Chapter Text
[ Strange Fruit Instrumental by Billie Holiday ]
“Fuck,” Andrew grunted and rubbed his ribs. He held up a hand and took a step back. “Give me a second, Walker. Jesus.”
Renee lowered her gloved fists and wiped her wrist across her sweaty forehead. Violet bangs pushed to the side as a smile blossomed on her lips through labored breaths. “You’re out of practice, hm?”
Andrew glared at her. “Well, someone decided to fuck off to Miami for the better part of the goddamn summer.”
“I’m back now,” Renee countered, unwrapping her gloves and tossing them on the table. “So you have someone to beat up on the regular.”
They were in one of the basement rooms of Fox Tower. Usually meant for photography/film students and staff, there were two darkrooms down the hall and several private studios. In their last year at PSU they (meaning Andrew with reluctant approval from Renee) cleared a junk room out of broken equipment and made it into a sparring space. It was bare, but the floor was nice and it was set off in a more secluded part of the basement.
Upon Andrew’s return, it looked exactly as they’d left it - which for some reason was nice. The two of them had spent countless hours down there, exchanging fists and jabs well into the night as Andrew fought back spirals and procrastinated on projects.
Andrew unwrapped his own gloves and sat on top of the table, grabbing his bottle of water on the way. As he cracked the cap, he furrowed his brows at her. “So what’s the deal there?” he asked, studying her for a moment. “Are you moving to Miami or what? Is Reynolds stealing you from me?”
Renee laughed and it was nice to hear. He missed it, missed her. “Should’ve made your move sooner.” She smiled at him and Andrew couldn’t place a time he’d ever seen her so genuinely happy. She was bright.
“Ah, well. Live and learn,” he quipped, taking a sip from his water.
Renee rolled her eyes and leaned her hip against the table. “No, I’m not moving to Miami. Not now, anyway,” she shrugged. “I have obligations here, she has obligations there. We’ll see each other when we can and figure it out as we go.”
Good .
Andrew nodded and screwed the cap back on. He’d been so sure she was going to leave and while he wouldn’t blame her, he would miss her. However, he knew that if Neil had insisted on staying in New York, Andrew would probably be there now. He couldn’t deny that. Nonetheless he sighed in relief, held back the small smile, and nodded as he voiced aloud, “Good.”
“And you and Neil?”
“What about me and Neil?”
“How’s it going? I feel like we haven’t talked about it in so long.” Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry, I’ve been so distracted an-”
Andrew’s snort cut her off. “Some people get stupid around leggy blondes. It’s fine. I’m sure you couldn’t help it-” She threw her sweaty towel at him.
“Don’t change the subject.”
He threw the towel back and made a show of rolling his eyes. “It’s going... It’s... going,” Andrew settled. There were a thousand and one things he could say about them , and he knew Renee would listen without an ounce of judgment. It was just that he was afraid if he started he wouldn’t be able to stop and end up saying something he’d regret expressing later. But patient as always, Renee remained quiet and waited him out. He inhaled a deep breath. “It’s good . Seriously. Really good - too good, honestly.” His brows furrowed. “At this point, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Renee cocked her head at him. “Why? Can’t it just be that you’ve found someone that makes you really happy?”
Internally he scoffed. No. That doesn’t happen to me.
Externally he shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Really, he supposed both were true and a small niggling began at the back of his head. Ever since Neil came into his life (or Andrew inserted himself into his) everything changed. He’d never felt like this before, never cared like this before, never -
It wasn’t that he was worried about things ending or either of them suddenly changing their minds. This happiness, this all consuming yes and something was, is everything to him, and he just wanted to ride this wave and soak it all in because things were good . Really good. It wasn’t just him trying to convince himself. He just couldn’t deny the fact that he had a habit of attracting incredibly fucked up situations for himself and subsequently, a very small very big part of himself worried that he was going to bring it upon Neil, too.
Renee sat next to him, bumping her shoulder with his and snapping him out of his messy thoughts. “Stop worrying,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I’ve been around you two. I wish you could see yourselves from the outside. There's something almost... tangible in the way you’re connected. He looks at you like you’ve hung the moon, you know.”
I do
Andrew stood. He didn’t really want to have this conversation anymore. The warmth that was curling in his stomach, in his chest, behind his eyes... it was almost too much. His phone provided a welcome distraction when it buzzed in his pocket.
“Listen,” he answered, “I’ve been gone for an hour. I understand wanting to be around my wit and charm all the time, but this is getting to be ridiculous-”
Neil sighed dramatically, ‘Yes, yes. You’re amazing. Dan wanted me to call you to make sure you’d be back for the meeting. She’s on my ass about finding out where we’re at.’
Neil was annoyed. Andrew could tell because of course he fucking could. The question was automatic, “What happened?”
‘Nothing happened . Just get here.’
“For someone who spent most of his life lying his ass off, you’re really bad at it.”
‘It’s really nothing,’ Neil groaned. ‘Jack is just being a fucking prick and Wymack threatened to sign me up for a creative writing class if I threatened to beat Jack’s ass one more time.’
Ha
“I say go for it. You’d benefit from a creative writing class and Jack would benefit from an ass beating.” He could practically hear Neil rolling his eyes through the phone.
‘Just hurry up, okay? I’ll need you to buy me lunch to raise my spirits later.’
“Christ, you’re spoiled.”
‘Yep.’ Neil hung up and Andrew didn’t even realize he was smiling until he caught Renee’s eyes.
“Oh shut up, Walker,” he mumbled, before making his way out of the room and up to the studio.
Andrew Minyard:
Welcome to Season 2 of Red Rabbits. I’m your host, Andrew Minyard. And though he needs no introduction -
Neil Josten:
Ah, I’m infamous now. I rather like the sound of that.
Andrew Minyard:
You’re welcome for making that happen.
Neil Josten:
[ scoff ]
Andrew Minyard:
As you can tell, this season I have a co-host. The subject of Season 1, official TFN member, and co-producer, Neil Josten. How do you like your new position?
Neil Josten:
Hell of a lot better than running.
Andrew Minyard:
[ laugh ]
Neil Josten:
No, really. It feels good. Though I was initially hesitant to join Andrew this season, because I have absolutely no fucking clue what I’m doing, I wouldn’t be anywhere else.
Andrew Minyard:
That makes two of us.
Neil Josten:
[ Laughs ]
Oh this will go great then. Critically acclaimed podcast, top of the charts show, and neither of us know how to run it. Love that for us.
Andrew Minyard:
Not what I meant.
Neil Josten:
Don’t let the audience hear how soft you’ve become.
Andrew Minyard:
Anyway.
Neil Josten:
Back to my point.
All of this feels strange - putting myself in the spotlight after so many years of hiding. But once Andrew started talking about Harry Potter, new chapters, and missing kids, how could I resist?
Andrew Minyard:
I’m regretting that.
Neil Josten:
Shut up. You are not. And besides. I’m here now. And I’m ready to make a difference.
Andrew Minyard:
You are. And that brings us to Season 2. Before we start, we want to issue a few warnings. If you follow along on the website, you may be aware. But we want to make absolutely certain that everyone understands and has the chance to shut us off if they need.
This season is dark. It’s disturbing and though this episode opened light, there’s nothing in this case that we take lightly. There will be mentions of child kidnappings, physical and sexual abuse, and murder. What we will not do is give graphic details of these tragedies. That’s not what we’re about. Our role in this case rests solely on finding the perpetrator and making sure no one forgets his victims names.
Neil Josten:
On the website we’ll be tagging relevant posts with trigger warnings. Linked in the description will be Dan’s message regarding what those tags will be, so you can block them from showing up.
Andrew Minyard:
If any of you want a tutorial on how to do that, send a message to our inbox or email [email protected] , and Seth will get on that.
Neil Josten:
Right. And on top of that, you can always send us an ask or an email if you have an issue with something we’ve done, said, or otherwise. And with that, if you don’t want to move forward with Season 2, this is your chance to go. We completely understand and if you check out the description of this episode, there are a few links to foundations dedicated to victims of child abuse and organizations dedicated to finding missing children.
Neil sat in the lounge with the rest of the team, minus Andrew and Renee. Today was the day they were going to lay everything out. They all knew that he and Andrew had chosen a case weeks ago, and they knew they’d already started research but beyond that, they hadn’t really discussed it. Honestly the truth was, everyone had suddenly found themselves coupled and when Season 1 ended, those couplings had taken precedence. Which wasn’t a bad thing, in Neil’s opinion. A lot had happened, a lot of pain and fear, and -
It was just a lot. He was glad they all had a break.
Seth had mostly been in South Carolina but Dion, his new boyfriend, had also been to visit and in that regard, Seth was pretty much fucking useless when he was in town. Again, Neil didn’t really blame him. After all, he imagined if Andrew lived in a different state, he’d be useless too when they finally got together.
As for the others, Dan and Matt were fucking ridiculous. Neil was almost positive Matt would’ve already proposed if he didn’t think Dan would kick him straight in the balls for asking so soon. As it was, he was in the professional off-season and he’d rented a condo in Columbia where he could be closer to Dan, while also having access to an Exy court with professional trainers. Of course, he still had a lot of business in New York, but he was in South Carolina whenever he could be. Neil wasn’t complaining. He liked having Matt so close.
On the other hand, Renee and Allison had been in Miami most of the summer, so he assumed things were going well there. Renee was back in the studio now and Allison was still in Miami with the promise that she’d come soon.
Presently, the team was impatiently waiting for Andrew and Renee. Seth tap tap tapped away on his phone and Dan had her laptop open, ready to take notes. Neil craned his neck past an intern who’s name he couldn’t remember even if his life depended on it, when he heard a door open and was relieved to see their two missing members. Neil bounced his knee, waiting to catch a glimpse of Andrew. This meeting is going to be a lot - he thought. There was so much they hadn’t told them yet and he wasn’t sure how they were going to react.
There he is.
Andrew walked past everyone to his office without a hello, going in for a moment to grab his tablet before making his way to the couch to sit next to Neil. He knew Andrew and Renee had a sparring date, so he wasn’t surprised when Andrew settled beside him still sweaty in workout clothes. Neil, for that matter, didn’t mind. In fact, he scooted closer under the guise of seeing the tablet. Andrew glanced at him from out of the corner of his eyes and raised a brow.
He ignored it.
“Finally,” Dan said impatiently and sat a bit straighter, “You’re ten minutes late.”
“Blame Renee,” Andrew said, completely unconcerned as he flicked through the tablet. “She wanted to have a heart to heart in the middle of us trying to beat the crap out of each other.”
“Technically,” Renee settled beside Seth, crossing her legs, “it was at the end.”
“I don’t care when it was. We have a schedule to keep,” Dan said, leaning forward to the conference phone situated on the round table in the middle of the couches.
“Who are you calling?” Andrew asked. “We’re all here.”
“Allison,” Renee replied for Dan. “She’s part of the team, too.” She didn’t sound offended, Neil thought. But she almost had an air of disappointment that Andrew had forgotten.
Doubt that.
If Andrew noticed, he didn’t show it. Instead he raised a brow and asked, “Is she? I was under the impression that the only reason she was involved in Season 1 was because she had a personal interest.” He nodded his head towards Neil.
Me too.
Dan dialed the number from her neat notes laid out on the table. “That’s exactly what we’re going to find out. We’ll see where she stands. It’s not fair to expect that she’ll keep footing the bill out of the kindness of her heart.”
Neil looked to Renee but she didn’t react. He guessed she’d already had this conversation with Allison, which brought up a whole other slew of questions Neil had - like how the hell did that happen? Renee was so contained and reserved next to Allison’s sometimes outlandish and loud personality. Andrew pushed his hair off his forehead and Neil automatically watched, not so oblivious to the fact that everyone else probably asked the same about them .
That’s different. I know how we work together. It’s understanding everyone else that’s hard.
Allison picked up on the first ring. ‘You’re late.’
Dan rolled her eyes with no heat. Somehow, a friendship had been forged between them over the past few months. Dan and Allison had apparently bonded over what they called their ‘black girl magic’. Neil wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but he was 85% sure it didn’t involve actual magic.
“Sorry, Alli,” Renee said, leaning forward on her knees. “Andrew and I were sparring and lost track of time.”
Allison sighed, ‘Y’all had Rey take the fall just so I wouldn’t complain? Smart fucks.’
“Alli,” Seth spoke up, “Tell D I said hey and I miss his ‘D’. He’ll know what it mean-”
“ ANYWAY ,” Andrew interrupted. “Now that Reynolds is present, can we start? Neil and I have a lot of shit to get through.”
Dan waved a hand, “Go.”
“Succinct as always, our Captain,” Andrew said with a mocking smile that Neil had somehow grown to lo- ado- like.
Like?
Shut up.
“I’m going to make this as quick as I can,” he continued, “but it’s a lot, so listen up and don’t make me repeat myself.”
Neil smiled to himself. He hid it behind his lukewarm mug of tea as Andrew’s conditions were met with silence.
“The case we’ve chosen deals with a string of missing girls in Newark, New Jersey.”
‘Ugh, New Jersey...’ Allison mumbled. While Neil was used to the anti-Jersey-spoken-by-a-New-Yorker sentiment, Andrew carried on as if she hadn’t spoken at all.
“Between the ages of five and nine, all but one was found dead. We think it’s spanned for over twenty years, but can’t say we’ll ever really know. One doesn’t typically wake up one day and set themselves on this track without some sort of escalation. Not statistically at least.” Andrew tilted his head and let a crick out of his neck with a small sigh. Neil wanted to reach out and press his fingers into the tense muscles, but kept his hands to himself. “But what really makes this case stand out - beside the obvious - is that the police have refused to connect any of the dots and have done very little to crack these cases.”
Dan stopped her typing and looked up from her laptop. “Wait... So if the police haven’t connected these kidnappings and murders, why have you? Or how have you -” She shook her head and gestured a hand, “What I mean is, if they go back twenty years, what have the two of you found that they haven’t? Not that I’m doubting you,” Dan added at Andrew’s annoyed scowl. “I’m just wondering where the connection is. What’s the thread?”
Neil leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and cradling his cooling mug between his hands. “That’s the thing and part of the reason why we wanted to take this case on. All these girls? Minorities - children of color, from low income families, and no real way to fight.”
‘Of course,’ Allison mumbled through the phone. She didn’t elaborate, but the heat in her voice was enough. Seth even dropped his phone to the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. He, of course, knew the bare minimum of this case - enough to get through developing the new website over the past few weeks. He didn’t, however, know any details and Neil could see the hurt on his face already. It was mirrored by Dan’s furrowed brow as she furiously scribbled across one of her many yellow pads.
Renee even made a small ‘ oh ’ sound, before asking, “Has no one tried to bring this to their attention...?”
Of course they h-
“Of course they have,” Andrew spoke for him. Neil was no longer surprised. The cold in the atmosphere, in the topic, drowned out any warmth around. Andrew went on, “Protests, sit ins around various town halls, calls to their representatives, the list goes on. The fact of the matter is, as far as we know this started in the early 90’s. They didn’t have internet outreach or facebook or any of that shit. All they had was milk cartons, newspaper ads, and word of mouth. By the time any sort of effective social media or even advanced DNA profiling was used, a lot of the families ended up leaving the state. No loss of hope, but a lost cause. Because that’s how the system is.”
“Has there been anything recent, though?” Renee pushed on.
“Yes,” Neil answered this time. “And to avoid getting into too much detail about the actual cases, there’s a reason why we’re here.” He looked to Andrew to let him explain. He’d been handling this part more than Neil.
Andrew spared him a glance and crossed his ankle onto his knee as he focused on the group before them. “This summer we received an email from the sole survivor.”
Everyone went still.
He continued, “She emailed us with an article of her own disappearance.”
Article was really putting it lightly. The entire piece was no more than five sentences - if that. It was a mere corner of the newspaper, like she was really so insignificant.
Familiar.
Anyway.
“She was a child when she was taken and a child when she was found. But she’s been researching the case and making connections since she was a young teen. However, no one would hear what she had to say when she tried to bring it to light.”
