This Is My Circus

Episode 73 🎪: Parenting, True Crime and Choas: Peep Jousting, Playlist Chaos, and the Disappearance of Kyle Fleischmann

• Stefanie Navarro

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Hosts: Stefanie Navarro & Meredith Hill

Theme: Easter chaos, hilarious AITA drama, a haunting true crime case, TikTok spirals, and the reality of being a not-so-perceptive witness.

🎧 In This Episode:

From exploding Peeps to wild Easter baskets and nostalgic playlists, Stefanie and Meredith cover all the chaotic corners of life—including an unsolved local mystery. This week, they take a deep dive into the disappearance of Kyle Fleischmann, a case that’s haunted Charlotte for nearly two decades. Plus, they roast brunch culture, judge a mother-in-law with main character syndrome, and reveal way too much about their witness potential (or lack thereof).

💬 Topics Covered:

🐣 Easter Basket Survival & Peep Jousting
– DIY basket inspo, candy chaos, and a microwave battle tradition you’ve never heard of but will try.

💄 TikTok Skincare + Googly Eye Crimes
– From unblended hyaluronic acid to prank-level petty dreams, the girls spiral with laughter (and ideas they definitely shouldn’t follow through on).

🎧 Playlist Names & Roadtrip Memories
– Ridiculous Spotify titles, shared sibling playlists, and club bangers from their party days.

🧠 AITA: My MIL Rolls In Like She Pays Rent
– One woman’s fight to keep her bonnet, fridge, and dignity intact when her mother-in-law treats her house like a reality show.

🔍 True Crime Deep Dive: The Disappearance of Kyle Fleischmann
– Vanished after a night out in Charlotte, 24-year-old Kyle left behind unanswered calls, eerie theories, and a devastated family still seeking truth.
– Timeline breakdown, theories (accident? foul play?), and connections to other missing men cases.

📚 Next Week’s Book: The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene
– A dual-timeline thriller involving cold cases, podcast sleuthing, and a lake that holds terrifying secrets.

🧠 Quote of the Week:

“Am I the a-hole for telling my mother-in-law to stop rolling up to my crib like she pays bills?”

Answer: Absolutely not. 😂

📢 Announcements:

  • No book this week—but true crime fans, you’re in for a twisty ride.
  • Coming Up: Full book review 

💥 Don’t Forget:

  • Subscribe to the podcast
  • Leave a review (it means the world!)
  • COMING SOON! Join the VIP Circus Crew for full video episodes, bonus content & behind-the-scenes antics
  • Follow us on TikTok & Instagram @thisismycircuspodast

🎪 Until next time, keep the s’mores creative, the playlists chaotic, and the kids only mildly feral.

This is our circus—and these are definitely our monkeys. 🐒

Welcome to, this is my circus, the podcast where we embrace the chaos and keep it real about parenting, pop culture, true crime, and the books we can't put down because let's be honest, life is one big circus and we're just trying to survive with caffeine, sarcasm, and a little true crime obsession. So if you love unfiltered conversation, questionable parenting hacks, and deep dives into the things that keep us up at night, you're in the right place. Buckle up, grab your popcorn, and let's get into the chaos.

Stefanie:

I'm Stephanie.

Meredith:

I'm Meredith.

Stefanie:

And welcome to, this is my circus.

Meredith:

Or you have a hundred percent of our attention a hundred percent of the time.

Stefanie:

Absolutely not.

Meredith:

None of those statements were true.

Stefanie:

It is a circus.

Meredith:

Yeah,

Stefanie:

that was true. Yeah. Yeah.

Meredith:

But not the attention part.

Stefanie:

No,

Meredith:

zero. I mean, I'm gonna try, I'll give you my best effort, but my best effort's very lacking. I'm so out of it.

Stefanie:

The squirrels will try to be contained. Maybe.

Meredith:

Maybe. I don't know. Our squirrels like to play together. They do. Oh, everything is so busy. I'm enjoying being outside, but I got a lot. I'm doing work is really, really busy right now. I'm going outta town a couple of days next week, so I'm trying to get ahead of the game for that and just going outta town produces so much anxiety for me. Does it you?

Stefanie:

Yeah. Well'cause you gotta get everybody ready.

Meredith:

Everybody ready. And I want the house ready. I want the house clean and I want all the garbage out and I want all the things done. So just trying to get mentally prepared for that and get like, my list together or whatever. I don't know, I'm just stressed out, how about you?

Stefanie:

good. just trying to get ready for Easter. Mm-hmm. Not that we do anything for Easter, but mm-hmm. Getting Dylan's basket and ruthie's basket ready for Easter.

Meredith:

Mm-hmm. What are you getting in Dylan's basket?

Stefanie:

he's going to the beach in. May or June be mm-hmm. End of May, beginning of June. So just like new swim trunks. Yeah, towel. Like stuff like that. Useful stuff.

Meredith:

Is he going with Ruthie?

Stefanie:

No, Reagan is gonna bring

Meredith:

Oh, nice.

Stefanie:

It's like she is brave.

Meredith:

She is a brave soul. I need to get Jackson a couple more things for his Easter basket and same for Valentine's Day. I've never been like an over the board, over the board ever. Over the board over, what am I trying to say? Uhhuh overboard. I usually just get practical things like a couple of new shirts or like, he needs new Crocs now, so I've got those. How am I gonna put size 14 Crocs in an Easter basket?

Stefanie:

It's gonna be bunny ears.

Meredith:

Yeah. Oh, that's cute. I should have got pink ones.

Stefanie:

Perfect.

Meredith:

But just get some practical things, you know, to, to throw in there just so he'll have something, but Yeah.

Stefanie:

Well then I'm like, I don't have a girl, so

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

I'm like, what do I do for a girl Easter basket? But yeah, I think I'm just gonna do like a new, Stanley. Mm-hmm. And a gift card and candy.

Meredith:

Perfect. I think that's great.

Stefanie:

Like a beach chapel or whatever.

Meredith:

Yeah. I think that's perfect. I always see, a lot of these social media pages I follow, they're like gifts for tween girl and everything is always for girls. Nothing is ever for boys that I see.

Stefanie:

What I do see for boys is like nothing Dylan would use.

Meredith:

A hundred percent. Yep. Legos is always something on there. And I know a lot of kids love Legos. That is not Jackson's thing. He would just look at me like. What am I supposed to do with this?

Stefanie:

Dylan loved Legos. Yeah. Up until, I mean, a couple years ago. He's obviously huge, but, um, we have, and it's not even the regular, Rubbermaid bin things. It's the ginormous ones. Oh, like the, 70 gallon. Yeah. Like the big

Meredith:

body

Stefanie:

contractor ones. Yeah. Blend, um, full of Legos and they're just In the garage.

Meredith:

One day they'll get used again somewhere.

