not realizing what was happening sooner.

  FREYA:

  You were just a kid. And like you said before, that part of Corwin Bay is so idyllic. You’d never expect anything bad to happen there. Especially because before that night, the Carver hadn’t done anything. So no one even knew to be scared of him.

  KENNEDY:

  That’s true. No one ever saw it coming.

  FREYA:

  What happened after you saw that glint?

  KENNEDY:

  There was a blur of movement. Dad sort of stumbled forward, like he’d been punched. Then I saw a few drops of blood hit the ground. It was obvious what it was, because the yard was covered in snow.

  FREYA:

  By then, you knew something terrible was happening.

  KENNEDY:

  Yes. I started screaming and banging on the window. I was screaming for my dad, but also screaming for my mom to wake up.

  FREYA:

  What happened then?

  KENNEDY:

  While I was screaming, the man started dragging my father down the path. Dad struggled a little, but he went limp pretty fast. He was just losing so much blood.

  [Sniffs]

  Then my mother finally burst into my room. She’d woken up from my screaming and assumed I’d had a nightmare, so at first she was trying to calm me down, saying things like, ‘It’s okay, you’ve just had a bad dream, honey’ while trying to pull me away from the window.

  FREYA:

  That’s when she finally saw what was happening, right?

  KENNEDY:

  Yes. She looked over my shoulder and saw my father being dragged away, leaving a trail of blood behind. By that stage, he was almost all the way across the street.

  FREYA:

  What did she do?

  KENNEDY:

  She ran out of my room and went downstairs to my father’s study. He kept two guns in a safe there. She knew the code, so she grabbed one and charged outside as fast as she could.

  But… even though it only took her two minutes to do that, that was enough time for the Carver to get away. By the time my mom made it out to the front yard, he’d already shoved my father in the back seat of his car and gotten into the driver’s seat. Mom fired the gun twice, but neither bullet even came close to hitting the car.

  He sped away… and that was that.

  That was the last time either of us saw my dad.

  FREYA:

  What a nightmare.

  KENNEDY:

  It really was. My mom called the police immediately. The investigation started. And then the riddle arrived at the station.

  FREYA:

  The very first one.

  KENNEDY:

  Yeah. No one knew how to interpret it at the time. I don’t think anyone even realized it was a riddle until the next disappearance. It took the police ten days to figure out what the message meant, and by then, when they finally searched the right area of the woods, they found blood. A lot of it. And scraps of my dad’s clothing.

  But no body.

  His remains had presumably been taken and scattered by animals, because of how long it took to find the site.

  FREYA:

  And he was one of five early victims whose bodies were never recovered?

  KENNEDY:

  That’s right. Five people, all taken in those early months, before law enforcement got used to deciphering the riddles. The killer always gave them just enough time to almost catch up. But not quite. Sometimes it took days. By the time anyone got there, the trail was cold, and all that was left was scant evidence. Blood. Clothing scraps. Hair.

  FREYA:

  But they eventually got accustomed to the riddles, right? And they got faster?

  KENNEDY:

  Yes. They were able to get to the correct locations within one or two days after the next eight victims vanished, so their bodies were still there. Dissected and stacked in piles around the area.

  FREYA:

  And that’s where the Carver got his name: from the way he so neatly butchered the bodies.

  KENNEDY:

  That’s right.

  FREYA:

  So, back to your dad’s case. Did you ever see the riddle the Carver sent about him?

  KENNEDY:

  No. None of the Carver riddles were ever made public. Not even the families were allowed to see them. So all we know about them is that they had a very particular structure and a unique signature line.

  FREYA:

  I’ve always thought it was super weird that no one was allowed to see them. Do you know why?

  KENNEDY:

  Yes. The police kept them out of the public eye for one main reason: because the Carver was never caught, and copycat cases can happen. So they were worried someone would start sending in fake Carver riddles to get attention. Or worse, to commit murders and try to pin them on him.

  So, because of that, they figured it was best to keep them hidden. That way, if a copycat tried, they’d know it wasn’t a real Carver riddle.

  FREYA:

  Ah, that makes sense. But it must’ve really frustrated you back in the day, right? Even now?

  KENNEDY:

  Yeah, I’ll admit, I’ve always been very curious about the riddles. Especially the one about my dad. I used to wonder if it had clues that could’ve helped us save him, if only someone had figured it out sooner.

  FREYA:

  That kind of not-knowing must’ve been torture. I mean… the riddle, the wait, the search. And then they only found blood in the end.

  [Brief, contemplative beat]

  On that note… because your father’s body was never recovered, has that made things harder for you in terms of getting closure?