That last part weighed heavy in the air and its magnitude reflected upon everyone’s face.
Andrew inhaled deeply and Neil briefly rubbed a hand on his leg before taking it back. The eyes on them were heavy and the weight of them prickled his skin. He ignored it, tried not to think as the thick air began to break and how comforting the press of Andrew’s thigh felt against his. It’d been a hard few weeks of sorting through all of this and nights had become restlessly filled with coffee and articles and endless photographs and -
“So here’s our case,” Andrew concluded. Neil blinked back into focus. “We’ve found 6 girls that match this guy’s MO. No leads, no open investigations and that includes the latest victim found in July. Every case has been officially classified as cold.” He glanced down at the tablet and scrolled through his notes. Neil knew he didn’t need them and pressed his thigh tighter to Andrews in support. “We assume he’s in the Newark area because that’s where most of our girls have gone missing - where most of them have shown up. Look.” Andrew lifted his head and his jaw clenched for half a second. “He sees this as his territory, his stomping grounds... And over time, he’s become more bold, keeping the girls for longer and practically displaying their bodies when he’s... finished.” He practically spit the last few words.
“Fuck,” Seth murmured, rubbing his hands over his face. Neil bit the inside of his lip and nodded in agreement as Seth’s hands dropped to his lap. “This season is going to be worse than the last...”
Leaning back into the couch, Neil sighed and let go of his lip. He looked to Seth, then to everyone else. “What you heard about my childhood, what you saw and assumed ,” he paused to make sure everyone was listening. “It’s nothing compared to what these girls have had to endure. I got out. They never had the chance.”
“Except for your victim?” Renee asked. “The one that emailed you?”
“Right,” Andrew murmured, tapping away at something on the tablet before looking back up. “Our survivors’ name is Robin Cross. She’s eighteen now and when she was five, she was taken by a man she calls Steven. We don’t believe that’s his real name, but Steven was using her as bait to lure another girl when she was found. By then, she was eleven and finally returned to her family. However, as you can guess, it’s been an uphill battle for her. Regardless, she’s started college this year against her parents wishes.”
‘If she’s in school how much will she be able to help?’ Allison asked and it was a valid question. ‘Shouldn’t she concentrate on that instead of reliving this nightmare?’
Andrew answered before Neil could open his mouth, “She should do what she wants. But that brings me to my next bit of news.” His pause was short as he kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Eventually, Dan raised a brow and started to speak. Andrew barreled on. “When Robin contacted us over the summer, we talked quite a bit. She wanted to go to school, but was afraid of what her parents would say if she got accepted. So she only applied to a few. Because I’m me and we’re us,” Neil looked up at him and ignored the reactions to ‘us’, “I offered to help her get into PSU. By that time, it was late in the summer and school was about to start. I tried anyway.”
Dan’s expectant look turned to incredulity as she scoffed, “Yeah, because you have such a good reputation with the administration here.”
“He has a good professional reputation, no matter what he was like in college,” Neil shot back, unable to help himself. “He’s an acclaimed journalist for fucks sake and he’s brought more listeners to TFN than any other podcast, no matter what Kevin says.”
“I heard that!” Kevin’s yelled from the kitchen and Seth huffed a laugh, shaking his head.
“Hey, calm down for a sec,” Seth said. “I know you wanna protect your mans, but facts are facts.”
Rolling his eyes, Neil opened his mouth to argue again, but Andrew stopped him with a warm hand on his knee. Did they think Neil was just going to sit here and let them ignore what Andrew had done for them?
“It’s so nice to see your concern,” Andrew said, voice syrupy sweet and directed to the rest of the group. He squeezed Neil’s leg once before taking his hand back. “However, I enlisted Saint Wymack to help. Long story short, we got her on an exy-,” he glanced at Neil and the tension in Neil’s shoulders dissipated as a smirk played at the corner of his lips. Andrew rolled his eyes, looked away, and continued. “-scholarship since her family doesn’t have the means to pay for school anyway. As of the end of August, she’s been on campus, living in the dorms, and majoring in social work. For us that means having her close will make interviews easier. But we also understand that she needs to concentrate on school, especially since this is her first time away from home.”
Despite the alleviated tension, Renee still looked concerned. “Go ahead, Walker. Spit it out,” Andrew sighed.
“She’s agreed to all of this?”
And there it is.
Neil had been waiting for someone to ask, for someone to raise concern. It was almost like they were waiting for Andrew to strong arm things again - to make things go his way on the road to justice... Like they were waiting for him to adopt her as one of them, as a fox, like he’d done with Neil.
But that was different.
Different entirely because Andrew learned from his mistakes. They’d discussed this time and time again and he believed Andrew would make the right decisions - after all, he was here to help and although Neil wasn’t exactly the best moral compass, he could most certainly steer Andrew away from doing things the wrong way on his quest to do the right thing.
“She came to us,” Neil reiterated. “ We were the ones that had to agree.”
‘That’s all fine and good, but what are you going to do to protect this girl?’ Allison asked. ‘Who’s to say if this guy is still out there, he won’t come after her? Or that revealing her identity won’t put her at risk on campus?’
They’d thought about that too. In fact, it was Andrew’s first concern and because of that, he wanted to tell Allison to fuck right off for even thinking he wouldn’t have made that his paramount concern.
“I’ve discussed it all with her,” Andrew said so Neil didn’t have to. “But this is her choice. Until Bee, I had choices stolen from me my entire childhood. I would never, never presume to make choices for someone else.” Andrew leaned forward on his knees, clicking the screen of the tablet off. His eyes bore into the phone, as if he were looking straight at Allison and addressing her directly. “She wants to fight for these girls, for herself, and for the other black and brown children who are overlooked every fucking day. And just to remind all of you, she is an adult,” he said with finality. “She can make this decision for herself.”
‘She’s eighteen. That’s hardly an adu-’
“She’s an adult ,” Andrew said, just a hair louder. His message was clear: When you’ve been through what we have, at the age we were, no matter what it was, you grow up real fast. “This is her decision and if she changes her mind, we’ll do whatever we can to accommodate that.”
Allison finally went silent and Neil was glad for it. He was proud of Andrew for not only holding his ground (as he knew he would), but for keeping his calm as well. Afterall, Allison didn’t know him like that and Neil could hazard a guess that everyone else in this room didn’t have a full understanding of what Andrew had to endure when he was a child either. Nonetheless they could surmise it wasn’t good and with that, Dan brought them back to the point of the call.
“So, Allison,” Dan cleared her throat. “What role do you see for yourself here? I assume you still want to be a part of things since you agreed to this call. But, we know you foot the bill for us because of your connection to Neil. What about now?”
Allison remained quiet for a moment longer and ended it with a sigh. ‘Yeah, I had a connection to Neil. But don’t I also have one with these girls? Just as much as you, Dan?’
Both Dan and Seth shared a look. Seth crossed his arms over his chest as his bright eyes darkened and Dan leaned further on her elbows. Whatever consensus they came to, it was solidified as together Dan and Seth focused back on the phone. Allison couldn’t see all that.
‘You’re telling me that you’re going after a man who’s been targeting little girls - that these children have been overlooked and forgotten after being murdered and fuck knows what?’ She paused, but no longer than to take a quick breath. ‘This shit happens every goddamn day. I’d say my connection is pretty fuckin’ valid and I’ll support this however I can. Financially and otherwise.’
“So on that note,” Neil started slowly, suddenly very grateful for the diversity of their team, “we’ll need your help even more this season. All of you. Andrew and I can commiserate all we want, and we can be sympathetic and listen - but we don’t have your point of view. Not really... And part of the research we’re doing here is because it involves underprivileged children of color. If any of you have notes for us on how to handle these things sensitively, let us know. Even if it’s just the phrasing we use or something small, we want you to say something. For a lot of this case we’re going to have to lean on you,” his eyes carried to the entire team, “to make sure we handle this as respectfully as possible.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Andrew nod beside him.
‘I think the both of you know if I have a problem, I’ll raise it. I wouldn’t be involved if I didn’t know you and Minyard would use your whiteness for good. Although, I still say you have too much melanin to claim to be a white boy.’
Neil shrugged even though Allison couldn’t see it. “I’m mixed with something, I’m sure. But I have no idea what that something is. My mother and I didn’t exactly get around to geneology while on the run. The fact of the matter is, if I got pulled over and Seth got pulled over, it would be two very different experiences.”
“Got that fuckin’ right,” Seth mumbled.
Neil gave Seth a small, sympathetic smile.
Andrew brought them back to task. “So everyone is clear?” Everyone nodded. “Good. In that case, Robin is going to stop by the studio when she has a break in classes sometime this week. I want her to meet everyone and get comfortable coming here if she feels the need. We can sit down with her then and discuss things a bit further.”
Andrew stood, not waiting for everyone to disperse to their designated spaces and held out a hand to pull Neil with him. “Come on. We’ll have lunch at home. I need a shower anyway.”
[ Interlude ]
Andrew Minyard:
Last season we alternated between Audio Notes and Episodes. But, we were so singularly focused on finding Neil, that we didn’t really think of doing much else than that. Since this season is specifically focused on the serious epidemic of America’s missing children of color and finding a man that took from so many, we wanted to take the time to share our resources and promote a few foundations that we strongly believe in. So, instead of doing ad reads like other podcasts -
Neil Josten:
[ Laugh ]
Allison’s got us covered on that front.
Andrew Minyard:
Yeah, Miss Moneybags -
We’re going to do just that.
Neil Josten:
Since the beginning of this season, there isn’t a moment where we haven’t had the NCMEC’s (National Center of Missing and Exploited Children) website, missingkids.com pulled up in a tab.
Andrew Minyard:
It’s been instrumental in the formatting of this season and further understanding how and why shit like this happens.
Neil Josten:
One statistic that really jumped out at us was that in a 2018 study conducted by the NCMEC, there were more than 25,000 cases of missing kids in America. Of those cases, less than 1% were due to non-family abductions.
Andrew Minyard:
That’s just a sample to show you what we’re dealing with. And that’s not getting into the fact that statistically black and brown children go missing at a higher rate than white kids, which we will dive into a bit more in the coming episodes. Additionally, this website has a lot of fantastic information that we couldn’t possibly cover in 90 seconds. So for the sake of saving time, it will be listed in the description of this episode and we strongly implore you all to go look, explore it, take in the general numbers, and understand the magnitude of how difficult this really is.
Neil Josten:
And without getting into the logistics that come with changing numbers in regards to race -
Andrew Minyard:
Which again well get into in coming episodes -
Neil Josten:
Yeah - we firmly believe this is a great resource and it would be a mistake not to include it.
[ Interlude music fades ]
Andrew took longer than usual in the shower.
Any other day he might’ve tried convincing Neil to join.
Not today.
He needed time to think.
Because
When Robin contacted them during the summer, Andrew was immediately invested and why wasn’t a real secret between him and Neil. Not really. Her story struck a nerve and it hit closer to home than he could’ve ever expected. Once he’d confirmed everything she said was legit and that she was real, he fell down the proverbial rabbit hole and tried to find everything he could on her case. Article after article, it took him no time to scrub the internet and begin a study on anything and everything involving Newark’s clear epidemic.
There was next to nothing to be found. At the time, the most he’d unearthed had been a small article briefly mentioning her disappearance and another blurb from a different publication sensationalizing her sudden rescue. Of course all credit was given to local PD, even though there was absolutely no evidence that they’d done much of anything beyond the first week of her kidnapping.
They had 6 years. One week was all they could give?
The articles had little to no basis besides regurgitating whatever the local 5 o’clock news ran. In fact, it was actually a civilian that had asked Robin where her parents were and held her until the authorities could arrive.
Of course Andrew wasn’t surprised by any of that. He’d grown up in this faulty system, he knew the bad side to America’s grand tree of corruption and why would this branch be any different?
What did surprise him was the amount of tenacity Robin had. After their preliminary research, both he and Neil talked to her weekly over the phone. Sometimes it wasn’t even about the case and even though at the time Andrew was looking into the other emails they’d been sent just in case , he knew in the back of his mind that this was going to be it. He still tried his hardest to remain neutral and to set his growing fondness of Robin aside, but if he was honest with himself, he may have not been 100% successful.
When she’d mentioned that she wanted to go to school but hadn’t been accepted to the two she’d managed to apply to without her parents knowing, Andrew wanted to help. Maybe he did have an issue with overextending himself to try and help every person he could, but this was for someone who he truly believed deserved it. After all, he was a firm believer that education was a fundamental part of societal well being. However, from experience he knew how hard it was to not only be accepted after having a past, but to be able to afford that education as well. College was at least tens of thousands of dollars, and for Aaron and himself if it weren’t for Bee, Abby, and Wymack, they would’ve never been able to get in. Even still, the two of them had student loans out the ass that they would no doubt be paying for the foreseeable future. He didn’t even want to know how much Aaron had to borrow for medical school.
So, he enlisted Wymack again and played on his utter and unadmitted weakness for sob stories. With his help, they appealed to the administration, presented Robin’s story (with her permission), and convinced them it would be a fucking PR dream to give her a full scholarship - to make her life easier than it had been.
Flashback to now, Andrew scrubbed his hands over his face and ran them through his hair, letting the warm water ease some of the tension that was building with his habit of overthinking. He’d been trying so hard to stay in the moment with this case. It wasn’t hard to slip back into old trauma.
He had his own Steven , after all.
Which he hadn’t told Neil about yet.
His Steven was his foster father when he was seven years old. Andrew had been trying so hard to keep him shoved behind the wall he’d painstakingly used to try to keep all his own monsters away. But more and more, his face had been seeping out, leaking to the forefront and smirking whenever Andrew let his guard down and -
He turned the water as hot as it would go as Bee began to hum in his ear.
Welcome back...
She’d been quiet for so long. He assumed with Neil he had no use for her buzz . Neil kept him grounded, kept him from floating away or sinking into the darkness. For the first time in a long time he felt like he could breathe, but that had been getting harder and harder as -
No. He wouldn’t let himself go there. The water turned his skin pink and only after he felt like he’d had enough did Andrew cut the pipes, get out, and roughly towel off. Dressing quickly in comfortable jeans and an oversized hoodie, he pulled the sleeves over his hands, picked up King, and made his way out of the bedroom to the kitchen.
Neil stood at the stove cooking something. Andrew’s skin felt overheated from the shower but everything, for a moment, felt okay as Neil turned at the sound of Andrew’s feet. Wielding a spatula, he pointed it accusingly in Andrew’s direction. “Was this your plan to get out of buying me lunch?”
“Can’t fool you,” Andrew muttered, coming around the counter to see what was in the pan. Neil kissed his temple once he was beside him and studied his profile.
“You okay?”
Andrew just nodded. He didn’t know how Neil did it, but he could always pick up the slightest change in Andrew’s mood. He’d thought he had a freakishly good poker face, but it was like Neil was immune. He let Andrew work out his own shit until he was ready to talk and Andrew was only just becoming comfortable with how right that felt.
“Okay,” Neil nodded and bumped his hip into Andrew’s. “Grilled cheese and tater tots because I’m an incredible chef. Get ready for your mind to be fucking blown. ”
Andrew snorted and sat at the counter while still hugging King to his chest as Neil finished and made plates for them. He put Andrew’s in front of him and stood opposite, elbows leaning on the laminate.
“So, when’s Robin coming to the studio?” Neil took a bite of grilled cheese and chewed slowly, eyes on his face.
Andrew started ripping his sandwich into tiny pieces, feeling the melted cheese stick to his skin. “Later this week, maybe the next? I don’t know.” He shrugged a shoulder and pressed his index finger to his thumb. Rubbing them together, he watched as a tiny ball of cheese and crumbs formed. “I’ve only seen her once since she’s been on campus and I don’t want to push her or make her feel pressured. I want her to get into the swing of school before this is piled on top.”
Fall semester had started a few weeks ago and Robin seemed to be getting along okay. Her schedule was packed with classes she’d claimed she would’ve never been able to take before and practices that have left her exhausted but happy. Her first game was last week and together, Neil, Andrew, Kevin, and Wymack went to watch.
