Sisters of Misery

by Megan Kelley Hall

  “Oh, I’m not scared. I’m too old to get scared of the dead. It’s the living that I’m worried about.” She clucked her tongue and gave out a whoop of laughter, chattering to herself as she pushed away from the table and moved out of the kitchen. Maddie could hear her giggling to herself all the way up the stairs, mumbling to herself that “the dead can’t hurt ya, but the living sure can” before slamming her bedroom door.

  Maddie had settled into bed with a book when she first heard the crying.

  “Tess,” Maddie murmured, shoving the covers away. “I’m coming.”

  She quickly moved up the steps toward Tess’s room. The sounds became louder and clearer. Upon reaching the door, the crying stopped as she raised her fist to knock.

  Silence. “Are you okay, Tess? I’m coming in now.”

  There was no answer.

  Maddie turned the glass doorknob, pushing her way into her grandmother’s room. The only sound was the night breeze blowing through an open window and the rise and fall of Tess’s sleep-heavy breath. Confused, Maddie made her way across the room and closed the window. Tess stirred. Maddie stood still for a moment, not wanting to startle her grandmother.

  “Who’s there? Leave me alone!” Tess shouted, squinting up at her, confused.

  “It’s just me, Grams,” Maddie assured her. “I’m closing your window. You’re going to catch a terrible cold if you sleep with it open like that.”

  “I didn’t open it. That girl did. She’s always doing things like that.”

  “Tess, there is no girl, okay?” Maddie said firmly, her voice rising. Her eyes darted around the darkened room, taking in every corner. Maddie moved over to the window and peered out at the spindly arms of the oak tree. No one would be able to climb it without being noticed by a neighbor. Not taking any chances, she swung the heavy latch on the old window and pulled the shades down tight.

  “Tess, I want you to keep these windows locked from now on. Call me if you hear anything else or if you need me, understand?” Maddie whispered, trying to calm the pounding in her chest. She bent down closer to Tess, listening for her answer, but her grandmother had already drifted back to sleep.

  Maddie was making her way out of the room when something sharp dug into the arch of her foot. “Damn!” Maddie cried out. Tess mumbled unintelligibly and then rolled back onto her side. Reaching down to the floor, Maddie’s fingers caught on something jagged attached to a cord. She brought it over to the window to get a better look at it.

  It was Cordelia’s quartz crystal necklace. Where had it come from? Maddie held it up so it hung directly in her line of vision; the moonlight streamed through making it shimmer. She slipped it into her pocket and silently exited the room.

  It wasn’t until she was back in her room that she remembered her reason for going upstairs in the first place. She’d been so startled by finding Cordelia’s necklace that she had forgotten all about the crying.

  Perhaps it was Tess in her sleep. Or maybe a stray cat was prowling outside the window—the lonely cries of cats in heat can almost sound like a child wailing in the night. But the cries seemed too close, too real for any of those explanations. As she got into bed and pulled the covers up tight, she thought of the scary stories that Cordelia used to tell her—about the lonely wails of banshees that crouched beneath windowsills foretelling a death in the family.

  And then at that weightless moment right before sleep, a time when the mind is unfettered and often has the most brilliant and true thoughts, only to have them slip away once the shape-shifting light of daybreak creeps in, causing the memories from the night before to scatter and hide—at that moment, Cordelia’s quote sunk in.

  For the love of God, the words came back to her from Reed Campbell’s literature class. In pace requiescat. As Maddie tossed and turned that night, the gruesome Edgar Allan Poe short story, “Cask of Amontillado,” played out in her mind. Only, in her dream, Cordelia was the victim who had been suffocated and buried alive, stone by stone by stone. A chill shot through her as she remembered Tess’s dream about stones. Could they have been prophetic once again?

  Down again, down again

  Maddie will fall

  In a cold sweat, Maddie woke up to the sound of knocking. In those first few moments of being roused from a fitful sleep, she realized that something terrified her even more than finding out what had happened out on Misery Island on Halloween. Deep down, what chilled her to the bone was this:

  Cordelia would soon be back. And she’d want revenge.

