Transcript
Carl Miller (0:00)
Wondry plus subscribers can binge all episodes of Kill List early and ad free. Join Wondry plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. In a large cream coloured house perched on a suburban street is a childhood bedroom with a door firmly shut. Sitting at her desk writing stories about the trials of teenage girlhood, is 15 year old Alexis Stern.
Alexis Stern (0:37)
I've realized that the worst pain comes from the person you do anything for. I think that's the morbid humor of life, the fact that it gives you something sweet and wonderful but then it goes sour and poisons you the longer you have it because you hope the sweetness returns.
Carl Miller (0:51)
Alexis lives in Big Lake, a small Minnesotan town in the United States Midwest. There's a McDonald's, a Subway and a string of gas stations and you might have guessed it, a big lake at the center of it. But Alexis doesn't venture out much. She prefers to stay at home writing self published novels or hanging out with friends on the Internet. It's 2016 and recently Alexis met someone new online, a British 19 year old named Adrian Fry. After being introduced by some mutual friends, they start texting every day and spending hours getting to know each other. Over video calls, Alexis tells him about the novel she's been writing about a possessed secret agent and the dark web. She says she's always been drawn to darkness. Adrian seems almost naive in comparison. Alexis says he doesn't drink, he's soft spoken and he never even heard of the dark web or the illegal things that happen on there. She says he rants and raves about American gun lords. All in all he comes across as a bit of inert but gentle and he really likes her. Their relationship quickly intensifies and they officially become a couple. But they have a 4,000 mile long problem. So shortly after Alexis's 16th birthday, after around six months of talking, they decide it's finally time to meet in person. It's exciting, but there's nerves too, because how well do you really know someone you've only met online? And how much can you trust them? My name is Carl Miller. Since 2020 I've been part of a team working in secret to stop people getting murdered. We broke into a murder for hire website on the Dark we we could see every order being placed, real money being paid to have real people murdered. The tally of these targets now stands in the hundreds. We call it the kill list. If your name is on this list, it means someone wants you dead and is determined to make the murder happen. So far we've managed to help law enforcement arrest or Convict More than 30 people all around the world. But things don't always work out that way. There's other cases too, like this one, where the victim is left living in fear. Audible's best of 2024 picks are here. Discover the year's top audiobooks, podcasts and originals in all your favorite genres, from memoirs and sci fi to mysteries and thrillers. Audible's curated list in every category is the best way to hear 2024's best in entertainment, like a stunning new full cast production of George Orwell's 1984 heartfelt memoirs like Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's lovely one. The year's best fiction, like the Women by Kristin Hannah and Percival Everett's brilliantly subversive James. Another worthwhile listen is Amy Tinterra's thrilling and twisting whodunnit. Listen for the Lie. This laugh out loud, funny tale follows Lucy, a woman who needs to clear her own name after a true crime podcast decides to probe into the worst night of her conveniently can't remember Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Go to audible.com wondrypod and discover all the years best waiting for you.