TweetyGram

9 - #TGIF

Sera had always been a hard worker, and a glance at the photos in this album told me she still was. Apart from being a makeup artist for the cast of Malibu, 90265, she also did hair and makeup for all kinds of events, including weddings, sweet sixteen parties, and even funerals—and boy, if I died, I'd want her to do my makeup for my funeral.

She turned a dead 101-year-old woman into a seemingly-alive 45-year-old, for crying out loud.

Her freelance work slowed down three months ago, which, upon further investigation, was when she started posting photos of her and her beau, Mitchell.

Against my better judgment, I kept scrolling through her posts, moving from one photo album to the next, until a post caught my attention.

It was a photo of Sera, Mitchell, Nat, Almond, Nat's co-stars Eleanor Clarke and the Jason Momoa look-alike who played Ash in Malibu, and a cute guy with bleached blond hair I recognized as Nick Hickey, a member of the popular British boy band The Coolest Guys on the Block. Everyone was dressed in cocktail attire, smiling wide for the camera.

happy birthday to my bff @NatalieWinters! 🥳🎂

here's to many more years of friendship!🥂

The strangest thing happened as I read the caption. Somehow, I felt . . . left out.

What the heck?

Shaking the weird feeling off, I continued scrolling through the photos until I saw a selfie of Sera and a familiar chocolate Pomeranian.

babysitting the cutest nephew ever @CocobearWinters 🐶

My eyes flicked to the album's title. The post was shelved under friends and family, but judging by the matching green cap and barista apron Cocobear was wearing, the photo was most likely taken on the set of Malibu, 90265.

Sera was moving up to the top spot on my suspect list. She had the means and opportunity, although her motive remained a mystery.

Based on her TweetyGram posts, she seemed to be doing well professionally. She didn't have any reason to conduct an online scam like this. But then again, everyone had a skeleton in their closets.

Sera can't be the Malibu Wolf, can she?

Suspecting one of my best friends to be a criminal caused my head to pound as if someone had hit me with a hammer. The scorching hot weather only made it worse. I dragged my feet toward the kitchen, pulled a pitcher of lemonade out of the refrigerator, and poured myself a glass.

But the only ones who knew Nat got a C on her eighth-grade art project were Sera, Paris, and me. And Mrs. Lemmon, of course. Now, I'm not the Malibu Wolf. Paris is in Paris—which means she couldn't have taken the photos of the Malibu set. She doesn't have the Arts Camp photo either, so—

A knock on the door fished me out of my thoughts.

"Shrimp?" Jake's voice resonated from the hallway. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah. Just a sec." I strode toward the door, cracked it open, and poked my head out. "Oh my gosh. You finally realize I have a front door!" I joked, earning a wry smile from him. "What do you want?"

"About that dinner with my grandma. Are you free next Friday at, say, seven?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Perfect." He gave me a thumbs-up and a tight smile. I was about to close the door when he put his hand on the edge of the door. "Wait. There's one more thing." He gave me a questionable grin. "I need another favor. May I come in?"