Chapter 16
CHAPTER
I WAS JUST LEAVING work the next day when I got a text from Ellie.
Come to the bistro tonight. Marcus has news.
I went straight from work. Ellie was busy mixing martinis for a waiter’s four-top. I didn’t have to wait long until Marcus walked over and placed the phone on the bar in front of me, along with a small, folded-up piece of paper. He walked away without a word.
“Uh … thanks!” I called out after him.
Ellie and I shared an electrically charged look from across the bar. I unfolded the scrap of paper. A name: Jamie McElroy; and a six-digit passcode. Got you, I thought with a smirk.
My heart was racing as I typed the code into the phone.
And just like that, I was in. The home screen appeared, with all her apps in neat little rows. Where should I start? Photos, I decided.
Most of them were of her son, playing with Legos or at the playground, a big, toothy smile on his face. Interspersed with kid photos were some shots of city streets. I clicked on one.
Aha. It was me, sitting on the front steps outside of my apartment building, just moments before I confronted her. I continued swiping, my pulse racing. There were a few selfies of her at a wine bar with another woman, and then more of me walking down the street.
A few of me and Max, standing outside my apartment talking. Shots taken through the front window of the cell phone store, zoomed in on me and Oliver. One of me walking out of the store, carrying my purse and a bag with my new phone and SIM card in it.
I kept swiping. There I was again, walking into the Alto Lounge with a smile on my face, not yet knowing I was deplorably late.
The next photo was my parked car, around the corner.
Was she the one who messed with my car too?
If so, she was guilty of more than just stalking—she was guilty of vandalism and property damage.
I scrolled all the way back to the High Note, expecting to find all the images the DCS investigator had showed me—but there was only one picture from that night. We all saw Madison there—maybe she took the others? They have to be working together then.
I chewed on a fingernail as I swiped the photo app closed. But what’s her connection to Madison? Just a devoted friend? Next, I tapped the Messages icon.
Though I didn’t know any of the people in her text history by name, it wasn’t hard to deduce who most of them were.
A woman named Claire texted Jamie a lot about pickup and drop-off times—likely a fellow preschool mom or a babysitter.
“Mom” was pretty obvious, and a woman named Taylor seemed to be her sister.
Then I saw a contact called “Her.” I clicked on their latest thread.
Yep. Jamie had sent Her all the photos of me, going back a few months. I read through the texts in between.
Her: Did you follow her today? Did she go to see Max?
Jamie: After work, she went and picked up takeout and then went home. Haven’t seen anyone go in or out of her place since.
And another exchange:
Jamie: Please don’t ask me to do this. I could lose my job.
Her: You’re going to lose your job if you DON’T do it. Because I’ll tell everyone what I saw you do.
Jamie: I have a son. I can’t afford to lose my job.
Her: You’re only going to lose your job if you get caught. So don’t get caught. Besides, I have a plan on my end to cover both of us. JUST DO IT.
Jamie: Fine. I’m off tomorrow, so I’ll try to peek at her file when I’m in on Thursday.
Ellie walked up. “Hey. Find anything good?” She put an iced tea in front of me.
“Oh my God.” I slapped my hand to my forehead. “Yes. I think I just found the smoking gun. This girl works for Dr. Quinlan—I think she’s the one who accessed my medical file, and the one who’s been spying on me for Madison.”
“Oh, shit,” Ellie whispered.
I continued to scroll back in time, through Jamie and Her’s text history. I saw an exchange from mid-March.
Jamie: Fine. I’ll do what you ask, as long as you swear you won’t tell anyone about the pills.
Her: Good. We have a deal.
Jamie: What do you want me to do?
Her: My husband was seeing this other woman a couple of months ago. I think she might be pregnant. I want you to follow her. Keep tabs on her. Take pictures of her and where she goes and what she does, and send them to me.
I choked on my iced tea. Husband? Are Madison and Max married?
And, oh my God—the date. It was before I met her. And she was already having me followed.
“What is it?” Ellie asked.
I handed her the phone and let her see for herself. “I think Madison is ‘Her.’ Madison must have something on this girl, and she’s been making her follow me, send her photos. I think she made her look in my medical file.”
“Are you sure ‘Her’ is Madison?”
“Well, I have Madison’s number saved in my phone—let’s see.”
Yep—the numbers matched. “It’s Madison,” I confirmed.
After months of harassment and confusion, I could hardly believe I finally had proof. Real, tangible proof that Madison had been plotting against me.
Ellie scrolled through more of the photos and texts on the phone. “Oh my God,” she said. “Husband? They’re married?”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Max never said he was married. I would not have hooked up with him if I’d known.”
“I’m guessing that’s why he didn’t tell you,” Ellie pointed out. “I guess it makes a little more sense now why Madison is so obsessed with you and your baby. He cheated on his wife.”
I thought back to some of the comments people had made on Madison’s social media posts—in particular, the one about Madison having gone through a rough time trying to have a child of her own.
“I think maybe Madison has fertility issues. So she wants my baby.” A feeling of dread started creeping up and down my arms and legs like invisible spiders. I was starting to think maybe Madison’s motivations were even more evil than I had first suspected.
Ellie shook her head, dumbfounded, as she handed me back my spy’s phone.
“Should I keep this and show it to Robert on Saturday?” I asked.
Ellie looked at me pointedly. “Definitely.”