Outside of her workload, he talked to Robin on the regular, but always let her come to him. Usually it was for advice on school, which he was fine with. He told her that she could call any time and he was glad to help. With all that being said, he didn’t want her to feel like talking to him or coming to him was an obligation since he helped her get into PSU.
Neil nodded, “Makes sense. How’s she doing so far?”
Andrew popped a tiny piece of grilled cheese in his mouth, thinking over his answer before speaking, “Okay, I think. All things considered.”
“All what things?” Neil opened one of the cabinets and got out two glasses, before filling them with water. He handed Andrew one before taking a sip from the other.
“Well,” Andrew started, staring at the water licking the edge of the glass as he set it on the countertop. “She’s never really been around kids her own age.” Neil already knew some of this, but he let Andrew talk anyway. He was grateful - grateful for Neil letting him talk, if only just to get him out of his own head. “She was homeschooled after she was found and reasonably behind as a result.” He flinched at his own wording, but Neil didn’t comment on it. He was grateful for that, too. “Her dad stayed home with her while her mom worked. They caught her up to where she needed to be, but she still struggles with math and science. I worry a bit about her being in college level courses. How different it’ll be.”
“Sink or swim,” Neil said, mouth half full and shrugging.
“Your compassion is why I keep you around.”
Neil snorted and swallowed. “I didn’t mean to sound harsh, but it’s true. She’ll either do it or she won’t and personally? I think she will. She’s survived this far and people like us don’t fucking give up that easily. She’s so fucking determined . That was the main thing I thought when we talked to her for the first time. I was like, ‘this girl is fucking furious and she’s going to make things happen’. ”
Andrew nodded in agreement. They used to say that about him, once upon a time - when he was making journalistic waves and raising his middle finger to the establishment.
Perhaps that was part of what made Robin so interesting.
All of his work, all the research and effort to dig-so-deep the elite would bleed - it all had to do with him and it didn’t . His past pieces had to do with foster care and the downtrodden, sure, but he didn’t really put his own life out there until Red Rabbits. Of course, Drake’s trial could be seen as that, but it wasn’t really . Speaking up and writing that statement was more trying to do right by the other children, than right by himself. Bee thought it would give him some degree of closure and he supposed it did to an extent. But that wasn’t his motivation. That wasn’t how he coped. Andrew fucking Minyard was self destructive. He hated the world and as a result, dealt with trauma by shutting off and dragging as many people down with him as he possibly fucking could.
But Robin?
She was the opposite.
She was angry, sure. But she was using that anger as a guide - as fuel for a moment to bring justice for the other girls who Steven had abused and tossed away like they were nothing .
She was a force.
And he was proud of her for it.
Andrew finally bit into the shreds of his sandwich and began to eat.
Andrew Minyard:
Over the past few weeks we’ve been posting vague information on Season 2 - The Case of the Newark 9. Unfortunately, we haven’t really gone into detail of what exactly the Newark 9 is and we know it isn’t exactly the easiest thing to look up.
However, before we begin we want to say that this entire thing ended up taking a different turn than we initially thought. I originally envisioned looking for a child the way I looked for Neil. However, when we received the email to look into this, it wasn’t something we could turn away.
Neil Josten:
Instead of looking for one child, we’re looking for one man - a kidnapper, rapist, and murderer, who’s had a string of victims in and around the Newark, New Jersey area.
Andrew Minyard:
Nine victims that we now know of and probably more that we don’t. All of which have been children, between the ages of five and nine, with similar characteristics that are hard to ignore.
Neil Josten:
Minority girls from underprivileged backgrounds.
Andrew Minyard:
And after our research, choosing minority girls appears to be part of a calculated plan that our perpetrator - who we will be calling Steven, which we believe is not his real name - developed over the span of his crimes.
Or at least, we believe choosing minority girls has worked in his favor, and honestly only too well when we see America’s history of racism and cataclysmic events that have spearheaded that racism over the last few decades.
But for now, let’s start at the beginning.
Neil Josten:
Most men like Steven don’t wake up one day and choose to kidnap, rape, or kill. In our most humble opinion, we don’t believe he’s owed the title of ‘human’. But the fact of the matter is, the worst monsters are. Humans can be a thing of nightmares and the scariest are those that look like us - that are flesh and blood, and that's how Steven’s been flying under the radar for upwards of 20 years.
So right now, we need to stop the notion that men like him are boogeymen in the night. They’re not. They walk amongst us every single day and Steven? He’s no different than others like him. He falls under the same psychological process that most similar monsters do and that is how we’ll find him.
With that being said, in planning for this part of the episode, Andrew and I were originally going to use my father as comparison. But he was a different type of killer. He brutally murdered dozens of people. But he - and I know exactly how this sounds - was motivated by money. He was motivated by his own sick selfishness, ego, and toxic masculinity that morphed into what he believed was godliness. It’s the type of ego that allows him to raise a knife to his own wife and son - to track us down by any means necessary.
But Nathan was a different breed. I am in no way defending my father, but he didn’t rape and murder children.* Steven is something else and the only way that we feel like we can explain his psychological process, is to compare him to a man that had finally been caught just a year ago.
Andrew Minyard:
This is purely for your own understanding as the listener. Making direct, baseless assumptions on Steven’s motivations is not only careless, but it’s dangerous.
Because of that, we’ll be referring to serial rapist and eventual killer, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr, throughout this season. And if you’ve listened to Season 1, then you all know that I refused to call Nathan Wesninski, “The Butcher”. We’ll be doing the same here.
With that being said, if Joseph James DeAngelo Jr doesn’t ring a bell, then “The Visalia Ransacker”, “The Original Night Stalker”, or “The Golden State Killer” should.
That’s because after a pattern of assault and violence that started in the 1974, then rapidly escalated to murder along the coast of California, until his reign of terror eventually ended in 1986 - he was only just arrested on April 24, 2018.
Neil Josten:
He went unknown, free for 44 years. How does that happen? How can law enforcement fail so miserably to let a man that ruined dozens of lives and terrorized thousands for so long, fly that under the radar?
Andrew Minyard:
For the most part, he was forgotten by America, just like most men like him are in our rapid cycle of media and intrigue. He wasn’t deemed relevant anymore and he would’ve remained that way if it weren’t for the late crime writer and bestselling author of The Golden State Killer , Michelle McNamara - who actually coined that name.
Neil Josten:
Our point of all this is to draw similarities. Here we have a man who committed heinous crimes for an extended period of time, with law enforcement that couldn’t get the job done without the help of a writer who refused to let people forget. We have a case with points where DeAngelo could’ve been stopped, so long as people spared a moment to look - where he had the same modus operandi for each victim. And most importantly, we have a case that outlines clear escalation, which can help us follow the crimes of our own killer, and maybe find him, too.
Andrew Minyard:
And what do we mean by escalation? We mean his crimes grew from victim to victim. He became more bold, more daring. DeAngelo went from burgeling homes, to stalking women, to raping them, to murdering them. And so, the “Visalia Ransacker” became “The Original Night Stalker” and eventually morphed into “The Golden State Killer”.
Neil Josten:
It’s one thing that leads to the next and then something even bigger than that. A vicious cycle that will never end until they’re stopped.
Andrew Minyard:
And we tell you all of this to stress one thing - although we’ve connected nine victims to Steven, there is a strong probability that they stretch much wider than what we can connect just here. Which is why we’re going to need your help.
By the end of this episode if Steven fits the description of anyone you know - if something happened to you or you know of someone in or around the Newark area any time pre or post 1994 that fits his MO, you can email us at [email protected] .
Robin came the following Friday. Andrew wanted to make sure it was at a time when she wouldn’t have to stress about homework, or getting to her next class, or practice. This time, the entire team was present including Allison, who’d flown in just for this. Honestly, Andrew threatened them all with as much menace as he could muster, just to make sure they didn’t overwhelm her or do something that he knew would make her feel uncomfortable. Afterall, he wanted her to feel supported, not like she was a novelty.
Of course, he really didn’t have to worry.
Robin walked in with a messenger bag over her shoulder, looking comfortable in jeans and a tank top. Seth was immediately enamored. Andrew guessed it had to do with the fact that the two of them had similar features. Robin was mixed with light brown skin and hard blue-green eyes. Her curly hair was piled atop her head in a bun, with stray curls hanging loose around her face. Additionally, she was small - the same height as Andrew when he wasn’t wearing boots.
Upon her entrance, Seth took one of her hands in both of his and leaned down just a bit to talk to her. “Welcome to TFN,” he told her, big and bright patented Seth smile on his lips. “I’m Seth, but you can call me Seth-”
Robin blinked and stared at him, eyes wide. Andrew made his way over as quickly as he could to try and save her. Honestly, he was worried Seth was going to try and hug her, and he didn’t know how she’d react to that - didn’t want to risk finding out for her own sake.
“Thanks...?” She replied, then leaned around to look past Seth and visibly relaxed when she saw Andrew. He waved her further into the studio.
“Excuse him,” Andrew said. “He’s a little excitable.”
Robin gave him a small smile, but otherwise didn’t comment. Seth had disappeared for a moment as they walked into the lounge. Andrew stuck his head into Renee and Dan’s offices on the way to let them know Robin was here. Neil was already waiting on their normal couch, Andrew’s tablet on his lap.
“Hey Robin,” he greeted with a small smile. Robin smiled back.
“Hey, Neil. Sorry I’m a little late.” She turned her eyes back to Andrew and shrugged apologetically. “I had to ask my teacher some questions after my last class.” She set her bag down near the couch and lowered herself to sit while Andrew waved a hand to dismiss her apology.
“School comes first. Don’t apologize for that. But do let me know if you need help in any of your classes. I can’t promise II’ll be of any assistance, but I’ll find someone who can.”
Footsteps came from opposite ends of the lounge, alerting them to the arrival of the rest of the team. Renee and Allison walked together, looking as in and out of place as possible as Renee dropped to the couch and Allison lowered herself as if she were fragile. Ha. Allison. Fragile. Dan came only a second later, throwing her braids over her shoulder and giving Robin an automatic, warm smile as she set her customary yellow pad and laptop on the center table. That smile was once again reflected on Seth’s face as he hopped over the end of his usual spot and bounced down on the cushions.
Andrew weighed everyone with a look, giving them a silent warning to not scare Robin off too soon. “Right. Everyone, this is Robin Cross. Robin, this is the team.” He gestured around, finally sitting down himself. He waited for her to get comfortable before he introduced everyone with their names and their jobs on the podcast. Robin nodded to everyone and offered a small wave. She only looked a bit overwhelmed, which was better than he expected. Afterall, he only knew too well how hard it sometimes was to meet new people. For her, he suspected that might be multiplied by ten, and understandably so.
In return, everyone welcomed her with open arms. Andrew noted their concerted effort to try and not overwhelm her. He was glad, knowing that while Wymack was the one who collected strays, the rest of the team couldn’t resist being drawn to people who’ve seen suffering. Like calls to like. Everyone adjusted their normal behavior appropriately. Even Allison, who hadn’t been around them regularly, followed everyone’s lead.
She kept her hands to herself and smiled warmly at Robin. “Welcome to TFN, babygirl.” She glanced around to the rest of the members. “We’re all a bit of a mess here.”
Robin laughed and relaxed a fraction. “Well, that’s lucky.”
With introductions out of the way, Neil finally handed him his tablet and Andrew took a moment to look over some of the points he wanted to cover before beginning. However, he’d just opened his mouth to speak when one of the interns sauntered in and took a seat beside Seth. Seth leaned back and tucked his chin, lip curled in indignation.
Jack Ward was a fucking Chad. He was that guy. Whenever he walked into a room, it was always with a mild air of aggression and the cloying scent of Axe body spray. Andrew knew he must have some sob story that pulled at Wymack’s heart strings in order to get a spot here , but he also didn’t fucking care. Jack was an ass that thrived on Whiteclaws and thinly veiled homophobic insults. He was also severely punchable and had been getting on Neil’s last nerve.
“Boy-” Seth blurted. “If you don’t get the fuck off this couch -”
“You’ll what?” Jack sneered.
“He won’t have to do anything,” Andrew said, wrapping himself in a serene calm. “I’ll take care of you myself and that would make Renee very cross with me. Remove yourself so I don’t have to bear her disappointment.”
Jack’s face screwed up and he rolled his eyes. “This is bullshit,” he mumbled. “I’m supposed to be learning this business, aren’t I? I can’t fucking learn anything if I don’t see how it works.”
Beside him, Andrew could feel Robin tense. “You’ll learn when you stop being an antagonistic asshole. For now, go get me a coffee. I’ve told you how I take it and if you don’t remember, do us all a favor and prove your uselessness.” Andrew flicked his fingers at him like royalty dismissing a peasant and sure , maybe that wasn’t the best way to handle this, but Andrew wasn’t exactly a diplomat.
Jack scowled and left, stomping toward Wymack’s office. A door slammed and Andrew took a deep breath, glancing at Robin to see if she was okay. Only when he saw her shoulders relax, did he continue. “Where were we?”
“When did you tell him how you take your coffee?” Neil asked.
“I didn’t. Now, Robin,” Andrew redirected and angled his body so he could see her face clearly. “We wanted to have you here to walk us through exactly what you want and what you’re comfortable with. We appreciate you volunteering to help.”
Robin didn’t hesitate. Her demeanor morphed from something shy and a little unsure, to engaged - determined. When she spoke her voice was firm and strong. “I’ll help however I can,” she said as if Jack were never there. “I’ve been trying to get someone to listen to me for years. I don’t know how much all of you know, but no one would.... No one but my parents cared when I went missing and no one but them cared that I was found. No one came to me to ask what I knew and no one interviewed me to try and get details.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Dan exclaimed, outrage plain on her face. “They had a direct witness and no one bothered to try and get anything on this guy?”
“No,” Robin said, almost matter of factly. Her anger was simmered low and her words were edged with it, but she held herself with an amount of grace that Andrew could only achieve by shoving everything down. “And they refuse to link these other missing girls to him, even though a few he actually told me about. At the time I didn’t know if he was telling the truth but I cross referenced everything these past few years and -” She just nodded as she inhaled a deep breath. She looked to every fox in the room, then down at her hands between her knees as she played with a ring around her finger. “He called them by name and told me the same would happen to me if I didn’t do what he wanted.”
Renee pressed her fingers to her mouth and closed her eyes. Andrew ground his teeth and felt Neil’s thigh press against his. It steadied him, tethered him to the present and he was grateful.
The fact that Robin could even talk about what happened with the sort of determined calm she displayed surprised even Andrew. He would not, could not talk about his trauma in the same way, and he hadn’t been through what Robin had.
Neil leaned forward to see her better and spoke so Andrew didn’t have to. “So, I think the whole team can agree that what you had to go through - even after you were found - is some of the most disgusting bullshit we’ve heard here. I know first hand how negligent the justice system can be when looking for missing children. But for me, there was a reason. For you, it’s something else entirely.” There were murmurs of agreement around the room. “I’m sorry no one has been willing to listen, but we are . We want to work with whatever information you have, but we also want to hear whatever you have to say regarding everything else. The investigation, the way law enforcement treated you, all of it.”
“We want this process to be as painless for you as possible,” Renee chimed in, hand holding Allison’s in her lap. “We’ll be here if you need anything. No matter if it’s regarding the podcast, the case, or otherwise.”
Robin’s smile was small and her eyes softened. “Thank you... It means a lot coming from you guys. Especially you, Neil,” she looked to him. “I know from listening to last season what you had to go through. I know our situations are different, but I feel like we were both abandoned by the system.”
“We were,” Neil nodded and Andrew felt his eyes fall on him, before they left. “That’s why we’re going to figure this shit out together.”
Andrew’s thumb twitched to crack his pinky. Instead, he flicked his ipad back on and piped up again. “So, here’s what we’ve been thinking and I’ve discussed a bit of this with the team, but I want your input. Don’t be afraid to tell us what makes you uncomfortable, okay?”
