Page 31 of The Me I Left Behind

“Oh?”

“Umhmm.”

“And…?”

Maggie waved the note under her nose. “What do you think?”

Julia took it, reading. “Interesting. Don’t let that get lost in the shuffle.”

Maggie stared at the note for a few minutes, committing the woman’s name and Brisbane address to memory, then stuck the note to the front of the planner and set it aside.

Her phone pinged from where she’d put it on the TV stand, a notification sound she didn’t initially recognize.The security alarm?

She remembered when they had the home security system installed—that she’d had to choose a sound for the alarm notification.Something you don’t use for anything else, the installer had suggested.So you’ll know immediately when you have an intruder.

“Someone is in my house.” She would not panic. Hell. Yes, she was.

“What?” Julia stood, watching her.

Maggie snatched up the phone, retrieved the text message, and hit the link to open the video. It showed the front door, with shadows, and someone entering. “Shit!”

“Is it Max?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then who?”

Abruptly, her phone rang.Armor Security Company.“It’s the security people,” she told Julia. “Hello?”

“Mrs. Oliver?”

“Yes?”

“Are you home?”

“No. No one is home. Is someone in my house? I got an alert.”

“It appears so, Mrs. Oliver. At eight-fourteen, someone entered the front door of your home, apparently with a key. They tried to turn off the system but were unsuccessful, so we sent the alert. I’ll send you a text with a photo image from the inside entryway. Please take a look.”

“Alright.” She waited patiently for the link to come. “Finally,” she breathed.

She clicked and saw who it was.Fuck.She forced out a breath. “I see the image. I know who it is. Please turn off the alarm.”

“No need to send anyone over?”

“No. Thank you.” Then, on second thought, she added. “Of course, if the alarm goes off again and is not reset, please investigate and alert me. I’m headed over there now. I appreciate your call.”

“Will do, and my pleasure. Good night, Mrs. Oliver.”

Maggie tossed her phone on the bed, ran her fingers through her hair, and stood there, shaking a little. “Can this day get any longer, or any more complicated?

“Is it Max?”

Maggie whirled back and flung her arms up. “Oh, hell no. It’s Carol and that dickhead date of hers. Shit.”

“Oh, hell.”

“Right.” Her brain rolled over a dozen scenarios.

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