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was one of the people A had warned them about. The person Aria was almost certain she’d seen in the woods. One of Ali’s killers.
    Officer Darren Wilden.
    “Hello, girls.” Wilden strutted through the door. His green eyes were bright, and his handsome, angular face was chapped from the cold. His Rosewood police uniform fit him snugly, showing off how in shape he was.
    Then he paused at the edge of Spencer’s bed, finally noticing the girls’ unwelcoming expressions. “What?”
    They exchanged terrified glances. Finally, Spencer cleared her throat. “We know what you did.”
    Wilden leaned against the bed frame, careful not to bump into Spencer’s IV fluids. “Excuse me?”
    “I just called for the nurse,” Spencer said in a louder, more projected voice, the one she often used when she was on stage for the Rosewood Day drama club. “She’ll call security before you can hurt us. We know you set that fire. And we know why. ”
    Deep creases etched Wilden’s forehead. A vein bulged in his neck. Aria’s heart beat so loudly it drowned out all the other sounds in the room. No one moved. The longer Wilden glared at them, the tenser Aria felt.
    Finally, Wilden shifted his weight. “The fire in the woods? ” He let out a dubious sniff. “Are you serious?”
    “I saw you buying propane at Home Depot,” Hanna said shakily, her shoulders rigid. “You were putting three jugs into the car, easily enough to burn those woods. And why weren’t you on the scene after the fire? Every other Rosewood cop was.”
    “I saw your car speeding away from Spencer’s house,” Emily piped up, curling her knees into her chest. “Like you were fleeing the scene of the crime.”
    Aria sneaked a peek at Emily, uncertain. She hadn’t noticed a cop car leaving Spencer’s house last night.
    Wilden leaned against the little metal sink in the corner. “Girls. Why would I set fire to those woods?”
    “You were covering up what you did to Ali,” Spencer said. “You and Jason.”
    Emily turned to Spencer. “He didn’t do anything to Ali. Ali’s alive.”
    Wilden jerked and glanced at Emily for a moment. Then he appraised the other girls, a look of betrayal on his face. “You really believe I tried to hurt you?” he asked them. The girls nodded almost imperceptibly. Wilden shook his head. “But I’m trying to help you!” When there was still no response, he sighed. “Jesus. Fine. I was with my uncle last night when the fire broke out. I lived with him in high school, and he’s really sick.” He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and whipped out a piece of paper. “Here.”
    Aria and the others leaned over. It was a receipt from CVS. “I was picking up a prescription for my uncle at nine fifty-seven, and I heard the fire started around ten,” Wilden said. “I’m probably even on the drugstore’s security camera. How could I be in two places at once?”
    The room suddenly smelled pungently of Wilden’s musky cologne, making Aria woozy. Was it possible Wilden wasn’t the guy she’d seen in the woods lighting the fire?
    “And as for the propane,” Wilden went on, touching the large bouquet of flowers that sat on Spencer’s nightstand, “Jason DiLaurentis asked me to buy it for his lake house in the Poconos. He’s been busy, and we’re old friends, so I said I’d do it for him.”
    Aria glanced at the others, taken aback by Wilden’s nonchalance. Last night, finding out that Jason and Wilden were friends had seemed like a huge breakthrough, a secret busted open. Now, in the light of day, with his open admission, it didn’t seem to matter very much at all.
    “And as for what Jason and I did to Alison . . .” Wilden trailed off, stopping by a little tray on wheels that held a small pitcher of water and two foam cups. He looked dumbstruck. “It’s crazy to think I’d hurt her. And Jason’s her brother! You really think he’s capable of that?”
    Aria opened her mouth to protest. Last night, Emily had