Stefanie:

My nephew who, now in his twenties, had sent Dylan all of his Legos so we had, plus all the ones he accumulated. a million Legos.

Meredith:

It's so funny that you say that because Jackson's thing was trains. He loved Thomas the train and his cousin, my nephew Jordan, who just recently got married was a train kid and he gave Jackson all his trains. So I have got them in totes and I've got'em by wooden metal, you know, all different kinds. And I planned to get those back to Jordan when they have kids. And he can have that mess. But, Jackson loved Thomas the train.

Stefanie:

So Dylan went into, like towards the end, they just loved the little Lego people.

Meredith:

Oh yeah. Yeah. I think Lego people is the correct term.

Stefanie:

I randomly like, I, I guess from unpacking still, like for finding. Random things in places. Um, I just found a buzz light ear.

Meredith:

A little buzz. Where'd you put little buzz?

Stefanie:

I think I put it in Dylan's room. Okay.

Meredith:

That's a good spot.

Stefanie:

I was like, oh, here's buzz.

Meredith:

Have you ever seen those tiktoks where people order off of Timo machine or whatever, like 500 little baby Jesus's and they leave them everywhere? I think that is hilarious.

Stefanie:

do you ever see where the people put the googly eyes?

Meredith:

Yes, yes, yes.

Stefanie:

I do that.

Meredith:

Let's do that.

Stefanie:

And I'm like, I'm so afraid to get in trouble.

Meredith:

We'll have to tag team it. We'll have to figure it out.

Stefanie:

Well then there's like all the security cameras and then we're ourselves on the York County page. Does anybody know these?

Meredith:

Oh yeah. And everybody be like, I do. Here's their podcast page tagging us.

Stefanie:

They talked about it. Yeah. We can't deny it.

Meredith:

No, we can't, man. That would've been great. Oh, well

Stefanie:

Try Google it

Meredith:

on everything. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The little things keep us entertained. I still laugh at that. Am I the a-hole where the dude took the buggy? And like ran from the people in Walmart. That's still a dream of mine to do that to somebody.

Stefanie:

I am so scared of people now though.

Meredith:

I probably should be more scared of people. People are crazy. But. I don't think about that in the moment. I'm just like, cool.

Stefanie:

He, he, he

Meredith:

pushing the buggy away.

Stefanie:

Don't get me wrong. I love petty.

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

But,

Meredith:

but you also love your life and people are crazy.. Oh my goodness.

Stefanie:

So we know in Kendrick's song.

Meredith:

Yes.

Stefanie:

DJ Mustard. Did you know his first name? DJ Mustard's. First name is Dijon.

Meredith:

So, is his last name Mustard or is he DJ Mustard?'cause his name is Dijon.

Stefanie:

I think it's

Meredith:

Dejan.

Stefanie:

Think it's DJ Mustard.'cause of Dijon.'cause it's not his mustard.

Meredith:

Dejan. I'm, I feel like I'm saying it wrong. How do you say it? Dijon? Mm-hmm. Dijon. Dijon mustard. I think I say Dijon.

Stefanie:

I dunno why I thought that was so funny.

Meredith:

That is hilarious.

Stefanie:

I saw a TikTok and they were like, it, the girl was giggling

Meredith:

it's funny. What if he had siblings and they were like, um, yellow poppy seed.

Stefanie:

P coupons.

Meredith:

Honey. Honey mustard. Honeywood. Oh, some of the bearded duck people, they, one of the grandchildren is honey. Mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

It sounds like a stripper name.

Meredith:

It does. Like what about when you're 17 or 25 and you're trying to get it, they're not getting jobs. Be kidding. You said y'all aren't doing anything for Easter. Y'all going like brunch or do anything? I don't know why I used to. Brunch always sounds nice.

Stefanie:

It's always just been like me, Dylan, you know, like there's just a couple of us in Yeah. So we'll do something with my mom, but like

Meredith:

nobody's dressing up like a bunny or, I'm just kidding.

Stefanie:

No.

Meredith:

I see all these restaurants though right now that have like the brunch menus for sundaes and always sounds so nice. And I never make it.

Stefanie:

No, I am not a brunch or

Meredith:

not a brunch or, I love breakfast on vacation.

Stefanie:

Okay.

Meredith:

On vacation. Going and having like a little diner.

Stefanie:

Oh, I love being a good diner.

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

But I can't eat a lot of things so food just does isn't like that. It doesn't, I don't get, doesn't have the,

Meredith:

yeah.

Stefanie:

I think more like to go because it's,

Meredith:

you don't get,

Stefanie:

I have to really like work out the menu.

Meredith:

Yeah. Well they usually have good coffee too.

Stefanie:

They do.

Meredith:

Do you drink coffee still?

Stefanie:

I, yeah. Just one cup a day.

Meredith:

Yeah. That's what I have.

Stefanie:

Like, and I don't do it for the taste, it's just to ward off the headache.

Meredith:

I think I, mine is more of a habit than anything.

Stefanie:

If I don't like, I get a headache.

Meredith:

Yeah. Yeah. So it's headache medicine. Mm-hmm. Pre headache medicine.

Stefanie:

Preventative.

Meredith:

Yeah. That's, I am struggling even worse than I normally am. It's okay. We're gonna make it through. Yeah.

Stefanie:

We got this.

Meredith:

We, we sure do. we are 12 minutes in and eight of that's gonna have to be clipped. Whoops.

Stefanie:

Okay. So Dylan, he sends me like, tiktoks

Meredith:

of course,

Stefanie:

He sends me what he thinks is funny. And most of the time I also think it's funny, but sometimes I'm just like, bro.

Meredith:

Yeah. Yeah.

Stefanie:

This is not funny. Yeah. Um, but Snoop Dogg did country a country song. I don't know if he's doing a whole album, but he did a country song.

Meredith:

Okay. A remake or an original,

Stefanie:

I think it's a, it's an original, I think.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

And I was like, is this a joke? Mm-hmm. Is this. Ai.

Meredith:

Yeah,

Stefanie:

because I'm like, Snoop. You got some explaining to do. Right? I know Beyonce tried it

Meredith:

did not go well in my opinion. Take that out. I don't want Jay-Z to come from me. So what is the name of the song? Do you know?

Stefanie:

Yeah, let me pull up the video. I was just like, Snoop.

Meredith:

No, dude, you're, there's no need

Stefanie:

that bad though. he's got that voice, like, that's close. Yeah. And it's not even that bad.

Meredith:

I watched an interview the other day, just a little clip and they were interviewing Eminem and, and they were talking about how he rhymes and I love how Eminem will like, change the pronunciation of stuff to make it rhyme. And he was like, I get so mad when people say there's nothing that rhymes with orange. I could think of so many things that rhyme with orange. And he was like, door hinge, you know, he was going, I was like, oh. He's a master. Yes, he's an artist.

Stefanie:

He definitely does his thing. Okay,

Meredith:

Oh my gosh. That is funny. I I've heard much worse. I've heard much worse.

