“So, if I’m going to give up an evening for a bunch of randoms, it better be worth it. If you’re wrong…”

She doesn’t finish the sentence, but I know what she means. If I’m wrong, I’ve wasted her time and dragged people into a horror story of my own making. I’ll have spent hours talking and stressing about something that’s not true.

But if I’m right…

That’s what I cling to as I thank Nia and go to my room and ring Zak.

“I have a job for you,” I say. “How good are you at climbing walls?”

65

“Are you trying to get my whole family arrested?”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” I say. “Your brother only handed over a note.”

“What about me?” Zak asks.

“Well, you could be arrested.”

“Fucking right I could. You want me to break into Amy’s house while her entire family are eating dinner at yours. How long have you been planning this?”

“A couple of hours.”

Zak laughs down the phone. “I worry about you.”

“Thanks. Is that a yes?”

“I’ve seen that place. It’s a fortress.”

Except that’s not entirely true. There may be a wall all the way around, but the spikes stop beside the garage. If you climb up there, directly under Will’s window, you could be up and over in seconds.

“I don’t want you to break in. Only an idiot would do that. But they keep their curtains open. I just want you to look closer. If they had anything to hide, it wouldn’t have been out when I was there. That doesn’t mean it’s always hidden.”

At first, I only wanted Jane and Chris out of their comfort zone. But this is an opportunity. They’ll all be out of the house, and I can’t waste that.

They don’t look like the kind of people who leave a key under the mat. When they go out, the blue light of the burglar alarm dances from left to right and back again. But, if you live behind an electric gate, you might not be so quick to tidy away your truth.

If I could do it, I would. But I can’t disappear from a meal I invited them to. Zak’s my only chance.

“What if I get caught?”

“Don’t.”

I can literally hear him thinking down the phone, and, eventually, he says, “If you’re right and this is something serious, I want proper credit. None of this ‘I solved it on my own’ crap. Equal partners.”

“Deal.”

What we both know is that Zak has always dreamed of being a hero. That’s why he has a do-over diary—to transform a boring life into a brilliant one. For one night, he won’t have to write it…unless something goes wrong.

“Do they have any pets?”

“Nope.”

“Security lights?”