It is interesting to see this kind of scenario from an reporter’s stand point. However, I think in the case of someone’s death, you are particularly duty-bound to make sure you know the name of the deceased. Your introduction is a bit of a cop-out (“I don’t remember” their names). Preferably, you would link to the original article you reported on, or try to find out her name. It bothered me at first, but here, in this spot, it really got to me. “The dead girl” is a pretty sad thing to call someone who had her life stolen from her by drugs, dependency, and abuse. Also, not naming people or linking to any news story makes it so that this could possibly be read as fiction. Best to tie it to something concrete and factual if it is a true story. Otherwise, I enjoy true crime-ish writing, and think this has that kind of potential.
The dead girl
The Money Matters
Nan Zhong
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