by Isobel Bird
Kate looked at Lucy, who was still not meeting her eyes. Did she really have to find out anything about this girl? she wondered. She couldn’t imagine that the two of them would really have anything to talk about. She would have very much preferred to be interviewing the other twin instead. Nora was so much more outgoing, and Kate couldn’t help but wish that Cooper was the one saddled with Lucy.
“I guess I’ll go first and interview you,” Kate said when Lucy showed no sign of wanting to participate in making the decision. At least then I’ll get it out of the way, she told herself as Lucy nodded silently.
“All right,” Jackson said. “We’re beginning now. When ten minutes have gone by I’ll let you know and you can switch.”
Kate looked at Lucy. What should she ask? She really didn’t know.
“What’s your favorite color?” she asked stupidly, resorting to the one thing she could think of.
“My sister took you up there, didn’t she?” Lucy said unexpectedly. She was looking at Kate now, and Kate saw that she had the same intense eyes as her sister, only Lucy’s radiated fear, where Nora’s shone with self-confidence.
“She took you there, didn’t she?” Lucy repeated.
Kate nodded. “Yes,” she said. “But I don’t see what the big deal is. She’s right, you know. About the ghost, I mean.”
To Kate’s surprise, Lucy responded by laughing softly. “Of course she’s right,” she said. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
Kate wrinkled her brow. “But she said that you didn’t believe her about the ghost,” she said.
“Oh, I believe her,” Lucy replied. “I’ve seen her, too.”
“Then why won’t you help her?” asked Kate, getting angry as she thought about poor Mary and how sad she’d seemed. “She needs your help.”
Lucy put one of her fingers in her mouth and chewed on the nail. Glancing at Lucy’s hands, Kate could see that all of her nails were bitten down to almost nothing. “Is that what she told you?” Lucy asked, peering into Kate’s face.
“No,” Kate said. “Mary told us herself. We asked Mary’s ghost to appear and she came.”
“Did she tell you about how she died?” asked Lucy.
“She said she was killed by someone who knew her,” Kate said. “Look, why are we talking about this? We’re supposed to be finding out about one another.”
“This is important,” Lucy said.
“If it’s so important, why can’t you talk to us about it instead of hiding and spying on us?” asked Kate.
Lucy looked away. She scanned the room as if she was making sure that it was safe to talk. Then she looked back at Kate.
“Mary isn’t who she says she is,” she said.
Kate shook her head. “She’s a ghost,” she said. “How can she not be who she says she is?”
“Did Nora tell you about the diary?” asked Lucy in a low voice.
“Yes,” answered Kate. “But she said she lost it.”
Lucy let out a sound like the beginning of a laugh, but she stopped herself. “She didn’t lose it,” she said. “I took it. I burned it.”
“But why?” asked Kate. “That diary could be the clue to Mary’s death. It might tell us who killed her.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed and became very clear. “Nora knows who killed Mary,” she said. “She knows.”
“What are you talking about?” snapped Kate, getting angry. “She doesn’t know. If she knows, why would she need us to help her find out?”
“I don’t know,” Lucy admitted, looking away. “She’s planning something.”
“Yeah,” said Kate. “She’s planning on helping a dead girl find some peace. But you seem determined to prevent that. I don’t get it. What’s wrong with you?”
“Your ten minutes are up,” Jackson called out before Lucy could answer Kate. Kate just sat there, looking at the other girl. She wanted an answer. But Lucy wasn’t saying anything. She was just looking at the floor. Then she looked up and into Kate’s eyes.
“What’s your favorite color?” she asked.
Kate glared at her. How could Lucy just change the subject like that? There she was, claiming that Nora was somehow lying to them about Mary, and she wouldn’t explain herself. Kate wanted answers, not questions. She wanted to know what Lucy had meant when she said Nora knew who killed Mary; she wanted to know about the diary. Why would Lucy have burned the diary? But Lucy showed no sign of saying anything else. She just sat there, looking at Kate with her empty eyes.
