by Lisa Roecker
“I think you’ve watched one too many reruns of that conspiracy theory show.” I rolled my eyes and tried to push my fingers under the edges of the trapdoor to no avail. There must have been a latch on the inside or something. As I knelt beside the trapdoor, I pushed away the thought of Grace doing the same on the night of the fire.
“Come on, it’s getting late. We’ll figure this out tomorrow.” Liam grabbed my hand, and I let him lead me away. It felt nice to be led by an actual living, breathing person for once. Following a ghost hadn’t really gotten me all that far lately.
The three of us made our way back out into the cool October night. We might not have found everything we were looking for, but we had caught a quick glimpse of the Brotherhood. And based on what I’d seen, I was beginning to worry that if they had played a role in Grace’s death, the truth might be lost forever.
Chapter 44
I’d like to believe that if secret tunnels really ran beneath the school, they’d be documented on the school’s original blueprints. Unfortunately all of the books about Pemberly Brown at the library had those particular pages removed, and the rest of the books were out of print. Secret societies were very thorough.
There was only one person I trusted enough to ask. I cornered Dorothy at the library after school. She was in her usual spot by the entrance, keeping an eye on things.
“Hi, there, Kate. Don’t usually see you around here during normal hours,” she said with a smile.
“Ha. Ha. For your information, I’m actually here to see you.”
“Are you, now? What could you possibly want with an ancient security guard?” she asked, amused.
“I’m actually writing a paper on the history of Pemberly Brown, and rumor has it you were a History teacher way back when.”
Dorothy’s smile disappeared. “I just remembered that I have to check on something over in the main building.”
“No worries. I’ll walk with you.”
We walked out into the October sunshine and followed the brick path back to the main building.
“So…you used to be a History teacher? When did you decide to change jobs?”
“Well, that’s complicated.”
Okay, this was harder than I’d thought it would be. Considering that my current objective was to get information out of Dorothy, I thought of Seth, the Great Inquisitor himself and considered, “What would Seth do?” The answer was simple. Seth would ask more questions. Better yet, he’d ask the same question in a different way until he got the information he was after. I gave it another shot.
“So you were fired?”
Her eyes darted around the campus, like she was checking to make sure someone wasn’t listening to our entire conversation.
“No, definitely not fired. I still work here, don’t I?”
“No offense, but isn’t security guard sort of a demotion?”
“Well, that all depends on how you look at it,” she replied.
Okay, clearly this wasn’t going well. I mean, the woman was sealed tighter than the CIA’s files. Time to play hardball.
“Huh, well, from my perspective I’m sort of wondering if you were kicked out by some crazy misogynistic secret society called the Brotherhood.” I forced a laugh, just in case she had no idea what I was talking about so I could play it off as a joke.
The color almost completely drained from her face. And she did that thing again where she looked all around, making me feel like I was in a James Bond movie or something.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Kate.” She said it like a sniper gun was trained on her.
“I understand. Maybe you could at least tell me where I might be able to find blueprints for the school? I tried all of the libraries, but there’s nothing. I’m interested in finding out if there might be tunnels—”
“Sorry, no. Can’t help you there either,” she said, cutting me off.
By now we’d made our way into the history building and were stopped right in front of Alumni Hall, Station 6. Respice, adspice, prospice. “Look to the past, the present, the future.”
Dorothy stopped in front of all the alumni pictures and put her hands on my shoulders.
“I’m sorry I can’t help, Kate, but you need to leave this alone.” And then, so quickly I thought I might have imagined it, she winked. “Now I’ve got to be going. Take care of yourself. Things will turn around.”
Well, that’s just great. Real helpful, Dorothy. And thanks a lot, Grace, for leading me on some kind of wild-goose chase. I mean what exactly was I doing here? Yeah, these societies might exist, but even if they played a role in Grace’s death, it wasn’t like I’d ever be able to prove it. And who the hell was going to believe me when I started ranting and raving about all this stuff anyway? I’d sound like some crazy, old conspiracy theorist. Or pretty much exactly like Seth in sixty years.
I turned around to look at the pictures that lined the walls of the Academy, students from years past. And there it was, right in front of me.
A picture of Josephine Reynolds and a plaque underneath identifying her as the lead architect behind the combined campuses of Pemberly and Brown. I remembered the book then and its description of Josephine’s accomplishments. I ran my finger over the letters of her name and continued on to the dedication plaque beneath. There, listed in script, were two names: Alistair and Porter Reynolds. Her grandsons.
Guess that explains the wink.
Of course Alistair probably wouldn’t be all that helpful, given that he was in the Brotherhood and somehow entangled in this whole mess. But I thought back to Porter whining for his brother to take him to guitar practice. Something told me he might be a totally different story.
Thank you, Dorothy. And hello, Porter.
Chapter 45
Lucky for us, we didn’t have to search hard to find good old Porter during lunch. As usual, he was sitting underneath one of the massive oaks in the courtyard. His shaggy hair hung in his face as he picked out the notes to John Lennon’s “Imagine” on his guitar. Based on the warbled tune carrying across the courtyard, those lessons really weren’t paying off.
