Page 5 (1/2)
"Maybe it’s about how Billy is clai it sway a little
Aria shivered "I heard his laants the case thrown out because they can’t find a single boot print in Jenna’s backyard They don’t have any physical evidence that links him to the scene"
"That’s ridiculous," Spencer said "He had all those photos of us, all those A notes…"
"Isn’t it kind of weird, though, that it turned out to be Billy?" Aria said in a low voice She picked at a patch of dry skin on her thumb "He came froently of cow reed with Aria; she had been certain that Ali’s killer would end up being souy was a weird, rando up their deepest, darkest secrets It could be done, Emily supposed--Mona Vanderwaal had unearthed tons of dirty secrets about E Ali’s abandoned diary
"I guess" Hanna shuddered "But he definitely did it I hope they lock him up forever"
The microphone at the podium screeched with feedback, and Emily jerked her head up Mrs DiLaurentis, dressed in a sleek black sheath, a brown ed from the house She fiddled with a stack of index cards Her husband, looking even aunt and beak-nosed than Emily remembered, stood by her side Emily also noticed that Officer Darren Wilden had appeared in the cluster of cops, his arriirlfriend, but there was still so sketchy about him Wilden hadn’t believed in New A, even when they showed hiof Ali after the fire,E rew quiet Flashbulbs snapped "Rolling," a producer next to Eave a watery s," she said "The past four years have been very difficult and painful for our entire family, but we’ve had a lot of support I want everyone to know that we’re doing okay, and we’re relieved to know that we can finally put our daughter’sof applause Ali’s edies have happened in Rosewood, to two very beautiful, innocent girls I’d like all of us to have a h" She looked across the crowd at Jenna’s parents, ere standing in an inconspicuous spot behind an oak tree Jenna’svery hard not to cry Jenna’s father had his eyes trained stubbornly on an eum wrapper at his feet
Emily heard a sniffle from the middle of the crowd, and then a loud caw of a crow The histled, shaking the bare trees When she looked at the DiLaurentises’ , there was that flicker again
Mrs DiLaurentis cleared her throat "But that isn’t the only reason I’ve called everyone here," she read fro a secret for a long time, mostly for safety reasons We think it’s tiotten loose in Emily’s stomach The truth?
Mrs DiLaurentis’s mouth wobbled She took a deep breath "The truth is, we have another child So with us because of…" She paused for athe side of her nose "…health issues"
The crowd began to murmur Erabbed Aria’s hand Aria squeezed back
Mrs DiLaurentis shouted over the grohispers "Our daughter was recently released and given a clean bill of health, but we hoped to protect her from public scrutiny until her sister’s true murderer was safely behind bars Thanks to Officer Wilden and his team, that’s now a reality"
She turned and nodded at Wilden, who ducked his head bashfully A few people clapped Emily tasted the peanut-butter-and-honey sandwich she’d had for lunch that day Daughter?
"With that, we think it’s time to introduce her to all of you" Mrs DiLaurentis turned and signaled at the house The front door opened Out cae purse slipped fro Emily’s hand Spencer clutched Eainst the barricade
The girl on the porch had blond hair, porcelain skin, and a heart-shaped face Her deep blue eyes landed on Eaze, then winked Emily’s whole body turned to mush "Ali?" she mouthed
Mrs DiLaurentis leaned into the microphone "This is Courtney," she declared "Alison’s twin sister"
5
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT COULDN’T GET ANY CRAZIER
The murmurs rose to a roar and flashbulbs flickered furiously A bunch of people started frantically texting "A twin?" Spencer said weakly Her hands trembled uncontrollably
"Ohher hand to her forehead Eirl, as if she didn’t believe she was real Hanna latched onto Emily’s arm
A portion of the crowd spun around and stared at Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna "Did they know?" sobird-fast She hadn’t known Ali had kept lots of secrets from her--the clandestine relationship with Ian, her secret friendship with Jenna, the mystery of why she’d durade--but a secret sister truirl on the porch Ali’s twin sister was tall, her hair a little darker and her face a little narrower than Ali’s, but otherwise she was identical to their old best friend She wore black leggings, black flats, an oversize blue oxford shirt, and a cropped white jacket A striped scarf was looped around her neck, and her blond hair was bunched into a bun With her cupid’s bow lips and sapphire blue eyes, she looked just like a French model
Out of the corner of her eye, Spencer noticed her sister, Melissa, weaving through the crowd Angling past the police barricades, she walked right up to Jason DiLaurentis and whispered so in his ear Jason paled, turned toward Melissa, and said soh Spencer’s sto? She hadn’t seen Melissa and Jason talk since high school
Then Melissa craned her neck and stared at Courtney Courtney noticed and flinched Her smile drooped
What the hell?