by Winnie Reed
“You’re the moderator, so you’ll lead the discussion.” Becca glanced up at her camera, meeting my gaze but not really. It was eerie, looking into somebody’s eyes but not really since they were a mile away in their own apartment.
“You think so?”
“You’ve run book club meetings before. Haven’t you? I thought you did, before I came to work at the store. You used to sometimes hold the meetings at your mom’s house.”
I snickered, remembering those meetings. “You know what that was like? Ever try herding cats? Especially cats who expected to hang out with their friends at a meeting and do nothing but drink wine and eat finger foods?”
“So everybody got buzzed and wanted to talk about everything else but the book, you mean.”
“I don’t know if half of them even read the stinking book.” I sighed, shrugging, but I had to laugh. “Anyway, it had its moments. There was one time where my sister got a little tipsy thanks to me handing her sangria like it was going out of style. I’m not always the best influence, I guess.”
It was closing in on eight o’clock, and attendees started to join our meeting room right on schedule, while I chatted with Becca in a separate “breakout” room for only the two of us. Becca had added everybody’s email addresses to our mailing list when they’d expressed interest, then sent out the link for them to use.
Funny. There I was for so long, resisting the idea of having anybody help me at the store. Now, Becca was handling things right and left. I didn’t know she’d even started a new email list—there’d been a time when I’d been dead set on building one, but the idea had melted away in the face of so many other things to be done.
It felt good, not having to do everything by myself after so long. A little strange, a little disorienting, but that was only because my thoughts had been running in so many different directions over the past several weeks. First, it had been the locket. Then, the diary pages in the bottle that had washed up onshore. Now it was Jane’s attacker threatening me.
If it hadn’t been for Becca, I doubted I’d have it in me to do much more than keep the lights on at the store and ring up purchases. I made a resolution to be more actively involved in her efforts, or to at least keep track of what she was doing so I wouldn’t feel like a complete slacker.
“Hey, everybody!” I waved to so many familiar faces. Breanna was there, sipping what looked like lemon water out of a big bottle. Mom was there, though her camera wasn’t on—I wasn’t sure she even knew how to use it, and if she did, she probably would’ve ended up getting some weird background stuck in place behind her. And then the entire meeting would’ve been about her weird background.
I saw Trixie’s name, and Nell’s. Their cameras were also off, but I could hear them having a murmured side conversation, because of course they would do that.
Seeing Holly made me smile, though at the same time I wondered how Mom would take seeing her. Granted, Dad’s relationship with Holly was nothing new, and it wasn’t like they’d been sneaking around together before the divorce or anything like that. But she was a lot younger than Mom and had given him a baby, on top of that.
Georgie was seated on Holly’s lap, and my smile widened when I saw him. “Hiya, big guy!” I then remembered everybody else in the meeting, which had now grown to a crowd of twenty. “Sorry, everyone. I can’t resist those chubby cheeks.” I wanted so badly to pinch them, then kiss them a hundred times.
I wasn’t the only one. A chorus of high-pitched voices rang out, praising Georgie just for the simple act of being alive and being adorable. I even heard Mom’s voice in the mix, saying hello to him and to Holly. She managed to sound warm, even.
Wonders never ceased. Then again, she was still in baby heaven over Emma, so there was no room for bitterness.
“And how’s my grandpuppy?” That was Mom, who could see me even if I couldn’t see her. I turned my face away from the camera so nobody would see my eyes rolling, picked Lola up from her little bed by my feet and held her up for everybody to see. This resulted in another chorus of admiration.
So far, things were going pretty much the way I’d expected.
Becca was the one who steered us away from showing off babies and animals. “So, did everybody have the chance to read the book? I’m so glad this is part of a planned series. The author is so good at planting little twists here and there that you never see coming—at least, I didn’t. What about you? Did you see anything coming in advance?”
I could’ve kissed her. Note to self. Give Becca a raise.
The ladies chatted about the book’s various twists and turns, gasping and praising the book’s plot and characters. It was a thriller about a woman on the run from her wealthy, powerful employer after she’d accidentally witnessed a murder after hours.
Sheer coincidence, the plot being somewhat reminiscent of my current situation. I tried to ignore that as we talked about it. I could hardly believe how on-topic everybody was. I even found myself surprised by some of the insightful comments.
Becca sent me a message. This is going great!
Thanks to you. I added several smiley faces. You’re the best.
When I turned my attention back to our meeting room, my eyes happened to drift over to the list of participants. There were no surprises, at least at first. I recognized most of the names and a sense of pride washed over me. These were my customers, my friends. They were doing this because they wanted to show their support and have a good time.
All but one, anyway.
Ice flooded my veins and froze them solid when the name JaneBrooksPCNews caught my attention. It hit me like a punch in the stomach, stealing my breath.
He was there. In my meeting. Whoever he was, he was watching and listening.
My chest was too tight to draw air. My friends and family chatted happily while Becca, my trusted assistant and friend, made sure things didn’t do too far off course.
While I might as well have been on another planet. Their conversation faded, like I was now in the next room and could only hear mumbled speaking. My heart pounded too hard for me to hear anything else.
