by Leslie Rule
Liz was petite, and when she looked up at him with her big brown eyes, she could appear so vulnerable, it brought out his protective instincts. His heart went out to the single mother who seemed to struggle so hard to get by. Garret didn’t hesitate when she asked him to watch her kids when she had to work all night. They were good kids and easy to get along with. Trina was usually engrossed in a book, while Peter played video games. They stayed over at his place often. Liz hadn’t told him any specifics about her cleaning business, but it couldn’t have been easy on her to work all night. Not only that, it apparently was not lucrative.
Garret remembers that Liz had told him she had a lot on her plate. She had claimed that in addition to her housecleaning business, she was taking classes to become a dental hygienist and that she was also working as a nurse. He assumed it was true because he had seen her dressed for work in scrubs. He wasn’t sure where she worked, but he does remember the macabre joke they shared about her odd mix of careers: As a nurse, she would know how to kill Garret, and she could get away with it because she could use her cleaning expertise to wash away evidence. It was a ridiculous idea, and they’d chuckled about it. He couldn’t have imagined that he’d one day look back upon that “joke” with an icy shudder.
Despite the many hours she claimed she worked, Liz seemed constantly worried about money. His natural inclination was to offer help, though she usually made half-hearted attempts to protest. He didn’t have to help, she told him. She didn’t want him to pay her bills for her. She would just have to figure something out on her own. As she continued to mope and fret, he kept insisting until she accepted his help. She was his girlfriend, and he was glad to do what he could to make her life easier. It was gratifying to see her relieved smile when he made a problem disappear. Liz, of course, knew if she complained to Garret about her money woes, he’d want to help. She also knew that if she appeared upset enough, Garret would insist upon helping, even as she protested.
As time passed, she became no more comfortable showing him affection in public, but she showed him she cared behind closed doors. Overall, he felt they got along pretty well. But he sensed a shift in their relationship, beginning with that Fourth of July 2012, when she texted for hours “with her mechanic.” Somehow, she was able to convince Garret that the texting during the fireworks was innocent. He had no proof to the contrary, so he shrugged it off, trying to ignore his stomach-churning doubts. “I wanted to believe it. But what mechanic has your personal phone number and talks to you at nine or ten o’clock at night?”
It was hard to fathom that Liz and her mechanic were texting about car repairs for hours at a time. Electronic messaging has become a modern-day mating ritual, and Garret and Liz had once indulged in marathon sessions. That was in the beginning, when their romance was new. “We texted constantly. Even late at night. It was nonstop.”
Suddenly she was texting with someone as fervently as she’d once texted with Garret. She didn’t tell him she’d met her so called mechanic on an online dating site, and that while he did fix cars for a living, the nature of her relationship with him was anything but business. She didn’t tell him that the guy’s name was Dave Kroupa and that they were dating, just as she didn’t tell Dave about Garret. Dave would have been relieved to know she had another boyfriend, but she kept Garret a secret. Liz had a very specific image she wanted to paint for Dave, and that picture left no room for other men. She presented herself to Dave as his loyal girlfriend, patiently waiting for him to realize that she was the only woman he needed.
Meanwhile, if Garret ever voiced his suspicions about other men, Liz instantly flipped the conversation, so he ended up feeling like a jealous fool. By the time the autumn’s cool breezes began to blow the dying leaves from the trees, Garret had all but forgotten his worries that Liz might be interested in another guy. She was, after all, still with him. Why would she stick around if she wanted to be with someone else?
Garret had been unable to keep off the weight he’d lost before he’d met Liz. He was gradually gaining more weight with each passing month, and though he did plan to go on another diet, he was procrastinating. With his degree in Exercise Science, he knew how to get in shape and was confident the pounds would fall off when he was ready to focus on his health. His girlfriend didn’t seem to mind his expanding middle, and he figured that was a good sign their feelings for each other went beyond the superficial.
