The second house we checked out was a lot like the first, with two exceptions. The first was that the car was missing. The second was that Peabody's presence was everywhere. Especially in the bedroom.

  The Geiger counter ticked higher around the bed than anywhere else.

  On a whim, I checked the bathroom connected to the master bedroom, and found two toothbrushes in a cup near the sink. One was radioactive, the other was not.

  Behind me, the door opened.

  "Nando? What'd you find?"

  "Evidence that park and your colleague were hooking up, maybe more than hooking up. He's got a toothbrush here."

  "What?" said Beatrice. Her face twisted. It wasn't really a question, just an expression of disbelief. "That's... that's so odd."

  "Is it really?"

  "Yeah, we all thought Peabody was a creep. I mean, I guess I thought we all did."

  I shrugged.

  "Someone's red flag is another's 'here marks the spot'."

  She snorted.

  "Gross, but true."

  "What about you? Anything?"

  She shook her head.

  "No, nothing. I tried calling her phone, so I guess Peabody remembered to take it with him."

  "We already checked out the other rooms, and turned over everything, so I doubt there's anything else to find. Better move on."

  Behind me, I heard her sigh, before following me.

  The next colleague we checked on lived in an apartment complex, behind an automatic gate.

  "Who are we checking on here?"

  "Emma Strong. She was our lead engineer."

  "Was", past tense.

  Beatrice was talking about her colleague like she was already dead. To be fair, I didn't have much hope we'd find them alive either.

  When we found Emma Strong's apartment we found the door open. A shadow coming from a hallway told us that there was someone home.

  A tall dark woman appeared from the hallway. She was wearing a small tank top, and loose fitting shorts. In her hands, rolling behind her, was a laundry hamper. Besides her dark skin, she bore little resemblance to Beatrice, which led me to guess that this was not the Emma Strong that we were looking for.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  She stopped moving when she noticed us staring at her.

  "Uh..." said the woman.

  I glanced at Beatrice, who shook her head.

  "Sorry," I said, running a hand through my hair. "We were looking for Emma Strong, must have got the wrong apartment."

  The woman cleared her throat.

  "No, uhm... she lives here. I'm er... I'm her sister. Are you the cops?"

  Beatrice stepped forward to do the introductions, staying vague about who exactly I was. The woman's name was Caroline Strong; she'd been hoping that we were the police, finally ready to take her seriously.

  "They brushed me off," said Caroline. "They said 'wait a couple days. She'll turn up'. Pigshits."

  "How long has Emma been missing?" asked Beatrice.

  "A little over a week, since she went out on her date. Pigshits said she was probably still with her new hubby or something. Ugh. She could've matched with a serial killer!"

  Caroline's body sunk, weighed down it seemed, by despair.

  "Do you know who she matched with?" I asked.

  Without looking up, Caroline shook her head.

  "She wouldn't say, except, that it was 'scandalous'."

  Beatrice and I shared a look.

  Scandalous? Like maybe matching with your boss on a dating app?

  "Do you happen to know where they were planning on going?"

  Her head perked up.

  "I do. They were going to Romeo and Juliet's."

  Beside me, Beatrice whistled.

  "That fancy?" I asked her.

  She nodded.

  "Yeah, Romeo and Juliet's is the most prestigious restaurant in the state. Unless you're a celebrity you have to make a reservation a year in advance or more to get a table."

  "No kidding. How long were they dating?"

  "It was going to be their first date," said Caroline, shrugging. "They matched on Tuesday, went out Thursday. I guess he was a hollywood big shot or something."

  "Hmm," I hummed.

  Maybe Peabody wasn't the date, or maybe he knew someone in the restaurant. If so, how smart a move is it to bring a future victim to a restaurant where someone could identify you?

  Caroline Strong didn't have much else of interest to tell us about her sister, but we didn't leave immediately. Beatrice spent some time talking to her, talking about her sister, and how it had been an honor to work with such a bright mind. Afterwards, we thanked her for time, and left.

  "Well I guess I know where we should head to next," I said.

  "Rome and Juliet's," said Beatrice.

  "Right on the money," I said. "But it's strange, you said if you were a joe-shmoe that you had to make reservations a year or more in advance."

  "Mhm."

  "If Peabody matched with your colleague on Tuesday, how'd he get a reservation for Thursday?"

  Beatrice shrugged.

  "Beats me. Smart as he was, Peabody wasn't even a known name in the scientific community. Maybe he knows a guy."

  "That was my thought process too. But why bring a future victim to a location where someone could identify you?"

  Beatrice shrugged.

  "Maybe the guy he knows wasn't going to be there? Maybe he didn't expect to make her a victim. Maybe... maybe there are just too many maybes at this point to really know anything about him. We still don't even know why he's kidnapping my colleagues."

  "Whatever the reason, it can't be good."

  Beatrice didn't say anything, she just stared at the ground.

  She remained very much on the silent side for the rest of the ride to the restaurant, only speaking up to give me the directions.