It wasn’t exactly evidence that would stand up in court, but when I thought about it, it made a twisted sort of sense. Naomi with her secret for Grace. Naomi who had just spoken up at our most recent Sisterhood meeting, begging to join forces with the Brotherhood, begging for Conventus. Maybe she thought that hurting members of the Brotherhood would force the societies together. Force the Sisterhood to protect them, force them all to finally become one.
But the pictures from Naomi’s room didn’t lie. When I brought the evidence to Ms. D., she’d have no choice but to at least consider the possibility that one of her favorite students was an actual murderer.
I expected shouting; I expected the throwing of inanimate objects. I even expected tears.
What I did not expect was this: “Well, pack your bags. You’re going to Camp Brown. You’ll need a permission slip.” She let her voice trail off on the words “permission slip” as if she was already planning my itinerary.
“Um, I’m sorry. I must be missing something here, but I didn’t apply for Camp Brown this year. Isn’t it too late?”
Camp Brown was a nature preserve located three hours from Pemberly Brown and owned and operated by one of Pemberly Brown’s most successful and most eccentric alumni, Siegfried Manchester. He’d purchased the land more than fifteen years ago, and he’d been hosting an outdoor adventure camp and leadership experience every spring break for the past five years. A group of students were selected each year to attend, and supposedly you had to write an essay to apply, but rumor had it that sizable donations to the school carried far more weight than the thousand words punched into a Word doc. Mostly it was a way for rich parents to keep their kids out of trouble while they vacationed in Bali.
“Apply? Of course you did. You’re applying now. And congratulations, you’ve been accepted. Looks like several of your little friends will be in attendance too, most importantly Naomi Farrow and Porter Reynolds.” Ms. D. stood up and walked beside me. “My gut tells me she’s not involved, but attending the camp will allow you to track her. Can I trust you, Kate?”
Her eyes drilled into mine.
“Yes.” I had no idea if I was telling the truth or lying through my teeth. I wasn’t even sure that it mattered.
“Good. Then get packed and be at the school by seven a.m. sharp tomorrow. The bus leaves at eight.”
I was speechless for the first time in my life. One second, I find out Naomi Farrow might be on some sort of murder spree, and the next, I’m heading to sleepaway camp. Only at Pemberly Brown.
“Keep an eye on her, Kate. Don’t let her out of your sight. Porter too. On the off chance you’re right about this, we’re going to need all the evidence we can get our hands on if we’re going to go to bat against the Farrows.”
I nodded, already mentally preparing for three days of rope courses, trust circles, and heavy stalking. I started again toward the door, already making lists and plans and excuses for why I would need to stay on top of Naomi like a demented shadow, but Ms. D.’s voice broke my chain of thought once again.
“I believe in you.”
My feelings about Ms. D. were complicated. Once upon a time, she’d been one of the people I trusted most in this world, but everything changed when she took her post as headmistress and helped the Sisterhood take over Pemberly Brown. I still wanted to believe that she had my best interests at heart, but it was impossible to trust her completely.
But it was even more impossible to ignore her faith in me. I didn’t want to disappoint Ms. D., but I couldn’t forget my real goal of destroying the Sisterhood. My best friend deserved it; every girl after her deserved it; and finally I deserved it. And maybe gathering evidence on Naomi would help me kill two birds with one stone. Surely the Sisterhood couldn’t survive another scandal. Maybe if I proved that Naomi was the one behind Alistair’s death, I’d be able to end the societies for good.