“So how long have you known the other girls, anyway?” Emily asked. “Have you guys been friends for a long time?”
Cassie cast her eyes to the right, thinking. “We met last year—we were elves at the Santa Land at the White Birch Mall, which Sophie’s dad used to manage, and decided to do it again this year. It’s kind of a big joke between us. But we didn’t go to the same high schools or anything. I went to Rosewood Day.”
“I go there, too,” Emily blurted.
A small smile appeared on Cassie’s face. “I know you do. You were friends with Alison DiLaurentis, weren’t you?”
Emily pressed her lips together. Just hearing Ali’s name made her heart beat faster.
“I made the connection at my party,” Cassie explained. “I remember you. I used to play field hockey with Ali on the JV team at Rosewood Day. She was really good.”
“I remember you, too.” Emily fiddled with the cloth napkin on her lap. “Ali thought you were awesome. She used to talk about you all the time.”
Cassie pressed her tongue between her teeth, seeming a little embarrassed by this. “We had fun together. Ali was definitely mature beyond her years—all of us said so. We couldn’t believe she was in seventh grade.” She twisted a thick leather bracelet around her wrist. “I couldn’t believe it when I found out about what Ian had done to her. He was a grade ahead of me. I only knew him by sight, but he always seemed so nice to everyone. Not the kind of guy who would . . . you know. But what kind of freak dates a seventh grader as a senior? That’s just . . . wrong.”
“I know.” Emily’s eyes inadvertently filled with tears. She wanted to claim it was the strong odor of Italian spices wafting in the air, tickling her nostrils, but she knew it wasn’t true.
“She used to talk about you, you know,” Cassie said.
Emily lifted her head. “Really?”
“Uh-huh. She said you were her favorite of all her friends. You guys had a special bond.”
“We did,” Emily said, her cheeks warming. “I miss her so much.”
“I do, too.” Cassie placed her hand over Emily’s. “I’ve changed so much since Ali went missing.”
A buzzer sounded from the kitchen. A group of women at a nearby table broke into a peal of laughter. Emily blotted her eyes with a napkin and peeked at Cassie’s blond hair, heavily lined eyes, and the multiple piercings in her ears. Was it possible Ali’s disappearance had made Cassie drop her perfect, preppy image and turn into a bad girl? It certainly had made Emily rethink a lot of things.
“I’ve never had another friend like Ali,” Emily admitted. “Even though she could be mean, I would have done anything for her.”
The waitress appeared with two cannolis, and Emily and Cassie dove into them at once. Cream oozed onto the plate as Emily cut into the pastry with her fork. “This is frickin’ delicious,” Cassie murmured.
“Much better than a salad,” Emily said.
Then Cassie laid down her fork, leaned forward on her elbows, and gave Emily a serious look. “So listen. We’ve had a lot of fun with you, Santa. At first we weren’t sure about you—it was so weird that Mrs. Meriwether brought in a girl to be Santa, and she kept whispering around you, and we were sure there was something weird going on. But you’ve proved us wrong. So we want to invite you somewhere very special tonight.”
Emily almost choked on her bite of cannoli. Her heart began to hammer. A tiny voice inside of her pleaded, Don’t let it be a pranking mission. Anything but that.
Cassie licked a bit of cream off her spoon. “Have you heard the stories about someone in Rosewood messing with people’s Christmas decorations?”
Emily’s heart sank. “I guess so.”
“Well, that’s us.” Cassie thumbed her chest proudly. “Me, Lola, Sophie, and Heather. We call ourselves the Merry Elves. And tonight, we’re going to pull our biggest prank yet.” She scootched forward into her chair, her voice dropping to a whisper. “We’re going to steal all the presents under the big tree at the Rosewood Country Club. All of the decorations, too. It’s perfect timing, because tomorrow morning is the annual brunch where everyone opens their gifts. It’s going to be just like How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Let’s see if the snotty rich people gather around the tree when it’s bare.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, we’d like for you to help.”