Mean Sisters: A sassy, hilariously funny murder mystery. Lindsay Emory

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СКАЧАТЬ keeping well.’

      ‘She’s twenty-eight,’ I said. ‘She looks twenty-eight.’

      Amanda smoothed a hand over her hair, which made me self-consciously do the same with my growing-out bangs. ‘That’s a shame,’ Amanda said.

      ‘You look great,’ I said, totally sincere. ‘Not a day over twenty-two.’

      Amanda was a year older than me, at twenty-eight and I thought she’d like to hear that.

      She smiled, pleased with the compliment. ‘Can’t beat good genes and sunscreen,’ she said.

      ‘True,’ I said cheerily, knowing that if Amanda’s pore-less, glowing complexion was solely due to sunscreen, I was Angelina Jolie.

      ‘How long will you be in town?’

      I lifted my hands. ‘Who knows? You heard about Liza McCarthy, right?’

      Amanda nodded, a sheen of tears suddenly appearing in her eyes. ‘I’m just in total shock about it,’ Amanda said. ‘She was so young.’

      ‘So young,’ I agreed.

      ‘What’s going to happen?’ Amanda asked.

      I gave her the update from HQ.

      ‘Whoa.’ Amanda leaned back in her chair. ‘That’s huge.’

      ‘That’s one of the reasons I came to see you. To formally introduce myself as the Delta Beta Chapter Advisor pro tem.’

      ‘I’m so proud of you,’ Amanda sniffed. ‘It’s so great to see your little sister succeed.’

      Her words brought a mix of emotions that, to be honest, made me a little uncomfortable, so I just pushed them down and ignored them, like a good Delta Beta. No need to ruin the reunion party.

      I changed the subject, so as not to face my anxiety. ‘I guess I need to do some paperwork with you?’

      Amanda got right on the ball, as I knew she would, registering me with the college as a student advisor, showing me the Panhellenic policy, procedures and codes of conduct and going over the calendar of meetings and events of the next month.

      ‘Poor Liza,’ Amanda said, after we went over the plan for the Tri Mu Bowling Tournament the next weekend. ‘She really hated the Tri Mus.’

      I nodded in sympathy. Every good Delta Beta hated the Tri Mus. ‘Did you know her well?’ I asked, wanting to be a good friend and support Amanda if she was overcome by Liza’s death.

      Amanda wobbled her head. ‘Yes and no. She was great with the girls, of course, a real charismatic leader. But with the college staff, she was a little more standoffish. Maybe because she hadn’t gotten her doctorate yet.’ Amanda crinkled her nose as a sad thought occurred to her. ‘Maybe if I had told her I was a Deb, we could have been better friends.’

      ‘You were there for her,’ I assured Amanda. ‘She knew in her heart you were a sister.’

      Amanda closed her eyes and nodded, accepting my wise platitudes. ‘How are the girls holding up?’

      I thought of the still-red eyes and hushed voices at breakfast this morning. ‘They’re strong. They’ll hold it together.’

      ‘And what about you? How do you plan to do all this? Even a temporary gig is going to be tough.’

      That was so like Amanda to ask about me. She was really thoughtful about other people. ‘I’m going to hold one-on-one’s with the chapter officers in the next few days, get status reports from everyone. Hopefully that will give me a good overview of the chapter. Plus, headquarters is sending me the financials to review.’

      Amanda nodded at the plan. ‘Let me know if you need help with anything.’

      An image of a gold badge and a cute guy popped in my head. ‘Do you happen to know Lieutenant Hatfield,’ I asked. ‘At the Sutton police department?’

      Amanda pursed her lips. ‘He comes on campus every fall to do a dating violence prevention thing. Are you going to ask him out?’

      I rolled my eyes. So typical of Amanda to go there immediately. Let’s just say that of the two of us, she could’ve been kind of slutty in college if she hadn’t been so discreet. ‘No way. He just seemed …’ I searched for the words to describe Hatfield’s odd behaviour the night before, ‘… a little obtuse.’

      ‘Really?’ Amanda asked with surprise.

      ‘Like, I don’t think he understood what sorority life was all about,’ I explained, thinking of his complete disregard for our rituals and his confusion that I would like to help comfort Liza McCarthy’s family, even if I’d never met them and barely knew her.

      ‘I get that all. The. Time. Unaffiliated people just don’t understand.’

      ‘Gosh darn independents,’ I said.

      Amanda nodded in commiseration. She understood me perfectly.

       CHAPTER SIX

      Holding another chapter meeting just twenty-four hours after the last one would never be a popular thing to do. For most sorority girls, chapter meetings are like dental examinations, or going to church, or hanging out with your rich maiden aunt because she’s got to leave the lake house to someone in her will. It’s a necessary act that you don’t necessarily enjoy.

      I understood the sentiment. These were young college women who also had priorities like studying, exercising and watching Supernatural marathons on Netflix. Chapter meetings could be grueling, with endless debates and Robert’s Rules of Order and pin attire (which required that sorority members get dressed up for chapter). It was like visiting your rich aunt: you had to show some respect when you went.

      So there I stood, in front of fifty slightly pissed-off, confused, grieving Debs. With a heavy heart, I informed them that I, Margot Blythe, was going to be their temporary Chapter Advisor.

      About twenty-five hands went up. About twenty-five cell phones were whipped out. Yes, there was some overlap between the two groups. I calmly and patiently answered everyone’s burning questions. Yes, the date party was still scheduled to occur. Yes, the t-shirts would still get ordered. No, I didn’t know which DJ would be playing at the date party. Yes, I agreed that the Tri Mu Bowling Tournament was a ridiculous waste of time. Yes, we were still going to attend as a chapter and show our Panhellenic support.

      I’m not going to lie, the questioning got a little intense. I blessed Liza McCarthy’s memory for having the stamina and courage to face down a chapter of Debs every Monday, week after week. I thanked them ahead of time for their support and friendship and invoked a quotation of Mary Gerald Callahan’s that I’d always loved: ‘A Delta Beta sister is steadfast, in times of sorrow and despair when things look bleakest, at the end of days, when evil and corruption shall reign over the earth.’ That seemed to make everyone feel better.

      Then I sat down in my chair off to the side of the Chapter СКАЧАТЬ