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Crushed Sara Shepard 34060K 2023-08-31

"It looks like her, doesn’t it?" Chase clicked to the next photo This one showed Ali’s back and more of her helper The person was taller that she was, and broader, too--definitely a guy Spencer pressed her face so close to the laptop her nose was al the screen It was impossible to tell, but that could definitely be Noel

Nausea washed over her She ran her hand over her forehead All this tie lead She needed to show this to the cops Or maybe she needed to stake Ali out on her own She had to do so

Chase shut the laptop and dropped it back into his bag "I thought you should see that stuff But as of now, I’ation I think it’s for the best"

Spencer blinked hard, not expecting him to say that "Oh," was all she could murmur

He looked up at Spencer, his eyes full of sorrow and longing "I e could be friends, but I totally get why you never want to see uys can nail her for real That girl did terrible things to you You’re too aweso like that"

Then he spun on his heel and stepped off the porch His ainst his hip as he headed for the car His head was still down, and halfway across the yard, Chase’s shoulders rose and fell in a sigh It tugged at Spencer’s heartstrings Okay, so Chase was a little uided, and he never should have Facebook-stalked her, but she could feel in her heart that he wasn’t a bad person And if it weren’t for Chase and his connections, she wouldn’t knohere Ali was potentially hiding

And, if she was being honest, she’d tried to Google-stalk him, too

"Wait!" she called after hiured out that Ali’s boyfriend is definitely her helper," she said "It’s this guy who goes to our school, Noel Kahn"

Chase’s eyes widened "What are you going to do?"

The wind chiether Leaves swirled on the street "I don’t know," Spencer adation so soon We ht need you, she was too afraid to add

Chase walked back to her "I’ll do anything"

"Well, do you know the exact address of that house you just showed me?"

Chase nodded "It’s on Atherton Street"

"Maybe we could go there tomorrow Just to see"

"Of course NoI’m here"

Spencer pulled her bottoht now, didn’t she? So on the path, the sun at his back, Chase sie kid who liked her--really liked her Slowly, her icy interior started to melt

"Have you really had a crush on me since you saw me in People?" she asked in a small voice And when she peeked up at Chase’s bashful, heartfelt, lovesick face, he didn’t even have to say anything She already knew the answer

32

Crazy Love

When Emily pulled into her driveway, herot out of the car "Did you have fun at prom?"

Emily pretended to rub at an invisible stain on her dress Fun wouldn’t quite describe it She still couldn’t wrap her ht in front of them At their parties In their bedrooe of Noel’s body on top of Aria’s in the graveyard out of her ry And then he’d run offto where? Ali? The police? Was it crazy that they’d given Aria six hours to find hie, breaking Ehts "Where’s Iris?"

"She went hoardening gloves "It was nice having her here I think she was good for you, too"

E she ood confidante She was glad she’d shared Jordan’s secret with her And she’d made the Noel connection in the nick of ti her off to The Preserve last night, but by the tione It wasn’t like Iris had a cell phone, either--Eot there okay She headed toward the front door, suddenly dying to know

She grabbed the cordless phone in the kitchen and dialed The Preserve’s front desk "I want to check if a patient got in all right last night," she said after a receptionist answered "Her name is Iris Taylor?"

The receptionist typed so, then made an mm noise "Yes, Miss Taylor returned safe and sound"