Rear View (Peri Jean Mace Ghost Thrillers Book 0)

by Catie Rhodes

  Rainey and I exchanged a glance. I don’t know about her, but I was thinking about Judge Bruce telling us about Chris Leeland’s ID bracelet being found in the woods near the Trinity River. Rainey wrapped up the interview, and Memaw called us into the kitchen to eat. Felicia called her mother to come pick her up, telling Memaw they had plans that afternoon. It was good to see her go.

  We crowded around the scarred kitchen table. I sat next to Chase. The table was too small for so many people, and our shoulders rubbed together. The light scent of his cologne tickled my nose. I glanced at him, only to find him watching me. He winked.

  We ate all of Memaw’s chicken, even the piece she said was burned. Chase stood from the table.

  “Peri Jean, come help me get my guitar.” He tugged at my arm. “I’ll play a little music if anybody wants to hear it.”

  I glanced at Memaw to make sure she wasn’t going to humiliate me by refusing to let me walk outside, but she nodded and waved me off. Chase waited until we were out of the house to speak.

  “I’m sorry I talked to you that way last night.” He draped one arm across my shoulders and squeezed. “I’d had a few beers when you called.”

  “I’m sorry for what I did to Felicia.” I wasn’t, but he’d acted so upset, I figured I had to pretend.

  “You had your reasons.” He stopped in front of the Tahoe but made no move to open it. “Her life isn’t all roses. She talked all the way back from Louisiana about the way stuff is at her house, her mom and all. The two of you have more in common than you think.”

  I doubted it but kept my thoughts to myself. Chase was willing to make up, and I wanted that more than I wanted to bitch about Felicia.

  “She’s a nice person when she’s not trying to compete with every other female in the room.” Chase opened the Tahoe’s door and drew out his guitar. He turned back to me, mischief crimping his lips. He leaned close. “Kiss me while nobody’s watching.”

  I did, and we walked to the house hand in hand, giggling. Memaw raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

  Chase played until Memaw said she needed to go to church. Usually, she let me stay home, but since I was on punishment, I had to go with her. Chase tried to convince her to let me hang out with him and Tubby. Memaw wasn’t hearing any of it. Chase kissed my cheek and left.

  Eddie approached me. “I think I’m gonna haul the Nova to my place tonight. I can put it on the lift and really check it out.”

  I hugged Eddie. “Thank you so much for doing this.”

  “Your daddy would have expected no less.” He released me and kissed my cheek, his whiskers scratching. He lumbered out the door and went back to the carport.

  I helped Rainey pack up her video equipment. “What’s next for the project?”

  “I think we’ve got about all we’re going to get,” Rainey said. “I’d like to get some more shots of the carriage house. I’ll do a voice-over at the end of the documentary about the psychology behind the rumors of hauntings and sort of connect it to all the speculation.”

  “After hearing all we heard today, I’m not sure I want to go back in.” I rubbed at the chill bumps on my arms.

  “We’ll get Tubby and Chase to come with us. It won’t be so bad.” She motioned for me to help her take the camera equipment outside. We loaded the equipment into the trunk of the Cadillac. Eddie came over to help. Rainey mentioned her plans to him.

  “If those boys won’t go in there with you, I will.” He closed the trunk and rested his weight on the car. “I don’t want y’all in there by yourselves.”

  We agreed we wouldn’t go alone. Memaw came out of the house with her church clothes on. Eddie and Rainey made themselves scarce.

  “Let’s go, Peri Jean,” she hollered at me from behind the wheel of her sedan. I trudged over and got in the car.

  Chapter 7

  Friday rolled around, and I rode to the Mace House with Rainey to do our final shots of the property. Then we’d be done with this shit show of a project forever. Light purple dusk streaked across the sky by the time Rainey pulled the Cadillac to a stop in front of the Mace House. The carriage house lurked behind it, dark windows staring out like a predator watching its prey.

  I fingered the iron key in my pocket. My luck, it probably wouldn’t work.

  Rainey unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled a keyring from her backpack. “Benny Longstreet gave me the keys.”

