Hannah

Scituate, Massachusetts

Watching this house had proven difficult for Dennis P. Mendocino, but he needed to complete what he had started to do. Hannah Castona-Myers would be fourth on Dennis's dance card. Dennis learned about Hannah through online searches and social media profiles.

Hannah laughed the most at Dennis after he sat at the women's table and bought them a round. That night in April was over 30 years ago. 

They were all H.F.A.C. girls getting close to graduation. In the past, Dennis had met many "Abernathys" at this bar. They were, for the most part, friendly and likable, but nothing seemed to click for Dennis with them.

The waitress went up to their table and explained to the five girls that the "gentleman sitting at the bar over there," as she pointed in Dennis's direction, wanted to buy a round for them. 

They all turned their heads to the bar, but Dennis did not wave or acknowledge he was buying the round.

Other guys were sitting to the right and left of him.

In 1992, Dennis was a grad student at a nearby four-year university. He was studying geology, and he loved the direction in which he was going. Soon, he would land a job with a major oil company in two years, and he would have a promising career in places worldwide.

Buying a round for five girls at once was a big deal for Dennis. He came from a small town in Virginia and was considered a nerd by his classmates. He was quiet, unsure of himself, and somewhat of a loner. 

Dennis's acceptance into a large university in Boston, Massachusetts, was significant for his family. Way up in Yankee country, Boston might as well have been another planet. His parents recognized that Den was bound to be a "science guy," and college would be his course.

They started saving and told all their friends and family they would get Den through at least two years of college to get him started.  Every birthday party for him and every Christmas gift from relatives were little chunks of cash. When all his friends got Sega gaming systems, Dennis received cash, a bite of birthday cake, and maybe some socks and underwear.

He was given a few scholarships when he graduated third in his class out of sixty-seven seniors. He was stunned when he got accepted at his dream school, Boston University. The school was close to Fenway Park, where Dennis's favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, played.

Meeting girls was no problem, but getting them to be girlfriends was something he had not accomplished.

He was not bad-looking, but his hair was a little greasy, and his acne had not subsided yet. He had height going for him at six-three, and he had intelligence, but his personality was sullen, and again, his looks were just greasy. His shyness and insecurities made things difficult. Nothing overcame this; nobody ever took him aside and taught him how to "fix things."

Sitting in his truck near Hannah's house, he thought about that night at the bar and how much it had affected the rest of his life.

He was now even with three of the five girls who laughed at the thought of being with him; it was Hannah's turn to dance with Dennis. He remembered the song playing when he asked her, and tonight, when she came home, he would play it for her.

Road Dogs Again - Allston, Eve and Tango

Tango, Eve, and I are road dogs today as we try to speak with as many women as possible who lived in Abernathy Hall in 1992. Going down the list has been easy;  many women entered local educational districts. 

Eve wrote a snazzy email containing yearbook photos and photos of the three victims. It was sent to everyone, no matter where they lived.

We explained that we felt these three women were killed by someone who knew them back in Abernathy and that we were asking the respondents if they knew any of the victims and if they had any idea who would want to hurt them or anyone else.

Eve provided a link to a form to track the answers. She is a total smarty pants.

Today, we are going west of Boston to speak with three Abernathy women who lived in the dormitory at the same time as the three victims.

Answers to Eve's form are coming in, and her phone beeps each time another hits the inbox.

Tango hangs his head out the window while Eve and I drink iced coffee.

I can hardly hear Johnny Rivers singing Poor Side Of Town.

"Shoop Shoobie Wah, Doobie Doobie."

Stratham, New Hampshire - The Office Of Police Chief Ron Strier

​Chief Strier was starting to hear all kinds of items regarding a serial killer that was targeting women in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  It was interesting to see what was being released to the public through the press and what was not being released. The police asked anyone who knew the victims to call a hotline and speak with an officer.

When they called, each person was asked questions determining when the caller knew a victim or victims.

The details of the killings, the method of death, the mixtape, and the dancing were all withheld.

That all of the victims went to the same college was also withheld.

Strier and Allston had been yakking like two old Marine Crows, and Strier knew what Allston knew.

Scituate, Massachusetts - A Middle School

Hannah Caston-Myers knew the three victims from college, and she wondered if she should call the police hotline. She also received an email from a private investigator, whom she responded to immediately. 

This has to be a person who is killing H.F.A.C. students. The pattern is too clear. Hannah also realized that all three of the victims were in the same dorm as her and that they all knew each other.

This is scary, she thought.

She would call the hotline between the second and third periods.