Stefanie:

Snoop doing his country thing.

Meredith:

Don't do it though, Snoop. Stick with what you do.

Stefanie:

Listen, I'm almost here for it.

Meredith:

Okay, I'll let, I'll let you enjoy it.

Stefanie:

I would, I would watch the whole video.

Meredith:

Oh, I would definitely watch it, but it would not be on my, um, it wouldn't be on

Stefanie:

my playlist.

Meredith:

No, how many playlists do you have on your phone?

Stefanie:

Too many

Meredith:

do you? So I just separated like some of our Apple IDs, so I'm rebuilding mine right now. I have, tell me some of the names of your playlist. Are they just like normal names

Stefanie:

Hold on. Okay.

Meredith:

Give me a couple.

Stefanie:

Sisters because my sister and I, I keep adding funny stuff.

Meredith:

Uhhuh. Okay. So it's just funny stuff.

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

Or ridiculous stuff.

Stefanie:

And then we have a different playlist that is just songs that we actually both like

Meredith:

Okay. that we add. Or if I find a new song, I think she'll like, I'll

Stefanie:

add it to there. Okay. I have got, um, I hate him.

Meredith:

I have big, big energy. That's one of mine.

Stefanie:

Dylan's a whole, like he just keeps one playlist.

Meredith:

That's so, I, I, I can't do that.

Stefanie:

So he shared it with me. Yeah. And his is called Big Truck Guy and it's got like 2000 songs,

Meredith:

but like, I need Okay. This is my big energy. You'll never guess one. This song just when I need a little pick up.

Stefanie:

on the same playlist, we also have, I Fing Hate You.

Meredith:

Oh yeah.

Stefanie:

There's another,

Meredith:

who was that

Stefanie:

by? Uh, gods. Oh, Godsmack.

Meredith:

There's another one. It's called something Similar. And Jackson was listening to it. I said, this is like the same thing as, I hate everything about You by Ugly Kid Joe Uhhuh. And he was like, who? And I was like, Google it. Yeah.

Stefanie:

But we also have another one that is super funny songs and they're AI songs that are on Spotify.

Meredith:

Random. It's crazy. When my family and I have gone on vacation, we've kind of made a group playlist.

Stefanie:

I've had a road trip playlist for when my sisters and I went

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

Together.

Meredith:

And I like listening to'em now.'cause it's like, I can remember like being at the beach and all of us being on the beach and listening.

Stefanie:

Well it was like all of our club songs. Like when we used to all

Meredith:

Oh yeah. Together. The three of y'all would club at the same time y'all. Well, I didn't know the age difference there was Oh my gosh. I bet y'all were,

Stefanie:

yeah, we had fun.

Meredith:

Oh, no. Zero doubts in my mind that y'all had a good time.

Stefanie:

Was a good time.

Meredith:

I also, you still are, I still, I also have a day back in your prom,

Stefanie:

moody shaker

Meredith:

again. I have zero doubts. And, and that times three for the three of you. I bet y'all were, are a good time.

Stefanie:

The sister that you met mm-hmm. We would go in together and the bouncers would say, oh, double trouble.

Meredith:

Mm-hmm. And you were like, yeah, there's already, there's another one coming or there's already

Stefanie:

no cover charge.

Meredith:

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Sometimes it's so nice to be a girl.

Stefanie:

that was the best bar ever.'cause on Friday, oh wait, so Thursdays was nickel Malibu drinks. Mm-hmm. Midnight and Friday was quarter mixed drinks. And Saturday was dollar beers.

Meredith:

Oh my gosh.

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

I don't know if they do it anymore, but there used to be bars Yeah. Where it'd be like a$20 cover

Stefanie:

mm-hmm.

Meredith:

For everything.

Stefanie:

Mm-hmm.

Meredith:

And you, it's like when you go to an allyou can eat buffet, you get your money's worth.

Stefanie:

Mm-hmm. With alcohol for

Meredith:

Yes. You make sure that you are leaving in the black, not the red.

Stefanie:

Um, So I was scrolling. One, I couldn't sleep.

Meredith:

You just like to scrolly? Scrolly. Scrolly.

Stefanie:

Have you heard of Peep Jousting?

Meredith:

Jousting? Mm-hmm. Uhuh?

Stefanie:

I never had either, but apparently it's this big thing. And they do like brackets of colors of peeps. Like the marshmallow Peeps.

Meredith:

Peeps?

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

Marshmallow chicks.

Meredith:

Yeah, I'm with you now. I'm sorry.

Stefanie:

they put two on a plate.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

At different colors. Mm-hmm. And they stick a toothpick in each of them. And you stick it in a microwave. And as they blow up, whoever gets poked first loses. People do like these whole brackets of like all the colors.

Meredith:

That is hilarious.

Stefanie:

And that's like their traditions. Like on Easter of Peep jousting.

Meredith:

I've never heard of it. One up to it though. I'll be buying all the peeps, making extra special peeps special colors with some food coloring. Jackson had this thing where he used to, um, he had this. Place it in the backyard and it had a slide on it. Mm-hmm. And we would dye the eggs and do the things and then he would roll them down one at a time and we would bet on which one was gonna last the longest. So I can a hundred percent feel this peep jousting.

Stefanie:

I've never heard of it.

Meredith:

Never.

Stefanie:

I was like, what the, somebody was like, if you not heard of Peep Joss, search it now. And I was like, okay. Yes sir. I will search it now.

Meredith:

Yes. That is great. I'm, we're gonna have to do that.

Stefanie:

Do you like peep?

Meredith:

No. How about you?

Stefanie:

I can do like one and then mm-hmm. It is too much. Yeah. But have you ever made, do you like s'mores?

Meredith:

Love'em. Never tried peeps on'em, but I heard that was the, on like the only way to eat'em.

Stefanie:

So Good.

Meredith:

Makes sense.

Stefanie:

but the sugar on the outside

Meredith:

mm-hmm. To get hard.

Stefanie:

No, it gets like a little bit I mean, depending on how long you roasted

Meredith:

forever, can

Stefanie:

you just do'em in the microwave? Yeah. It works perfect.

Meredith:

Yeah. Yeah.

Stefanie:

Or in the air fryer.

Meredith:

I've never done marshmallows in the air fryer.

Stefanie:

Totally do it.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

I love finding new uses for my air fryer.

Stefanie:

Just put down like, um, wax paper. Not wax paper, but parchment paper. Yeah. So, yeah.'cause it gets sticky.

Meredith:

Yeah. I've got some of those liner things that I always, I'm the only one that uses them.

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

I appreciate the other dudes cooking, but I need them to follow up. Yeah. Up

Stefanie:

game.

Meredith:

Yeah, absolutely. Oh my gosh. Peep jousting though. That's cute.

