Beth has done her research, as Gavin said, and she’s done it thoroughly. She went through the Nanny Book profile. She called up each parent and each school Anneliese had claimed to work for, substitute-taught at. And they had all picked up and responded, given stunning references, spoken at length in slight upstate accents, emphasizing the A in Anneliese as they waxed on about her, the way she read their children like they were part of herself. The way she handled a classroom, how for months afterward students would ask after her even if she’d only been in the classroom for a week, espousing her lessons like they were gospel, even if all she was teaching was spelling.

“So, for a moment I was convinced. I began second-guessing myself, and you know I never do that. But something was nagging at me, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I’d met Anneliese, was turned off by her, thought she wasn’t being forthright with who she really was. Then, there was all that shit from her brother-in-law, but of course that could be dismissed as petty family drama, and don’t we all have that? So I began calling the references again. And it hit me.” She pauses, and my heart lurches.

“It was the same modulation. The same diction, the same manner of speech over and over again. I was speaking to the same two or three people, all pretending to be Mr. Hayes from Briarwood Elementary or Mrs. Garcia of Katonah, New York. It’s kind of genius. And diabolical. Here, I have some voice mails saved on my computer.” I hear some shuffling, and then the crackle of a voice recording.

“Hi, Beth! Mrs. Carmichael here. Thanks so much for giving me a call. Sorry to have missed you, but I can’t tell you how much Anneliese helped me out last year with my two little ones. She’s such a godsend. Give me a call back at 845-555-1928 if you have any more questions. Bye!” And then another voice, higher, almost nasal, as if someone is plugging up their nose.

“Hi, Beth! Mrs. Sanchez here. Sorry we’re playing phone tag, but I can’t explain how much help Anneliese gave me last year with my little one. You’re free to give me a call back at 518-555-6320.” Beth comes back onto the line.

“You see, separately it all seems real enough. But together, one after another, you can hear the similarities. And then I started Googling around. And I found Mrs. Garcia of Katonah, New York, on Facebook. It was easy; there aren’t many Fauna Garcias up there.