Sisters of Misery

by Megan Kelley Hall

  Some of the girls cried in fear and humiliation on that night, but not Kate. She’d grown up learning to withstand her older sister’s torments, whether it was pulling the head off a favorite doll or waking up with a large wad of bubble gum gobbed up in her long hair. When Kate was a girl, Kiki Endicott had berated her for crying, telling her that she needed to grow a thicker skin, toughen up. “Life isn’t fair, Kate. The sooner you figure that out, the better.” That was the Endicott mantra.

  Sitting with Kate that day, Maddie felt as if the mantra was true. Life wasn’t fair, and there wasn’t anything that Maddie or Rebecca or Tess or even Cordelia could do to change that. Maddie had to keep up this charade of “friendship” with Kate Endicott if she had any hopes of unraveling Cordelia’s mysterious disappearance.

  After blowing off whoever was on the phone with a “Love ya. Call ya later, hon,” Kate gave Maddie an unprecedented look of concern. But Maddie wasn’t ready to buy it. Not now. Not after knowing what she was capable of. “Maddie, I’m sure Cordelia is fine. Isn’t it true that she used to run away all the time when she was in California?”

  Flustered and angry at her condescending tone, Maddie snapped, “That only happened once. And it was right after her dad died.”

  “Well,” Kate said, sitting back with a self-satisfied look, “my mother told me that your aunt Rebecca was notorious for disappearing when they were teenagers. It must be something that runs in your family.”

  Just as Maddie was about to respond angrily, a flurry of activity erupted down the corridor.

  “What’s going on?” Maddie asked. “Is that Carly back from school?”

  Kate stretched lazily like a cat. “No, it’s not Carly. She’s traveling in Europe.” She took a long drag of her cigarette, returning her attention to Maddie. “Major war room with investors. I’m going to stay clear of them that’s for sure.”

  Maddie gave her a blank stare, so Kate explained. “My parents are putting together some big real estate deal as usual, but they have some major red tape to cut through.” Tapping her cigarette ash into the Waterford crystal ashtray, she smirked. “Actually, you’re probably aware of what’s going on, what with your aunt being locked up in that loony bin. Too bad she’s going to be homeless soon.”

  Kate eyed her, gauging her reaction. Maddie remembered that when dealing with Kate, you had to steel yourself for any cruel comment she might hurl at you. She kept her face blank. “What are you talking about?” Maddie said.

  Kate looked amused. “Ravenswood? It’s getting shut down. Don’t you read the newspaper? There is a growing group in town—my family is just the driving force—that is rallying to force the state to close it down. And when it does get shut down, a beautiful luxury hotel—The Endicott—will be taking its place. I mean, Ravenswood is right in the middle of town, it’s such an eyesore. And all those creepy patients…” She paused long enough to take another drag off her cigarette. She exhaled slowly and waved the smoke away. “All it needs is a little TLC, and it will become a destination resort, complete with waterviews, the latest spa and fitness equipment, a gourmet restaurant, and the thrill of being near the ghosts and witches and other spooky legends of New England history.” She spoke as though she was a tour guide, reading from a book. “And after I graduate with a degree in hotel management, I get to run the place.”

  Maddie shook her head, trying to process the absurdity of the situation. Instead of raising money to fix the hospital for people who were actually in need of therapy and counseling, the wealthy elite of Hawthorne were raising money to turn it into a luxury hotel, putting even more money into people’s pockets that obviously weren’t hurting for it in the first place. Why wasn’t she surprised that the Endicott family was leading the charge?

  “Good for you, Kate,” she sighed.

  Kate batted her eyes. “Well, dear, you know that I’ve always wanted to be a princess. Well, now I’ll be a princess with my very own castle.” Her laugh filled the airy room.

  Disgustedly, Maddie nodded, stood up to leave, then turned back to face her friend once more. “You know, Kate, you may end up the queen of the castle one day, but don’t forget, it’s always going to be known as ‘The Witches’ Castle.’ So I guess that makes you the witch, doesn’t it?”

