Contents
Chapter 17
Overview
Early media attention crashes onto Elsie’s doorstep. YouTubers Adeem and Libby track her down, citing a viral article linking “Mad Mabel” to Ishaan’s death and offering a sympathetic platform. As more press arrive, Elsie reels at the public resurfacing of her past and slams the door, escalating neighborhood scrutiny.
Summary
Elsie is jolted awake by forceful knocking and initially assumes it is Persephone. Instead, she finds Adeem Anand and Libby Conquest, twentysomething hosts of a true-crime YouTube channel, on her doorstep. They explain they found her through her legal name, Mabel Waller, and want to cover her story sympathetically.
Confused, Elsie learns a viral article has linked her to Ishaan’s recent death and resurrected her old label, “Mad Mabel.” Adeem shows her the headline calling her an “82-year-old convicted murderer” questioned over a suspicious neighbor death; Elsie corrects that she is eighty-one and is shaken by the public shaming.
Adeem and Libby pitch uncut footage to present her side, hinting at exculpatory angles. Meanwhile, a TV van and another camera crew arrive on the street, signaling a growing media swarm and renewed scrutiny of Elsie’s past.
Overwhelmed and protective of her privacy, Elsie ends the encounter by shutting the door, rejecting their approach as the outside pressure intensifies.
Who Appears
- Elsie Fitzpatrick (Mabel Waller)Eighty-one-year-old narrator; confronted by media reviving “Mad Mabel” after Ishaan’s death; shuts the door on them.
- Libby ConquestCalmer half of AdLib YouTube duo; apologizes for Adeem; pitches uncut interview to tell Elsie’s side.
- Adeem AnandAssertive YouTuber; blocks the door, shows viral headline tying Elsie to Ishaan’s death; seeks interview.
- NuggetElsie’s dog; senses tension and growls as media pressure mounts.
- TV news crewArrives with cameras and a van, escalating public scrutiny outside Elsie’s home.