Alex: "Ashley was seriously insane."

Hunter: "You're telling me. I couldn't understand why my dad wouldn't just throw her out of our house."

Hannah: "And how did she even get that envelope to Velden so fast? She's seriously one of the scariest people I've ever met."

Azalea Rose Jackson:

As soon as Alex got that text, we all whirled around. Hannah stood behind us on the sidewalk, phone in hand and smiling cutely.

"Hannah!" Alex was the first to speak. "What are you doing here?"

She looked off to the side. "It's my dad—he's driving me to this stupid thing at Stanford," she mused. "Did you know that college math clubs are a thing? Apparently, Dad thinks enrolling out of high school would be a good résumé builder."

"Wait," I interjected. "Where is he? Your dad, I mean? Did he just leave you here?"

Hannah turned and pointed to a white Kia stopped on the side of the road. "He said I could invite you guys if I wanted to." She paused for a moment, trembling with hesitation. "Please say you'll come. I really don't want to spend two hours alone in some dusty old college auditorium trying to stay awake—"

"Of course we'll come!" Alex practically screamed before Hunter or I could decline.

"Great," she smiled. "And, I just wanted to say this in person...sorry about Starbucks." Her eyes fell to the ground.

"Already forgotten," Alex piped up again, smiling instantly. "Come on, guys," he said to me and Hunter. "What are you waiting for?"

I twisted my head to Hunter and rolled my eyes. He grinned lightly at me and shrugged his shoulders, then reached out to grab my hand. "Come on," he whispered, laughing as we followed Alex and Hannah to Mr. Mun's Kia.

As we climbed into the car with Hannah, her dad spoke mechanically, without one ounce of feeling: "Good afternoon. I take it you're Hannah's friends."

"Yeah," Hunter piped up. "I'm Hunter." He reached out to shake hands, but Hannah's dad kept his eyes fixed on the road.

Ouch. This guy is harsh.

"I'm Alex," was the next introduction, though it was much less emphatic than Hunter's.

"And...I'm Azalea," I added with hesitation in my voice.

"Very good," Mr. Mun said dismissively. "Now we must go. The meeting at Stanford begins soon, and we won't want to be late."

As we drove up the asphalt-laden road, we passed Shake & Cake before sailing through the adjoining intersection. With the pass of gleaming bookstores and restaurants flanking us from both sides of the road, Hannah glanced in the back seat just as Hunter fished out that slip of paper Ashley'd given him—the one with Velden's name printed at the corner. "Uh, Hunter...what's that?"

Hunter grasped it tightly in his hand, shaping it into a thin hourglass figure. "Just some guy's contact info," he said. "Ashley gave it to me right before you texted Alex."

"Wait, Ashley? As in..."

"Yeah," he nodded his head.

"I mean...are you sure you can even trust her?"

"I don't know—she said something about calling this guy and getting a package. But to be honest, I'm pretty sure it's just some stupid trick she's trying to play. Still...she seemed really freaked." He sighed heavily. "I just wish she'd get over whatever she has against my dad and move out of my house."

"Amen to that," I echoed.

It was a short drive to Stanford; it felt like we'd only just gotten inside the car when Hannah's dad was announcing our arrival, taking a moment to gaze around at the parking lot scenery.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Mun," Hunter said, moving to open the door as he spoke.

Alex and I followed suit, piling out of the backseat while Hunter walked to the front of the car to open the passenger door for Hannah. She smiled at her dad and waved goodbye, and he managed a stiff wave back.

"Wow," I said to Hannah once we were out of earshot. "Your dad is...wow."

"Yeah," she half-smiled. "I get that a lot."

"He seems really...focused," Hunter offered as he tucked his hands into his front jean pockets.

Hannah audibly laughed. "It's okay, Hunter. You don't have to sugarcoat. I know he's not winning any prizes for Daddy of the Year." She paused, eyes falling. "Mom says he used to be really different before..."

"Before what?" Alex walked closer to Hannah, slid his hand to the side to wrap around hers.

"Oh! Um...nothing," she said quickly.

"Come on, Hannah," Alex begged. "You can trust us."

"It's nothing—I mean, it's pointless. It's in the past."

His smooth brown eyes stared pleadingly into hers. "Please?"