October 26, 2012, was a cold Friday in Council Bluffs, with temperatures falling below freezing. Garret doesn’t remember what he was doing that night, but he was definitely not at the Freaker’s Ball. Liz had not invited him to the big Halloween Bash at Harrah’s Casino, and he was unaware she was there with another man. Most likely, Garret was watching one or both of her kids that night and was probably staring at the TV as his girlfriend of two years posed for a photo with David Kroupa. She didn’t show Garret the photos of them, snuggled together in matching togas, and he had no idea that she’d been dating the freewheeling mechanic for months. He still believed that he and Liz were in an exclusive relationship.
Three days later, on October 29, Garret had no inkling that his girlfriend, who did not cook, had become hysterical over pots and pans left in Dave’s cupboards, and that she had caused an embarrassing scene, interrupting Dave’s date with Cari Farver. Garret, of course, didn’t know Cari, and Liz had never mentioned her. As October turned to November, and the lives of Dave and Cari and Liz intersected in a horrific collision, Garret was oblivious. For him, it was just another November. The days were short and icy. He spent most of the daylight hours at work, and later he relaxed in the warmth of his home, curtains drawn against the long winter nights as he read, worked on his computer, or watched television.
He saw Liz regularly, often taking care of her kids when she said she had to work at night. There was nothing about Liz that indicated anything out of the ordinary was occurring that November 2012. Sometimes she appeared stressed, but that was often the case for the single mother who seemed to work so hard. He continued to help out as much as he could, giving her cash, paying some of her bills, and taking her to lunch.
He would one day look back on that November in astonishment, wondering what he’d been doing when Cari vanished and why he hadn’t noticed that anything was wrong as Liz carried the burden of a secret so heavy it would have crushed a normal human being. She didn’t tell Garret her secret and said nothing to him about vandalism in her garage, stolen checks, or the fact she’d reported to police that someone was threatening to kill her.
Though Garret saw no evidence that Liz was upset, he does remember a peculiar incident that may or may not be significant to whatever was going on with his girlfriend. He can’t be certain of the exact day, week, or month, and he can estimate only that it occurred in the fall or winter of 2012. He discovered it by accident, on one of his rare visits to Liz’s home when he noticed a distinctive burning odor and commented on it. She quickly explained that she had had a get-together with a few friends, and some of them had lit cigarettes. They had put them out as soon as Liz asked them not to smoke in her house, but the smell still lingered.
His feelings weren’t hurt that she’d had a party and not invited him, but two things struck him as strange. Liz didn’t have friends as far as Garret knew. At least, he’d never met them, and she had not mentioned them to him. There was her sister Marcy and the guy they’d brought to his pool, but other than that, he didn’t think she had enough friends for a party. He couldn’t figure out why she would lie about the source of the odor, but it didn’t smell like cigarettes. Something had definitely burned, but it wasn’t tobacco. There was no reason at the time for Garret to suspect something sinister had occurred. It didn’t seem important, and he put it out of his mind.
The winter of 2012 swept upon Council Bluffs with frigid winds blowing as Garret and his family celebrated the holidays together. He often invited Liz to join them for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but she didn’t seem interested in fraternizing
with his relatives. Even so, Garret included Liz and her kids on his Christmas shopping list. Liz was easy to shop for because she was a gamer, so he usually got her video games for Christmas and her birthday. She rarely reciprocated, though one year she gave him “a cheap ring,” for Christmas, and he remembers that “she got me a card once for my birthday.” Garret didn’t expect Liz to give him gifts, and he wasn’t offended when she didn’t. He knew she had to shop for her kids, and he preferred she spent her money on presents for them. For the most part, it seemed like an ordinary December, and before he knew it, the holidays were over, a new year had begun, and he had made a strange new friend.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ON NEW YEAR’S DAY, 2013, a text from an unfamiliar number popped up in Garret’s phone. It was a friendly greeting, but he was confused. “Who is this?” he asked. The texter explained that she was a friend of Liz’s, and that Liz had given her his number as a backup in case she needed to get a hold of her and couldn’t reach her. He texted Liz. “Do you know a Cari? She just contacted me, looking for you. She said you gave her my number.”
