Page 38 of Everything She Feared

The strains ofthe opening score for a 1940s noir movie play over a montage of desolate big-city streets at night.

Then the titleTell-Tale Hearts with Sonya and Shaneblossoms on screens around the world.

It dissolves to an image of a woman with oversize red-framed glasses and a bearded man in a ball cap. Both are wearing headphones and are sitting at a table, poised for a broadcast.

Their room of book-filled shelves, framed photos, plants and posters of the covers forIn Cold BloodandCrime and Punishmentmake for a warm, homey backdrop as they smile, wave and begin.

“A big hello to everyone. I’m Sonya and this is my brother, Shane.”

Shane taps the brim of his hat in salute.

“And we are live,” Sonya says. “Welcome to our ninety-ninth—can you believe it, bro?—our ninety-ninth episode ofTell-Tale Hearts.”

“It’s wild. And look at everyone joining us today, from Birmingham, England; Miami; Ottawa, Canada; Denver; Santiago, Chile; and Perth, Australia. Boy, some of you are up at all hours, talk about the real dark night of the soul, I love it.”

“So,” Sonya says, “a little background for those of you joining us for the first time. Shane and I are amateur sleuths who became obsessed true-crime aficionados. We started out reading classics likeIn Cold BloodandHelter SkelterandThe Onion Field, then studying cases like the Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy, the Yorkshire Ripper and tons of others.”

Photos from those cases flash on the screen.

“Since then, we couldn’t get enough and started this channel to discuss cases new and cold with like-minded folk.”

“Right,” Shane says. “And a warning—we are unfiltered, our shows get very dark, very gross and very disturbing, because whenever and wherever possible we will show and discuss everything about a case. And we meaneverything. If you are hardcore, we recommend a legendary primer,Practical Homicide Investigationby Vernon Geberth.”

“This week we’re joined by a special guest to discuss our featured case,” Sonya says. “But before we start, we have some news. Thanks to you, we’ve surpassed five million views a month!”

“That is freaking amazing. We really want to thank you, our followers.”

They cut to a blip of stock footage of mass crowds, oceans of people cheering and applauding.

“Today we’re going to look back several decades to the case of one of the world’s most prolific serial killers,” Sonya says. “A soulless monster, active for over a decade before he was captured.”

A photo of a bald man with a wide-eyed maniacal grin appears.

“This man,” Shane says, “is Andrei Chikatilo of Russia.”

“This case gave me chills.”

“After he was arrested for killing, mutilating and, in some cases, eating parts of fifty-two boys, girls and young women, in the time between 1978 and 1990,” Shane says, “Chikatilo called himself a freak of nature.”

Photos of the young faces of victims appear.

“Chikatilo used to carry a frying pan and other cooking implements with him in his bag when he hunted his victims,” Shane says. “Russian investigators noted that in one case the victim was so horribly destroyed, they initially ruled out homicide because they were convinced the victim had fallen into a harvesting combine.”

Graphic crime scene photos appear.

When the photos vanish, the screen is split with the hosts on one side, a white-haired man with glasses and a headset, sitting at his office desk, on the other.

“Today we are honored to have with us Professor Anton Belyayev,” Sonya says. “I hope I pronounced it correctly, Professor.”

“You did.”

“Thank you and welcome. You’re joining us from Los Angeles where you’re a visiting professor of history at UCLA.”

“I am, and thank you for inviting me to your program.”

“Professor,” Shane says, “you have a personal connection to this case.”

“I do. My uncle was one of the detectives who had a part in the investigation that resulted in Chikatilo’s arrest.”

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