Dollhouse Read Online Free PDF Page A

back. “He's actually on the case, isn't he?”
    Lacey nodded. “There's all kinds of crazy stuff people are ringing in with. They invent things just for attention.”
    Brianna turned her head as Ben pulled himself from the water and sat shivering on the rock platform, his face a blotchy red and white. “Just like Ben. I get it why you're not interested in him, Lace.”
    “What about Ben?” I asked.
    Brianna wrinkled her freckled nose. “It wasn't anything recent. It was back when we were all around nine or ten. Ethan had only just come to our school the month before. We were on a school camp on the mountains, sleeping in tents. Ben woke everyone up, screaming he saw black shapes in the forest, like, huge giant people.”
    “I remember that,” nodded Caitlin. “His mum had to come pick him up. A few of the kids called him chicken-shit for months afterwards. He was a weird kid—always in a corner reading those horror chapter books. No wonder he saw stuff.”
    Ben moved his gaze to us, as though he realized he was the subject of our conversation, then turned to stare fixedly into the pools of water.
     
     

5. QUESTIONS & LIES
     
    My mother's expression was strained as she answered the door. "You're late. And I couldn't call you."
    "I know. Sorry. Forgot to take my phone to school today."
    Her cheeks were flat, colorless. I made a mental note never to become a youth worker. She never seemed off-duty—there were often crisis phone calls late at night that had her scurrying like a manic chicken. She’d secured the job before we’d moved from the US, and she’d been thrown in the deep end straightaway.
    I shrugged the schoolbag from my shoulders and stepped towards the kitchen.
    "Cassie...  wait, there's a couple of officers waiting here to see you."
    I tensed. At that moment, I wanted to head back out the door. Run away like a little kid. But I couldn't do that.
    As I entered the living room, two police officers rose from the sofa. Lacey's dad—Sergeant Dougherty, and the detective who'd questioned me straight after Aisha had vanished—Martin Kalassi.
    My voice sounded stiff and unnatural as I answered their questions.
    No, I haven't seen Ethan. No, I don't know where he is. No, he didn't tell me anything about leaving town. Yes, I'll let you  know if I hear from him.
    Detective Kalassi was a big man, with a generous sort of face. In plain clothes, he seemed like a friendly uncle. The kind of person you'd trust. But he was police, and the last person I could trust.
    Lacey's dad was dressed in full uniform. He had the same pale blue eyes and whitish hair as Lacey, except his expression was closed, distant.
    "Be sure you do tell us if you do hear anything," Sergeant Dougherty cautioned me. "Make no mistake. The case with Aisha Dumaj is extremely serious." He gazed at me intently. "When a teenage girl goes missing, every minute counts. When that time goes past a certain point, the situation becomes very dire. At the point we're at with Aisha, it's gone past
dire
. The case has been upgraded from Missing Person to probable homicide. We're doing our best to apprehend whoever is responsible for harming Aisha. But we need the help of the public and we need the help of Aisha's friends."
    I nodded, sure that his eyes were burning a path inside my skull, probing for answers.
    I knew the police were almost certain Aisha hadn't been taken off the mountains, or hadn't found her way off them by herself. There'd been busloads of tourists that day at all the main exits from in the area she'd been last seen. And her trail vanished into thin air not far from where we'd last seen her—almost as if someone had picked her up and run off with her.
    Detective Kalassi asked if he could see my phone, to check if there were any messages from Ethan. There weren't. Ethan never called anyway. He didn't even own a cell phone. Kalassi's eyes crinkled at the edges as he handed the phone back to me. "Sorry 'bout that."
    Mom stood beside me