“You were in California the weekend she died?” Sydney whispered. “Fall Festival weekend?”
Her dad nodded. “Other side of the country from Echo Bay. Lots of witnesses to prove it, if you’d like.” She could tell he’d meant it as a joke, but it fell flat.
“When Bob told me…” Another tear rolled down her dad’s cheek. “I had to pretend it meant nothing to me. But the truth was, it made me feel like I was the one who was cursed. First Meryl, then Kyla. It was almost like I was being punished for my indiscretions. It was enough to shake some sense into me for a long time. I didn’t slip again until recently, with Emerson—” He broke off, shaking his head. “And now it seems like I’m being punished for that, too.”
Sydney leaned against the wall, fighting to think straight. Her dad couldn’t have killed Kyla. And if the darer was responsible for Kyla’s death, then he couldn’t be the darer. Relief surged through her, followed by something else. A thought. It was something her dad had said: punished for my indiscretions.
It was what the darer was doing, wasn’t it? Seizing onto their worst mistakes, their deepest flaws, then making them pay for them.
Was that what had happened to the others, too? What secret had the darer lorded over Kyla? And Delancey?
“Listen, Syd.” Her dad’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. “I’m going to keep this ring hidden for now, until you’re ready. We’ll do this on your time frame. I want us to be a family again, but for that to happen the right way, we all need to want it.”
Sydney looked up at her dad. The old images were reappearing, faded but there, like a photograph left out in the sun. Her dad telling her that she deserved to go to Winslow, that he’d find a way to make it happen. Her dad dropping her off on her first day, hugging her so tightly she could hardly breathe. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Her dad nodded. “Now I’m going to go apologize to your mom that my phone was off. You coming?”
The thought of being cramped in her apartment right then made Sydney want to bang her head against the wall. Besides, it sounded as if her parents could use some time alone. “You go ahead. I’m going to drop by the hospital to see how Tenley and Emerson are doing.”
Her dad paused. She could tell he had more questions—what Emerson and Tenley had been doing in his house in the first place, for one—but after a few seconds, he shook his head. “Be careful” was all he said.
The wind drummed a steady rhythm against the roof of her car as she pulled out onto the street. The temperature had dropped drastically since the day before, and she switched on the heat, the familiar rattle of the system soothing in the face of the wind.
She braked at a red light and looked over at the beach. The wind powered the waves, sending them tall and white-tipped toward the sky. The sun was setting earlier and earlier lately, and it was already dusk outside. The water was a steely blue in the dimming light. The ocean used to be so soothing to her. Now, when she looked at the waves, all she felt was fear.
Flash.
Sydney bolted forward so fast that her forehead nearly banged against the windshield. She could swear she’d just seen it: five ghostly tendrils of light flashing across the darkening sky.
She held absolutely still, not wanting to break the spell. And then it was there again, like silent fireworks: five lights glowing over the waves. The ghost lights.
Sydney whipped her car around, making her tires squeal loudly. If the lights were fake, that meant someone was up on Dead Man’s Falls right now, fabricating them. She sped to an inlet down the street. She’d never make it all the way to Dead Man’s Falls in time, but she had a direct view from there. She grabbed a camera she’d left in her car and zoomed all the way in. Dead Man’s Falls came into focus in the viewfinder. Tall, craggy rocks. A sharp, sudden cliff. And a man.
She gasped.
The man turned away—too fast for her to catch on camera. He was climbing up the cliffs now, higher and higher, and soon he melted out of sight. But it didn’t matter, because she’d gotten a glimpse.
He was tall and pale, with broad shoulders and curly blond hair. Sydney had never seen him in person before, but she’d seen him in pictures. She’d seen him on the news.
It was Sam Bauer, Calum’s dad.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sunday, 5:30 PM
Night had fallen in Echo Bay. The darkness turned the wind menacing: invisible mouths howling into the night. “Octo-storm is coming,” Emerson said grimly. After half a day in the hospital, Tenley knew she should be home right now, recuperating in bed. If her mom realized she’d sneaked out, she could only imagine the screech that would fill their house. But when they were trapped in Matt’s room, they’d finally seen a purple door. They had to check it out.
