"I have to," Ariana said, speaking past a lump that had suddenly arisen in her throat.
"But your mother gave you that," Kaitlynn said.
"I know." God, did she know. "But Meloni has seen it. He knows I always wear it. If they find her with it, they'll be convinced she's
me."
Closing her eyes, Ariana brought the pendant to her lips and kissed it. She felt all the emotion of the past few weeks--realizing she was never going to see her parents again, mourning them alone in front of a computer, mourning herself every time she looked in the mirror--and felt as if she could cry for days.
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But she didn't have that luxury. She had work to do. Self-indulgence could come later. Taking a deep breath, Ariana pushed it all aside.
"I'm sorry, Mom," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry to put you through this."
Then she clasped the necklace around Briana Leigh's undeserving neck, untied the skiff, and pushed away from the dock into the cold, murky darkness of the lake.
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USELESS
Ariana watched Briana Leigh's face as she sank below the surface of Lake Page. Her blond hair floated out around her head like a halo as she dipped beneath the greenish-brown water. Her skin looked waxy and pale."She could be you," Kaitlynn said, her voice morose.
Ariana shuddered, hoping the FBI would agree with Kaitlynn's assessment.
After that, everything went so smoothly it was like a dream. They rowed back to the house, tied up the skiff, and walked through the woods together. As they ducked under branches and stepped around muddy patches and puddles, Ariana felt more and more free. Soon the authorities would have their body. Soon the search would be successful, and Ariana Osgood would be officially declared dead. Before she knew it, it would all be over. She would finally be free to start her new life.
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She only hoped it wouldn't be too soon. Ariana was supposed to have been dead for more than a week. In her estimation, Briana Leigh would have to go unfound for at least a week or two if she was going to look like she had been lolling at the bottom of the lake for that long. But there was nothing Ariana could do about that now. She was just going to have to wait and hope.
It was well past midnight when they arrived at the car. Ariana kept her ears trained for the sounds of sirens or dogs or shouting voices, but none came. There was nothing but crickets and the breeze and the occasional hoot of an owl. Undoubtedly Dr. Meloni was sitting in his house right now, petting his dear Rambo and wrestling with his conscience, trying to figure out what to do next. Tell the authorities that he'd helped Kaitlynn escape and have her found and dragged back, or wait until morning and hope that no one figured out his crime? The thought of his torture made Ariana smile.
At the car the two girls changed into dry clothes. Kaitlynn chose a pair of black cigarette pants and a white off-the shoulder sweater. Ariana took out her coveted Calvin Klein dress and sighed happily as she belted it around her waist. Kaitlynn removed the rubber band from her hair and shook out her curls. Together they leaned back against the trunk of the car. If anyone were to happen along, they would be just two friends out for a moonlight chat by the lake.
"The hair suits you," Kaitlynn said with a smile.
"You think?" Ariana asked. She lifted the heavy extensions over her shoulders in a gesture that made her think of Noelle Lange. "I'm still getting used to it."
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Ariana looked at her friend with a pang. She had yet to tell Kaitlynn that she was going to Atherton-Pryce now--that they were going to have to go their separate ways--but she decided she should wait until they were far away from the Brenda T. Until they were safely tucked away in a place where they could talk and come up with a plan for Kaitlynn. Because now that Ariana had spent so much time daydreaming about Atherton-Pryce, about the fact that she could still have everything she had always wanted, she wasn't willing to give it up. She could only hope that Kaitlynn would understand.
"We should probably get going. The farther we get away from this place, the better."
"Agreed." Kaitlynn crossed her legs at the ankle and sighed as the breeze tossed her hair back from her face. "So. Where's the money?"
Ariana arched an eyebrow. "Figured out what my plan was already?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Kaitlynn asked with a shrug. "Why else would you have gone straight to Briana Leigh? The money, the body. It's perfect."
Ariana smiled. "Thanks. But I hadn't planned on using her for the body until it became absolutely necessary. And unfortunately, there is no money."
Kaitlynn stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you mean there's no money?"
Her voice was sharp. Angry. Never in Ariana's life had she heard Kaitlynn sound angry. Not even when Christmas had passed without so much as a card from the aunt and uncle and cousin she still had on the outside--the ones who had refused to take her in when her
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