“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, why not?”
“You were the one who compromised Brooklyn Country Day’s email list, right?” This was the part of this conversation that mattered to me. Therealreason I was there. “Clever, the way you used it to hack into the parents’ computers.”
There was nothing to stop Zach from lying to me now. Nothing but his own arrogance. And Zach’s arrogance was one thing you could always count on. That, and the fact that he would want to be sure I knew: he’d beaten everyone.
“What do you mean?” he asked. But I could see him trying not to smile; a trace of it was there in his eyes.
“The phishing emails,” I said. “You compromised the computers of the Brooklyn Country Day parents, exposed all their dirty laundry. Impressive stuff. But what I don’t get is how that’s going to save your failing company.”
Zach rolled his eyes. “First of all,failingis a huge overstatement. The world of start-ups is always high risk, high reward.” He was quiet then, and with a determined look on his face, like he was trying to stay quiet. But I already knew, if I waited, he wouldn’t be able to contain himself. “Anyway, this new enterprise is going to take off like a shot. People have absolutely no idea how exposed they are, or why. You want to know how I learned? Working in logistics. An industry the average person has probably never even heard of. If they have, they think it’s just about shipping. But we kneweverythingabout hundreds of thousands of people—we knew when they had a baby because they started ordering diapers, when they were going on a long trip becausethey ordered power converters, when not to buy their home because they’d bought a whole bunch of mold removal products. And here people think they’re just ordering stuff. It’s not just stuff, it’s who they are. As soon as people realize how dangerous this could be, they’ll be falling all over themselves to pay the hundred-dollar yearly subscription for my family cybersecurity app.”
I nodded, to look interested. But not too interested. Anything to keep Zach talking.
He leaned in a little closer to the plexiglass. “I was specifically attracted to Brooklyn Country Day because they are actually somewhat on top of things. You learn from hard targets, not easy ones. Also, I did figure the whole hacking thing might get some press because of the school’s stellar reputation, and maybe that would flow over to my app if I stepped in to help at the right time. But in the end, the Brooklyn Country Day parents helped us solve more of a technical problem. We needed to reverse-engineer some of the software by seeing how actual victims might respond to that kind of intrusion.”
“So you hired people to do the hacking for you?”
“You want to find out how to protect people from hackers, you hire some hackers to show you what they really do.”
“One of those hackers of yours blackmailed a fifteen-year-old girl for live video of her performing sex acts,” I said. “He’s continuing to contact her. Did you know that?”
“It’s hard to find good people.” Zach shrugged. “But I am impressed that you put as much together as you did. I always knew you were special, Lizzie, which is why when I saw you near the farmer’s market, I was curious about what you’d been up to. Obviously, I had no idea I’d soon need a lawyer I didn’t have to pay. Amanda was alive and well then, and I hadn’t thought about you inyears—a decade at least. But then there you were, and I could see it right away.” He paused, smiled a little. “Can you see it now?”
“See what?”
“That you made the wrong choice.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Sam instead of me,” he said. “Oh, I know you hadn’t even met him yet, not when you ended things with me. The ‘other guy’ story was a lie. I knew that the whole time. I’ll admit I was angry for a while. More disappointed, though. We were the same you and I—eyes always focused on the prize. Maybe not quite as similar as some of my stories about my ‘blue-collar’ family might have suggested.” Zach’s fingers hooked the word in the air. “But I thought that would resonate more with you than two Poughkeepsie crack addicts. But then, you left things out, too. Like the Elmira Correctional Facility.” He smirked. “I did actually think we might make a real go of it, though. That was true. Instead, you chose a husband with zero drive. Everything for you could have ended up differently.”
“Yeah,” I said, glaring at him. “I could have ended up dead at the bottom of your stairs. You know, Amanda might be alive right now if you’d paid more attention to her.”
“Please, Amanda had plenty of problems long before I met her.” Zach sniffed, but his face quickly brightened. “I was surprised when you clicked on that Netflix membership renewal link without even a second’s hesitation, though. I mean, you should be smarter than that. One click, and boom, I was in.” He smiled slightly. “I did that myself, of course. I wasn’t going to outsource you. Within minutes I knew everything about you and Sam. As a friend, I have to say: researching dozens of alcohol rehab facilities on a daily basis for weeks on end isn’t nearly as effective as Sam actually going to a single one. Also, you should buy some shades if you’re going to walk around undressed.” He shook his head. Then he smiled, and raised his eyebrows. “At least I can say exactly where you were the night Amanda died. And now you know whyIwasn’t anxious to tell you where I was.”
This was what Zach wanted, maybe even what he’d planned from the start: this moment. The one when he got to really embarrass me, the way I had embarrassed him all those years ago. When he finally got to win.
Unbeknownst to him, I already knew much of what he was telling me—though not the bit about him spying on me through my windows. I’d brought in my personal laptop to the investigators I knew in the Manhattan US attorney’s cybercrime unit. Within seconds they’d found the spyware Zach had installed. I’d felt humiliated that I’d fallen for it so easily, but the kind twentysomething tech investigator kept saying: “Yeah, seriously, it could happen to anyone. It does all the time.”
Then I’d contacted the New York City Bar Association’s Ethics Hotline for anonymous advice about how I could proceed under the circumstances without being disbarred. From now on, everything I did would at least be clear-eyed and aboveboard.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that thing you said,” I went on.
“What’s that?” Zach asked, delighted that I was willing to play.
“About how it’s more important to know somebody’s weaknesses than their strengths.”
“Ah, yes,” Zach said. “I do think that’s true.”
I pressed both of my hands on the table for a moment, looking down, nodding. Finally, I stood. “You know what your weakness is, Zach?”
He smiled. So fucking satisfied. “No, Lizzie. By all means, tell me: What’s my weakness?”
“You think people are things you can win.”
He frowned. “I don’t know. I’d say things have turned out okay for me in the end.”
