trivial. Their tormentor, as usual, was aware when they were together. “Sometimes Liz and I would be hanging out, watching a movie together, and we’d both receive an email.” Caught up in the movie, their troubles momentarily forgotten, the sudden alert from their phones was jarring. Liz’s phone was usually tucked in her purse across the room when this happened. Only one person contacted them simultaneously. The stalker. As their phones chimed in unison, they would stare at each other for a moment, delaying the inevitable. Dave remembers Liz sighing in exasperation as she retrieved her phone. He felt a flash of guilt when her eyes widened in fear as she read the latest threat. As usual, the texter vowed to harm Liz while professing devotion for Dave.
Despite the fact that he hadn’t been the one to end his relationship with Cari, the notes he received now expressed romantic feelings for him and didn’t acknowledge that there had even been a breakup. She seemed to be in her very own odd realm where reality had been churned inside out. After the garage incident, the texter had written: So how did Liz like having her life destroyed while she was with you? That’s what will happen to everyone else who comes into your life . . . As usual, the writer pointed out in that message that Liz was a “whore,” but ended on a cheerful note: I hope we can see each other soon.
Meanwhile, Cari appeared to remain active on Facebook. On November 21, her family was shocked to see a new post. Moving to Kansas for a great job. Will miss family and great friends. On November 26, another appeared. Hey, got a great guy, David Kroupa. Moving down to Kansas. Now if I can get my son to move with me, I’d be so happy.
Dave had not seen Cari since the day he’d gotten the break-up text, so the reference to them as a couple was another sign the stalker lived in her own warped world. Most alarming to Cari’s family was the idea that someone could be planning to take Max. Nancy had also received texts from “Cari,” insisting that Maxwell go away with her. She didn’t believe that Cari was the one posting on Facebook and texting her, but she couldn’t be certain, especially after Max verified that his mother had once mentioned the possibility of moving to Kansas.
Maxwell’s life was in Macedonia. He was involved in school activities, and he had friends and a girlfriend. His mother understood that and had always put him first. Even if Cari had toyed with the idea of moving, it couldn’t have been an immediate plan because she’d never mentioned it to her mother. It would be very unlike Cari to uproot her son. Either someone was impersonating her or she’d truly lost her mind. Both scenarios could be dangerous for Max. The teen was spooked. He and his mom were extremely close, and he had never ever had a reason to be afraid of her, but if this really was his mother doing all of these strange things, she was not herself.
The situation was perplexing, but Nancy was sure of one thing. Cari loved her son more than anything. If Cari was no longer among the living, Nancy was certain that her last thought would have been for her child. If her daughter had flipped out, Nancy knew that deep down, Cari would want Max protected. The one thing Nancy could do for her was step in and become Max’s fiercest protector. Even so, she was overwhelmed with guilt as she and Mark took legal action to become Maxwell’s guardians. What if things were not as bad as they seemed, and Cari came home to find she had taken away her rights to her son? Would her daughter ever forgive her for such a betrayal? Nancy’s attorney told her not to worry. The guardianship didn’t have to be permanent. They could undo it if Cari returned in her right mind.
CHAPTER EIGHT
MARK AND NANCY RANEY became their grandson’s guardians on November 29, 2012. The next day was Cari’s thirty-eighth birthday. Nancy vividly remembers November 30 in 1974 when she welcomed her baby girl into the world via natural childbirth. The infant was amazingly calm, so calm that she woke up only once during her first night home. By her second day on Earth, Cari was sleeping through the night, and she never again interrupted her parents’ sleep.