“Blue,” Kate said.
Neither of them said anything for the remainder of their time together. They just sat, looking anywhere but at each other. When Jackson finally called an end to the exercise, both Kate and Lucy got up and walked quickly back to the circle. They took seats as far away from one another as possible.
“Now we’re going to go around the room and say what we learned about our partners,” Jackson said. “Just tell us one thing that you think is the most important of all the things you learned during your interview.”
Kate only half listened as the other people in the group spoke. She was still thinking about her exchange with Lucy. Something about it bothered her, something beyond all of the weird things that Lucy had said about Nora and the ghost of Mary. It was something Kate couldn’t quite put her finger on, but it was hanging around like a melody she’d heard but couldn’t recall in its entirety.
“Kate, what did you learn about your partner?”
Kate looked up, startled to hear Jackson speaking to her. She hadn’t been paying any attention. Now, apparently, it was her turn to talk. But what could she say? She hadn’t learned anything about Lucy, really. But everyone was looking at her. She had to say something or she’d look like an idiot.
“Oh, um, I learned that my partner is a twin,” she said. It was the only thing she could think of to say about Lucy. At least, it was the only thing that wasn’t mean. “I learned that my partner is delusional” wouldn’t really cut it, even if it was what Kate would like to say.
Jackson nodded. “That’s a start,” he said. “Next time try to find out more about your partner’s personality, though, and not just the surface things. It’s important to learn how to really listen to what people are saying.”
Kate nodded, feeling herself turn red. She knew that saying that Lucy was a twin was stupid. But what else could she say? And what could Lucy possibly say about her? She hadn’t asked Kate about anything except her favorite color, and saying that Kate’s favorite color was blue would be even stupider than Kate’s saying that Lucy was a twin. At least someone will look dumber than I did, Kate comforted herself.
Eventually, Jackson got around the circle and came to Lucy. When it was her turn she looked up and said, “I learned that my partner trusts people too easily,” she said clearly, looking right at Kate.
Kate felt herself growing angry. She wanted to stand up and deny what Lucy had just said. Then she reminded herself that probably no one even remembered who had partnered with whom. No one was looking at her, she noticed. No one except Lucy, who continued to stare at her in that irritating way she had.
How dare she? Kate thought bitterly. She made that up because she wanted to make me angry. She doesn’t know anything about me. Nothing. She didn’t even ask me any questions.
“That’s an interesting observation,” Jackson said to Lucy. “That’s the kind of thing I was hoping would come out in the interviews. It shows that you really got your partner to open up to you. Good work.”
Hearing Jackson praise Lucy, Kate got even madder. Lucy hadn’t gotten her to open up. She hadn’t done anything at all except make some wild accusations about her sister.
Sister. The word suddenly resonated in Kate’s mind. She looked at Lucy, who was once more looking at the floor. Sister. She’d been talking about her sister. Of course, Kate thought. Why didn’t I realize it before? Like the answer to a math problem’s suddenly coming clear, Kate realized what had been nagging at her. I’m afraid my sister is
going to kill me. The words came back to Kate as if she’d just heard them. And now she knew whose voice had spoken them. It was Lucy’s. The voice yesterday had had the same dead tone to it that Lucy’s did. There was no mistaking it now that the connection had been made.
She really is crazy, thought Kate. Not only was Lucy saying all kinds of ridiculous things about what Nora had told them and what they’d seen with their own eyes, but she wanted Kate to believe that Nora was trying to kill her. Now Kate almost felt sorry for her. How could she believe something so absurd? Kate tried to imagine Nora hurting anyone, let alone her own sister, and she knew that it just wasn’t possible.
“Well, I think this exercise was a great start to the day,” Jackson said when the last person had spoken. “You’ve learned a lot about each other.”