Stefanie:

Right? I also saw s'mores made with like other candies, like, so not just chocolate, but like peanut butter cups or Snickers or whatever.

Meredith:

I'm here for it.

Stefanie:

Yeah. And instead of the graham crackers, like Oreos, I've had it. Don't knock it till you try.

Meredith:

Okay. And don't get me wrong, I love Oreos, don't get me wrong, but there's something about the graham cracker. Because that's, trust me, I'd try it I would try the Oreo any color except for the ones that look like, and I love Mint.

Stefanie:

I do too,

Meredith:

but a mint Oreo. Is it not like toothpaste? No. Okay.

Stefanie:

It's like a Andy's mint,

Meredith:

okay. I was thinking like toothpaste. Mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

So good. You

Meredith:

like mint and chocolate?

Stefanie:

I do. I do

Meredith:

too.

Stefanie:

But again, like I, not too much.

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

Yeah. But I don't turn it down.

Meredith:

That's, that's good that you're, uh, so kind and sensitive to everybody's feelings that you don't want to turn that down.

Stefanie:

No. I'm, I, yeah.

Meredith:

So how do you ever, Totally changed the subject because that's what we do. Have you heard of the Senior Assassin Game?

Stefanie:

Yes. I had never heard of it until I saw something on one of the mom groups.

Meredith:

Yes. It's a thing right now in Clover. So the way that it works,'cause I did not know how it worked, is it's you, there's a buy-in. So you buy your spot and then the, there's a winner and the winner gets the whole pot. So you're assigned a person, and I'm sure it works different in different schools, but you're assigned a person that you have to get within this timeframe. And by get, I mean, squirt'em with the water gun and then somebody is assigned to you. It's not like I have you and you have me. It's like, I have you, you have Dylan, Dylan has Jackson Jack, like it's a big, huge, you don't know who's where, like Yeah,

Stefanie:

but it can't be during school hours,

Meredith:

right? Not on school property. like you can't go to their work or something about their work too. They try to be, mindful of that. Like they can wait for them after their shift ends, but. So I didn't know how this worked when this first started a few weeks ago. I knew it was a thing'cause some friends in Gastonia had played it a couple years ago, and I was like, oh, that's cute. Again, no idea the concept. so I asked Jackson when it first started, I said, Jay, the senior assassin thing. I was like, yeah, it's pretty cool. I said, am I, what do I do? He was like, nothing. I was like, I'm not involved at all. Like, they're not. I was like, they're not gonna come get me. He was like, no, mama, you're not, you're not involved at all. Like, you're not playing. You're not. I said, I'm, I'm safe. He said, yes. Couple of days later, I can't believe I hadn't told you this. I'm on our dirt road. I took Jackson to an early morning workout at school. So I'm, it's like 7:00 AM and I'm on the road and you know, their school doesn't start till nine. And I see a couple young girls on our, our road, in their car. And if there's ever anybody, especially like a young kid that I don't know on our road, that's a dead end, I'm gonna check on'em. so I was like, Hey, are y'all okay? And they're like, yeah, we're playing a game. And I was like, they were like, can you get her? So a senior lives on our road? They're like, can you get her to come out and trying to get me in? Told Jackson. I was like, you said I wasn't involved. You told me I was not involved. It's like, okay, mama, whatever. So last week I get a call from, a mom friend. And she's like can so and so park in your road now he's got her and can he park? And he's trying to get up there to get her. And I'm like, well, yeah, I don't care. And then I'm, I ran into the other mom and,'cause there nobody's supposed to know who has who. And so I ran into the other mom and she was like, do you know who's got her? And I'm like, I don't know. And I'm like, Jackson, you told me I am not involved. But they are having the most fun with this. Like they're hiding in truck beds and like popping out when like first thing in the morning. They're getting kids while they're like walking to their vehicles if they're not in the garage. like. It is, they're having the most fun with this. Yeah.

Stefanie:

So how do they prove it?

Meredith:

So they have to video it. Oh, there's an Instagram page. Okay. And, they, there's two people in charge, a girl and a guy, and they can't participate because they're almost like the game masters or whatever. but they have to send them a video of proof that they got them. So usually there's two people, one person doing the shooting, then the one doing the video, and they have to send it in and then they post it. There's an Instagram for it. Mm-hmm. And they post it all on there and they'll say who's out and who's in. and it was so funny that neighbor, there was a situation the other night where they thought they got the guy, but they, I don't know if they did or they didn't, but they didn't record it. Like it didn't record. It was too dark. And they said, sorry, like, you've got to have the video. If you don't get your person by the deadline of that round, you're out. And they said, we'll just let all of you go forward to the next slide. That's the best we can do. So it's like they are. It's

Stefanie:

like a fish.

Meredith:

It is. So I think there's like under 10 people left. That's it. they have like a purge round where it's just like, I know, I know. It was scary, but it's just so cool. It's so cool.

Stefanie:

That sounds like Oh yeah.

Meredith:

A hundred percent. A hundred percent.

Stefanie:

They made it into a like club song,

Meredith:

Oh yeah.

Stefanie:

And I was like, okay, I can get down with that

Meredith:

and I need that.'cause when did you see the movie?

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

The per, yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah.'cause as soon as I hear that song I'm like, who are we getting?

Stefanie:

Did I tell you this? I was in the car with Dylan. We had a drop as truck off to get something done to it, and we were driving back and I had on my Spotify playlist.

Meredith:

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

It was like a clubby song, but it's like a song that's on TikTok.

Meredith:

Okay. And he's like, mom, what do you think we are like at a rave? And I was like, first of all, what do you know about raves? Right. One, because that was my life. Because I can tell you something about a rave

Stefanie:

and two, like. This is a TikTok song.

Meredith:

Bless you. Oh my gosh. That was the cutest little snee.

Stefanie:

And so as we got to like the chorus, he was like, oh, I do like this song.

Meredith:

Oh, you are my child.

Stefanie:

But he, he is also the same kid and like second grade, third grade came home and he's like, mom gotta listen to this music. And he pulls up YouTube and plays, DJ marshmallow. Oh my God. I'm so scared.

Meredith:

That kid.

Stefanie:

He is my child.

Meredith:

Yes, he is your child. Yes. He is your child. yeah. So I wonder if they'll do that. Did they do that at, Dylan School? Have you heard anything about it?

Stefanie:

Our school's so small.

Meredith:

But it'd still be fun.

Stefanie:

Yeah. I don't, you know, he's like, just not like into the school stuff. Like, I get it. There's no desire to, he's just

Meredith:

ready for the, for what's next. He's

Stefanie:

like, done.

Meredith:

Yeah. I get it. I get it.

Stefanie:

Well, did you, I, this is like kind of gross and like I Okay. I was going like a little dark, but I saw a video on TikTok. Okay. And it was about North Fox Island in Michigan.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

Have you ever heard of this?

Meredith:

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

I have. Never either. But apparently it was a pedophile island and it was owned by a man, his name was Francis Sheldon.