I couldn’t even speak. Not with my tongue frozen as solid as the rest of me.
Don’t let them see. That thought flashed across my consciousness, louder and stronger than the panic. Not only could I not let Mom see, I couldn’t let him see. I didn’t want him to know what his presence did to me. He must’ve turned off both the camera and microphone, but he could still see and hear me. He could still watch and observe my reaction.
He could still enjoy this little cat-and-mouse game.
I texted Becca. Did Jane Brooks come into the store and sign up for the email list?
It took her a moment to get back to me. I waited, tapping my fingers while taking slow, measured breaths and struggling for all I was worth to maintain a neutral expression. Finally, a message came through. I have no idea. She never introduced herself to me, if she did. Who’s Jane Brooks?
Had I not mentioned her name? I couldn’t remember. Then again, I might have, but Becca could’ve forgotten. She had no reason to remember. Nobody was stalking her.
Becca sent another message. We had a few unfamiliar people come into the store this week and sign up for the list. I remember a couple of them coming in this afternoon. I sent out the link to the meeting from the store before closing up.
So whoever he was, he might’ve come in when I wasn’t there. He might’ve been looking for me.
“Where’s Darcy?” Since I hadn’t said anything in a while, my image had gotten pushed way down under everybody who was actually chatting. Leave it to Mom to point this out.
I had to keep it together. I just had to. No way was I about to give this creep the satisfaction of seeing me sweat. “I’m here.” I forced a smile. “Sorry to deprive you of my face.”
There had to be something I could do. Georgie was there, and Holly. Mom, my aunties. I didn’t want this guy to know who they were or what they meant to me. I had to get
him out of the meeting before anybody slipped up without knowing they were doing it.
Another message to Becca. I’m not feeling so good. I had lunch at a new place today and I don’t think the food’s reacting well now. Was it the most charming excuse? No. But it was all I could come up with. Do you think you can handle this without me? I’m so sorry for putting you in this position.
She got back to me right away this time, after asking another question to get everybody talking. Sure thing. Take care of yourself.
My hands were shaking almost violently, but I managed to send one last message. Don’t announce to anybody that I’ve left. Not yet. Give it a few minutes, okay? I’ll explain why tomorrow.
Then, I set up another breakout room, and I invited JaneBrooksPCNews to join. If they were in the room with me, they couldn’t hear anything happening in the main book club room and vice versa. I would remove them from the room permanently after that.
I could’ve done that right away. I knew it. I could’ve kicked them out without saying a word or letting them know I was onto them.
Somehow, it would’ve felt like running and hiding. Something in me wouldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let this sicko have the upper hand, even in his own twisted mind.
He accepted the request to join me in the breakout room, which relieved and terrified me all at once. This time, the camera and microphone were both on, though there was still little more than darkness on his side of things. I could barely make out what looked like shelving on the wall in front of the camera, and that was it.
“I know you’re there. Why don’t you show yourself, you coward?” Wow, who did I think I was all of a sudden? Dirty Harry—or, rather, Harriet? Next, I’d tell him to go ahead and make my day.
There was a dry chuckle on the other end. It was sinister, even more so because I couldn’t see the face of the person making the sound. “Aren’t you courageous?”
“I can’t say the same for you. First, you attack an unarmed woman when she’s all alone and there’s nobody to help her. Now, you’re doing this. What do you want from me? Why won’t you leave me alone?”
“You are a loose end. I don’t like loose ends.”
A chill ran down my spine, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through. “Then why don’t you just come for me? If you know enough about me to find my book club meeting, you must know how to do your research. You must know where to find me.”
“I have my ways.” Another chuckle. Now that I’d heard enough of this raspy whispering which I knew was an attempt to hide his real voice, I was one hundred percent sure this was a man—there had always been a chance the attacker was female, and even when I thought of him as a man I’d tried hard to keep an open mind.
No need for that anymore. This was a man, and he might tell me more than he intended to so long as I kept him talking.
“But you won’t follow up, will you? Because you’re a coward. Admit it. You would rather sit behind a laptop that doesn’t even belong to you and threaten me than come right out and confront me face to face. You don’t have the guts.”
The image jerked like he jostled the laptop. Suddenly, something else filled the screen. A dark figure, most of the face covered by a bandanna. He wore a ball cap, hiding his hair, casting an impenetrable shadow over his eyes. “You of all people should know better than to test me.” There was bitterness in that put-on, raspy whisper. His breathing was fast, sharp. I was getting to him.
I had made it a point to keep most of the lights in the living room turned off for the meeting. Nobody wanted to see a bright glare in the background during a video chat.
The problem was, the only light in this guy’s room was coming from the screen, meaning the lack of lighting in my apartment made it harder to see him. If I brightened things up, I might be able to see more of him, his surroundings. And I might be able to get a picture from my phone, so long as I kept the camera out of sight.
The closest lamp was just to my left, on the end table beside the sofa. I had to move quickly, before he knew what I was doing. With the phone in my right hand, camera app ready to go, I reached out and flipped the lamp on. Before he had the chance to react, I snapped a few photos.
