Page 77 of Guess Again
Ethan ran his tongue along the inside of his lower lip as he stared at Blake’s name. Perhaps, he considered, being away from investigative work for so long had dulled his instincts.
“Not what I was expecting to see.”
“I figured it wouldn’t be,” Christian said. “I just wanted to make sure Mr. One Hundred Percent was on the right track. Move over.”
Ethan slid his chair to the side so that Christian could take control of the computer, which he did in the swiftest of manners.
“Whoever Blake Jaxson Cordis is,” Christian said, “he’s not the client who logged in on July thirtieth.”
“No?”
“No. But someone wants you to think he is. Someone with some chill computer skills, too. But I see what they did. They reverse populated the IP address and then ran it through the online portal’s encryption software so that if you looked but didn’t dig too deep—or even if youdiddig deep but didn’t know what the hell you were doing, which most people don’t—it would appear as if the video originated from Blake Cordis’s computer.”
“It didn’t?”
“No.”
“So where did it come from?”
Christian looked at Ethan. “Ever seen the movieWhen a Stranger Calls?”
“No.”
“Really? It’s good. You should check it out.”
“Christian, I’m in a time crunch here.”
“Sorry, I digress.”
Christian attacked the keyboard again until the actual video of the session appeared. The patient’s face was blurred beyond recognition, while Lindsay Larkin’s image appeared in a small window on the top right of the monitor. A triangular “play” button was transposed in the center of the screen.
“It’s about a stalker who terrorizes a woman with harassing phone calls,” Christian said.
“What?”
“The movie.When a Stranger Calls.But the twist is that when police trace the calls, they figure out that they’re coming from inside the house. Anyway. This reminded me of that movie.”
Christian clicked the button so that the video played.
Lindsay Larkin spoke:“Does, uh . . . this girl have a name?”
“Yes. You know her.”
The patient’s voice was muffled and distorted into the digital, artificial intelligence tone.
“Her name is Callie Jones, and I need you to help me forgive myself for what I did to her.”
Christian pushed himself away from the desk one more time. He pointed at the monitor.
“Press the escape button,” he said, “and the filter will disappear.”
Ethan looked at Christian for a moment before turning back to the keyboard. He pressed the button, and the encryption filter disappeared. The anonymous patient’s image came clearly into focus on the screen. Ethan blinked a few times to clear his confusion. He was looking at Lindsay Larkin confessing to herself about having killed Callie Jones.
CHAPTER 79
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Monday, August 4, 2025
SHE MANAGED TO ORGASM, ALTHOUGH IT WAS SELF-ASSISTED. COACHCordis did not have the same hold on her that he once had. Still, she made a point of satisfying herself, using him as a means to an end. It took much longer than Blake had lasted himself and their reunion was less than synergistic. But tonight was not about sexual satisfaction. It was about closure.
