along the ballet bar set against the mirrors. "It's just the shape that looked familiar." I touched the door, set in exactly the same, familiar place as the one I remembered: on the wall.
"Would you have any reason to go there now?" Alice asked, breaking my reverie.
"No, I haven't been there in almost ten years. I was a terrible dancer, even then—they always put me in the back for recitals, or told me the wrong time to come, so I'd show up as everyone was leaving," I admitted.
"So there's no way it could be connected with you?" Alice asked.
"No, I don't even think the same person owns it. I'm sure it's just another dance studio, somewhere."
"Where was the studio you went to?" Jasper yelled suddenly. Sweat was dripping down his brow.
"It was just around the corner from my mom's house. I used to walk there after school..." I said, my voice trailing off. I didn't miss the look they exchanged.
"Here in Phoenix, then?" His voice was casual as a jacket.
"Yes," I whispered. "Fifty-Eighth Street and Cactus."
We all sat in silence, staring at the drawing.
"Alice, is that phone safe?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can I use it to call my mom?"
"Yes," she reassured me. "That number would just trace back to Washington."
"Then I can use it to call my mom."
"I thought she was in Florida."
"She is—but she might also be in Arizona, and she can't come back to that house while..." My voice trembled. I was thinking about something Fredward had said, about the red-haired female at Charlie's house, at the school, where my records would be lying out in the open for everyone to see.

421

Chapter 20

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