The Silent Sister
Authors: Diane Chamberlain
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CONTENTS
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JANUARY 1990
PROLOGUE
Alexandria, Virginia
All day long, people stopped along the path that ran through the woods by the Potomac River. Bundled in their parkas and wool scarves, they stood close to one another for warmth and clutched the mittened hands of their children or the leashes of their dogs as they stared at the one splash of color in the winter-gray landscape. The yellow kayak sat in the middle of the river, surrounded by ice. The water had been rough the night before, buffeted by snowy winds, rising into swirling whitecaps as the temperature plummeted and the waves froze in jagged crests, trapping the kayak many yards from shore.
The walkers had seen the kayak on the morning news, but they still needed to see it in person. It marked the end of a saga that had gripped them for months. They'd looked forward to the trial that would never happen now, because the seventeen-year-old girlâthe seventeen-year-old
murderer,
most were sureânow rested somewhere beneath that rocky expanse of ice.
She took the easy way out,
some of them whispered to one another.
But what a terrible way to die,
others said.
They looked at the rocky bank of the river and wondered if she'd put some of those rocks in her pockets to make herself sink. They wondered if she'd cried as she paddled the kayak into the water, knowing the end was near. She'd cried on TV, for certain.
Faking it,
some of them said now as they moved on down the path. It was too cold to stand in one spot for very long.
But there was one woman, bundled warm, gloved hands in her pockets, who stood at the side of the path for hours. She watched as the news chopper collected fresh aerial images, its blades a deafening dark blur against the gray sky. She watched as the police milled along the banks of the river, pointing in one direction and then the other as they considered how they'd retrieve the kayak from the ice ⦠and how they would search for the girl's body beneath it.
The woman looked at the police again. They stood with their hands on their hips now, as though they were giving up. This case was closed. She pulled her jacket more tightly around herself.
Let them give up,
she thought, pleased, as she watched a police officer shrug his shoulders in what looked like defeat
. Let them wrest that kayak from the river and call it a day.
Although a yellow kayak stranded in ice proved nothing.
They were fools if they thought it did.
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PART ONE
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JUNE 2013
1.
Riley
I'd never expected to lose nearly everyone I loved by the time I was twenty-five.
I felt the grief rise again as I parked in front of the small, nondescript post office in Pollocksville. The three-hour drive from my apartment in Durham had seemed more like six as I made a mental list of all the things I needed to do once I reached New Bern, and that list segued into thinking of how alone I felt. But I didn't have time to dwell on my sadness.
The first thing I had to do was stop at this post office, ten miles outside of New Bern. I'd get that out of the way and cross one thing off my list. Digging the flimsy white postcard from my purse, I went inside the building. I was the only customer, and my tennis shoes squeaked on the floor as I walked up to the counter where a clerk waited for me. With her dark skin and perfect cornrows, she reminded me of my friend Sherise, so I liked her instantly.
“How can I help you?” she asked.
I handed her the postcard. “I'm confused about this card,” I said. “My father died a month ago. I've been getting his mail at my address in Durham and this card came andâ”
“We send these out when someone hasn't paid their bill for their post office box,” she said, looking at the card. “It's a warning. They don't pay it in two months, we close the box and change the lock.”
“Well, I understand that, but see”âI turned the card overâ“this isn't my father's name. I don't know who Fred Marcus is. My father was Frank MacPherson, so I think this came to me by mistake. I don't even think my father
had
a post office box. I don't know why he would. Especially not in Pollocksville when he livesâ
lived
âin New Bern.” It would take me a long time to learn to speak about my father in the past tense.
“Let me check.” She disappeared into the rear of the building and came back a moment later holding a thin purple envelope and a white index-type card. “This is the only thing in the box,” she said, handing the envelope to me. “Addressed to Fred Marcus. I checked the records and the box is assigned to that name at this street address.” She held the index card out to me. The signature did look like my father's handwriting, but his handwriting was hardly unique. And besides, it wasn't his name.
“That's the right street address, but whoever this guy is, he must have written his address down wrong,” I said, slipping the purple envelope into my purse.
“You want me to close the box or you want to pay to keep it open?” the clerk asked.
