"Mi casa es su casa." -Mona Vanderwaal
Spencer tentatively reached out and opened the trunk. They all gasped and backed up at what they saw.
A dead pig.
"What the..." Isabel muttered, eyes wide.
Suddenly, Spencer exclaimed, "Where's Mona?" They looked around, but couldn't find her.
"This was all her. She set us up," Aria scoffed.
"Okay, let's go. Let's get out of here," Emily gulped, and they all followed her but Hanna. "Come on." Hanna walked over to the driver's seat of the cop car, and Spencer made a beeline for her.
"Hanna! Hanna, let's go!" she yelled. Mona worked to get the recording out, but quite slowly.
"Guys," Aria whispered, and Isabel turned around to see two people walking by.
"Someone's coming," Emily said, stating the obvious.
"Hey, they're coming this way," Spencer added.
"Hurry up!" Isabel hissed at Mona. She kept working, and Hanna kept begging her to hurry up.
"Hanna, we got to get out of here. Seriously, come on," Aria implored. "Come on!"
They ran back to the car, and were later joined by both Hanna and Mona.
-
Later, the girls plus Mona were at Spencer's, watching the news for signs of Wilden and the car.
"There's a report on the lodge, but nothing about Wilden's car," Spencer sighed as they stood there nervously.
"Well, I guess the fire trumps a dead pig," Hanna scoffed sarcastically.
"You can stop staring out the window, Aria," Mona said from the couch. Aria, who was staring out the window, turned to her. "The cops aren't coming to arrest us."
"I'm supposed to feel safe just because you say it's all okay now? After everything you've put us through," Aria huffed, walking over.
"Do you think we'd be sitting here if anyone saw us?" Mona pointed out.
"Wanna know what I think? I think you're lucky that we're not beating the crap out of you," Emily snapped.
Mona just smiled sarcastically at her. "And I believe you could, Emily. You really were the weakest link. But look how strong I made you. You should be thanking me."
"Okay, that's it," Emily scowled, striding up to Mona.
But Hanna held her back as Mona looked up at them, unfazed. "Em!"
"You know we all want to take a turn," Aria spat.
"But we won't," Hanna said through gritted teeth. Isabel just watched her closely, preferring to analyze her before striking.
"You like games, right, Mona?" Spencer asked. "So, let's play one called the third degree."
"How did you get the car out of the lake?" Hanna added as everyone was silent.
"I didn't," Mona replied after a long pause. "I put the car in Hanna's garage, and that was the last time I saw it." She paused. "Shana knew Jenna before she came to Rosewood. I think she's in love with her. They're both afraid of Melissa." Another pause. "When CeCe came to Radley, I thought she was Ali. I don't remember what we talked about. It was before they changed my meds."
Isabel looked at Spencer nervously. More proof that CeCe was 'A'.
"Lucas gave Emily that massage," Mona went on. "He said you were tense." She added, looking at Emily, who seemed terrified. "I recruited Toby when he got that job in Bucks County." She paused again. "I didn't push Ian off the bell tower. I wish I knew who did."
-
Isabel woke up to birds chirping and the sun shining. A warm breeze blew her hair around, as the door was open-
Wait, where was Mona?
"Mona's gone!" Isabel hissed, waking Hanna up. She looked around confusedly, and then her eyes widened.
"I don't remember falling asleep," Spencer mumbled as she got up.
"Did she drug us?" Aria frowned.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Emily scoffed, referring to That Night.
Hanna looked at them worriedly. "You guys, she still has that chip."
Suddenly, Mona walked in, holding a white paper bag, and five coffees. "Oh, Emily, I borrowed your car." Emily looked over at her keys, which sat on the counter. "Yeah, I have my own set."
Mona walked over to the kitchen counter, and the girls scrambled up. "Where'd you go?" Hanna demanded.
"Coffee run. Duh," Mona replied, holding up the coffee.
"Where else did you go?" Isabel scoffed, crossing her arms.
Mona ignored her and started handing out coffee like candy. "Americano, one pink." She gave Emily a cup. "Dry soy cap." She handed Aria hers. "Almond milk, half creamer." Isabel gingerly took hers. Was it poisoned? "Super-sized drip, with three sugars." Mona gave Spencer the coffee. "And a skinny vanilla for you." She held out Hanna's to her. "Did I get it right?"