“Okay.”
Right.
“We investigate Steven. We try to find him and hopefully, if he currently has a child, help bring her home. I would really like for you to be at the forefront of this. That means, we would record interviews with you, but we can concentrate on before and after you were taken. We will not ask you to detail your time with him or what that entailed. If you want to share, that’s fine. But, we’ll never ask you to relieve your experience for the sake of the fucking show. Which brings me to my last question. How involved do you want to be? We can keep your identity under wraps or we can let people know who you are - how you’re helping.”
Robin was quiet for a moment and everyone waited for her to gather her thoughts with bated breath. When she was ready, her eyes were hard and her hands clenched into fists where they rested atop her thighs.
“I want to be heard,” she started firmly. “I don’t want them to be able to ignore me anymore. I want them to have a look at my face and know that they abandoned me, just like they abandoned every other girl he took. We’re all black or brown. We’re all ‘underprivileged’,” she air quoted. “We’re the forgotten because to them we don’t matter. I want to help and I want to do it loudly. For myself and for them.”
For myself and for them.
And that was one of the fundamental differences between her and Andrew. It was always for them . Never for him.
He wasn’t proud of it.
Seth clapped his hands and pumped a fist. “Robin, you are my fuckin’ hero. We can do this. We can make you the face of this. I’m in the process of redesigning the website right now and I can already see it so clearly in my head... How do you feel about your picture being up? You being a... symbol of sorts?” His knee bounced up and down, and he rubbed at his chin with one hand. Andrew knew his mind was working a mile a minute, putting everything together in his head like pieces to a puzzle. Seth was a creative whirlwind when he got an itch and Andrew had to admit that he was excited with the prospects. Nonetheless, Seth also tended to speak before he really thought things through, and though putting up her face sounded great as an icon for others, it brought up a few questions. Andrew kept them to himself for a second and looked to Robin to gauge her reaction.
“If that’s what you guys want to do, I’m down. I mean, this is less about me than it is about them. However, if having a face helps garner attention and sympathy for those who are still missing, then I’ll do whatever you think is best. I trust you.”
How does she do it?
“While that’s a good idea,” Allison said, leg crossed over and expensive shoes reflecting the lights above, “We have to be smart. Putting her face up can be dangerous. So it’s a matter of weighing the risks and whether or not we’re willing to take them.” Andrew felt himself nodding. She said it before he could and the fact of the matter was, he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks - especially when they could be so detrimental.
Seth’s mouth opened to explain, but Neil spoke before he could.
“We did the same thing with me. Besides what you all did to me during Season One,” he looked pointedly to everyone in the room, ending on Andrew. They’d spoken about it far too many times for it to have any real heat, but he did raise a good point... “Andrew and I talked about the consequences of keeping myself hidden when we were running. It’s why we recorded everything. For us, revealing my identity and exposing the fact that Andrew had found me acted as a security blanket. If either of us ended up disappearing, then people would notice our absence and know where to look.” He leaned towards Andrew until their shoulders pressed together. “Hiding would’ve worked against, not for us - even with danger hanging above our heads.”
Allison shook her head. “While that’s all true Neil, this isn’t really the same thing. I want to make sure she feels safe and -”
“Will safe get us where we need to go?” Everyone in the room turned to look at Robin. Her head was tilted, shoulders slumped but eyes hard and unreadable. “Safe is all I’ve played for years. Safe is what allows him to keep doing what he’s doing. In all honesty,” She pulled at the hem of her shirt, but kept her head held high, “I’m sick of playing it safe. Am I scared? Yes. I’m terrified.” She inhaled a deep breath and Andrew bit his tongue so as to not interrupt. “People are going to know my name anyway, playing with the Foxes. I’m going to be televised with the team. I may as well take advantage of it while I can.”
“So long as Coach Warren agrees that she can be public about this, she does have a point,” Dan added.
They’d already talked to PSU’s board when they were trying to get her a scholarship. Publicity and a good name were almost a package deal with her situation. “They’ll agree to it,” Andrew spoke up. “And if this is something you want to do,” he addressed Robin, “then let’s do it. It may help us get more tips and push Newark officials to pay attention if we start ripping them apart.”
Allison still looked like she wanted to say something, but stayed quiet as Renee squeezed her hand and Robin nodded firmly.
“Okay, with all that being said, we need to make sure we handle this properly, with all the sensitivity it deserves. Everything we do we will run by you first, Robin. Whatever you don’t like, we’ll nix. Right?” It was a rhetorical question, but the entire team echoed in agreement.
“Can we take a picture of you?” Seth asked, this time a bit quieter. “It doesn’t have to be anything professional or fancy. I’ll edit it. But if I could have one of you looking straight and another to the side, I think I can make something really fucking emotive.”
“Sure, if that’s what you need.”
“Fucking perfect,” Seth whispered, rubbing his palms on his jeans as excited light worked its way back into his eyes. “I’ll just need you in the soundbooth then, whenever you’re available. It’s dark in there and the lighting is perfect. I’ll have Andrew give you my number and Allison? If you want to come and help?” He inquired and it was a good thing he did. This was one of those moments when Andrew was so pleasantly surprised with Seth, he wondered how that other person ever existed all those years ago. He was asking Allison to join them in the booth so Robin would feel more comfortable, and Andrew couldn’t help the nod of approval he gave Seth when he caught his eye.
Allison seemed to notice too as she raised an impressed brow and agreed.
“Sounds great. So, I think you all know but I’m on the Exy team. I’ll send you the schedule, just in case there’s a time you need me and I’m not available.”
“Alright. We’re going to go ahead and start building on the preliminary research we’ve done and we’ll contact you when we’re ready to start putting pieces together. Does that sound okay?” Andrew asked.
“Yeah, that’s great. I have research, too, that I can share. I’m sure you guys can put everything together better than I have.” She smiled a small, self-deprecating smile. “Thank you for taking this on, by the way. I was sure I wouldn’t even get a response, since I knew you probably had a hundred cases to choose from. But even if we don’t find him, I’m grateful - for all of you. I’m glad that people will finally know what’s been happening this whole time.”
“Me, too,” Andrew responded honestly. “We’ll make sure your story is heard and we’ll set up another meeting soon to compare notes. For now, just worry about school and though it pains me to say it, exy, too. This is secondary. I mean it.” Robin nodded and stood with her bag slung over her shoulder.
Everyone else followed suit, like Robin had given them some sort of signal. They took turns shaking her hand, lending kind words and votes of confidence. Seth hung around and placed a hand to her shoulder, squeezing softly. He said something too quiet for Andrew to hear, but Robin nodded and he thought her shoulders may have relaxed, just a little.
Andrew and Neil were last.
“Thank you again for all of this. I’m...” She swallowed and briefly looked around the room, avoiding eye contact. It was a stark difference from the fierceness she displayed when discussing the injustice they were trying to uncover. “I’m not great with people. I don’t know how it’ll be to interview me, but I’m trying. In fact, I see a counselor on campus once a week and she’s helping, so...”
“Good,” Andrew said, adding a bit of force behind her words so she knew that it was okay . “I’m glad you feel comfortable getting help. Use the tools she gives you, okay? They’ll sound ridiculous and you’ll feel stupid using them, but trust me. They work.”
That’s an understatement.
Robin gave him a small smile and Andrew felt his lips curling to give one back. It was a novelty, he thought - having someone here that was smaller than him. Nevermind that he had his boots on. “I will. Call me if you need me.”
“We will,” Neil said.
When Robin left, Seth leaned his shoulder on the door frame to the sound booth and crossed his arms over his chest. “That girl is the bravest person I’ve ever fucking met.”
“Thank you for not hugging her,” Andrew said, because he’d been ready to jump in and intervene if Seth had tried. “And for asking if Allison would be there when you take her picture.”
“It was a close thing, the hugging,” Seth sighed, shaking his head and turning back into the booth. “I figured she don’t know me like that. And I don’t know her trauma.”
That was the most aware and mature thing Andrew had ever heard come out of Seth’s mouth.
Neil pulled Andrew back down onto the couch and Dan, with all of her things gathered and held to her chest, studied them for a moment.
“You picked the right one,” she said, looking between the two of them. “We’re going to make something happen here.”
Andrew just nodded. “I know.”
[ Interlude ]
-
Andrew Minyard:
It’s time to talk about the 9 victims - 3 of which we would not have known about if it weren’t for the help of Robin Cross, Number 8, and to the best of our knowledge, Steven’s sole survivor. Some of you may recognize that name if you follow us on our website, but Robin not only brought these girls to our attention, she also confirmed the 6 we already had and she’s the entire reason why we chose this case to begin with.
Neil Josten:
She’s the one that sent the email and with her help, we were able to link the kidnappings and murders of these girls to the same person. And although she had already made it her mission to get justice for herself and these girls for the past few years, no one would hear her out.
Andrew Minyard:
Law enforcement claimed not to have the time, but they simply didn’t fucking care - not even after Steven’s last victim, Number 9, washed up on the shore of the Passiac River in Newark just this past summer. Robin didn’t try the police again. She came to us and in the past few months, we’ve incorporated her into our team.
Neil Josten:
Along with Robin, we want to make sure these girls are remembered and because of that, something we really wanted to do was talk to each of the families.
Andrew Minyard:
Essentially, we wanted to get their blessing. We wanted to know who these girls were and we want you , the listener, to know them, too. So, we felt it was necessary to not only get their families blessings, but to learn how they wanted their children to be remembered.
Neil Josten:
So, here’s what we have - here’s our timeline.
Andrew Minyard:
The first victim we can link to Steven was eight year old Alyssa Harris. While playing with friends near her home in Forest Hill located the North Ward of Newark, she went missing on September 4, 1994. No one saw her leave. It was almost as if she vanished into thin air.
The only person who seemed out of place that day, according to the statements from Alyssa’s friends, was a man described as tall and wearing a navy blue Yankees cap.
Neil Josten:
Which is no help, whatsoever. How many guys do you know walk around New Jersey in a Yankees hat.
Andrew Minyard:
[ noise of approval ]
Police only started looking for a suspect two days before Alyssa’s body was discovered in a wooded area near the Passaic River. However, with little to nothing to go on, they declared the case cold within two weeks.
Neil Josten:
This is the earliest murder we could connect to Steven, but as we said before, we don’t think this is his first crime.
Andrew Minyard:
Without too much conjecture, he probably assaulted dozens of children prior to this, perhaps when he was a child himself. We don’t know.
Neil Josten:
What we do know, is that based on the state of decomposition of Alyssa’s body, he most likely only kept her for about a week. Andrew and I have speculated that this, for lack of a better way of saying it, was him getting his feet wet - toeing that line between what he’d most likely been doing and what he would soon lead up to. In this instance, however, we think he panicked. He had an eight year old in his custody and from all accounts from her mother and family, she was smart as a whip and clever as a cat. They believe that scared him and as a result, he panicked.
Andrew Minyard:
Alyssa Harris’s birthday was October 2nd. She wanted to be an artist when she grew up and at the Newark Public Library her art had been on display more than once. It still is to this day.
Neil Josten:
His next victim followed much of the same pattern. Tamika Brown was a seven year old Newark native and was kidnapped while on a school field trip to the Bronx Zoo on January 14, 1995. Again, no one saw her leave - no one saw her talking to anyone. The only thing anyone saw was a man in a Yankees cap who’d been near the group several times throughout the day.
Andrew Minyard:
Which again, this is the Bronx, 1995. Yankee Stadium, prior to their move, was only a few miles away. This is absolutely nothing to go on.
Neil Josten:
Right. And by the time anyone realized she was gone, it’d been hours.
Andrew Minyard:
We said this followed the same pattern. Steven appeared to have learned nothing, so Tamika was found a week later, just like Alyssa.
Neil Josten:
Together with Robin, we’ve speculated that these girls were old enough to understand what was going on. According to their families, both were smart and aware. In Tamika’s case, her mother told us Alyssa had been in the papers and after her murder, she talked to Tamika about safety around strangers. Because of this and various medical reports, we think Tamika fought the entire way through. We also think Steven panicked again. Maybe he saw reports of them missing and lost his nerve. Maybe he just didn’t feel a need to keep them like he did later girls. We don’t know for sure, but we do know he was still getting his bearings.
Andrew Minyard:
The police actually conducted an interview with a person of interest that was still at the zoo, in addition to Tamika’s mother -
Neil Josten:
[ sarcasm ]
Because of course blaming the mother for her child's disappearance when she’s a single parent and had a reliable alibi at the time, makes perfect sense.
Andrew Minyard:
The person in question was still on the scene when they arrived to take the report. However, I question whether they thought this man, who didn’t match any of the rudimentary descriptions of the supposed suspect, really had anything to do with it at all. My guess is that they were feeling the pressure after Alyssa’s disappearance and wanted to look like they were doing something.
Neil Josten:
Which probably hurt the investigation more than anything.
Andrew Minyard:
Absolutely. And they didn’t bother looking beyond that. Tamika’s mother and the one person of interest were ultimately cleared. There was talk of course, wondering if the two cases were related. Afterall, Tamika was found in the same area of the woods, and she was kidnapped and killed in the same way. However, the police denied their relation-
Neil Josten:
Because they’re fucking idiots.
Andrew Minyard:
Because they’re fucking idiots.
Neil Josten:
Not to mention, it would probably cause a panic in the area. Too many questions = too much work.
Andrew Minyard:
Exactly. So beyond that, nothing else was done.
Tamika Brown was 7 years old when she was killed. Her birthday was November 8th. She loved playing with her two younger siblings and her favorite color was blue.
Neil Josten:
Her case leads us to believe that Steven was aware that if he kept taking girls from the same area, there was a higher chance of getting caught. With that in mind, he began to branch out.
A week later, Neil sat on the floor of his office at TFN, attempting to put together a cat tree while Andrew ‘supervised’ from the overstuffed chair they’d managed to procure. Neil thought it’d been a good purchase, but he now suspected Andrew picked it for his own lounging purposes.
“You’re doing that wrong,” he said from his throne, pulling a blow pop out of his mouth to point it at the pieces lying around Neil.
“You could help me, you know. But it’s fine, it’s fine. I know how expending any sort of energy exhausts you so thoroughly,” Neil grumbled, picking up an oblong part that looked just like every fucking other one.
“Glad you understand.” He popped the lollipop back in his mouth and continued his scrolling through his phone. Neil watched with some small fascination as his lips wrapped around the swell of the lollipop, his tongue darting out to lick at it when he pulled it back out with a pop and -
Head out of the gutter, Josten.
“Someone asked me if I have piercings ‘anywhere else’ . I know you’re talking about my dick, anon. Just say it, you coward.”
Neil dropped the piece he was holding and quickly pulled back his chin. He felt his eyes widen and flinched internally, “What...? Are you - people get their dicks pierced...?”
Andrew raised a brow and smirked. He typed something into his phone and turned it around a minute later for Neil to see.
“Holy shit,” he breathed, snatching the phone to inspect it. “This isn’t real, is it? Oh my god - no... Ouch my dick hurts just looking at this...”
Andrew huffed a laugh. “You sure? I can call the parlor and switch it from your nose to your dick, no problem.”
Right. The parlor.
It had started as a joke, really. Andrew made an offhand comment when they were in the middle of a situation involving hot breaths and hot hands and apparently, aesthetic observations.
‘You’d look so good with your nose pierced.’
Neil had just laughed breathlessly at the time, but when Andrew mentioned it again, away from the influence of the endorphin rush of physical contact, Neil had given it some thought. He’d never really cared about his appearance beyond blending in. He still didn’t too much. But with Allison’s influence and with the way Andrew’s eyes raked over his body like a touch when he wore those jeans that hugged his hips a little too tight or that shirt that Allison said matched his eyes...well. Neil had given his look a bit more thought. Andrew was an expert on piercings after all. Who was he to argue?
He’d told Andrew he’d get his nose pierced if Andrew got his nipples pierced and Andrew barely sucked in enough breath to say ‘yes ’, before agreeing immediately.