Meredith:

Okay. I do feel like I might have heard this.

Stefanie:

You've never heard of this?

Meredith:

Or maybe I saw a show about it or something,

Stefanie:

it's a documentary apparently on Netflix. And I don't remember what the name of it was, so this dude, his TikTok account is the paranormal files.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

So he wanted to go there and see what was left of the island.

Meredith:

So it is, it is not housing pedophiles currently?

Stefanie:

No. Okay. It was like where they They did bad things there. so this dude wanted to, was trying to go out there, I guess, and just see what was there. Mm-hmm. This is what he does for his YouTube channel. Mm-hmm. Like he goes to all these. Weird Places. So the first, he was supposed to fly out there, like on one of those little planes. And he had hired somebody and the guy canceled twice and he was like, oh, the runway's gonna be muddy. Or,'cause there's like a whole runway there. Like there's a whole place to land planes on this island.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

it was set up for transportation.

Meredith:

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

So the plane canceled twice and he finally got somebody with a boat to take him there.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

There was no mud, there was nothing. Nobody wants to go to this island because it's,

Meredith:

yeah. Yeah.

Stefanie:

and the cabins were all set up, like with bunk beds and all the things. It was gross.

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

so Francis Sheldon, who owned this island apparently caught wind that there was gonna be the raid, and he flew on his private plane from his little runway mm-hmm. This island and went to Amsterdam and was never apprehended. Mm. but there was one person that did get arrested in connection with this ring, and he only served two years, and as soon as he got out, he, assaulted another child. Why is, I know it's getting better now, but I've never understood why you can get more time for selling marijuana mm-hmm. Than you can get for hurting a child. Mm-hmm.

Meredith:

It, it makes zero sense. It makes zero sense. Not even selling marijuana, but just having it on you at the time of, whatever. I don't know. I'm not, I don't know all the rules obviously take all this out. but I don't understand that either. It makes zero sense and especially because studies have shown that when you hurt a child in that way, I. That's a pattern. Yeah. Like that You are so likely to, to do that continuously. Um, it's not like a one and done kind of thing. Yeah. So I don't know why,

Stefanie:

but I was like, this island should be lit on fire.

Meredith:

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

Like everything should be burned.

Meredith:

Did he ever make it to the island? He did. He did by the boat.

Stefanie:

But I mean, like the Yeah. Was like a 32nd blip or whatever. Yeah. But like, it just went into like one of the That

Meredith:

is so disturbing.

Stefanie:

I know. And that is not a job I wanna do is go to like these weird places.

Meredith:

No,

Stefanie:

I mean, give me like a good haunted house.

Meredith:

no. I will say there's so much just like morbid curiosity about different things. Um, like Chernobyl.

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

that explosion is just crazy. If you don't know what it is, just read about it. But seeing pictures of that, there is just a fascination with things that are just terrible sometimes, I guess. Yeah. I'm so dark.

Stefanie:

I don't, nothing with kids. No

Meredith:

kids were off limit. No.

Stefanie:

Um, speaking of a serial killer.

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

How did you like Happy Face.

Meredith:

It was so good,

Stefanie:

right?

Meredith:

Was that it though? Was there more episodes? I think there was only five.

Stefanie:

Yeah, it comes out once a week.

Meredith:

Oh. Well then I got a couple more to catch up on I guess. It was so interesting.

Stefanie:

It's such a good perspective, right?

Meredith:

It is.

Stefanie:

So there was another show a couple of years back called the Prodi Pro Pro Pro

Meredith:

Prodigal

Stefanie:

Pro. Yeah. That's it. I can't say that word.

Meredith:

It's okay. No judgment

Stefanie:

son. Uhhuh. And it was about a serial killer's son. Okay. Who was like this, like genius. And he worked for with

Meredith:

the FB or whoever.

Stefanie:

Yeah. One, one of the agencies. Yeah. And it was really good too,'cause like his dad wanted a connection, you know, have a connection.

Meredith:

Uhhuh, true story. I don't, or not? Or just a TV show. It

Stefanie:

might just be a show.

Meredith:

Okay. Okay.

Stefanie:

But yeah, this is based off of the heavy Facebook.

Meredith:

Yes.

Stefanie:

A true story.

Meredith:

It. Is it, if you haven't watched it and you're into True Crime, watch it because it is such a different spin on just her going back in some of her, so her, his daughter, going back in some of her memories and looking and seeing blood in places or whatever. It's just fascinating.

Stefanie:

Yeah. I thought it was so good.

Meredith:

It was, it really was. I didn't realize, I thought that was it. So I'll have to see how, if there are more episodes that I can binge, it's, yeah,

Stefanie:

see like a, it's not like Netflix where it all drops at the same time.

Meredith:

Yeah. Oh, give it for me. Yeah. Did you watch, Reacher on Prime? It was like that, where it would drop, like, mm-hmm. Yeah. No,

Stefanie:

I don't, I forget on Prime. I don't know why

Meredith:

I get hooked on like one service and then I'm like, oh, well let's go see what's over here. So I, I'm on a Hulu kick lately,

Stefanie:

so I. Bought the year's worth of stars. Yeah. Because I wanted to watch one series, but it was cheaper. It was like$5 more to do the full year. I thought it was based off of a book mm-hmm. That I had read that it was really good. It wasn't, it was something totally different.

Meredith:

They got you with the name, huh?

Stefanie:

I guess. And, it ended up being about like swinger, A swinger couple.

Meredith:

Oh, really?

Stefanie:

Um, and the couple that moved in next door and, you know, the whole dynamic of

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

The couple next door. So I thought it was the book, the couple next door. Yeah. Which was awesome.

Meredith:

Right.

Stefanie:

And

Meredith:

it is not,

Stefanie:

it was way different. Not what I was expecting.

Meredith:

So did you read, the Hunger Games books? Yeah. So they had a new one come out. That was the story of the President Snow. Did you read that?

Stefanie:

No, I haven't read

Meredith:

it. Um, I've got it. You can borrow it if you want to. It was really good. But then they, they just released another one. This is called Sunrise at the Reaping. And I haven't started it yet. I've got it on order, but it's about Hamit. Oh. And his story. I know.

Stefanie:

did you see on. I think it's HBO Max. It's coming out. They're doing a Harry Potter series. Oh yeah. The only reason I saw it is because people are so upset, because Professor Snake, they cast with a black guy.

Meredith:

A lot. Do people get so mad about

Stefanie:

that stuff? Well, I think it's because if you, the books are so descriptive.

Meredith:

Yeah. That's true. That's true. That's true.

Stefanie:

And actually, it was a black guy that did the video that I, I had seen it.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

And he was like, as a millennial.

Meredith:

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

And as a black man.

Meredith:

Yeah.

Stefanie:

I do not, I'm doing this. Yeah.

