Privilege

  But if Ariana wanted to kill two birds with one stone, this was the only way.

  After the longest few moments of Ariana's life, Briana Leigh was still. Ariana turned her over in the water. Briana Leigh's cold, dead eyes stared up at her. Bile rose up in Ariana's throat. She shuddered

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  and closed Briana Leigh's eyes with her thumb and forefinger, then turned and retched into the water.

  You had to do this to survive, she thought, wiping her mouth with her trembling hand. And you had to do this for Kaitlynn.

  Her moment of queasiness over, Ariana was ready for the next step in her plan.

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  THE upper hand

  In contrast to the insane rhythm of Ariana's heart, the night was incredibly tranquil. She pulled her car over to the side of the road and killed the lights, gazing out at the small, square cottage through the trees up ahead. The beware of the dog sign on the tall wooden fence was foreboding, but not as much as the maniacal barking coming from behind the gate.Ariana smiled and got out of the car. It had rained recently, so she slipped out of her shoes to avoid leaving any discernible footprints in the wet earth. As she walked the few yards to the gate, she felt as if her body was on high alert. Her skin prickled with every breeze. She could distinguish every scent in the air--the fresh note of wet leaves, the tangy smell of barbecue coming from some backyard party. Crickets chirped, the wind rustled the trees, raindrops dripped from the gutters on the house, and the barking, the all-too-familiar barking, made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

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  But in a good way. An excited way. Ariana had taken a brief detour from her plan thanks to Briana Leigh's acting skills, but now she was back on track. It was all coming together.

  Ariana quickly picked the lock on the gate, a skill she had learned not in prison, but from Gage Coolidge back at Easton. He who had picked many a well-stocked liquor cabinet. The lock easily popped open and the dog lunged. Ariana pulled the roll of roast beef from her purse. Wrapped inside were crushed Ambien. She held the meat out and smiled.

  "Here, Rambo," she whispered.

  The dog walked forward, took the meat, and nuzzled her hand.

  Five minutes later Rambo was passed out in the backseat of the Audi. Ariana pulled out her untraceable disposable phone and dialed the cell number she had stolen and memorized more than a year ago. Dr. Meloni picked up on the first ring.

  "Dr. Meloni here."

  Ariana smiled. The self-importance was obvious in his voice. He probably thought there was some emergency at the Brenda T. Some crisis that only he could solve. But he had no idea what was about to hit him. It was all Ariana could do to keep from laughing. She had him right where she wanted him. Finally, she had the upper hand. Her only wish was that he could know that it was her. That he could feel the sting of it. But that could never be.

  "I have your dog," she said, talking in low, controlled tones and mimicking a Boston accent for good measure. Meloni had heard her Southern drawl and her practiced Northeastern voice, but never a

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  Boston accent. "If you want him back, you're going to do something for me."

  There was a short pause. In her mind's eye Ariana saw Dr. Meloni standing in the center of his outdated kitchen, listening for Rambo. She could just hear his heart skipping a scared beat. Her grin widened.

  "Who is this?" he said.

  "Do you really think I'm going to tell you that?"

  Another pause. He was still listening. Hoping. "You don't have my dog."

  But she could hear his footsteps as he crossed the room to check the yard.

  Ariana giddily bit her lip. "Are you sure about that?"

  She saw the outside light flick on and slid down in her seat, even though she was sure that Meloni wouldn't be able to see her car from his yard. The total darkness of these sparsely populated country roads was coming in handy.

  "Rambo! Rambo, come here, boy!"

  The anguished shouts carried through the quiet night. Ariana bit down harder.

  A door slammed. Dr. Meloni fought his frantic breath. "What do you want?" he growled.

  Ariana took a deep breath. Savored the moment. "I want you to have Kaitlynn Nottingham released from prison within the next three hours."

  Meloni laughed derisively. "I can't do that. I don't have the authority."

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  "Oh, you'll figure out a way," Ariana said.

  "You want me to break her out?" Dr. Meloni blurted. "You're nuts. I'll lose my job. I'll be arrested."

