There was a rustling sound. Then Courtney stepped into the light. Her eyes were round, and there was a ghostly smile on her lips.
“Uh, hi?” The hairs on Hanna’s arms stood on end.
“Hey,” Courtney said. She walked up to Hanna, stopping inches from her face. The hallway seemed even darker than it had moments before. Courtney was so close that Hanna could smell her rum-scented breath.
“Um, I heard you knew Iris.” Courtney tucked a strand of pale blond hair behind her ear.
Hanna’s stomach did a flip. “Uh, yeah.”
Courtney put her hand on Hanna’s arm. Her fingers were ice-cold. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “She was out of her mind. I’m glad you got away from her, too.”
Then Courtney slid back into the shadows. Her bare feet made no sound on the plush carpet. The only way Hanna could tell she was still there was by the glowing ticking hands on her Juicy Couture wristwatch. Hanna watched the eerie green glow glide down the hall until it vanished, ghostlike, into Kate’s room.
11 A SYMPATHETIC EAR
After school the following day, Aria screeched into the parking lot of the Rosewood YMCA, an old mansion that still maintained an English-style garden and a giant carriage house that had once held twenty Rolls-Royces. Mr. Kahn had needed Noel’s SUV for the afternoon, and Aria had offered to pick Noel up from his Wednesday afternoon support group. She was also dying to tell Noel about the slinky, twenties-style red dress she’d found at a vintage store in Hollis this afternoon. Silly as it was, the Valentine’s gala was the first school-sponsored dance Aria had ever attended, and she was surprised by how excited she was.
She maneuvered around the big parking lot, veering so as not to hit a Mercedes SUV whose driver was backing out of a space without bothering to check behind him. Suddenly the Grateful Dead song on the college radio station went silent. “We have an update on the Rosewood Serial Killer,” a reporter broke in. “Billy Ford, the alleged murderer in custody, claims he has an alibi for both the night Alison DiLaurentis went missing and the night Jenna Cavanaugh was killed. Police will look thoroughly into these findings. If his lawyers can prove his alibis, he may be able to go free. This will open up what investigators thought was an airtight case.”
The double doors to the Y opened wide, and Aria looked up. A crowd spilled down the massive stone steps. Two people walked apart from the others, deep in conversation. Aria recognized Noel’s dark hair right away. The person with him had a mane of blond hair. When she pushed her hair behind her ear, Aria gasped. It was Courtney.
She wanted to duck, but Noel had already spied the Subaru and was on his way over. Courtney followed. Aria watched them approach helplessly, feeling like a firefly caught in a jar.
“Hey,” Noel said, opening the passenger door. “You wouldn’t mind driving Courtney home, too, would you? Her mom’s supposed to pick her up, but she called and said she was going to be really late.”
Courtney waved at Aria sheepishly, lingering a safe distance away. Aria scrambled for an excuse, but she couldn’t come up with anything fast enough. “Fine,” she muttered.
Noel mouthed Sorry. But he didn’t look particularly sorry. He shut the front door and clambered into the backseat, beckoning for Courtney to follow. Anger surged into Aria’s chest—were they both going to sit in the back and make Aria look like a chauffeur?
But then Courtney opened the front passenger door and slid in next to Aria. Aria tried to meet Noel’s eyes in the mirror, but he was typing on his iPhone. Was this his way of getting them to bond? Hadn’t she already told him that being around Courtney brought back too many unhappy memories?
The first mile was quiet. They passed the empty playground, an organic restaurant, and the entrance to the Marwyn running trail. Courtney sat prim and straight in her seat; Noel pounded away on his keyboard. Finally, Aria couldn’t stand it anymore. “So you’re both in the sibling support group, huh?”
“I told Courtney that she should check it out,” Noel said. “I said it helped me.”
“I see.” Aria resisted the urge to drive the car into the icy duck pond on their left. When had Noel and Courtney had that conversation?
Noel leaned his elbows on the backs of the front seats. “Do you like it, Courtney? I think the counselor is really cool and down-to-earth.”
“A little too down-to-earth,” Courtney laughed. “‘Now, fall back into your partner’s arms!’” she imitated, using a deep, dopey voice. “‘The idea is to trust someone else as much as you would trust a tree or a brook.’” She snorted. “You were totally about to drop me, too.”
“I was not!” Noel insisted. His cheeks were pink.
Aria clenched her teeth. “You guys were partners?”
“Well, yeah. We’re the youngest ones there by far.” Noel switched his STX baseball cap so that the brim faced backward.
“Noel saved me from being partners with a randy old man with hair growing out of his ears,” Courtney said, turning her head to smile at him.
“How chivalrous of you, Noel,” Aria said frostily. She wasn’t going to make him feel better about flirting with Ali’s look-alike. Courtney wasn’t exactly innocent, either—Aria had made it clear in study hall that she and Noel were an item, and yet she had no qualms about hanging all over him. Like sister, like long-lost twin.
“You can drop me first.” Noel finally broke the silence. His street was coming up on the left.
“Are you sure?” Courtney asked, looking distressed. Aria wondered if she didn’t want to be alone with Aria any more than Aria wanted to be alone with her.
“No worries,” Noel said. Aria didn’t answer, digging her nails so hard into the leatherette steering wheel that they left little half-moon-shaped dents.
When they pulled up to the gate at Noel’s house, Courtney gaped at the Kahns’ half-stone, half-brick mansion with its towers and four chimneys. Her eyes swept from the expansive side yard, which went on for another quarter mile over a series of small hills, to the guesthouse behind the mansion, to the detached garage, which held Mr. Kahn’s antique car collection and Cessna airplane. “You live here?” she gasped.
“It’s not that great inside,” Noel mumbled. He climbed out of the car and walked over to Aria’s side. He looked repentant. Good. She rolled down the window. “Can I call you later?” he said softly, touching Aria’s arm. Aria nodded begrudgingly.
Courtney shifted in her seat as they pulled away. Aria considered turning up the radio, but what if they broke in with yet another news bulletin about Billy? She certainly didn’t want to get into a discussion about him. “The bypass is the quickest way to Yarmouth, right?” she said stiffly, her eyes on the road.
“Right,” Courtney said quietly.
“Okay then.” Aria made a jerky right onto the highway, almost jumping the curb.
They drove past a huge parking lot for the local Barnes & Noble and Fresh Fields grocery store. Aria stared straight ahead, pretending to be fascinated by the COEXIST bumper sticker on the Honda in front of her. Each of its letters was comprised of a different religious symbol. She could feel Courtney watching her, but she didn’t take the bait. It was like the Buckingham Palace Guard game Aria and Mike used to play on long, boring car trips: Aria would stare straight ahead like a palace guard while Mike tried to make her laugh.
Courtney took a deep breath. “I know what you’re thinking. What everyone’s thinking.”