Murder.com by Haughton Murphy Page A

he’d fit in with the Courtlands.”
    â€œHe wasn’t interested in being set up for life?”
    â€œNo. He didn’t seem like that type of guy at all.”
    â€œSo there are young people who aren’t totally greedy, out for the buck? Thank God, if that’s true.”
    â€œIn his case, it seems to be.”
    â€œDidn’t he have any suspicion that she was using a different name?”
    â€œNo, apparently not. He found it odd that she never asked him to her apartment, but thought that she probably had a roommate she didn’t want to tell him about. So their more intimate moments were in his tiny studio apartment on York Avenue, near the hospital. Only after the truth came out did he attach any significance to the fact that she never paid with a credit card when it was her turn to pay. She always had plenty of cash with her.”
    â€œWhat persuaded this fellow to come to the police?” Reuben asked.
    â€œHe said he’d been reading about the murder in the papers and thought her murderer might be someone she’d met on the Internet.”
    â€œA sort of virtual Mr. Goodbar.”
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œNot Mr. Gilbert?” Reuben asked.
    â€œDon’t think so.”
    â€œWhat do we know about him?”
    â€œHe gave me his personal ID and password for the Meet.com website.”
    â€œIs that M - E - E - T or M - E - A - T ?”
    â€œMeet.com. M - E - E - T , Reuben, for heaven’s sake. Anyway he gave me the info to get into his profile on the site.”
    â€œSo what did you learn?”
    â€œHe’s twenty-seven. Red hair, one hundred eighty-five pounds, six feet even. Cornell College and Medical School. Likes intelligent, amusing girls, preferably pretty ones.”
    â€œHow original.”
    â€œWants to get married but not until he finishes his residency. Wants three children.”
    â€œAnything else?” Reuben asked.
    â€œOh yes. Doesn’t smoke, drinks moderately. Didn’t answer the question about his income—probably because it’s less than zero.”
    â€œLuis, do you realize, assuming Mr. Gilbert is telling the truth, that with a few clicks on the Internet, you got more information than a squad of detectives could have discovered in a week, maybe a month, maybe never?”
    â€œYeah, I thought about that. There’s more, too. Once Gilbert put his profile on the site, girls could respond. Hallie Miller did, so her profile is available, too. And there is a record of the emails between Gilbert and her.”
    â€œAny surprises?”
    â€œNo, there are about half a dozen messages, but all about arranging to get together.”
    â€œWhat about her profile?”
    â€œI brought a copy with me. If HallieNYC, as she calls herself, is telling the truth, it’s pretty revealing.” Bautista pulled several pages from a manila envelope he was carrying and handed them to Reuben. “Here, read it for yourself.”
    Reuben did so.
    HallieNYC
    26-year-old woman [No picture]
    New York, New York
    seeking men 26–45
    within New York City
    About me and what I’m looking for:
    I’ve been in New York City for two years, but I feel like a native. I’m more comfortable here than I ever was in the Midwest, where I grew up. I guess I’m a Blue-Stater at heart.
    I work as a junior editor at a small publishing house and enjoy it very much. I love everything about the literary life, though my reading preferences are by no means confined to high-brow stuff; murder mysteries are definitely on my agenda. For example, I’m crazy for anything written by Julian Barnes, including the detective novels he wrote under the name Dan Kavanagh. My tastes are not exclusively literary, however. A good play, an exciting jazz concert, or a dance performance can get me out of my easy chair. And so will a good meal (and some good wine to go with it).
    I’m looking for someone who is bright,