Hidden Bodies

Joe scans Facebook on the flight to California because he thinks friends will be useful as camouflage. He talks online with his first Facebook friend, Calvin, who works at a used bookstore next to the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater. His second friend is a man named Harvey Swallows. Harvey manages the apartment where Joe applies for housing.

On the flight, Joe writes a casting call and posts it on Craigslist, which he believes Amy will see. He has dozens of responses within minutes, but none are from Amy.

He decides to tell people he’s a writer working on a script called Kev & Mindy Forever, which is a loose adaptation of his story with Amy. He accepts a friend request from Winston Barrel, whom he doesn’t know. The plane descends and Joe is excited about the coming hunt.

Joe goes to his apartment and meets Harvey. He also meets Dez, a low-level drug dealer and tenant who tells him not to sleep with a woman named Delilah. While Joe is settling into his apartment, Delilah comes in to use a blender. He introduces himself as Joe Goldberg after listening to her rant and gossip about their neighbors, local restaurants, and various celebrity sightings. Her real name is Melanie Crane. She fell in love with a married man at the New York Times and, subsequently, no longer works in journalism.

Joe gives Delilah his number and she shows him lyrics from a Journey song—“Don’t Stop Believing”—tattooed on her inner thigh. He compares her to Amy. He believes that Delilah tries so hard because she is not beautiful enough to actually be beautiful.

Joe goes to a grocery store called The Pantry. He likes the music playlist in the store, whose aisles all have quirky names. Delilah texts him six invites to different events. Then she texts HAVE FUN WITH CALVIN, because she is online friends with him. Joe sees the actor, Adam Scott, his first celebrity sighting. He downloads Twitter and Instagram when he sees everyone taking pictures of the actor. Joshua Jackson from Dawson’s Creek is also there. When Joe checks their profiles on Twitter, people from the store are tweeting about them.

He makes small talk with the cashier, Stevie, and describes Amy to him. Stevie says she was there three days ago. They exchange numbers in case they need to be in touch. Joe then goes to the UCB theater where Amy’s improv class will be held. However, on Facebook, he sees that someone has commented about “Off-the-grid” (60) Amy dropping the class. Joe then goes to a bar called Birds, a place where Delilah parties. He sees Amy’s picture on the Wall of Shame. The bartender, Deana, tells him that Amy skipped out on her bill. A man named Akim overhears their conversation, introduces himself, and says that Amy is still allowed at a bar called La Poubelle. Joe goes there and waits.

A month later, Joe still hasn’t found Amy. People tell him to look on Tinder. He hates LA, misses the anonymity of feeling invisible in New York, and thinks he is getting fat. Disappointingly, Calvin is better and more tolerable online than in real life. He watches movies during his shifts at the bookstore, is constantly stoned, and bombards Joe with ideas about a script he’s working for a show called Ghost Food Truck. Joe gets so desperate for someone else’s company that he signs up for Tinder, where he meets a girl named Gwen. After their date, they have sex at Gwen’s apartment. In the morning, Joe wakes to a text from Calvin, informing him that a girl with Portnoy’s Complaint is there at the store. Joe leaves in a Lyft.