Sorry to let myself in, but you weren’t here when I stopped by,it reads.Thinking about you and hope you’re doing okay.It isn’t signed, but Meera would recognize Talia’s loopy scrawl anywhere.
Normally, she’d be touched by a surprise like this. The basket is filled with all her favorite things: a bag of beans from Summer Moon Coffee, a six-pack of chocolate chip cookies from Teddy V., an expensive-looking bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. But instead of appreciative, Meera feels violated and almost violently angry. She lost her job, and Talia thought she could make up for it with cookies? Un-fucking-believable.
Fortunately, before she left last night, Hari sent Meera off with a much better gift.
“I looked into the documents provided by AutoInTune like you asked,” he told her.
“And? Did you see anything that looked off?”
“I’m an engineer, Meera, not a data analyst. I have no idea what I was looking at.” Hari paused. “But I can tell you something.”
“What?”
“Today I was asked to work on a test marketing campaign, which Sage plans to send to AutoInTune’s customers via email ahead of the official partnership announcement.”
“And?” Meera wasn’t seeing the point.
“And if only a fraction of those marketing emails is actually opened, then Sage might start to question whether the list of users provided by AutoInTune is legitimate.”
So delighted was she by this news that Meera kissed Hari right on the lips for the first time in years, taking them both by surprise.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“For giving me hope,” she answered.
Enough moping, enough hesitating. Pouring herself a scalding-hot cup of coffee, Meera makes a decision.
It’s time for her to get what she’s owed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kaitlyn
By the time the phone call comes, Kaitlyn had nearly forgotten she requested it.
But still, when she sees the unknown number pop up on her phone, she answers it. She has no leads on where Amanda may be, no hope of her sister contacting her, and no faith that—when and if she does turn up—she’ll even be the least bit sorry. She has nothing to lose aside from a minute of her time, and her time doesn’t feel all that valuable these days anyway.
“It’s Roger,” says the voice on the other end of the phone.
“I’m sorry, who?”
“Your sister’s landlord.”
“Roger, hi.” Kaitlyn feels confident he never mentioned his name before, even when she handed over her number. Her phone screen feels suddenly clammy against her cheek. “Is everything all right?”
“Sure. I just wanted to let you know that lady came by again today.”
“The lady . . . ?”
“The one who’s been paying your sister’s rent. She brought me cash today to cover the month of August.”
Kaitlyn lets out an involuntary little gasp. “Did you get a picture?”
“She was in and out. I didn’t get the chance. Sorry.”
Her heart sinks. “Did you at least get a better look at her? See any noticeable features?”
“I can do you one better. I have her on video.”