  Benny had the right idea. Be nice if we didn’t have to go back into the carriage house. “We’re not going in by ourselves, are we?” My eyelid twitched at the thought.

  “We can get the camera and lights set up before the others get here. Maybe make this go quicker.” Rainey ran her sharp gaze over my outfit and shook her head. “You and lover boy planning on sneaking off after we finish the project?”

  “No. If I get in trouble, there’s no way Memaw’ll let me go to the prom.” Chase and I had been on our best behavior all week, neither of us wanting to miss the prom on Saturday. Memaw had agreed I could stay out most of prom night. It cost me having to listen to a really embarrassing lecture on birth control, but it was worth it.

  She nodded slowly. “How’s the dress Mom gave you?”

  “It’s good. Tell her thanks again.” Esther Bruce had given me a sleek black dress, one she’d worn in high school. Memaw said it was the kind that never went out of style. She spent hours taking in the waist and hemming it. It fit just right. I wanted to be seen in it. If that meant no sneaking off with Chase tonight, then I’d behave.

  “So you willing to go inside and get set up before the guys get here?” Rainey opened her door without hearing my answer. I met her at the trunk and helped her unload her equipment. I had a bad feeling about just the two of us in there together. Whatever lurked between the walls might be braver if there were fewer people.

  Chase’s Tahoe pulled in behind the Cadillac. I slumped with relief. The guys insisted on carrying the equipment and sent Rainey and me to get the door to the carriage house open. I tiptoed inside the carriage house expecting the worst, the iron key clutched in one hand.

  Nothing happened. The telltale odor of rodent urine and mildew still almost knocked me down. But that made sense in a long deserted house. The important thing was I didn’t get any odd vibes, nor did I smell death. The four of us worked to set up the equipment and discussed the shots we needed.

  The time to get started came and went with no Felicia. Rainey glanced outside several times but said nothing. I made a point not to mention Felicia, afraid doing so would somehow make her show up. I wanted to watch her flirt with Chase almost as much as I wanted to slam my hand in a car door.

  According to Chase, Felicia had said no more about sending his music to her record producer cousin. I figured she had no intention of contacting her cousin. The whole story was a ruse to get Chase’s attention. It had the side benefit of making me look like an unsupportive jerk if I protested any of Felicia’s antics. I hoped she kept her skanky ass at home. We didn’t need her.

  “Ready to get started?” Rainey opened the bathroom door and turned on the light. “I’ll stand in the shower with the camera. One of you open the door on my say-so, but stay out of the picture.”

  We did as she asked, the whole operation going off with no drama.

  “Now I want to get a shot of walking down the stairs from the loft and into the kitchen, the same way Alice did the night Chris Leeland disappeared.” Rainey carried the camera and tripod upstairs. The rest of us followed.

  We worked on ideas to get the footage properly, and spookily, lighted. I backed into the dark room as Rainey, Chase, and Tubby worked out how they’d get down the staircase. My back contacted something soft and warm.

  My breath froze in my lungs. Fear pounded through me, my heart slamming against my chest. The room had been empty when Benny gave us the tour. Hadn’t it? I called up the memory, searching hard for some piece of furniture. A set of arms closed around my middle. I sucked in a gulp of air and screamed.

 
; Chase and Tubby spun the lights around. The brightness blinded me. I tried to raise my arms but couldn’t move them.

  “Help me.” My words came out in a hoarse croak.

  Chase came close, his eyes wide enough to show white all around the iris. The surprise on his face faded. Irritation replaced it. “Felicia, what are you doing up here?”

  The arms around my middle loosened. Felicia belched ugly laugher. I bolted away from her, stumbling from the adrenaline still surging through me.

  “You went stiff as a statue!” She crowed, pointing at me. She held her sides and shook with laughter. “I thought you were going to wet your pants.”

  “Are you okay?” Chase grabbed me in a one-armed hug, cocooning me against his side. “Do you want some water? I think I’ve got some in the Tahoe.”

  I shook my head and tried to get my breathing under control.