They hit a bump in the road, and Tenley grimaced. It wasn’t just her leg that ached anymore; after the fire and their escape out the window, her whole body hurt. She was crisscrossed with scrapes, bruises, and burns. But at least she was alive. She sped the rest of the way, pulling over on Matt’s block. On the other side of the street stood the house his apartment was in. Or what was left of it. The roof had caved in and the windows had been blown away, leaving gaping holes rimmed with soot. The once pretty yellow facade was now charred and black.
“Come on,” she said fiercely, pushing away the memory of being trapped in Matt’s closet. The smoke had crept into her lungs, racking her body with coughs as she screamed for help. If Emerson hadn’t heard her… She refused to complete that train of thought.
Outside, the air had taken on that pure, crisp scent that always preceded a big storm. The street was eerily quiet. Most of the homes were summer rentals, abandoned until warmer months. They stopped in front of a small, beat-up house. The windows were dark, the furniture on the porch covered in plastic. “A rental,” Tenley breathed. “We’re in luck.” They hurried into the backyard. There, hidden from the street, was the purple-doored shed.
Emerson removed Delancey’s key from her pocket. Tenley dug her nails into her jeans as she waited for Emerson to insert it into the lock. With a soft click, the door to the shed opened.
“It worked,” Emerson said wonderingly.
Right away, Tenley could hear it. A soft, steady whirring. Emerson stepped inside first. Fear grasped at Tenley, but she refused to give it a stronghold. She stepped into the shed and shut the door behind her.
It was a square, windowless space, filled with computers. They were packed densely together on two long tables, leaving only a thin aisle of walking space between them, just large enough for a single metal stool. They whirred softly in unison, making the room feel as if it were breathing. Screen savers of Echo Bay vistas flashed on their screens.
Tenley’s gaze traveled to the walls. All four of them were plastered with photos. She let out a cry as her eyes darted from one section to the next. There were photos of her, of Emerson, of Sydney and Caitlin and Tricia and Delancey. Tacked up with the photos were notes—notes typed on a typewriter.
On the back wall hung a list of their names. A thick red marker had been used to cross off Caitlin, Tricia, and Delancey.
Tenley clutched her stomach. She felt like she might heave at any second. “It’s the darer’s headquarters.” She squeezed her way over to the wall that featured pictures of her. There she was with Caitlin. With Tim. In her bedroom. Photo after photo, taken when she wasn’t looking. An icy chill spread through her. In the middle of the photos, two typewritten notes had been tacked up. The first held a single word, typed in all caps. IMPLANTS.
Bile rose in Tenley’s throat. It was the secret the darer had tortured her with when the game first started. That secret had blackmailed Tenley into doing everything the darer wanted. Fury sparked inside her as she turned to the other note. This one included three words. The only witness.
“What does that mean?” Tenley muttered. She looked over at Emerson, who was studying her own photo shrine. Two typewritten notes hung among her photos as well. Tenley moved close
r to read them.
AFFAIR, read the first one. Like Tenley’s implants, it was the secret the darer had lorded over Emerson. Her second note was just as curious. Just like her.
Tenley moved on to Caitlin’s section. Photos of her friend assaulted her. She bit down on her lip, refusing to cry. There were notes here as well. PILLS, and Replaced her. Nearby was Sydney’s section. Her notes said PYRO and Spawn.
Delancey’s followed the same pattern. NUDE PHOTOS, the first note read. Tenley furrowed her brow. Why did Delancey, Purity Club cofounder herself, have nude photos? Tenley shook her head. She’d never know now, and the truth was, it didn’t matter. The point was that Delancey, like everyone, had a secret, and the darer had used it to pull her strings—turn her into a puppet. She forced herself to concentrate on Delancey’s second note. Found out about Tricia.
“Of course,” Tenley murmured. She raced over to Tricia’s section. Her first note—her secret—said: BULIMIC. Her second read: Insecure—easy target.
