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Confusion clouds Millie’s face. “I don’t understand.”
“Here, see? It says John Doe.”
“Oh. I think that’s just what they call people they can’t identify. The female version is Jane Doe.”
Vera frowns down at the image in her phone. “John and Jane Doe. Strange names for unidentified people. Well, anyway, why wouldn’t they know who Thomas is?”
Millie’s shoulders hunch up even smaller. “I don’t know.”
“Shall I go to the police and tell them his real name?”
If Millie were to shrink even more, she’d turn into a 2D line. “I don’t think Thomas is his real name either.”
Vera narrows her eyes. It doesn’t take a super sleuth like herself to know that Millie is hiding something. But again, she senses that Millie is like a jittery bird. Step toward her too quickly and she will take flight, and Vera has a feeling if that were to happen, she would never see Millie again. A soft tread, that’s what this needs. Aiya, she hates soft treads. She has always marched like an army general looking for a new recruit to bully, and now look at her, measuring her steps like a guilty child. Still, Vera prides herself as the odd old dog who can learn new tricks.
And now, she is about to reveal some important information to Millie, and Vera has prepared herself so she’ll catch every minute detail on Millie’s face when she does her dramatic reveal. Keeping her eyes on Millie, Vera scrolls to the next picture. “Did you know, though, that Thomas—or whoever he really was—was a social media star?”
Millie stares. The next image is a shot of an Instagram profile of someone named @XandaPanda. @XandaPanda has 1.1 million followers and what looks like a roaring social life filled with fancy parties and private jets. And @XandaPanda is undoubtedly Thomas. Vera herself had been extremely confused when she saw this in the police file, because isn’t this proof of Thomas’s identity? Vera had logged on to the Instagram herself and looked up @XandaPanda. According to his bio, he is “Xander Lin, dreamer and entrepreneur.” Why the police report hasn’t identified him as Xander Lin is beyond Vera’s understanding.
“Do you think this could be his real name?” Vera says.
Millie doesn’t answer. She’s still gaping in complete shock at the photo. She zooms in and Xander/Thomas’s laughing faceexpands across Vera’s phone screen. “I—this can’t be possible. Is that a private jet? But Thomas never—he wouldn’t be able to—” she sputters. Then, with a frustrated sigh, she says, “I have no idea what this is, but it can’t be Thomas. Even though it looks very much like him.”
Vera looks hard at Millie, trying to sense if she’s lying, but finds no traces of dishonesty. “Okay,” Vera says finally. “Don’t you worry about this. I will take care of it.”
Millie looks at her with wide eyes. “What do you mean? What’s there to take care of?”
“I’ll find out everything about Thomas or Xander or whoever he was. Why he died, why this, why that. Trust me, dear, I can smell an unfinished story miles away. Now, why don’t you give me your phone number so I can text you once I find something?”
Millie blanches, clearly not wanting to give Vera her number.
Soft tread, Vera reminds herself. “That’s all right. Here, take my number. Call me every afternoon so I can give you updates, okay?” Then she stands and goes around to the back of the counter, where she takes out a container. “I made you some almond cookies to take home.”
Is it just her, or does Millie look like she’s about to burst into tears? Vera pats Millie’s hands gently and pretends not to see the trembling of Millie’s chin. Millie nods wordlessly at her, takes the cookies, and rushes out the door. Vera sighs. Oh, young people nowadays. Everything seems to be so complicated for them. It’s a good thing they have her around to solve their problems for them.
Vera’s Notebook
Victim: Thomas/Xander/John
Age: ?? Definitely Gen Z, anyway.
Cause of death: Fall from bridge. Suspected suicide. But also maybe not?
Suspects: Maybe Millie? But she seem very sad when she talk about him. But maybe she is sad because she KILLED HIM?? Hmm. Okay, no jumping to conclusion.
Strategy: OK, this is very complicate case, so I must bemethodick menthosmentaldical.
Must find out who he really is. But how??
What are clues so far? Police file. The Instagram!