  "That's up to you. If you are stupid enough to get caught, then yes, you might," Ariana said. "But you're not stupid, are you?"

  Another long pause. Ariana listened to his breathing. The sounds of him no longer disgusted her. In fact, she found him suddenly amusing.

  "I can't do it," he said. "I won't."

  "I think you will," Ariana said.

  She leaned around the backseat and snapped a picture of Rambo with her phone. The dog was snoozing with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, looking practically dead. It took two seconds to send the image to Dr. Meloni's cell phone.

  "What the f--"

  "He's not dead yet, but he's close," Ariana said slowly, deliberately. "Believe me when I tell you I have no qualms about ending his life. As dogs go, this one's kind of annoying. And think about this: If I subdued your Doberman this easily, just think what I can do to you."

  "Okay," Dr. Meloni gasped. "Okay. I'll do whatever you want."

  "Three hours," Ariana said. Then she disconnected the call before she cracked up laughing right in the man's ear. A laugh he would undoubtedly recognize.

  Giggling to herself, Ariana watched as Dr. Meloni peeled out of his driveway in his Jaguar. She waited a few minutes, watching as they ticked away on the dashboard clock. Then she got out and roused a very sleepy Rambo. He teetered on his way back to the gate, but

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  made it there in one piece. Ariana walked him over to his doghouse in the center of the yard and made sure he was curled up on his bed all comfy. Then she patted him on the head.

  "Thanks again, buddy," she whispered. "You've been more help than you will ever know."

  Then she raced out of the yard and locked the gate behind her.

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  THE only way

  The air had grown chilly by the time Ariana waded back to the dock with the skiff in tow. She had stolen it from one of the darkened houses on the lake and trudged through muck and reeds and slimy skittering fish until she reached her destination. She tied the boat off and slogged her way out of the water, shivering in the cool evening air. Her dress was dripping wet and ruined beyond repair, but she didn't mind. She hated it anyway. Way too former Briana Leigh for her tastes. Shaking the water off her hands and wringing out the skirt, she went over to the car and popped the trunk. From the several pieces of luggage she removed an ugly sweater Briana Leigh had chosen for her and the buttery, tan leather jacket Briana Leigh had worn to the Curtain Club--the only piece of clothing the girl owned that Ariana coveted.She slipped her arms into the sleeves and savored the warmth. It belonged to her now. She was Briana Leigh Covington, after all. Everything in the car was hers.

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  After gazing longingly at the other dry clothes for a moment, Ariana decided it would be better not to change into jeans yet, since she had more dirty work to do. Might as well keep on the already ruined clothes. She took the jacket off again and tossed it into the backseat for later. Then she pulled on a Juicy Couture fleece zip-up and made her way into the woods to the clearing where she had left Briana Leigh's body. She covered the girl's face with the sweater, then dragged her over to the dock. Everything was ready. All she had to do now was wait. Ariana sat down next to Briana Leigh, her posture straight, and looked out over the water feeling perfectly at peace. The unpleasant murder aside, it was all working out as planned.

  A touch more than two hours had passed since her phone call to Dr. Meloni when she heard someon
e approaching through the trees. Her heart hit her throat and she scrambled to her feet. Moments later, Kaitlynn emerged from between two pines, her curly hair back in a ponytail, her state-issued blue shirt untucked. Her eyes widened when she saw Ariana and she froze.

  "Briana Leigh?"

  Ariana laughed. She stepped closer to Kaitlynn, letting the moonlight cascade over her face. "Kaitlynn, it's me."

  Relief colored Kaitlynn's skin. "Oh my God, Ariana! You're alive!"

  The two of them ran forward and hugged. Ariana was so overwhelmed with happiness, she thought her heart might burst. Kaitlynn was free. They were together again. She had done it. She had come through on her promise.

  "I knew you'd find me," Ariana said, pulling back but holding on

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  to Kaitlynn's hands. "I knew you'd remember the pact and figure out where I'd be."

