Ghost Peppers Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Penny slammed the front door behind her with enough force to rattle the picture frames in the hallway. Jackie, seated at the kitchen counter with a cup of tea, stood immediately, her face a mix of concern and alarm.

“Penny, what’s wrong?” Jackie asked, moving toward her.

“What’s wrong?” Penny’s voice was sharp, her emotions raw. “What’s wrong is that someone is targeting us, Jackie! I asked you earlier if there’s anyone from your past—anyone who might have a grudge, anyone who might want revenge—and you didn’t tell me a damn thing!”

Jackie’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She exhaled slowly, gesturing toward the couch. “Come sit down. Let’s talk about this.”

“I don’t want to sit down!” Penny snapped, her hands clenched into fists. “I want answers, Jackie. Now.”

Jackie nodded, her expression grave. “Okay. You’re right. There’s something I need to tell you.”

Penny folded her arms, her posture rigid, waiting. Jackie took a deep breath before beginning.

“When you were younger, before you moved in with me, there was a girl I worked with—Tiffany McCormick. She was one of my more… challenging patients. Tiffany was deeply troubled, Penny. She’d endured a lot of trauma in her life, and it left her with a lot of anger and pain. Even her brother Frank was messed up. I thought I could help her, but…” Jackie hesitated, her voice breaking slightly. “I couldn’t.”

Penny’s face reddened as she stared at Jackie, her impatience growing. “What does this have to do with us?”

Jackie looking shocked said, “I don’t really know, she is the only one who was angry with me.”

Penny’s voice was tight, trembling with restrained emotion. “And where is Tiffany now?”

Jackie met her gaze, her expression haunted. “She killed herself, Penny. A few months after the incident. I got a letter in the mail—her suicide note. She blamed me for her death.”

The weight of the revelation hung in the air, but Penny wasn’t satisfied. “And her brother? Frank?”

Jackie’s face darkened. “Frank was… something else entirely. He was always lurking in the background, watching. When Tiffany was in therapy Frank would sometimes come to pick her up, he just seemed off, like he was embarrassed by what I knew.”

Penny stiffened, a chill running down her spine. “What do you mean?”

Jackie hesitated, clearly pained to say it aloud. “You were just a teenager, Penny. But Frank… he wasn’t shy about staring. I caught him peeping into your window, snapping pictures once when you stayed with me during the summer. I confronted him, told him to give me the camera and to get lost, and he laughed it off like it was no big deal.”

Penny’s stomach churned, her voice sharp. “And you didn’t think to tell me this before?”

“I didn’t want to scare you!” Jackie said, her voice rising in frustration. “He was a creep, yes, but he was harmless as far as I knew. I didn’t think he was capable of… this.”

Penny paced the room, her emotions boiling over. “Harmless? Jackie, someone is recreating crime scenes with details from our lives! Dark green lingerie, Jackie! That’s not coincidence! Frank might not have been harmless after all.”

Jackie reached for Penny’s arm, her voice pleading. “Penny, listen to me. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you, to figure this out. But I need you to stay with me, okay? We’ll get through this together.”

Penny pulled away, her breathing uneven. “I’m trying, Jackie. But right now, it feels like the walls are closing in, and I don’t know who to trust.”

Jackie’s heart ached as she watched Penny, so strong yet so vulnerable, unraveling under the weight of the situation. “You can trust me,” Jackie said softly. “Always.”

The silence between them was heavy, but unspoken understanding passed in the space. Penny finally nodded, her defenses softening, though her fear remained palpable.

“I hope you’re right,” she whispered. “Because this feels like it’s only the beginning.”