Liz replied, All my friends have your number. If I’m not working or with them, then I’m with you.
Okay. Well, she is looking for you I guess.
Okay, thanks! I will call her soon!
K, hon, Garret texted. She asked me when we started dating. Hope it’s okay. I told her we met a couple of years ago.
LOL, Liz replied. You don’t have to tell me everything. I trust you.
“Cari” began to text Garret regularly. Over two hundred texts were exchanged between them in the first nine days of January 2013. Often Liz and “Cari” would engage him in simultaneous texting marathons, and he’d jump from one conversation to the other as their messages popped up, intermixed.
It was mostly small talk, but “Cari” occasionally texted comments that seemed designed to provoke him. She wrote that Liz barely ever mentions you. We didn’t even know you two were still dating.
Garret replied: Hey, the good news is you knew at one time. LOL. I don’t know what to say. Like I said, you would have to ask her about that.
In another text, “Cari,” wrote, Seems to me you like women who treat you badly.
He asked, Are you guys good friends?
We used to hang out all the time, but not so much anymore. Why do you ask?
Because of your last text, he typed. Didn’t this “Cari” realize that she was badmouthing his girlfriend? Why was Liz’s friend trying to make trouble? Disturbed, Garret reported the comments to Liz, warning her that her good pal did not seem to have her best interests at heart. Apparently, Liz then confronted her friend, because “Cari” texted him an apology: Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Liz talked to me. You could have told me.
Always the good sport, he replied, Sorry too. You’re right. I should have said something. Guess it kind of got to me—some of the things you were saying about Liz, and I don’t know you very well yet.
Sometimes “Cari” asked him for advice. How do you get someone back you care about, even though they’ve started dating someone else?
I don’t know, he responded honestly. If they have moved on, I guess I would ask if you were sure you would want them back.
That’s not helping. If Liz left, wouldn’t you want her back?
Wary of getting into a personal conversation about his relationship, he changed the subject. The lovelorn texter continued to dwell on her broken heart, and in a later text, she told him that she and her ex and his new girlfriend all worked at West Corp together. I don’t want him with this girl, she texted. I wish I could meet a guy like you, sweet, handsome, smart, and we have a lot in common. Not trying to hit on you.
I don’t know about the handsome part. LOL. You’ve seen me?
Yes, Liz showed me a picture of you. You are very handsome. I would like your arms around me, just saying. I would be proud to have you as a guy I could show.
Garret was embarrassed. Liz’s friend was obviously flirting with him, and that didn’t seem right. Then again, maybe she was just being nice. He felt obligated to respond. I appreciate the compliment.
You’re welcome, but I mean it.
The texting conversation with “Cari,” was interrupted a moment later when a message from Liz popped up, and they discussed the Yorkie she had adopted. Garret had loaned her the $140 adoption fee, after she had promised to pay him back. She had borrowed a lot of money from him, and she had never once paid him back, but he had a soft spot for animals and loaned her the money because he figured she would give the little dog a good home. The pooch was adjusting, Liz assured him and ended with, Painting my nails. Can’t talk now.
He went back to his text conversation with Liz’s troubled friend. She mentioned her ex again, and Garret wrote, You still care about your boyfriend and want him back?
Guess so.
That gave him pause. Liz often gave the identical text response. Guess so. It was somewhat unusual, and he was compelled to point that out. LOL. Sounds like Liz. She always says that. It was easier to type a plain old “Yes,” than to go to the trouble of tapping out “Guess so” with clumsy fingers on a cell phone’s tiny keyboard. Why did both ladies make “Guess so” part of their standard texting lingo? He didn’t have time to ponder it because he was too busy responding to the dozens of texts filling up his phone. His new phone pal was most curious about things that weren’t her business. How is your relationship? she asked. Is it what you want it to be?
