Cari’s number. The messages were riddled with blatant grammar and spelling errors and focused on Liz, calling her a “fat, ugly whore.”
The first time one of the vulgar texts popped up, Dave blinked, unsure if he was reading it right. Cari had appeared unaffected when Liz interrupted their first date. Had it been an act? Was she in reality obsessed with him and psychotically jealous of Liz? Had she been only pretending when she expressed a desire to remain free? If so, how had she managed to appear so confident and strong while harboring such a dark and unpredictable side to her character?
David was not the only one with questions. When Liz called to inform him that his “crazy ex” was harassing her, she wanted to know how in the world the nut had gotten her phone number. How had she gotten her email address? And how did she know where she lived? He was shocked when Liz told him that not only had she been getting threatening emails and texts, but that the troublemaker had apparently broken into her garage and painted the words “Whore from Dave” on the wall.
He hadn’t really expected to see Liz again, but now he was compelled to meet with her to discuss the alarming situation. He sheepishly apologized when she told him how upsetting it was to be dragged into his mess. He couldn’t fault her for being miffed, and he was grateful she didn’t drop the blame entirely upon him. The world was filled with nuts, she acknowledged, and it was their bad luck to encounter one—though if he’d just been satisfied with what he had then they wouldn’t be in such a horrible situation.
He listened quietly as Liz described the vandalism she had come home to. In addition to the graffiti on the garage wall, some old checks had been taken from the garage. She reported the vandalism and theft to the Omaha Police Department.
If Dave had any doubt about the identity of the perpetrator of the crimes, those vanished when they both received an email, allegedly from Cari, gloating over her handiwork in Liz’s garage. Liz’s missing checks were tied to a now-defunct account, but she said it bothered her someone could write bad checks in her name, even if they were invalid. One of the checks in question surfaced, or rather an image of it did. It was nearing midnight on Saturday, November 17, when a photo of a signed check for $5,000 was sent to Nancy’s phone, along with another text message. The check was made out to Cari, signed in Liz’s legal name, Shanna Golyar, and the notation indicated it was for the purchase of Cari’s bedroom set. The accompanying text, allegedly from Cari, explained she’d sold her bedroom set and instructed Nancy to allow the buyer in to pick up her purchase. Apparently, the picture of the check was “proof” the furniture was paid for.
Cari’s bedroom furniture was not an actual set, though it looked as if it could be because she’d selected pieces that complemented each other. Great-Grandma Mabel’s antique dresser was so cherished that it was hard to believe Cari would willingly let it go. Nancy sent a return text: I need to hear your voice first, so I know it’s really you. She wasn’t about to let a stranger into Cari’s home to take her possessions. Not only did she doubt that Cari had sold her furniture, she was almost certain she wasn’t the one texting her. Nevertheless, Nancy was shocked when the texter got so mad at her refusal that they lashed out, accusing her of being a bad mother and too controlling.
“It got really nasty. At that point, I got a little angry.” She felt a flash of annoyance at Cari as she pictured her daughter tapping out the hostile words, but her irritation was immediately washed away by guilt. “This can’t be Cari!” Nancy reminded herself. The daughter she knew would never treat her like this. “I couldn’t find her, and I couldn’t talk to her, and I had all of these feelings bouncing around. I was not in a good place.”
The messages, laced with rage, sounded nothing like Cari. But it was not the hostile attitude that spooked Nancy the most. Nor was it the claim she had sold the furniture she was so fond of. Nancy was most alarmed by the grammar. “Cari was meticulous with her grammar and spelling. Texts and emails had to be perfect, or