Ruined by Paula Morris

Author:Paula Morris
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Horror & Ghost Stories
Published: 2010-06-10T15:13:43.747000+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

***

"It took some planning, and some lies, and the enthusiastic cooperation of Aurelia and her coconspirator, Claire, but Rebecca was going to the Bowmans' party whether Aunt Claudia --or anyone else --liked it or not.

A week had passed since the walk with Lisette, and all Rebecca had been able to think about was getting inside the Bowmans' house, and seeing the place where her friend had been murdered. She and Anton had communicated by text only: Rebecca didn't want anyone to see them together. She had to take this opportunity to at least see the staircase at the Bowmans'. Helena was hardly going to invite her around for dinner.

The afternoon of the party, her aunt arrived home from her day in the Quarter, complaining about patchy business and out-of-tune buskers. Rebecca made her some tea and mentioned, in an oh-so-casual way, that she was going to the movies that night with Aurelia and Claire.

"You know, that Reese Witherspoon thing," she said,

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watching her aunt count out the day's meager takings onto the stained Formica table. "It's on at the Prytania."

"I thought Aurelia was just having a sleepover at Claire's," Aunt Claudia said, smoothing out crumpled notes and shuffling them as though they were a floppy deck of cards.

"Oh, she is! But first we'll go to the movies together ... and I may go back with them for a while. To hang out."

This sounded so lame and implausible that Rebecca had to turn toward the window and pretend to be intent on rinsing old tea leaves out of the strainer. As far as her aunt was concerned, Rebecca spent all her spare time doing homework in a café or reading books in her room. The idea of her hanging around with that highenergy twelve-year-old twosome, Aurelia and Claire, both as fizzy as a whole bottle of Alka-Seltzer ... well, it wasn't a very compelling lie. But Aunt Claudia seemed just distracted enough to buy it.

"Do you want me to drive you there, baby?" she asked.

"Yes, please," said Rebecca. This was all part of the plan, so her aunt wouldn't suspect anything. And anyway, as Rebecca had realized, her aunt thought the party had already taken place. Inadvertently, she'd given Aunt Claudia the wrong date --December fifth, which was the day before. "Claire's mother is going to pick us up afterward and take us to her house. I'll just walk home from there. I won't be home late --tenthirty or so, I guess."

"I'd rather Claire's father walk you home," her aunt said. "Just to be safe."

"I'm sure he won't mind," Rebecca told her. Of course, Claire's parents knew nothing about her coming over to

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their house, because she wasn't going to their house. Claire and Aurelia had been sworn to secrecy on the lives of the entire cast of Gossip Girl.

That night, after Aunt Claudia let them out of the car outside the Prytania --an old redbrick movie theater that seemed completely out of place on its residential street --Rebecca shepherded her giggling

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