Emma stared at him, but no words came out.
“I didn’t think so,” Mr. Mercer said. He placed his hands on Emma’s shoulders, pressing her into the seat. “Keep playing along. Everything will be okay.”
Emma was too afraid to even breathe. His words mirrored the ones used in the first note the killer left her: Sutton’s dead. Tell no one. Keep playing along, or you’re next.
He’d confirmed everything she suspected to be true. Rage suddenly flowed through her. He’d done this to Sutton—to her. He’d brought her here to cover up his heinous crime. Then he’d threatened her, again and again, to keep quiet. And all for…what? Some woman? Keeping up family appearances?
My shock and sadness and horror turned to fury, too. My own father had killed me. There was no question, and there was no good reason. Parents were supposed to love, not kill. They were supposed to protect their children, not throw them away like they were a pair of last year’s boot-cut jeans. I wasn’t dispensable. I wasn’t nothing.
Emma whipped around and grabbed the handle again. Mercifully, the door wasn’t locked, and she was too quick for Mr. Mercer. All at once, she was on the curb and running across the parking lot.
“Sutton!” Mr. Mercer roared. But Emma kept going.
She never felt so relieved to see the girls’ locker room; Mr. Mercer couldn’t follow her in there. She went straight into the bathroom and locked the stall door behind her.
“Oh my God,” she whispered into her hands. What was she supposed to do now? How was she going to outsmart Mr. Mercer and get the evidence she needed without him killing her? How much time did she have left?
I didn’t know the answers either. And for me, I was still stuck on what my dad had just said. His words played over and over in my mind like a broken record. Keep playing along. Like this was a game.
I rested my fingers around Emma’s as I’d only done once before—the night she was trapped in the cave with Lili and we both thought everything was over. That time, I was comforting her. But this time was different.
This time, I was the one who needed my sister.
23
THE RATTLESNAKE IN THE ROOM
Tuesday after practice, Emma pulled into the parking lot of La Encantada, the luxe shopping mall in the Tucson hills. She threw the car into park just as her phone buzzed in her lap.
ANY LUCK GOOGLING MR. MERCER? Ethan asked.
NO, NOTHING. HIS NAME IS TOO COMMON, Emma typed back.
HMM. I’LL TRY LOOKING, TOO, Ethan said.
THX. YOU ARE THE BEST, Emma responded.
Emma had been a wreck after her conversation with Mr. Mercer, but luckily he hadn’t come home from the hospital until almost midnight. In addition to googling him and Mrs. Mercer, she’d checked the home study to see if there was anything there about their past. But aside from some old tax forms, she hadn’t seen any evidence of their life in California.
“Uh, hello?” Laurel’s face appeared in the window. She’d driven herself, but Emma had followed her into the parking lot. “What are you doing, zombie?”
Emma jumped, slid Sutton’s phone into her purse, and pulled the keys from the ignition. By the time she climbed out, Laurel was already walking impatiently toward the shops. “It’s past six,” Laurel called over her shoulder. “What do you want to bet Gabby and Lili found all the best dresses already?”
“They can’t wear every single amazing dress to the party,” Emma pointed out. The plan was to hit Anthropologie, BCBG, J. Crew, and a bunch of other boutiques in the shopping plaza.
Laurel stepped onto the escalator and gripped the handrail hard.
“So are you excited for the party?” Emma asked.
“Uh-huh,” Laurel said stiffly.
“Looking forward to really sticking it to the Devious Four?”
Laurel grunted and glanced away.
Emma sighed loudly. She had enough on her plate without Laurel’s mercurial moods. “Okay, Laurel. What did I do this time?”
Laurel swung around and rode the escalator up backward, resting her hands on the arm rails. “Fine,” she spat. “Dad said you were snooping in my room. Again.”
Emma blinked, barely remembering searching Laurel’s room. Now that Laurel wasn’t a suspect, it was like her mind had erased all of the Laurel-themed sleuthing.
Laurel set her mouth in a line. “Were you looking for love letters between Thayer and me? Well, I have a surprise for you, Sutton. Something that will make you very happy.” She brushed a honey-blond lock behind her shoulder. “Thayer’s not into me that way.” Her voice trembled a tiny bit.
“Oh, Laurel, I’m sorry,” Emma said softly, stepping off the escalators. She reached out for Laurel’s arm, but Laurel pulled away.
“He told me last night that he’s still into you,” Laurel said, her voice low, like it pained her to say the words. “I just don’t get it. If you guys are still into each other, why did you break up?”
Emma blinked. Two sets of shoppers passed before she could speak again. “I’m not into him, Laurel. I swear.”
Laurel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. I heard about you two having a secret powwow the night of Dad’s party.”
A muscle in Emma’s jaw tensed. “Did Charlotte tell you?”
Laurel’s eyes widened. “So it is true?”
Emma sighed. The meaty smell of the steak house down at the end of the esplanade was beginning to give her a headache. “It’s true, but it’s not what you think. We were just talking. There’s nothing between us anymore. I really, really like Ethan.” Emma placed her hand on Laurel’s arm. “Look, I’m sorry about Thayer. And I’m sorry about going into your room without asking,” she said. “I promise I won’t do it again. I was just looking for those red leather sandals you borrowed for Homecoming. I was thinking of wearing them to Dad’s party.”