“My life has been…topsy-turvy. I’ll tell you more about when we can talk in person. Besides, it feels weird to complain about anything going on with me when you’re under such duress.”

“At least it’s not boring,” Jessie said, letting him off the hook for now.

“Yeah. Hopefully, both these guys will be caught soon and you can resume your normal life of not going out at night, watching boring television, and eating poorly.”

“I would love that,” she said, chuckling.

There was a soft knock on the door. Jessie knew what that meant.

“Hey. I’m being told to wrap it up. But don’t be such a stranger, okay. I don’t want you to lose your job or anything, but it’s nice to hear from you every now and then.”

“I’ll see what I can do, as long as it doesn’t put my pension at risk,” he added jokingly. “You’re not worth that.”

“Nice,” she said, hanging up before he could get sincere again.

She opened the door and gave the phone back to Murph.

“Let’s get you somewhere out of the way,” he said, not commenting on anything he may or may not have heard.

They returned to the conference room, which was now empty. Jessie grabbed a handful of potato chips and looked through her list of Claire’s other dates from the LOL website.

There were two she was particularly interested in. One was the movie star. The other was a tech CEO. Both had dated her in the last three months, making their breakups more recent, and potentially, more raw.

She decided to call the actor’s number first, working off the premise that securing an interview with him might prove more challenging than a CEO.

Jett Collison was a legitimate movie star. According to his Wikipedia page, he was only twenty-six. But he’d already headlined multiple blockbuster films. His specialty was playing the slightly nerdy, endearingly awkward but unconventionally good-looking and charming lead in romantic comedies. He was like a younger, American Hugh Grant type. Her adoptive mom, Janice, had loved those 1990s Hugh Grant movies, watching them on repeat. Jessie thought that, were she still alive, she’d probably like Collison too.

Jessie called the number listed on his account and got a perky female voice.

“Jett’s phone. This is Matilda. How can I help?”

“Hi, Matilda. I’m with the LAPD. Is Jett available?”

“Is this some kind of prank?” Matilda asked. “Is this Marnie? I know it’s you.”

“This isn’t Marnie,” Jessie said, snapping into her most professional tone. “My name is Hunt. I work with the LAPD. We’re investigating a blackmail ring and we’re concerned Mr. Collison might be a potential victim. We’d like to speak to him ASAP. Can you put him on, please?”

She waited for Matilda to demand more proof that Jessie was who she said she was. Instead she caved immediately.

“I’m sorry,” Matilda said, sounding chastened. “But Jett is on set. The call sheet has him shooting almost non-stop until about eleven p.m. tonight. If I pull him, it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and maybe my job. Is there any way you could talk to him tomorrow? He’s off all day.”