by Jessa Archer
“Because that’s the last place Kate and her friends would think to look,” I answered. “It’s easy to tell you’ve never had a teen…ager in the house.”
As soon as I spoke the words, the other strange event of this evening came rushing back. With everything that happened out at Woodward Mills, I’d entirely forgotten about the encounter with the young woman claiming to be Ed’s daughter.
“That’s a valid point,” he said, his brow creasing with concern. “You okay?”
If Sherry hadn’t mentioned this Mindy person to him yet, and apparently, she had not, I decided it could wait. This definitely wasn’t the time.
“I’ve been better,” I said.
“Why didn’t you wait until I was done, Ruth? I would have gone with you.”
“It’s okay. Kate asked me to go, and…what if she’d just been ill or injured? Kate had almost convinced herself that she imagined it by the time we got her to the car, and I was hoping I could bring her back some good news. Cassie came with me, and it’s probably a good thing she did. There are…complications.”
Sherry brought back the bottle and two shot glasses. “I don’t want any,” she said. “That stuff was Jason’s. I think it’s nasty. Do y’all need anything to mix it with?”
I felt bad about her pulling out the bourbon that belonged to her late husband, especially on a night when she’d just found out about the death of a girl who had no doubt known her daughter since preschool. But Ed was right. I needed something to put my feet back under me.
“No,” I told her. “Straight is fine.”
Ed poured two shots, and I tossed one back. I hadn’t done that in years, and the burn was stronger than I remembered. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited a second for it to pass. Once my system recovered, I sat down at the kitchen table and broke the rest of the bad news.
“When Cassie and I got to Woodward Mills, we found Tessa’s body. She was in the center of something Cassie called a summoning circle. They were apparently out there playing ghost hunter, kind of like we used to do as kids out at the cemetery, I guess—only with a Ouija board and candles. And Tessa was definitely dead…”
Sherry sniffed, covering her mouth with her hand. “Oh my God. She was only eighteen. Just a few months older than Katie.”
“What happened to her?” Ed asked.
“I don’t know. There was no sign of violence or blood. We couldn’t get a signal there to dial out to report it, so we drove a little closer to town so we could call 911. When Blevins got there, maybe ten minutes later, I went back in to show him where we’d found her. The candles had been lit before, but they were out now. And Tessa’s body was gone.”
Neither of them said anything. They stared at me like they couldn’t quite believe what I was saying, and to be honest, I couldn’t blame them. If I hadn’t been there to see it, I wouldn’t have believed it either.
“The candles and board were still there, but Tessa was gone. Blevins seems convinced that she wasn’t really dead. That Tessa was punking me. Which is stupid, because I don’t even know her. And…I’ve dealt with dead bodies on multiple occasions. There was no pulse—”
A sharp intake of breath came from behind me, and I turned to see Kate in the doorway, wearing a battered Thistlewood Tigersharks football jersey that came nearly to her knees. Although she was still pale, she actually looked a little better than when I saw her earlier. Her blue eyes were red-rimmed, but the look of shock had faded.
Sherry sighed. “I thought you were going to sleep, hon.”
“I couldn’t, Mom. Not until I knew. But…you said the sheriff doesn’t think she’s dead? Maybe she’s not, then. Maybe this is just one of Tessa’s stupid tricks.” Kate’s jaw tightened. “She’s probably off with that guy she’s been seeing. Laughing her head off for scaring us.”
Ed and I exchanged a look. I knew what he was asking, even though he didn’t put it into words. Are you sure?
I answered him with my eyes. I’m sure. I wish I wasn’t.
“Blevins called the Martins to see if she’d come home yet,” I told them. “I’m guessing she hadn’t if they called here. I…didn’t mention Kate to Blevins. When he asked why I was at the factory I told him I was out there earlier in the day taking pictures and had left my camera. He agreed to look around, but yeah, he thinks it was some elaborate prank.”
Sherry was the first to speak. “But you don’t?”
I shook my head. “No. I wish I could believe it, Kate. I really do. But I know what I saw. And I think deep down, you know it, too.”
