a booth in the back, shielding herself from view. She

vered in frantic, mes

nt down exactly in the third minu

d her blue pen and wrote: I told you. I

ime for the next sentence to bleed throug

r last night burned in her chest. She pressed the pen down hard:

psis... appeare

job interview at 2:00 PM with the Maplewood Chronicle,

office. Arthur Penhaligon was a legend in journalism.

al, Haven," Arthur said, nodding app

nally relaxed. She was

Arthur's computer. He c

ur's face. His brow furrowed. He looked

the desk. "This interview is over, Ms. Guerrero. We

ain from her head. "Exc

gave a terrible reference. They also flagged a police record from your high

amond necklace. It was a ten-year-old nightmare. Her own

e bustling center of Maplewood Square, the noise of the city drowning out h

d your new boss. She's an administrative assistant at a rival

er vicious stepsister and the actual thief who had stolen the neck

marched down the subway stairs. She found an emp

into the paper: Dad. I need a massive

instantly: Your mother?

amond necklace will be stolen from a locked display case in t

that boutique. Hide in the storage closet

the hell should I care a

e the thief is my evil stepsister, Bettye Le. She is going t

he page, smearing wildly as i

aven stared at the blank space,

heavy word appeared

head back against the cold tile of the subway w

her pocket. It was

he annex for the

ge. She let out a dark laugh, locked the scr

have no idea what's coming. Maybe... just maybe, the boy I