Fortunately Porter’s small but devoted fan club of first-years didn’t seem to mind as they sat fanned out in a semicircle around the tree, sighing and nodding along to the music. To their credit, so far the girls had suppressed the urge to join arms and sway.
“John Lennon’s got to be rolling in his grave right now,” Liam whispered.
“Nah, he’s probably happy that people still get action after playing his songs,” I replied.
“True. It’s Yoko that Porter should be watching out for. She’d kick his ass.”
The song finally wrapped up, and Porter graced his fans with a cheesy smile and told them that was it for the day. The girls mock pouted and giggled, promising they’d be back for more tomorrow.
Seth puffed out his chest. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” The look on his face was sheer determination. He had insisted on approaching Porter first, since he was tutoring him in Calculus.
Liam and I watched as Seth marched over to PB’s resident singing sensation and began talking and making grand gestures with his arms. Porter looked confused, then annoyed, and finally dismissive.
Seth walked back to where Liam and I were waiting on the bench outside the main building and shrugged, kicking grass with the toe of his Puma.
“I tried, but he says he doesn’t know anything about his grandma. Can’t help.”
I remembered the moment between Grace and Porter in the lake at Nativitas and realized there were two very good reasons that Seth wasn’t equipped to handle the situation as well as I was. I unbuttoned the top buttons on the shirt of my uniform, adjusted the “girls” to achieve maximum attention, released my hair from its ponytail, and licked my lips. I looked over at Liam and Seth. “I’m going in.”
Seth stared at me, mouth hanging wide open like some kind of redheaded fish, while Liam watched me with a wry smile. “Knock ’em dead,” he s
aid with a laugh.
I strode over to where Porter was snapping his guitar case shut and cleared my throat.
As he stood, I noticed his eyes travel up my legs, pause at my chest, and finally meet my eyes.
“Well, hello again, Kate,” he said, his eyes already flirting. “I was wondering when you’d come around.”
“Yeah, well after hearing your completely unique take on ‘Imagine,’ how could I resist?” I punched him lightly on the shoulder and wanted to kick myself for the awkward gesture. Totally embarrassing, even though I was only dealing with a second-rate Casanova.
He grabbed my hand and lifted it to his lips.
“That’s got to be the nicest thing I’ve heard all day.”
“Don’t get too excited. I didn’t say I liked it. Besides, it was just a song.” I batted my eyelashes, hoping he liked it when girls played hard to get.
“It’s never just a song,” he replied and licked his lips. Eww. Maybe this was working too well.
“Yeah, anyway, I was just wondering…I’m doing a project for school on the history of PB, and I think your grandmother designed the building.”
“Sure did, but unfortunately she’s dead, so no interviews unless you’re up for a séance.” He grabbed his guitar case and began walking toward the main building. I followed.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. She was a crazy old woman, completely paranoid about everyone and everything. She scared the shit out of me as a kid, and between you and me, I wasn’t all that broken up about her dying when I was seven.”
We walked past Liam and Seth, who were sitting on the bench like a couple of rejects. I could feel Liam’s eyes on me and knew he was shooting daggers at Porter. It was amazing that Porter didn’t notice, but I guess when your dad’s income rivaled Steve Jobs’s, you didn’t much care about people staring you down.
Porter held the door for me as we walked into the school.
“Listen, I can’t find any of the information I need at the library. I want to understand the history of all the buildings on campus and how they were renovated at the time of the merger. Do you have some of her old blueprints? Anything that might help?”
Porter stopped and looked at me—or, rather, looked at the “girls” again.
“Actually, I think we might have some of her old crap in our attic. Why don’t you swing by after school to check it out?”
“Really? That would be so great. Thank you so much.”
“Consider it a date, Kate,” he said with a wink.
“Great. I’ll be there by four.”
I turned to run back outside to tell the guys the good news and ran right into both of them.
“Er…hi, great news—”
“We heard. It’s a date, right?” Liam sounded annoyed.
“Yeah, it’s a date, Kate,” Seth echoed.
“Whatever. There could be some valuable clues in his grandma’s old junk. I’m sure she was part of the”—I looked around to see if anyone was listening—“Sisterhood.”
“Fine, but we’re coming with you.” Liam crossed his arms across his chest.
“Yeah. No way you’re going to be alone with that hustler in an attic.” Seth copied Liam’s gesture and crossed his arms as well.
Why was I suddenly feeling so outnumbered?
But if I was being honest with myself, I’d take the dramatic arm-crossing and protective gestures any day if it meant I didn’t have to do this alone. Something about my knights in not-so-shining armor made me happy to play their damsel in semi-distress.
Chapter 46
The Reynolds family lived in one of those gorgeous historical mansions previously occupied by families like the Rockefellers and the Mittals. As Liam maneuvered his Jeep up the stone driveway, I began to get a little nervous. After all, Alistair was Porter’s older brother and a member of the secret society potentially responsible for killing my friend. If he was home, there was no way I’d make it an inch past the doorstep.