She sighed.

"It's okay, Hannah," Hunter added. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Really, it's alright."

Hannah shut her eyes, steeling herself as she stayed in step on heels that clacked across the paved lot. "No, I should tell you. I need to tell you. You guys are my friends, and...and I do trust you."

Alex smiled and squeezed her hand tightly. And as he, Hunter, and I walked in silence, Hannah told all of us the story of Heather Ivory Mun.

****

We'd been dropped off at the Visitor Center, but the actual location of the event was across the street in a garish building adorned in white bricks. Through translucent windows framed with golden panes, a sparkling chandelier winked flickers of shimmering light. A few feet from the entrance, the name CALLABALDI PLAZA was printed in amber letters against a snowy slab of marble.

Whoa—Stanford doesn't mess around.

I cleared my throat as I made it to the entrance, paused as my friends stiffened next to me, then reached out my hand for the door.

The moment we walked inside, the air that met us was crisp, chilled with a cool professionalism that drafted all around.

But as we took uncertain steps toward the lady at the check-in desk, I noticed that she was packing up her belongings—filing a set of pages inside a suitcase before zipping it shut as she powered off the sleek desktop computer shining before her eyes.

"Excuse me," I addressed her. "Is this where we sign in for the Stanford Collegiate Mathematics League meeting?"

"It was," she answered, "an hour ago."

"What?" I puzzled. "A-are you sure?"

"Yes, I am," she replied curtly. "The meeting's over. If you're still interested, there's another information session this Saturday. It's down the street at Palomar Place, and it starts at noon." She continued packing as she spoke, her words practiced and monotone—as if she'd said them millions of times for previous prospective students. "Have a nice day," she concluded as she slid from behind the desk and strode from the room, her high heels click-clacking across the polished floor.

"Wow," Alex whistled as soon as the woman left, glassy double doors clanging behind her. "Well, that was a bust."

Hannah hunched her shoulders. "Guess we're stuck here 'til my dad gets back—"

"Oh, crap!" I practically screamed, turning to the left as my eyes grew wide. "Hunter, I just remembered—you and I both left our cars at Shake & Cake!"

Alex sighed. "Yeah, and my bike's in your trunk, Hunter."

"Should I call Stefan?" Hannah offered. "I'm sure he'd be willing to come pick us up."

Alex's eyes fell.

"Um, why don't we just walk it, Hannah?" I offered swiftly. "I mean, your dad drove us here, but it's really not that far. Don't make Stefan come all the way out here just to take us like three miles to Shake & Cake."

Alex looked up and smiled at me, his eyes silently relaying a million thanks. I nodded back.

"Um...okay," Hannah shrugged. "I guess we're walking then."

As we started trekking for the front door, I looked back at Hunter, who lagged behind as he trudged slowly, still holding tightly to the paper Ashley'd given him and studying it intently.

"Thinking about calling that guy?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said uneasily. "I mean, I guess it wouldn't hurt. And on the off chance that she was telling the truth...we might really be in danger." He steeled himself, shutting his eyes briefly before lifting his phone from his pocket and dialing the number, pressing the speakerphone button so all of us could hear.

"Hello?" came a young voice.

"Hi, is this Velden?" Hunter asked.

"Who wants to know?"

"I'm...I'm Hunter. A lady told me to call you. Does...Ashley sound familiar?"

There was silence on the other end—it was as though by mentioning Ashley's name, Hunter had issued a death notice.

"Hello?" Hunter asked.

"What did she want?" the voice on the other end demanded.

"I—I'm not sure. She just told me to call you and said that you'd have a package—"

"I do. I have it now. Come alone. My house is across the street from the church. It's the only one-story on the block. You have three hours before I destroy the package."

"Hold on, WHAT!?"

A dull click followed by the dial tone was Velden's only reply.

"What the heck is going on!?" Hannah almost screamed.

"I'll explain on the way." Hunter shook his head. "This just keeps on getting freakier."

****

We ran the rest of the three miles back to Shake & Cake and picked up our cars. Hunter was pretty sure he knew the way to Velden's house, so I said I'd follow him and Alex. Hannah opted to drive with me, and I had a feeling it might've had something to do with everything that'd gone on with Alex the past twenty-four hours.

