Chapter 5

Thursday December 31

Yesterday was just so mind-blowing that I forgot to check on my reddit post. As of this morning there were a respectable number of up-votes and a respectable number of posts. I enjoyed reading their compliments - especially the two that suggested that they had come while looking at my body. I spent a little time replying to some of them - thanking them, flirting, and insisting that my photographer deserves most of the credit.

Of course, the real question - maybe the point of the whole experiment - was to see what my dad thought. My gallery did, in fact, show up in both his browser history and his bookmarks list. I guess my dad wasn’t lying all those times he called me beautiful growing up. And I suppose it’s safe to guess that he would want to fuck me if we weren’t related. Interesting to learn. Of course it doesn’t really change anything.

I sent a text to check in on Becca.

Lexi: Hey. How you doing?

Becca: :(

Lexi: Oh. Sorry to hear it.

Becca: It’s OK.

Lexi: Do you want to get together and talk about it? Grab some lunch?

Lexi: Or we could get lunch and not talk about it, if you prefer.

Becca: Yeah. Can you pick me up? Not at the house - the corner two streets down.

Lexi: OMW

At first she seemed reasonably happy, and it looked like we might have a nice time. It was all small talk when I picked her up and we drove to the Japanese restaurant.

“Got any New Year’s plans?” I asked once we placed our orders.

“My boyfriend wanted me to go to his house tonight,” Becca said, suddenly sad.

“And you don’t want to?” I asked, trying to bring her out of her shell.

Becca shook her head. “I told him that I had to be with my family tonight,” she said.

“This is the guy who wants you to do something you don’t want to do?” I asked. Becca nodded.

“Caleb?” I pressed. She nodded again.

“And Catherine - she’s part of this too?” Becca nodded again.

“And what they want you to do is have anal sex with Caleb?” Becca didn’t reply this time - she just looked down and sniffled. From the look of her eyes, she was getting ready to cry.

“Becca, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” I started to say.

“Yes I do!” she whined. “If I don’t, they’ll...” She trailed off.

“They’ve got a video of you that they’re threatening to show everyone, right? Something embarrassing?”

“Yes,” she said meekly.

“Becca, can you tell me what’s on that video?” I asked. “I promise I won’t think any less of you.”

“Yes you will,” she said in a whisper.

“Becca, I’m trying to help,” I went on. “I’m trying to find a way to erase that video, or find some pressure to put on them. But it’s really hard if I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

She just stared at the table, not responding. The waitress brought our food and we both began to eat in silence. After a little while, we started talking again about unimportant things - movies, Christmas gifts.

In the car, Becca opened up again. “He said this was the last time,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“When I told him I couldn’t meet him tonight, he said that this was the last time I can make excuses. The next time he asks me, I have to ... do it, or else they’ll show everyone the video.

“Becca, if it’s that bad, we have to go to the police. Or at least your parents,” I pleaded with her.

“No!” she screamed. “I swear to god, Lexi, if you tell anyone about this I’ll kill myself! My parents have lots and lots of pills lying around!”

“You’d really rather die than have people see what’s on that video? For real?” I asked tenderly. She nodded.

“I’ll figure something out,” I told her before I dropped her off.

I think I have to tell the police. She’ll hate me forever. They’ll probably send her to a psych hospital. But it’s better than the chance that she’ll carry out her threat.

Friday January 1

After my meeting with Becca yesterday I decided to do some quick recon of Catherine’s home network. If I didn’t find anything, I told myself, I’d go to the police.

I wasn’t starting completely from scratch. I knew Catherine’s address from Caleb’s emails. I knew that she lived with both of her parents, and that her sister was grown up and living in another city. I knew the house’s WiFi password, and even the alarm code.

I parked on the street around the corner from their house, to see what I could learn from their home network. I could see all three family members’ cell phones, so that meant they were home. There were two desktop computers, but I couldn’t find a way to get at them. There was also a dedicated network-based backup system. I read up on it, but that was pointless - it was pretty secure.

There were definitely no cameras on the WiFi network. After my trouble with Mr. Demarco, I had studied up on all of the popular brands out there and how to detect them. Of course, the fact that I was even thinking about cameras, I had to admit to myself, meant that I was considering doing something very, very stupid.

What if I did break in? What was the best case scenario? The password to Catherine’s computer would be on a sticky note next to the monitor, I’d find the file, erase it, and nobody would ever know I was there. Except I’d need to do something about the backup system. In one of their emails, Catherine and Caleb had talked about going to her house to watch the video of Becca, so that suggests she doesn’t keep it on her phone.

So what’s the worst case scenario? I suppose getting shot, going to prison, and then never being able to get a decent job for the rest of my life. I could certainly kiss the FBI goodbye. But then, that was all a dream anyway. Mr. Demarco is right - they’ll never let me in no matter what.

Of course, all that assumed that I even got a chance in the first place. What if the house was never empty between now and the next time Caleb puts pressure on Becca?

I was still thinking this through and reading about their backup system when Catherine and her parents left, dressed for a formal party. It was dark by then, and it seemed safe to guess that they wouldn’t be home before midnight, so I thought, it’s now or never.

I grabbed my lock picks, my gloves, and my hoodie and snuck into the back yard, figuring I’d attract less notice picking the back door lock. This was to be my second time breaking and entering. I hoped that it worked out better than the first time.

Between the adrenaline and the gloves, I was having trouble picking the lock. It’s stupid - I had practiced on that exact model of lock dozens of times before - it should have been easy. But I just couldn’t steady my hand enough. That was the first unanticipated problem.

The second unanticipated problem walked up to me, sniffing my pants and wagging her tail. When I looked at her, she rolled over onto her back, begging for a belly-rub. I thanked my lucky stars that she wasn’t a barking sort of dog.

The dog had come out of the house through a doggy door near the human door I had been trying to unlock. After a couple more minutes of failing to pick the lock, I decided to go low-tech and crawl inside that way. When I was half-way through, the dog tried to mount me. I desperately hoped she didn’t leave any hairs on me that could prove I had been there.

Once inside I checked the alarm panel. It said it was set to “perimeter”, so if there were any motion sensors - which I should have thought to look for before entering - they wouldn’t go off.

Catherine’s computer was already on, unlocked, so it was easy to install my default malware kit. After that I started copying all of her data files, for later review, while looking around for videos.

I skimmed the videos to see which ones involved Becca, but I didn’t take the time to actually watch them. Once I had made my copies, I wiped all of the Becca files from the computer securely.