“I don't feel like it's mine to close, but I'm not going to pay for it, so⦔ I shrugged.
“I'll close it, then,” she said.
“All right.” I was glad she'd made the decision for me. I smiled. “I hope Fred Marcus doesn't mind, whoever he is.” I turned toward the door.
“Sorry about your daddy,” she said.
“Thanks,” I said over my shoulder, and my eyes stung by the time I got to my car.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
Driving into New Bern, I passed through the historic district. Old houses were packed close together on the tree-lined streets and gigantic painted bears, the town's iconic symbol, stood here and there among the shops. A pair of bicycle cops pedaled down the street in front of me, lightening my mood ever so slightly. Although I hadn't lived in New Bern since I went away to college, it still had a hometown pull on me. It was such a unique little place.
I turned onto Craven Street and pulled into our driveway. Daddy's car was in the garage. I could see its roof through the glass windowsâone of them brokenâof the garage door. I hadn't thought about his car. Was it better to sell it or donate it? I had an appointment with his attorney in the morning and I'd add that question to my ever-growing list. The car should really go to my brother, Danny, to replace his ancient junker, but I had the feeling he'd turn it down.
My old house was a two-story pastel yellow Victorian in need of fresh paint, with a broad front porch adorned with delicate white railings and pillars. It was the only house I could remember living in, and I loved it. Once I sold it, I'd have no reason to come to New Bern again. I'd taken those visits home to see my father for granted. After Daddy's sudden death, I came back for two days to arrange for his cremation and attend to other details that were now a blur in my memory. Had he wanted to be cremated? We'd never talked about that sort of thing and I'd been in such a state of shock and confusion that I couldn't think straight. Bryan had been with me then, a calming, loving presence. He'd pointed out that my mother'd been cremated, so that would most likely be my father's wish as well. I hoped he was right.
Sitting in my car in the driveway, I wondered if I'd been too hasty in ending it with Bryan. I could have used his support right now. With Daddy gone and Sherise doing mission work in Haiti for the summer, the timing couldn't have been worse. There was no good time, though, for ending a two-year-old relationship.
The loneliness weighed on my shoulders as I got out of my car and looked up at the house. My plan had been to take two weeks to clean it out and then put itâand the nearby RV park my father ownedâon the market. Suddenly, as I looked at all the windows and remembered how many things were in need of repair and how little my father liked to throw things away, I knew my time frame was unrealistic. Daddy hadn't been a hoarder, exactly, but he was a collector. He had cases full of vintage lighters and pipes and old musical instruments, among zillions of other things I would have to get rid of. Bryan said our house was more like a dusty old museum than a home, and he'd been right. I tried not to panic as I pulled my duffel bag from the backseat of my car. I had no one waiting for me in Durham and the summer off. I could take as much time as I needed to get the house ready to sell. I wondered if there was any chance of getting Danny to help me.
I climbed the broad front steps to the porch and unlocked the door. It squeaked open with a sound as familiar to me as my father's voice. I'd pulled the living room shades before I'd left back in May and I could barely see across the living room to the kitchen beyond. I breathed in the hot musty smell of a house closed up too long as I raised the shades to let in the midday light. Turning the thermostat to seventy-two, I heard the welcome sound of the old air conditioner kicking to life. Then I stood in the middle of the room, hands on my hips, as I examined the space from the perspective of someone tasked with cleaning it out.
Daddy had used the spacious living room as something of an office, even though he had a good-sized office upstairs as well. He loved desks and cubbies and display cases. The desk in the living room was a beautiful old rolltop. Against the far wall, custom-built shelves surrounding the door to the kitchen held his classical music collection, nearly all of it vinyl, and a turntable sat in a special cabinet he'd had built into the wall. On the north side of the room, a wide glass-fronted display case contained his pipe collection. The room always had a faint smell of tobacco to me, even though he'd told me that was my imagination. Against the opposite wall, there was a couch at least as old as I was along with an upholstered armchair. The rest of the space was taken up by the baby grand piano I'd never learned to play. Danny and I had both taken lessons, but neither of us had any interest and our parents let us quit. People would say,
They're Lisa's siblings. Surely they have talent. Why don't you push them?
But they never did and I was grateful.