Kate looked at her uncle. “Isn’t there some sort of medical condition that can make you seem dead, but you’re not? Or a drug? There was this guy in Spain. They were about to do the autopsy even, and…that’s the kind of thing Tessa would know about. She’s into that stuff.”
Ed shrugged. “Things like that do happen on occasion. But they’re rare. And…whether Tessa is alive or not, I think you need to sit down and tell us exactly what happened tonight. Who all was out there, and why. And…we all know you were doing something you weren’t supposed to be doing. Trespassing, at a bare minimum. So skip the part where you try to cover everyone’s behinds. We need to know the truth. And we need to know it before Steve Blevins comes knocking on that door. Because he’s going to. Everyone saw you burst in through that door tonight at The Buzz. And I’m guessing that at least a few people overheard what you said. If you start picking and choosing what bits to leave in and what to leave out, we may not be able to help you. I can’t promise that your mama won’t ground you for all eternity later, but that’s really not the important thing right now, is it?”
“Ed,” Sherry said, “maybe we could do this in the morning? Kate is—”
“It’s okay, Mom. He’s right.” She went into the adjoining living room and sat down on the couch. Daniel sat down next to her, with Sherry on her other side, while Ed and I took the loveseat.
The dog put his muzzle on Kate’s lap, and she stroked his fur as she spoke. “Like Ruth said, we were out there for a séance. That’s why she saw the Ouija board and the candles.”
“A séance?” her mother said. “Whose idea was that?”
“Tessa’s, of course,” Kate said with a wry twist of her mouth. “But to be fair, I thought it might be kind of fun.”
“So, who exactly was there?” I asked. “You, Tessa, and two others, right?”
Her eyes widened.
“Four tall candles,” I told her. “That usually means four people, right?”
“Maybe,” she said. “Like I told you, this was Tessa’s idea. She set everything up according to a picture on her phone…from some book. The candles and the Ouija board.”
“Were you trying to contact…anyone in particular?” Sherry asked. Her voice was shaking, and I’m pretty sure she was wondering if Kate had been trying to contact her dad.
“The guy who died there,” Kate said. “At the factory. Before Tessa’s granny died a year or so back, she was always telling her the place was haunted. Said she even saw the guy’s ghost there one time. And then, there was that story in the Star about it, and Tessa just became sort of obsessed. You know how she could get, Mom. Remember me telling you how she was with the Kennedy assassination back in ninth grade, after we learned about it at school? And then she was all into that stupid band a few years back. A few months back, all she could talk about was snakes. She wanted a boa constrictor for her birthday last month, but her parents said no.”
“Can’t imagine why,” I mumbled, and Ed gave me a little smile. He knows snakes freak me out.
“Lately, though,” Kate said, “it’s been weird religions and paranormal stuff along with anything else she was interested in. When her little brother was so sick this past winter, it really got to her.”
“What was wrong with him?” I asked.
“Pneumonia. He just turned five, so he’s a lot younger than Tessa and her brother.”
“Kirby was something of a…surprise,” Sherry
said. “Jeff and Brenda thought they were about to have an empty nest and then whoopsie. He’s an adorable little guy, though.”
“Tessa was crazy about him,” Kate said. “And then they nearly lost him. Tessa was kind of hard for me to be around for a while after Kirby was sick. I didn’t really want to talk about death and things like that so soon after Dad…”
Sherry put an arm around her daughter and gave her a hug.
“Do you know why she wanted to contact the guy who died at the factory?” I asked.
“Not really. I think she just wanted to find out if there was anything after you die. Her parents aren’t very religious, and Tessa was always looking for answers. For the answer. And the guy at the factory was the only ghost she had a location for.” Kate shrugged.
“So, Tessa wanted to find a ghost,” Ed said. “Any ghost. And the rest of you went along for the ride?”
Kate nodded. “Me, Tessa, Julissa, and Sawyer Jackson. Tess was the only one who thought we’d actually contact a spirit. But she said this book she borrowed from Cassie said séances worked better with more than one or two people. I don’t know if that was true or if she was just scared to go by herself, but we told her we’d go.”
“From Cassie?” Sherry asked.
