Killer Content by Olivia Blacke

Author:Olivia Blacke [Blacke, Olivia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

13

Odessa Dean @OdessaWaiting ∙ June 26

Recycle, y’all

Thanks 4 coming to my TED talk

#recycle #recycle #recycle #goals

YIKES! YOU HAVE got to be kidding me,” I said, staring at the mountain of waste. There was more garbage in this one shed than I’d ever seen in my entire life. I made a promise to myself then and there that not only would I up my recycling game, but I’d somehow convince Todd to implement a stricter recycling program at Untapped Books & Café—I was finding bottles in the trash bin all the time—and also to invest in a compost bin. So much food waste got tossed in the garbage that could be repurposed to fertilize community gardens, or keep what little green space we had in New York healthy and lush.

Hashtag goals.

The maintenance worker handed me a disposable mask and a pair of rubber gloves. I put them on. “If you’re serious, you’ve probably got an hour, maybe two, before the trucks arrive.”

“This can’t all be from Domino Park,” I said, overwhelmed by the sheer volume.

“Nah. This is a shared facility. We normally utilize that bin.” He pointed at the far corner. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I realized that there was some attempt to contain the chaos, and there were giant metal bins like dumpsters, only taller and with no lids, lined up in rows. Only most of the bins were overflowing and workers had begun tossing bags of garbage any which way, not caring where they landed. “But when it gets this full, it’s not hardly worth making a path back there and we do what we have to.” To emphasize his point, he tossed the bags he’d collected from the dog park on top of a nearby pile of black trash bags.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the task at hand.

Big mistake.

Even through the mask, the stench overwhelmed my lungs. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. I doubled over, coughing. He clapped me on the back hard enough to leave a bruise. “You get used to the smell after a while,” he assured me. I hacked up what felt like a chunk of bronchial tube. I never wanted to get used to this smell. “If you want my advice, go buy your friend a new bracelet.”

“Thanks,” I told him, once I caught my breath. I was more than half-tempted to take his advice and walk away, but I couldn’t give up now. If I could find Bethany’s bracelet or phone in the trash, maybe I could convince Detective Castillo to reopen the case. Her cell phone could tell me who she’d talked to that morning, along with a trove of data I couldn’t find otherwise. For that matter, the bracelet probably had the killer’s fingerprints all over it. Bethany’s prank medical alert bracelet could end up solving her own murder. “This one has sentimental value.”

I took a step deeper into the shed, and Huckleberry whined. I looked down at him. “You don’t have to come with me.

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