Everything’s dramatic. I’m certainly not suggesting what she felt was real. But what stands out to me is: Both girls became completely obsessed with the story. Both girls started doing all they could not to mention Daphne by name. I mean to the day, to the hour. They both reference her in vague terms, call her ‘her,’ almost vigilantly refusing to write her actual name. It’s a bit of a performance, how well they avoid what they really want to say. But eventually…they give in. Their entries go from long passages about Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Sheryl Swoopes, then to vague mentions of her, then to a sort of half-and-half basketball-Daphne balance, all the way to a full-blown it’s all they can confide about is their absolute fear of and fascination with Daphne. The journals are near mirror images of each other in that their obsessions grow at exactly the same rate. None of this is mentioned in the interviews with either of their parents, nor is it accounted for in the police reports. No, I’m absolutely not saying it was lazy work. It’s completely justifiable that nobody took the Daphne stuff too seriously, but if you read these journals like you would a novel, let’s say, you really see how involved these two ballers became. What am I saying exactly? Well, here’s my current theory, though this is liable to change: I think whoever told Darren and Welsh about Daphne was doing more than just making small talk. I think he was likely an unstable man who deeply related to the story he told them. I think he staked them out first, knew they were friends and teammates, then talked to both, then moved in on both too. I think he was thinking, I can be Daphne. I can be the Samhattan bogeyman these two ballers fear. I can touch legend by way of imitating legend. You see? And I think he’s still around now. I think we have a copycat who has come out of hibernation and is doing it again. A man in Samhattan, being Daphne.”

McGowan listens as Pollen responds, but the chief is only reciting the usual playbook. Protect the girls. Find clues. Arrest suspects. Pollen doesn’t sound particularly taken by this theory. McGowan knows it’s because she hasn’t read the journals. Not with McGowan’s eye anyway.

“But there’s a catch,” McGowan says. “No human being can crush a person to death with their bare hands. So what’s the next best thing? Well, tossing them from the parking structure is certainly one. The toxicology report says they’d been drinking, yes, but it was also inconclusive as to whether or not any drugs were used. So maybe they were. A fan, a super fan, disturbed for years and now feeling relevant and empowered by these girls, their fears, he drugs them, slips drugs into their drinks, drives them to the top of the structure, and shoves them off. Because, if you pay attention to the story of Daphne, you know it’s all about too much thinking. About her. So this fan, this copycat, he plants the seed, believes it’s growing (which the journals prove is true), and he carries out the closest killings he can to the type that would’ve been found in the myth itself. And these new cases? Something creative happened here too. Obviously, something was used. This is not bare hands. I need to think about who might like Daphne. Because whether or not you want to believe it, there are people who rank their favorite serial killers, their favorite urban legends, their favorite famous deaths. And almost all of those people are wonderful, contributing members of society. But in a city this size, simple math tells you there’s gotta be some loose screws. And while I’m not saying I’ve solved something here, I am saying I want to explore this idea, this direction, immediately. So, with your okay, I’d like to start looking for fans of Daphne. Tonight. Now.”