Saruti

Because while dead Fido might be resting in peace, the fact remained that nine-year-old Katie was still out there somebody and nobody even knew if she was dead or alive.

So the real question became, had Katie ever actually even been at Spaceplex?

Not a single staff member interviewed by police recalled seeing a girl fitting her description at all at any point that day.

But they did all see John Esposito entering the building alone and swiftly reporting Katie missing.

Eight minutes after the message landed in Linda Illigieri's answering machine.

and people started to speculate that as a close family friend, John would have known all too well that Linda never bothered to pick up her phone.

That call was never intended to be a conversation.

It was a misdirection.

So let's now rewind to the morning of the 28th of December.

Katie was at her godmother's place, and Linda told her that Big John planned to pop by with a birthday present for her.

which immediately made Katie feel uneasy because, remember, her mum Marilyn had told her, had made her promise not to see him anymore.

Katie repeated Marilyn's warnings, but Linda insisted that John was a nice person.

So, with Linda's blessings, John came over with a very extravagant gift of a Barbie dream house and the offer of a fun day out at Spaceplex.

Just the two of them.

Despite Katie's misgivings about disobeying her mum's orders, Linda insisted that they go, and obliviously waved them off in John's car.

Katie had no idea that from this point on, her life would never be the same again.

That's a... Like, I am the height of a 10-year-old.

It's also incredibly illegal and dangerous.

I was just like, Hannah, I'm going to sit in your lap while you drive us around.

Katie vividly remembers the moment the man she'd always known as Big John