"I want the chip, Mona. And I want it now," Hanna snapped.
"And I also got breakfast," Mona went on, picking up the white paper bag. "Multigrain scone-"
"I'm not in the mood to play room service," Hanna huffed.
"Oh, wait, is that a sesame seed bagel?" Isabel asked as Mona put the scone back. She just smiled and handed it to her.
"And cream cheese," she nodded, and Isabel looked at her suspiciously. Was she stalking her? Oh, right, she was. "I wish I could give it to you, Hanna," Mona sighed, turning to her. "But I can't."
"Why not?" Emily scoffed.
"I need to find out who Red Coat is and so do you," Mona replied. "She tried to kill all of us, so, like it or not, we are in this together."
"Okay, prove it," Aria huffed, glaring at her.
"Yeah, we want everything you have on us," Spencer agreed.
"Now," Emily added as if that weren't enough.
Mona just sighed. "Mi casa es su casa."
"In English," Hanna snapped.
"She's taking us to her lair," Isabel explained, crossing her arms.
-
And she did. Or at least she was going to, until they got into a traffic jam. Police cars and tape lined the streets, cutting off a neat section. Wilden's car was in the middle.
"All this for a muddy cop car and a dead pig?" Emily scoffed from the driver's seat.
They watched as the commotion continued, but then a light breeze blew the covering off a body bag, and they gasped when they saw who it was.
"It's Wilden," Hanna blinked as they gaped at him.
"Oh, my God," Aria muttered.
"'You're mine now,'" Mona quoted. "I know what the text meant."
"'A' has a way to make it look like we killed him," Isabel finished, staring at his cold, lifeless body. The thought of it sent shivers up her spine. It was actually pretty cold out.
A cop pounding on their hood shook them out of their stupor. They drove off, but not before giving him one last scared look.
-
The girls were at Mona's lair. Turns out, she had a lot on them. Pictures, files, maps, you name it. As they went through the stuff, Mona stood a few feet away, looking nervous.
"If Red Coat's 'A,' why did she save us from the fire?" Aria asked, picking up a picture of Red Coat.
"So she could set us up to take the fall for Wilden's murder," Mona explained.
"Yeah, a cat plays with a mouse for hours before she actually eats it," Spencer agreed as Emily stared out the trailer window. "Once it's dead, the fun's over."
"So we're Ali's mice?" Hanna asked skeptically.
"We're her dolls," Isabel replied.
"Guys, Alison isn't playing with us, okay?" Emily scoffed. "She's dead."
Suddenly, Aria picked up a mask, and Hanna snatched it from her, glaring at Mona. "You were on the Halloween train. Dressed like Caleb."
"To think we were this close to our first kiss," Mona smiled sarcastically.
"And to getting rid of me for good," Isabel scoffed, crossing her arms. "Thank god for-" She stopped herself before she could say his name.
Because it was Jason who had saved her.
"That wasn't me. And I can prove it," Mona sighed as Isabel held back tears. Don't think about him, don't think about him... Mona took out her laptop and played a video as they gathered around. "When I took this, you were already in the box. And these two put you in there."
'Its not gonna happen!' The guy shouted, holding up his manicured hands. Isabel recognized him immediately as the guy who whispered to that girl. But who was the girl...?
"That's Wilden," Emily stated incredulously. The man whose dead body they were gawking at barely twenty minutes ago.
'Listen to me.'
"He was the queen of hearts?" Aria added.
'Just leave her. Plans have changed,' he went on, walking past the crate that Isabel was in to talk to another Queen of Hearts. 'Garrett's going to tell them everything.'
"There's two of them?" Aria blinked, and Isabel nodded warily. She could still hear the two of them muttering under their breath to one another, still feel Garrett's lifeless self next to her. She shuddered.
'We can't let that happen,' Wilden huffed at the other person. Even though his mask was off, theirs wasn't.
"Who's that?" Emily frowned as they kept watching.
Mona just looked at Spencer in response. "Your sister."
"Great, so Melissa's out to kill me now, too?" Isabel scoffed. The other person started to take off their mask, but the tab was closed before they could see who it was.
