The Coworker

Natalie discovers from recent news reports that Dawn’s body was found in the woods. When Natalie arrives at work, the discarded turtle figurine is back on her desk. This time, Natalie disposes of it in the break room’s garbage bin.

Natalie receives a call from Dave Fulton, a health store owner. His customers have complained that Collahealth does not work and has nasty side effects. When Natalie denies that she offered Dave the product on a sale-or-return basis, he furiously calls her a liar.

Natalie confronts Kim and demands to know what she said to Detective Santoro. Kim says she told the truth—that Natalie bullied Dawn. Natalie orders Kim to stop incriminating her and threatens to tell Kim’s husband what happened at the bachelorette party. Natalie is relieved that she had the good sense to take photographs of Kim at the party.

Natalie feels persecuted, believing that she tried harder than her coworkers to be nice to Dawn. She also worries that Caleb will discover her recent infidelity with Seth and break up with her. Natalie invites Caleb to stay over the following night. However, he sounds shocked at the suggestion and points out that the news of Dawn’s death has only just broken. He also seems surprised that the charity run is still scheduled to take place as planned.

The narrative describes emails that were sent three months prior to the current timeline. Natalie emails colleagues to inform them of Kim’s potluck bridal shower. Dawn excitedly replies that she will make turtle cupcakes. Natalie responds impatiently, berating Dawn for copying everyone in on her reply.

An email from Dawn to Mia describes the bridal shower. Dawn took her turtle cupcakes to work, but they disappeared from the refrigerator. Natalie then turned Dawn away from the event, accusing her of lying when she explained that her cupcakes had gone missing. Dawn rechecked the break room and found her cupcakes in the garbage bin. Mia replies that Dawn should report Natalie to HR.

Natalie prepares for Rita Duke to interview her about the charity run. Rita is from a local radio station and questions whether the event should still take place in light of Dawn’s murder. Rita reveals that Vixed is trending on social media with posts claiming that Dawn was bullied by her coworkers.

Natalie checks the comments on social media. Many condemn bullying and complain about the side effects of Collahealth. Some contributors label Natalie a liar.

The narrative describes emails that were sent two months earlier. Dawn emails her mother, Rhonda Schiff, asking how to befriend a coworker. Ascertaining that the colleague is not a man, Rhonda advises Dawn not to bother. Rhonda also claims to need extra money. Dawn explains that she cannot afford to send much more than she has already. Rhonda accuses her daughter of being an ungrateful burden.

Dawn emails Mia, declaring her intention never to contact her mother again. In an attempt to get Natalie to like her, Dawn has also been reading about body language.

Back at home, Natalie watches the news and learns that Dawn’s tortoiseshell glasses were found broken next to her body. While sorting her laundry, Natalie finds a blood-covered ceramic turtle at the bottom of the basket. The turtle is “the size of a basketball” (183).

Natalie realizes that the turtle is probably the murder weapon that killed Dawn and that someone is trying to frame her. When the doorbell rings, Natalie returns the turtle to the bottom of the laundry basket. An unmarked police car is parked outside.

In an email to Mia two months earlier, Dawn describes how a new employee named Caleb seems attracted to Natalie. Meanwhile, when Dawn complimented her diamond necklace, Natalie became angry and defensive, asking if Dawn thought she could not afford it. In the email, Dawn begs for Mia’s help, as she does not understand where her interactions with Natalie are going wrong.

Natalie answers the door to find Detective Santoro. Observing that Natalie’s house must be expensive, the detective suggests that Dawn discovered accounting discrepancies that Natalie did not want anyone to know about. Natalie denies stealing money from Vixed.

When Detective Santoro leaves, Natalie smashes the ceramic turtle into many pieces. Driving to Wollaston Beach, she throws the fragments into the sea. Upon returning to her car, she receives another silent call. Natalie wonders if anything else has been planted in her home.

One month earlier, Kim emails her coworkers complaining that her bottle of ketchup has disappeared from the refrigerator. Dawn replies to deny responsibility and point out that all of her meals have been green or white. She adds that a cleaning rotation might stop such incidents from occurring.

Dawn emails Mia, recounting her worst day at Vixed so far. Arriving at her desk, she found her plant overturned and her glass turtles smashed. Meanwhile, her stuffed turtle had been cut down the middle and covered with a blood-like substance. Some coworkers laughed, and Natalie declared that the turtles were unsightly. Afterward, Dawn noticed an empty ketchup bottle in Natalie’s trash can and complained to Seth. When he refused to believe her claims, Dawn declared that Seth was biased because he was sleeping with Natalie. Seth denied the accusation and ordered her to clean up her desk.

Natalie searches her house for further incriminating evidence. The next day at work, she notices that the turtle figurine has reappeared on her desk yet again. Natalie asks a technician to install an app on her phone to trace calls from a withheld number. She is then summoned to Seth’s office.

One week before the primary timeline, Dawn emails Mia to inform her of discrepancies in the company accounts, all from Natalie’s sales. Dawn reveals that she has decided to speak to Natalie about it before she goes to Seth.

Mia replies that Dawn should report Natalie immediately.

Seth tells Natalie that Detective Santoro has been to see him. The police officer revealed to Seth that, before Dawn’s death, she discovered that Natalie was stealing money from Vixed. Seth says he always wondered how Natalie could afford such expensive clothes. He also surmises that she had an affair with him to distract him from the truth. Ignoring Natalie’s denials, he announces that she is suspended while he checks the accounts more closely.

Natalie tells Kim that she is taking a few days’ leave. Kim is noncommittal when Natalie asks her to confirm her plans to attend the fun run on Saturday. When Natalie grips her arm, hurting her, Kim finally agrees to support the event.

Natalie takes a call from her mother, who has heard that Vixed’s employees bullied the murdered woman. Natalie claims her innocence, but her mother recalls a high school incident involving her daughter and a friend named Tara. Abruptly ending the discussion, Natalie takes a call from Caleb. Caleb apologetically admits that he cracked under Detective Santoro’s questioning and confessed that he did not spend the entire night with Natalie. Suddenly, Natalie’s doorbell rings, and she sees the lights of several police cars outside.

Detective Santoro tells Natalie that he has a warrant to search her home and car. The police officer states that because he was severely bullied at school, he intensely dislikes anyone who perpetrates that kind of behavior.

On the day of the disappearance, Dawn emails Mia. She describes meeting with Natalie at work and tells her about the missing money from Vixed’s accounts. Natalie suggested that they should get together and try to determine who was responsible. She promised to visit Dawn that evening at 10:00 pm after having dinner with Caleb. Dawn tells Mia that she has bought a bottle of wine and is waiting for Natalie to arrive.

On the day of the fun run, Natalie receives another silent call from a withheld number. Using her new app, she discovers the call came from a motel outside Providence, Rhode Island. When Caleb arrives, Natalie tells him about the motel and says she will drive there after the run.

Natalie thinks she sees Seth’s wife among spectators just as she is about to be interviewed for TV. She tells the interviewer that the race honors her childhood friend, Amelia, who had cerebral palsy. Detective Santoro approaches and arrests Natalie, placing her in handcuffs. As he leads her away, Natalie begs Caleb to check out the motel.