Page 137 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

That seemed sudden. “Tomorrow?”

“Sherry went all emotional on my dad and manipulated him. I don’t know why he agreed—I went to take a shower, came out ten minutes later, and he told me they were getting married at the Sky Bar tomorrow at sunset! That he wants me to be his best girl and stand up for him. It’s happening too fast, and I can’t stop it.”

She started crying, and I hugged her.

“We’ll think of something.”

“No, we won’t! She’s going to win, and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Brie, don’t give up. Tell him what you’re feeling. That it’s happening too fast.”

“I did. Sort of. I mean—damn, it’s all my fault! She deliberately fell overboard because I put her on the hot seat. I confronted her with the fact that she knew Diana Harden. Basically said why didn’t you tell us that you and Diana were in the same sorority? And Dad was surprised. He started asking her about it because she specifically told him she’d never met Diana. And Sherry was trying to come up with a lie, and then wham, she falls through a gate that should have been secure. Iknowshe did it on purpose. But Dad won’t listen now, because helovesher and she almostdied.” Brie rolled her eyes, but her expression was heartbroken. “Right. Almost died only a couple hundred feet from shore? She hit her head on the boat, and according toher, she could have been knocked unconscious anddrowned. I wish she had!”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do,” she insisted, wiping tears from her face. “I told him it was too fast, too much, and he needed to think about it. He said he didn’t want to wait, that this week has taught him that life is too short. Then—then—”

“What did you say?” I pushed when she pursed her lips.

“He asked Sherry to leave for a minute, and he hugged me and said he loved me, that he had always listened to me and made changes in his life for me because we lost Mom. And now I’m an adult, and he wants to share his life with Sherry. And what could I say? What could I do except agree? I don’t want him to hate me!” she sobbed.

“He never would,” I told her.

“Whatever she said or did or does in bed, I don’t know, but she has him wrapped around her little finger, and I don’t know what to do.”

She was about to sit on my bed, then realized she was still wet.

I retrieved sweats and a T-shirt for her, and she changed in the bathroom. Then we sat at the table in silence.

“We’ll find something on her,” I said quietly.

“I don’t know if he’ll even believe me.” Brie frowned and stared out into the darkening day.

I opened my notebook and looked at everything I’d written about Diana’s notes in the book. Then I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the pages Brie sent me, looking for anything related to Sherry Morrison—or her code, 1913—or the Delta Gamma letters. Diana knew that Sherry had a secret—a secret that she was willing to pay for? Or kill for?

Gino Garmon was dead. He could be the killer. He had motive, opportunity, and he was an angry guy. He could have used the poor kid Georgie to steal the page from my book. Was Gino’s death an accident? Or did he have a partner? Could that scrawny, scared kid have killed Gino? Or someone else?

Sherry also had a motive, but she couldn’t have killed Gino—she was on the snorkeling trip with us. My head was spinning.

Was Sherry’s secret recent or old? Other than the initial comment about her gold-digging, and the note with the Delta Gamma letters that read,Wedding bells in the near future. For old times’ sake I’ll wait to get paid, there was nothing else that even marginally related to Sherry.

“I think you’re right,” I said to Brie.

“About?”

“We should talk to Amber Jones.”

Brie sat up straight, didn’t look as depressed. “Really? Now?”

“We’ll go to the restaurant. She’s staying in the lodge somewhere. Maybe we can figure out what room.”

“Leave that to me,” Brie said. “Let’s go.”

It was still raining. We ran down the waterlogged path until we reached the main lodge.

The restaurant was packed with more people than I remembered seeing in one place at the resort, even at the Sky Bar the first night. The sky windows were closed, and all the external doors had been shut, but the lights were bright and music played. We passed the arcade where most of the kids were entertaining themselves. The buffet was elaborate and smelled amazing.

“They really know how to do a storm right,” I said.

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