Mr. Marin smiled at the girls. “You two have done so much.” He thought for a moment, then raised one finger. “You could show Ms. Riggs a good time. You used to come to this museum all the time, didn’t you, Hanna? You could point out the displays.”
Hanna bit back a grimace. It was true she used to go to the museum with Ali in sixth grade, but playing tour guide with Gayle was just about the last thing she wanted to do. But it would give her an opening to steal Gayle’s phone and prove she was A. Now, there was even more of a reason to do so: Spencer had called on the way over, telling Hanna she was in the hospital—A had drugged her and a bunch of kids at Princeton, and if they could prove A was Gayle and that Gayle definitely spiked the brownies, they could put her away for a long time.
“So she’s coming?” Hanna tried to sound nonchalant.
“Of course.” Mr. Marin checked his Rolex. “Actually, I’m surprised she’s not here yet. I know she wants to talk to you, Hanna, before the festivities begin.”
“A-about what?” Hanna croaked. The idea of alone time with Gayle sounded terrifying.
“I was surprised, too.” Mr. Marin raised an eyebrow. “One of her charities is helping get teenagers involved in community activities. She said something about how she’s really impressed by your involvement in the campaign—especially organizing that flash mob. I think she wants to pick your brain.”
Hanna’s stomach churned. She was sure picking her brain wasn’t all Gayle wanted to do. She’d met Liam at the flash mob, and A—Gayle—knew that.
She threw back her shoulders, took a deep breath, and glanced at her phone again. Plan of attack, Aria had written in an e-mail to her and Emily. Hanna, you distract Gayle by talking about the campaign. If that doesn’t work, Emily, you walk by and look Gayle straight in the eye. When she’s not paying attention, I’ll sneak up and grab her phone. We rendezvous at my car, check her messages, and download everything to our phones.
Hanna could only hope it was that easy.
The doors swung open, and people began to arrive. Hanna glued her I’m-a-politician’s-daughter smile on her face and greeted the VIPs. Rupert Millington, who was always in the society pages because his great-grandparents once owned half of Rosewood, walked over and shook Mr. Marin’s hand. Fletch Huxley, Rosewood’s mayor, gave Hanna a kiss on the cheek. A bunch of ladies from local charities and horse-riding clubs air kissed and fake hugged. She looked around for Gayle, but she still hadn’t arrived. Neither Aria nor Emily had, either. Then, gliding through the double doors like royalty, was a familiar black-haired boy in a fitted tuxedo and a girl in an annoyingly pretty pink bebe dress that didn’t look slutty in the slightest. It was Mike and Colleen, deep in conversation.
Hanna’s heart started to pound. There was something else she had to do tonight. She ducked behind a column to listen in.
“I don’t know what could have happened to those pictures,” Colleen was saying. “The photographer said someone picked them up for me, but that’s impossible!”
Hanna bit the inside of her cheek. She really didn’t want to own up to the fact that she’d stolen Colleen’s photos. Maybe she could just send them back anonymously and chalk up the money she’d paid for them as the price she had to pay for getting Mike back.
On cue, Mike turned his head and noticed Hanna behind the column. Hanna looked away, but then Colleen saw her, too, and she let out a happy squeal. “Kiss kiss!” she said ecstatically, running over and kissing Hanna on both cheeks before Hanna could stop her. “This is so amazing. Thank you so much for inviting me!”
Hanna sniffed. “I didn’t invite you,” she said, the words like bile in her mouth.
Colleen’s face fell. Mike gave Hanna a withering look, then shrugged and drifted over to a bunch of guys on the soccer team, who’d no doubt spiked their ginger ales with vodka from someone’s flask.
Colleen watched Mike go, then turned back to Hanna. Her eyes widened slightly. “Uh, Hanna?” She leaned forward. “You have something stuck to your shoe.”
Hanna’s head shot down. A long piece of toilet paper was affixed to her back heel. Heat shot through her body. How long had it been there? Had she really greeted the mayor of Rosewood like this? Had Mike seen it?
Hanna bent down and pulled the piece, which was disgustingly soggy, off her foot. When she looked up again, Colleen had joined Mike at a table with his friends. She felt more infuriated than ever.