The Coworker

by Freida McFadden

As strange as Dawn’s schedule is, it’s even stranger that today she isn’t following it. I can’t help but think that Dawn’s absence must signify something ominous. After all, Dawn is never late. Never.

Kim Healey is my best friend at work, which sadly means that she’s my best friend in general since work has increasingly become my entire life.

And what’s with her obsession with turtles? Like, who is that into turtles?”

More silence. Just when I’m about to hang up, two words are spoken in a tortured female voice that send an icy chill down my spine: “Help me.” And then the line goes dead.

Seth Hoffman has been the manager of the Dorchester branch of Vixed since before I started working here.

I notice the wedding band he always wears on his left fourth finger is gone. Recently gone—there’s a visible tan line. My eyes stray to the photograph he always keeps on his desk of him and his wife Melinda, but that’s gone too.

I could tell from the way Seth was looking at her that he likes her a lot too. She must be excellent at her job.

It gives me the creeps. And what on earth was that dark red material that stained my fingers? It almost looks like… Like blood.

Whatever else you can fake, it’s hard to fake being a genuinely kind person. It’s also exceedingly rare.

My grandparents dated for only one month before getting engaged.

I used to get calls like that all the time, sometimes with just silence, but sometimes with a string of threats on the other line. But I haven’t gotten a call like that since… well, it’s been several months. I doubt it’s that same person—they have no reason to hate me anymore.

I told her she should try not to be so careless.

“Next time,” she said, “you should try not to be so careless.”

He can’t possibly know about… No, I’m being paranoid.

If you touch my husband again, I will kill you.

She said I couldn’t tell another soul about this. And that if I did, she would make sure I was sorry. Really and truly sorry.

Now that we have dispensed with the small talk, Seth steps forward and grabs me, smashing his lips against mine. He kicks the door closed behind him, and a second later, we’re ripping each other’s clothes off.

“This is harassment, Detective.” I grit my teeth. “I’ve got to get to work. And we don’t even know anything bad really happened to Dawn. She probably just took off on a trip without telling anyone.” A deep crease forms between his eyebrows. “No. She didn’t.” “Well, how do you know?” “Because,” he says, “we found Dawn’s body early this morning.”

“Yes, but it takes two to three months to see a response,” I explain. “Did you tell them that?” “You said two to three weeks.” “No, two to three months. That’s how long it takes to build up the collagen levels.”

“That’s not the point. I want a refund. I’ve got three boxes I haven’t even opened yet.” “I’m so sorry, Mr. Fulton. Vixed does not allow refunds.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Natalie? You told me I could get a refund if the product didn’t sell.”

“You lied to me,” he spits out. “You told me I could get a refund on your crappy product, and that’s the only reason I bought it. And also because you stuck your tits in my face.”

As I reach into the depths of the laundry basket, my fingers hit something unfamiliar near the bottom of the basket. Something that definitely isn’t clothing. It feels smooth and kind of cold. What the hell is that?

it’s hard to tell what I’m holding until I get it all the way out. But when I see what it is, I almost throw up. It’s a ceramic turtle. And it’s covered in blood.

What is the world coming to when even my own mother thinks I’m a big old bully? “I wouldn’t bully someone, Mom.” “Well, obviously you would.” She sniffs. “You have. Remember how you and that friend of yours, Tara, used to… you know…”

“I know you, Natalie. I know what you can be like. Don’t you remember when…”

It had to look real.

He’s normal. Well, as normal as any guy plotting to frame his girlfriend for murder can be.

That lying bitch. How could she tell the world that Amelia was her best friend and all of this is in Amelia’s honor?

Still, since she is guilty of murder and was given a free pass, it feels justified. I told you I would get vengeance. I told you I wouldn’t let Natalie get away with killing you. I made a promise on the day you died, and today, I honored that promise. I love you. I will never forget you.

Two days later, Mia took her own life. She took a bunch of pills, then slit her wrists in the bathroom. By the time her parents found her, she was already gone. They called me that night to break the news to me. I loved her as much as they did. I would never have another friend like Mia. Mia was gone. And it was all Natalie’s fault. I wanted vengeance.

And then one day I found somebody who hated Natalie as much as I did. Someone who blamed her for killing Mia the same way I did. Who wasn’t willing to let it go as easily as her parents were. Caleb. Mia’s brother.

“I didn’t do it, Mom,” I whisper. “Oh, Natalie…” “I didn’t! How could you even think that?” “You have to admit,” she sniffles. “It’s the sort of thing you would do.”

“I mean,” she goes on, “there were all those incidents when you were younger. Remember that girl you and your friend Tara bullied… and she killed herself?”

There’s only one way that can happen. There’s only one way that Natalie will go down hard. There needs to be a dead body. And it needs to be mine.

“Wherever she is right now,” Caleb says. “She’s rooting for us to end up together.” “Do you think we will?” Caleb gives me a funny look. I’ve gotten better at reading his facial expressions, but I can’t read this one. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Does he think we won’t end up together? Because I’ve been thinking more and more that I can’t imagine any sort of life without him. And even though he would be better off without me, I selfishly still want him. “What?” I say. Caleb doesn’t answer me. Instead, he drops down onto one knee. I stare at him and clasp a hand over my mouth. “Dawn.” He fishes around in the pocket of his running shorts and comes up with a blue velvet box. He must have been holding onto that for a

whole year. Waiting for the right moment. “Dawn, I love you so much.” I can’t even speak. I don’t cry easily, but I feel tears gathering in my eyes. A crowd is forming around us, now that people realize what’s happening. He opens up the blue velvet box. I let out a gasp at the ring inside. Instead of a diamond, he got me an emerald. It’s green. Like a turtle. “Dawn, will you marry me?” “Yes! Yes!”

And of course, I have skimmed my usual share off the top. I’m careful though. I never take more than a small amount. Enough to help me pay for my lifestyle, but not so much that anyone will notice. Amelia owes me after all the trouble she got me into after her suicide.

Last year I had to siphon off a little more than usual from the donations. I had to transfer the money back to the Vixed account before Seth figured out I had stolen from the company.