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“She was so kind,” Buzzy said, almost to himself. Ruth felt a wave of surprise. She had interviewed a lot of people who had known Daphne and Buzzy was the only one who had called her kind. “Why would she do those things?”
“I don’t know,” Ruth said. “Daphne usually says she had a hard life, that she did what she had to do. But that’s clearly not the full story.”
They sat and talked for a long time. Ruth told Buzzy about Daphne, her life story, and what she was like now. He kept nodding impassively but always asking more questions. When there was a lull in the conversation, Ruth decided to get a couple of her own questions in.
“What happened to the rest of your siblings?” Ruth asked.
“Well, most of the girls married men as shitty as my father, probably because it was what they knew. They were good mothers, but I don’t know how much use that is when you’re saddled with a bad husband. And some of the boys struggled; one went to jail for burglary. Others had broken marriages and problems with drinking and gambling. But a couple of the kids did okay, me included.”
Buzzy picked up the cup of coffee on the table and drank deeply, even though it must be cold and stale. Then he resumed talking.
“You know, Loretta was pretty close to my next oldest sister, Irene.”
“Is she still. . . with us?” Ruth asked, trying to find a polite way to ask if Irene was six doors down or six feet under.
“No, she died in ’86,” Buzzy said. “Car crash. Hard to say what happened but I think she did herself in. Or at least drank so much that she didn’t care either way.”
“She was troubled?”
“Oh yeah. She was married three times, each man drunker and meaner than the last. She drank too, but she was depressed. Honestly, it’s a relief when I lose touch with one of my siblings. I don’t like to hear their stories,” Buzzy said quietly. He suddenly looked even frailer, almost like a child again.
Ruth nodded. Irene’s story was an object lesson in what would have happened if Daphne had stayed.
She’d hoped Lucan would give her clarity but she only felt more confused. Here was a family of neglected, abused children who had all grown into wildly different people. Some had made happy, healthy lives for themselves while others had fallen into bad marriages, addiction, and crime. And one had become a monster. Why had they all taken different paths? And how much control did Daphne really have over her journey into darkness? For the last six years, Ruth had watched her life spiral downwards, a tailspin into failed relationships, a stalled career, and an obsession with the mystery at the heart of it. She had become a different person, and none of it had felt like a choice. She and Daphne were both stuck on dark paths, both unable to break free of their own natures, even when it would be better for everyone if they did.
Buzzy waited until she shut down her recording equipment, his red-rimmed eyes watching her zip up her bag.
“Will you let her know I said hey?” he asked, his voice round and vulnerable.
“Sure, but I can also give you her phone number. You could give her a call,” Ruth suggested, slinging the bag across her shoulder blades. Buzzy shook his head, letting the brim of his Saskatchewan Roughriders cap cover his face.
“No, it’d be like talking to a stranger. Just tell her hello from me,” he muttered.
Ruth nodded. “I understand. Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it.”
She was already walking away when she heard him croak: “Okay! Give me the number, just in case.”
HauteHistoire:“Okay well, not a lot to work with this episode for a fashion TikTok. I’ve gone for kind of a farmer look. . . Levi’s jeans. . . and a Carhartt jacket with a baseball hat. Honestly. . . this isn’t my best work.”
PreyAllDay:
Hey, guys, just wanted to share something creepy. My cousin, who used to work at Coconut Grove, is friends with someone who still works there. Anyways, she said the staff have seen someone lurking around the center. A man with a backpack and a baseball hat who disappears in the woods whenever he’s spotted. The staff are really freaked out and walking to their cars in groups.
ShockAndBlah:
Okay, I know this is left field but what if it’s a GHOST? Daphne killed so many men, surely one of their spirits is restless!?!
StopDropAndTroll:
Were you dropped on the head? Best-case scenario for Daphne it’s a reporter; worst-case scenario it’s one of her victim’s family members, out for a revenge. Or a deranged fan who wants to wear her skin like a coat.
PreyAllDay:
Lololol. . . It’s gonna take A LOT of lotion to get those wrinkles out!
BTW, CapoteParty, did you get to Florida yet?
The Seventh Murder?