  Chapter 23

  PERTHO

  CHANCE

  Secrets, Mystery, and Revelation; Things Are Not What

  They Seem; A Game of Chance

  Maddie checked the clock. It was past midnight. Haunted by her earlier conversation with Tess about the girl in the basement, she was almost afraid to go downstairs and find out who was knocking. Then Maddie worried that Tess had gone downstairs for a glass of water and had fallen. And there she was, cowering like a child under the covers, scared of a monster in the basement.

  Maddie pulled on her faded flannel robe, slipped her feet into her scuff slippers, and moved carefully down the staircase. The knocking was low and steady, insistent.

  Knock knock knock…tap…tap.

  Maddie stopped at the basement door, which had swung slightly open again. She pushed it closed.

  The knocking continued.

  Who would be here at this hour? No one in Hawthorne would ever think of dropping in at this time. Not in a town that shuts down and rolls up the sidewalk at sundown.

  Maddie peeked out through the stained glass windows that framed the door. She could see the outline of a man, but couldn’t make out his face.

  “Who is it?” Maddie whispered through the crack in the door.

  Reed Campbell moved his face over to the window, smiling his boyish grin.

  “The Boogeyman,” he laughed, making a clawlike movement with his hand.

  Maddie opened the door, flustered but smiling.

  “Anyone interested in a moonlight cruise?”

  “Sailing? Now? I can’t,” she stammered. “Are you insane, Reed?”

  He walked past her into the living room, lifting up knickknacks and poking around like a kid. He peered at framed pictures that Abigail had scattered around the room: Tess and Jack down at the docks; Abigail and Rebecca holding hands as young girls in their matching coats, hair neatly styled with wide, matching ribbons.

  Maddie followed behind Reed, straightening frames and putting things back into place, praying that her mother or grandmother wouldn’t wake up from all the noise.

  “Come on, Maddie. I’ve missed you. Can’t you come out and play?”

  “Reed, it’s too late,” she said, attempting a stern tone but not quite achieving it. She could smell alcohol on his breath, and yet he seemed as harmless as an overgrown puppy. As much as she tried to resist him, his boyish charm and model-perfect looks always won her over, and he knew it. At the top of the stairs, Abigail loudly cleared her throat and slammed her bedroom door.

  Reed whispered in the darkened room. “Are we in trouble?”

  “No, I am,” Maddie said, swatting Reed.

  “Well, since you’re already in trouble, you might as well come with me before you get grounded,” he whispered into her ear. “Come on, just one little trip around the harbor. I’ll have you back before they get up. Promise.”

  She hesitated, knowing it was the wrong thing to do, but suddenly, she wanted to do something bad. She wasn’t that innocent little girl that Cordelia wrote about in her diary. She could take risks and be bold and go off into the night with an older guy. Cordelia could do it. Why shouldn’t she?

  Even though Reed was turning out to be drastically different from the golden boy teacher she’d admired from afar, she was flattered by his attention. With other guys, she’d always felt secondbest—like there was always someone cuter or sexier just waiting in the wings. But, the look in Reed’s eyes tonight told he
r that he wasn’t looking at her like a former student or as a buddy to hang out with—he looked at her with desire. And it felt really nice.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “But you have to promise to have me back at a reasonable hour, or else I’ll really be in trouble.”

  Reed winked, pulling her close and overpowering her with the scents of salt, honey, pine, and the slightest hint of whisky, making her feel like she was in the cool, damp woods. Maddie’s body tensed as she anticipated a kiss, but instead, he whispered in a gravelly voice, “You have my word.”