  Chase gripped both my arms and held me at arm’s length. He leaned into my face and spoke softly. “It’s okay. Just slow down.” He rubbed his hands up and down my arms. “Come on. Take a deep breath.” He demonstrated. “Now do it again.”

  The tremors ripping through my body slowed and finally went away. A tension headache started on the side of my neck, and the embarrassment locked it in place.

  “Little baby awright?” Felicia made her eyes big and cocked her head to one side.

  “That wasn’t funny.” Chase turned the light so it shined in Felicia’s eyes. “After everything I listened to you talk about last night, I can’t believe you did something so awful and cruel.”

  “It was just a prank.” Felicia’s stepped out of the bright light. “Toughen up, Peri Jean.”

  “No, you be nicer.” Chase took a couple of steps and loomed over Felicia. “I’ve seen how you treat Peri Jean. You can do better.”

  “I’m sorry.” Felicia barely spoke above a whisper.

  “Say it to Peri Jean.” Chase pointed the flashlight in my direction. He put his arm around Felicia and turned her to face me.

  “I’m sorry.” She stared at Chase while she said it.

  “Forget it. Everything turned out okay.” I reached in my pocket and felt for the iron key. Somehow the warmth it had leeched off my body felt comforting. A ghost hadn’t grabbed me after all. It was just a mean-spirited girl. Maybe this thing did work. I pulled it out of my pocket and stared at it.

  “What’s that?” Felicia crowded close. “A key? Where’d you find it?”

  I turned away from her. “Rainey? You ready to get this show on the road?”

  “More than.” Rainey stood with her hands on her hips.

  “I want to see the key.” Felicia got so close I could smell corn nuts on her breath. “You aren’t supposed to steal things out of here anyway.”

  “I didn’t steal it.” I slipped the key in my pocket and took a step toward Rainey.

  Felicia grabbed my belt loop, shoved her hand in my pocket, and came up with the key.

  “Hey!” I yelled. “Give that back. It doesn’t belong to you.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you either.” Felicia held the key close to her face and squinted at it. “It’s just junk anyway.”

  “It is not junk. It belongs to my grandmother. If you don’t give it back, I’m going to tell her you have it. You think she’s too scared of you to come to your house and make you give it back?”

  “That’s all you can do.” Felicia harked out a giggle. “Tell on people. You can’t take care of anything yourself. You’re just a baby. No wonder Chase is tired of you.”

  I spun to face my boyfriend. Just what kind of heart-to-heart did the two of them have?

  Chase had his back to me, holding the light for Rainey. He glanced at us over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at Felicia. She smirked.

  “Will you two please shut up?” Rainey glared at Felicia and then me. “Let’s just get this over with.”

  We did the shot of Rainey walking down the staircase. Felicia stayed close to me, holding up the key and dangling it in my face when she could. I doubled up my right fist, longing to punch Felicia right in the stomach. See those corn nuts come back for a sequel. She waved the key in front of her face and smiled. I clenched my jaw to keep from screaming.

  “Now I want to get a shot walking toward the broom closet. Peri Jean, get the fishing line out of my backpack.” Rainey snapped her fingers at me. “Tie it to the broom closet doorknob, and get out of the frame. Slowly pull the door open as I approach.”

  I grabbed Rainey’s backpack off the kitchen counter and did as she asked. I had to struggle with the broom closet door. It was stuck again.

  “Chase. Help me get this open?” I searched his face for signs he’d told Felicia he was tired of me. It had to be more of her hateful crap, but the words had a certain ring to them. Like a truth I didn’t want to hear.

  Chase set his light down and approached me. He pressed his body against mine, copped a quick feel, and gave the knob a yank. Of course, nothing happened.

  “Super,” he muttered. “You’ll have to help me.”

  This time, I knelt on the floor, slipped my fingers under the door and pulled while Chase tugged on the knob. He counted off. Just as he reached three, something sharp stabbed into one of my fingers. I yelped and jerked my hand free of the door. Dark blood oozed from my finger in the dim room.

  “Shit.” I held the hand under Tubby’s light, looking at the triangle shaped gouge in my skin.

  “Looks like something bit it.” Tubby held the light as close as he could.