Meredith:

In the

Stefanie:

book.

Meredith:

Right. He's got the greasy hair and the he's, he

Stefanie:

follows, he's a greasy US black folk. Can't do that.

Meredith:

Speaking of, I don't know. Speaking of what, I don't know, but I went and saw the COE's performance this weekend. I saw your post. Oh my. I will never miss a show again. You couldn't tell who the kids were.'cause the makeup and costumes were so amazing. There were a couple of the kids I could pick out because they were either really tall or I knew like they, what kind of yeah. What kind of hat they had on. But they all looked like ghosts. Mm-hmm. And from where we were sitting up in the nosebleed section, you really, you couldn't identify anyone. It was, I mean, I've seen shows not like Broadway, but, you know, but, you know, I mean, I've been to, you know, Charlotte Cosms and stuff and whatever the Blumenthal and, and amazing. Yeah. I could not believe that many talented kids are in one

Stefanie:

school.

Meredith:

Yeah. They could sing better than I've ever even dreamed. Uh uh, amazing. I will, I, yeah.

Stefanie:

Listen, I can give a, on a road trip, right? You don't wanna miss this concert.

Meredith:

No. And if there's a song that's two part and I've got my partner in there singing with me.

Stefanie:

Yes.

Meredith:

Anyway. Yeah. Those kids are, when we go on

Stefanie:

tour, we're gonna have to do karaoke.

Meredith:

Okay. But, I can't wait to see him again. I'm not gonna lie. Like, it was amazing. So I,

Stefanie:

and every year I've heard the same thing. I've never,

Meredith:

I was, I was blown away.

Stefanie:

I, when I subbed, we,

Meredith:

yeah,

Stefanie:

we went with the class trip

Meredith:

Yeah. To see him.

Stefanie:

It was just like a, an hour of

Meredith:

like singing Christmas girls or something. Amazing. When I'm telling you like, they're standing on the risers. Okay. That in itself, like, I'd probably fall now, but they're like dancing and doing the things and you know, you and I know they trout for this and I know that it's like, it's, it's a huge deal for them to be a part of this. But they are all into it. Like, you know, it's not like the dudes are sitting there. They're sitting, yeah. Yeah. The dudes aren't like doing like the little whatever. The dudes are like jazz hands and they're all, and I blown away.

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

Blown away.

Stefanie:

I just, I saw a video not like, a couple weeks ago of Dylan when he was in kindergarten at like, they were little. Whatever, like

Meredith:

spring performance, whatever.

Stefanie:

It was one of his little friends at the time, I still friends with the mom, but like they were, but neither of them had the attention span to do what they were supposed to be doing on stage. And they were supposed to be like doey ding or something. I don't know what they were supposed to be doing, but neither. But they were like,

Meredith:

they did not doey Doy dough. Aw.

Stefanie:

It was like, they went like, wherever not supposed to go. Oh

Meredith:

my gosh. That's adorable. Oh, adorable.

Stefanie:

Um, would you like to do, am I the A?

Meredith:

Mm-hmm. Okay. Okay. Am I the a-hole for telling my mother-in-law to stop rolling up to my crib like she pay bills.

Stefanie:

I just like the title

Meredith:

I do too. I 27 Female live with my fiance, 31 Male. We got our own spot. Chill Vibes Grown folks. Only Life was cruising smooth until his mama started acting like she's on the lease. This person's hilarious. I like it. She got a key big mistake. I know. And she began popping up unannounced like it's a damn drive through. I'll be in a hoodie bonnet minding my business, and here she comes, swinging the door open like it's her house. She dead ass. Start reorg. Mm she dead ass. Start reorganizing my kitchen. Talk about this is how I would do it. And once had the audacity to say my couch gave cheap influencer energy. Like, girl, it's West Elm, not Craigslist.

Stefanie:

Oh,

Meredith:

I told my man to check her and he hit me with the weak ass. That's just how she is. Naham. That ain't gonna fly. So last week she pulled up again while I was on a work call, started cleaning out my fridge while I was talking to my boss and I hit my limits. I told her straight up, this ain't your spot. You don't pay rent, you don't pay utilities, and you sure as hell don't run nothing here. So if you're gonna keep popping up, start sending Venmo. She looked, shook, packed up her purse and dipped. Now she's telling the whole fam, I disrespected her in her son's house, LMAO, our house, ma'am. And his sister texted me saying I got too much mouth fiance stuck in the middle, but low-key agrees because she doing too much. So for real, was that out of pocket or was it time somebody told her This ain't motel six. Am I the A-hole or nah, nah, nah, I like the way she wrote the story though. It's funny.

Stefanie:

I do too.

Meredith:

No, I can't imagine my, so my in-laws are very. Respectful of our space, even when we live beside each other. And they travel a lot too, but there was like a football size field between the two of us. They were never like peeking in our windows, like, Hey, what are you doing? Like, they were always waiting for an invitation and to the point where we would just like go up to their house. Like, come on, hang out with us. Um, so Hi. That just gives total bad No poor girl. yeah. You did the right thing.

Stefanie:

Yes. Agree.

Meredith:

I mean, you're an almost 30-year-old woman with the

Stefanie:

fiance should have handled that.

Meredith:

He should have. He should have.

Stefanie:

Like, she shouldn't not have had to handle that.

Meredith:

No. But men are so terrible at that, like trying to stand up to their moms when they are.

Stefanie:

Yeah. But like

Meredith:

I know, I, I know.

Stefanie:

Yeah,

Meredith:

I know. But they're terrible at it. And Jackson, don't you even get any ideas'cause you're not going to be standing up. To me, it's the end of the story,

Stefanie:

Dylan YouTube.

Meredith:

Right.

Stefanie:

I just don't feel like I would do that. Like, I think I would try to be very respectful.

Meredith:

I would think so too.

Stefanie:

I don't wanna organize my own shit.

Meredith:

Right.

Stefanie:

Like why I

Meredith:

hate cleaning up my own fridge, clean up my fridge when there's a smell and I gotta get to the bottom of it.

Stefanie:

I don't want, I wanna do my own things. I'm not go to somebody else's

Meredith:

makes make clean up somebody else's stuff. Well, mine's a mess.

Stefanie:

My a DD is so bad. I don't notice other people's stuff. Like, you do not have to worry about me coming to your house and like worrying about putting stuff up. Yeah. I'll not notice it. I promise you.

Meredith:

Yeah. I'm just glad that I'm not staring at my stuff all over the place anymore,

Stefanie:

be honest to God. Do not. Yeah. Like I'm so not perceptive. I would be the worst witness in a crime

Meredith:

I probably would be too. Or I think we'd probably noticed the most random things. Yes. Like did were, did you see The Murderer? No. But can you believe that, you know, red Hot Chili Pepper song was on. That sounds like something we would, don't you remember what's the name of that song? Like we would all those things would start happening. Pretty much. Pretty much. Yeah. Not paying attention. Circle back, circle back.

