“Iknow,” Caro says. Is this really that big a deal? Everyone knows where they are now, thanks to the pictures posted all over LikeMe and online—but then she realizes. For Henry to have received the postcard in the mail—to have had it in the Buick to leave it behind—it would havehad to be sent while they wereinthe Underground, wouldn’t it? She looks closely at the image. There’s the Sonnet logo in the corner of the photo, superimposed over a picture of the bluffs near the resort.
Yes. It’s certainly her handwriting, and it’s definitely from Sonnet.
Which meansthat’show Henry knew where Caro was. It’sherfault he left Lookout Pointe. But how on earth did he get all the way from St. John to Sonnet?
And Caro has another realization.
Oh no.
Did someone sendallof her postcards?
Caro stops, fixing her gaze on Ash. “Do you think I’m lying? I swear I didn’t send it.”
Don’t doubt me, she wants to say to Ash.We have to keep on trusting each other for any of this to turn out okay.
Instead, what comes out of Caro’s mouth is, “Do you know where all ofyourpostcards are? When was the last time you saw them?”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” Ash starts walking again, and now it’s Caro’s turn to jog a few steps to catch up. “I think mine were on my desk in the tent. I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen them since I’ve been in the Airstream.” She exhales. “Does this mean someone was sneaking into our tents?”
Oh no.Even though that’s the obvious connection, Caro’s scrambled brain hadn’t yet made it. “But whywouldanyone send them?” she asks Ash. “What’s the point? Freaking us out because then we’d know someone was in our rooms? We already knew there was a lurker. Do you think they knew that we knew? What we were doing?” She can’t seem to stop asking questions. “How many postcards did you write? What did yours say?”
Ash doesn’t answer the questions. She just keeps hiking, one foot in front of the other on the steep path. Caro can’t believe this.Everything is going so wrong.
“Who do you think sent them?” she asks Ash.
Finally, Ash answers. “You know who it could be,” she says.
46
BEFORE
Hey Page,
Thanks for the letter. You’re right, you are the only person who sends me real letters instead of texts or emails. I love your letters. I put them all up on the corkboard in my dorm room. I’m sorry I don’t always write back every time you write to me. School is so busy! But it’s fun, too. I bought you a T-shirt at the campus store, and I’ll bring it to you when I visit next time. I think you should come to college here, too. You’ll love it.
I do remember going to the ghost town on the field trip when I was in third grade! I didn’t see any ghosts, either, but I did think the place had a feeling. Not haunted. But not NOT haunted. Does that make sense? You probably would have felt it more if Brad hadn’t been there being disgusting. Come on, dude.
You asked if I had A BOYFRIEND yet, and I don’t. (I did meet one guy who I think is extra cute.) But I have boys that are friends. And girls who are friends. And best of all I have you.
Love you miss you,
Eve
47
ASH
CARO IS STRIDING AWAYdown the trail quickly and talking even faster. “People love this hike,” she says. “Did you know it’s become one of the most LikeMe’d spots in America? Which is a pain, because everyone knows about it now. But itisone of the most beautiful places in the world. I’m glad you’ll get to see it.”
There’s something almost manic in the way she’s speaking and moving, and even though Ash knows it’s because of the newly strained feeling between them, she finds it disconcerting. She knows from looking at the hike online last night that the path is going to get steeper and steeper, including a section of switchbacks right before the saddle that other hikers have described as “brutal.”
“Aidan Stone did a stunt here for one of the Special Forces movies,” Caro says. “You probably already knew that. It was forEnd Days, and he rode his motorcycle off a cliff.”
“I did hear about that.” They split up to go around a couple hiking up the path.We aremoving, Ash thinks.What if we get to the top too soon?
“Okay,” Caro says when they’re back together. “Catch me up on your conversation with Hope’s agent. With Raye. And how did she find you in the first place?”
“She called when I was in my trailer last night,” Ash says. They’ve already texted about this, but she gets the need to talk it out. She’d want to do the same. “She’s arriving at Sonnet this morning, and she wants to meet us at the food truck as soon as we get back from this hike.”