But I knew Liam would call the whole thing off if he sensed the slightest hesitation from me, so I forced myself to paste on a bright smile.
“Ready?” I asked.
“I guess. Don’t you want to button up your shirt?” Liam asked.
“It’s fine.”
“Yeah, it’s fine…” Seth echoed in a faraway voice.
“Okay, eww. I’m buttoning. I’m buttoning.”
The three of us marched up to the front entrance and into another time. Four Roman-style pillars towered around us, and a pair of carved marble lions guarded the entry. An ornate iron R hung from the massive double door, and even the doorbell looked intricate and historic. The surveillance monitors hanging above antique-looking sconces were the only vestige of the twenty-first century.
“We’re being watched,” I whispered, nodding to the cameras while reaching to ring the bell. I hoped Alistair wasn’t around to see. Moments later, the large door creaked open and there stood Porter.
He looked confused. “Kate?”
“Hi! Hope you don’t mind that I brought my friends. They’re, er…in my group for the project. This is Liam and Seth. Gorgeous house, by the way.”
There were a few rounds of boy nods, and Porter reluctantly let us into his house.
The inside of the house was even more magnificent than the outside. Whoever had designed the interior had preserved the history of each room, making it feel as though we were literally stepping back in time as we walked through the door. Granted, motion sensors were installed in every corner and surveillance cameras followed our every move, but it really was pretty incredible.
“You didn’t mention that this was a group project,” Porter whispered loudly as he led us down a hallway decorated with paintings that looked like they should have been hanging in a museum.
“Oops, sorry. It must have slipped my mind,” I responded, trying to stop my jaw from hitting the floor as I admired the art. I elbowed Liam, who was just as impressed as me, and he shook his head in awe.
Porter guided us around to what would have originally been used as the servants’ quarters. “Whatever. These stairs lead up to the attic.” A staircase not nearly as grand as the one we’d passed on our way in led up to the third floor. “All my grandma’s old stuff is up there. Just don’t touch the jewelry, okay? My mom would flip her shit.”
We slowly climbed the rickety stairs to the attic. It smelled of wood and mold, and as we neared the top, we broke through into a layer of moist heat despite the cool October afternoon.
I knelt down and surveyed the attic. It was full of random junk. Old hatboxes, broken furniture, and discarded clothing lined the walls of the cramped space.
“Where do we even begin?” Seth asked, pulling a packet of fruit snacks from his pocket.
“I don’t know, but we’d better get started,” Liam said, grabbing a box out of the corner and wrinkling his nose as he opened it and pulled out a crusty-looking wedding bouquet.
We went through box after box of junk. I found love letters, old gloves, a kimono, and loads of old photographs, but nothing about Pemberly Brown.
“What about this?” Liam asked, pulling an old campus map out of one of the boxes. “Someone marked on it.”
Seth and I carefully walked across the beams to where Liam sat. I traced my finger across the page.
“This must be from before Brown merged with Pemberly. She must have used it to map out the new campus,” I said.
Seth lost interest and returned to the trunk he’d been rummaging through. I gave Liam a pat on the shoulder.
“Maybe next time,” I joked. He rolled his eyes at me.
“Hey, look, guys,” Seth called. “Coconuts!”
Seth strapped on a coconut bra and tied a grass skirt around his narrow waist. When he started doing the hula, I reached into the box nearest me and threw a deflated soccer ball at him. He ducked and the ball hit a shelf, knocking over even more random crap.
“Watch it, Lowry,” Seth squeaked.
“Everything okay up there?” Porter’s voice traveled through the rafters.
“Um, yeah, sorry!” I called back.
Seth bent to pick up yet another one of my messes but instead became distracted by a random piece of crap that I’d knocked over with the ball.
“I think I’ve got something,” he yelled.
He carefully stepped over to us with a long white tube in his hands.
“Check this out,” he said and pointed the end of the tube in our direction so we could see.
The Sisterhood crest.
“Nice,” Liam said with a smile.
“Open it, open it!” I cried.
Seth yanked off the cap and slid out huge papers. Blueprints.
“Oh, my God, this is it,” he breathed. “This is everything! It’s the plans for the whole campus. That’s the new main building right there, and look, there’s the lower school.”
“What do all these lines mean?” Liam asked. He pointed to tubes that ran throughout the upper school.
“Hmm…let me see, I can’t really tell. Maybe ductwork or something?” Seth squinted at the documents and flipped them around trying to figure out what the lines could mean.
“And what are all those pictures of the crest?” I asked. The crest was positioned on top of the clean lines of the blueprints at seemingly random spots.
“What do you mean?” Seth asked, still distracted by the mysterious tubes running throughout the blueprints.
“Like that, right there by the clock tower,” I pointed. “And there’s another one by…what’s that? The auditorium. And see right there, that one’s marking the chapel.”
“It’s the stations. They’re marking the stations,” Liam said.
He was right. Each of the Twelve Stations was marked, but then a larger version of the Pemberly crest was right in the center of campus.
“If they’re marking stations, then what’s that?” I asked pointing to the large symbol.
“I don’t know…maybe that one’s just decoration or something,” he replied.