Too late to pretend she hadn’t seen him, Amie gave him a tight smile and a nod, assuming he’d give her the same. Instead, he put up a hand to grab her attention before she could look away.
“Hey!” he said, looking annoyed. As he paused to let a group of teenagers pass, Amie briefly considered running away. Before she could make a decision, her landlord was standing in front of her, arms crossed.
“What happened with the ‘flooding emergency’ in your bathroom?” he demanded. “Was that just a dumb prank, or …?”
Amie’s mouth fell open with surprise. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’tthis. “I, uh … what?”
“You called and said you had a flooding emergency in your bathroom that needed to be dealt with ASAP,” Benny said. “Then—”
“No, I didn’t,” Amie said, catching up to what must have happened. “Did someone call you and say that?”
Now Benny looked surprised. “Yeah. That wasn’t you?”
“No.” Amie felt jittery, like she’d downed three cups of coffee. “Did you go to my apartment?”
“Yeah,” Benny said, studying her face as if to determine if she was telling the truth. “No one answered, so I let myself in. When I saw that there wasn’t any flooding, I left. You didn’t answer when I called you back.”
“Was it my phone number?” Amie asked.
Benny shrugged.
“Do you not have my number saved in your phone?”
“No. I usually just ask people for their apartment number if they need something from me.”
Amie closed her eyes so he couldn’t see her rolling them. “Okay, well … that wasn’t me.”
“Huh. Weird.”
“Ben.” The woman rubbed Benny’s arm as Amie opened her eyes again. “Can we go on the Ferris wheel now?”
“Sure.” Benny gave Amie an awkward shrug. “No harm, no foul, I guess. Enjoy your night.”
“You too.” Amie gave a stiff wave as they walked off.
A third imitation phone call. That explained what Benny had been doing in Amie’s apartment that night. Whoever made the call must have photographed Benny entering, then sent them to Amie to make her think he’d left the message.
Amie shivered, this time not from the autumn breeze. Was it Savannah’s murderer? And if so, why would they want Amie to think Benny had wanted her to stop looking into Savannah’s death? If itwasMadeline, she had no connection to Benny, as far as Amie knew.
One thing at a time. She was looking for Grayson.
Not wanting to keep David waiting, she decided to finish her quick scan of the carnival games area, then head over to theEons booth. She could stand in line and look to see if Grayson walked past.
Thankfully, the line for the café’s booth had shortened by the time Amie arrived. She took her spot at the end, turning around so she could scour the crowd of people walking past.
“Hi!”
Amie ignored the greeting, assuming it was for someone else. Then:
“Amie?”
Raina stepped into Amie’s line of sight. She was wearing a green windbreaker and holding a white paper bag in one hand. A few autumn leaves were painted on her cheek, which danced as she smiled tentatively.
“Oh, hi!” Amie flashed her a quick smile before returning to her surveillance. Realizing this new arrival could be of assistance, she added, “Have you seen Grayson tonight?”
“Grayson?” Raina looked surprised. “Yeah, I saw him a little while ago by the rides. Do you guys know each other?”
“Not really. I just need to ask him something.”