I nodded. The cat was out of the bag now. “Yeah. Cassie told me in the car on the way back from Woodward Mills that she’d loaned Tessa a book. She worked at a metaphysical bookstore in Nashville. That’s one reason Cassie rode out there with me. She said Tessa was interested in the supposed ghost at the factory. What happened when the four of you got to Woodward Mills?” I asked Kate.
“Tessa set everything up. We helped her place the candles. She was…” Kate stopped, rubbing her temples. “She was acting kind of weird, okay? Even for Tessa. Laughing too loud when we were in the car. By the time we got there, she was swaying on her feet, and her eyes were a little unfocused. I had to repeat things several times just to get an answer. I’ll be honest, I thought she was on something. I’d never known her to do drugs before, I swear, but…like I said, she was acting weird. She started going through the steps for the séance that she’d copied to her phone. Nothing happened, then right in the middle of this thing with the Ouija board, Tessa stood up suddenly. Backed away from the circle and started staring around the room.”
“Was she frightened?” Ed asked.
“No. Not at all. That was the weird thing. She looked…” There was a long pause, like she was trying to find the right words. “You know how in movies where someone sees a unicorn or fairies, or something that’s supposed to be really beautiful? That look they get. Sort of…blissful, I guess, but that’s not the word I’m looking for…”
“Euphoric?” I suggested.
“Yeah, that’s more like it. Tessa was so pretty, even on her worst days, but in that moment, she was like some kind of angel or something. She had that euphoric look on her face like she was seeing all the wonders of the universe. And then, suddenly, the smile faded, and her face just…froze. Her back sort of arched. She stood like that for a moment. Julissa told her to quit playing games, but then Tessa screamed. And next thing we knew, she was on the ground, in convulsions.”
Tears were streaming from Kate’s eyes as she spoke. “I ran over to try and help her, but there was nothing I could do. It lasted several minutes, and then she just…went still. I couldn’t wake her up, Mom. Julissa tried to revive her, too. Her mom works at the pharmacy, and she taught Julissa CPR. But Tessa was all stiff, and in a weird position. And Sawyer tried to call 911, but—”
“You couldn’t get a signal,” I said.
Kate nodded. “We were all panicking, especially Julissa, because her mom is like, super strict, and…we weren’t supposed to be there, obviously. Plus, we’d had a beer. Just one, but…” She stopped, closing her eyes for a moment. “This is the part that sounds truly crazy. I really do think that place is haunted. While we were trying to revive her, trying to figure out what to do, there was this noise. Like a gong almost. Something banging really hard against metal, over and over. And then a voice yelled, Get out! It echoed, and all three of us started screaming. Julissa…she completely freaked and took off for the exit. Sawyer tried to drag me to the door, but I told him I wouldn’t leave Tessa. That the two of them should go and call for help. After they left, the noise started again. And it was getting louder. I ran, too. I ran all the way to the bookstore.”
“I can’t believe they left you there,” Sherry said. “And they haven’t even called—”
“They texted me,” Kate said. “I didn’t notice it until later, but the text came in right after I arrived at The Buzz. Julissa said they went back to pick me up, but I was gone. She and Sawyer had decided we shouldn’t tell anyone we were there. They said Tessa was dead and there wasn’t anything we could do to change that. Julissa is in Air Force ROTC, and she thought…” There was a long pause, and then she said, “She was worried she’d get kicked out. The whole reason she’s in that program is for the scholarship. Anyway, I didn’t even see her text until we got back here, and it doesn’t matter. I would still have told you. It would have been wrong to just leave Tessa there. They know that, too. They panicked. They’re scared.”
“Scared enough to hide Tessa’s body? Maybe take it down to the river?” My voice caught slightly on the last word, thinking of my own high school friend, Tanya Blackburn, who had met precisely that fate.
Kate looked stunned for a moment, then shook her head. “No. Sawyer would never have done that. Never. He was crazy about Tessa. Like I said, they were just scared.”
As if on cue, a phone rang in the kitchen, scaring us all. Even Daniel gave a startled half-bark.
I glanced down at my watch. It was well after eleven. That was either one of the other parents or it was the police.
Sherry went into the kitchen to answer. She listened for a moment, then said, “Yes, ma’am. Ten thirty a.m. We’ll be there. With our attorney.”
