Page 23 of Burning Truth

“Yes,” she said, forcing a smile. She wasn’t sure, but she wouldn’t tell him that.

The office was trendy, with black metal hardware and bright wood accents. It was a very modern space, interspersed with green plants that looked real. There was a pretty young woman sitting at the front desk. She smiled when Severn walked in.

“Hello, Sir. I have a bunch of messages for you.” She dug into a space behind the counter and pulled out a stack of brightly colored post-it notes.

“Thank you, Morgan. This is Addie Kingston. If she ever calls or shows up here, I need to be notified immediately.”

Morgan blinked her big blue eyes and nodded. “Yes, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kingston.”

“Call me Addie, Morgan.”

Morgan smiled even brighter and nodded. “Love your segments, by the way. You always do such a good job.”

“Thank you,” Addie said, following Severn up a set of metal stairs. “Are you, like, in charge here?” she whisper-hissed as they headed up the stairs.

“No, he’s not, though he likes to think he is sometimes,” a deep voice broke in.

Severn snorted. “Addie, this is Parker Quinn, the head of Lost and Found Columbus.”

There was no doubting that the man at the top of the stairs was the boss. Big and beefy, he had deep set grey eyes and dirty blond hair. Something was off with his face, but Addie didn’twant to stare too long. She shoved a hand out and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

He shook strongly and let her go. “Nice to meet you as well, Ms. Kingston. I’m sorry we had to meet like this, but I’m sure Sev will get to the bottom of your stalker.”

“Gabbie says she has something for us,” Severn said, taking Addie’s elbow to guide her around his boss.

“Let’s go see, then,” Parker said, following along.

They headed down the hallway, almost to the end. Gabbie was in a darkened office, her face illuminated only by the screen of her computer. “You guys made it,” she said, looking up as they entered. “I’ve got a lead that could point to your arsonist. Oh, nice to meet you Addie,” she said, flashing a wave.

“Nice to meet you, too. Thank you for doing this,” she said rather lamely. Gabbie was a beauty, with dark eyes and dark hair with a deep purple streak in a knot on top of her head.

Gabbie scrunched up her face. “Sorry I’m all up in your business.”

Addie snorted and shrugged. “Everybody is right now,” she laughed.

Gabbie gestured for them to take a seat while she navigated through her applications. “So, I traced the IP back to a local internet service provider and found some suspicious activity linked to an account using that profile pic. The interesting part is, it traces back to a local government server.”

Addie’s stomach clenched, dread flooding her. “Wait, my stalker is somebody in government?”

“Exactly. And it gets worse,” Gabbie continued. “The guy is good, because he swept up most of his crumbs. Looks like he’s probably using a burner phone, but he still gets on the government Wi-Fi. Stupid shit. Last post linked to this account was made under a new profile of someone who claims to be a fanbut followed it up with messages that seem—well, threatening. The profile name is TikTak696.”

Addie felt the color drain from her face, her thoughts spiraling as anxiety clawed at her insides. Her gaze met Severn’s, and his mouth tightened. That was the name they’d called him when they responded last night. “What do you mean, threatening?”

Severn leaned forward, his expression razor-sharp. “Can you show us?”

Gabbie’s fingers danced over the keyboard, and suddenly a screen to the left lit up, as well as a series of comments that glared back at them in a painful white and blue. Each one was a twisted reflection of admiration soaked in menace. “Here,” she said, presenting the screen like it was evidence in a courtroom.

Addie read through the lines with mounting horror. What had initially felt like harmless fan commentary morphed into grotesque fantasies and chilling insinuations about her off-air life. “It doesn’t stop,” she choked out, her voice barely holding steady. “It’s just... deranged.”

Severn’s jaw tightened as he scanned through the comments. “Can we trace it back to the source?”

Gabbie nodded. “Somebody reported the account, but I still have a bead on him. It’s going to take some digging, but if I can access the IT logs from the provider, we might get at least a general area tied to this account.”

“Let’s do it,” Severn urged, determination hardening in his tone. “Every second counts.”

As Gabbie typed with intense focus, Addie felt the gravity of their situation weighing heavily on her. There was a threat to her life, one that could culminate in violence. It alreadyhadculminated in violence. “I didn’t think he’d reacted to seeing us together, but he had. He just created a new account to vent and we didn’t see it.”

Severn nodded, his mouth grim. “And used the name we gave him. It’s not just about the act of following; it’s about the obsession. This isn’t a fan reaching out; it’s a predator.”

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