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“Come in.” She didn’t even look up as the barrier opened. She knew that knock. It consisted of a rhythm of three, and then a loud final bang.
Corinne cleared her throat. “A package came in for you. If you ask me, it looks like the others.”
Julie slowly looked up. Her stomach did a flip-flop at the large manila envelope. “Does it say who it’s from?”
“Hmm. Let me see.” Corinne inspected the front and flipped it over. Her face was full of sarcasm as she raised both of her eyebrows. Nope. Just like the others, it was completely blank except for the large black lettering on the front that said, Julie, the Whore.
“Whore! That one’s new. I think I liked bitch better.” Julie tried not to shudder, but she couldn’t hold in the shaking all the way. Her body was trembling with anger and fear. The two emotions were completely different, yet they went together, hand in hand.
She took the envelope and stared at it. For the last few weeks she’d received multiple packages from the same anonymous source containing threats and surveillance pictures of her. The only reason she didn’t call the cops was because of the explicit photos she didn’t want leaked to anyone. They were embarrassing, capturing moments in time when she was drunk and did things she’d rather not remember.
Julie, the Whore. The words looked as if they had been written by a professional calligrapher. They were a beautiful cursive, yet the style reminded her of a handwriting that must have been hundreds of years old. It was odd, but to Julie the lettering was almost magical. The intricate loops had the power to somehow pull her into a trance.
“So, do you think this one has the same goodies as the last few?”
The hold the words had on Julie was hard to break. She blinked a few times and confusedly shook her head at Corinne. “What?”
“The contents. Do I get to see you dancing topless again in the bed of someone’s truck or—”
Julie glared. “That only happened once, and we were parked at the end of the beach. No one was there but me and Taylor.”
“Well someone was watching you.”
“Obviously.” Julie opened the package and pulled out a picture and a note. The photo was nothing more than a close up of her sleeping. But that was enough. The pillow she was lying on was a pink zebra print. Her heart nearly stopped. The only person she knew that had that bedding was her. It could only have meant one thing. This stranger was in her house while she was sleeping.
A chill raced across Julie’s skin. Corinne grabbed the picture, but Julie hardly noticed. She looked at the blank, tulip-designed piece of paper. Air refused to fill her lungs as recognition dawned.
“Well?” Corinne stepped closer. “What does it say?”
“Nothing.” Julie ripped the picture from the secretary’s hand and stuffed it, along with the paper, back in the envelope. “I have to go.”
“What?” Corinne’s mouth dropped open. “You’re leaving? What about your appointments?”
Julie snatched her purse from the desk. “Tell them I had to take off for a personal emergency and I won’t be back for a few days.”
“Days?” Concern washed over Corinne’s face. “Julie, what the hell is going on? You laughed off the envelopes before, but they’re more serious than you let on, aren’t they?”
Vertigo threatened as Julie stopped short of the door. “That picture of me sleeping…” She pressed her fingertips to the ache pounding in her temple. “Corinne, there’s only one person who goes into my apartment, and I know he isn’t doing this. My closest friends hardly ever come inside. This creep invaded the security of my home while I was there. I can’t tell you how rattled I am right now. I need to go.”
“What about the letter?” Corinne followed Julie down the hall and didn’t stop until she was standing outside of Julie’s Mercedes.
A wind gust blew sand into the air and Julie shielded her face as she looked into Corinne’s pale green eyes. “The paper was blank, but that wasn’t the point of why this person sent it. The stationary is special. I had it personally made.”
Corinne just stared at her with a confused look on her face.
It took everything Julie had not to roll her eyes. “I keep the papers and envelopes in my vanity drawer. That drawer has a lock which only I have the key for. Somehow, this person was able to get into my drawer, which means they’ve been searching through my things. If you ask me, the message for today is that this asshole can come into my life whenever he wants, and there’s nothing I can do about it. But you know what, he’s wrong.”
Julie opened her car door. “Take my messages and please tell Jerry and everyone else that I had a family emergency and had to go out of town for a while.”
Corinne nodded and hesitated to turn around. The blonde hair she’d kept tight in a bun began to come loose in the raging wind. “What are you going to do?”
Julie smiled. “Nothing stupid, I assure you. I’m going to see Ayden.”
“The Chief of Police?”
“That’s the one.” Julie tossed her purse into the passenger’s side.
“Please be careful. And call me if you need anything. A place to stay, someone to stay with you. Whatever it is.”
