Perfect (Book Two)

Thirty-Six: Just Another Slow News Day In Rosewood.

Emily lived in an older, modest neighborhood with a lot of retired residents, and everyone was out on their porches or in the middle of the street, concerned over the three police cars in the Fieldses' driveway and by the ambulance that had just roared away. Spencer pulled up to the curb and spotted Aria. She was still in her polka-dotted dress from Foxy.

"I just got here," Aria said as Spencer approached. "But I can't find out anything. I've asked a bunch of people what's going on, but no one knows."

Spencer looked around. There were plenty of police dogs, police officers, EMS people, and even a Channel 4 news van—it had probably just driven over from the DiLaurentis house. She felt like all the police officers were looking at her.

And then Spencer started to shake. This was her fault. Completely her fault. She felt sick. Toby had warned her that people would get hurt, yet she'd done nothing. She'd been so absorbed in Wren—and look how that had turned out. She couldn't even think about Wren right now. Or Melissa. Or them together. It made her feel like there were worms crawling through her veins. Something had happened to Emily, and she'd had the chance to stop it. The police had been sitting in her living room. Even A had warned her.

Suddenly, Spencer noticed Emily's sister Carolyn standing in the driveway, talking to some cops. One of the officers leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Carolyn's face crumpled, like she was crying. She ran back into the house.

Aria's posture wavered a little, like she was about to faint. "Oh God, Emily's..."

Spencer swallowed hard. "We don't know anything yet."

"I can just feel it, though," Aria said, her eyes full of tears. "A—Toby—his threats." She paused, pushing away a strand of hair that had gotten in her mouth. Her hands shook badly. "We're next, Spencer. I know it."

"Where are Emily's parents?" Spencer asked in a loud voice, trying to drown out everything Aria just said. "Wouldn't they be here if Emily were..." She didn't want to say the word dead.

A Toyota Prius barreled crookedly up the road and parked behind Spencer's Mercedes. Hanna got out. Or, it was a girl who resembled Hanna. She hadn't bothered changing out of a pair of flannel pajama pants, and her long, normally stick-straight dark auburn hair was kinky and stuffed into a half-up, half-down bun. Spencer hadn't seen her look so up-put together in years.

Hanna spied them and ran over. "What's going on? Is it—"

"We don't know," Spencer interrupted.

"You guys, I found something out." Hanna slipped off her sunglasses. "I talked to a cop this morning, and..."

Another news van pulled up and Hanna stopped talking. Spencer recognized the woman from Channel 8 news. She took steps closer to the girls, her cell phone to her ear. "So the body was found outside this morning?" she said, looking at a clipboard. "Okay, thanks."

The girls exchanged a pleading look. Then Aria took the others' hands and they strode across Emily's lawn, treading straight through a flower bed. They were a few feet from Emily's front door when a police officer stepped in their path.

"Hanna, I told you to stay out of this," the cop said.

Spencer gulped. It was Wilden, the guy who's come by her house yesterday. Her heart started to pound.

Hanna tried to push him aside. "Don't tell me what to do!" The officer grabbed Hanna by the shoulders, and she started to squirm. "Get off me!"

Spencer quickly gripped Hanna around her tiny waist. "Try to calm her down," Wilden said to Spencer. Then he noticed who she was. "Oh," he breathed. He looked confused, then curious. "Miss Hastings."