“Why would she say that?” I asked. Hadn’t she seemed frightened, too? “Unless she’s also being threatened. She said something about Lily and Jackie. What if she’s getting messages, too? She did cheat with Greg. Maybe Jackie found out. Maybe she wanted to set Theresa up by making us think it was her sending those messages. Maybe that’s why she used Theresa’s house in the profile picture.”

We stood in silence for a moment, thinking that through.

Finally Bettina spoke, confirming my own instinct. “It’s got to be Jackie, then. She’s the only one who knows. She’s the only one who would care about all this enough to...” She trailed off.

I heard something—someone—in the woods behind us. I turned, squinted into the darkness, but saw nothing.

“What about Maggie?” Pia asked, lowering her voice.

I chewed my lip. “Jackie must be feeding her information. Maggie said she had a source.”

“Oh, y’all, I can’t. Think what happened to me last time. A curse. And what will happen this time?” Alice said.

“There’s no curse,” Bettina said curtly, staring at her in disgust.

“There is!” Alice rubbed her arms furiously with her hands. Her voice climbed. She was getting inconsolable, like she had been all those years ago when the bleeding had started. Just days after Daphne’s death, Alice had miscarried.

I’d been the one who followed Alice and Justin to the hospital, held Alice’s hand when she got the news. She’d been out of her mind with grief, convinced it was karma for what we’d done.

“Stop,” I hissed. “No one’s getting cursed.” I turned, paced.

“History is repeating itself,” Alice said, panicked. “It’s going to happen again. Oh I can’t stand it.”

“Alice, there’s no proof of any of this,” I said. “No one saw us that night.”

The wind kicked up. High above us, branches swayed like drunken hula dancers. No one saw us except the trees.

“This isn’t my fault. All I did was watch the kids. I paid for my sins. I didn’t—”

“You had no problem keeping the secret all these years.” Bettina was shaking with anger. She pointed a finger at Alice. “No problem reaping the benefits of our friendship, of letting us solve your problems for you.” The slick steadiness of her voice sent shots of electricity through my back. All those years ago, that same cold certainty had formed inside her when we’d made the plan. When we’d cleaned up the mess Jackie made.

But it wasn’t going to help us now to alienate Alice. “Bettina,” I warned.

“I always knew she was weak,” Bettina said. “Her and Jacqueline. The weak links.”

“Quiet,” I said.