Page 36 of Three for a Girl

“I know, right? That huge house, those cars, and possessions, they’re an absolute fortune, and they own them outright.” Josh gestured to the office, and the DI on the phone. “He’s been trying to get hold of Kerion all morning, sent a car around to the property, but no luck yet.”

“It gets weirder.” Faye said.

“How?” Ally asked.

“You know that profile, BigBoy11?”

“Who could forget that alluring name?” Ally smirked.

“I looked into the IP address, it’s identical to Kerion’s and Ellen’s.”

Josh looked over. “So it was Kerion that was sending her the threatening messages?”

“There’s more, I checked Ellen and Kerion’s top fans, all the same IP address.”

“Unless there’s a load of people held hostage in their attic, I’d say Ellen and Kerion are running more than one profile.” Ally said. “But why write threatening posts?”

“Because of the attention it brings,” Chad said. “Ellen gets an outpour of support, she defends herself against the troll, gets even more likes, even more followers.”

“But what’s the point in having that many followers? She wasn’t being paid to promote products to them. How the hell do they have so much money?”

The office door swung open, and they all looked towards the frowning DI. “Kerion’s gone AWOL. His car’s at his property, but his bike’s gone.”

“He’s done a runner.” Josh said.

“I’ve been on the phone to the bank. Kerion and Ellen were last paid four months ago from an offshore account.”

“Four months ago?” Faye said.

“The account owner, a JB Wills.”

“What do we know about him?”

“Nothing, except he’s loaded. He paid Kerion and Ellen $300,000.”

“Jesus,” Ally said. “I’m in the wrong profession.”

Chad glanced at her. “But what profession are they in exactly?”

“Every few months, they have a very generous payday, going back six years.”

“Why?” Faye said.

Ally snorted. “Why, what, where, and who seems more appropriate.”

“We need to find Kerion.” The DI said.

“You think he’s a suspect?”

“I think he knows more than he’s letting on. I think their money situation is suspicious. The social media influencer occupation is a cover.”

“It’s dodgy.” Josh said. “Maybe they were stealing the money from someone, keeping it in an offshore bank account, and that person found out.”

“Why kill her that way, though?” Chad asked

Faye tapped on her keys, and brought up a picture of Ellen. The first one Chad had seen before her dead body and injuries. Ellen stuck her tongue out, and gazed at the camera.

“This picture was her most popular post. Posing at the camera while hash tagging about Marcy. She wished she could help.”

---