His response was evasive. Are they ever?
Yes, she answered.
Things aren’t perfect, he admitted. But we are working on them.
Wow, you’re as bad as her, but her words are, “It’s fine, I’ll live with it” LOL.
I figured you’d know everything because you guys talk, he wrote.
We do talk. She just seems quiet about you.
Why didn’t Liz talk about him? And why was her friend so intent on communicating that fact to him? He didn’t know what to make of it. The texts continued with so many popping up over the next week that Garret was often too busy to answer. “Cari” seemed bothered by this and in pouting mode suggested that he didn’t want to “talk” with her. He told her that wasn’t so and graciously explained he had to work and could not spend every minute of the day texting.
On January 9, 2013, Garret took Liz out to lunch, and the conversation took an interesting turn when she mentioned that someone had been harassing her. She had talked to a detective at the Sheriff’s Office about it, and they were trying to help her. “They had downloaded her phone,” he remembers. “So, she asked me casually what they could get from the phone—can they download everything from it, from the SD card if you had one in there.”
Though Garret worked in the county’s IT department, he was uncertain how much data a phone dump could acquire, and he told her so. After lunch, he was surprised to get a call from Deputy Randal Phyllips at the Sheriff’s Office. Garret and the detective were acquainted, though they didn’t know each other well. After five and a half years working for the county, “I had gotten to know a lot of people there, even at the Sheriff’s Office.”
When the deputy asked Garret to come in for an interview, he was puzzled and called Liz. “I contacted her because I had just talked to her about this, and I said, ‘Why are they contacting me?’ I didn’t get to talk to her very long about it, and that’s when I went in and found out about everything that was going on.” Garret was escorted to a small room where he met with Deputy Phyllips and Lieutenant Dwayne Riche. He got the sense that something serious was happening, and it felt a little like being summoned to the principal’s office. Garret had always been an honest guy who tried to do the right thing, and now he had an added incentive to cooperate. Pottawattamie County was his employer, and he would never do anything to jeopardize his career. It was an odd, almost surreal situation, as the detectives asked him personal questions. They asked about his relationship with Liz, and Garret explained that
she was his girlfriend.
Remembering Liz’s question, Garrett asked how much information a download could glean. They explained it depended on the type of download, but it was possible to absorb everything. In fact, they’d learned about his association with Liz when they recognized his photo among images on her phone. The detective handed Garrett a picture they’d printed of him with his family. He was shocked when they told him that Liz had labeled it “fat ass.” The printed image had no label, and he wasn’t sure if he believed the investigators but could think of no good reason for them to lie.
“Are you and Liz exclusive?” Phyllips asked.
Garret confirmed that they were. “That’s when they started telling me about Cari, about this missing woman. They told me about what was going on with at least Liz, that she was allegedly getting threats.”
Deputy Phyllips revealed that Cari appeared to be jealous of Liz because they were both dating Dave Kroupa. It was the first time Garret had heard the Kroupa name, and the first time he’d heard that his new texting pal was a stalker. He felt queasy. They were implying that his girlfriend was cheating on him! That was bad enough, but the punch they delivered next nearly knocked him out of his chair. “I was told that Liz and David devised this plan to give my information to Cari and hopefully ‘sic’ her on me, diverting her attention away from them to me.” If the scheme unfolded as planned, Garret and “Cari” would fall for each other, and the crazy lady would no longer feel the need to terrorize Liz and Dave.
It was a lot to digest. Had Liz really been unfaithful to him? And did she think so poorly of him that she believed he could actually develop romantic feelings for a woman who, by all accounts, was stark, raving mad? Was he nothing more than “a fat ass” to the woman who swore up and down that he was her one and only? The idea that Liz was plotting against him with the guy she was cheating with was both insulting and hurtful.