My face provoking as I peer over at my boys. They’re still in a confused state of complete darkness.
“Rory didn’t get on that bus.” My tone is as aghast as I feel.
“What do you mean she didn’t get on that bus? We saw her?” Eli defends. Finn nods his agreement.
They aren’t getting it.
“Rory got onabus.” My stomach dips. “Just notthatbus.”
Finn arches a confused brow. “Are you on drugs? She’s right there.” Pointing at the screen with gusto.
“That girl isn’t Rory. It’s someone else.” My mouth twists. “AfakeRory.”
I wave a disgusted hand, dismissing the impostor.
Princess chose well, I’ll give her that. This girl both similar in height and weight to her, but she isn’t my girl.MyRory. I know that with a hundred-percent certainty now.
“She must have paid her or done something to convince this…thiscon artist to impersonate her.”
“You’re not making sense.”
I lean forward. “Whoever Rory convinced to pretend to be her messed up.”
“The hell are you talking about?”
Rory is a genius—a dead one—but still a genius.
She knew as soon as she saw that camera that she was in trouble. We had proof of her whereabouts and would use that to track her, so she bettered us. Swapping herself out with a double to give herself more time.
“She snuck by because we were looking for the girl in the hoodie, right?” They both nod, so I continue, wetting my lower lip. “Thisgirl coming out of the bathroom hiding her face isn’t Rory.”
My blood warms all over again. How did I miss this?
“Look at her pulled-up sleeve.”
Both sets of their eyes are glued to the screen, but I can tell they still aren’t getting it. They don’t see it because they don’t know Rory the same as I do. How closely I watch her everything. I notice everything about her… almost.
I point. “There. The bareness of her arm. Have you ever seen Rorynotwearing those tattered pieces of thread she calls a set of bracelets on her arm?”
The same ones with the crescent moon pendant hanging below.
The truth eases the harsh lines on their faces, morphing like putty does to the bowl. Slow but all-consuming as it’s absorbed.
Clarity hits them like a welcomed friend.
Finn’s eyes jolt. “What does this mean?”
“It means, caffeine up. We have another long night of footage.”
four
Cole
Thesunhasbarelypeaked, and almost everything’s loaded and ready to go. Currently, I’m running on coffee and the truth.
After last night, we called Eli’s dad and he managed to pull up an extended version of the footage. The group of us watched long into the night until Rory—the real one—finally exited over two hours later.
Without the cloak of her hoodie, she no longer had a way to hide her identity. Instantly recognizable as soon as she stepped out. Bracelets and all.