“These second notes, they’re the reasons.” Tenley looked over at Emerson. Her friend’s sickly green coloring told her she’d figured out the same thing.
“They’re why the darer chose us all,” Emerson breathed.
Tenley looked back at her shrine. The only witness. “The only witness to what?”
Emerson shook her head, her eyes on her own note. Just like her. “Who am I just like?”
“Maybe one of the Lost Girls? It would make sense if this really is all connected.…” Tenley trailed off. Her eyes were glued to a small desk in the corner of the shed. Its desktop was empty, but for the first time she saw something sticking out from underneath it. She moved toward it as if in a dream.
Boxy and black. Old and shiny. A typewriter.
“Em, are you seeing—?”
“Oh my god.” Emerson’s gasp cut Tenley off. But when Tenley spun around, Emerson wasn’t looking at the typewriter. She was looking at one of the computers. The screen saver was gone, and in its place was a video image of a bedroom. Tenley’s bedroom. “There’s a hidden camera in your bedroom!” Emerson cried.
Tenley moved woodenly to a second computer. The screen saver vanished, replaced by a video of Emerson’s bedroom. “Yours too.” She moved to the next computer. “And here’s Sydney’s car. And her apartment.”
They went through the rest of the computers in a daze. There was surveillance everywhere: in half the rooms in their houses, in Tenley’s pool house and gazebo, inside each of their cars, in the Winslow cafeteria and auditorium, inside Pat-a-Pancake and the Crooked Cat Diner and Dr. Filstone’s office, outside on Art Walk, even in the Echo Bay police station. “This is why it’s felt like there are eyes everywhere,” Tenley whispered.
“It’s because there are.”
Tenley fought the urge to scream. How many times had the darer been watching when she thought she was alone? It made her feel as if someone had ripped open her chest and left her standing exposed, heart bloodred and pumping for all to see.
“This is it.” Emerson’s voice drew Tenley back to the present. “This is our lead. Finally. Think of all the data stored on computers. Technology always leaves a trail somewhere, right? We should call the police right now. Get them to come down here. There has to be an answer on one of these computers.”
Emerson was still talking, the words tumbling frantically out, but Tenley had stopped listening. Her eyes were on the line of computers instead. The screens had gone black. All at once, an identical message flashed on each of them. “Em,” Tenley whispered. She pointed soundlessly to the message.
FILES TRANSFERRED TO BACKUP SERVER. MEMORY WIPE COMPLETE.
“No!” It was more cry than word. Emerson launched herself at the computer, desperately shaking the mouse. The screen remained black.
Tenley stood immobilized as Emerson rushed uselessly from computer to computer. A realization was dawning on her slowly, like an old lightbulb flickering on. “We have to get out of here,” she breathed. Emerson looked up, tears shining in her hazel eyes. “This must be some kind of security measure. Which means the darer knows we’re here.”
“We need proof. Something!” Emerson whirled around, her expression wild. She began taking photos of the walls with her phone, one after another, the clicking sound echoing through the silent shed.
The silent shed. It took Tenley a second to process it. The computers had stopped whirring.
“Now,” Tenley hissed.
Emerson froze. From the way her eyes widened, Tenley could tell she, too, had registered the silence.
They both broke into a run. The wind lifted goose bumps on Tenley’s neck as they raced back to the car. Tenley had just locked the doors and started the ignition when her phone let out a shrill ring. She slammed down on the gas pedal, speeding away from the shed. The phone rang on.
Time seemed to slow as Emerson fumbled through Tenley’s bag. Finally, she extracted the ringing phone. “Unknown number,” she whispered.
Tenley’s heart banged loudly against her ribs. “Answer on speakerphone.”
She took a sharp left as Emerson jabbed at the phone. “Hello?” Emerson answered.
The speakerphone crackled silently in response.
“Who is this?” Tenley shouted.
“It’s me.” There was another crackle, then Sydney’s voice blasted through the speakerphone. Tenley’s breath came out in a long whoosh. “I’m calling from my home phone,” Sydney continued. “The cops have my cell—it’s a long story. Are you guys okay? Are you out of the hospital?”
