Sara Shepard - Killer

Hanna bleated out a laugh. “Are you primping ?”

“What are you doing here?” he croaked.

“Sorry, I thought this was a dressing room,” Hanna recited. It didn’t quite have the effect she was going for.

Mike blinked and quickly shoved his toiletries back into his Jack Spade messenger bag. Hanna felt a little bad—he didn’t have to stop . She backed out of the sink area. “I’ll be outside,” she muttered. She pushed her way out the door and returned to her seat, smiling to herself. Mike had been brushing his teeth. Did that mean he wanted to kiss her?

On the drive back to Mike’s house, they listened to “Whole Lotta Love,” again belting out the lyrics. She pulled up to Mike’s curb and turned off the ignition. “Want to walk me to my door?”

“Sure,” Hanna answered, realizing her heart was pounding. She followed Mike up the stone steps to the Montgomerys’ porch. There was a Zen rock garden to the left of the door, but it had frozen over by now, a thin crust of ice on the sand.

Mike faced her. Hanna liked that he was quite a bit taller—Lucas had been about her height, and Sean, her ex-ex, had been a tad shorter. “So this was almost as fun as when I go out with my hookers,” Mike announced.

Hanna rolled her eyes. “Maybe you can give the hookers a night off this Saturday too. Come with me to the Radley opening.”

Mike put his thumb to his chin, pretending to give it some thought. “I think that could be arranged.”

Hanna giggled. Mike touched the inside of her arm lightly. His breath smelled minty. Almost unconsciously, she leaned in a little more.

The door flung open. Bright light streamed out from the Montgomerys’ foyer, and Hanna shot back. A tall brunette stood inside. It wasn’t Mike’s mom, and it certainly wasn’t Aria. Hanna’s heart plummeted.

“Kate?” she shrieked.

“Hi, Mike!” Kate whooped at the same time.

Hanna pointed at her. “What are you doing here?”

Kate blinked innocently. “I got here early, so Mike’s mom let me in.” She looked at Mike. “She’s super nice. And her artwork is amazing. She told me that she has a piece that’s going to be in the lobby of the Radley—and that there’s a big opening this Saturday. We should totally go together, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean, you got here early? ” Hanna interrupted.

Kate put her hand to her chest. “Didn’t Mike tell you? We have a date.”

Hanna faced Mike. “No, Mike didn’t tell me.”

Mike licked his lips, looking guilty.

“Well, that’s strange!” Kate bleated. “We set it up yesterday.”

Mike gazed at Kate. “But you told me not to say anyth—”

“Besides,” Kate interrupted, using her innocent sweetie-pie voice again. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the library, Han? When I didn’t see you in the auditorium during Hamlet practice, I called Tom. He said you needed to study for a big French test.”

She pushed around Hanna and took Mike’s arm. “You ready? I’m taking you to this awesome place for dessert.”

Mike nodded, then glanced back at Hanna, whose jaw was practically on the stoop. He apologetically raised his shoulders, as though to say, We’re not exclusive, are we?

Dumbstruck, Hanna watched them walk back down the steps to the driveway, where the Audi that belonged to Isabel, Kate’s mother, was parked. Hanna had been so distracted about how to end her date with Mike, she hadn’t even noticed it. Was this why Mike had been primping at the restaurant? To freshen up for date number two? After their fabulous date, why was Mike still keeping his options open? How could he not want to be exclusive?

The Audi growled to life, rolled down the driveway, and disappeared. In the ensuing silence, Hanna heard a sniff behind her. She whipped around, her body tense. Another sniff. It sounded like someone was stifling a laugh.

“Hello?” Hanna called quietly into the Montgomerys’ dark yard. No one answered, but Hanna still had the distinct feeling that someone was there. A? An eerie chill came over her, burrowing deep to her bones, and she scampered off the porch as fast as she could.

That same night, Spencer perched on the arm of the sofa in the media room, watching the news. A reporter was talking yet again about how the police had vacated the woods behind her house and were now searching the United States for Ian. Today, someone on the police force had received a hot tip about where he might be, but they weren’t disclosing any more details at this time.

Spencer groaned. Then, the news broke to yet another new commercial for the Elk Ridge Ski Resort—they’d opened six more runs and were introducing Girls Ski for Free Thursdays.

The doorbell rang, and Spencer bounded up, eager to focus her attention on more positive things. Andrew stood on the stoop, shivering. “I have so much to tell you,” Spencer squealed.

“Really?” Andrew walked in, carrying his AP econ textbook under his arm. Spencer sniffed apathetically. AP econ hardly mattered anymore.

Spencer led him by the hand into the media room, shut the door, and turned off the TV. “So you know how I e-mailed my biological mom on Monday? She e-mailed me back. And yesterday, I went to see her in New York.”

Andrew blinked quickly. “New York?”

Spencer nodded. “She sent me an Amtrak ticket and told me to meet her at Penn Station. And it was wonderful.” She squeezed Andrew’s hands. “Olivia’s young, she’s smart, and she’s… normal . We instantly clicked. Isn’t that awesome?” She pulled out her phone and showed him a text Olivia had written late last night, presumably when she reached the airport. Dear Spencer, I miss you already! See you soon! XX, O . Spencer had written Olivia back, saying she had her accordion folder, and Olivia had responded that she should just hold on to it—she and Morgan would look it over once they returned.

Andrew picked at a piece of dry skin on his thumb. “When I asked you what you were doing yesterday, you said you were having dinner with your family. So…you lied?”

Spencer lowered her shoulders. Why was Andrew quibbling about semantics? “I didn’t want to talk about it before I met her. I was afraid it would jinx things. I was going to tell you in school, but we had a busy day.” She leaned back. “I’m seriously considering moving to New York to be with Olivia. We’ve been separated for so long, and I don’t want to spend another minute apart. She and her husband moved into this great neighborhood in the Village, and there are so many great schools in the city, and…” She noticed Andrew’s dour expression and stopped. “Are you okay?”

Andrew stared at the floor. “Sure,” he mumbled. “That’s great news. I’m happy for you.”

Spencer ran her hands over the back of her neck, suddenly feeling insecure. She’d expected Andrew to be thrilled that she’d found her birth mother—he was the one who’d pushed her to register for the bio mom–matching site in the first place. “You don’t sound that happy,” she said slowly.

“No, I am.” Andrew jumped up, bumping his knee hard on the coffee table. “Um, I forgot. I…I left my calc book back at school. I should probably go get it. We have all those problem sets for homework.” He grabbed his books and headed for the door.

Spencer grabbed his arm. He stopped, but he wouldn’t look at her. “What’s going on?” she urged, her heart beating fast.

Andrew clutched his books tightly to his chest. “Well…I mean…maybe you’re moving a little fast with all this New York stuff. Shouldn’t you discuss it with your parents?”