Ghost Peppers Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The patrol car cruised along the quiet back roads, Penny gripping her phone like a lifeline as she dialed Jackie. The steady hum of the tires against the asphalt did little to calm her nerves. Her thoughts were a cyclone, swirling around the dark green lingerie that had been seared into her mind at the Davis crime scene.

Jackie answered on the second ring. “Penny? Everything okay?”

“No, it’s not okay!” Penny’s voice cracked as she pressed the phone to her ear. Tony glanced sideways but said nothing, keeping his eyes on the road. “Jackie, I need you to tell me right now, do you know anyone, anyone, who might want to hurt you? Us? Someone with a grudge, someone you treated who didn’t like what you said or did? Anything!”

Jackie’s voice was calm but firm, the measured tone of someone who knew how to manage a crisis. “Penny, slow down. Take a breath. I promise, when you get home, we’ll talk this through. I’ll think back, go over everything. But you have to stay focused right now.”

“Focused?” Penny’s laugh was sharp, almost bitter. “How the hell am I supposed to stay focused when someone’s using our life against us? That lingerie—they’re watching us, Jackie! They know things they shouldn’t know. This isn’t random!”

Jackie’s silence on the other end stretched a second too long. “Penny, I know you think this is personal. I know it’s terrifying. But you have to trust me. I’ll do everything I can to figure out who’s behind this. We’ll figure it out together, okay?”

Penny exhaled, her fingers loosening their death grip on the phone. “Okay,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I just… I need answers, Jackie. I need them now.”

“I know, baby. I’ll be waiting for you when you get home.” Jackie’s voice softened.

The call ended, and Penny slumped back in her seat, the weight of the conversation pressing on her chest.

* * *
By the time they reached the station, the air between Penny and Tony was thick with tension. As they stepped inside, Penny was met by a uniformed officer holding a thick envelope.

“Detective Peppers,” the officer said, handing it to her. “The search warrant for the school records just came through.”

Penny ripped the envelope open with trembling hands, scanning the document. The adrenaline coursing through her veins was nearly palpable.

Tony placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get what we need, Penny. Take a breath.”

She shrugged him off, her eyes blazing. “Don’t tell me to calm down, Tony. You don’t get it. This is—this is twisted. Whoever’s doing this isn’t just targeting these families—they’re targeting me.”

Tony took a step back, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m not your enemy, Penny. I’m trying to help.”

Penny’s breath came in shallow gasps, her fists clenched around the warrant. “Then let’s stop standing around and do something! We’re wasting time while they’re out there, plotting their next move!”

Her voice echoed through the station, drawing a few curious glances from passing officers. Tony waited until the moment passed, until Penny’s breathing began to slow.

“We’ll take this to the school first thing tomorrow morning,” Tony said evenly. “Right now, you need to get your head on straight. You can’t fight this battle if you’re not thinking clearly.”

Penny stared at him, her chest rising and falling as the fire in her eyes intensified. Slowly, she nodded, the tension in her shoulders easing just slightly.

“Fine,” she muttered, her voice thick with exhaustion. “But this doesn’t stop until we have answers. Not for one second.”

“Agreed,” Tony said quietly.

As Penny turned and walked toward her desk, Tony watched her go, his expression a mixture of concern and admiration. Whatever storm she was facing, she was determined to weather it, even if it tore her apart in the process.
* * *
Dr. Manning came over to Penny’s desk, “did you forget our appointment,” she asked.

Penny looked up and said, “Oh my God, I am so sorry Doctor.”

A few minutes later Penny sat on the edge of a chair with a plush cushion in Dr. Manning’s office, elbows on her knees, hands clasped tight. The overhead lights were dimmed, and the soft ticking of an antique clock filled the quiet like a heartbeat no one could escape.

Dr. Manning watched her from across the room, legs crossed, notepad resting on her lap. She studied Penny for a moment, then said softly, “You look like you’re carrying something heavy.”
Penny offered a tired half-smile. “Feels like someone’s still adding weight.”

“Was it the scene?”

Penny nodded. “The Davis family. Emily was posed. The lingerie… it wasn’t just random. It was mine. Or close enough. Jackie and I used to—” Her voice cracked, and she cut herself off, jaw tightening like a trap snapping shut.

Dr. Manning let the silence settle for a moment, then gently asked, “Used to wear something similar?”

Penny looked away. “Yeah.”

“Do you think this was meant specifically for you?”

“I don’t think,” Penny muttered. “I know.”

Dr. Manning scribbled a note without breaking eye contact. “And how does that make you feel?”

Penny let out a breath—sharp, dry, almost a laugh. “Trapped. Angry. Exposed. Like someone dragged my past out into the open and scattered it across a murder scene.”

“Is that anger directed at the killer… or at yourself?”

The question floated between them, too heavy to land.

“I don’t know,” Penny whispered after a moment. “Both?”

Dr. Manning leaned forward slightly, voice steady. “You’ve survived betrayal. Grief. Trauma. And now the thing that once gave you purpose is cutting into the parts of you that never fully healed. That’s not something you can just muscle through.”

“I don’t have a choice,” Penny said, her tone flat but firm. “There’s another girl out there who’s going to come home from school to find her parents murdered unless I stop this.”

Dr. Manning gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. “Then we keep meeting. Bi-weekly, as agreed. But I have to document this with the department. If things keep escalating, and your stability comes into question, I’ll have to recommend temporary removal.”

Penny’s spine straightened. “Don’t do that.”

“I’m not trying to punish you,” Dr. Manning replied gently. “I’m trying to preserve you. You’re no good to anyone if you collapse under this. And this case? It’s burning far too close.”

Penny stared at the carpet for a long time. When she finally spoke, it was barely a whisper. “I’ll be here, bi-weekly as promised.”

Dr. Manning gave her a long, searching look. “Good. And Penny?”

“Yeah?”

“Whatever this killer thinks they know about you, it’s only a sliver of the story. Don’t let them write the ending.”

Penny rose slowly, her movements deliberate and worn. She moved through the doorway like a ghost of herself, every heartbeat a reminder she was still inside the story.