Page 121 of Tanner

“Herself,” Tessa and Jalynn say in unison.

Jalynn taps her finger to her lips. “That doesn’t help us that much though. We still need to think of what it could be.”

Tessa takes the notepad and a pen. We count out the letters for the obvious things. MarinaSexton, Marina, MissSexton, PageantQueen, BeautyQueen, EdwardSexton.

Then, I yell, “EdSexton is eight letters.”

“No. MsSexton. It has to be about her,” Tessa offers.

Jalynn types it in, and the little box quickly dances back and forth, saying the password is wrong.

Shoot.

“How many times did you say it allows you to try?” Tessa asks.

“Three, but honestly, I’ve never tried to break into someone’s computer,” Jalynn says.

I look around the room at all the plaques and awards on Missy’s walls. Every single one is a picture of her holding an award or wearing a crown with not one other person in the photo. This woman should have her picture next to the word vain in the dictionary.

The pageant photo catches my eye. The crown that sits on top of her head is humongous. It takes up almost as much of the photo as her actual face. I walk up to it. On the bottom is Missy’s own handwriting with the words Miss Cali Forever with a heart attached.

“She won Miss California?” I question, looking back at them. “Miss Cali Forever. The egomaniac actually keeps her own autograph.”

Tessa and Jalynn glance at each other and shrug in agreement as Jalynn says, “Not surprised.”

“Oh!” Tessa counts out the letters on her hand. “MissCali.”

We look at each other in anticipation. Jalynn’s head is bouncing lightly, wondering if she should type it.

“Do it!” Tessa exclaims.

“Worst case: it’s wrong, and we get out of here,” I say.

We all hold our breath as she presses the Enter button, and just like that … we’re in.

“Boom,” Jalynn says dramatically, making me laugh.

I’m so damn nervous and kinda thrilled by this whole experience.

Tessa and I step behind Jalynn and look over her shoulder as she searches the desktop for anything that stands out. There’s nothing there. We search the drive and peruse Missy’s business documents.

Folder after folder and drive after drive, nothing looks out of sorts until Tessa points to the screen. “Does that folder really say Recipes? Why do I get the feeling Missy hasn’t cooked a day in her life since she became a Sexton?”

“I would second that motion. She had a chef prepare our meal in New York because it was too cold outside.”

Jalynn turns to me. “Are you serious?”

I nod my head. “And that wasn’t the strangest thing she did or said that night. I’m still scarred from it. Open the file. I’d love to see what kind of recipes she could possibly keep.”

She laughs under her breath and opens the folder. “Jackpot,” Jalynn yelps.

In the folder is anything but recipes. Inside are three subfolders—Photos, Videos, Audio. Clicking on each one, we are granted access into the life of Edward and Missy Sexton.

Photos. Where one would assume you’d find wedding and vacation photos, we get everything but. They’re of a very young Missy in compromising positions. Edward can be seen in the mirror’s reflection, taking the pictures. They’re scans of printed photos with the date on the bottom left.

“She’s only sixteen years old,” Tessa says in disgust. “Looks like Austin wasn’t the only one getting it on with Missy in her teenage years.”

Jalynn looks oddly satisfied. “Good. Maybe, now, Austin can get sick over the idea of him sleeping with Missy, too. I was up all night with a weak stomach from that tidbit of knowledge.”