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I watch his back, warring with myself as he stands up. “Wait—”
The doorbell ringing stops me from telling him not to call her. It’s too soon for it to be Harm’s mom so it must be her.
We all look at each other and Harm rolls her eyes. “I’ll get it then, shall I?”
Tris walks after her and I can’t stop my feet from following, wanting to see Amelia’s face as she realizes I’m here, too. But as Harmony opens the door, my stomach drops because it’s not the face that I wanted to see standing there. Instead there’s a woman with stringy brown hair she’s tried to neatly curl, her mouth pursed before she spots us and lifts it into a crooked smile.
“Can we help you?” Tris asks, standing in
front of Harm when the woman doesn’t say anything, examining each of us in turn.
“It’s not what you can help me with, but what I can help you with,” she answers in a tone that isn’t one of a cold caller. In fact, she sounds quite pleased with herself.
If it wasn’t for the way she’s leering at me, I’d walk back into the kitchen, but I find myself drawn to her even though I have no idea who she is.
“And who might you be?” Harm asks, voicing my thoughts as she moves beside Tris, her arms folded across her chest.
The woman pulls a ratty file out of her worn, leather bag and holds it in her hands like it contains the secrets of the universe. “My name is Phoebe, but who I am is of no significance. However, the information in this file is something I think all three of you will be interested to see.”
Tris glances back at me with a “what the hell” expression on his face before he turns back around and starts to slowly shut the door. “I’m sure that’s true, but we’re very busy right—”
“It’s about Amelia,” she splutters, and hearing her name come out of this woman’s mouth makes me feel sick.
I step forward and push the door back open. “What did you say?”
Her crooked smile turns into a full-on grin as she starts to tuck the file back into her bag. “If you’re not interested then…”
I turn to look at Tris, wondering what’s going on. He shrugs with a frown on his face and sighs. “You have ten minutes.”
She steps inside when we all step back, watching her like she’s going to pounce at any moment. Her body language doesn’t seem normal as I watch her follow Tris and Harm without looking around. I’m not a snob, but she doesn’t look like she comes from money and anyone walking into this house would be impressed, but she’s not. It’s almost like she’s been here before with the way she moves toward the kitchen. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s wrong but I notice she walks over to the table without looking around again.
Her gaze flicks over to the pool house and my back straightens. The goose bumps trailing along my arms and my gut instinct tells me this woman isn’t here out of the kindness of her heart.
I see Harm’s gaze narrow on her before we all take seats on the opposite side of the table, waiting for her to talk. She stares at us all a beat before looking out at the backyard again, a sneer pulling across her lips. Her eyes blaze with something I can’t place before she turns back to us, opening the file and sliding a photo of Amelia across the table.
My fists clench under the table. “Why have you got photos of Amelia?”
“I’m afraid the Amelia you know, isn’t actually Amelia.”
Tris laughs out loud, as do I. “You can’t be serious.”
He starts to stand but she blurts out, “Her name is Beth Waters and she’s a murderer!”
What did she just say?
I want to throw this woman out myself but before I can say anything, Tris lays a hand on my arm, making me stare at him. His Adam’s apple bobs as he visibly swallows. “What are you talking about?”
The serious look on his face tells me this woman has his full attention. He can’t seriously be entertaining this! “Tris, this woman is clearly unhinged,” I tell him, my voice trying to sound even but even I can hear the way it hitches.
Her eye twitches and her hands flail about in front of her as she shouts, “I am not unhinged, I’m simply a concerned citizen looking out for your children!”
She aims her statement at Tris whose brow furrows as he lets go of my arm. “My kids? How do you know about my kids?”
She shakes her head, tutting. “What’s more important is why you’ve been leaving them in the care of someone that’s capable of harming them.”
Tris stands, pointing at her. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you can’t come into my home accusing people of things like that. Especially without proof.”
I pull in a breath. He mustn’t believe her after all.
