Now, Colleen approached the Victoria’s Secret salesgirl and explained she was looking for some new lingerie. “What size are you?” the assistant asked. Hanna had learned how to lip-read when she was in fifth grade, mostly to decipher her parents’ tense fights through the glass back-patio door. Colleen gave her the answer, and Hanna’s jaw dropped. Colleen’s boobs were even bigger than she had thought.
As the salesgirl searched for some styles Colleen might like, Mike wandered over to a table of satin bras, held an enormous pink one to his chest, and started striking exaggerated poses. Hanna snickered. Mike used to do that all the time when they went shopping together, and it never failed to crack her up. But when Colleen saw him, a disapproving scowl settled over her features. Mike pouted and dropped the bra back to the table, looking like a scolded puppy.
Hanna’s phone chimed loudly, and she frantically patted her pocket to silence it. Aria’s picture was flashing on the screen. “Did you get in touch with Emily?” Hanna whispered into the receiver.
“I’m with Emily, and I’ve patched in Spencer, too.” Aria’s voice echoed on speakerphone. “We’re really freaked. I got a note today. A is definitely after Emily’s baby.”
Hanna sank down further into the bushes. “We have to prove Gayle is A. But how do we do that without going to the cops?”
“Gayle’s psycho,” Aria explained. “Just like Kelsey. The cops wouldn’t believe anything she says.”
“Yeah, but she has money,” Hanna reminded her. “And she’s an adult. That holds some weight, don’t you think?”
“Guys, I’m not so sure Gayle is A,” Spencer’s voice sounded far away. “I got a note last night, and I’m at Princeton. How could Gayle be in two places at once?”
Hanna watched as a bunch of kids from Rosewood Day passed. “Maybe she can be. At the race this morning, Gayle apologized for being late, saying she’d just come from Princeton. Her husband just donated some cancer lab.”
Spencer made a small noise at the back of her throat. “Do you think she followed me to my party? Wouldn’t I have noticed someone like her in a crowd of kids?”
“She was probably hiding in the bushes outside,” Hanna said.
“That still doesn’t prove Gayle is A,” Emily protested. “But the important thing is, either way, she’s after the baby. How are we going to find out where the Bakers went? We need to warn them.”
“The realtor didn’t have the information on where they moved,” Aria added, sounding despondent. “They could be anywhere.”
“Actually, I might be able to find them.” Hanna moved the phone to the other ear. “My dad’s campaign has voter registration information for people across Pennsylvania. If they stayed in the state, I can probably dig up their new address.”
“Really?” Emily sounded hopeful. “How soon can you do that?”
“I’ll look into it when I get home,” Hanna promised. “It may take a few days, though.”
“I still think Gayle’s A,” Aria said. “But how can we prove it?”
There was a pause on the line. “Well, A is following all of us, right?” Spencer said after a moment. “Maybe one of us could try to catch her in the act.”
“Or one of us could try to steal her cell phone,” Hanna piped up.
“That would be great, but we’d have to know her schedule and show up somewhere she’s going to be.” Aria sounded discouraged.
“I know somewhere she’s going to be.” Hanna ran her tongue over her teeth. “My dad’s campaign party tomorrow. Maybe we could figure out a way to snag her phone and go through her texts then. You guys are all going to be there anyway, right?”
Emily groaned. “I never want to see Gayle again.”
“We’ll keep you safe,” Hanna assured her. “But if Gayle does want to confront you, we could steal her phone while she’s preoccupied. Then we’ll prove she’s A.”
“But she might not be A,” Emily moaned.
“Look at it this way,” Aria said gently. “Even if she isn’t A, maybe there’s something in her phone about her search for the baby. Maybe A tipped her off or something. You want to know what she’s up to, right?”
Emily agreed, and the girls promised to be on the lookout for anyone following them and get in touch as soon as they got another message from A. After she hung up, Hanna parted two of the leaves of the potted plant and gazed into Victoria’s Secret. Mike and Colleen weren’t there anymore. Shit.
Then she spied them walking hand-in-hand toward the exit. Shooting out of the plants—and getting strange looks from the passersby—she trailed them to the parking garage. They paused by Colleen’s car and talked. Hanna ducked behind a VW Beetle to listen.
“Are you sure I can’t come with you?” Mike was saying.
“It’s probably better I go alone,” Colleen answered, her hand on the driver’s door.
“Come on.” Mike brushed Colleen’s bangs out of her eyes. “I bet it’s going to be really hot.”
Colleen kissed the tip of Mike’s nose. “I’ll tell you all about it when I’m done, okay?”
She slipped into the driver’s seat and revved the engine. Mike waved until she’d rounded the bend. Hanna darted for her car, which was parked only a few aisles away. She needed to get a move on if she was going to follow Colleen to her secret rendezvous.