Hide and Seek (The Lying Game #4)

A smile spread across Mrs. Mercer’s face. “Of course I don’t mind. You know how proud your father and I are of your test scores so far this term.”

Emma fiddled with the strap on her bag. The Mercers had made such a big deal about Emma’s high test scores, lifting her grounding for shoplifting from Clique to attend Homecoming. Mr. Mercer, in fact, was the one who convinced Mrs. Mercer that their daughter should be rewarded for her hard work. But it had all been an act. Mr. Mercer knew the girl getting the test scores wasn’t his daughter. He was probably just rewarding her for going along with being Sutton.

“I’ll be in my room.” Emma raced up the stairs two at a time. She shut Sutton’s door behind her and collapsed onto the bed, listening to the front door open and slam, open and slam. First Laurel came in, then Mr. Mercer. High, happy voices sounded downstairs. To Emma, they were like nails on a chalkboard. All she could think about was that phone call from the roadside motel, the breathing on the other end.

When a loud knock sounded on Sutton’s door, Emma shot up. Before she could say a word, the knob turned with a click, and the door creaked open.

“Sutton?”

Emma took in Mr. Mercer’s face. His dark eyebrows lifted. Drake stood behind him, smelling of some kind of sickly sweet dog shampoo.

“You’re back.” Mr. Mercer held a plate of pasta slathered in tomato sauce. “I heard you were eating up here.” He stood in the doorway. “Studying hard?”

Emma watched him. Surely he knew she wasn’t really studying. But he was playing it cool, a smile on his face, a proud look in his eyes. “Uh-huh,” she mumbled.

Mr. Mercer nodded. “It’s amazing how you’ve improved since school started. A whole new Sutton.”

Emma stared at Sutton’s quilt, resisting the urge to be sick. I’m a whole new Sutton because you killed the original, she thought bitterly. Are you happy that I’m doing exactly what you want? Are you glad you can continue your little affair in peace, you horrible murderer?

All at once, she couldn’t deal with him being in here another second. She jumped up from the bed, grabbed the plate and silverware, and turned her back. “Thanks, Dad,” she said, spitting out the words. Then she kicked the door closed on him, and turned the lock with an audible click.

That’s right, Sis, I thought. Get him out of there.

Once she was sure Mr. Mercer had returned downstairs, she grabbed Sutton’s laptop and googled local Super 8 Motels. The second number listed looked familiar—she could have sworn it was the one that showed up on the caller ID in Mr. Mercer’s office. Taking a deep breath, she dialed.

Someone answered on the third ring. “How may I help you?” It was a bored voice. The TV blared in the background.

Emma took a breath. “Can you connect me to Raven Jannings’s room?” she asked in a barely audible whisper.

The concierge let out a yawn on the other end. “Sure thing,” he said. “Please hold.”

Emma’s chest clenched. She’d guessed right. And suddenly, she knew she was right about everything else. The woman breathing on the phone call had to be the same woman Mr. Mercer was seeing. The same woman Thayer had caught him with on the night of Sutton’s death. The same woman Grandma Mercer had called toxic.

There was a click, and then ringing. Emma’s foot jiggled nervously. Please, please, pick up.

The call went to voicemail, a generic message that the guest staying in room 105 wasn’t available.

“I have information for you about Ted Mercer,” she said, before she could even consider her words. “I’m coming to your motel tomorrow night at nine P.M. sharp. Be there.”

Then she hung up and stared at Sutton’s iPhone. Was this really what she wanted? What if meeting with Raven was dangerous? Then again, who knew how long this woman would be at the motel? This might be her only chance.

I had questions, too. Had I met Raven that night in the canyon? Or had my dad just assumed I’d seen her and killed me anyway? Just what kind of deadly secrets was she keeping?

Be careful, Emma, I thought. You could be walking into a trap.

28

BREAKING AND ENTERING

Friday evening, the smell of crisp leaves greeted Emma’s nose as she, Ethan, and Laurel walked up the steps to the school. A forgotten stainless steel Klean Kanteen glinted next to the gym door in the final rays of sunlight. It was 7 P.M., an hour after sports teams finished practice—and a half hour before the dance was scheduled to start. Laurel and Gabby had been right. The entire administration was away at a conference in Sedona, which meant they didn’t have to worry about Principal Ambrose marching in and busting up the party.

A velvet rope had been set up at the back door of the gym. The bouncer Charlotte had hired stood there menacingly, looking the part with a headset in his ear and black sunglasses over his eyes. “Hey,” Emma said cautiously, shooting him a smile, and he nodded in return. The gym door opened easily and without a click—Charlotte had made sure of that by taping down the lock with bright blue electrical tape.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Lili, Charlotte, and Madeline, all wearing the matching pink dresses they had selected at La Encantada the other day, were in the gym, hanging streamers, blowing up balloons, and setting up tables full of food. The place had already been transformed from a smelly exercise room into a chic club, with lots of curtains, tables, and even a cushy couch or two. The lights were turned down low, and the DJ was organizing his tables in the corner.