  KENNEDY:

  That’s a good question. A lot of people say that not having a body makes it harder. That it leaves them unable to process the grief properly. I can totally understand that, but for me, the lack of a body actually helped, in a weird way.

  FREYA:

  Really?

  KENNEDY:

  Yeah. For a long time, I held onto the idea that maybe he was still out there. That maybe he was injured badly but got away somehow, and then he just forgot who he was because the attack damaged his brain and caused some sort of amnesia.

  I used to imagine him wandering through different towns, not knowing he had a family waiting for him, and I hoped that one day he’d suddenly remember and come home.

  It sounds so ridiculous now. But I was just a kid, and you know what imaginations are like at that age. And that belief gave me something to hold on to.

  FREYA:

  A kind of hope.

  KENNEDY:

  Exactly. It delayed the grief in a way that made it more bearable. Of course, as I got older, reality set in. I knew he was really dead. That he was never coming back. But those couple of years in between… they gave me time to adjust. It softened the blow.

  FREYA:

  Ah, I see. [Brief pause] How did it affect the rest of your family?

  KENNEDY:

  It didn’t hit my sister so hard, because she was really young at the time. But I know it’s always bothered her that she remembers so little of my father. She’s doing okay, though. She’s out in California, just about to start her first year of college.

  As for my mom… she was in a really dark place for a few years. But eventually, she found her footing again. She even found love again.

  FREYA:

  With your neighbor, right?

  KENNEDY:

  Yes. Honestly, I think he always had a bit of a crush on her, but he never acted on it while Dad was around. Not even for years after Dad disappeared. Out of respect, I guess. Eventually, he worked up the courage to ask her out, and the rest is history. They’ve been married for six years now.

  FREYA:

  Just quickly: while we’re on the subject of your stepdad… he was actually a Carver suspect at one point, wasn’t he?

  KENNEDY:

  Yes. In the court of public opinion, anyway. And we’ll get into that, along with the other early suspects, in Episode 3.

  [Brief transition music begins to swell]

  FREYA:

  For now, we’re going to move on to the first mistake the police made in their investigation of Mark Campbell’s abduction.

  KENNEDY:

  And how the city of Corwin Bay started to change—because nothing was safe anymore.

  [End of partial transcript]

  3

  Kennedy

  “Do you still have the photo the hacker sent you?” Dec asked me, one eyebrow raised as he balanced my laptop on his knee.

  I shook my head. “No, um… I deleted it because it creeped me out so much.”

  “Right.” He turned to look at me, a question lingering in his eyes. “And it was just you sitting there?”

  My cheeks warmed. “Yeah, I was just watching Netflix on my bed when they took the photo.”

  “Weird. Usually these camera hacker types try to get potential victims in some sort of compromising position. Like jacking off to porn or something,” he said. “But at least they don’t have anything to blackmail you with, right?”

  I swallowed hard and shifted nervously beside him. “Yeah. I guess it was more to scare me. Like, ‘Look what I can do, whenever I want’.”

  “Creepy as fuck. But luckily for you, your dear old stepbrother is a total nerd who can fix all your issues,” Dec said, grinning as he turned his attention back to my screen.

  I let out a light laugh and jostled his shoulder. “You’re not a nerd.”

  “Hey, you never saw me in my first year of high school. Or the one after,” he said, raising a brow again. “Let’s just say there’s a reason I ended up being a software developer.”

  “I wish I had seen you back then,” I said. “I just can’t picture you being a total geek.”

  “Is that a compliment I hear?” Dec flexed one arm. “Are you saying I’m too sexy to be a nerd?”

  “Oh, god.” I let out a groan. “As if your giant ego needs any more fodder.”

  He jokingly pouted. “Wow. I’m sitting here at eight o’clock on a Saturday morning fixing your computer, and you can’t even swing me a compliment?”

  “Fine, fine.” I threw my hands up. “All my friends still harass me about you, telling me how hot you are and begging me to set you up with them. So there you go. Now that you’re single again, you know exactly which group to sniff around.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Sorry, was that too soon?” I said, cringing.

  Dec smiled and shook his head. “Nope. That’s the exact sort of stuff I need to hear right now. I need to get back in the saddle, as they say,” he replied. His expression suddenly turned serious, and he dipped his chin toward my laptop screen. “There we go. Got it.”

  “You figured out how the hacker got in?”

  “Yup. Malware on your device.”

  I frowned. “How did it get on there?”

  “Could’ve been from anything, really. A link you clicked. A website you visited. A file you downloaded.”

  “Oh, wow. So literally anything.”

  “Yup. Have you visited any new websites recently? Or downloaded anything?”

  “Erm…” My pulse began to race as I recalled the erotic Scream fanfic I’d been reading before all this trouble started. “No new websites I can think of. And the only thing I’ve downloaded recently was a contract Freya sent me.”