  The harbor was deserted, eerily similar to the night Cordelia disappeared. When Reed guided the boat past Misery Island, Maddie surprised herself by asking him to dock there for a little while. She’d just about finished the bottle of beer he’d handed her once they first got on the boat, and the alcohol made her braver than normal. She hadn’t been back to the island since that night, and while she feared being confronted with all of those images and memories, her desire to figure out what had happened won out.

  So many emotions flooded her mind once she set foot on the island. Maddie walked over the sandbar, past the dunes, toward the grove at the center of the island, holding Reed’s faltering flashlight in her shaking hands.

  “So,” he said clapping his hands together and looking around the island, “you’ve got me out here in the middle of nowhere.” Reed cracked a devilish smile. “What exactly do you have up your sleeve, young lady?”

  Maddie threw the flashlight beam back at him. “I want to look around here for a little bit. Lead the way.”

  He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What exactly are we looking for?”

  “I don’t really know,” Maddie said truthfully. “But I’ll let you know when we find it.”

  Maddie pushed Reed toward the trailhead that led up through the bracken to the center of the island. The full moon provided plenty of light, which helped to ease Maddie’s nerves. Soon they stood at the Sacred Birch. Maddie expected some rush of feeling, but there was only the sound of the sea and Reed’s breathing. All evidence of Halloween night seemed to have been scrubbed away by the coastal winds and tides.

  “We used to party out here when I was your age,” Reed laughed. “Looks like things haven’t changed much.” He pointed to some beer cans and bottles.

  Maddie walked over to the tree that haunted her dreams and ran her fingers down the slender curve of the birch. I’m so sorry I left you here, she thought.

  The wind picked up suddenly, swirling sand all around them.

  “Storm’s coming,” Reed said knowingly. “Sorry to cut this trip short, but unless you want to get stuck out here, we’d better get back to the boat.”

  Maddie reluctantly took one last look around. She willed herself to remember, but the island refused to give up its secrets. Sadly, she headed back to the cove. She stumbled over some brush, and Reed was quick to steady her, the warmth of his skin melting away her fears. Even though she knew she’d catch hell from Abigail in the morning, she wasn’t ready for the night to end.

  Hours later, they watched the sunrise from the deck of Reed’s boat. The storm stayed out at sea, so they were able to remain on his boat for the rest of the night, talking. The sun turned the water the same shade of blue as Reed’s eyes. Maddie looked over at him, impossibly handsome in the early morning light, even with the sandy stubble across his jaw and upper lip. Despite his playful advances, she was a little disappointed that nothing had happened between them on the boat.

  Maddie was also frustrated by the trip out to Misery Island. What had she expected to find out there? A large X-Marks-The-Spot to show where the crime took place? Or maybe an envelope with information about the guilty parties, just like in the game of Clue. It was Kate Endicott in the Parlor with the Rope.

  “So, what’s on your mind?” Reed asked, his voice rough as the salty air, snapping her out of her thoughts. He sat up halfway and rubbed his eyes. “Looks like you’re carrying the weight of the world on those shoulders.” He reached over and rubbed her shoulders and neck, kneading his thick fingers into the muscles tightened by the night on the boat. It was the most he’d touched her all night, and the feel of his hands on her shoulders sent shivers up her neck and feathered around the base of her hairline.

  “What’s worrying that pretty little head of yours?” Reed’s raspy voice felt hot on her ear.

  “It’s your brother—he paid me a visit during my run the other day.”

  “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Reed growled, his brow furrowed with true concern. Her heart fluttered a bit.

  “No,” Maddie said, shaking her head. “No, I’m fine. I just—I don’t know what I thought. Why don’t we just forget it?”

  “Hey, hey, hey,” he said, reaching for her hand and pulling her close. “I would never do anything to hurt you, you gotta believe that.” He tenderly brushed her hair back from her face. “And my brother,” he said as his face hardened and then fell into a sexy half-smile. “Well, just in case you didn’t know, my brother’s a bit of an asshole.”

  Maddie laughed, burying her face in her hands.

