Page 92 of The Woman I’ve Become

Except he doesn’t, because he’s long dead. Rick doesn’t need to know I’m aware of this.

He gathers the pages back into the file folder. “Can I take this with me?”

“Of course.” I have two other copies. One in my lockbox at the bank labeled “Open upon my death.” Another in my home office in Manhattan. “Rick, please, I need to know if you actually believe this is enough.”

“I actually believe this is sufficient.”

Wow. That was easy. Maybe too easy. He seemed so calm until I revealed this file. Now he’s flustered and distracted.

Suspicious, much?

“What happens now?” Fake Wendy asks.

“First”—he looks from her to me—“the two of you need to stay put. Keep the doors locked and your phones in your hands.” He frowns at me. “You need Phillip here.”

I shake my head adamantly. “No. I need Phillip right where he is, taking care of Olivia. No way do I want her here.”

“Okay.” He stands.

I do the same. As does Fake Wendy. This really is so bizarre.

“I’m going to see the agent who took my place. He’s a good man. We’ll get everyone notified and have a security detail put in place here.” He points a firm look at me once more. “I’m serious, I need you both to stay put.”

“You said that,” I remind him.

“We’ll see where we need to go with this next.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. He left a warning,” I add quickly. “He said the end of this is coming.” I don’t want to involve Helen in this, so I don’t say how I received the warning, and I hope he doesn’t ask.

Rick blows out a big breath. “That’s exactly the kind of thing I need to know sooner rather than later. Please call me if you remember anything else. I’ll give the chief of police a call and see if he can assign someone to watch your house right now. Damn, Julia, this is mind-blowing.”

I laugh, a pitifully dry sound. “Tell me about it.”

Fake Wendy says nothing as Rick leaves. I show him to the door and lock it behind him.

Funny that he didn’t ask me how I received the message. Just another little tick mark in the “not trustworthy” column.

When I reenter the living room, Julia says, “You’re right. We can’t trust him. He was lying through his teeth the whole time.”

“Told you.”

I have a sinking feeling that we just outed ourselves to the enemy.

41

“What did he say?” Alicia demands.

She and Helen rushed into the house as soon as Rick drove away.

“I need my phone.” I have the sudden urge to check on Olivia. Before Rick’s arrival, we all agreed that cell phones would be left in the kitchen. Not that I don’t trust these two . . . Well, yeah, because I don’t trust them at all.

Phillip’s phone goes to voicemail. My heart aches to hear Olivia’s voice. I steel myself and return to the living room, where Helen and Alicia are gathered around Julia. I pass Alicia’s and Julia’s phones to them and go to the fireplace. I study the framed photographs there and manage a smile. Olivia and I walking along Old Mill Beach. The three of us gathered around the Christmas tree last year. Eleanor took that photo. I miss her so much.

I turn around and watch Alicia. I want so much for her to pay. The boyfriend too.

“You gave him the file?” Alicia asks.

Julia nods. “And we told him everything as planned. He will call the agent assigned to this area to get things moving. He also promised to call the chief of police to see about getting a security detail assigned to keep an eye on things here until the FBI gets organized.”