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"Hohat news?" she said

Beau spun around and looked at her "Hath he asked for h he were actually her husband and yet again hadn’t listened to one word she’d said "Know you not he has?"

Beau lowered his eyes and said that they h with it Spencer stared at hi to put herself in Lady Macbeth’s position, as Beau had encouraged Become one with Lady Macbeth Put yourself in her place Surrender to her problems

And for Spencer, that meant: surrender to Tabitha She had aided in Tabitha’s murder, after all Her motives were different from Lady Macbeth’s, but it had accomplished the same end "Was the hope drunk wherein you dress’d yourself?" she sputtered "Hath it slept since? And wakes it now, to look so green and pale at what it did so freely?"

They continued to argue Lady Macbeth told her husband that he wasn’t a h with the ’s chambermaids drunk and kill hiu more and more connected to her character She’d been the voice of reason with her friends that night in Ja her friends Tabitha needed to be stopped And when Aria pushed Tabitha off the roof, Spencer had been the one who rallied the

Suddenly, she noticed a flutter out of the corner of her eye and looked up Standing beyond Beau, nearly translucent against the strong stage lights, was a blond girl in a yellow sundress Her face was ashen and bloodless, her eyes were lifeless, and her head hung at a strange angle on her neck, as if it had been broken

Spencer gasped It was Tabitha

Fear streaked through her She glanced down at the floor, afraid to look in the corner again Beau shifted on the stage, waiting for Spencer to deliver her final set of lines Finally, she peeked across the stage where she’d seen the figure Tabitha was gone

Spencer straightened up "Who dares receive it other, as we shall riefs and cla Beau’s hands And Beau nodded, saying he was going to go through with the vile deed

Thankfully, the scene was over after that Spencer scuttled behind the curtain and collapsed on an old couch once used for a set, taking deep, desperate breaths as though she’d just swuht that long pause between lines was because she’d lost her place, not because she’d seen an apparition on the stage She was probably out of the play for good Maybe she should write to Princeton and forfeit to Spencer F now Her future was ruined

Footsteps approached "Well, well, well, Miss Hastings," Pierre’s voice said above her

Spencer drew her hands away frohted "It looks like someone’s done her homework between then and now Excellent job"

She blinked at him "Really?"

Pierre nodded "I believe you’ve finally connected with Lady M Loved the little shrieks, too And you kept looking off into the distance, as though possessed You ht nail this part yet"

Then Pierre pivoted on his heel and swished back to the stage Beau ran toward Spencer, a huge s Spencer’s hands "You’re really getting there!"

Spencer grinned weakly "I thought I blew the whole thing I acted like a spaz"

Beau shook his head "No, you were a" He stared deeply into her eyes with such intensity that Spencer felt her cheeks get hot "You really tapped into so scary inside yourself, didn’t you? I could tell"

"Um, not really" Spencer peered out beyond the curtain There was still no one in the corner where Tabitha had stood "You didn’t notice anyone watching backstage, did you?" she asked

Beau looked around, then shook his head "I don’t think so" He squeezed her hands "Anyway, I think with a fewLet’s meet at your house next tiood," Spencer said shakily And then Beau leaned close, a shy look on his face Spencer closed her eyes, certain he was going to kiss her lips, but then a faint whisper sounded in her ears

Murderer

She opened her eyes again and pulled away The hair on her arms stood on end "Did you just hear that?"

Beau looked around "No"

Spencer listened hard, but heard nothing else Maybe it was her i--someone--much more sinister than that

A

Chapter 19

THE BOOK THIEF

Later that saht, Aria sat in a secluded nook at Wordsmith’s, the bookstore a block away from the Rosewood Day campus Classical music tinkled over the stereo, and the place smelled like the freshly baked cookies froood as Ezra’s cologne, which Aria was inhaling deeply as she snuggled next to him on the oversized loveseat in the café at the back of the store It was daring for theht of Ezra as her taboo, sexy teacher--but no Rosewood Day student came into Wordsmith’s unless they were forced to, and absolutely no one from school patronized the café That was a holdover from the days when Real Ali was still alive--she had started a ruer in one of the brownies, and everyone, even upperclassmen, had banned the place Four ht hi into Wordsmith’s between classes, and he finally confessed that he had a major jones for the café’s cranberry nut ainst the fray

Wait Why was she thinking about Noel right now? She straightened up and looked into Ezra’s ice-blue eyes He was the guy she ith now

She hefted Ezra’sand plunked it onto the ottoman "So I read the whole novel," she announced with a smile "And I loved it"