perfect little lies | jason dilaurentis

013. Know Your Frenemies

Spencer, Emily, and Rachel sat around the small cafe table that morning. The sun was shining and what they were doing probably was considered identity theft. Spencer had pulled up the Hilton Head phone number and asked Rachel if she could do an accent different than her own.

So now, she was speaking to a woman with a southern accent. "Hi. I'm plannin' a surprise visit to Hilton Head for my husband, and he just can't stop raving about the last room he stayed in." Rachel explained to the woman, "Is there any way you could pull up his reservation?"

"What's the name?" She asked.

"Ian Thomas. I-A-N T-H-O-M-A-S." Rachel told her.

Emily turned to Spencer. "Why are we doing this?"

"We think Ian and Alison were together the weekend before she disappeared." Spencer explained quietly, "Do you remember how she was acting when she got home from visiting her grandmother? All giggles and tan?"

"Yeah?"

"Ali hated old people, and Ali's grandmother lives in Georgia. Hilton Head is in South Carolina, she was lying to us." Spencer continued.

"So what?" Emily asked, "Alison lied more than she breathed. Do you think that was enough to make Ian want to... permanently shut her up?"

"Wow. I thought you'd be happy to hear it wasn't Toby." Rachel commented, covering up the speaker so the woman didn't hear.

"All Toby wanted was for me to believe him, and I didn't." Emily explained.

"Toby lied about a lot of things too, Em." Spencer said.

"If lying was a crime, we'd all be in jail." Emily commented. The door to the coffee shop behind Rachel opened and Emily looked attentively at the person. "Agent Cooper, good morning."

Rachel and Spencer turned around, smiling at her. "Hi. Beautiful day, huh?" Agent Cooper said. Rachel nodded and pretended to be listening on the phone, when in fact she was on hold. Hanna left her Mom's car and sat down with the other three girls. Though something was different about her-- she wasn't wearing heels.

"Looks like somebody traded in their wheels for heels." Emily commented with a chuckle.

"They're flats, but they are Ferragamo's." Hanna said. The woman suddenly appeared back on the phone and informed Rachel of the date.

"Your husband was here the last weekend of the summer, in room 243." The woman said.

Rachel felt like she had been punched in the gut. "Thank you." She said quickly, before hanging up.

"The food in this town is to die for." Agent Cooper said, "I'm missing it already."

"Are you going somewhere?" Hanna asked her, while Rachel gave Spencer and Emily a look. A look that told them she had answers.

"Came here to find the person that killed your friend. Toby Cavanaugh may be out on bail, but he's not leaving town and we have a solid case against him." Agent Cooper explained, "So, unless you have a reason for me to stay..."

"Well, I guess we'll see you around then." Hanna said with a smile.

"You girls take care." She said to them. They said a small goodbye and once she was out of view, all attention was on Rachel.

"What'd you find out?" Emily asked her quietly.

"Ian was definitely at Hilton Head the same weekend Ali was." Rachel explained, "Maybe we do have a reason for Cooper to stay."

The girls had class so they all decided to head off to the school, agreeing to continue their discussion at lunch. When lunch finally came along, the girls huddled around a table with their lunch trays to talk.