“About time!” Lili cried, clutching a butter-colored roll of streamers in one hand and a rusty pair of scissors in the other. Her hair was piled high on her head, and thick eyeliner rimmed her eyes.

“Hey, Mercer girls,” Charlotte said from the top of a stepladder. Her red hair spilled down her shoulders, and her pink dress complemented her skin perfectly. She stuck a tack into a cardboard cutout of Jessica Rabbit. “And Ethan,” she said, nodding in his direction. “Looking sharp.”

“Thanks.” Ethan smiled. He did look great. His dark hair was combed off his face, and his blue button-down brought out his eyes.

“What’s that?” Emma asked, watching the busty cartoon swing from her carrot-colored hair.

Charlotte shrugged. “I found it in my mom’s closet and figured, why not?”

Madeline, whose hair was up in an artfully messy bun, snickered.

“So everything is set?” Emma asked, scanning the wooden tables lined against the bleachers.

“Yeah, is the footage okay?” Ethan said, checking out a silver laptop next to the food.

“It’s great. And we’re just about there, setup-wise.” Madeline handed Emma a bunch of red cups in plastic sleeves. “You’re on food duty. We need cups, plates, silverware, and everything unpacked from the coolers.”

“Got it,” Emma said, breaking the plastic wrap with her teeth. But as the girls turned away, the smile that had been pasted on her face faded. She knew she should be excited for the illicit dance—and in some ways, she was. But she was also terribly distracted by what she had to do later tonight.

She still couldn’t believe she’d been ballsy enough to ask to meet with Raven. She’d called Ethan after to tell him her plan. He’d insisted she let him go with her—just in case. She’d added his worry about her safety to her Top Ten Cutest Ethan Moments list, but it wasn’t until now that she considered that he might be right. What if this just spelled disaster? What if Raven had contacted Sutton’s dad already? What if Emma and Ethan showed up at the motel and found them both waiting for her?

Madeline’s phone beeped, jarring Emma from her thoughts. “They’re on the move?” she said into the receiver. “Perfect. We’ll expect them in five.”

She stuck the phone back into her clutch and looked at the others. “That was Gabby. She’s in her car, following the Devious Four, who are obviously on their way to our party. We’d better mobilize. Char, is everything in place?”

“Yep,” Charlotte said, giggling slightly.

Ethan moved to Emma’s side. She narrowed her eyes and squeezed his hand. “What are you guys up to?”

Charlotte smiled slyly. “Oh, we thought we’d add something extra, along with the video projection on the wall. Just to remind them never to mess with us again.”

Ethan gave Emma a skeptical look, and she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. Just one more thing to add to her Things I Hate About the Lying Game list: Taking everything a step too far. “It’s nothing dangerous, is it?” The last time the Lying Game had pulled a prank without her knowing, she’d ended up trapped in a rocky crevice in the desert.

Madeline snickered. “God, Sutton. Don’t worry about it.”

Before Emma could ask more, a bunch of kids streamed through the unlocked door. The girls had on party dresses, and the guys wore ties and khakis. Madeline dimmed the lights further, and the DJ started a loungey song to kick off the night.

Lili materialized at Emma’s side again. “They’re here!” she hissed. “The Devious Four are here!”

Emma peeked out the gym door. Sure enough, the bouncer had lowered the velvet rope and was talking heatedly to the four girls, who were dressed to the nines.

“What do you think it is?” Ethan asked out of the side of his mouth.

“I guess we’ll see,” Emma said nervously.

“But we were invited,” Ariane, the girl with the dip-dyed hair, argued, tugging on the leather skirt of her dress.

The bouncer held up his clipboard. “Not according to this list, you aren’t.”

Lili nudged Emma. “I told him to give them a hard time. But now he’s going to ask Coco to prove she’s a Hollier student by going to her locker…which is right next to the gym.” She grinned maniacally, then flagged down a girl Emma recognized from English carrying a video camera. “Sadie! I need you in the hallway! Something major is about to happen!”

Emma chewed on her lip as the bouncer lifted the velvet rope and let the Devious Four inside. He followed them to Coco’s locker, and the girl with the video camera skulked behind them. Coco spun her combination, looking annoyed. Emma braced herself for what could be inside. What if it was something that really freaked them out—or worse?

I didn’t like this either. I didn’t want to be responsible for hurting anyone else.

The video camera blinked red, its lens focused on the girls. Just as the latch clicked open, there was a whooshing sound. Suddenly, something spilled out of the cubby, gathering in a mound at each girl’s feet. Emma squinted, taking a moment to realize what the white tube-shaped objects were. Tampons.

“Ew!” Ariane said, grabbing for the cottony tampons, which had all been unwrapped from their plastic shells. The other girls jumped away from the tampons, but they kept spilling from the depths of Coco’s locker. Then, they looked up and realized they were on video camera. Their faces went red. Ariane put her hand on the lens, angry-celebrity style.

“Smile!” Charlotte trilled, leaning against the doorway. She gestured to a wall in the gym, where the girls’ images were projected. “You’re live!”