“Do not yell at me,” I yelled back. I counted to ten. “Why weren’t you at the cabin?”
“I needed some breathing space.” Paige sighed. “I told you to play this my way, but you didn’t believe me. Besides, I didn’t tell you I’d be there. I told you to tell them about the cabin. You just assumed I’d be there. Have you been watching the news? I hoped they would show a shot of my parents, but so far there’s only been the statement from Gregory, our family lawyer, saying that the family was praying for my safety and requesting that if anyone knew anything to please call the police.”
“Yeah. I saw that,” I said, my voice flat.
“He read the statement off a piece of paper. He didn’t even look up into the camera. It was a missed opportunity, if you ask me. If my family really wants me home, they should have made an emotional plea themselves.”
“Maybe they’re too upset.”
“Could be. My dad must be all broken up, because trust me, that guy never turns down an opportunity for some camera time.”
Paige sounded elated. Like things were going brilliantly. If I could have reached through the phone, I would have choked her. “I’m not sure if you understand how serious this is.”
“Have the police mentioned the failure to pay ransom to you yet? My dad and Gregory must be scrambling to keep that particular detail out of the press, but sooner or later, it’ll leak. I made sure to have a big boo-hoo about all of that in my diary. It’s going to cost him way more than what we asked for to rehabilitate his reputation when it hits the news.”
I paced back and forth in front of the tiny space by my bed. “Are you enjoying this?”
She laughed. “God, yes! Doesn’t everyone have this daydream? The one where you’ve died in some kind of tragic accident, the kind that still lets you leave behind a beautiful corpse and everyone has gathered at your funeral. They’re all crying and declaring how they should have been so much nicer to you when you were alive and how their lives will be empty, shitty shells without you.” She sounded almost manic.
“Are you ever coming back?” I hated how my voice sounded like I was begging.
Paige clucked. “Aw, do you miss me?”
I bit down so hard I thought I could hear my teeth creak as they ground together, threatening to crack.
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to stay gone forever, but I do need enough time for people find out my dad didn’t pay the ransom.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath the way Lester had taught me. “Do you get what a big story this has become? I’m in the middle of all of it, and the pressure is huge.” The press had been outside our apartment again this morning, this time several groups, and before heading out, my mom had primped for her now daily press conference. My efforts to make her stop were about as effective as trying to reason with waves coming to shore.
Everyone at school was talking about it. When I looked around, people were looking back. They were watching me. There were whispers in corners, and people ducking behind locker doors to hiss “that’s her” to their friends as I walked past.
“. . .?People magazine!” Paige said, and I realized I’d stopped paying attention.
“Wait, what?”
Paige sighed impatiently. “I said, there’s a rumor my story is going to be in People.”
I couldn’t imagine what to say to that.
“Sure, it’s no Vogue or InStyle, but still, it’s pretty cool. Attention like that could open doors. You never know what might happen.”
I closed my eyes. She totally didn’t get it. Once people had the bright light on you, they started to notice the cracks and imperfections. It was better to stay in the shadows—?safer.
“This wasn’t supposed to be about fame,” I said.
“It’s better than nothing,” she fired back. “Listen, I had my own reasons for doing this, but now I’m in a situation where I’m figuring out what I can salvage. I know what you’re thinking, that this is some vanity thing, but that’s not true.” Paige paused. “Well, it’s not entirely that. I might be able to make something out of this mess. I promise if I make any money I’ll share it with you. Lots of places pay big for interviews, you know. It could be lucrative, maybe even more than the ransom.”
“This is going to blow up in our faces,” I said, putting into words my biggest fear. I’d been caught in a lie once, and this would make the situation with my fake dad look like a walk in the park. “If you think the media loves a story about a missing rich girl, try and imagine what they will do if it comes out that you faked the whole thing. They’ll eat you alive.”
Paige was silent. Maybe she was picturing the headlines, the shaking head of some news anchor, repulsed as she told the story.
“I want out of this. I can’t make you come back, but I don’t have to participate.” I hoped I sounded stern and sure of myself.
“Jesus, will you lighten up? That’s why I called. I’m coming back. I just needed to give everyone one more day to figure out the stuff with the ransom. I need you to have one final vision.”
The tension that had been wrapped around my chest like a coil of barbed wire suddenly went slack. I felt as if I could take a deep breath for the first time in days. The top of my scalp prickled. This would be over soon.
“Tell me where you are.”
“I’m bunking down in one of the fruit stands that’s closed up for the season.”
There were tons of seasonal sheds that local farmers used during the summer to sell their produce to tourists on their way to their vacation homes. “Why would the kidnappers take you to a fruit stand?”
“Who knows why anyone does anything? I’ll say they drove me there and tied me up. Give me extra credit for planning ahead.”
I spit a sliver of fingernail out. She loved reminding me that she was always two steps ahead of me. “Okay. I’ll have images of fruit and that it is some kind of store. Which one is it? Is it close to the lake?”
“Yeah, you can see the water from here.”
“Okay, I’ll include a hint of water too.”
“You better have something else, to lead them,” Paige said. “They need to find me pretty quick because I’m going to be stuck tied up. Mention a dancing banana. It’s on the sign. My mom will recognize it right off the bat. We used to come out here when I was a kid. It’s on County Road Forty, the one that hooks up to Traverse City. There’s a horse farm across the street.”
I scribbled the details down. “Okay, I got it. I’m going to go to the cops first thing in the morning before school.”
Paige sighed. “I guess that’s it, then.”
“I guess,” I said. “You are going to be there this time, right?” I wanted her to promise, even though I knew by now I couldn’t trust a word out of her mouth.
“Yes, this time I’ll be there.” She sounded tired of my questions. “You can’t blame me for having a backup plan.”