Truly Devious

In the present day, Stephanie “Stevie” Bell is on her way to Ellingham Academy, accompanied by her parents. Stevie and her parents have a strained relationship, and her folks are worried about sending their daughter to this strange, isolated place. Still, Stevie believes that Ellingham Academy is where she belongs. Her parents ask about Nate and Janelle, two other first-year students that Stevie connected with online: Nate is a writer, and Janelle is an engineer. Stevie thinks about how smart and gifted Nate and Janelle are and wonders if she is special enough to attend.

Although the school has no application and or list of requirements, Stevie believes that they “[look] for a spark” (20) in their selected students, and only 50 new students are chosen for the two-year program each year. As they approach the school, Stevie and her parents have to ride in a special coach provided by the school with another new student, Germaine Batt. As the coach takes them deeper into the wilderness surrounding Ellingham Academy, Stevie notes that “it seem[s] like the school [is] deliberately hiding” (23). At the entrance of the school, there are two statues of sphinxes. Stevie tries to explain that sphinxes are lovers of riddles, and in Greek mythology, they pose difficult riddles that must be answered correctly to gain passage to place. Suddenly, Stevie is seized with fear: She believes she shouldn’t have been admitted to Ellingham and wonders if her acceptance letter came to the wrong person. Still, it’s too late to turn back because Stevie Bell has arrived at Ellingham Academy.

On the grounds of Ellingham Academy, Stevie and her parents are brought to Minerva House, where Stevie will be living during her time at Ellingham. As they are taken deeper into the campus, Stevie and her parents are impressed by the grandeur of the school. Stevie muses that rich people can do whatever they want with their wealth, even if it seems ridiculous to other people. At Minerva House, Stevie and her parents meet Dr. Nell Pixwell, or Pix, the Minerva faculty housemaster who specializes in bioarcheology. Pix shows them around the house and shares its history, including that Minerva was once used as a guest house for visitors who attended the famous Ellingham parties before the school’s opening. Pix offers to show Stevie’s parents around campus, leaving Stevie with a brief “moment of stillness” (32) away from her parents to gather her thoughts. The story flashes back to 1936, and Albert Ellingham returns to the Great House at Ellingham Academy. Albert’s secretary, Robert Mackenzie, tries to get his employer to focus on business matters, but Albert thinks only of dinner, games, and riddles. After all, he claims that “there is nothing so serious as a game” (35). Mr. Ellingham’s butler informs him that his wife Iris went for an afternoon drive with their three-year-old daughter Alice and has not yet returned. Albert blames the foggy weather for his wife’s delay, but moments later, the phone rings, and a strange voice tells Ellingham that they have kidnapped his wife and daughter.

As Stevie settles into her room, she is interrupted by Hayes Major, another Ellingham student living in Minerva. Stevie recognizes Hayes as a YouTube star whose zombie apocalypse web series blew up suddenly over the summer, and Hayes is quick to tell Stevie that he was on the phone talking to people in Los Angeles. Hayes asks Stevie to help him move his stuff into his dorm room, and Stevie notices that he is more than willing to let her carry the heaviest boxes while he talks about the success of his show. Hayes brags that many people want to turn his show into a movie, and as soon as they finish moving his things, Hayes goes back to ignoring Stevie. Stevie realizes that Hayes “never asked her name” (46).

Back in 1936, Albert Ellingham listens as the kidnappers make their demands. They order him to bring $25,000 in cash to the island in the middle of the lake and to come alone. They tell him not to call the police and remind him that they are watching him. The call ends, and Albert flies into action, gathering the money out of his safe. Robert begs him to call the police, and in a moment of desperation, Albert tells Robert to call Marsh and tell him to come to the house immediately. Albert makes the trek across the lake with all the money he has, which is less than what the kidnappers demanded, but he promises that they “can have whatever [they] want” (51) from him if only they will return his wife and daughter, safe and sound. The kidnappers force Ellingham to walk into the secret room at the center of the lake and throw the cash on the ground before they knock him unconscious.

The other students begin arriving at Minerva House. Stevie meets Ellie, an eccentric artist in her second year at Ellingham, and Nate, an antisocial first-year writer whose first novel was highly successful. When Ellie asks Stevie about her interests, Stevie explains that she is a crime enthusiast and wants to investigate the cold case of the Ellingham murders. Stevie’s parents return to Minerva House after their tour, and Stevie takes them to her room.

As her parents prepare to leave, Stevie feels conflicted: She wants her parents to go so she can begin her new life at Ellingham away from their control, but she still has an “entirely unexpected emotional pang” (58) at the thought of them leaving. Her mother reminds her to take her anxiety medications, and as they prepare to leave, Stevie’s parents remind her that she is always welcome to come home if Ellingham proves to be too difficult for her. Stevie takes this to mean that her parents don’t believe she is cut out for Ellingham Academy, and she imagines her mother saying that Ellingham “isn’t the kind of place [Stevie] belong[s]” (59).

Stevie’s new friend Janelle arrives, and Stevie feels like she fits perfectly between “Janelle’s brisk, confident positivity” and “Nate’s grumpy demeanor” (63). The first-year students are taken on a tour around the campus, and as they take in the lavish, opulent buildings built by the Ellingham family, Stevie remembers all of the important sites and details of the 1936 crimes, including the location of the failed ransom drop, where Albert Ellingham tried to negotiate with the kidnappers, and the Great House where the Ellinghams lived.

On the tour, they meet the head of security, Larry, who warns them to stay away from any areas with “Keep Out” signs for their safety. Stevie tells Nate and Janelle that the school technically belongs to Ellingham’s daughter, Alice, although Alice’s body never turned up and has been presumed dead for years. As Stevie regales them with the details, Nate declares they are attending “the most morbid school in America” (77). In 1936, Mrs. Iris Ellingham’s close friend Flora Robinson is staying in the Great House on the night of the kidnapping. She watches as Albert’s friend, a former detective and FBI agent from New York named George Marsh, arrives on the scene. Flora rushes to Iris’s bedroom and begins to frantically search for something. She finds a makeup compact in Iris’s things and hides it in her dress as a maid comes knocking and escorts her downstairs. Mr. Ellingham asks Flora if she has any idea where Iris might have gone, but Flora says she doesn’t know.

Flora leaves Ellingham’s office but manages to eavesdrop on his conversation with George and Robert. They read an anonymous letter that arrived days before, which hints at all of the ways a murder might be committed. The letter is signed “Truly, Devious” and warns that their victim won’t be able to run or escape from them. The phone rings, and the kidnappers order George to meet them on the outskirts of town with all his valuable possessions to exchange for his wife and daughter. Albert is unhappy with this demand, but he and George agree.