“Can I see the text?” Tristan asked. Noah had mentioned how he was a tech savant; maybe he knew how to track where the message came from. “Sometimes, there’s ways to get the metadata from it. Maybe I can figure out who sent it or from where.”

Noah opened his phone and scrolled to the text message, its words already seared into my brain. Tristan got to work, crossing one leg on the other and sitting back on the couch.

“What about Franky’s wife?” Tia pointed out. “Didn’t you say that she was pretty angry when you guys went to talk to him? Maybe she found out you dated her husband and she got pissed off enough to torture you and Jake?”

“It’s a possibility.” Noah pursed his lips and shook his head. “I just don’t know why she’d still be coming after me and my relationship.”

“No, Noah is right,” Jess said, countering her girlfriend. “This feels to me like someone that’s obsessed with him, romantically speaking. Not someone who’s angry with him. Or maybe… is Jake the original target?”

That made me cock my head. I hadn’t thought of that being the case, but maybe someone from my past was the one who was behind this vicious curtain? I couldn’t imagine it being anyone I dated, especially not my most recent relationship: Ashley. We were still solid friends, and I couldn’t see her harboring any resentment for what had happened between us. It was her choice, her decision to own herself and be happy, even if it caused some discomfort in the beginning.

“The first threat was sent specifically for me, though. Jake was there, but the box with the chicken head had my name written on it.”

“What about Mason?” I asked. “He was there that night. At your doorstep, he’s the one that found the box.”

“I don’t…” Noah chewed on his bottom lip, turning the pink flesh pale white. “He’s always been nice to me. Sometimes he says things that are a little off, but he never gave me stalker vibes.”

“They rarely do,” Eric said. “What about your other neighbor? Robby? He was there that night. Didn’t you two date for a little?”

I looked to Noah, slightly surprised by the news. I didn’t know all of his past relationships and didn’t have an expectation to learn them, but the neighbor sounded like one relationship that should have been brought up, at least in passing.

“Dating is a very strong word. I saw him on Grindr once, and we hooked up after each having an entire bottle of wine. It happened a couple more times until I told him I wasn’t feeling it. We weren’t compatible at all in the bedroom, so I told him to just stay friends.”