We sure have, Kate thought, glancing at Lucy and thinking about everything she had to tell the others when she saw them later that afternoon. We sure have.
CHAPTER 8
“Psst.”
Cooper looked around to see where the hissing sound was coming from. At first she thought it was just one of the hotel’s old clunky radiators rattling. But when the sound came again, she looked harder for the source. She found it in the form of Kate, who was standing in the doorway looking at her with a strange expression. When she saw Cooper looking at her, Kate motioned for her to come to the door.
“Why didn’t you just come in?” Cooper asked her friend. “We’re on break anyway. It’s not like you’re interrupting anything.”
“I don’t want Nora to see me,” Kate said, dragging Cooper into the hallway.
“Nora?” Cooper said, sounding confused. “Why wouldn’t you want her to see you?”
“Something weird happened in path this morning,” explained Kate. “Lucy said some stuff about Nora and Mary.”
“What kind of stuff?” asked Cooper.
Kate shook her head. “It’s all crazy,” she said. “She said that Nora knows more about Mary’s death than she’s telling us. She said she took the diary from Nora and burned it. She said that Nora knows who killed Mary and that she’s planning something.”
“Planning something?” Cooper said. “Did she say what?”
“No,” said Kate. “She said she doesn’t know what it is.”
Cooper sighed. “This all sounds like some desperate attempt to get your attention,” she said. “She says these vague things and doesn’t really give you any details.”
“There’s something else,” said Kate. “She thinks that Nora is going to kill her.”
Cooper rolled her eyes. “Right,” she said slowly. “That’s definitely what’s going on. How could we not notice? Kate, this girl is clearly insane.”
“I know,” replied Kate.
“Then, why are you telling me this?” Cooper asked.
“I don’t know, really,” answered Kate. “Just so you know what’s going on, I guess.”
“You don’t believe her, do you?” said Cooper.
“No!” exclaimed Kate. “I think she’s making it all up just to get attention, like you said.” She paused. “But maybe Nora does know more than she’s telling us about Mary’s death.”
“Why would she hide something from us?” Cooper said. “She wants to help Mary, remember?”
“Like I said, I don’t know,” said Kate. “I don’t think she’s keeping anything from us either. But maybe there’s something she doesn’t think is important. I just don’t think we should overlook anything.”
Cooper nodded. “You’re right,” she said. “I’ll see if I can get Nora to remember anything else. Thanks for telling me about Lucy. I’m sorry you’re the one she’s dumping on, though.”
Kate snorted. “It’s just another challenge, right?” she joked.
“I’ve got to get back,” said Cooper. “I’ll talk to Nora and see what I can find out. I’ll see you later this afternoon.”
Kate left, and Cooper returned to the room where the others were taking their lunch break before getting back to work.
“Where’d you disappear to?” asked Nora, walking up with a soda in her hand.
“Oh,” Cooper said. “Bathroom break. Say, I’ve been thinking a lot about Mary and what’s going on.”
Nora opened her soda and took a sip. “And?” she asked.
“Well,” said Cooper, “I’m just wondering if maybe there’s something you’re forgetting about.”
“Like what?” Nora asked her. “I told you everything I know.”
“I know,” Cooper said. “But maybe there’s something you’re overlooking. You know, something that doesn’t seem important to you but that might be really important.”
“I don’t know what it could be,” replied Nora.
“Maybe we should start at the beginning again,” Cooper said, sitting on a couch and motioning for Nora to sit next to her. “Tell me everything.”
Nora sat down. “Like I told you, I found Mary’s diary.”
“Where did you find it?” asked Cooper, interrupting.
“I was cleaning out one of the rooms,” answered Nora. “It was one of the ones we hadn’t redone yet. There were some loose boards in the floor, and when I moved one of them I found the diary underneath it.”
“And what kind of stuff was in the diary?” Cooper inquired.