  "All this time... I wanted to believe you were alive," Kaitlynn said, her eyes shining with tears. "But when I didn't hear from you--"

  "I couldn't have written. They would have figured it out," Ariana explained.

  No one other than Grandma C had ever written to Kaitlynn, so a random letter would have been very suspicious.

  "I know. I know," Kaitlynn said breathlessly. "Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening. When Dr. Meloni woke me up and smuggled me out, I thought I was dreaming." Kaitlynn paced back and forth as she talked, clearly so excited she couldn't stand still. "But then I was standing there outside the fence and he was telling me to go and I thought, Ariana. It has to be Ariana. So I decided to walk the eastern shore of the lake until I found you, and here you are!"

  "Here I am," Ariana said with a grin.

  "So what happened? How did you do it? Where have you been?" Kaitlynn asked. "How did you--"

  Her last question died on her tongue. Ariana's heart turned. Kaitlynn had seen the body. Her face went slack and lost all its color as she glanced questioningly, warily, at Ariana. When Ariana remained silent, she took a couple of steps toward the body as if to confirm what she was seeing. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth and she froze.

  "Ariana, is that--"

  "Yes. It's Briana Leigh," Ariana said calmly.

  She had to maintain an air of calm. It was the only way to keep

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  Kaitlynn's oncoming panic in check. She needed her friend to help her, and Kaitlynn would be no help if she broke down.

  "You killed her?" Kaitlynn said, whirling on Ariana. Her expression was appalled. Terrified. "Ariana! Why?"

  "I did it for you," Ariana said in a soothing tone, as if she was telling a nursery schooler why she needed to give in to nap time. "After everything she did to you... I couldn't let her get away with it. She had to be punished."

  A tear spilled over onto Kaitlynn's cheek. A grateful tear? A disappointed tear? The crickets' song seemed to grow suddenly louder.

  "Ariana--"

  "Kaitlynn, she was pure evil... a waste of life," Ariana said, stepping forward to look right into her friend's eyes. Kaitlynn, however, averted her gaze. She couldn't stop staring at the corpse. "But her death won't be a waste."

  Kaitlynn blinked. "What?"

  Ariana took Kaitlynn's hands and tugged, forcing her friend to face her. Taking a deep breath, she tried to convey the seriousness of the situation with her eyes. Somewhere in the trees, a branch snapped. Ariana prayed it was just a deer or a raccoon, but her pulse quickened. "Kaitlynn, the police need to find my body."

  At first, Kaitlynn didn't understand, but slowly her eyes widened. She tried to step back, but Ariana held her firm. A breeze rustled the trees and sent a chill down Ariana's back.

  "You can't be serious," Kaitlynn said.

  "Serious as life in prison," Ariana said flatly.

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  Her palms were starting to sweat. Every second that passed was a second she couldn't afford. She was counting on Dr. Meloni's ego--on his survival instinct--to protect her. Counting on the probability that he wouldn't have a rush of conscience and confess what he had done. If he kept quiet, she and Kaitlynn had until seven a.m.--the first bed check--before anyone realized she was gone. But if he confessed, the cops could be after them at any moment. Ariana needed to get this over with and get out of there before that happened.

  "We need to take her out to the center of the lake, weigh her down, and drop her in," Ariana told her friend, clutching her hands. Somewhere across the lake an outboard motor started up. Ariana's heart was in her throat. Then she heard a whoop and a laugh carry across the water. Just some college guys out for a drunken ride on the lake. That was all. "It's the only way they'll stop looking for me," she told her friend. "It's the only way I--we--can ever be free."

  An incredulous noise escaped the back of Kaitlynn's throat. "You want me to... to touch her? I don't think I can do that."

  "You can and you will," Ariana said. The engine noise grew dimmer. The boat was headed in the opposite direction. Ariana breathed a bit easier. "I did all of this for you. I got you out of prison. Now you have to do something for me. Unless you want me to go back to jail. Unless you want both of us to go back."

  Kaitlynn appeared startled. "No. I don't want that."

