Read Online Echoes of the Dead by Aaron Polson - Free Book Online Page B

would not defeat her. She moved away from the car and slammed the door shut.
    “Are the others here?” she asked.
    “Erin and Daniel—the students I mentioned—and the crew.  I’m still waiting on Sarah and Johnny.  Maybe they’re coming together.”
    Kelsey pressed her hands against her thighs to dry the sweat. Sarah wouldn’t be coming with Johnny. She couldn’t. “I’ve got my luggage. Just the one suitcase. Should I—”
    “Let me help you.”
    Kelsey unlocked the trunk, and Ben hauled out the green canvas suitcase. His eyes shifted from the case to Kelsey. “A little light.”
    “Only a week, right?”
    “Sure. Only a week.”
    He wore the grin again, always the same, less-than-reassuring smile. Ben had always given Kelsey a creepy, not-quite-centered vibe, but now the smile held an extra edge. Maybe it was the house. Only a week.  She reached for the handle of her suitcase and took it from him.
    “I can handle this.”
    Ben lifted his hands. “No problem. Just trying to help. I didn’t want to insult or anything, it’s just that Erin brought five bags with her. Guess she wants to look good for the camera.”
    Kelsey’s neck burned. Good for the camera? Ben was the same, slick prick underneath his money and southern California tan. She strode toward the front door. Her fingers squeezed the handle of her old suitcase until the knuckles bled white. She’d need to keep her head. One week. Only seven days.
    “What about your car?”
    Kelsey stopped and let the bag drop to the ground with a thud. “My car?  What about it?”
    Ben shrugged. “Can’t leave it here, can you?”
    “I don’t understand.  Why can’t I leave it there?”
    “We need some shots of the house. It’s—well, it’s in the best angle, isn’t it?”
    Kelsey shoved a hand in her jacket pocket and tossed the keys toward Ben. If she’d been a better shot, she would have knocked him in the head. “Move it wherever you like,” she muttered, turning back to the house. Before she made the final porch step, her Accord sputtered to life, and tires ground against the gravel drive.
    She hesitated.
    Five years ago, she didn’t hesitate on those steps. She hurried into the house just like the others, driven by cold and fear. Fear. They’d just survived a nasty spin on the snow-packed road and needed a place to be warm, maybe a phone. Five years ago, as they stood on the porch, none of them knew about the dead man. None of them knew it might be the last time Jared stood with them. She’d known him since their sophomore year in Moore Hall when they’d mentored incoming freshmen.
    Five years later, she looked down at the steps and took a deep breath.
    Her feet moved on the stone steps in tiny nibbles. Kelsey’s eyes roved either side of the railing. The paint—just as it had been five years ago—was perfect, smooth and pristine and uniform as though it had been painted for the first time a week prior.  She dropped the suitcase on the porch, surprising herself with the heavy thunk as it struck the slab flooring.
    “Welcome home.”
    Kelsey shuddered and spun around.
    Ben grinned from the bottom step. “Just like you remembered it, isn’t it?”
    He startled her. She hadn’t expected him after hearing her car drive away, but nodded. “Too much so. Where do I—”
    “You’ll be on the second floor. Second bedroom if you turn left at the top of the stairs. I believe the walls are yellow. You’ll find two twin beds.”
    “Second floor….” The bathroom had been on the second floor, the bathroom in which they’d found the anonymous body. The recent flush of frustration with Ben became an icy chill, a cold, prickling sensation which crawled with slow spider feet across Kelsey’s back.  There was still time to turn around, time to say no and run for her car. She held her breath.
    Ben’s smile faded. He held his left hand up, keys dangling between his fingers as though he’d read her mind. “Your keys, Kelsey.  If