  “Maybe it gave her rabies.” Felicia laughed.

  “We need to see what’s in there.” Chase nodded at Tubby. “If a rat or something bit her, she needs to go to the hospital now. Get a rabies shot at least.”

  The mention of hospital struck fear in me. My short stay in the mental hospital as a child had soured me for life. I grabbed a small, plastic container of tissues I’d seen in Rainey’s backpack and dabbed at the wound.

  “It’s not so bad.’

  “It’s not so bad,” Felicia mimicked and giggled.

  “We still need to get it open. See what hurt Peri Jean.” Chase motioned to Tubby. The two boys argued about who would stick his fingers under the door and finally flipped a coin. Tubby lost. The curly-haired boy folded his skinny legs to squat at the door. They pulled, and the door came right open. The foul smell from the day we came here with Benny floated out. Chase gagged. Tubby stumbled away. A low, rough chuckle came from the empty closet.

  Clammy sweat broke out all over my body. I stared into the dark space, frozen in place.

  “You see the rat?” Chase peered into the closet. “Where’d it go?”

  “You didn’t hear that? Like somebody laughing.” I studied each face in the room and got my answer. That garbling hiccup of a laugh had been for my ears only.

  Chase turned back to me and bit his lip. He slowly shook his head. “Coulda been anything in an old house like this.” He tried to smile.

  “Forget it,” Rainey muttered. “Close it lightly, and let’s get this shot. That’ll be the last of it.”

  We pulled the fishing line taut and backed away from the broom closet door. Rainey stole toward it, counting off on her fingers. When she reached one, she shook her finger in the air. I pulled on the door, and it swung open, hinges whining. A whoosh of rank air belched from the tiny enclosure. The nasty smell deepened. One of the guys groaned. I swallowed against the saliva flooding my mouth. Rainey turned off the camera.

  “Take a break. I’ve got to get outside for some fresh air.” She set the tripod in front of the broom closet door. “I suggest the rest of you do the same. No telling what that is. Busted sewer line? Who knows.”

  We left the house through the kitchen and stood in the yard facing the back of the Mace House.

  “Felicia, I want that key back.” I spoke in a low voice. “It belongs to Memaw.”

  “Tell me why you have it.” Even in the darkness, I could see the nasty gleam in Felicia’s eyes. />
  “It’s none of your business. Just give it back.” I held out my hand.

  “Felicia, give Peri Jean’s property back to her.” Rainey stood off to the side, her jacket pulled around her. “You’re acting like a five-year-old.”

  Felicia turned to Chase. “I just want to know why she has it. What it opens.”

  “Give it back. It’s not yours.” He turned away from her.

  Felicia’s wide-eyed innocence turned to a feral snarl. She reared back one arm and threw the key into the darkness as hard as she could. She spun to face me. “Go fetch, Rover.”

  My mouth fell open as I watched the key’s shadowy shape arc through the night sky.

  “Damn it, Felicia!” Chase yelled. “You say you want people to like you, but then you do shit like this.”

  Felicia laughed at me, totally ignoring Chase. I could do nothing more than gape. The wellspring of hate within her never ended. It just kept bubbling and bubbling, spewing Felicia’s special kind of poison into the world. I wanted to put my hands around her neck and squeeze the life out of her. It would be a good riddance. I turned away and walked into the darkness.

  “Just a minute.” Chase ran for the carriage house. “I’ll get one of the lights.”

  Everybody except Felicia hunted for the key. Between the darkness and the tall grass, it was pretty much a useless effort. A lump grew in my throat. Memaw said the key belonged to her mother. She’d never mentioned her mother before. I always assumed Memaw grew up an orphan. She’d trusted me with something irreplaceable, and now I’d lost it. Or, more accurately, Felicia lost it for me.

  “We’re not going to find it.” I tried to keep the tremble out of my voice, but it came out anyway.

  Felicia snickered from several feet away.

  “I’ll come back tomorrow when it’s daylight and help you look some more.” Chase clicked off his light. “They’re expecting me at Bullfrog’s tonight, so if we’re getting close to finished…”