  “Trust me, Maddie, I’m not the one people are worried about becoming a witch.”

  Chapter 15

  EOH

  THE HORSE-IDEAS & PARTNERSHIPS

  Gradual Development and Steady Progress; Partnership

  with Someone Strong-Willed

  Maddie spotted the sails of Reed Campbell’s boat as she walked down the narrow, winding road that led to the docks. After her brief visit with Kate Endicott, Maddie knew exactly where to find Reed on any given morning. The sailing vessel gleamed from the seemingly endless hours of hard work, sweat, and elbow grease it must have taken to make the boat the envy of all others in the harbor.

  Maddie’s heart pounded a little faster when she caught a glimpse of his sand-colored hair from a distance. Despite their age difference, the gap didn’t seem to matter as much now that he wasn’t officially her teacher.

  Luckily, Reed didn’t need a steady income, as he lived off the interest of his grandfather’s oil company. The one stipulation from his grandfather’s trust, however, was that he had to remain in town to collect it, a requirement that irked most of the townspeople, given the scandal that had surrounded him in the last few months.

  “Any chance of a storm out there?” Maddie called out to her former teacher. He turned in her direction and squinted into the early morning sun. Lifting the baseball cap off his head, he combed his hands through his longish dirty blond hair and tugged the cap back on again.

  “Hope not,” he called back. “Weather calls for some bumpy conditions this afternoon, but I’ll take my chances.”

  “Well,” Maddie said as she walked down the dock to the side of the boat, drawing on some unknown well of courage that existed somewhere within her, “have you got enough room in there for one of your students?”

  Am I insane? Maddie thought. She knew that her mother would kill her if she was seen talking to Reed Campbell. He’d never officially been cleared as a suspect, but Maddie wanted desperately to believe that he could never have anything to do with Cordelia’s vanishing, even though he did look a little haggard these days. But Maddie let her heart get the better of her head. Reed squinted at her for a moment or two, as if he was trying to decide how to act in front of one of his former students—the cousin of the girl that he had been a suspect in the disappearance of, no less. He said casually, “Hey there, Maddie. It’s been a while.”

  Reed held her gaze for a few beats, his crystal blue eyes glistening in the sunlight. An awkward silence hung between them, and for a moment, Maddie didn’t want to be Cordelia’s cousin; she didn’t want to be a teenager. “Well, don’t mind my saying this, but I’m probably the last person that I would think you’d want to talk to right now,” he offered tentatively.

  “I know that you had nothing to do with her disappearance…you couldn’t have,” Maddie blurted out before she could stop herself. “But I do have some questions. I—I need to know things about her. You were close—” She noticed his jaw tighten. “Not in that way, I mean. I…I don’t know. I just thought…”

  His face darkened for a moment, and he looked out toward the horizon. Maddie’s confidence fled, and she was ready to turn and run back up the road, away from the marina when he said, “I’ll tell you everything I know, Maddie. But honestly, most of what I have to say—and there’s really not all that much—is already on police record. You can go look it up for yourself.”

  Maddie dug her foot into the planks of the salt-worn dock and stared down at her hands. “I want to hear it from you, Mr. Campbell.”

  “Reed,” he smiled, leaning against the handrails. “I’m not your teacher anymore.”

  Maddie tried not to indulge in her schoolgirl fantasies, but having him look at her that
way, like she wasn’t just another student, was almost too much for her to handle.

  “So how fast does this thing go?” Maddie nodded toward the boat.

  Reed hesitated for a moment, eyeing her suspiciously. Then his dimples deepened, and he gave a gruff laugh as he turned away from her, muttering quietly, “What the hell, I’ve got nothin’ else to lose.” He reached into a cooler and grabbed a beer.

  What am I getting myself into? Maddie thought as she stepped into the boat.

  He looked at her again and shook his head. “Never mind,” he said smiling. “Now, Maddie, as your former teacher, I’m supposed to keep you safe.” She wasn’t sure what he was talking about until he reached under the bench, grabbed a life vest, and threw it to her.