But a nose and a dick are two very different fucking things.
“Yeah, no thanks. That seems... unsanitary,” he mumbled, handing the phone back.
Andrew raised a brow. “I guess that depends on where you’re sticking your dick and how you clean it. I imagine once it heals, you can stick it in all kinds of places,” he shrugged and went back to scrolling through his phone. Neil felt his face heat, his mind immediately supplying images of Andrew sticking things into places .
They hadn’t had a talk about penetrative sex yet. He knew Andrew needed to take things at his own pace and he was fine with that. Afterall, Neil was new to this. The first handjob Andrew had given him had been like a fucking revelation and turns out? Masturbation can be pretty cool when someone else that you’re attracted to is doing the hard work for you.
Still.
He was curious.
It was true that he didn’t know much about how these things worked, but the more he and Andrew did together, the more Neil wanted to try. They’d gotten ridiculous and intrusive questions about who tops and who bottoms, and while Neil understood what that meant in the vaguest sense, he didn’t know that he could really answer it for himself .
Everything was just so new and so amazing and more and more he felt like he just wanted to fucking drown in Andrew. It was a hard thing to explain, especially when he’d never felt anything close to it before. Suddenly, he wanted to share everything he could with this man. He wanted to make himself open and vulnerable because he wanted it and Andrew deserved his trust.
“For fuck’s sake,” Andrew sighed and Neil hadn’t realized how much he’d zoned out. Snapping back into focus, he blinked down at the screwdriver in his hand, and bit the inside of his lip. “I can hear you thinking from here. Spit it out.”
Setting it down slowly he looked up at Andrew seriously, though not really meaning to. Andrew’s annoyed mask faltered into something else - something softer - and he put his phone aside to sit across from Neil on the floor. “What? Is this about getting your nose pierced? Because I stand by the fact that it would look hot, but you know I would never make you.”
Neil shook his head. “No, no. It’s not that. I’m just... thinking.”
“About?”
Okay, okay, okay
“Sex.”
Andrew’s expression grew serious. He leaned back on his hands and cocked his head. “What about sex?”
Neil let out a breath and bit the inside of his lip. He looked down at the pieces strewn about, trying to think of the best way to put this without sounding like an insensitive idiot.
“I guess...” he started, closing his eyes for a moment. He lifted his head and opened them. “I’m just thinking that we can try... some time. If you want -” he added quickly. “I know I don’t have much experience with any of this and I’m totally fine with what we’ve been doing. I guess I just wanted you to know that if you ever wanted to... I mean, I don’t know if you’ve...”
Is the AC broken? Did Palmetto fall into the hellmouth when I wasn’t paying attention?
Neil could feel sweat gathering at the back of his neck. He waited for Andrew’s reaction, but it was slow coming and Neil picked the screwdriver back up with a sigh, just for something to do.
Andrew sat up straighter and looked Neil in the eyes. “I’m going to lay this out as straightforward as I can, because while the thought of it gets me half hard on it’s own, it’s not something I can just do.”
“I know,” Neil said hurriedly and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to pressure you. I’m fine, I was just-”
Andrew held up a hand, “Neil I’m Fine Josten, I know you’re not. But for the sake of there not being any miscommunication, I’m going to tell you how it is.”
Neil nodded and pressed his lips together.
“When and if we ever try it, I have to top. That’s just... the way it is. If you’re uncomfortable with that, it’s fine,” Andrew said, his eyes serious as he implored Neil to understand he meant it. “But I can’t bottom. I can’t have you behind me. I tried it once before and even with me topping, it wasn’t something I could really enjoy and I had to stop. I don’t want that to happen with you,” ‘ I don’t want that to happen with you ’... “So, this isn’t something that’s going to happen until I think I can handle it. But, if it’s something you’re curious about and you want to explore it, we can try fingering or using toys. I’m okay with both of those if you are.” When he stopped, he looked at Neil expectantly and though he said all of that so matter of factly, Neil was still stuck on the words ‘fingering’ and ‘toys’ and how they’d just fallen Andrew’s mouth like they were everyday conversation words.
Why Neil, the weather is gorgeous today. Would you like some fingering? I’m thinking of burgers for dinner. How about some toys? That we can use? You know, for sex ?
He opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times, aware of the fact that he probably looked like a goddamn fish. Honestly, Neil was feeling a hundred different things, and somewhere in the middle of that storm of emotions and sensations and feelings , he could pinpoint the absolute heartbreak he felt at knowing why Andrew had such strict boundaries. A fairly light and airy conversation spoken between normal lovers was turned to something hugely important, weighing heavy in his chest that Neil welcomed because it was for Andrew .
Neil wanted to simultaneously crawl under a rock and bring Andrew’s head to his chest to stroke his hair. A protective instinct he’d always saved for himself on the run after his mother died was rapidly morphing into everything Andrew, Andrew, Andrew .
And with that, “Okay,” he finally managed.
“Okay?” Andrew asked, looking skeptical. “Listen, I know I have issues and I’ll probably always have issues when it comes to sex. I’ve taken the lead with us on most things because that’s what I’m able to work with and I have more experience. But this has to be a give and take.” He gestured with an errant hand between them. “I need to know what you’re feeling and thinking because if I feel like you’re not telling me something just because you don’t want to upset me or some other bullshit, I’m not going to be okay with doing anything.”
“Sorry, it’s just... I’m new at all this. And I’m completely fine with you leading. I think you know that, right? Everything so far has been...” Neil was almost at a loss for words and instead of saying anything, he reached out and took one of Andrew’s hands from his lap and squeezed it. Maybe I’m going a bit soft, too. “I’m good with other... things. If you want to try them. But,” His brows twitched and he shook his head. “We don’t have to worry about anything else until it feels right.”
Okay fucking Casonova.
Andrew’s smug smirk was back in an instant and Neil felt the blush he’d just realized was heating his cheeks, creep its way down his neck.
“You’re good with the other things, hmm? I’m sure you are-”
Neil rolled his eyes and let go of his hand, trying and failing to seen unaffected.
“Oh whatever. Go back to your throne if you’re not going to help me put this stupid thing together...” Neil picked up the directions and pretended like he was reading them. He wasn’t and Andrew probably knew that as he retreated back to the chair, throwing his legs up over the side.
“They already have one in my office, you know. I don’t know why you’re putting one in here.”
“Because maybe they get sick of looking at you hunched over your computer on that fucking jewelry knock-off website Ashleigh gave you, okay? Maybe they’d like a change of scenery...” Neil mumbled.
“I went on it once ,” Andrew said around a mouth full of blow pop. He crunched down on it and Neil lifted his head in time to watch him scrape the candy and gum off the stick with his teeth. He quickly sat up straight, phone in his hand, eyes darting quickly across the screen.
And just like that, they were back to normal. Neil appreciated that about them.
“What is it?”
He looked up to Neil, empty white stick till held aloft, “Jesse Shae is coming tomorrow.” When Neil gave him a blank look, he clarified. “For the interview.” He looked back to the screen, typing quickly with the white stick back between his teeth and thumbs flying across the screen.
“Jesse Shae sounds like he’s in the Irish Mob. Not that I have inside knowledge of the Irish Mob or anything.”
“Sure, you don’t. Your mom’s half cousin’s brother’s aunt is probably the head mobster.”
“Not that far removed, I don’t think,” Neil answered. Andrew snorted, eyes still on his phone.
In regards to Jesse Shae, Neil and Andrew had finally decided that they needed to get ahead of the press. Ever since it was revealed that Neil was Nathaniel Wesninski, they’d been bombarded with different publications, news outlets, even the occasional paparazzi. It didn’t help that there were several other high profile figures such as Matt Boyd and Allison Reynolds involved in the case and showing up on campus either.
With all that being said, Andrew and Neil avoided them as best they could and refused to talk to any sort of media for the sake of normalcy and their own mental health after Lola and Romero. But now, too much speculation had been raised and with Season 2 on the horizon, it was wise to promote themselves in some way. Not to mention, keeping themselves relevant and in the public eye was another layer of protection that they needed to ride for as long as they could. After all, they could pretend the Moriyamas didn’t exist all they wanted, but the Moriyamas would remember them regardless.
Neil gripped the screwdriver just a little tighter and dropped it on the floor one more time. He sighed heavily and turned to Andrew.
“What if they ask about us?”
Andrew shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “Then they ask. We don’t have to answer.”
“Would it be bad to answer?” Neil crossed his arms and ran a thumb over his bottom lip. Honestly, he didn’t know how to navigate this - but he felt like the more hidden they were, the more people would come up with stories and blah blah blah . It was part of the reason why he wanted to address it on air in the last episode of Season One. It wasn’t fair to Andrew for people to make assumptions about them.
About how this came to be.
Andrew set his phone back down and looked up at Neil, brows raised. “We haven’t made a secret of it. We’ve addressed it. We say what we’re comfortable with and we leave the rest for us.”
We leave the rest for us.
Neil liked that plan.
Andrew Minyard:
This now leads us to the three girls we initially knew nothing about, until Robin raised them to my attention in a meeting we had a few weeks ago. Here’s that conversation.
Andrew Minyard:
// So, Neil and I were discussing the time between victims. Sometimes, it seems like he took a break. Some breaks are relatively short and some, it looks like he took years. We were brainstorming some reasons for that. //
[ pause ]
Robin Cross:
// You’re missing girls. //
[ pause ]
Andrew Minyard:
// Are we? //
Robin Cross:
// Yes. //
[ Rifling around. Sound of paper ]
// Imani, Nia, and Makenna. Imani and Makenna were taken from New York. Makenna was taken from the Jersey Shore. //
[ pause ]
Andrew Minyard:
[ quiet ]
// It works, date wise. What specifically makes you think these are linked? //
Robin Cross:
// Because it fits. //
[ pause ]
[ deep breath ]
// He told me things... When he had me in that house. He would talk about the other girls and I know he’d taken some of them from the surrounding area. //
Andrew Minyard:
// People might start looking a little harder if they thought there was a serial kidnapper and killer in Newark. //
Robin Cross:
// Exactly. He was careful. I know he took girls from New Jersey and New York, and they were lured the same way the rest of them were. He just never snatched - he never made a scene. He caught them when they were separated from their parents or from a group and lured them away with promises little kids can’t resist. A puppy, or candy, or even promising to take them back to their parents if they look lost. He was a master at manipulation, or maybe I was just a gullible child. The fact of the matter is, he wants them to come calmly, willingly, so they don’t draw attention. And it worked. No one saw these girls disappear, despite the fact that most were in crowded areas. And the only thing to come out of twenty years of ‘disappearances’ - //
[ implied air quotes ]
// -was a generic description of a white man of average height and a Yankee cap wandering around the scene of the crime. Tell me Andrew, how many white men in baseball caps wander around New York, New Jersey? //
[voice lower ]
// I know it’s not a ton to go on, but this was him. I know it was him. //
Andrew Minyard:
We think she’s right.
Neil Josten:
9 year old Imani Williams was kidnapped on the 27th of February, 1995 in East Harlem - just around three weeks after the discovery of Tamika Brown’s body.
Andrew Minyard:
She was with her older siblings when they decided to walk to a bodega on the corner of 3rd Ave and E 121st. Her siblings went inside, but Imani was said to have stopped to pet a dog that was tied up right outside the door. When they came back out, she was gone.
Neil Josten:
This time, there were no supposed witnesses, no cameras at the bodega - no one saw or heard anything. She was just there and then she was gone.
Andrew Minyard:
It wasn’t until a day later when police obtained security footage from a business across the street. There, Imani is seen petting the dog when suddenly she looks up. We think someone off screen called to her. We don’t know who or what, but she is seen saying something back, then wandering east down 121st and off screen. She wasn’t seen again, until a month later.
Neil Josten:
[ deep breath ]
Imani was found in a wooded area, this time in Brook Branch Park, Forest Hills, Newark. The issue was, there was an extensive search for her within Manhattan limits. No one thought to connect her to Newark and it wasn’t until a runner stumbled upon her body that local conjecture was made.
Andrew Minyard:
‘Local’ being the operative word. Which is why we never heard of her until Robin pointed her out. It also means that the family was left without a real solid conclusion. Because after two weeks of searching, the police essentially gave up and pinned Imani’s father, Jeffrey Arlington, for her murder.
Neil Josten:
If that name sounds familiar, it might be because of the popular podcast series, Trojan Horse. Now on their fourth season, Trojan Horse is currently working with the Innocence Project to prove Jeffrey Arlington had nothing to do with the murder of his daughter, Imani.
Andrew Minyard:
Trojan Horse had been on my radar for quite a long time. I went to graduate school with both hosts, Sarah Alverez and Laila Dermott. Us working on essentially the same case is purely by coincidence. However, we’re now helping them prove Jeffrey’s innocence and for a more in depth look into how he was arrested, proof of his innocence, and how Imani was found, there will be a link in the description to their site. We’ll also be interviewing them some time in the coming episodes, so keep an eye out.
Neil Josten:
For now, what we were able to find was that based on autopsy results, Imani had been lying there for weeks. This led the medical professionals to believe her captor ( Steven , not Jeffrey) kept Imani for only a few days.
Andrew Minyard:
Imani’s birthday was December 16th and she wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up. Her oldest sister, Taryn, said she had a signed picture of Mae Carol Jemison, the first black woman to travel to space, hanging on her bedroom wall.
Neil Josten:
Now this is where we start seeing longer periods of time between victims.
Andrew Minyard:
He got spooked.
Neil Josten:
I think he definitely got spooked. It seems like he’d gotten cocky after getting away with this for so long.
Andrew Minyard:
The long wait is also a reason why we didn’t connect the next two victims, until Robin brought them to our attention.
Neil Josten:
While visiting family for an annual summer vacation on the Jersey Shore, six year old Nia Jones went missing on June 29, 1995 - six months after Imani Williams. She disappeared on a bathroom trip with her mother, who was waiting outside with her younger brother. No one saw anything, not even a man in a Yankee cap. She just vanished. And what scared them the most, was that the only way out of that bathroom was through the front door. To her family and law enforcement, it was almost as if she disappeared into thin air.
Neil Josten:
This shows us that Steven was learning.
Andrew Minyard:
Apparently.
[ sigh ]
JSPD searched for Nia nearby, but they couldn’t find her anywhere near the shore. It wasn’t until months later, back in Newark, that her body was found in Vailsburg Park, about 8 miles west of the Passaic River.
Neil Josten:
And like Imani, no one was looking for her in Newark, so it took some time to identify her remains after lying in dense underbrush for the extent of the Summer. But, based on the medical examiners best guess, they believe she was killed about a week after she was taken.
Andrew Minyard:
Nia Jones was six when she died. Her birthday is March 12. She loved baking and riding her bike, and her favorite color was yellow.
Neil Josten:
Steven waited to take his next victim. Nia had already been found, to very little notice in the Newark area. She wasn’t a local child, so she garnered even less attention than his previous victims. Which leads us to ask if this break had been purposeful. Did he want Nia to be found first? Or was he trying to be more cautious?
Andrew Minyard:
Either way, it wasn’t until December 13, 1995 before the third victim we missed, seven year old Makenna Taylor went missing.
Makenna was taken while walking to school in Lincoln Park, Jersey City. Two older children claimed to see her walking with a man in a baseball cap, but they were summarily dismissed as unreliable. The police claimed they were trouble-makers, who’d been caught lying to the police before. Of course, there’s no support for this and in the name of instigation, I’d wager it had more to do with the fact that both 15 year old boys were black and from a neighborhood known for gang activity, than anything else.
Neil Josten:
And rather than take their claims seriously, JCPD detained the two of them and subjected them to questioning - claiming to the public that two people of interest were in custody.
Andrew Minyard:
Detainment lead to arrest and though they were minors, they were kept for two weeks, questioned without a guardian or lawyer present, and almost falsely confessed after being under duress for an extended period of time.
They were finally released when a teacher vouched for them, claiming that they’d been in her classroom before school, getting extra math help for an upcoming test.
