Page 148 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

Amber was rambling, and I realized I’d fallen behind as I stopped to stare through the door. I ran to catch up with her. Brie was standing outside her door. She gave me a subtle thumbs-up.

It paid to have a smart, techie teen as a friend.

We left Amber at her door, then grabbed food on our way back to my room. As soon as we were inside, Brie said, “You were right. She had the video on her computer. I sent it to myself.”

“She’s a liar,” I said, “so anything she told us is suspect. But I figured she had to have it because Diana would have shared it with her. It wasn’t passcoded?”

“It was, but it autofilled because the computer was just sleeping, not shut down.”

“Did you delete the sent file?”

“Of course. She would have to be a computer genius to know I accessed it, and she’s not, so we’re fine. And even if she knows, what could she do?”

“You didn’t look at it?”

Brie shook her head. “I started to, but I got cold feet. What if it’s not as damning as Amber implied? What if it’s worse?”

“Let’s watch it together.”

Brie brought it up on her phone. The video was a bit shaky, but mostly clear. A younger Sherry Morrison sat in a penthouse with the New York City skyline behind her. There were bottles of champagne and wine scattered all over. Four young women could be seen in the video, but more could be heard in the background. Sherry wore a Delta Gamma sweatshirt. She was very pretty—that wasn’t in dispute—with perfect skin, big eyes, good bone structure, shiny light brown hair. The girl next door with brains was the vibe she had, and I saw it now as well.

“When was this taken?” I whispered, though I didn’t know why I was whispering.

“December 31, five and a half years ago.”

So Amber hadn’t lied about that part.

Sherry was saying, “It was a good settlement, not great. Enough to tide me over until I reel Tom in.”

“Tom?” a voice off camera said.

“Tom Jorgenson.”

“The ex–football player?”

“He was interested when I was married to Bruce, but I had to play it cool. Flirt, but not enough to give Bruce the idea I was going to leave. Couldn’t risk my prenup.”

Giggling. The girl next to Sherry said, “I made sure my prenup had enough loopholes that I won’t lose as much as you did.”

A scowl crossed Sherry’s expression. Then she smiled darkly and said, “You were always the smartest girl in the house, Liz.”

Laughter from whoever was videotaping—likely Diana because I didn’t see her on the recording, and she had sent the video to Amber.

“I’m actually having fun,” Liz said. “I might stick around for a while, as long as he continues to satisfy me in bed and keeps an open bank account.”

Raucous laughter.

Sherry said, “Not me. After Monroe broke off our engagement so he could marry that little whore who stole him, I realized that there is always something better out there.”

“Why Tom?” a woman asked. “He’s twice your age.”

“Not quite,” Sherry said with no self-awareness at all. “He wasn’t my first choice. I tried for Andrew Locke a few weeks ago—had a mutual friend introduce us. But he has a kid, and the last thing I want is a teenager in the house, especially this one—he worships her, and no way am I playing second to a little brat. Tom has two kids. They’re grown—no problem there. And when I’m done with Tom, Andrew’s kid will be gone, and that’ll be the perfect time for me to slip in.”

“You have it all planned perfectly,” the video maker said in what I thought was a snide voice, but Sherry just laughed.

“Yes, Diana, I do. And after Andrew, there will be plenty more to choose from. Men aresoeasy to manipulate. It’s just a matter of finding out exactly what they want and giving it to them.”

She was drunk, but this video was damning.

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