Nora shrugged. “Just the usual girl stuff,” she said. “She wrote about what was going on at the hotel, and about her friends. It was pretty boring, actually. Oh, and she wrote about this guy she had a crush on. That was probably the most interesting thing. He was a gardener here at the hotel.”
“Sounds pretty routine,” said Cooper. “You said she used to spend a lot of time in the tower room. Do you know what she did there?”
“I think she just wanted to get away,” answered Nora.
“From?” Cooper asked.
“Her family,” Nora replied. “You know how it is when you’re a teenager.”
“Oh, do I,” Cooper said, grinning. “Now, you said that you don’t know anything about how she died, right?”
Nora nodded. “I’ve never found out anything about that,” she said.
“She was really young,” Cooper said thoughtfully. “It had to have been an accident of some kind.”
“That’s what I think,” said Nora. “But then she said that she was killed, and by someone who knew her.”
“We need to find out more about her death,” Cooper said. “Is there anyone who might know something?”
“Not that I can think of,” Nora answered. “It was a long time ago.”
“And you’ve never asked your parents about it?”
Nora shook her head. “No,” she said. “Like I told you, they wouldn’t be too thrilled if they knew I’d been hanging around up in that room—especially if I told them I’d been talking to a ghost.”
“But they seem so cool about this kind of stuff,” said Cooper.
“They are, mostly,” Nora agreed. “But I think the idea of the hotel’s being haunted is easier for them to accept than knowing that it’s really haunted, if you know what I mean.”
Cooper thought about her own house, which was haunted by the ghost of its original owner. The story about the ghost was a big draw for the tourists who flocked to the historic house for tours, but when Cooper had actually seen it as a child her mother had been less than thrilled about it. “I know what you mean,” she told Nora.
“Can we all come back together?” Maia was standing in the center of the room, motioning for them to recircle.
“We’ll talk about this more tonight,” Cooper told Nora. “And don’t worry, we’ll figure out what happened to Mary and help her do what she needs to do.”
“I know you will,” Nora said, squeezing Cooper’s hand. “And thanks.”
“Any time,” Cooper told her. “Now, let’s go see what’s next on our agenda.”
The girls joined the others in the circle. They had finished their song that morning, and Maia had hinted that they w
ould be doing something really fun for the afternoon session. Now she stood in the center of the circle with a mysterious smile on her face.
“We’re going to play a game this afternoon,” she said. “Yesterday we wrote a song based on our interactions with the element of air. That went really well, thanks especially to Cooper.”
Several people applauded, and Cooper found herself blushing. Then Maia continued. “Today we’re going to do something else designed to help you release your creativity. Only instead of writing a song, we’re going to write a story.”
There were groans from some of the class members, and Maia fixed them with a look. “You didn’t think you could write a song, either,” she said. “And look how well that came out. A story is just another way of using words.”
“What are we supposed to write about?” asked Nora.
“That’s the fun part,” Maia answered. “You’re each going to write the first half of a story. It can be about anything you like, as long as it’s a couple of pages long. Then we’re going to exchange those first halves with each other and you’re going to write the second half of someone else’s story.”
“How can you finish someone else’s story?” asked one of the men.
“By using your imagination,” Maia explained. “This exercise challenges you in several ways. First, you have to come up with a story that someone else can take over and do something with. Second, you have to take what someone else has started and finish it. Then we’re going to read the stories to each other and see what you’ve all come up with. Now, get started. You have an hour to write your first halves. Then we’ll switch and you’ll spend another hour finishing the stories. And then we’ll have the readings.”
Cooper opened her notebook and took out a pen. “Do we have to sit here to do this?” she asked.
“No,” Maia said. “You can go anywhere you want to, as long as you’re back here in an hour.”
Cooper nodded, then turned to Nora. “I’m going to go work on this somewhere else,” she said. “I can’t write with other people around.”
“Okay,” Nora said. “I’m going to stay here.”
“See you in an hour,” Cooper said, getting up.