But I could tell that wasn't the only thing bothering her—she was still freaking out about this Velden guy too, her fingers trembling nervously in her lap as we drove.

"Um, Hannah..." I tried. "I just wanted to say thank you for sharing Heather's story. It means a lot that you trust the three of us."

"Thanks." She smiled weakly, fingers still trembling. "I haven't told anyone besides you guys and Stefan."

At the mention of Stefan's name, I tensed.

"I know what you think of him, Azalea," she added. "He's really not that bad of a guy...he's actually kind of a sweetheart."

I hesitated. "...How do you think Alex feels about him?"

"I'm not really seeing how my relationship with Stefan is any of Alex's business," she snapped.

"That's kind of harsh, Hannah."

"Alex grabbed me in Starbucks, Azalea. And he wouldn't stop yelling in the middle of the restaurant."

I sighed.

"And he hasn't even apologized to me yet, even after I apologized to him—in person and via text!"

"Look, Hannah," I sighed, loosening my grip on the steering wheel as I contemplated my next words. "Guys are really dumb sometimes. And if it was me, I'd probably have done a lot worse if he'd tried pulling something like that at Starbucks. It's just...maybe don't hate him over this. He really could've just been trying to protect you."

Hannah lifted her eyes to stare out the passenger seat window. "I don't hate him—in fact, I don't know how I feel about him. I just wish he wouldn't treat me like he owns me...or like he wants to own me. I mean, he hardly even acts like my friend anymore." She turned back to me. "It's like, if I want space or if I want to slow down or anything, he gets so angry."

"And that's totally not okay—by any stretch of the imagination. But maybe you should tell him that. Tell him how you really feel. Don't just apologize because you felt guilty. And if he cares about you, like I'm guessing he does...then he'll understand."

She lowered her eyes, a sigh of uncertainty her only response.

"And look," I added. "I know I'm the last person to lecture anyone about not judging a book by its cover, but maybe you oughta give the poor guy another chance. A chance to show that he really values you." I grinned. "And if he doesn't, then you and I are going boots shopping—and you're gonna look fabulous when you kick him to the curb."

Hannah smiled back at me as we pulled up to Velden's house, a wide-bottomed collection of single-story brick with teal curtains draped inside the windows.

The two of us unbuckled our seatbelts and readied ourselves to cross the front lawn. "We're here," I said to her. "Let's see what this Velden guy wants."

Hunter and Alex had already made it to the front door by the time Hannah and I were striding up the sidewalk, and Hunter rang the doorbell tentatively, the sound clanging out through the home's interior.

Within seconds, a tall and pale boy with dark hair and emerald green eyes appeared inside the front door, staring at us through the glassed center.

"H-Hi, Velden," Hunter tried as soon as the boy stepped into view. "We're here for the package."

Velden's eyes narrowed. "I said to come alone."

"...Um, my bad, dude," Hunter tried. "They just came with me because—"

"I don't care," Velden interrupted. "There's no time anyway. Come inside." He unlocked the door and ushered us in quickly.

"Here," Velden said curtly, practically shoving a sealed manila envelope into Hunter's arms.

"What's this?"

"Proof—enough proof to know that something is going on in this town."

"Something like what?" I asked.

Velden hesitated. "Something like murder." He sighed, looked off into space. "Cassandra Singleton was not the first, and it's looking like she won't be the last."

After a moment of silence, Hunter took a step closer to him. "I'm...I mean...I'm sorry about your mom, Velden. It must be rough not knowing where she is."

Velden hesitated again. "I should be saying that to you, Hunter." His stony green eyes softened. "At least I know my mom's out there somewhere trying to get back to me."

"Trying?" I interjected. "Why couldn't she just come back?"

"She's on the run." Velden lowered his head. "She told me this would happen. That someone was after her and she'd have to leave town until the cops could catch him."

"This is so weird," I continued. "Why would someone want to hurt your mom so badly? And couldn't she just apply for police protection or something, especially considering she was a cop?"

"Whoever's after her has serious leverage over some higher-ups—that's all I know. She told me that the day before she left." He paused. "She said not to trust anybody. I haven't been to school in three weeks, and the only time I leave the house is to check the mail to see if she's written to me. I still have my phone, so I can text my friends, but even that's getting tough because I'm running out of excuses for why I'm not in school. And sometimes I think I see someone outside on the lawn—just standing there, staring into my window at night."