  “I’m a big girl,” Maddie laughed uneasily. “I can take care of myself.” But could she? They would be heading out toward Misery Island where no one had been able to come to Cordelia’s rescue, no one could hear her cries for help.

  He eyed her warily, then his square jaw slid easily into a boyish grin. “I’m sure you can, my dear.”

  Maddie looked around the boat. Sleeping bag, beer cans, cigarettes, wine bottles. The inside of the boat was a disgusting mess. No wonder Kate had made fun of him. Despite living on a hundred-thousand dollar boat and sleeping in Brooks Brothers clothes, he lived like a homeless person. A very well-dressed, insanely handsome homeless man.

  As he guided the boat out of the harbor, he turned back to her, his eyes now hidden behind his wraparound RayBan sunglasses. “Now, what did you want to know about Cordelia?”

  “Well, I know that she spent a lot of time with you after classes—er, helping you with tutoring and all.” Maddie watched Reed carefully for a reaction. His body language never altered—his posture showed no sign of tension or guardedness. He simply nodded his head, looking out over the bow of the boat. “I’m just trying to retrace her steps. Talk to everyone who was—I don’t know—special to her.”

  “Well,” he said. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Maddie.” There was no sign of guilt or sadness in his face. Then he added, “I just wouldn’t get your hopes up too high. Sometimes, some people just don’t want to be found.”

  Maddie nodded, considering the possibility that he could be right. But she was still determined to get some answers. No matter what.

  “Why do you—and everyone else—think that she just ran away?” Maddie asked desperately. “Of all people, you should know how devoted she was to her mother. It would kill her to know that Rebecca’s lost her mind over all this.”

  She thought she noticed Reed giving her a sidelong glance when she uttered the word kill.

  He carefully guided the boat through the harbor, saluting various people who were out on their boats. Most turned their heads and busied themselves with something else, pretending not to see the “fallen son” of Hawthorne.

  “Beautiful,” Reed said. “Just when people are starting to get off my case about your cousin, now they see us together.” Then he turned to her and said sharply, “Just don’t go falling off the boat or tripping and hitting your head or anything. I’ve got all the grief I can handle right now.”

  Maddie heard him mutter under his breath, “Teenagers.”

  They sat in silence until they reached the mouth of the harbor. Reed’s mood seemed to lift as they made their way out into the open water.

  “Where to, Captain?” he asked, smiling as he guided the boat out of the harbor.

  Once they were out on the Atlantic, Reed let her steer the boat for a little while. Their hands grazed a couple of times, sending ticklish tingles up her spine. When he stood behind her, helping her guide the wheel, shouting directions over the howl of the wind into her ear, Maddie was overcome by the juxtaposition of his strength and masculinity, and the gentle way he treated her. His bad mood seemed to disappear the further they got from Hawthorne.

  When he looked at her with those piercing blue eyes, she felt the world around her drop away, yet Cordelia was with them at all times. Reed’s possible involvement with her disappearance stayed in the back of her mind, wriggling in like a worm.

  “Did Cordelia ever say anything about Kate or Trevor or anyone to you? Did they ever say anything to you about her?”

  His face grew dark for a moment. The mention of Kate, the person responsible for spreading rumors about their illicit affair, seemed to send him back to his gruff, prickly mood.

  “Kate says a lot of things. Most of them are lies. You should know that by now,” he said, his jaw twitching in anger. “I have no idea what my little brother sees in that—that—” He stopped for a moment and chose his words carefully, “—girl. And my brother said the type of things about Cordelia that most teenage boys would say about a beautiful girl that wouldn’t give ’em the time of day.”

  Maddie bristled a little when she heard him call Cordelia beautiful.

  “So you never thought there was anything going on with Cordelia and your brother?”

  Reed turned and stared at her for a moment. “Do you think there was anything going on between them?”

  “She thought he was a disgusting pig,” Maddie said.

  “Well,” he laughed. “Then there’s your answer.”

  “But I’d bet that she flirted with him to piss Kate off.”