"Oh, yeah, that's convenient. Right before you could actually prove it," Spencer said sarcastically. But all of Mona's files started deleting randomly, while 'kisses' were displayed in the background.
"Wait, Mona, what's going on?" Hanna asked.
"Someone's deleting all my files!" Mona gasped as she frantically clicked everywhere to shut it down.
"Mona, shut it down!" Spencer yelled.
"I'm trying to," Mona snapped. The screen was now bursting with 'kisses' as she hit the power button over and over again. She finally managed to shut it down, and they breathed a sigh of relief, but they heard a voice that chilled them to the bone.
"Alison? Faster. Come out, come out, wherever you are."
Isabel's eyes widened as she heard the little girl laugh. The others stood there shocked before Mona finally walked out, and they all followed her.
"It's not fair, Aria. It was Isabel's idea!" came the little girl's voice once again. Hey, why bring her into it? She did nothing but get traumatized by a police officer and her best friend's sister. "Faster, faster!"
They walked along to see a rusty old playground. Six little children played on the merry-go-round, holding dolls that looked exactly like... Oh no.
Like those Chucky dolls.
"Hey, there!" Aria called.
"Hi," the same little girl smiled, walking up to them. She looked like Aria, and her doll had the same pink stripes in her hair.
"Where did you get these dolls?" Aria asked.
"They were a present," the little girl replied. "Mine's name is Aria." The other girls lined up as she went on. "And that's Hanna, Spencer, Isabel, Emily, and Mona." The little Isabel doll looked like her, but it was that staggering similarity between Isabel's younger self, and the little girl that held the Isabel doll. Of course she wore all black, making her look like a mini-goth.
"Who gave them to you?" Mona gulped.
"Your friend, Alison. She started playing with us right after you moved in," the little girl smiled, and Isabel exchanged dark looks with the others.
Alison was still playing with them. And Isabel was just the sixth doll.
-
"Paige doesn't know about Wilden yet," Emily explained. She, Isabel, and Aria were talking at lunch. "Not sure how much to tell her."
"The truth," Isabel shrugged. "If you really love her, you can trust her with it."
Emily smiled at her, but then caught sight of Aria lagging. "Aria?"
"Do you believe in that four seasons of grief theory?" Aria asked, and Isabel realized she was staring at Ezra. "That you have to live through a year of everything, before you can really get over someone?"
"I sure am," Isabel laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, right now, I'm going through derpression."
Emily glanced at her worriedly before turning back to Aria. "You guys have survived so much. Can't you just wait it out for a few months?"
"Just feels like we're back where we started," Aria sighed, her eyes still on Ezra. "And we can't go back to where we were. There's too much at stake now."
"You know I totally support you and Ezra together, but maybe he's right," Emily shrugged. "You know, it's senior year. You should be having some fun."
"Hah!" Isabel laughed. "Fun? What's fun? Alcoholics have fun, and look where they end up. Depressed with no boyfriend because he left her like every other person in my crappy life." They stared at her. "Sorry."
"Look at him," Aria smiled, still looking at Ezra, who was talking to some students. "They're hanging on his every word."
"You've never been on one, but there's this thing called a double date," Emily began. "And it's what you do with your friends when you can actually be seen in public with the person you're going out with."
Aria glanced behind her to see Mr. Hackett staring at her. "Oh, my God. I am so busted. Hackett just saw me staring at Ezra."
"Now he's walking over here," Isabel whispered as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. She sat across from Aria, who picked up her book quickly.
"I think that what Mr. Fitz meant was Steinbeck used the farmer as a metaphor for his frustration," Aria rambled, trying to make him go away.
Mr. Hackett turned away, and Aria looked up at Isabel. "Is he gone?"
At Aria's words, her turned back around suspiciously. "No. And he's totally watching you," Isabel muttered.
-
Later, Isabel got ready for Wilden's funeral. She picked out a nice, plain, off-the-shoulder black one, and tied her hair back partially. She was about to pick up her purse and be out the door, when her phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked when she picked up.
"Um... it's me," Emily muttered, and she seemed nervous.
"Em, are you okay?" Isabel frowned, getting up.
