Page 78 of Watch Me
“I know.”
“It’s just weird. Like he got my info from the school.”
“That’s why we checked the servers. There was nothing.”
We lay in bed for a long time while my brain worked. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. As dawn crested and the light was slipping in through the gaps in the blinds, a thought occurred to me.
I slipped out of bed, grabbed my laptop from my bag, and powered it on as I sat on the floor, my back against the edge of the mattress. After Ethan’s cybercrime unit scanned my computer, they deleted the program the killer was using to spy on me. As the laptop booted, the familiar chimes of its starting sequence pierced the quiet room. I pressed the volume down button repeatedly until it muted, but it was toolate.
“Come back to bed, Buttercup. I can’t sleep without you.”
“One second. I need to check something.”
“Is everything okay?”
I didn’t reply. Instead, I opened the internet browser, pulled up my email, and searched all the emails from LakeshoreUniversity.
“Reagan?” I heard Ethan sit up, but I didn’t turn to look athim.
My eyes widened as I saw that I still had the email I was searching for. I clicked the email open and stood, turning to face Ethan. His gaze moved from the screen and then back up to me as he squinted from the bright glow of the laptop.
I pointed at it, holding the computer in one hand. “See this link?”
“Yeah?” hequestioned.
“I’m assuming every student gets it because that’s how we create our profiles to log into the school’s site for various things like grades, our schedules, whatever.”
“Are you saying you think that’s how he got your IP address?”
“It has to be. If there’s nothing on the servers at school, and that’s the Wi-Fi students use while on campus, this has to be the missing link. I don’t know how it all works, but maybe the guy is trolling students when they use the university’s unsecured Wi-Fi?”
“Holy shit.” Ethan grabbed the laptop from me and put it on the bed while he got up and moved to the closet. “You may be onto something.”
I grinned. If this was the key and he could trace it, then all of this would be over soon. “Do you think I’m right?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, slipping into black slacks. “But I’m going to take this into the station.” He held up my computer. I didn’t protest this time. I wanted him to take it because I was hopeful this wouldhelp.
Maddie and I went out for lunch. The entire time, I kept looking at my phone to see if Ethan had texted or called me with an update. I didn’t tell Maddison that we might have had a breakthrough in the case because I didn’t want her to think about the potential danger I thought about all the time. I just wanted her to have a nice Thanksgiving break withme.
“I’ll be home no later than 12:15,” I told Maddie as I grabbed my keys from the table by the door. “If you’re still awake—”
She chuckled. “I’ll be awake.”
“Okay.” We hugged and then I left, Pablo following behind me. I needed this link with the email to work out because, as it was, my daughter had more freedom than I did. Either Evan or Pablo drove me the two blocks to Judy’s, stayed the entire time at a table near the door until Ethan arrived to drive—or walk—mehome.
Pablo followed me through the back door after I unlocked it. We weren’t hiding the fact that I had a security detail any longer. Ethan told Pablo and Evan to stay near me at all times, and I was okay with that. I didn’twantto be put in immediate danger; I just wanted it to end.
Hours later, I still hadn’t heard from Ethan. I hoped that meant my idea had led to a lead and they were tracking the guy down. I was trying to focus on work, given it was a Friday night and we were busy as hell because of the holiday weekend, but I just wanted to know. Ineededto know if they had someone in custody so I could stop looking over myshoulder.
Moving to my next customer, I shook my head. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to have dinner with you,” Maddie replied, holding up a brown paperbag.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that she wasn’t safe, but then I thought better of it. I didn’t want her to worry. She wasn’t necessarily in danger. She wasn’t a student of Lakeshore University, and that seemed to be his MO. The killer might not know who she was or anything abouther.
“You made us dinner?” Iquestioned.
Maddison grinned. “I did, but it’s just soup and Cheez-Its.”
