Ezra
"Where is she?" I ask first thing when I enter the guest house. I got there just before Uncle John, Chris and my brother. And I was glad. "I'm gonna kill her."
I start to walk up the stairs,
"Um, she's in my room?" Emily follows me.
"Hi Emily." I say, trying not to ignore her. "Showing up in Kansas." I grumble under my breath.
"Um who are we killing?"
"What do you mean who are we killing?" I reach the top of the stairs. "Jackie." I open the door to Emily's room. Um.
I slowly turn and face Emily who's trying not to laugh. "There's a cow in your room."
"Yes, Ezra. There is."
"Aunt Betty meant... Jackie the Cow... Not the person..."
"Yup."
I sit down on the edge of the bed. "Aw man... I'm losing it. I really wanted to rip into her." I shake my head. "Wait." I stand up. "Why is Jackie in the house?!"
Emily laughs. But then she changes her expression and shows me the sign.
"So A burnt down the barn? But why?" I ask after reading it.
"Someone must really hate someone here..."
"Probably Toby. A killed Toby's mom."
"We need to come up with a list of anyone who'd want to hurt any of is. But first, let's get Jackie out of here..."
-
"Alright everyone." Aria crosses her arms. "Here," She starts to pass out paper and pens. "Everyone write down people that might hate you and why. And we'll check out everyone on the lists. But 'A' has to be someone who has something against Maddie, too. Cause she's been stalking her."
"What if it's a he?" Toby asks.
Aria lowers her eyebrows. "He, she, shim, whatever. It."
"Honey," I laugh. "Calm down."
"Calm down?!" Emily interjects. "There was a living breathing mooing pooping cow in my room today!"
"Emily, get over it." Spencer rolls her eyes. "My feet are killing me..." She mutters rubbing them. Toby shoo's her hands away and starts to rub her feet and she relaxes, putting her claws away and leaving a traumatized Emily alone.
"You don't get it!" Emily shoots back. "I don't care about the cow - No offense, Chris." She says to him. "But guys, this A person who knows stuff before we do and has the potential to KILL was in my bedroom!"
"Okay but you weren't here so chill!" She groans.
"Guys." Aria puts her hands up. "Spencer, shut up and let Emily be freaked. Emily stop being so freaked."
Chris snickers.
"And you Chris, start writing. I'm SURE a lot of people hate YOU."
He doesn't protest because he knows she's right, and starts on his list.
"What I want to know," Toby says. "Is did A kill my mom because she, he, it, hates ME, or is my mom involved?"
We all grow quiet.
"It's a small world." I speak up. "Who is connected to all of us? Toby, his mom, Spencer, Aria, Emily, me, Chris, my aunt and uncle and my brother... And Maddie."
No one says what we want to. Finally Spencer whispers it into the quiet summer day. "Alison."
"Ali's dead." Emily growls at her, stands up and rushes off before anyone can stop her.
"What's her problem today?" Spencer grumbles.
"Spence, take a nap." Aria snaps back.
"Spencer this person killed my mother. Your kid's grandma!" Toby shoves her feet off of him and stands up so quickly it startles Chris who looks up to enjoy the show. No one noticed until now - no one realized Toby was crying. He whips his nose with his sleeve. "I will put that bitch in jail or in a grave if it's the last thing I do."
He leaves in a rush like Emily, and Aria runs off after him. Spencer puts her head in her hands, and Chris goes back to his list.
"What, no snarky comment?" I eye my cousin up and down. He doesn't look up. Something's wrong. He knows something. Truth is, we all know more than we're letting on.