Ed sighed and pulled out his phone. “I’ll tell D’Arcy to meet us at eleven thirty.”
D’Arcy Jones was a lawyer friend of Ed’s who shared our general dislike for and distrust of Steve Blevins. She and I met when I was investigating the death of Tanya, and we’d had lunch together a few times over at the diner. Blevins had called D’Arcy the other most annoying woman in Woodward County, so I’d known immediately she was my kind of people.
“But…the sheriff’s office said to be there at ten thirty,” Sherry said.
Ed snorted. “I’ve known Blevins his entire life. He’ll keep us waiting at least an hour. More likely two or three, so eat a big breakfast and pack something to keep you entertained. And D’Arcy gives me her friends and family rate, but she’s still an attorney, and they bill by the hour. No sense paying her to sit around and wait with us.”
✰ Chapter Eight ✰
The next morning dawned just as still, bright, and hot as the day before. I checked my weather app as soon as I got out of the shower, hoping against hope for some sort of miracle. A cold snap, something in the mid-eighties, would have been nice, although I’d have settled for a day where the humidity wasn’t so high that you needed to grow a pair of gills to breathe fully.
But according to my weather app, it was going to be another record-breaking Tennessee scorcher. At this rate, any remaining tourists would have to use the river bed for dirt bike and ATV trails.
Cronkite appeared, rubbing against my bare shins as I put the coffee on. When I didn’t immediately shift gears and procure his breakfast, he let out a plaintive meow.
“Oh, come on, Cronk. You’re five pounds overweight, and I’m exhausted. I need this coffee more than you need your Friskies.”
When I’d finally gotten home from Sherry’s house the night before, I’d expected to find a message on my phone informing me that I was also expected at the station for questioning. If Blevins knew about Kate’s arrival at The Buzz, he’d also probably have heard that I’d talked to her. And while Steve Blevins is
not a genius, even a reasonably astute kindergartner would be able to put the pieces together and realize that I’d covered for her by leaving out some crucial information when he questioned me.
I was sure he’d love nothing more than to haul me in for giving a false statement. But he couldn’t actually prove my statement was false, only that it was partial. I could also have left a camera at the factory earlier in the day. And he hadn’t asked me if there was any other reason that Cassie and I were there. That said, we’d still have been trespassing. And I wasn’t exactly BFFs with the guy who owned the factory.
When my alarm went off a half hour earlier, I’d reluctantly checked my messages. I couldn’t help hoping for a miracle—for a text saying that Tessa was alive and well. That she had somehow pulled off the prank of the century, fooling five people into thinking she was a corpse and then strolled out of the building. I knew I’d be disappointed, however, and I was. Billy Thorpe had sent Ed a text around daybreak, which Ed had forwarded to me. The situation was being treated more or less as a missing person, since Tessa hadn’t come home the night before. They’d done a cursory search of the area around Woodward Mills, and Blevins wasn’t inclined do much more at this point. Tessa was now eighteen, and since this apparently wasn’t the first time she’d failed to come home, her parents were cautiously optimistic that their headstrong and somewhat wayward daughter would turn up later this morning, suffering from nothing worse than a hangover. This led me to think that Blevins hadn’t given them my version of the events that happened the night before. Maybe that was for the best, though. What I’d seen, combined with what Kate had told us, left me with little doubt that any news they received would be the bad variety.
I didn’t have time to dwell on any of that, however. Nor did I have time for my usual morning bird-watching meditation out on the deck. I’d promised Wren that I’d be at her place by six thirty to help get the tables set up. I probably wasn’t going to make that, but I at least needed to get there before a crowd arrived so that I’d have time to fill her in on everything that had happened after she left The Buzz. Although, if Wren had ventured out to the diner for an early breakfast, it was probably too late. Secrets have a short shelf life in Thistlewood, and Kate’s dramatic entrance at The Buzz last night had almost certainly set tongues…well, buzzing, or else Blevins wouldn’t have known about it. Hopefully Wren had been too busy tagging items and baking cookies for today’s event to leave her house, or I was going to get a lecture for not clueing her in.