“We’re fine,” Emerson said hurriedly. “Out of the hospital. But you won’t believe where we just were.”
“You won’t believe what I just saw!” Sydney cut in. “The ghost lights went off. I used my camera to get a good look at the cliff, and I saw someone up there. It was Sam Bauer.”
“Calum’s dad?” In Tenley’s surprise, she jerked the wheel, making the car skid across the road. She quickly straightened it out, her pulse racing.
“He must be the darer,” Sydney continued. “Think about it. He definitely has the resources. Not just the money, which obviously he has plenty of, but he’s also a tech genius. He’s consulted for the government! I called Calum after I saw his dad, to try to poke around a little, and he told me he was at a techie awards ceremony, waiting for the guest of honor to show up: his dad. If anyone could set up surveillance to stalk us, it would be Sam Bauer.”
“Well, whoever is sending us these dares, we just left his surveillance shed,” Tenley told her. She quickly filled Sydney in on everything they’d found.
“That proves it,” Sydney breathed. Her voice dimmed on the speakerphone, then grew louder again. “My dad can barely use a computer, let alone set up surveillance. It’s Sam we want. He must have set up my dad.”
“Spawn!” Emerson said suddenly. “That’s what Sydney’s second note said, right? The reason the darer chose her? It’s because your Matt’s kid, Sydney. Sam must really hate your dad. I wonder if that’s why he set up his shed across the street from his house.”
“Wait.” Tenley pressed too hard on the gas, making Emerson fly back in her seat. “Think about the darer’s reason for choosing Emerson. Just like her. Meryl Bauer dated Matt, according to his trophy box, right? Maybe Sydney’s in the game because she’s Matt’s daughter, and Emerson’s in the game because she dated Matt. You’re just like Meryl, Em.” She glanced over at Emerson. Tenley’s own horror was reflected back on her friend’s face.
“We need to go to the police,” Emerson said tightly.
“With what?” Tenley shook her head in frustration. “That shed proves we have a stalker, but it’s like you said: without the computer memory, there’s nothing to connect it to Sam.”
“Maybe he left fingerprints behind?” Even through the speakerphone, Tenley could hear the doubt penetrating Sydney’s voice. Their darer was nothing if not meticulous.
“We have to at least try,” Emerson said angrily. “We’ll show
the cops my pictures of the shed and tell them we’re sure it belongs to Sam.”
“And if they don’t believe us?” Tenley shot back. She took another turn, speeding toward Emerson’s house. “I was just at the station being questioned about drugging Jessie. My credibility is shot.”
“So is mine,” Sydney groaned. “The cops accused me of starting the fire at my dad’s place.”
“If they don’t believe us, and they take their time hunting down Sam…” Tenley trailed off, the words sticking in her throat.
“Then Sam will have plenty of time to hunt us down instead,” Emerson finished.
“And punish us for disobeying,” Sydney added.
Tenley pounded her fists against the steering wheel. “We need a visible lead—something that will give the cops no other option but to look into Sam.”
“The backup server!” Emerson burst out. “That’s what the computers said before they were wiped, right? ‘Files transferred to backup server.’ If we could find that server, it would have to lead to Sam!”
“Especially,” Tenley said slowly, “if it was in Sam’s office.”
“I’ve been in Sam’s office before with Calum.” Sydney’s voice filtered loudly over the phone. “There were lots of computers and printers in there. Maybe it’s on one of them?”
“You’ve been in Calum’s basement?” Tenley asked.
“No.” Sydney sounded confused. “The office was upstairs.”
“Not this one. At Calum’s party, he said no one could go in the basement, because his dad has some office down there.” Tenley paused. “Why would Sam care so much about keeping people out of his basement office, but not his upstairs office?”
“Maybe because his basement office houses his stalker server.” Emerson drummed her fingers against the window in a restless pattern. “If we could find the server and call the police while we’re there, they’d have to come check it out.” Emerson blew out an angry breath. “But there’s no way we’re getting into the Bauers’ house.”
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