The earnestness in Laurel’s voice tugged at Emma’s heart. If she’d asked Ethan just days before, maybe they’d be going together.

“Ethan has a date already,” Emma said flatly.

“So make him break it off with her!” Laurel handed a credit card to Dracu-Dork. He slipped the dress into a yellow plastic bag without taking his eyes off Laurel. “You’ve done it before!” Laurel went on. “Look, Sutton, I’ve seen him staring at you at school. And when he showed up to your party with those flowers . . . it’s obvious he’s got it bad for you.”

“You think?” Emma toyed with a loose thread at the hem of her shirt.

“I do,” Laurel said firmly.

Emma reached out and took Laurel’s hand, suddenly feeling a flood of warmth and protectiveness for her. Gabby and Lili, two girls Laurel was close friends with, might have killed Laurel’s sister. Was it right to keep that from her?

Laurel looked down at Emma’s fingers holding hers. “What’s that for?” she asked softly.

“Laurel, I . . .” Emma started. Maybe she should tell her. Maybe Laurel deserved to know.

Sutton’s sister grabbed the bloody wedding dress from the counter. “Yeah?”

There was a trusting smile on her face. Her big blue eyes blinked slowly. The words welled in Emma’s throat, ready to spill forth, but then Sutton’s iPhone beeped, breaking the silence. Emma peeked at the screen. It was another text from Alex. GOING FOR A CHICKEN MOLE BURRITO! JEALOUS? she wrote. Attached was a photo of Alex standing in front of Loco Mexico, a dive restaurant she and Emma had been obsessed with—they made the best guacamole in town. Emma was about to slip it back into her bag when a rusty sign next to Loco Mexico caught her eye. RAPID TOW IMPOUND SERVICES. A bunch of cars lurked behind a chain-link fence.

Alarms blared in Emma’s head. The impound lot. Sutton’s car was there. It was somewhere Emma hadn’t yet looked—what if there was something in it, something specific that linked the Twitter Twins to Sutton’s murder?

“Laurel,” Emma said again, turning back to Sutton’s sister as they made their way out of the store. “Can you take me to the impound? I think it’s time to get my car.”

Laurel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, as though she hadn’t expected this. But then she shook her head and glanced at her watch. “I can’t today. My calc study group starts in twenty minutes. Maybe tomorrow?”

“No need,” said a voice behind Emma. “We’ll take you right now.”

Emma spun around, and her jaw dropped. There, standing on the curb in the blinding Tucson sunset, were the Twitter Twins.

Grinning at Emma, I thought, like a pair of lionesses that had just cornered their prey.

Chapter 21 - Tweet, Untweet

Chapter 21
Service with a Snicker