  “Well, like I said, it could’ve come from anywhere. The most important thing is that you know about it now, so we can deal with it.”

  A shiver crept over my skin. “It’s so creepy how easy it is for these hackers to get into our stuff,” I said. “And it’s so creepy to think that he could be sitting there watching us through the camera right now.”

  “He’s not.”

  “How can you know for sure?” I raised a brow and jokingly jostled Dec again. “Unless you’re the evil hacker.”

  He chuckled. “I know for sure because I removed his access twenty seconds ago,” he said. “So… ta-da. You’re safe again.”

  My shoulders sagged as I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks so much. I really owe you one.”

  “Hey, you’re spending the rest of the day helping me move all my shit into the house, so I think we’re even,” he replied. “But from now on, keep a piece of tape over your camera, and be careful which sites you visit or download stuff from.”

  I nodded slowly. “I have to visit the police station on Monday, so I might as well make a report about this while I’m there. Kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn’t even waste my time reporting this to the cops.”

  “Seriously?” My brows shot up. “This hacker had my phone number. Isn’t that a big deal?”

  “Surprisingly… not really,” he replied. “I know it seems really scary, because getting a message like that makes you think someone’s targeting you personally. Right?”

  “Right.”

  “That’s the thing. It’s usually not targeted at all. These hacker-blackmailer types cast a very wide net. They’ll leave malware on a ton of random links. When someone clicks… boom, they’ve got access to their device. From there, they can pretty easily find out their name. IP address can also give them a location. And once they have that… look how easy it is to get more information.”

  He typed something and turned the screen again. “Here we are,” he said. “The second result when I search for your name is a public records page, and you’re the third Kennedy Campbell on the list. See? We can tell it’s you because it says Corwin Bay next to your name. And look what else it says when we expand the listing.”

  He clicked again, and my stomach dropped as I scanned the page.

  “Oh my god,” I said. “This site has everything! Every address I’ve ever lived at, and everywhere I’ve worked. And not just my current number. My old high school one, too!”

  “That was the phone you dropped in the pool, right? During my dad’s Fourth of July party?”

  “Yeah.” I shook my head slowly, still staring. “This is seriously crazy. They’ve even got my middle school email address!”

  “Your email address was really psychomonkey420@hotmail.com when you were eleven?” Dec asked, amusement glimmering in his eyes.

  I groaned. “I was trying to impress a boy in my class when I made it, okay?” I said. I jabbed a finger at the screen. “But seriously, how can a site like this exist?”

  “Welcome to the American data privacy crisis. This isn’t possible in most other countries because their privacy laws are too strong. But here, you can figure out almost anyone’s home address and phone number by simply Googling their name. If you don’t want all your details out there, like if you’re a celebrity or something, you usually have to pay to get it scrubbed off the net.”

  “That’s crazy. I honestly had no idea.”

  “Yeah, well… my point is, these hackers cast a wide net, like I said earlier,” Dec said. “Once someone is infected, they can target them the same way they targeted you. But it’s not personal. You’re just the unlucky person who happened to accidentally download their malware that day. See what I’m saying?”

  I nodded. “So I don’t have a dedicated stalker, or anything like that.”

  “Doubt it. I’d say there’s a 99% chance it’s some random guy sitting in a basement somewhere, trying to make money off unsuspecting people.”

  I swallowed hard. “People actually pay them?”

  “A lot of them do, because the hackers usually try to blackmail them with something embarrassing. So most people instantly freak out and pay up just to make sure nothing happens. But if you ignore them… they don’t actually do anything. They just give up and move on to the next target, hoping they’ll be scared enough to pay.”

  I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “So if they contact me again to demand money, I can safely ignore it.”

  “Yup. It’s always an empty threat. So they won’t do anything.” Dec glanced at me. “Did you try to call the number that messaged you? Or reply via text?”

  “Yeah, I tried calling it, just to see if anyone would answer. But it was disconnected.”

  “Probably just a burner phone the hacker uses.” He shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter now. He can’t access your stuff anymore.”

  “Thanks again. I really do owe you one,” I said. “You’ve already got so much stuff going on, so me showing up at your door freaking out was probably the last thing you needed.”

  He smiled and closed my laptop. “It’s fine. I was expecting you anyway, and besides, this has been a good distraction. That’s just what I need right now.”

  I tentatively patted his arm. “How are you doing with the whole Kaylee thing, anyway?”

  His expression turned grim. “Well, she cheated on me, so it’s definitely over. Stone-cold dead and buried.”

  “Oh, shit. I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

  “It is what it is.” He waved a casual hand, though the stiffness in his tone betrayed his hurt and anger. “All I can really do is try my best to move on.”