CHAPTER SIX

4 DAYS AFTER LILY REED'S DISAPPEARANCE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

11:47 PM

NYPD Interview Transcript

Detective Lin: Ms. Rosswell, how well do you know Melanie Pinewood?

Tiffani Rosswell: Who?

Lin: Melanie Pinewood. She runs the blog, Pinewood Thoughts. She published a post about Ms. Reed yesterday morning.

Rosswell: Oh, her. I don't know her at all. I was sent a tweet about her blog post yesterday, and it was the first I'd heard of her.

Lin: Have you ever communicated with Ms. Pinewood?

Rosswell: Yeah, I texted her yesterday.

Lin: Would you mind if we read those text messages?

Rosswell: Can you tell me what's going on first? Why do you care about my texts with a blogger?

Lin: Ms. Pinewood was found in Manhattan a few hours ago with thirteen stab wounds.

Rosswell: I must have misheard you. It sounded like you said thirteen stab wounds.

Lin: I did say thirteen stab wounds. Ms. Pinewood is dead.

Rosswell: I don't know why I would have anything to do with this.

Lin: May I see the text messages now?

Detective Lin: Did you reach out to Ms. Pinewood again?

Tiffani Rosswell: No. She clearly did not want to speak reasonably, so I didn't waste any more of my time.

Lin: And you didn't seek her out in person? You didn't communicate outside of this conversation?

Rosswell: No.

Lin: Did you speak with anyone else about Ms. Pinewood or her blog post?

Rosswell: Yes. It affects my job and my client, so I discussed it with Lily's team.

Lin: And how does the post affect Ms. Reed?

Rosswell: She doesn't need anything floating around that detracts from our number one goal right now, which is finding her and bringing her home safely.

Lin: Was there any truth to Ms. Pinewood's speculations about Ms. Reed having connections to the Newbold family?

Rosswell: Not to my knowledge.

Lin: Ms. Rosswell, I'm really trying to have this conversation in a civil and friendly way. I don't want to make your life difficult, but I will if I have to.

Rosswell: Am I being charged with anything, Detective Lin?

Lin: No, not yet.

Rosswell: Then I'm going to excuse myself in a civil and friendly way.

End of Tiffani Rosswell Interview 2.

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5 DAYS AFTER LILY REED'S DISAPPEARANCE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022

12:43 AM

"I can't focus with all of the noise in here." Tiffani grumbled, looking around the police station as if she could force everyone inside to quiet down just by staring at them. "I want to go home. I want to go to sleep and forget about this."

"I know," soothed Porter, absentmindedly rubbing Tiff's thumb with his, "I know. But we need to stay until you're no longer a suspect in this shitshow."

"I guess." Tiffani muttered. She breathed in deeply and then out slowly, trying to regulate her heartbeat. She felt bad for pulling Porter into this, but she needed someone who would hang on to her every word as if it were gospel, and, most importantly, not ask too many—if any—questions. "I feel like it's been too long now. Like Lily isn't alive anymore."

Porter turned to look at her in surprise.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, "No one's said anything about her being dead."

Tiff shook her head.

"Nevermind." She looked at her phone and saw a dozen text messages, all from different people but containing the same link. Concerned, she opened one of them and clicked the link.

DAILY NEWS

NYC CRIME

Literary agent Tiffani Rosswell questioned in blogger Melanie Pinewood murder

Less than two hours after 21-year-old NYC blogger Melanie Pinewood was found dead a mile from her Manhattan apartment, Tiffani Rosswell was spotted entering her local police station. Rosswell has been in the news recently as the agent and best friend of missing author Lily Reed. Fans of both Reed and Pinewood have been speculating that Pinewood's last tweet before her death was about Rosswell: "It's not every day that your blog post earns you a text from a ridiculously successful literary agent...maybe my theory wasn't such a conspiracy? #lilyreedismissing".

A source within the NYPD confirmed that Rosswell was indeed being questioned about her relationship to Pinewood, but no arrest has been made. However, the source expressed confidence that Rosswell would be a primary person of interest in the blogger's murder.

"Don't read that shit." Porter said, covering her phone with his hand as Tiffani finished reading the last word of the article. She turned off her phone and nodded, silent.

After sitting in anxious silence for a few minutes, Porter voiced the question Tiffani had been dreading him asking since she had seen him walk into the station.

"Is that story true? About Lily being that missing girl?"