Stefanie:

Be the worst witness. Yeah. I said this to something not too long ago. I'm like, I am so not perceptive of my surroundings. Me

Meredith:

neither. I'm very organized and like detail oriented where I have things where I want them, but when I'm looking at everybody else's stuff, like I honestly, like I couldn't even tell you what's over there other than I saw some chocolate and I mean, hello.

Stefanie:

I have like a legit, like

Meredith:

anything. No, no.

Stefanie:

At a grocery store. I'm like, I am like, I, I couldn't tell you what I saw when I walked out. I could not tell you nothing.

Meredith:

Yeah. Don't, don't ask us to be a witness to something.'cause we won't remember it unless you want witnesses that don't remember anything and then that should be us.

Stefanie:

Well,

Meredith:

I mean, sometimes you'd be wanting that. People that don't pay attention,

Stefanie:

I don't remember.

Meredith:

Yes. I can honestly say I don't.

Stefanie:

Yes, that. What do you mean on stand? I don't remember. I

Meredith:

don't remember. I don't remember. Don't I'm, I just, I don't, I don't remember. Mm-hmm. What are we talking about? Oh,

Stefanie:

well, we, um, are not doing a book this week again. Okay.

Meredith:

Yeah. No book this week. So if you're not a bookie, you're Yeah. Stay because there's no book and you have no reason to leave, so Ha ha.

Stefanie:

You're in, you're in it for long haul people.

Meredith:

Yep.

Stefanie:

Um, we are doing a another crime story missing person.

Meredith:

Yes. So this is another one. Local to, um, Charlotte. His name is Kyle Fleischman.

Stefanie:

I'm so glad that you said that last name. Mm-hmm. Butchered it.

Meredith:

Yeah. Um, do we wanna jump into this? Okay. So this has haunted the Charlotte North Carolina community for years, and again, it's the disappearance of Kyle Fleischman. So it remains unsolved to this day, and his family has never given up on finding answers.

Stefanie:

So Kyle was 24 years old, recruitment executive living in Charlotte on the night of November 9th, which is only three days after Dylan's birthday, like the day he was born. Like

Meredith:

his little birthday. Yep. Yeah.

Stefanie:

Like his, his birth birthday. so on the night of November 9th, 2007, Kyle went out with some friends to attend Dane Cook Comedy Show, and afterward they went to Buckhead Saloon, A popular Uptown bar.

Meredith:

Exactly.

Stefanie:

Have you been to that bar?

Meredith:

I have.

Stefanie:

I've never,

Meredith:

I have, yeah, that's, and it, I remember going, so I probably went. A couple years after. Yeah. It's crazy. Crazy vibe. Crazy vibe. Just knowing that, I mean, the place was fine, but yeah so after a night of drinking, Kyle was last seen, leaving the bar alone at around 2:20 AM surveillance footage shows him exiting, but he wasn't wearing a coat and it was chilly out. It's the last known footage of him. And after that, there's nothing.

Stefanie:

And what makes it even more mysterious is that Kyle made several short calls to his friends and family between 2:42 AM and 3:28 AM but none of them were answered. His phone activity was still active around 4:00 AM but no one knows what happened to him after that.

Meredith:

Those short calls get me.

Stefanie:

Yeah,

Meredith:

there's some theories on those.

Stefanie:

Yes.

Meredith:

so one of the key moments in the case is the taxi driver's account. This, this taxi driver saw a man matching Kyle's description walking alone on North Davidson Street, and that was about a 10 minute walk from the bar,

Stefanie:

right? And he appeared disoriented, walking without a coat. The taxi driver said he didn't seem to be in any immediate distress, but after that sighting, Kyle seemed to just disappear. That's where the mystery really deepens.

Meredith:

And remember, this was early in the hours of the morning in uptown Charlotte, an area that's usually pretty busy, but no one seems to have noticed him, is like he vanished without a trace.

Stefanie:

So the investigation got underway and one of the first things they looked at was Kyle's cell phone records. They tracked the last calls, and his phone was still in the uptown area during his final calls, but when they checked the footage from the bar and the surrounding area. There were no more sightings after that brief moment.

Meredith:

Mm-hmm. And it's just not the cell phone activity that they were analyzing. But tracking dogs were also used to try to locate Kyle's scent. Um, the dogs followed it for several blocks and it led them to a construction site near North Davidson and 16th Streets.

Stefanie:

That's where it gets real eerie. The scent stopped there, which led the, LED some to believe that Kyle might have wandered into the construction site and somehow ended up hidden there. But no concrete, no pun intended. Yeah. Evidence was ever found.

Meredith:

And then it gets even more interesting because there's several theories about what could have happened to Kyle that night. The first one is. The idea that Kyle met with an accidental death.

Stefanie:

Yeah. Some people believe that he might have wandered into the construction site while intoxicated and fallen, possibly fatally. Since the site was still being developed, it's possible his body was accidentally covered up, making it a difficult find.

Meredith:

Uh uh. I mean, I get that. Yeah, I really get that. It's a plausible theory, but then also others believe that foul play was involved. Kyle was alone, intoxicated, and in a vulnerable state. Some believe he could have been targeted by someone who took advantage of a situation, maybe even robbed or assaulted him.

Stefanie:

There's also the theory of a coverup. Something that people working at or near the construction site might have known more than they're letting on. Maybe they're covering something up to protect themselves, but with no real proof. The theory remains just speculation.

Meredith:

But the one thing that hasn't stopped is the search for Kyle, his family, especially his father. Dick Fleischman has never stopped looking for answers. Dick believes Kyle was murdered and that his body somewhere in that construction site. Oh

Stefanie:

yeah. It's been over a decade since Kyle disappeared and. Mm, so 17 years. Yeah. And, um, sorry, I was just thinking of diligence. Yes. Yeah. Uh, and his family is still holds out hope that some kind of closure will happen. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has kept the case open, but the lack of evidence has made it difficult to make any real progress.

Meredith:

So there's still a$50,000 reward for information leading to Kyle's whereabouts, and his family just continues to appeal to the public for any leads that could help solve the case.

Stefanie:

So what really happened to Kyle? Did he suffer in an unfortunate accident that night, or was he a victim of something far darker? The back remains that no one really knows. All that is certain is that Kyle's family deserves answers and Kyle deserves justice.

Meredith:

So if you happen to have any information on the case, just contact Crime Stoppers. 7 0 4 3 3 4 1600 and the reward still stands.

Stefanie:

So doesn't this also remember, like not too long ago, I think a year ago, there was, the guy that went missing in Nashville.

Meredith:

Okay.

Stefanie:

by the river, and they think it could have been a,

Meredith:

yeah. Yeah.