He pushed back from the computer, and I took a few more shots in hopes of getting a look at the room around him now that he didn’t fill up so much of the screen. Meanwhile, I leaned in, staring straight at the camera. “Let me put it this way. If you do decide to come for me, you will be inviting a whole world of hurt. You have no idea who I have in my corner—but please, by all means, find out for yourself. You might have gotten away with what you did to Jane, but that’s where this stops. Got me?”
A grunt. A muttered curse. The camera shook again, this time because he slammed the laptop shut.
I sank back, shaking, the fight drained out of me. It was probably a good thing he ended the call when he did, or else I might not have been able to keep my tough guy act going.
My phone buzzed, and I jumped violently enough to send the computer tumbling from my lap. Lola jumped out of the way, startled, and I apologized to her as I bent to pick the machine up off the floor. It was in one piece, working fine. A lucky break.
It was only Ethan who’d texted. His timing was impeccable as always. I want to talk to you. That was all it said, but then he was never one for using more words than necessary to get his point across.
“I’m sorry, Ethan.” I set the phone aside, shaking my head. “I don’t think I have it in me to deal with you right now.” I had more than enough on my plate as it was.
I grabbed a bright yellow sticky note and slapped it over the camera at the top of my monitor. I felt safer that way, somehow.
Chapter Thirteen
“You poor sweetheart. How is your tummy feeling?”
I was prepared for this. I knew Mom would pester Becca about why I jumped off the meeting when I did, hence my having given Becca a reason for it in the first place. If Mom hadn’t gotten a sufficient answer, she would’ve turned her curiosity onto me. I was in no position to handle my mother after smack-talking a stalker.
I held up a hand and waved it back and forth. “So-so. I don’t think it was the food, though. I think maybe I was just nervous about the first book club meeting.”
Mom clicked her tongue as she went about mixing brownie batter. The aroma of chocolate hung in the air and made my stomach growl. If I wasn’t supposed to be nursing an upset digestive system, I would’ve grabbed something to munch on. “You had nothing to be nervous about! Everyone had a great time.”
“I’m glad they did. It really was nice. Becca is such a treasure for putting that together.”
“You struck gold when you found her. Make sure she knows you appreciate all her work.” She cast a pointed look my way. “You wouldn’t want to lose her.”
I gave her a little salute. She wouldn’t let me touch any of the food just in case I was nursing a bug—really, it could be so challenging sometimes, keeping track of little white lies and how they affected day-to-day life—so all I could do was watch her in action while Lola zoomed back and forth across the floor. Good thing she didn’t shed.
“You’ll have to pick the book for next month’s meeting. Becca said the two of you hadn’t come up with a definite choice as of last night, but she would be sending an email soon with the title.”
I ran a distracted hand over my head. Maybe I was checking to make sure the top of it hadn’t blown off at some point. There were just so many plates I had to keep spinning all at once. “Right, sure. I’ll have to talk to her about that.”
Really, what I would have to do was look over the email list. I had already made a mental note to check it out that morning when Becca and I were together. I wanted to see exactly who had signed up and when they’d done it. I knew she added addresses manually when customers came in and expressed interest in receiving our newsletter. I wanted to know which day she’d added Jane’s.
Though would they have used Jane’s email? Or would it
be some random address? Either way, I would know, since there were ways of telling who had opened the email with the link to the meeting. That would narrow down my list of potential suspects. I wondered if I could tell who had clicked the link inside. Becca was more familiar with the software than I was, which was why I’d waited overnight rather than looking into it myself.
“I think I’ll keep Lola at the store with me today.” I took pains to keep my voice light, like there was no deeper reason for me to want the dog’s presence. “She always makes people happy when they see her.”
“Of course. I have the prettiest grand puppy, don’t I? Yes I do. Yes I do.” She bent at the waist, cooing at the dog.
Lola pranced around, soaking in all the adoration even if she didn’t quite know the meaning of the words.
Suddenly, Mom snapped up. “By the way, did Emma tell you? They’re staying until Wednesday now.”
“Wednesday? I thought they were coming home tomorrow.”
“Yes, well, Joe already had this next week blocked off for vacation, too. They were going to start painting the baby’s room and do all the other little things since he’d have the time off. But I don’t know, I guess Sharon convinced him to stay another few days.” Her nose wrinkled. “She wants to buy all of the furniture for the nursery, which I think is borderline obnoxious.”
I winced for Emma, who I was sure would want to come home. And I was sorry, too, since I hadn’t spoken to her all week outside of the occasional text. There she was, locked up with her in-laws, but then again I had problems of my own. “I’ll have to reach out to her today, see how she’s doing.”
“I’m sure she would like that.” Mom grumbled, scowling at her brownies before sliding them into the oven. “Buying all the furniture. Who does she think she is? What, is she trying to show me up or something? And here I was, planning on buying the crib.”
Only knowing I’d end up with a rolling pin upside my head kept me from giggling. “You might want to talk to Dad about that, you know. He might have thoughts of his own. Hey, maybe they could use—” I cut myself off and wished I had never started speaking in the first place.