"Mrs. D is back in town, and... um..." Emily's voice faltered, and Isabel knew what she was gonna say. "I couldn't bear to see your face if I told you in person, so... here I am making a fool out of myself."
"It's about Jason, isn't it?" Isabel replied, her voice cracking at his name. Why was she letting Jason turn her into a sniveling, pathetic mess? No, she was gonna be strong. "Hit me with the worst."
"He... he told her to tell you that," Emily started, but she sounded close to tears herself. "That he never forgot about you. He loves you, Isabel."
Isabel was prepared to hear that she should move on, or perhaps he did it for her own good, and she shouldn't be mad, but... this hit her like a train wreck.
"He- he did?" Isabel whispered, because if she spoke at full volume, she would surely burst into tears right then and there. And she couldn't. No, this was Wilden's funeral. So she surpressed her feeling once more. "Well, if he truly loves me, he wouldn't have left." And she hung up, proud that she didn't cry.
But then she looked in the mirror, and tears of black ran down her cheeks. As she fixed her mascara, only one thought popped in her addled brain.
This wasn't supposed to end up like this.
She was supposed to be with Mike, lose it to him, one day even marry him. They'd break up once or twice, but they'd eventually find their way back to one another. And Jason would be her best man when Isabel and Mike got married. He'd be proud of her for finally getting the guy.
No, Jason was not supposed to be the one who broke her heart.
-
"Who is that?" Isabel asked, walking up to them. She had spotted some girl in a black veil walking twenty feet away.
"Guys, 'closed caskets keep secrets,'" Spencer quoted the 'A' text. "'His is open and exposes yours.' There's something in that coffin that's incriminating to us."
"Are you really so sure about everything you're so sure about?" Isabel asked, and Spencer stared at her. Usually, she was the one who agreed with Spencer, but what Jason had 'said', messed her up so bad that she almost ran off and cried in her apartment.
"Yes. And in about thirty minutes they're going to open the casket for viewing, people are going to walk past to say goodbye to Wilden. Whatever 'A' has on us-" she finally said.
"Okay, we didn't kill Wilden. So what could it be?" Emily responded loudly. "Besides another set-up."
"Yeah, Em's right," Hanna nodded. "We shouldn't even be here. If we get busted for poking around that casket-"
"I don't think we have a choice. We have to look," Spencer snapped in a low voice.
"I mean, at my grandma's funeral, they kept the casket in a private room until the service started," Aria said, looking between them.
"Let's just go find it," Spencer sighed. They walked into the church, but the casket wasn't there yet.
"Aria was right," Emily pointed out. "The casket isn't here yet."
"Okay, so let's split up. And if you find it, send out an SOS," Spencer nodded before they walked off in different directions.
-
Needless to say, Isabel didn't find it. But supposedly, Spencer did, and inside was Ms. Marin's phone.
For most of the service, Isabel didn't pay attention. Spencer had to nudge her so that she saw the Black Veil walk in.
After the funeral, a cop walked up to them. "Emily, Spencer, Isabel, Aria, and Hanna?" he asked, and Isabel had serious déjà vu.
"Yes?" Aria responded he walked up the steps to face them.
"I'm Officer Holbrook. Pennsylvania state police," he explained. Great, another one. "My partner and I are investigating the murder of Officer Reynolds and Detective Wilden. We already spoke to the police when Garrett was killed. I read that in the report. I've actually been reading a lot about you five." he added as he looked between them. "Wilden had a thing for you."
"He had a nasty habit of harassing us," Isabel snapped.
"I've read through most of his notes and I agree with you," he nodded. "His conduct borders on unprofessional at best."
"Thank you," Emily replied gruffly.
"So why did you come to his funeral?" he asked suspiciously.
"We're, uh, supporting our local police department," Emily lied.
"I'm sure it's appreciated," he said, and Isabel was glad that he wasn't smirking at them like Wilden did. "We'll probably have to bring you in for questioning. But remember, we're the good guys. Just here to find out the truth."
Holbrook walked off , and their phones all beeped simultaneously.
'Truth won't set you free, bitches. I'm going to bury you with it. Kisses -A'
Underneath was an attachment of a video of them next to Wilden's muddy cop car.