"That's so scary," Hannah whispered.

Velden looked up at her, and I saw a single tear roll down the length of his cheek.

"Wait," I said, "if you never leave the house, how did you get in contact with Ashley?"

"I met her the day my mom left," he muttered. "I was with my mom at the police station that morning, and she wouldn't let me out of her sight after what'd gone down the night before."

Alex gulped. "What happened the night before?"

Velden shivered. "It was the fourth time she'd gotten a...a threat. A letter, left on her nightstand. She'd gotten the first one in the mail, and the next two had been slid under the front door." Velden shut his eyes. "She never let me read them, and I guess she took them with her, 'cause I've searched every inch of this house, and I can't find any of them." He sniffled, more tears finding their way into his eyes before streaking down his cheeks. "But anyway, that day at the police station was the first time I met Ashley. My mom got a phone call and left after she answered. I thought she'd be back any second, but...but I never saw her again. And the next thing I knew, more policemen were being deployed because there was a fire somewhere."

"That must have been the one at my grandma's house," Alex mused.

Velden stopped and looked up at him.

"Sorry," Alex said, "Keep going, man. I was just thinking out loud. Didn't mean to cut you off."

Velden shivered again. "Ashley came in after the police left to check out the fire, and she said my mom had sent her to take me home—and to tell me to stop going to school because she'd taken care of my records. She said my mom would be writing soon, but...she never did." He paused, tears choking out his words. "And I keep trying to tell myself that any day now, I'll hear from her, that they'll catch this killer, that my life'll finally be normal again, but...I'm just—I'm terrified."

"So I'm guessing it was Ashley who dropped this package off," Alex said.

Velden sniffled. "Yeah. She just brought it by. Said a guy named Hunter should call, and I'm guessing that's you." He nodded toward where Hunter stood, arms crossed and eyes wide at Velden's story. "She told me not to open it, but she said it was all the proof you'd need to know she was telling the truth."

The four of us stayed silent, rooted to the burnished wood floor of Velden's foyer as he stared back at us hesitantly.

"Look, I know this is weird and I'm probably not helping by going all Mission Impossible on you guys. But I'm as lost as you are here...I just want to find my mom."

"Don't worry, Velden," Hunter said. "We'll figure this out. I don't know when, and I sure as heck don't know how. But we will. And we'll make sure you're safe. I promise."

For the first time, I saw Velden smile. "Thank you," he finally said, body shivering yet again as his eyes filled with something that faintly, just faintly, resembled hope.

****

After Hunter and I made sure that Hannah and Alex had got home safely, Hunter insisted on following me to my house to make sure that I got home safely.

"Really, Hunter," I had protested, "I'll be fine."

"Oh, come on, Azalea. Please? I'd feel awful if...you know..." His sweet, ocean-blue eyes had been so bright and pleading—how could I not say yes?

It hadn't even taken us fifteen minutes before I screeched to my driveway's entrance, Hunter parking his car along the street behind me. I waited as he climbed out of his vehicle and ambled up the concrete to where I stood.

He slid an arm around my shoulder as we strode together to the sidewalk, traversing the apricot pavement before arriving at the front door.

As I raised a single finger to ring the bell, the framed wood swung open suddenly, letting out the cool indoor air as Hunter and I stared ahead at the figure moving deliberately to rest its hand on the jamb—a figure whose full and confident form I'd recognize anywhere.

"Daddy!" I yelled and ran forward into his arms. "I've missed you so much!" I buried my head in his chest, squeezing my eyes shut with delight. "What are you doing home so early? I thought you'd be at that conference all week."

"Well," he said, a smile audible in his voice, "there was some inclement weather, and several of the scheduled speakers had their flights cancelled. In light of that, the board rescheduled the conference for next month."

"I'm so glad you're home," I beamed, hugging him tighter.

When I drew away from the warmth of my father's arms, I backed out onto the sidewalk and looped my arm through Hunter's. "Guess what, Daddy," I said gleefully. "While you were away, I got a boyfriend! And a real one this time, not just some casual whatnot who thought I was