Page 30 of Texting Dr. Stalker

Picking it up, I tapped the screen.

It came to life without requiring a password or keycode. A message bubble waited to be read. A flicker of hesitation shot through me. I didn’t want to invade someone’s privacy, but if it meant I could find the owner of the phone, then…it wouldn’t be so bad to read.

Tapping on the bubble, I waited for it to load, then sat heavily in the dining room chair.

You don’t know me, but I’m here. If you need a faceless friend, you have one.

I almost dropped it.

Why did that feel so personal? Why did it feel as if the message was addressed to me?

I rolled my eyes.

Lily.

My anxiety popped into affection.

She had a habit of buying me random things. Books she’d read and thought I’d enjoy. Kitchen appliances that changed her life. And I did the same to her. I’d sent her headphones last month when she complained of her old ones hurting her ears and ordered a huge basket full of all her favourite foods when she earned a big commission.

It wasn’t unusual for us to drop things into each other’s boxes or backyards, little keepsakes that said we were thinking of each other.

Smiling, I fondled the phone. Not the most logical present she’d ever given me but also not the strangest. A tad odd that she hadn’t left it in its packaging, but maybe she figured it wouldn’t have fit.

Slipping my own phone from my back jeans pocket, I called Lily on speed dial.

She answered on the second ring. “Hey, Sails. What’s up? You all good? Are you safe? Do you need me to come over? Tell me!”

Ignoring her not-so-subtle-freak-out, I asked in a croaky-healing whisper, “Did you sneakily put a phone into my letterbox this morning?”

“Huh?”

“Did you give me a phone?” I swallowed hard on the residue of pain.

Her tone switched from panicked to suspicious. “No, why?”

“I just found one in my mail and there’s a message that’s a bit odd.”

“Odd as in it’s Milton trying to scare you? Can prisoners find a way to deliver stuff? What name is on the receipt? Oh God, what if it’s a bomb? Call the police, Sails. Report it!”

My heart thudded.

Maybe she’s right.

Trying to stay calm, I forced my whisper to get as loud as my healing would allow. “It’s not a bomb, Lils, and I doubt it’s from him.”

Swallowing hard, I shoved aside the other envelope, looking for any sign of a receipt or clue as to who dropped the phone off. “There’s no receipt. It’s literally just a phone all by itself. It didn’t even come with a charger.” My voice burned and cracked. Wow, it still hurt to talk this much. “Perhaps I’m overthinking it, and the message isn’t for me? It could just have been found in the gutter and shoved in my letterbox for safe keeping?”

The tension I hadn’t realised was building slowly disappeared. “That’s it. It’s fine. I guess someone found it and put it into the closest place they could.” I rubbed my throat, trying to ease the lingering swelling.

“Are you sure? I dunno, Sails. I have a bad feeling about this. What if itisMilton? He might be trying to scare you. Do you think he has friends who would come and finish what he started? Maybe he’s hired a hit on you and—”

“This isn’t a movie, Lily. He was just a lazy, jealous jerk who thought violence made him the bigger person. That’s all.”

“I still think you should call the police. Tell you what, I’ll do it. I’ll call them right now. What was the name of the officer overseeing your case again?”

“Andrew something or other.”

“Helpful.” A rustling sounded in the background. “Found it. I took a photo of his business card. I’ll call them and—”

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