Seventy four

CHAPTER 74

GLENN

I recalled what Martha had said to me this morning as I looked at the message again.

Watch your back.

You will regret what you did.

They were threatening statements no doubt. I shivered.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Ann tapped me on the back and I turned to face her. She did a double take at the sight of my face.

"Whoa. You look pale... and more worried. What just happened?" She looked from me to my phone. "The message you just received?" I nodded. "What does it say?"

For an answer, I slid the phone across to her.

Her brow furrowed as she read the message out loud. "You will regret what you did. Hmm. This is from an unknown number. It sounds like a threat of some sort and... what did you do anyway?"

I sighed. "I don't know... or maybe I do."

"That's very cryptic. We were talking about you and Santiago, but I think I want to hear this first. What is going on?"

"I think what happened between Santiago and I is connected to this. So, Santiago dropped me off here, and guess who was right at the entrance?"

"Er- Martha?" I nodded. "Shit!"

"She was so pissed when she saw Santiago and I together that she even slapped him."

Ann sucked in a breath. "What the hell?"

"Exactly what I said. Santiago told me not to go after her, that he would handle it.

Before she left though, she told me to watch my back... and then a while later, I get this message from an unknown number."

"And so you think she was the one who sent it."

"Yes. The timing... it's too perfect. It has to be her. You needed to have seen the look in her eyes this morning, Ann. She looked... demented. I would not put anything past her."

Ann patted my arm reassuringly. "I understand, but... don't you think you are being a little too hasty in concluding that it was Martha? Maybe it was someone else, and the timing of the person's message just happened to coincide with what Martha said."

I shrugged. "I suppose it's possible, but what are the odds that it could be someone else?"

"Think for a second. Have you recently had a run in with anyone lately?"

After a moment, I shook my head. "No. Not that I can remember. At least, I can't think of anything that serious that would make someone send me a threatening message."

"A threatening message... Somehow I don't like the sound of that. It gives me the creeps. You know what? I don't think you should take this lying down. You should do something about it."

"Something like what?" I enquired. "It's not like I can go and confront the person. I don't know who even sent the message."

Ann's face lighted up. She snapped her fingers. "I got it. We have to trace the number... find out who it belongs to. I know someone who is really good at this tech stuff. He can help us. What do you think?"

"I think it is a good idea." I clasped her hand warmly. "Thank you, Ann."

"You are welcome anytime. We will go there after work." She slid off my desk. "I have to go now. Duty calls."

For the rest of my day at work, I thought obsessively about two things now, the confrontation with Martha and the anonymous text message. I was all I could do to concentrate on my tasks for the day.

I breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally closing time. Ann, with her bag already slung over her shoulder hurried over to me as I was packing up my stuff. Together we hurried to her car.

"The place we are going is not that far away," she said as she drove out of the parking lot. "We will find out who sent that message. Don't worry. The guy we are going to see can track anything. He is that good. I let him know that we are coming."

"Okay. So er- how do you even know this guy anyway? Do you now hang around with the FBI or something?"

Ann let out a laugh. "No. The guy is just a very clever friend of mine."

Ann's friend turned out to be a pretty good looking guy of the geek type, wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and of course wirerimmed glasses. We met him at his workstation, a pretty plush place in which there were a lot of computers and gadgets.

"Ann. Hi." he said as he ushered us in with a sappy grin at Ann. He took her hand, pressed it to his lips. "It's been ages since I saw you. You should come around more often, you know. I missed you."

"Hi. Jay." Ann smiled and wanted to pull her hand away. He held on to it.

"Just a little longer," he pleaded.

"Behave," she said teasingly. "This is my friend, Glenn. Glenn, this is Jay."

We shook hands, exchanged pleasantries. He waved us into chairs and took one himself in front of a computer.

"Did I mention that you even look more beautiful today, Ann?" he said. "Glenn, isn't that right?"

"Yeah. She's really pretty."

Ann rolled her eyes. "Come on. Let's get to it."

Jay nodded, cracked his knuckles. "Ann told me that you want to track a number."

"That's right," I said.

"Alright then. Please, read out the number for me."

I did. He input it into the computer and began hammering away at the keys, pausing to grunt once or twice in satisfaction. After about ten minutes of this, he leaned back in his chair.

"I successfully tracked the number," he said. "It turns out the person who sent the message is out of town."

Ann and I exchanged a look.

"Out of town? Are you sure?" I asked.

"I'm never wrong," Jay said confidently.

I frowned. This discovery made the whole situation even more confusing. If the person who sent the message was not in town, that meant it wasn't Martha.

If it wasn't Martha, who else could it be?