I came to with the tang of rosemary filling my head. I sat up and shook myself, scattering needles as I did. They were caught in my hair and spread all over the floor. A commercial was playing now, something about chocolate. I glanced at the clock. It was close to eleven now. I turned the TV off, the sudden silence leaving me lonelier than I’d felt in a very long time.

What should I do? Should I call the police? Wake Gran and Granddad? No. I knew what Gran would say. She’d tell me to go to the police and let them take care of it. Granddad would want to stay uninvolved or anonymous somehow. We’d be up half the night arguing about it, and meanwhile someone else would die. Just like Shelley. And worse, I didn’t even have a name for this victim. Not yet.

Maybe I should call Delilah’s cell. Maybe she could call the police first? Or Will? But I didn’t want to upset him. He might even insist on coming over, at which point Granddad might reach for the shotgun again.

I grabbed the phone and dialed Delilah’s cell. Hopefully she wasn’t asleep already. It rang and rang and then went to voice mail. I tried not to read too much into it. Just because I was up didn’t mean she would be. But it was way too late to try her landline. Still, I was anxious enough about not being able to reach Delilah to forget about upsetting Will.

“Aria,” he said, picking up on the first ring. He sounded out of breath, like he’d run for the phone. I pictured him in his room, in his pajamas, grabbing the phone before it woke up his parents. “Is something wrong?”

“Not yet,” I said. An unhelpful answer but one that made me feel even worse, a feeling of despair settling into my stomach like it was there to stay. “Will, Alex is going after someone again tonight.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Only of the water … Water is like life.”

“The lake,” Will said.

It wasn’t a question. I wasn’t sure what it was. I shook my head, fighting back the oracle. “I don’t know, but I have to do something,” I gasped. “After what happened with Shelley—”

“Aria,” he interrupted me. “Just stop. Would you do something for me?”

“I would do almost anything for you.” I let out a little gasp. I couldn’t believe I’d said that. No, I could believe I’d said it. I just couldn’t stand that I’d actually said it to him.

“Good,” he said. “Stay home. Stay safe. You’ve told me everything I need to know. I’ll take care of it. I’ll talk to you in the morning like we planned.” His voice sounded far away, and there was a sudden bang, like he’d slammed a door. I winced. He hung up, leaving me holding the phone to my ear listening to the beep beep beep of the disconnected line. I hung up and redialed immediately, but he didn’t answer this time.

No. He couldn’t do this to me. He was the next most likely target. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him. Never. And now it sounded like he was going to take matters into his own hands. I hesitated for just the briefest of moments. I had to call the police. Didn’t I? I dialed the emergency number, my hand shaking.

“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

“Nothing yet, but give it time. The plan is already set in motion.” I bit my tongue. “Sorry, I’m sorry,” I said quickly before the operator could hang up on me. “You know the murders?” Of course she did. I was being stupid. “The murderer is going to try and kill someone else tonight. At the lake. You have to send someone to the lake. Right now before it’s too late.”

“Miss, what is your name?”

“Aria Morse.”

“Can you spell that?”

“Yes, of course. I mean, yes, it’s A-R-I-A. M-O-R-S-E. You guys need to get there right away.”

“Let’s start over here. Where are you located?”

“The living room.” I whacked myself in the forehead. If she’d stop asking questions, this would go a lot faster. “Look, I’m at home.”

“You’re saying that you’re at home. And there’s a crime taking place at the lake tonight, correct?”

I took a deep breath, trying to control the words, make them sound reasonable and sane, something she would believe. “I have spoken the truth as it is. But … not yet.” I wrenched the last two words from my belly, my voice deep and almost guttural. “Please, just listen! I’m trying to tell you that the killer—Alex—the one that’s been killing the girls at the high school—he’s going to try and kill someone else tonight. Maybe at the lake. Probably at the lake. Maybe Will Raffles, probably Will … and it’s my fault, I told him it was going to happen, and I think he’s going to go out there and try to stop him.” I was almost sobbing now and breathless. My throat burned. I wasn’t making much sense. The operator probably thought I was crazy.

“Miss, calm down. Can you tell me why—”

“Wait!” I jumped in before she could finish whatever it was she was going to ask. “Look, I know this sounds crazy. That I sound crazy, but I just know, okay? You need to get to the lake before someone gets killed.”

There was a small pause. “Exactly who is it that’s going to be killed, and who is it you say has been killing the girls over at the high school?” Was that a hint of derision in her voice?

I doubled over with a sudden piercing pain in my stomach. “Will—” I managed as all the air in my lungs seemed to disappear as his name crossed my lips. I dropped the phone and it fell, landing on the base and hanging up. Click. I couldn’t catch my breath. Breathe. Breathe. I had to hold on. I couldn’t afford to pass out. Not now. I slammed my hand down on the floor, just missing the phone. The bottle of thyme went spinning off under the couch, but the pain in my hand gave me something to focus on. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and held on tight. Get it together. Get it together.

Beeeeep, beeeep, beeeeep went the phone. I reached out a hand that refused to be steady and hung it up, then crawled to my knees. I had to get to the lake.