The Coworker

by Freida McFadden

“But we have identified a person of interest in her disappearance.”

Oh shit, she's the person of interest..

The truth is, there’s only one person I want to talk to right now. But I shouldn’t. I really, really shouldn’t.

Who the hell is that?!

To: Melinda Hoffman

Seth's wife?....

The one on Seth’s desk.

She was Seth’s wife.

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

OH SHIT, SHE WAS HIS MISTRESS

“You can mind your own damn business from now on, okay?” was what she said.

I told her I would, but she kept pressing me. 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.

A threat…..

Natalie and Seth.

She’s freaking having an affair with her boss

Seth Hoffman, my boss, is standing on my doorstep. His

Oh goodness this is insane lol

I’m wild about Caleb, but I don’t think anyone has ever driven me wild the way my married boss does.

She’s freaking cheating on Caleb …..

Expect to hear from my lawyer.

Oh shit

“we found Dawn’s body early this morning.”

there was a turtle figurine

Yet now it’s somehow back on my desk.

“I want to talk to your manager.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I just checked with my manager, and he’s on another call, but he told me to let you know that we can’t make any exceptions to our policy. I’m afraid we can’t offer you a refund.”

For God’s sake, Dawn, you don’t need to always hit “reply all” on emails!!! I will let you know if anyone else claims cupcakes.

That's bitchy

I kept insisting I made twelve chocolate cupcakes, but Natalie would not step aside to let me into the bridal shower.

she said she didn’t understand why I was here in the first place because I’m not even friends with Kim.

“I sent that to everyone, but I assumed people realized they shouldn’t come if they weren’t friends with Kim—that’s just common sense,”

I don't understand why she's being such a bitch!

It’s a ceramic turtle.

And it’s covered in blood.

Oh shit!!

I push it all the way down to the bottom and cover it up with

Her fingerprints are all over it now

“Well, obviously you would.”

“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…”

I want to reach through the phone and strangle him with my bare hands.

That’s when she suggested coming over later tonight.

OH SHIT! She went over her house!

She reminded me not to tell anyone, because of course they would try to cover their tracks. Then she told me she was counting on me.

Sus

I even dusted the surfaces and scrubbed down my basketball-sized ceramic turtle.

I have a bottle of red wine, and we can each have a glass while we talk about the situation at work.

the doorbell just rang. That must be her! Wish me luck!

“Natalie Farrell.”

“You’re under arrest for the murder of Dawn Schiff.”

I can’t get enough of it.

That moment when the detective steps out of the crowd and tells Natalie she’s under arrest.

It had to look real.

“Did you see her get arrested?”

“Yeah, I was right there. I wish you had seen her face, Dawn. It was epic.”

OH SHITTTTT!!!!!!

Natalie came up with a particularly nasty way to make fun of Mia.

Natalie and her best friend Tara Wilkes would mimic the answer in that same slurred voice.

Two days later, Mia took her own life.

Oh no… that’s terrible..

Caleb.

Mia’s brother.

There was a girl in my high school who died by suicide, and it was so incredibly tragic—something I couldn’t stop thinking about for years to come.

Mia

“It’s such a big coincidence, isn’t it? I mean, a girl the same age as you turns up at the exact same time…”

He keeps talking about what a strange coincidence it is.

But it’s not that...