What exactly was the connection between Julie and Autumn?


    Anastasia''s mind kept looping the question. Julie had died in prison-she''d even sent Nelson to find out who had imed Julie''s body, but so far, nothing. Now, out of nowhere, Autumn had appeared. She''d cozied up to Katelyn, gotten close to Daria, and yet Anastasia had never thought to link her with Julie.


    As far as anyone knew, Autumn had only just arrived in Riverdale, following Mr. Walker, who''d taken a new job here. Word was, this was the Walkers'' first time in town; before this, they''d spent years doing charity work out in the sticks.


    Anastasia racked her brains, but the link between Autumn and Julie just wasn''t adding up.


    Then, thanks to Herman''s deep pockets, they got into the cemetery and found the urn Autumn had left behind. The urn had been swapped out ages ago-no name, no photo, nothing to suggest who was inside. Just a in box. How could anyone say for sure it was Julie?


    Anastasia shot Herman a look and quipped, "You ever notice in those cheesy soap operas, people are always saying stuff like, ''I''d know her even if she was ashes''? Please. If anybody could really ID someone by their ashes, I''d call her my fairy godmother."


    Herman let out a rareugh, warm and genuine. It''d been ages since Anastasia had cracked a joke.


    He squeezed her hand. "Odds are, it''s Julie. I''m just as curious as you are— what''s the deal between her and Autumn?"


    The thing was, with Julie gone and Autumn''s mysterious background, digging too openly wasn''t an option. Getting to the truth about their connection was proving to


    be tricky.


    Suddenly, Anastasia had an idea. "What if we go through Daria? Your mom and Autumn are pretty tight, right? Maybe your mom could get her to spill something."


    Herman shook his head. "My mom''s not exactly subtle. She''d probably mess things up. And the cemetery caretaker said Autumn was picked up earlier by an official car. If Mr. Walker gets wind of us poking around, it could getplicated."


    They had to get to the bottom of things, but crossing Mr. Walker was thest thing they needed. Only Herman could roast his own mom and get away with it.


    Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "So, got a better idea?"


    A sly smile flickered in Herman''s eyes. "Well, Autumn''s getting close to Daria. If Joseph finds out, what do you think he''ll do?"


    The lightbulb went on. Anastasia grinned, "Oh, Joseph would definitely take action. That''s his kid, after all. Whatever he does is his business. Do you think Autumn could be the one who kidnapped me?"


    Herman just stayed quiet. Without proof, he didn''t want to worry her. If it really was Autumn, then Anastasia was better off not knowing just yet.


    "Hungry?" he asked gently, changing the subject. "How about grabbing some wonton soup?"


    They''d been so caught up following Autumn, neither had eaten a thing.


    “Sure,” Anastasia agreed. It had been way too long since she and Herman had sat down for a proper meal together.


    An hourter, they were at a cozy little wonton shop, just like old times, each with a steaming bowl of seafood wontons.


    "Pattie''s birthday is next week. Let''s go ahead with the party," Anastasia said suddenly. "It''s her first birthday back with the Salstroms. We can''t let her down."


    Herman had been thinking of canceling, worried about the gossip and whether Anastasia could handle the whispers.


    "There''s always next year," he''d said before. To be fair, he''d skipped Emmie and Nancy''s first birthday parties too.


    "This year is this year, next year is next year,” Anastasia replied, sipping her soup. Her voice was calm, steady. "We owe her too much


    ne. Like


    already. Don''t worry about me. you said, as long as it''s not


    life


    death, it''s not the end of the world.


    Haven''t I already been through


    worse?"


    Even if she didn''t know all the


    details, Anastasia could guess that people in their circle had heard about her being kidnapped. Four men-people were bound to gossip and specte the worst.


    Canceling the party would only feed the rumors.


    Herman pressed his lips together, thinking. After a pause, he nodded. "Alright. We''ll do it your way."


    Just as the words left his mouth, Anastasia''s phone rang. The number was unfamiliar.


    She hesitated, then hit decline out of habit.


    A secondter, it rang again.


    Frowning, Anastasia picked up. Hanna''s panicked voice came- through the line: "Anastasia, you have to help-something''s happened to Rowan..."