  “That’s not too hard to do—piss off Kate Endicott.”

  Maddie agreed. “You’re telling me.”

  Later that afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to sink into a wash of pinks and purples over the horizon, they pulled back into the harbor. Reed helped her onto dry land, letting her lean on him as she hoisted herself onto the dock. Her knees felt a little shaky, and Maddie almost toppled back into the boat.

  “Easy there,” he said, jumping up out of the boat and putting his hands on her sides. “Just wait a minute or two to get your land legs back.” Maddie had forgotten what the transition period felt like, going from a boat onto solid ground. It was almost like those first few minutes after coming off of a treadmill—your body feels like it’s still moving even when you are perfectly still. Or the heady feeling of a first kiss.

  Reed bent down a bit and peered into her eyes. “You okay there, sailor?”

  Maddie blushed and nodded. It was then that Maddie felt eyes on her and turned to see a bunch of Hawthorne old-timers milling around the docks. Nothing ever changed in this town—people just waited around to collect any piece of gossip that came their way. Reed must have noticed them as well, because he quickly removed his hands from her hips and shoved them into his pockets, backing away from her a few steps.

  “Well, okay then,” he stammered. “If you’re sure that you’re alright, I’m going to go out and moor this boat.” He spun on his heels and jumped back into the boat.

  Just as he started unraveling the rope from the dock, Maddie called out, “Reed!”

  He looked up at her, squinting.

  “Thanks. I had fun,” she offered.

  He nodded his head in agreement. “Anytime, sweet darlin’, anytime.”

  And then they went their separate ways.

  As Maddie turned the corner onto Main Street, her legs went weak beneath her again, but not from the sea.

  Sweet darlin’.

  That’s what Cordelia’s admirer called her in those unsigned love letters that Maddie had found in her locker. Despite his denials, could Reed have been involved—even in love—with Cordelia?

  She ran back to the house, determined to find more clues in those letters that would link them to Reed. She could compare the handwriting on the letters to the ones from her English papers. When she got to her room, breathless, she knew right away that something was wrong. Her room felt a bit off, as if someone had been in there recently. She ran to her bedside table and yanked open the drawer.

  The letters were gone.

  Chapter 16

  MANNAZ

  THE MAN-JUDGEMENT

  The Man who Watches; Friends and Enemies

 
Seeking Middle Road

  With everything that was running through her head that night—the boat ride with Reed, the missing letters, the conversation with Kate—Maddie hardly slept. She woke just after daybreak. Craving her daily caffeine fix—one that Abigail firmly disapproved of—Maddie realized she had to get out of the house.

  Maddie crept out of the house, careful not to wake anyone. Once down at the waterfront, she was thrilled to see that The Coffee Shack, which catered to all the sailors and fishermen who began their days long before most people reached over to shut off their alarm clock each morning, had already opened its doors and rolled out the tattered striped awning. After grabbing her coffee, Maddie walked outside along the harbor front, gazing out at the boats bobbing and swaying off the glinting waters, scanning the buoys for Reed’s boat. It was gone. He must have taken it up the coast to Portsmouth. Maddie recalled him saying that he preferred spending time in the laid-back, artsy community of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the rigid social code of Hawthorne.

  Maddie pictured him out on the ocean, his boyish face slightly grizzled by a few days of beard growth, the wind tangling his sandy hair. Even though he represented everything she hated about prep school boys—the trust-fund mentality, the irresponsibility, the Peter Pan syndrome—plus the fact that he was her former teacher, Maddie couldn’t prevent the return of her old schoolgirl crush on him.

  She had turned those letters around in her mind every which way, trying to convince herself that even if they had been from Reed, they were harmless. Just a harmless flirtation. Nothing more. There was nothing sinister in those pages.

  But where had the letters gone? Perhaps Tess had gone into her room and thrown away the letters, not realizing that they were of any importance. Tess had been doing more and more odd things lately—roaming the yard in her nightgown, talking to herself late at night, opening and closing the basement door for no reason—so throwing away a stack of letters wouldn’t be completely out of character.