Stefanie:

So this sounds like

Meredith:

there was another guy in Ohio. I was listening to one of the podcasts that, we had shared back and forth, I think, I think on this. and there was a, the podcast missing in the Carolinas that we talked about. There's one on Kyle Fleischman that I'd listened to, and she also talks about a dude in, in Ohio, same set of circumstances. This is so crazy to me. This is, I mean, I, it was always interesting to me before, because Charlotte been to some of these places, et cetera, but. Those short calls get me every time. Yeah. So what I gathered was those calls are, were something that he was just, let me see, let me, how, how did he phrase it? Trying to get somebody or leave a message somewhere.'cause one of'em was his dad's work number and it was the middle of the night. His dad's like an accountant. He knew he was not gonna be there. But he was trying to get somewhere where he could leave a number or I'm sorry, leave a message. Or it was something where now again, 2007 phones are different. Um, was it like a speed dial number that he was just trying, you know, to get mm-hmm. Like pound one or whatever you did back then to try to, I don't even remember. My bail put me through.

Stefanie:

I didn't speed dial.

Meredith:

I didn't either because those three people that I wanted to talk to, I knew their numbers couldn't remember now, but

Stefanie:

we actually knew numbers.

Meredith:

Right. the other thing I heard is, did you hear the part about the pizza place,

Stefanie:

Uhhuh f Empire Pizza?

Meredith:

Yeah. Which I love.

Stefanie:

I

Meredith:

only

Stefanie:

been like once before I became gluten free.

Meredith:

I feel like I've talked about food tonight and you're just like, yeah, I don't know. I don't food. I'm just kidding. Um, but yeah, so he went to the pizza place, but he had forgotten his wallet at the bar. Oh. So I'm, yes, yes. So I'm thinking, okay, so why are we saying we're robbing him when his stuff was at the bar?

Stefanie:

Yeah.

Meredith:

Um, but he went to the Empire Pizza, tried to get some pizza, didn't have the money. He tried calling the bar and like, Hey, I'm coming right back to get my ID or what, or whatever the card.'cause he had a tab, whatever it is. I don't know. Um, his pesos, sorry that was wrong. Um,

Stefanie:

again,

Meredith:

his rupe were at the bar. Um, so anyway, he tried calling them, nobody picked up and he was like, I'm just gonna walk back and get it. And, but no video of that. Not confirmed other than eyewitness stories, but I mean. Yeah.

Stefanie:

So I think like now I feel like everything, there's like surveillance everywhere.

Meredith:

Everywhere. Yeah. And if

Stefanie:

you watch like SVU

Meredith:

mm-hmm.

Stefanie:

Like they can track it block by block, by block. It's

Meredith:

crazy.

Stefanie:

But I feel like, and maybe it is more like sophisticated in Charlotte, like there's like none of that here. No,

Meredith:

no. Like there's not,

Stefanie:

do you have doorbells? Maybe. And

Meredith:

if they're connected, you happen to, they were Right. If maybe, if, I know there's not a lot of,

Stefanie:

yeah. But they didn't have all that surveillance back then? No,

Meredith:

they didn't. I also heard that his parents truly believed that he's in that construction site somewhere. Yeah. First somehow, whether it be, I. His own stumbled and fell and whatever, or foul play that, that's where he is. Yeah. Well, yeah, but I don't think that What, so what do you think happened?

Stefanie:

It just really like reminded me of the

Meredith:

Nashville one. Mm-hmm. Or

Stefanie:

the dude, the young guy. Yeah. Disappeared. Yeah. Like out of thin air.

Meredith:

I just don't think this is a case of them wanting to, just him wanting to just up and leave his life.

Stefanie:

No,

Meredith:

this did not seem like that. I did not get that vibe between his job and his, he bought the, condo and the good things in his life. I, this just didn't seem like he was just up and leaving. No, I

Stefanie:

don't believe that at all. Um, and you know, he was out with his friends at night, right? They went home earlier, but Right. He decided to hang out or whatever, but I 100% don't believe.

Meredith:

Right. It

Stefanie:

was an up and leave situation.

Meredith:

Yeah. So

Stefanie:

if you guys happen to know anything

Meredith:

Yep. Would love for them to, uh, get some kind of. Definite answers. Mm-hmm. Just to be able to have that. Alright, well I think that does it for today. Oh. Are we reading anything next week? Do we want to?

Stefanie:

We should,

Meredith:

should we? I'm gonna read again. Okay. You wanna do whatever's next? do we wanna skip to l, the Lake of Lost Girls. By Catherine Green. Okay. Link of the Lost Girl.

Stefanie:

Yep. All right. Borrow.

Meredith:

Borrow.

Stefanie:

All right. So the blurb told in alternating timelines, the Lake of Lost Girls.

Meredith:

Oh, great. Here we go. No, I'm just kidding. Sorry.

Stefanie:

What did I do?

Meredith:

No, the alternating timelines get me sometimes

Stefanie:

The Lake of Lost Girls is a haunting novel that will thrill fans of all good people here. And we are all the same in the dark. Actually, we both liked all good people here. I think

Meredith:

we, we did,

Stefanie:

yeah. using Suspenseful podcast clips to weave a twisty tail of missing student and her sister, who is desperate for answers, the Lake of Lost Girls is perfect for fans of, I have some questions for you. In 1998, the female students are going missing in Southern State University in North Carolina, but freshman, Jessica Faley, once a bright and responsible student is going through her own struggles, just as her life seems to be careening, dangerously out of control, she suddenly disappears. 24 years later, Jessica's sister Lindsay is desperately searching for answers and uses the momentum of a new chart topping True Crime podcast.

Meredith:

It's us. This is real life

Stefanie:

hot twist. is desperately searching for answers and uses the momentum of a new chart topping True Crime podcast. This is my circus, to focus on cold cases to guide her own investigation. Soon interest reaches fever pitch when the bodies of long missing women begin turning up in the local lake, which leaves Lindsay down a disturbing road of discovery. In the present. One sister searches to untangle a complicated web of lies in the past. The other diss descends ever deeper into the darkness that will lead to her ultimate fate. The propulsive and chilling suspense is a sharp examination of sisterhood and culture of true crime. It sounds good.

Meredith:

Sounds really good. I've got high hopes.

Stefanie:

I do too. Let's not disappoint us.

Meredith:

Right, right. Okay, cool.

Stefanie:

Alright, well we appreciate you guys listening. Thank you friend. We love you. Uh, like listen and give us a faster review.

Meredith:

Please love you. Bye.

Stefanie:

Love you. Bye.

Meredith:

It was nice.

Stefanie:

I try.

Alright, that wraps up another episode of, this is My Circus. If you survive this episode and somehow still like us, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, share it with your friends, or just send us caffeine. And don't forget, you can join our VIP circus crew for the full video version of each episode. Also exclusive bonus content, access to merch, and so much more Until next time, keep the drink strong. The book's coming, and the kids only mildly Ferrell because this is our circus and these are our monkeys. Love ya.