Page 77 of Twisted Liars

“Hey,” Jensen said, pressing the loudspeaker button as he answered the call. “It’s me.”

“I know.” Addy’s voice was tense. “What’s going on?”

“Is it safe for you to talk?”

“Yes,” she replied. “My parents stopped monitoring all my stuff after Amerie went missing. I think they figured there was no point anymore, because I can’t tell her anything now that she’s not around.”

“Well, speaking of Amerie… she’s here with me,” Jensen said.

Addy let out a strangled gasp of excitement. “What?”

“Hi, Addy,” I said. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“Oh my god. What’s happening? Tell me!”

We filled Addy in on everything that had gone down over the last week and a half. Then I told her about our need for her to step in and sneak information out of the Prescott house, if that information even existed.

“I know it could be dangerous, but—”

Addy cut me off. “I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Of course!” she said. “I know exactly how I can do it, too. I’ll go over there with some of your old stuff from the Mill, and I’ll tell Ali and Zara that I’m returning it, seeing as you don’t seem to be coming back to school anytime soon. Then I’ll figure out a way to get into the study.”

“That’s a good idea. But I don’t think I left anything at the Mill.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll put together a box of stuff from my own bedroom and print out some of your articles. I doubt they’ll question it.”

I looked at Jensen and Piper. They both nodded, so I turned my attention back to the phone. “Okay. If it’s possible, wear wireless headphones when you go over there. That way we can be on the phone with you while you do it, and we can hear everything that’s going on.”

“Sure. I’ll call you back soon, okay?”

True to her word, Addy called back thirty minutes later. “All right,” she muttered. “I’m walking up to your house now. They won’t be able to see the AirPods because my hair is covering my ears.”

“Mom probably won’t be home,” Piper said, leaning close to the phone. “She was at the Playground all day. So she’s either still there or out looking for me.”

“Okay.” Addy went silent for a moment, so all we could hear was the sound of her footsteps clunking up the pavement. “I’m at the front gate,” she finally said. “Wish me luck.”

My breath hitched in my chest as I waited for Addy to go up the path and press the doorbell. It buzzed a minute later, and the door opened right away. Ali’s voice drifted through faintly. “Hi, Addy.”

“Hi, Mr. Prescott. Oh, you have your keys. Were you about to go somewhere?”

“Yes, I was just about to head out.” Ali sounded strangely unnerved. “What can I do for you?”

“Sorry to bother you when you’re busy, but I thought I should bring this stuff back,” Addy said. “It’s all of Amerie’s stuff that she left at the Mill. I brought it home with me yesterday, but it’s taking up too much space on my desk. I thought you and Mrs. Prescott might like to have it in case she comes back.”

“That’s very sweet of you. I’ll—”

Addy cut him off. “Can I take it up to her bedroom? I think she actually has one of my sweaters, so I can look for that while I’m there.”

“Addy, I’m sorry, but I really have to leave,” Ali said.

I glanced over at Piper. She raised her brows and whispered to me. “He sounds stressed,” she said. “He must’ve heard what I did, and he’s heading out to look for me.”

“It’s too bad he has multiple cars,” Jensen muttered. “Otherwise you could’ve seriously delayed him when you ditched his Lexus earlier.”

“You can come back another time, if you want,” Ali went on. A tinge of sympathy had entered his voice. Addy was probably doing her best to look upset. “I’m just very busy right now.”

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