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“Where are you off to this morning?” he asked as he went back to pushing the seed spreader.
I slowly walked to my car and leaned against it. “Just heading down the hill into town to grab some groceries and other essentials. Nothing terribly exciting. Want me to grab you anything?”
“No, thanks, sweetheart, but thanks for asking. Drive safe!” he said, signaling that he was done with the conversation and needed to get back to the task at hand.
“Of course. See ya.”
I climbed into my car and made my way back to the main road toward the town below, cranking my stereo loud enough to finish waking me up.
The town of Tallpine was just like any other mountain town you’d see in a movie. There was a strip in the center lined with historic buildings, most of which were still using what appeared to be their original signage. My GPS let me know that the grocery store would be just ahead on my left, and I was pleased to see it was more than a tiny general store, but definitely still smaller than the big box stores I was used to back home. I swung the Volkswagen into the shoddy parking lot and grabbed my reusable canvas bags from the backseat before making my way in.
As soon as I got inside, I was suddenly very aware of how out of place I must have looked. My dyed black hair and band tee stuck out like a sore thumb against the vintage backdrop of the grocery store. The folks around my age that I spotted behind the registers or stocking shelves all looked friendly enough, but very cookie-cutter Americana as they offered me sideways looks along with their simple smiles. The selection left much to be desired, but the price tag on groceries out here made me feel like I was being lied to. Everything was socheapcompared to Pittsburgh. I stocked up on bread, cereal, pre-made salads, bottled water, juice, and anything else that caught my eye that I could turn into a quick meal for one. I even made the quick decision to grab two bottles of wine to sip on during the evenings while I watched my shows or read my books.
The cashier in the checkout line I selected looked to still be in high school and couldn’t hide her surprise when I offered her a polite, “hey, how’s it going?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Are you new in town?” she asked in response, and her forwardness surprised me in return.
“Only for a month or so,” I said with a shrug. It must have been pretty obvious that I wasn’t from here. “I’m house-sitting that mansion up the way for the new owner while he’s away. He’s trying to get it fixed up to live in, or sell again, I’m not real sure which.”
“Oh,” she said as she paused bagging my purchases. She let out a heavy sigh, and I watched as her shoulders scrunched up around her face like she had been struck tense. “I’ve heard some stuff about that place.”
“Yeah? Like what?” I asked, playing dumb.
“All sorts of stuff, none of it very good…” she mused as she slowly returned to bagging my things. “I’ve heard girls go missing from there all the time. Some of the older kids at my school throw parties up there, and a couple of them have said they’ve seen things in the windows.”
“What kind ofthings?” I asked as my curiosity aroused.
The girl behind the register began to bite at her lip with concern and nervously bounced her knee.
“I don’t want to say,” she whispered. “It’s bad luck.”
She passed me over my last bag as I punched in my PIN number on the electronic pad in front of me.
“Well, thanks for the warning,” I said, trying my best to lift my voice to not sound totally freaked. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
The girl nodded and offered me a small wave goodbye as I hauled my bags back out to the car. Thoughts churned in my head, and I wondered if my employer was aware of his property’s reputation in the town. If he was planning to flip and resell, he might have a harder time than he expected. As I slammed the trunk hatch shut, I looked up and down the street ahead of me and saw all the things Ted had mentioned. A library, a small playground in the center of town, and a bar with a sign hanging overhead reading “Bonfire Bar & Billiards.”
The place looked to be up my alley. I saw fliers hanging in the windows advertising live music, and a neon beer sign hanging in the window was turned off signaling the bar wasn’t quite open for the day. Perhaps if I was feeling up to it, I’d come down later and see what the place was all about.
The drive back up the mountain was unexciting, and when I arrived back at the mansion, I hoisted all my bags inside in one trip, but as soon as I stepped inside, I dropped my things to take in the sight before me.
All my underthings—bras, underwear, even some of my pajamas—were scattered all over the foyer and living room. It was like something had taken it all and tossed it in the air like confetti. Immediately, I felt a fire boiling in my chest and rushed outside to confront Ted.
I found him around back in the garden doing some weeding.
“You think you’re funny?” I asked venomously as I threw the back door open and stomped toward him. “You just waited for me to leave so you could go through all my shit?”
Ted leapt in surprise and turned to me with a dumbfounded expression.
“Excuse me?” he asked, as if he hadn’t heard me.
“Why are all my bras and panties thrown all over the living room, Ted?”
The man removed his cap and twisted it in his hands nervously. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been out here the whole time.”
If he was lying, he was damned good at it, but the look on his face didn’t look like someone who found joy in playing with a young woman’s private clothing. I sighed and bit the inside of my cheek and stared at him right in the eye.
“Well if it wasn’t you, then who did it?”
