I see a hundred different emotions dance across his face, the flame steered back and forth by his breath.

For a long time, he doesn’t talk, and I imagine the words in his head, the silent memories I hope he is recalling, the words he has kept hidden, slowly unwrapped and passed to the only person he ever wanted to hear them.

When he clears his throat, I stand and leave, whatever he wants to say best shared in secret.

I go to my room and record my final statement, repeating a script I’ve been working on for weeks, the one that ends the show.

Sometimes I wonder if this is real, if we really did catch him. But I only need to close my eyes to remember.

I’m not live online anymore. But Adrian has granted me an epilogue: one final statement to satisfy my audience.

“My name is Jessica Simmons,” I say, “and I caught the Magpie Man. That’s what we called him before we knew better. But his real name is Elliot Farrell. His crimes and the people whose lives he destroyed should never be forgotten…”

I hear a creak in the hallway and see Dad’s reflection in my bedroom mirror. He stands for a few more seconds, not-so-secretly listening to me tell the world what justice feels like.

Then he looks at me through the reflection and smiles.

Author’s Note

If you have experienced something similar to the events in this book, there are resources available to you.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is a twenty-four-hour confidential service for survivors, victims, and those affected by domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and relationship abuse. You can reach them through the National Domestic Violence Helpline at 1-800-799-7233 and on their website at thehotline.org.

The National Center for Victims of Crime is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information, resources, and advocacy for victims of all types of crime as well as the people who serve them. You can visit their website at victimsofcrime.org or call their support line at 1-202-467-8700.

A Q&A with Vincent Ralph

14 Ways to Die is your debut novel. What inspired you to write it?

I’ve always loved scary movies and wanted to do something similar with this book. I used to take a shortcut home after nights out, through an alley I really should have avoided. I remembered that alley when the first line of the novel came to me, and it grew from there.

Why did you choose to base 14 Ways to Die around social media?

It used to be the case that if you locked your doors and windows, the monsters stayed outside. Social media has changed that. But we can also use it for good, which is what Jess does. She knows that while her story has been forgotten, YouTube offers her a chance to reach the whole world.

How did you create the Magpie Man?