The Lying Game Complete Collection - Sara Shepard Page 0,158

her sister, to put this horrible crime to rest. Who knew what would happen now. I’m sorry, Sutton, she thought. I tried my best.

I know, Emma. I tried to place my hand over my sister’s to comfort her, to let her know I was right there.

The cave was tomb-silent. Lili leaned down so her lips were next to Emma’s ear. And then, quietly, joyfully, she whispered, “Gotcha.”

Her hands went slack from Emma’s neck. When Emma opened her eyes, Lili was giggling hysterically. “Gotcha!” she cried again, louder this time, as though she were calling to someone.

Rocks began to shift, and suddenly, the big boulder that had walled Emma in disappeared. A bright flashlight shone into their faces. “Gotcha!” another voice cried from outside the cave. Emma shielded her forehead and stared at the willowy blond. Was that . . . Gabby?

Emma scuttled out of the cave. As soon as her feet hit solid ground, Gabby cuffed her playfully on the shoulder. “You were so scared! We got you so good!”

Madeline, Charlotte, and Laurel appeared behind Gabby, contrite looks on their faces. Emma’s heart raced, and she gasped for air. “Did you guys know about this?”

Laurel smiled sheepishly. “We found out at the dance.”

Emma gaped. She turned to Lili, who was climbing out of the cave, then back to Gabby. She tried to settle her nerves with a deep breath, but it caught in her throat. “How long had you been planning this?” she sputtered.

The Twitter Twins exchanged a glance. “Lili and I scoped this place out a couple of weeks ago on a camping trip with our dad,” Gabby admitted. “And then when you invited us to go camping, we put everything into action.”

Lili grabbed Gabby’s flashlight and shone it up the ridge. “There’s a ledge just below where Gabs fell. She jumped there after you pushed her.” She put pushed in air quotes. “I made lots of noise down here to make it sound like she’d had a bad fall.”

“So you were here the whole time?” Emma asked.

“Yup. I only pretended to call a cab,” Lili said. “I hid my car in the back of the Super Stop earlier today.”

“Oh, and we weren’t really fighting about Kevin, by the way,” Gabby said with a grin. “Lili isn’t into him.”

Lili made a face. “He smells like smoked salmon.”

“He does not!” Gabby’s plump lips pursed.

Lili shrugged and turned back to Emma and the others. “When you guys left, I drove here and hid at the bottom of the ravine—there’s another parking lot nearby that got me here much faster. Once I knew Gabby pretended to fall, I climbed into the cave”—Lili pointed at the rocks—“which we actually made. Wait ’til you see it in the daytime. It looks so fake and cheesy.”

“Lili waited for you guys,” Gabby went on, proudly rocking back and forth on her heels. “And then, when Sutton climbed in, I came out from my hiding place and walled you in together.” She wiggled her hands in front of her face as if to say Spooky.

“You should have heard Sutton!” Lili’s eyes gleamed. “She was begging for her life! It was priceless!” Lili shone her flashlight on her iPhone. “I got a recording of it. We can all hear Sutton. ‘Please! Don’t hurt me, please! Can’t we talk about this?’”

Gabby grinned at Emma. “You’ve been freaked for weeks, waiting for us to prank you. I swear you were going to pee your pants when we drove you to the impound the other day.”

Lili wagged her finger at Emma. “I told you we were going to get you back for that car-stalled-on-the-tracks prank.”

“Speaking of which, did you like our little choo-choo charm?” Gabby flicked Lili’s charm bracelet and it jingled. She turned to the others. “We sent Sutton a little present at the country club a couple of weeks ago. A little reminder that we weren’t even yet.”

“So it was you,” Emma said, more of a statement than a question.

“Of course it was us.” Lili grinned. “Who else would have?”

Gabby giggled. “Who knew the unflappable Sutton Mercer could get so frightened?”

Everyone turned and looked at Emma, waiting for her response. Her heart was still thrumming fast. Her blood coursed with adrenaline. Just moments ago, she’d believed this was the end. She could have sworn Gabby and Lili were Sutton’s killers and the case was solved. But now, everything felt turned upside down. This was all just a prank? There was no malice, no murderous revenge? Her relief mingled with