Neil Josten:
Sounds about right. So JCPD wasted about two weeks looking at two kids they knew had nothing to do with it. But you know.
[ sarcasm ]
They had to look like they were doing something.
Andrew Minyard:
Mhm.
And this is where we think Steven went against his usual MO as well. Instead of being found in Newark, like the other girls, Makenna was found in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. A couple staying in a cabin nearby stumbled across Makenna’s body while on a hike. By that time, she’d been missing for a month and hadn’t been dead long when her body was found.
Neil Josten:
We believe this was the longest he’d ever kept a girl, up to that point. And because of that, we think he was getting more comfortable.
Andrew Minyard:
And this is somewhat of a turning point in Steven’s MO. From here, the lengths in which he keeps the girls only grows.
Neil Josten:
I wonder if that was his mission all along. Did he want to have someone with him? Or was his initial plan just to have them for a bit and replace them later on?
[ pause ]
Andrew Minyard:
If I had to guess, I think he always wanted a victim to keep. But, I also think he didn’t exactly know how to do that. I think he worried about keeping one for too long, about getting caught. Which can explain why the gaps between victims begin to grow even more.
Neil Josten:
[ sigh ]
Right. And for those of you listening to Makenna’s story and wondering why we seem so dead set on her being Steven’s victim? It’s because Lincoln Park is just around five miles from Newark - and, Robin says he told her. We believe her.
Andrew Minyard:
Makenna Taylor was seven years old when she died. Her birthday was August 21 and she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. Her favorite show was Madaline.
Stories: Interview with the Creators of the Red Rabbits Podcast
By Jesse Shae
Read the full article here *
Neil Josten:
Now we go from January of 1996 when Makenna was found, to September 18, 1998 when six year old Sofia Garcia went missing, once again, in Newark. I have my own theories as to why this gap was so long.
Andrew Minyard:
[ hum of agreement ]
I suspect something big enough happened that it put Steven in a position of making it very difficult to keep a child captive without getting caught. Whether that be scrutiny or simply just life. We see a lot of similar killers take breaks like this for relationships, getting married, receiving help even, arrest etc. It’s completely possible he got into trouble for something unrelated and was worried about the attention. Or he could’ve been serving time - there’s a million possibilities.
Neil Josten:
True.
Andrew Minyard:
Sofia was taken from her front yard while playing outside. However, we don’t think he chose a child at random this time. The two of us, Robin, and Sofia’s parents included, think he spotted Sofia somewhere - the grocery store, a park, something , and followed her. It probably wasn’t too hard to find out where she lived, especially in Newark, and from there took the chance to watch and learn her family’s patterns before her kidnapping.
Neil Josten:
Her mother said that Sofia played outside regularly on the weekends after breakfast. I find it hard to believe he just happened to be walking outside her house at the exact moment she was playing, because while that sounds reasonable - Steven seems to be smarter than that.
Andrew Minyard:
Exactly. And this can be another point where his actions begin to escalate - especially if this is where he begins stalking his victims.
Neil Josten:
Sofia was found seven months later in Nockamixon State Park, Pennsylvania by a park ranger who was doing a routine check of the woods. And this is where we also start to see him display his victims in such a way that is... a clearly confident manner. He wants them to be found now, there’s no more hiding them under the brush.
Andrew Minyard:
We actually saw the crime scene photos from this case and it was more disturbing than we can possibly describe. And no, we will not be sharing them. Our goal isn’t to sensationalize or force the family to re-live this unimaginable nightmare. Rather, the reason why we’re telling you that things began to change here, is to illustrate the drastic shift in Steven’s behavior and what we should now be looking out for. As we said before, one thing leads to the next and to the next. Escalation builds on top of itself and this is just the beginning. By looking at other examples, such as DeAngelo, we can infer that Steven will only get worse.
Neil Josten:
And it’s hard to believe there’s any worse than this... because while the other girls were ‘effectively’ left in the woods with no ceremony, Sofia was dressed in a white nightgown and left in a clearing. She was surrounded by flowers, some nestled into her hair which was spread out around her. This was all still evident, despite her having been in the woods for months with any number of animals and open to the elements.
Neil Josten:
He was attached to her.
Andrew Minyard:
I think so, too. And I’m not so sure he’d let himself get attached like this before - even with Makenna, who we believed he had for a month. Also, as far as we can tell, Sofia was with him for around 6 months, and he laid her out like an innocent child.
Neil Josten:
Which she was. The problem lies in whether he believed that or he if was mocking the family.
Andrew Minyard:
Which we have no real way to tell.
What we can say is that Sofia was 7 years old when she died. Her birthday was December 23rd and she loved christmas so much, that she had a tiny tree lit in her room year round.
Andrew Minyard:
His next victim he kept for even longer. This might sound familiar and if you’ve been paying attention, falls into a seasonal pattern. This victim also brings back what we briefly mentioned before about how the race of these girls could have been a part of a calculated plan in staying concealed, in addition to... whatever fucking else.
Neil Josten:
Amira Haidar was 7 years old when she was taken from the Jersey Shore on July 4, 1999.
Andrew Minyard:
Sounds like Steven frequents there every Independance day. Interesting.
Neil Josten:
[ hum of approval ]
Amira’s family believes they were being watched by someone while they were on the pier the day before her abduction. Her mother claims to have seen the same man wearing a Yankee cap, numerous times - going so far as to follow them into a restaurant. She also says she didn’t think of it too much at the time, remarking to her husband what a coincidence it was, but also how that morphed into something else.
Andrew Minyard:
Mrs. Haidar says she never got a clear view of the man’s face, but she maintains the belief that he is the one who took her daughter.
Neil Josten:
We think he picked Amira and kept an eye on her until he deemed the perfect moment. Her parents aren’t totally sure where she was taken and with three kids, it can sometimes be hard to keep track in such a busy place like the Shore. But, she says one minute they were sitting on a bench, eating cotton candy, and the next, Mrs. Haidar turned to talk to her husband about something and Amira was gone.
Andrew Minyard:
Her parents suspect she got up and walked off a little ways before she was lured - as they didn’t hear anyone talking to her before they noticed her missing. Honestly, it’s amazing with all the people around there weren’t any witnesses that could give a better description.
Neil Josten:
Yeah, but that’s exactly why he felt comfortable taking a kid in that environment. I know from experience how easy it is to blend in with a crowd. I went anonymous for how many fucking years?
Andrew Minyard:
[ quiet ]
Too many.
Neil Josten:
Exactly. The fact of the matter is, people don’t pay attention - especially not to a little brown girl in the midst of American/Middle Eastern unrest.
Andrew Minyard:
Right. Which we will get into a bit more in a minute.
Neil Josten:
Yeah - and it’s the exact reason why kids are told to scream, ‘ you’re not my parent ’ if someone is trying to take them.
Andrew Minyard:
Mm. Unfortunately, whatever Steven did worked. He took Amira and despite being reported within mere minutes of her disappearance, she wasn’t found until over two years later in December of 2001.
[ breath ]
Pay attention to what Neil just said and of those dates. Amira Haidar was a Pakistani little girl who disappeared when anti-muslim rhetoric was at an all-time high, and wasn’t found until three months after 9/11. According to her parents there was an actual search into her disappearance, but that search fell far to the wayside when all efforts were aimed to those displaced after the collapse of the Twin Towers, two years later.
By then? She wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was just a brown kid, who didn’t matter in the eyes of Americans because she was considered one of quote unquote, them .
She matters to her family and her friends though, her schoolmates and her teachers. She matters to us. Which is why we’re here to tell you that Amira Haidar’s body was found washed up on the shore of the Passaic River on December 30, 2001 and the piece of shit detective on her case, Detective Messing of JSPD reportedly refered to Amira as not only “One little muslim girl in a sea of missing kids,”, but he stopped taking her mother’s calls and her mother stopped trying.
Neil Josten:
And we can’t blame Mrs. Haidar. Her child was taken, held for two years, and murdered. No one would listen, no one would try, no one cared - not after 9/11...
Not after her child was found in a white nightgown, just like Sofia. She was placed in an icy fucking river, in which Steven knew she would eventually wash up and be found in a short amount of time.
Andrew Minyard:
He was comfortable. He flew so easily under the fucking radar and any fear of getting caught seemed to have completely vanished.
Neil Josten:
Amira Haidar was nine when she died. Her birthday was March 6. She loved animals and had a dog named Lacy, who she swore loved her more than her older sister Sima. Her favorite color was purple.
“Stop touching it.”
“I’m not! I’m just... hovering over it in a protective gesture.”
Andrew snorted. They were on their way home from the piercing parlor. Andrew’s nipples hurt like a bitch, but he thought he was doing a great fucking job of pretending he was superior to the pain.
Neil flipped the visor down to look at his new nose ring. It was silver and looked a bit like the one Andrew had in his septum.
We match . Ha
“You were right.”
“I’m always right. About what?”
“It looks really good...” Neil turned his head this way and that, admiring the piercing from every angle. “I actually really like it,” the sun caught the silver ring every time he moved and Andrew would never admit it, but he liked this side of Neil. He liked Neil liking something about himself, about his reflection. For so long he dyed his hair and covered his eyes and Andrew didn’t know. It was a sort of pride he felt, he guessed. He just wanted Neil to be happy and -
Ugh. You’re. Going. Soft.
“Told you,” Andrew said, covering up his thoughts with smugness, letting himself instead bask in the joy that comes from being right so often.
“You think I look hot?” Andrew looked over to find Neil grinning at him.
Andrew rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I always think you look,” he airquoted with one hand, “‘hot’. But yeah, the piercing adds to the whole aesthetic.”
Neil practically preened and sat back in his seat, flipping the visor back up like punctuation. “Likewise. I’m gonna be real though, I cannot fucking wait for those to heal,” Neil glanced down to his chest, then back out the dash.
He raised a brow, keeping his eyes on the road. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
Neil leaned into Andrew’s space, as close as he could get in the car. His lips brushed his neck, just under his jaw. “Because,” he said lowly. “I want to see how you react when I tug on them with my teeth.”
Those words went straight down Andrew’s body and he used a hand to push Neil away instead of down like he -
“Yeah, well. Six to twelve months so keep it together.”
With a sad sigh, Neil leaned back. “Fine, fine, fine. Are we going to this party tonight?”
Seth insisted everyone meet at the studio for an impromptu party that night to celebrate the start of Season Two. Andrew had a feeling it really had more to do with the fact that Dion was in town and he wanted to drink with him without actually going out - but he supposed it didn’t matter either way. The reason didn’t make it any less torturous.
“Do we have to?” he complained.
“Now Andrew,” Neil said, chastising. “You have to play nicely with your friends if you want to have dessert later.”
Oh?
“What’s for dessert? Because if you try to feed me carrot cake again, I’m out.”
“My dick, babe. It’s my dick. We’re going, so wear something sexy.”
Andrew barked a laugh and it felt good . “Ah, Neil. You just wait till my tits are healed.”
As it was, Andrew found himself in the lounge some hours later, a red solo cup filled with plain lemonade in his hand, watching Neil’s head tilt back as he laughed at something Seth said to him. Dion caught his eye and made his way over, sitting beside him on the couch. He didn’t say anything for a moment and Andrew kept his eyes on Neil.
“He’s cute,” Dion said eventually. Andrew glanced at him and narrowed his eyes. Dion laughed, “Calm down, sweetheart. I’m not interested. Just making an observation.”
He looked back at Neil. He was cute. Andrew cocked his head as if that would help see Neil even closer.
He’s fucking beautiful.
“Wowwww,” Dion said, a smirk on his lips. Andrew looked over again. “You’ve got it bad.”
Andrew just shrugged because, well, he didn’t feel like denying it. “You’re one to talk. I almost feel bad for keeping you distracted from Seth when you and I were... Doing whatever it was we did.”
“Do I need to remind you ‘what it was we did’?” Dion looked amused. Andrew ignored it.
Dion ignored the ignoring and sighed, instead focusing on Seth. “I wouldn’t complain about having more time. But things happen the way they happen, you know? At the time he was messing around with Alli anyway, still working things out, too, I think. I don’t know. I like to tell myself everything happens the way it does for a reason.”
“Ah,” Andrew scoffed. “Another one for the magic of fate.”
“Not fate. Just... timing. He makes me feel things,” Dion said. Andrew thought it should’ve sounded stupid and over dramatic and pathetic. But it didn’t. It sounded matter of fact - it sounded familiar . “Now is our time. We’re getting everything out of it we can.”
He grinned and stood when he saw Neil make his way over. “That nose ring is gorgeous,” he said as they crossed paths. Neil smiled a real smile and Andrew didn’t know why that surprised him.
“Worried Dion was trying to seduce me away?”
Neil sat on the couch so he was facing him. “ Could he seduce you away?”
“Not now that you have that piercing. It should hold my attention for a bit, anyway.”
Neil laughed and that was real, too. “God, you’re so romantic.”
“That’s the word on the street.”
He caught Neil’s gaze and for just a moment, the music and the people and all that noise that always seemed to make itself at home in Andrew’s head, weren’t so noticeable anymore. Neil held out a hand, palm up, and Andrew didn’t hesitate to take it.
“Here’s to Season Two,” Neil said, smile on his lips.
Andrew kissed the back of his hand. “To Season Two.”
[ interlude ]
-
Andrew Minyard:
As comfortable as he seemed, it was still five years between Amira and victim number eight.
Neil Josten:
Number eight. Our lone survivor. Our reason for investigating this case in the first place and confirming all nine girls.
Andrew Minyard:
Robin Cross was taken from a Newark playground on September 8, 2006, when she was five years old. She was his captive for six years.
[ pause ]
Six years.
Neil Josten:
In October of 2012, Steven attempted to use now eleven year old Robin as bait to lure in another girl. Thankfully, that girl escaped when her mother realized she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Also, thankfully, that mother asked Robin where her mother was. When Robin tried to run, the girl’s mother grabbed her arm and held her until police arrived after learning from her daughter that Robin was attempting to get her to leave.
Andrew Minyard:
Of course local PD tried to take the credit, claiming that they had found Robin, when they’d done next to nothing for the entire six years she was missing.
To us, Robin had been an invaluable source that for some reason, hadn’t been taken seriously. She says she gave an initial statement when she was found, but being a child and having been held captive for so long, no one really believe what she had to say for apparent fear that she had been manipulated.
Neil Josten:
Which should’ve raised some really big red fucking flags, but you know. Newark’s law enforcement is filled with corrupt fucking -
Andrew Minyard:
Save it for next episode. If you start, I’ll start and I’ve got a lot to fucking say.
Neil Josten:
[ scoff ]
Fine.
Andrew Minyard:
I know.
[ sigh ]
Robin Cross was five years old when she was taken, and eleven when she was found. Before her kidnapping, she loved roller skating and making friendship bracelets for everyone she met. She hadn’t been able to do either of those things after Steven.
Neil Josten:
And that leaves us with our last known victim.
Andrew Minyard:
Zoe Perez was five when she was taken on August 1, 2015 - four years after Robin was found. She was taken from the same playground Robin disappeared from. Zoe’s mother reading a book and by the time she looked, Zoe was gone. Police filed the missing persons reports, did a preliminary search, and all but forgot about her within a month.
Neil Josten:
But the community didn’t forget. They continued to search for her to no avail, and many feared that the same thing that had happened to Robin, happened to her.
Andrew Minyard:
They were right. Zoe wasn’t seen again until she washed up on the banks of the Passaic on July 6th of this year - just like Amira. And like Amira and Sofia, Zoe was found in a white nightgown. This time, however, she also had on a necklace with heart pendant that her parents say she did not have before she went missing.
Neil Josten:
Robin knew this was Steven the moment she heard the news. However, details about the necklace were leaked from the press and she says that was the big push in getting her to email us.
Andrew Minyard:
Because she was given the same exact necklace.
Neil Josten:
Zoe Perez was nine years old when she was found. According to her parents, she loved being outside and playing in the mud.