  “Don’t tell anyone, but he’s really the black sheep of our family. Everyone thinks it’s me, but we’ve got ’em all fooled. Hey,” he said, tipping her chin up with his finger so that she could meet his warm gaze. “You let me handle my brother, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly.

  “Okay,” he said brightly. “Anything else on your mind?”

  “Well,” Maddie said hesitantly, not wanting to ruin the moment. “I still can’t figure out what could have possibly happened to Cordelia. I keep trying to put myself in her position. Trying to understand what she was capable of doing.” She desperately wanted to tell him about what really happened out on Misery—the parts of the night that she’d been able to piece together so far—but she was still ashamed, still afraid of what would happen if she ever spoke of that night.

  “That must be hard for you to do. You’re nothing like your cousin,” Reed said softly. He’d stopped massaging, but his hands remained on her shoulders, warm and strong. “She was a ball of fire, that’s for sure. Definitely stuck out in this town. Then again, I’m not one to talk.”

  “You think she was wild?” Maddie asked.

  He hesitated briefly. “Well, I figure she had to be. Taking off like that, leaving everyone and everything safe behind her. I don’t know if I’d be strong enough to do that. Hell, the whole town hates me, and I still haven’t left.” He laughed.

  “So you think she ran off. That she chose to leave. To make us all worry and think she’s been killed or kidnapped or God knows what. You honestly believe that she was capable of that?” Her voice rose above the morning harbor sounds. Gulls screeched overhead; boats clanged in off-key tones as they rocked against salt-worn moorings; a foghorn bleated off in the distance as the mists scattered.

  Reed grasped her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. He seemed weary, tired of having to explain himself, but all Maddie could focus on was how close they were. She looked back and forth from his lips to his eyes as he spoke. “First of all, no one ever found her. This town is too small to have no leads turn up, no suspects, no witnesses, no evidence of foul play, nothing. Second, Cordelia was too strong and tough to ever be abducted, and third, she told me she was tired of this town. She wanted out, Maddie. She wanted to see the world. Hawthorne was holding her back. Man, she was a smart girl, so filled with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge…” He stopped himself. He was gushing, and they both knew it. “She’s out there somewhere, honey. Who knows? Maybe someday, she’ll come back.”

  Maddie fought back the jealousy now so familiar to her. There was so much Cordelia hadn’t told her. Why? And even if she never returned, would her presence always be between Maddie and Reed? Would Cordelia always be his favorite?

  Maddie took a deep breath and asked the question she’d been holding inside for months. “Did you care about her? Did you…was there…I
mean, was there more to your relationship than just friendship?” She let out a shaky sigh. She had to know if Reed was the “beautiful boy” from Cordelia’s journal.

  “What? No, hell no, Maddie!” Reed answered quickly. Almost too quickly. “I was her teacher, that’s it! No way would I cross that line.” He stood up, sticking his hands in his pockets uncomfortably.

  “I’ve just lost my job, a lot of my friends, and the respect of my family over half-truths and speculation. I just want to know when I get it all back, you know? People can say whatever they want. They can try to destroy my life again and again, and I’m supposed to…what…just sit back and take it? Dammit, when does the persecution end for me?”

  Maddie was speechless. She was just as guilty as everyone else, assuming that something inappropriate had happened between Reed and Cordelia. That he was the reason she had disappeared.

  “Listen, Maddie, I’ve made mistakes in my life, there’s no doubt about that. Bringing you out on my boat last night could have been a disastrous one. It’s just, I don’t know, there’s something about you—like you don’t judge me or blame me the way the rest of the town does. Cordelia’s cousin, of all people.” He laughed, shaking his head. “But I’m not one to risk everything just to follow my heart.”

  It was the most open Reed had ever been about his feelings toward her. Knowing she would regret it if it never happened, Maddie stood, placed a soft kiss on Reed’s lips, and then gathered her things, preparing to leave the boat.

  Before she walked back up the dock, Maddie turned to him once again. His face held a mixture of emotions.