Sara Shepard: Heartless

Hanna kicked her bare legs, fighting to get free. “Let go of me! What’s going on?”

A security guard swam into view. “That’s enough,” he snarled. There was a click, and then Hanna felt hard metal handcuffs close around her wrists.

“I’m not the one you want!” Hanna screamed frantically. “It’s Iris! She’s a killer!”

“Hanna,” the nurse scolded sharply.

“Why isn’t anyone listening to me?”

The guards began to push her down the hall. Every other patient in the ward was standing outside the theater room, gaping at the commotion. Tara looked thrilled. Alexis had her knuckles in her mouth. Ruby looked Hanna up and down, giggling.

Hanna twisted around and stared at Iris. “How do you know Alison?” But Iris just gave a mysterious smile.

The guards marched Hanna through a door and down an unfamiliar hallway. The vinyl floors were dingy, and the overhead fluorescent lights snapped and buzzed. There was a strange smell in the air, too, kind of like something in the walls was decaying.

A tall figure in a police uniform came into view at the end of the hall. He calmly watched as the guards dragged Hanna to him. As they got closer, Hanna realized it was the Rosewood chief of police. Her heart lifted. Finally, someone who would listen to her!

“Hello, Miss Marin,” the chief said.

Hanna breathed a sigh of relief. “I was just going to call you,” she blurted. “Thank God you came. Ali’s killer is here. I can lead you right to her.”

The chief chuckled reproachfully, looking almost amused. “Lead me right to her? That’s a good one, Ms. Marin.” He leaned down until his face was parallel with hers. His skin glowed red under the neon EXIT sign. “Considering that you’re under arrest.”

When they reached the Rosewood police station, the cop undid Aria’s cuffs and showed her into a dark interrogation room. “We’ll be back for you later.”

Aria stumbled inside, her hip banging against the sharp edge of a wooden table. Slowly, her eyes adjusted. The room was small and windowless and reeked of sweat. Four chairs surrounded the table. Aria dropped into one of them and started to cry silently.

The door squeaked, and someone else staggered into the room. It was a girl with long, auburn hair and thin legs. She wore a pair of black yoga pants, a long-sleeved striped T-shirt, and gold flats. Aria shot to her feet.

“ Hanna? ” she cried.

Hanna slowly raised her head. “Oh,” she said in a numb, subdued voice. “Hi.” Her eyes were glazed over. There was a small cut near her mouth. Her eyes darted to and fro.

“What are you doing here?” Aria gasped.

Hanna’s lips parted slowly. A sarcastic smile flickered across her face. “Same reason you are. Apparently we were part of some conspiracy to kill Ali. We helped Ian escape and obstructed justice.”

Aria clutched the sides of her head. Could this really be happening? How could the cops believe such a thing?

Before she could answer, the door opened again. Two more people were thrust inside. Spencer wore a green sheath and tall black heels, while Emily had on a prairie dress, thin leather shoes, and a small white skullcap. Aria gaped at them in astonishment. They stared back. For a moment, everyone was speechless.

“They think we did it,” Emily whispered, walking to the table. “They think we killed Ali.”

“The cops found out about Ian’s IMs,” Spencer admitted. “I talked to him online earlier today. And they thought . . . well, they thought we were conspiring together. But, guys . . . I’m not sure it is Ian we were talking to. I think it’s A.”

“But you swore it was Ian!” Aria spouted.

“I thought it was,” Spencer said defensively. “But now I’m not sure.” She pointed at Aria. “The cops said they know about Ian’s ring. Did you give it to them?”

“No!” Aria cried. “But maybe I should have. They thought I was keeping this huge secret.”

“How could they have known about Ian’s ring?” Hanna wondered aloud, her eyes fixed on a black stain on the linoleum floor.

“Jason DiLaurentis was at the cemetery,” Aria said. “The cop said he told them, but Jason claimed he didn’t. I don’t know what to think. I have no idea how Jason could’ve known about the ring.” She thought of the other thing Jason said after Aria exposed that he’d been a mental patient. You’ve got it all wrong. What did she have wrong?

“Maybe Wilden told him,” Hanna whispered. “He could have heard us talking at the hospital. He was outside the room.”

Aria slumped in her chair and watched as a spider climbed industriously up the gray cinder-block wall. “That doesn’t even make any sense,” Spencer piped up. “Wilden’s a cop. He wouldn’t tell Jason—he’d just handle it on his own.”

“And why would Wilden wait days to ambush me?” Aria added. “Besides, I thought Wilden was on our side.”

Emily snorted. “ Right. ”

Aria glanced at Emily, really taking in her bizarre outfit. “What on earth are you wearing?”

Emily bit her chapped lip. “A sent me to an Amish commune and then told me to get the DNA report from the evidence room.” Her green eyes were wide. “Some cop found me before I could get inside.”

Aria squeezed her eyes shut. No wonder the cops thought they were guilty. They probably figured Emily was tampering with evidence.

“But, guys, Wilden is lying about the DNA of the body in the hole,” Emily went on. “It’s not Ali—it’s an Amish girl named Leah Zook.”

Spencer’s mouth fell open. “You still think Ali is alive?”

“I saw her,” Emily said, shrinking against the wall. “I know it sounds crazy, but I did, Spencer. I can’t let this go. I tried to tell the cops, but they wouldn’t listen.”

Spencer snorted. “Of course they didn’t listen.”

Aria wrinkled her nose. “Emily, it was definitely Ali in that hole. Ali killed herself. That’s what A helped me to figure out.”

Spencer whirled around and stared at Aria. “Is this what the psychic told you?”

“It might be true,” Aria protested. “It’s as good a theory as anything else.”

“No, a crazy girl named Iris killed Ali,” Hanna inserted loudly, trying to smooth her tangles. “A sent me right to her.”

Then everyone looked at Spencer, waiting to see what her theory was. There were goose bumps on Spencer’s arms. “A told me my mom killed Ali because . . . well, because my dad had an affair with Ali’s mom. Ali’s my sister.”

“ What? ” Aria gasped. Emily just stared. Hanna looked disgusted, like she might throw up into the dented metal trash can in the corner.

“But my mom didn’t do it,” Spencer explained. “She didn’t even know about the affair. I probably ruined my parents’ marriage. A was just . . . messing with me. I think A messed with all of us.”

Everyone stiffened. The realization hit Aria like a heavy boxing glove to her temple. A had messed with all of them. A was behind all of this. Jason hadn’t told the cops about Ian’s ring—A had. Maybe A had even planted it in the woods so Aria would find it. A had sent Emily to look for the DNA report in the evidence room, only to report her to the on-duty cop. A told the police about Ian’s IMs, too, making it look like they’d conspired with him.

A had been toying with them all along, pulling all the strings. And now they were in jail for a murder they didn’t commit.

Aria gazed around at the others. By the stunned looks on their faces, it seemed like they’d just come to the same conclusion. “A’s our worst enemy, ” she whispered. She patted her pocket, reaching for her cell phone. Surely A had sent them a group text to show just how gullible and stupid they all were. Gotcha! it probably said. Or, Who’s laughing now!