Season Two, as it turned out, moved along a lot slower than Season One had. With Neil, Andrew had sightings and leads. He didn’t have that here and Neil could tell it weighed on him. Normally once he set his mind to something he was all go go go and it was everything Neil could do sometimes to get him to take a break and eat a meal that wasn’t chocolate. But now? It was stop and go, wait and maybe get something .
And as time crept by, somehow October had completely snuck up on them, and after a trip to Chicago to see Aaron and Katelyn’s new baby, they dived right back in immediately upon their return. That’s how Neil found himself sitting on the living room floor, papers spread about the rug and Andrew on his knees, crawling from one paper to another and muttering to himself.
“We have six girls,” he said at last and Neil wasn’t sure if Andrew was talking to him or himself.
“Yes,” Neil said, because he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say.
“Why? Some of these have tiny gaps of time between them, some have huge gaps. Why? ” Andrew asked again with a bit more fire.
Neil shrugged and leaned back on his hands. “Maybe he got spooked? Maybe the cops were getting closer than he liked? Maybe something else happened in his life. It could be a million things.”
Andrew sat upright, arms crossed with one hand rubbing his chin. His armbands were missing and he’d been wearing them less and less at home. Something about that made Neil feel warm .
“Maybe...” Andrew conceded. “But I feel like we’re missing something.”
Neil stood and walked over. He put a hand on top of his head, just because he could and Andrew didn’t shake him off, which meant he was too distracted to care.
“Six girls is a lot to go on for now,” he tried to reason. “How are we going to do this for the podcast? How do you want to present the case and these girls?”
Andrew let out a huff of a breath and sat on the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest and circling his arms around them. “What do you think?”
What do I think?
Neil bit the inside of his lip and let his eyes fall on all their work. Slowly, he moved away from Andrew and bent down, getting a closer look at the rough timeline of disappearances they’d laid out. “It’s important, I think, to talk about each girl. Give them each time on the air. Say their names...”
When he looked up at Andrew, he was nodding, focused on the small stack of articles closest to him. “I want to talk to their parents,” he said after a moment and Neil stopped pacing to look at him.
“Uh - Right okay... What do you want from them? What if they don’t want someone calling with a reminder of this? All these years later?”
Andrew chewed on his lip ring and Neil watched as it disappeared. “Then I’ll know not to mention the name on air.”
“You want their blessing?”
Andrew moved a piece of paper for a reason Neil didn’t know, but he was sure made sense one way or another. “More or less, I suppose. I want to know more about these girls - what were they like? What hobbies did they have? Who were they ? I want to make them real. I want to see them as actual people instead of abstract victims and I want the listeners to see that too.”
This.
This right here, Neil thought, was why he was so fucking hopeless when it came to Andrew.
He’d heard the crew call him, Monster . He knew it was a nickname; something left over from college - a pet name, almost. But Neil fucking hated it. They had no idea what a real monster was. Neil did. Andrew did. And if they did, they wouldn’t call him that.
Andrew was the best fucking person Neil had ever known, and he’d fucking fight anyone who tried to suggest he was anything but kind, passionate, empathetic, and good.
“That’s going to take a lot of legwork,” Neil finally said. “Tracking down all the families, contacting them, talking to them.”
Andrew shrugged. “It’ll take what it takes. I want to do what’s right, not what’s quick. I made that mistake the first time and I don’t intend on making it again.”
Can’t argue with that.
With one last nod, Neil started to gather the papers and Andrew made an annoyed sound. “What are you doing? These are in a specific order-”
“You can put it back to order later like you’ll do anyway. We’ve been at it all day. You need a break and I need dinner.”
Andrew shook his head, reaching and taking the papers from Neil to put them back in place. “In a minute-”
“Hey,” Neil said, a bit more firm. Andrew glanced up at him. “Don’t do this, okay? Don’t get so wrapped up that you quit taking care of yourself. Yeah-” He started when Andrew rolled his eyes. “I know you. And I know you need food. If nothing else, I need food. I haven’t eaten all day. I’m wasting away. Feed me. ”
Andrew huffed what might’ve been a laugh. “Fine. But we leave this all here. Put the cats in the bedroom so we don’t come home to paper confetti all over the house.”
It was Neil’s turn to roll his eyes and once the cats were away, he slipped his feet into sneakers. Andrew was lacing his boots when he came back out and Neil grabbed the Maserati keys from the bowl next to the door.
They took their time at dinner. Well, no. Neil took his time. He wanted to keep Andrew out and distracted as long as possible. For the first half hour he could see names and statistics and autopsy reports flashing behind Andrew’s eyes. But for the last part he started to relax, sink into the moment and Neil relished in it for as long as he could. He knew as soon as they got home, he’d be back at it until Neil woke up and persuaded him to go to bed.
“I want to stop somewhere first,” Andrew said on their way home. Neil just nodded. He didn’t think much of it, but when they pulled up to a storage facility, his interest was piqued.
“Is this it? You’re going to show something really terrible so I know who you truly are? What kind of sick shit do you have in there? Oh my god...” he paused and quickly tried to think of something that seemed cringey when Seth mentioned it. “Are you a.... Trekkie...? Are you going to show me your Star Wars memorabilia?”
Andrew stopped as he pulled the keys out of the ignition. He looked at Neil with utter disdain. “First... how do you know what a trekkie is? Second, there are so many things wrong with that entire sentence, I don’t even know where to begin.”
Neil just grinned. Andrew rolled his eyes and got out of the car, so Neil followed. He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and bent to unlock the door of a storage unit that was a few down from where he’d parked. Yellow light bathed them from above and Neil found himself admiring the gold that shone throughout Andrew’s hair. It was beautiful, really... A breeze brushed by and lifted a few strands into the air. They turned bright yellow, as if they were glowing and -
The door opened with a loud screech and shocked Neil out of his whatever admiring.
What-
“It’s... a car?” A nice car, too. A sleek black GS and of fucking course that meant absolutely nothing to Neil. Car’s were for getting from point A to a very, very far away point B. “Why do you have a car in storage?”
“I didn’t want to get rid of it when I got the Mas. Seemed like a waste. Here.” Andrew pulled a key out of his pocket and put it in Neil’s hand. Neil looked down, confused even as his heart began to pound against his chest.
“You want me to drive it back to the apartment...?”
“I want you to drive it wherever you want.”
Neil looked down at the key again. It was just a key - sitting in the palm of his hand. It was heavy. It felt... nice. “You’re letting me use your car?”
“I’m giving it to you.” Wha- Neil shot his eyes up to Andrew and automatically started shaking his head. “Oh stop looking like that,” Andrew sighed. “It’s just a key and that’s just a car. Come on, I want to get home.” Andrew suddenly turned and shoved his hands into his pockets as he made his way back to the Maserati.
Neil closed his palm around the key and squeezed it until it hurt. It was like he was trying to sear the outline into his skin... He wanted to feel it and he didn’t know why, but something warm and solid nestled itself in the center of his chest and -
Andrew was already pulling out when he looked up again. So, there was only one thing he really could do, because if he didn’t Andrew was going to leave him there. Inhaling a deep breath, he got into the GS, took a moment to admire the leather seats and what looked to be a very expensive sound system. It was one thing to be in the Mas, another to be in a car that Neil knew Andrew loved - that he knew he spent years in and went through so much with. With one last deep breath and moment to his thoughts, he pulled out of the unit, closed it shut, and followed Andrew home.
By the time Neil made it back to the apartment, Andrew was already inside. It afforded him a second to take a deep breath, run his hands reverently over the steering wheel, and ultimately decide what he should do, with absolutely no basis on how to handle this. Neil may not have many normal experiences, but he’s pretty sure people don't just give people cars...
Getting out, he slowly made his way up the stairs, and when he opened the door, Andrew was nowhere to be seen. With a cursory glance around the small space, the door to the balcony was slightly cracked - maybe in invitation. Neil didn’t know, but he detoured to the bathroom instead. He needed a hot shower to try and clear his head... To try and wrap his mind around Andrew giving him a fucking. Car.
The water was hot, the steam suffocating, but when he stepped out onto the cool, slippery tile, he felt better. Wrapping a towel around his hips, he nodded to himself at his decision. I’m not keeping it. It was too much, a gift far too large. He’d been saving his money since he started getting a paycheck from TFN to get his own car and he and Andrew went everywhere together anyway. It wasn’t like he was stranded.
It was dark outside. The bedroom was cast in shadows and the only light came from the living room, filtering from the bedroom door just as the moon filtered through the blinds. Warm and cool combated each other from either ends and he supposed if he took notice of such things, it would be pretty. But as it was, he didn’t and he dug through the drawers fro something to wear. What he did notice was a shadow blocking the light from the doorway. When he looked up Andrew was leaning against the frame.
“I can’t take the car,” Neil said, voice sounding so loud in this still space. “I appreciate it, I really do. But it feels like too much.”
Andrew didn’t respond. He just blinked slowly and let his gaze slide to Neil’s bare chest and where he’d normally feel exposed and wish for something to cover his scars, he found himself standing up straight and facing Andrew full on.
“You can take the car,” Andrew eventually said, “you’re just being stubborn about it.” He stepped into the room and closer to Neil. Neil dropped the sweats he was holding back into the drawer and closed the gap between them.
“I’m not being stubborn about it.”
Andrew looked at him... Just looked - head slightly tilted and considering. “You need a car. You shouldn’t have to depend on me to go somewhere. Don’t argue.”
Neil opened his mouth to do just that, but Andrew kissed him before a single syllable could pass his lips. It wasn’t a hard kiss - no. It was soft in comparison to their usual.
And it wouldn’t do at all.
Neil deepened it, hands reaching to pull him in closer but Andrew pulled away before he could even try. He let out a frustrated huff.
“Are you going to take the car?” Andrew said between them and when Neil leaned forward again to shut him up, Andrew tilted his head back and waited for an answer.
Fucking stubborn. Impossible. Who does he think he -
“Fine,” Neil groaned. “ For now . We’re going to talk about it more later though.” Andrew rewarded his acquiescence with another kiss.
And another.
And another.
Neil was sinking into the feel of Andrew’s lips and the taste of his mouth when he felt Andrew crowding him until Neil found himself against the wall.
“This is unfair,” Neil breathed. “This... this is...”
“Stop talking,” Andrew said and proceeded to lick a line up Neil’s neck, following the path of a drip of water from Neil’s still wet hair. Neil tilted his head back against the wall, closed his eyes and ran his fingers through Andrew’s hair.
“Fuck - This is... so unfair -” he repeated, breath hitched as Andrew nibbled into the sweet spot at the crook of his neck. “You can’t just go around fucking giving people cars.”
Andrew ground his hips into Neil’s in response and Neil couldn’t help the moan that escaped.
“How’d you afford such a nice car without Allison buying it for you?” Andrew’s mouth was on the soft spot behind his ear and Neil wondered how many questions he could get Andrew to answer before the words ‘ shut the fuck up’ left his mouth.
“Why do you ask so many questions?” Andrew ground his hips harder and the towel Neil wore betrayed any hope of modesty he may have had left.
He didn’t.
“Why don’t you answer them?” Neil somehow coherently murmured, teeth biting down into his lip.
Andrew finally pulled back to look at him. “Tilda’s life insurance money. Can we get back to getting off?”
What?
“Life insurance money?” Neil pulled in his chin and raised a brow. “Like... from when she died?”
“Wow, hey. Great job. You win a prize. Here, let me give it to you.” Andrew leaned in again and Neil let Andrew kiss him. His lips were eager, insistent, and Neil wanted to drown in the feel of hands and teeth and lips and Andrew, Andrew, Andrew and it was only getting better as Andrew pulled back to start tugging on the towel around his hips.
But Neil couldn’t help himself.
“So... You’re gifting me your blood money?”
Andrew didn’t even pause as he said, “Yes.”
“Oh my god,” Neil panted. “You’ve never been more attractive to me than you are right now -” He ripped the towel the rest of the way and pulled Andrew close with one hand as the towel dropped to the floor. Andrew laughed, so soft and low against his neck that he could feel the rumble of it vibrate through his own chest. His breath was warm - so warm - and Neil was filled with it, shivering from his head all the way down.
“You’re sick, you know,” Andrew said, finding his way back to his lips.
“You’re so fucking hot,” Neil replied and from there, Andrew’s clothes were shed quickly between them and Neil let himself forget all about the car. Right now it was all hands and mouths and gasps. It was all the quiet sounds that made up he and Andrew - the ones that filled the spaces between the loud din of everyday life. It was moans and rough voices and harsh breaths. It was whispers in the dark, grinding coffee, soft paws against wooden floors, and lulling one another back to sleep when the nightmares came knocking.
It was a short trip to the bed.
It was perfect.
It was everything.
And after, when they were sated and sleepy and Neil was hovering in that space where he wasn’t quite sure if he was awake or asleep, he hooked his leg over Andrew’s.
“Night, ‘drew.”
If Andrew responded, Neil didn’t hear it.
Andrew Minyard:
Now we’re here. Now you know their names.
Neil Josten:
And now, besides the details we’ve mentioned here that link these cases together, there are a few other things, too. We’ll mention them briefly, but as we said, we’re not going into detail and we’re not focusing on them.
Andrew Minyard:
We do, however, believe that we all need to understand the type of consciousless evil we’re dealing with. That being said, all of the girls who were found and were able to be adequately examined had two things in common. One, they were all [ audio break ] strangled to death and two, [ audio break ] they all had evidence of sexual assault.
Neil Josten:
But besides all of this - Robin is what links them. She was with Steven for six years. She has detailed information, straight from the mouth of the man responsible for the death of these girls and for the robbing of Robin’s childhood. We purposely included very little detail of Robin’s experience here.
Andrew Minyard:
After being denied the chance to speak for so long, Robin’s story is hers to tell and in Episode 2, she’s agreed to share some of her experience in an interview, conducted by us. We will not be pushing her to share anything she’s not comfortable with.
Neil Josten:
Honestly, Robin’s so fucking brave and so goddamned determined. I think most people would understandably leave it, call it quits, and bury their heads.
Andrew Minyard:
Not Robin.
Neil Josten:
Not Robin.
-
[ Interlude ]
Andrew sat in the white chair in his office, King in his lap and moleskine notebook open on the arm. His hand moved furiously across the page - writing nothing coherent, nothing to do with the case, nothing important, not really. But he had to get it down and out of his head before it began to take root. He needed it to vanish, needed it gone, and when Neil walked in, he snapped the book shut.
“If you’re making my Christmas list, I’d like you to get my name tattooed on your ass,” he said, sitting down in Andrew’s desk chair and swiveling to face him. Andrew just met his gaze and stared back at him impassively - or as impassively as he could. Because in that moment, all he could think about was how Neil had started calling him ‘Drew’ when he was sleepy. Going to sleep, or waking up, or even just dosing with his eyes closed on the couch, and Andrew didn’t even know if he realized he was doing it, and he most certainly didn’t know how he felt about it either.
It had always been a general rule he’d made with himself that he’d accept absolutely no nicknames. But all of a sudden there was ‘babe’ and sleepy ‘Drew’ and why did he feel some type of way when it came from Neil’s mouth and god -
What’s wrong with me?!
Stop.
“You’d have me disfigure my fantastic ass like that? Wow, what kind of monster are you?”
“A devoted one, dear .” Dear - Andrew rolled his eyes. “What time is Robin getting here?”
The end of November was fast approaching and Andrew knew they were moving far slower on this than he would’ve liked. There were just so many things to consider - especially when he’d barely considered anything but his emotions the first time around. Then, he’d been so obsessed with finding Neil that he just did everything as quickly as possible to get to his goal.
But this? This time they were dealing with children - children who had been used, abused, and murdered. They were also dealing with a victim - and though Robin was legally an adult, she was only just coming into her own... She was just learning what it was like to be out in the real world, to be her own person. After all, she’d been homeschooled after she was found and rarely had contact with kids her own age, besides playing exy on a neighborhood team. Andrew didn’t want to push her into something that could be potentially triggering while she was dealing with all the rest.
