“You too.”
She disconnected the call. How long she stood there, she wasn’t sure, but between talking to him on the phone and when she finally shook herself out of her thoughts, she’d basically dried off from the air alone. Pitching her head toward the floor, she unwrapped the towel over her hair and began to briskly rub it.
Her phone started ringing again. She swiped the screen. “What did you forget, Lucas?”
“Fucking cunt! You think you’ve paid for what you’ve done? Not even close. You’re going to pay for what you did. Soon.” Click.
Heart racing, she looked at the screen. Another similar number to the previous calls, only this time, there was a voice on the other end of the call. It had been run through something computerized, so there was no way to tell if it was male or female. What the hell was going on? As if she didn’t have enough to deal with right now.
She sat on the toilet seat, her phone still in hand, her eyes staring blankly ahead. This was now beyond just prank calls and small acts of vandalism.
Quickly, she dialed Quint’s phone number, knowing he’d still be at the station since he’d taken a night shift.
“Lieutenant Axton.”
“Quint, it’s Elyxandre. I just got another phone call. Different number. This time, there was a voice.”
“Hang on a second.” She heard him moving things around on his desk. “Okay. Male or female?”
“Couldn’t tell. They used a computerized voice changer. Anyone can do that now with an app.”
“Right. What did the person say?”
“They said, ‘Fucking cunt! You think you’ve paid for what you’ve done? Not even close. You’re going to pay for what you did. Soon.’ Then they hung up.”
“Any idea who that could have been?”
She bit her lip. “First thought? My ex, Knox. I didn’t give him my number, but he’s been emailing me.” She gave him a rundown of the threats to expose the photographs from their marriage.
“I think it’s beyond time someone had a conversation with that douchebag. I need you to gather up all those emails and forward them to me.”
“Do you think I should warn my boss? In case said douchebag does go ahead and send them out there?”
“My impulse is to say no. Reason is because I think he would have done it by now if he was going to. He’s probably just blowing a lot of hot air, trying to rattle you.” He paused. “You think he’s a possibility for all the shit going down at the school?”
“He’s certainly capable of doing all this stuff, other than maybe the online hacking part. Last I knew, he was still in New Orleans. It’s not like his boss would give him unlimited time off. Taking all the stuff going on at my house and adding it to the homecoming week nonsense? That’s been going on over a stretch of time that was more vacation than he would have accrued.”
“Okay, so let’s treat each of these things as isolated incidents. Who else might be angry at you right now? No matter how small it might be.”
“Well, there’s my dad. The damage to my house could definitely be his doing. When I was a kid, and he was managing to hold down a job, he worked as a handyman. He knew how to fix things like leaks and wire breaks. I don’t think he would be capable of any of the issues at school. He’s always been too drunk or high to be stealthy, and whoever is doing the damage at school has been able to work around the cameras. He’s definitely not the online hacker for the shooter threat. And prank calls aren’t really his style. As you saw tonight, he’s not shy about confronting anyone when he’s using.”
“Noted. Who else?”
“Ryker Sealy’s still pretty pissed off at me. Even though he organized the raid and participated in the vandalism at the school, he sees me as the reason for the punishment that screwed up his senior year. I could see him prank-calling me, and I could even see him ripping up my plants, but the other damage to my home? Not likely. I wouldn’t think he’d know how. Some of the school issues this week? Aside from the flooding of the locker room, I’d be more likely to peg him for that stuff.”
“Got it. Any other possibilities?”
“No, I think that’s it.”
“Okay. This gives me some places to start. Your alarm is on, right?”
“Yes. First thing I did when I got inside.”
“Good. Keep it on at all times. I’ll ask one of the other units to go through your neighborhood, then I’ll come swing through once before the end of my shift, and once more on my way home.”
“Thanks, Quint.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for documenting it. I know you’re a good cop, and I know you can take care of yourself, but having it on record is important.”
