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Courtney chewed thoughtfully The crunches echoed through the room "Kind of I was at this place called the Radley And then, after it became a hotel or whatever, I was moved to a place called the Preserve at Addison-Stevens" She said the na her eyes

Spencer exchanged a shocked look with the other girls Of course Jason DiLaurentis wasn’t the patient at the Radley--Courtney was His nabooks because he’d visited her And Hanna had said that Iris, her roommate at the Preserve, had drawn a picture of Ali in some secret room But Iris must have known Courtney, not Ali

"So…it was for…mental issues?" Aria said tentatively

Courtney pointed a pretzel at Aria like a dagger "Those places aren’t just for mental patients," she snapped

"Oh" A bloom of red appeared on Aria’s cheeks "Sorry I had no idea"

Courtney gave a shrug and stared into the pretzel bowl Spencer waited for her to elaborate on why she had been in those facilities, but she said nothing

Finally, Courtney raised her head "Anyway I’ht of the fire That was probably really…confusing"

"Oh my God, that was you," Hanna exclaie of the blue linen place mat It ed froroup hallucination

E in her face "What were you doing there?"

Courtney pulled her chair closer to the table "I got a note--fro in the woods I needed to see" Courtney’s face twisted with remorse "I wasn’t supposed to leave the house, but the note said it would help solve Ali’s ht I was going to die…but then Aria saved me" She touched Aria’s wrist "Thank you, by the way"

Aria’s mouth dropped open, but no sound caet out of there so quickly?" Emily pressed

Courtney wiped a stray piece of salt from her lip "I called my contact at the Rosewood PD He’s an old family friend"

The sound of mic feedback filtered in froazed at Aria, Emily, and Hanna It was obvious who the faht of the fire It also explained why he’d told the they saw Ali the very next day: He’d needed to keep Ali’s sister safe

"Wilden" Emily’s jaw tensed "You shouldn’t trust him He’s not what he see out an easy, amused chuckle "Settle down, Killer"

A chilly frisson of fear slithered up Spencer’s back Killer? That was Ali’s nickname for Emily Had Ali told her?

But before any of the, Mrs DiLaurentis appeared in the front hall When she noticed the group, her face brightened "Thanks for coirls It means a lot to us"

Mrs DiLaurentis walked over to Courtney and put her hand on her ar, perfect nails were painted classic Chanel red "I’m sorry, honey, but there’s someone from MSNBC who has a couple of questions He’s coroaned, getting up

"The Rosewood PD wants to speak with you, too," Mrs DiLaurentis said She took her daughter’s face in her hands and began to sht of the fire"

"Again?" Courtney sighed dra away from her mom "I’d rather talk to the press They’re irls, ere still sitting uys," she said, s "Door’s always open And, oh!" She pulled a brand-new laminated school ID fro red letters "I’ to Rosewood Day!" she exclaimed "See you at school to wink, she was gone