  "You have to help me," Ariana said desperately.

  Something shifted in Kaitlynn's eyes. Sharpened. It was as if she

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  had just realized she was free and, at the same time, realized how fleeting that freedom could be.

  * * *

  "You're right," Kaitlynn said finally. "Let's get this over with."

  Ariana reached for her friend and hugged her. "Thank you," she said. "Now take off your clothes."

  Kaitlynn understood without further explanation. She quickly removed her regulation Brenda T. blue shirt, white T-shirt, elastic-waist jeans, socks, and sneakers. Ariana grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater from the bags in the car and gave them to Kaitlynn to wear. Together, they stripped Briana Leigh down and dressed her again in Kaitlynn's prison wear. As they worked, Kaitlynn never looked at Briana Leigh's face. Not once. Ariana's heart welled over the sacrifice her friend was making for her. She just hoped that Kaitlynn wouldn't have nightmares about this moment for the rest of her life. Ariana knew how horrifying that could be.

  She waited until a moment when Kaitlynn's back was turned to remove the engagement ring from Briana Leigh's finger and slip it onto her own, the diamond turned in. Kaitlynn could not know that Briana Leigh had been engaged. Sweet as she was, it might make her feel real remorse.

  "Okay. You get her feet," Ariana said once Briana Leigh was dressed.

  As Kaitlynn hoisted Briana Leigh's legs, she glanced up. Her jaw dropped in shock.

  "Her hair," she said.

  "I know. She did that on her own," Ariana said with a smile. "Crazy, huh?"

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  Ariana wanted to bask in the lucky irony with her friend, but Kaitlynn was too stunned to comment further. She walked awkwardly backward, struggling with Briana Leigh's dead weight, until they were standing alongside the floating skiff. Together, they bent at the waist and lowered the body into the boat. Then Kaitlynn climbed in, sitting on the bench near Briana Leigh's feet. She was still staring at the girl's face, as if she was understanding for the first time that she was really dead.

  "It's almost over," Ariana promised her, climbing into the boat. "Just one more thing."

  She sat behind Briana Leigh's lolling head. Her fingers trembled as she reached around her own neck and unclasped the gold fleur-de-lis necklace. The moonlight glinted on the pendant's smooth surface and Ariana felt her heart tear down the center. It was the only thing she had left. The only remnant of her old self.

  "Ariana, no!" Kaitlynn gasped.

  "I have to," Ariana said, speaking past a lump that had suddenly arisen in her throat.

  "But your mother gave you that," Kaitlynn said.

  "I know." God, did she know. "But Meloni has seen it. He knows I always wear it. If they find her with it, they'll be convinced she's
me."

  Closing her eyes, Ariana brought the pendant to her lips and kissed it. She felt all the emotion of the past few weeks--realizing she was never going to see her parents again, mourning them alone in front of a computer, mourning herself every time she looked in the mirror--and felt as if she could cry for days.

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  But she didn't have that luxury. She had work to do. Self-indulgence could come later. Taking a deep breath, Ariana pushed it all aside.

  "I'm sorry, Mom," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry to put you through this."

  Then she clasped the necklace around Briana Leigh's undeserving neck, untied the skiff, and pushed away from the dock into the cold, murky darkness of the lake.

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  USELESS

  Ariana watched Briana Leigh's face as she sank below the surface of Lake Page. Her blond hair floated out around her head like a halo as she dipped beneath the greenish-brown water. Her skin looked waxy and pale."She could be you," Kaitlynn said, her voice morose.

  Ariana shuddered, hoping the FBI would agree with Kaitlynn's assessment.

  After that, everything went so smoothly it was like a dream. They rowed back to the house, tied up the skiff, and walked through the woods together. As they ducked under branches and stepped around muddy patches and puddles, Ariana felt more and more free. Soon the authorities would have their body. Soon the search would be successful, and Ariana Osgood would be officially declared dead. Before she knew it, it would all be over. She would finally be free to start her new life.

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