Toxic

29 A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC

Ten minutes later, Hanna had swung into the driver’s seat of the Prius and started the engine. Her friends piled in next to her, looking bare in their skimpy party dresses. Their faces glowed in the dim, greenish interior lights.

“Okay, what does all this mean?” Hanna demanded.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Spencer asked, her eyes wild. “When I told Greg about the camera, he was totally surprised. He must have told Ali, and she must have just made the loop to throw us off. Which means she had to be at the pool house to access the camera to make the loop. And the only reason she might want to make the loop is if she’s there, right now, doing something in the pool house. We have to get her before she leaves again!”

Hanna glanced over her shoulder at the bunch of balloons and the ROSEWOOD RALLIES banner across the front entrance. She felt a guilty pang. It felt weird to leave the party, even if it sucked. What if Mike showed up? She’d texted him a thousand times, apologizing again and again and begging him to come to the party so they could reconcile. Mike hadn’t replied, but Hanna hated to think that he might change his mind and she wouldn’t even be here.

“What if it’s a trap?” she said quietly. “What if Ali’s not there at all? Maybe she just made that loop to get us up there.”

Spencer’s brow furrowed. She looked at Aria worriedly. But Emily shook her head. “We won’t know until we actually check it out. We’re going to get her tonight, you guys. I can feel it.”

“But there’s only one camera on a loop, right?” Hanna asked. “Wouldn’t the other cameras show Ali on the porch? Coming through the door?”

“She could have come in a back window,” Emily said. “For all we know, she could have scaled a wall and climbed in through the second floor.”

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Hanna asked, her last-ditch effort.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Spencer licked her lips. “And tell them . . . what?”

“We could have them come to the pool house,” Hanna suggested, feeling desperate. “Or we could tell them about Greg—that he knows Ali.”

Aria spun a silver ring on her finger around and around. “If they drive up to the property, Ali will see the cop cars and bolt. She’ll probably never go to that place again. And the police will be furious that we trespassed and put up cameras.”

“And I don’t know what we could say about Greg,” Spencer said. “Even if they found him and asked him questions, he’d lie. He’d say he’d never talked to Ali. I doubt he’s kept any evidence that he’s been in touch with her.”

“That’s why we have to go ourselves,” Emily said determinedly.

Hanna ran her fingers on the surface of her clutch. “I just hate that we’re doing this alone,” she said in a small voice.

Spencer grabbed her hand. “We’re not alone—we’re together. And this time, we’re really going to finish this.”

Hanna didn’t know what else to do except drive to Ashland. No one spoke as she steered up the silent suburban streets. Huge houses on the golf course whisked past, shimmering majestically in the setting sun. Then she turned past the studio lot where Burn It Down was being filmed. She felt another regretful twinge. She should be euphoric today—she’d scored a huge role in a movie. But without Mike to celebrate with, the whole thing felt . . . hollow.

The sky darkened as she turned onto the highway to Ashland. The drive felt strangely calm and peaceful, like a cloudless sky before a storm. Before long, the familiar Turkey Hill mini-mart swam into view. Hanna took the left that led to a smaller, twisty road. The dusk cast long shadows across the pavement. She spotted the red mailbox and signaled.

“Wait!” Emily cried, grabbing the wheel. “Maybe we should park on the street. We’ll attract less attention.”

“Good idea.” Hanna pulled about a quarter-mile down the road to a large spot on the shoulder. When she cut the engine, darkness enveloped them. It was a new moon, too; Hanna could hardly see a few inches in front of her face. She grabbed her phone and turned on the flashlight app. Aria did the same. Emily was still using hers to look at the cameras.

“Okay,” Hanna whispered, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

The only sounds were their heels crunching unsteadily on the gravel and an occasional owl’s hoot from the woods. They reached the red mailbox and made the turn up the steep hill. Hanna cursed under her breath as her ankle twisted in a pothole. The Maxwells’ estate rose above them, its porch light lit.

“Come on,” Spencer said, forging ahead.

Hanna’s phone made a zigzagging beam across the side yard. The light bounced on the plastic pool cover, then reflected against the walls of the pool house. Emily held her arm across Hanna’s body to halt her. “That light wasn’t on before, was it?”

Sure enough, a single bulb burned on the second floor. Hanna’s heart pounded faster. Ali could be here. This could really be the end of it.

Holding hands, they made their way slowly toward the pool house. When they were about ten feet away, everyone hesitated. Spencer swallowed hard. “So do we go in, or what?”

Aria shifted her weight. Hanna was too afraid to move. Then Emily broke her grip and tiptoed onto the porch. She shifted her weight, a floorboard squeaking. Hanna winced, frightened that the loud sound might attract attention.

Emily eyes were wide as she peered through the window. Hanna’s heart banged hard. “What do you see?” she hissed. “Is someone in there?”

Emily looked at the others, a haunted expression on her face. “It’s not Ali,” she said in a wobbly voice that terrified Hanna. “But it’s something.”