“Any minute now,” Andrew replied, pulling the notebook into his lap and pressing the pad of his index finger into the corner. “She’s coming from practice.”
Neil perked up because of course he fucking did . “You should’ve gone to the last game with me and Kevin,” Neil said, already smiling. “You know she’s a sub, but she had more playing time and she’s got a lot of potential. The lessons with Matt are really helping and you can tell she’s been working really hard.”
“You got one game out of me and that’s it. But I’m glad you and Kevin have found each other. I hope you’re very happy.” Andrew picked King up from his lap and brought her higher to give her a quick squeeze before standing. He left his notebook on the chair. “Come on, let’s meet her in the studio. It’s more comfortable.”
A few days ago they’d moved a third chair into the recording space. Andrew liked meeting in the studio because if he thought they needed to record, they could make it happen easily.
Robin walked in just as they left Andrew’s office. She seemed out of breath.
“Sorry!” she said, walking quickly to meet them halfway. “Practice ran a little long and coach wanted to talk to me.”
Andrew stopped and raised a brow at her, looking down just slightly since he wore his boots today.
She’s tiny.
“How many times have I told you that we schedule around you, not the other way around?”
Robin shrugged and made a face, “Like, specifically? Because I’m really bad with math. You know, counting. Numbers. It’s a foreign language and I don’t appreciate you giving me a word problem when I had my remedial math class today to remind me how inept I am.”
Andrew tried not to smile... he really did. But she had so much fucking fire. Neil laughed from next to him and that cracked a huff from him, too. “Let me know if you ever need help,” Neil said. “I didn’t go to college but I’m pretty fucking good at math.”
Robin nodded with a smile small that felt so, so wide. “I might end up taking you up on that.”
“Robin!” Andrew turned to see Seth coming from the kitchen, a bag of chips in hand. “What’s good, little sis?”
Her smile stretched this time. Andrew knew Robin was fond of Seth. Generally, she was awkward around people and socially, she was a mess but working on it. In the time she’d been coming into the studio, she’d gotten comfortable with the crew. Wymack was still a bit much for her, which was understandable - considering. But Seth took a lot less time than the others. Part of Andrew hated him for that, just a little. The guy was such a fucking asshole in college, but now he had the sort of easy smile and relaxed demeanor that made it easy for people to like him.
Which was something Andrew would never be able to do - a level he could never attain. And though he really didn’t give a fuck if people liked him or not, the truth was he wanted Robin to like him. He wanted her to trust him. They’d been working together for months now, so the relationship was there but laying down foundations had taken time.
“Hey, Seth!” she responded, brightly. “I checked out that band you told me about and you were right. Freaking amazing.”
Seth stopped in front of her and sighed, tilting his head. “I love that you don’t curse... You make me want to stop, but I can’t fucking help myself.” He shrugged helplessly, then turned to Andrew. “Y’all gonna meet in the studio?” Andrew nodded. “Alright, I’ll be in the booth so give me a signal if you wanna record or anything.”
“Is it alright if we do? It’s just something we practice. We may end up not using anything, but if something important is said and fits the episode, I’ll double check with you to see what you’re okay with.” Andrew said, directing his attention back to Robin.
All she did was shrug and smile, “You guys do what you have to do. So long as you check with me, I don’t mind.”
And with that, after settling into the comfortable seats of the studio, Andrew pulled out the spreadsheet he’d created with all the information of the victims they had up until that point. The red recording sign flickered on.
[ RECORD ON ]
“Okay,” he started. “So here’s what we have so far. I know you’ve done your own research. So take a look and let us know if there’s anything we need to add or change.”
Robin took the tablet and Neil’s phone rang. Andrew glanced at him to see him staring at the screen with a furrowed brown.
“I need to take this,” Neil murmured, then stood and left the studio. Andrew watched him go with a concern he didn’t usually feel for anyone else but him .
“Do you need to check on him?”
Andrew looked back to see Robin studying him. He shook his head.
It’s probably Lloyd calling for something stupid.
He moved on and set his mind to the task at hand. “So, Neil and I were discussing the time between victims. Sometimes, it seems like he took a break. Some breaks are relatively short and some, it looks like he took years. We were brainstorming some reasons for that.”
Robin slowly thumbed through the spreadsheet, face blank as she read.
“You’re missing girls.”
Andrew blinked. “Are we?”
“Yes.” She set the tablet down and pulled out a notebook from her backpack with crinkled paper sticking out. She opened it and rifled through pages upon pages of handwritten notes, before pulling some straight out of the binding. She handed it to him and pointed out what she meant.
“Imani, Nia, and Makenna. Imani and Makenna were taken from New York. Makenna was taken from the Jersey Shore.” She was calm, her voice radiated confidence.
But her hand was shaking.
Andrew gently took the pages from her, knowing if it were himself he wouldn’t want others to know he was rattled. He studied her notes for a moment and mentally put those girls in the places where they fit by memory. “It works date wise,” he said, ticking through the months, years, and days in his head. “What specifically makes you think these are linked, though?”
When he looked up at Robin, her jaw was tight, but her eyes held heavy resolve. He didn’t want her to think he didn’t believe her and was about to say so. He knew that she would know Steven’s MO better than anyone. He just wanted to understand.
“It fits,” she said simply, then elaborated with a deep breath. “He told me things. When he had me in that house, we would talk about the other girls. I know he’d taken some from the surrounding area.”
“People might start looking a little harder if they thought there was a serial kidnapper in Newark,” Andrew mused, voice low.
Robin nodded. “Exactly. He was careful. I know he took girls from New Jersey and New York, and they were lured the same way the rest of them were. He just never snatched - he never made a scene. He caught them when they were separated from their parents or a group and lured them away with promises little kids can’t resist. A puppy, or candy, or even promising to take them back to their parents if they look lost. He was a master at manipulation, or maybe I was just a gullible child.” She shrugged, but her eyes slowly started to turn distant. “The fact of the matter is, he wants them to come calmly, willingly , so they don’t draw attention. And it worked. No one saw these girls disappear, despite the fact that most were in crowded areas. And the only thing to come out of twenty years of ‘disappearances’,” she air quoted, “was a generic description of a white man of average height and a baseball cap wandering around the scene of the crime. Tell me Andrew, how many white men in baseball caps wander around New York, New Jersey?” She stopped, took a deep breath, and blinked back into focus. Her hands were steady now, even as they gripped each other in her lap. “I know it’s not a ton to go on, but this was him. I know it was him.”
And Andrew knew she was telling the truth. He believed her every word and let them hold weight in his mind. He nodded, “I’ll add them. That brings us to nine girls then.” He picked the tablet back up and stared at it. “Nine girls,” he murmured, shaking his head. Who knew how many others there were that they don’t even know about? “Do you mind if I scan your notes? These are super detailed.”
Robin just shook her head and gestured vaguely to do whatever with them. Andrew paused, studied her for a minute, then put the tablet and notes aside. Glancing at Seth, he motioned for him to turn the mic off and after receiving the signal, Andrew glanced at the sign to see it go dark.
[ RECORD OFF ]
Satisfied, he leaned back in his chair, played with his lip ring, then asked, “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” she sighed. “Finally getting into the swing of things, I think. My roommate is actually really nice, so I’ve been out with her and her friends a few times. They kinda accepted me into their group which is weird, but I guess when you spend so many hours practicing, it forges things. I’m still completely hopeless in social situations, but I think I’m getting better?”
Andrew nodded, “That’s great.” He paused for a breath. “But that’s not what I meant.”
Robin leaned back in her chair, too, and crossed her arms over her stomach. It was defensive. It was like seeing how Neil was, what felt like once upon a very long time ago. “I’m angry,” she finally said.
“You should be.”
“But I’m more determined.”
Me too.
“You know,” He moved to lean his elbows on his knees. “If you decide you don’t want to be involved, we’ll take on the case by ourselves - we’ll still find an answer, still get justice for these girls, and for you. You don’t have to be the face of this investigation - no matter how excited Seth seems to be.” Andrew needed her to understand.
Writing that witness statement against Drake was one of the hardest things Andrew had ever had to do in his life. He had nightmares for weeks after, even when Drake was convicted.
She’s stronger than me, though.
She was made of fire. She was determined and she was outraged, and those two things combined with that tenacity were going to blow this fucking case up in the best possible way.
“I know,” she said, and stared at the glass of the booth, then redirected her eyes back to him. “But I also know I have to do this. I couldn’t live with myself if I had this opportunity to help right in front of me, and I didn’t. I’d be turning my back on the other girls.”
He knew what that was like. Holding so many innocent lives in his hands and knowing that he was the only one that could do something about it - the only one that could make a difference and raise the alarm. It took him so long to get to that point though; so long to feel strong enough to say something .
“I think about them every day... I know their names,” her voice dipped lower as she continued. “Alyssa and Tamika, Imani and Nia and Makenna and Sofia and Amira and Zoe.”
“And Robin,” Andrew added, quietly.
Robin looked away again and waited a beat. “And Robin,” she murmured, then rubbed her eyes with her fists before dropping them with a huff. “Zoe was the last straw. When she washed up in the river...” She shook her head. “I emailed you immediately. These girls are my sisters. These girls?” She rubbed her hands on her thighs and looked him straight in the eye. “They’re a part of me. I can’t abandon them like everyone else has.”
I know , he thought and slowly reached out a hand. It wasn’t something he normally did, not with anyone but Neil, at least. But it felt right and he needed her to know that he got it.
He understood.
Robin put hers in his and he covered it with his other hand. “Then I won’t ask again. I’m going to trust you to let me know if you need to step back and I’m going to trust you to tell me when you need to concentrate on school or exy.” Trust, trust, trust. That seemed to be the theme of late. Andrew went from trusting no one, to trusting a few. He trusted Renee with his back, Neil with his life, and Robin with herself. “Will you tell me if any of that happens?”
She nodded.
“Good. Let’s look at the rest of your notes and we’ll compare what we have.”
They poured over everything for another hour. He and Neil had already recorded a bit, but he wanted Robin to introduce herself in episode one.
“For Episode Two, I’d like to include an interview with you. But, I would like for you to introduce the series. You don’t have to. But I think it’s important to set this season up with a heavy focus on the victims. We want to get their names, their stories out there.”
“Like Neil’s season. You focused on him and his mom, not on the Butcher,” Robin said, and that was exactly it. Then, without much time to think or any pause in between, she nodded. “Okay. I can do that.”
He didn’t mean for it to happen, but he pulled his chin back a bit surprised at her willingness to help. “Right,” he said, then picked the tablet up again. Flicking through his documents, he pulled up the blurb he and Neil had gone over earlier in the day. Holding it out, he watched as Robin pulled the tablet into her lap and read it over a couple of times. Her lips moved as she repeated it silently, and then once more in a tone that rose just below a whisper.
“I like this,” she said quietly. Really, all it was, was a statistic with a small introduction to the podcast. Andrew thought they could possibly use it in their theme or even the outro. Of course he also planned on recording it himself, but it would mean a lot coming from Robin.
“So do I just...” She looked to the mic, then to him, and lastly at the glass window that separated them from Seth outside the booth.
“Yeah, here,” Andrew signaled to Seth once more to let him know what they were doing. He gave them a thumbs up in response and with that, Andrew got up and sat Robin in his chair. After redirecting the mic to sit comfortably before her this time to pick up a clearer sound, he lowered himself into Neil’s spot.
[ RECORD ON ]
Robin cleared her throat, readjusted the mic a hair, looked down at the tablet. “And all I do is speak?”
“That’s it,” he said, signaling to Seth once more, and nodded to Robin when the recording light came on.
Robin took a deep breath, stretched her neck, then began to speak. “In 2018, the United States National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assisted law enforcement and families with more than 25,000 cases of missing children. Of those 25,000, less than one percent were due to non-family abductions...” She paused, “Less than one percent,” then paused once more. Her voice was low, smooth, and soft. It was perfect and Andrew was captivated. “You’re listening to Season Two of Red Rabbits, the Case of the Newark 9. My name is Robin Cross. I’m number 8. And I survived.”
When she was finished, he turned his head towards Seth and the expression on his face was exactly as he felt. If he wasn’t wearing his armbands, he was sure he would be able to see his skin covered in goosebumps. It was perfect. It was exactly what they needed.
“That was perfect,” he finally said. Her smile was hesitant, but it grew as she looked to Seth and back at Andrew. The red light finally went off.
[ RECORD OFF ]
“Thank you for doing this, Robin. I mean it. And if there’s ever a moment that you don’t want this up, we’ll nix it.”
She shook her head. “I want it in. I may not listen to it, but I think speaking is important.”
“Me, too. Still.”
Robin smiled and started to stand. “Text me when you want to do the interview for Episode Two.”
“Okay. We can come in any time, weekends too.”
“Okay, sounds great. Tell Neil I said bye.”
He hadn’t realized Neil was still missing. Pressing his lips together, he only nodded and after speaking to Seth, he walked Robin out of the studio. Once she was safely out of the front doors and on the campus shuttle he’d called, he went to search for his the idiot.
He wasn’t in his office, or the lounge, or the kitchen, but Renee was, leaning against the counter and making a cup of tea.
“Have you seen Neil?”
“I think we went up to the roof,” she said, stirring with a tiny spoon in her floral teacup calmly. “He looked troubled...”
“Troubled?”
Renee nodded and Andrew didn’t wait to hear if she had anything else to say. Turning on his heel, he headed for the stairs to the roof, taking them two at a time and wondering who could’ve called that had Neil upset.
He was there, standing near the edge and looking out over campus. It was dark up above, the moon shining upon him and creating a small halo around his silhouette. Andrew walked up behind him, making enough noise so he knew he was there. He stood quietly beside him, waiting for Neil to speak first.
“A little birdie told me the GS was supposed to be for Bella.”
Andrew let out a sigh, then looked to Neil’s profile. That wasn’t what he expected him to say. “Renee talks too much.”
Neil shrugged. “Maybe you don’t talk enough.” He turned to face Andrew. “You should keep it for her. I”m sure she’d love it, when she’s old enough.”
Andrew sighed again and looked towards the exy stadium. Big and white and ugly with that stupid fox paw, obnoxiously glaring back at him. “I’ll buy her another car. Or, you can give it to her if you want. You’re doing me a favor since I don’t have to pay to store it anymore.”
He could practically hear Neil’s eyes rolling in his head. “I’ll keep it until I save up enough to buy my own car. Okay?”
Andrew wanted to argue some more. Instead, he hummed noncommittally. He didn’t know why Neil was being so fucking difficult about this. Maybe he just wanted to get to work first without having to wait for Neil.
Maybe he just wanted him to be happy.
“Is that why you’re up here? Because of the car?”
“No,” Neil mumbled. When he looked down, Andrew noticed he still had his phone clutched in one hand.
“Who called?” No answer.
Neil continued to stare out over campus and with every second that ticked by, Andrew was growing increasingly concerned. Was it the Moriyamas? Someone connected to his father?
“Neil. Who called you?”
After an agonizing moment of Neil looking at the phone in his hand and then back up to Andrew, he finally answered.
“My Uncle Stuart.”
Andrew Minyard:
That’s all we have for Episode 1. These girls are the Newark 9 and they’re just a fraction of all the forgotten victims in America.
This season we’ll be following this case in bi-monthly episodes posted every other Sunday, using the information Robin provides and our own investigative process.
Again, if any of you have any insight or tips, if Steven matches any physical or mental description of someone you know pre or post 1994, send us an email at [email protected] m or send an ask to the website, redrabbitspod.tumblr.com.
Neil Josten:
Time is literally of the essence here. We don’t know if he has another girl, but he if doesn’t yet, we have reason to believe he might soon. If we can get to him before then, we can save another child, another family, from having to live through this horror.
Andrew Minyard:
We’ll be back in two weeks with Episode 2, an interview with Robin Cross.
Neil Josten:
This has been Season 2 of Red Rabbits, the Case of the Newark 9. We’re your hosts,
Andrew Minyard:
Andrew Minyard
Neil Josten:
And Neil Josten.
Keep Searching.
-
[ outro ]