“But you went somewhere…and I’m the smart one in this family.”

Nia realizes what she said; I can see it in her eyes, but she doesn’t correct herself.

“So, was it worth it?”

I walk past her and close my door, then pull out a notepad and start writing.

“If you’re the smart one,” I say, “help me figure out the clues.”

Clues

• Holes in the doors where locks have been.

• Words written under the wallpaper: Help Me.

• Stick people carved into the wardrobe—one big and one small.

• Will’s sketch pad—he’s drawn the same pictures over and over again.

• Amy’s journal—“I see it in the way he looks at me. He can’t possibly know the truth, but he knows something isn’t right. And I don’t think he’s going to stop digging.”

• The box hanging from a tree, full of notes that say “I’m sorry.”

Possible clues:

• Amy took boy from his mother at the shopping center to teach her a lesson—suggests she hates bad parents.

• Rumor about Amy’s dad and Evie Wells. Amy says Evie started it. Evie thinks it was Amy.

• Will tearing up my note in front of me.

• Chris’s handshake.

• Jane’s surprise visit.

71

“What do you mean, she took a boy?”

Nia is holding the paper, staring at me as though what she’s reading is ridiculous.

“I followed Amy around the shops and watched her take a kid when his mother wasn’t looking. When I caught her, she said it’s to make sure parents pay more attention.”

“That’s fucking wild.”

“She thinks she’s doing something good.”

Nia shakes her head. “Well, she’s not. And that should definitely be bumped up to a clue. If she’s targeting ‘bad’ parents, what does that say about her own? You might be on to something.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, but I don’t think we can have handshakes and surprise visits on the list.”

“It was a hard grip,” I say. “I think it was a warning.”

Nia laughs. “Probably to stay away from his daughter. Dad does the same whenever a boy comes ’round.”

I think back to the only time Nia brought a boy home. Jay wasn’t anything like Chris. He was his usual happy self, and they talked about football for hours. I think Jay liked him more than Nia did.

“It was more than that,” I say, but I cross it off the list anyway.

“You’ve tried talking to Will, and he’s having none of it,” Nia says, “and Amy was pissed off for you even suspecting something’s wrong. Her dad is super protective, and her mum’s playing happy families. But here’s the thing…you don’t need any of them.”

“I don’t?”

“No, because everything you have so far has come either from our house or from you being a stalker guy.”