Page 126 of A Home for Harmony
“I need to process this. Is this why you pushed to move here?” Erica asked. “Because you were scared and wanted to leave? Did this person know where you lived and you had to get away?”
She snorted. “Yes. I didn’t think they knew where I lived exactly, but I knew they were aware I worked in New York City so that I had to be in the area. I’d get comments on them seeing me out and it bothered me.”
“As it should,” Erica said, swatting her arm. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this.”
“I’m sorry. You had your own issues going on and then we moved and things took off. The messages and comments seemed to have stopped for months. I thought, phew, they are done.”
“But they aren’t?”
“In November, I got one saying they figured out I moved. That scared me.”
“But not enough for you to tell me!”
“I had it under control,” she argued.
“It doesn’t sound it to me,” Erica said. “Does Micah know?”
“He found out on my birthday. That small bouquet of flowers that came with no name on them. I realized that the person might have figured out I was in this area. I wasn’t positive how they got my address, but then I realized they might haveassumed I lived close in this area and could have searched properties.”
“Do you know how many properties in Connecticut or this area could be under the name James?” Erica said. “No. I don’t buy it.”
“I didn’t either. I told Micah. He was mad I didn’t let him know before.”
“As he should be,” Erica said. “What does he think of this?”
“Understand, none of the messages are threatening. They were just...creepy. Disturbing rather than flattering, but the frequency gave me the ick factor. I thought they might be a teenage boy at some point, but then realized a boy wouldn’t send those emojis.”
“No,” Erica said.
“Micah’s comments like that got me thinking even more. That women use emojis like that.”
“Your stalker is a woman?”
“I’m not going to call her a stalker now. I think I figured it out.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s Danielle. I used to work with her. And that makes me think she could have gotten my address there if she wanted. She could have seen I’d changed it for my W2 to be forwarded here. It’s not impossible for her to have access. I don’t know. That’s her vlog I just showed you with thesignature.”
“That makes no sense,” Erica said. “She’s your friend. You went out with her on New Year’s Eve with Lizzie, right?”
“She wasn’t really my friend. We worked together and she’s nice and all, but we didn’t hang out unless she tagged along. I treated her the same as everyone else.”
“Okay,” Erica said. “So she wanted to be your friend and looked up to you and got your attention this way? Harmony, that doesn’t add up to me.”
“I won’t pretend to figure out what was going through her mind.”
“If you worked together and you were out with her on New Year’s Eve, she had to know you moved.”
“No,” she said. “No one knows I moved but Lizzie. My coworkers know I opened my own business, but they could have assumed I was still living in New Rochelle. I never said otherwise. She’d have to dig to know and she could have had access there.”
Erica’s head went back and forth. “I can see that. You’ve always been very careful about what you’ve posted and about who. Danielle knew nothing about me or your family? She could have tracked us.”
“Nope,” she said. “Lizzie is the only one you’ve ever met and I’ve talked about. Everyone else knows about the same information when it comes to me. Danielle even made a comment about that the last time we talked. That even though we hung out she didn’t know much about me.”
Harmony felt like a fool now looking back and this adding up.
“I did like how you kept that private,” Erica said.
