"Didn't it seem out of character?"

Rose shrugged. "I guess. I spoke to one of my other friends about it and she said Juliet acted the same with her, so we figured she just got tired of us for some reason."

"Which friend was that?"

"Penelope. Penelope Cera. You know what hurt the most?"

"Go on."

"Juliet was right. I have become boring, and Ethan does have a weird-shaped head, but a friend is supposed to build you up, you know, not knock you down."

"Did you talk to Penelope anymore about Juliet?"

"Not much. Penelope said Juliet got fired from her job and also got arrested."

"Does that sound like the Juliet you know?"

"If you asked me that question a couple of months ago, I would have said no, but now? I just don't know. You could try asking Penelope." A blood-curdling scream sounded from somewhere in the house. If I were carrying a gun, I would have reached for it. Rose barely stirred and neither did Sparky. "I guess Ethan wants more banana. I have to go."

"Thanks for your time."

The door slammed shut before I even left the stoop. Walking back to the car, I had a sinking feel that Juliet's other friends would relate similar stories. Sliding into the driver's seat, I pulled out my notepad, and wrote Receivers of weird emails or texts at the top. I listed Jane O'Dowd, Tom Oliver, and Rose Phipps. Each received a strange communiqué, or set of communications purportedly from Juliet. None bothered to challenge the oddly nasty messages, and chose to believe they were genuinely from Juliet. I was sure if I got a hold of Juliet's phone records, they would prove all the texts were sent from her cell phone. However, that didn't mean Juliet was the one typing them. Someone could have accessed her phone. Again, I had the unpleasant hunch that the person sending the texts had to be someone close to her.

Tapping my pen against the notepad, I wondered if someone was accessing her phone, or had maybe even cloned it. It was eerie behavior and the thought of it sent a cold shiver down my spine. "What's the point?" I asked the empty car. "What is the point of getting rid of Juliet's friends and all of her support network? Argh! I am so dumb!"

I tapped the notepad to my forehead. Why hadn't I seen it before? Juliet's stalker wanted to isolate her from everyone that was good in her life, all the people that believed in her... and those people, her network, were simply letting it happen. I wondered if Juliet's harried life only added to the confusion; if the weight of so many things going wrong forced her to give up on the very people she cared about. I figured I too might have buckled under the amount of strain she was under, had I been in her circumstances. It had to be connected somehow. I just needed to find out who and how.

I added a new name to the list, and drew lines from each of my listees to it. Jane O'Dowd was connected to Penelope via work; and so was Tom Oliver. Rose discussed her texts with Penelope. Penelope had access to Juliet's home and workplace. She told me she was adamant Juliet was going crazy and given our previous conversation, I was sure there was some jealousy for Juliet's achievements. I drew a large ring around Penelope's name and stared down at it. "It has to be you," I told the name. It seemed too neat, and way too easy. Why would Penelope be doing that?

"You are the common denominator. But how can I catch you?"

Chapter Fourteen

After one hour, two more angry former friends and one door slam later, I reconvened with Solomon and Delgado in Juliet and Rob's living room. Juliet and Rob sat on the couch opposite me, their faces confused and upset. I figured I'd probably look the same if someone came to my house and tried to convince me that Lily was hell-bent on screwing up my life.

"I can't believe this. You're telling me Rose, Chloe and Rebecca all think I sent those nasty texts? And now you say Penelope is trying to have me sent to jail? I don't believe it," said Juliet, shaking her head.

"I've known Penelope for years," added Rob. He had Juliet's hand between both of his and his eyes were dark from lack of sleep. "She's not that kind of person. She tries really hard; and she's been great in helping us cope with the current situation. No one else has helped as much as she has."

I focused on Juliet as I spoke. "That's part of the issue. Someone has gone to a lot of effort to alienate everyone else around you. Penelope is the only person you have left. You have no one else to turn to, except Rob. A person like that gains power."

"I don't know what you mean. Penelope doesn't have any power over me. She doesn't tell me what to do. She simply supports me."

"Power comes in a lot of different ways. It could be as simple as she likes knowing you have no one else to turn to. Or maybe she's planting little seeds of doubt in your mind, preparing you for her next move," I continued.

"This is too much." Juliet wrenched her hand from Rob's and rose, crossing over to the window. She stood with her arms folded, her back to us, and a thick silence filled the room. I hated to be the one to break it, having already disappointed Juliet, and I only arrived ten minutes prior.

"I'm struggling with this," said Rob, saving me from speaking first. "We've had our differences over the years, but... Penelope's terrific, okay? She's really grown as a person, and she loves Juliet. She made a huge effort to get to know her. She'd never hurt her, or hurt us, like this."

Solomon and I exchanged glances. "What kinds of differences?" I asked.

"Robbie's here," said Juliet, just as Rob began to speak. She waved, stepping away from the window to cross to the door.

"Hey, Jules," said the boy, reaching up to hug her as he bounded in. He dropped his backpack on the floor and kicked off his sneakers before running over to his dad. "Mom said I had to show you my math homework. I got a B! I never got a B before!"

"That's great," said Rob, his eyes lighting up as Robbie dived onto the sofa. He slid off again almost immediately. "I left it in my backpack," he said, gliding across the room in his socked feet, barely noticing us in his excitement and glee.

"Did Robbie show you his homework? He worked really hard and practiced to get it right," called a woman, presumably, the boy's mother. Since I intended to interview her anyway, I hoped now would be a good time. It could also provide Juliet a few minutes to absorb the unpleasant information we just imparted.

I couldn't hide my shock as Penelope stepped into the room, stopping dead when she saw us. Despite her obvious surprise, she recovered quickly, plastering on her familiar, wide-mouthed smile. "Hi, Lexi. I didn't see your car outside. Hi, guys."

"Mom, where's my homework? I can't find it."

"Check the front pocket, honey," said Penelope.

I blinked, confused, as Robbie raided his backpack, finally emerging with a lined sheet of paper. One side was covered with childish handwriting. "Got it!" he said, looking up. All I could see in his face were Rob's features. The same slightly upturned nose, the full lips, the same eyes and hair. I wouldn't have identified him as Penelope's son. "Look Juliet. Did you see my B?"

Juliet brushed his hair affectionately. "Sure did. Well done!"

"You’re Robbie's mom?" I asked, recalling my comments about being moms together. No wonder Penelope got so annoyed when I mentioned Juliet being a mom; I didn't know I was talking about the same kid, her kid!