15. Dead Man Talking

Complete story — includes the ending

After what they had learned from Annie at the hospital, the group is on the lookout for the person who had tried to kill Sutton. At school, Sutton notices a snake tattoo on Derek's wrist and Ethan immediately questions him, although he doesn't say anything before a teacher breaks them up. Laurel tells the Mercers that she is now happily single, but in reality, she is back in a relationship with Justin. Mads tries to get Sutton to cover for her while she's on another date with Ryan during midterms week, against her father's wishes. It appears that Alec and Rebecca are now in a relationship. Sutton and Ethan wait to confront Derek after class, but learn that he had left school early, adding more suspicion. Sutton, Thayer, and Ethan drive over to Derek's house, only to find his mother, who tells them that Derek had gotten a ride from Dan on the night of the party, after his car supposedly broke down by the lake. Emma offers to temporarily trade places with Sutton, as she is the one that is capable of passing midterms and Sutton wants to find out more about Derek. Baz, a guitarist from the band Laurel had played with during the Black & White Ball, asks her to be a part of the band. Emma (as Sutton) raises suspicion in the Mercer household, as Ted and Kristin try to deal with Sutton's recent unruly behavior. Sutton and Thayer find out that Derek spends a lot of time at a body shop, so Sutton and Ethan go there to confront him. Taking a more aggressive approach than before, Ethan gets Derek to tell his story of what had happened on the night of Sutton's birthday: He was supposed to instruct Sutton to drive to a parking lot and the lake incident was an accident. Derek and Ethan then get in a physical fight, although both don't appear to have any huge injuries. When a car pulls up to the shop, Ethan and Sutton flee the scene. They are then pulled over by a cop, who is a friend of Dan's, for a broken taillight. The next day, Derek is found dead just outside the body shop, due to a serious injury to the head. Arriving at the scene, Dan senses a possible connection between his brother and the victim. While he does believe that Ethan is innocent, he tells him to leave town immediately to avoid any charges. Ethan, Thayer, and Sutton are all confused as to what had happened, and Ethan goes to get Emma so that they could run away together. At Arroyo, Ethan and Emma attempt to leave the building, but they run into the cops at the front door. As they're turning back to the other hallway, Emma trips and breaks a heel while Ethan hides in a closet. As the cops take Emma (as Sutton) for questioning, Ethan slips away. Ultimately, Emma and Thayer are left behind in Phoenix while Ethan and Sutton leave town. In the final moments, Rebecca is shown trying on engagement rings.