Zee Town Paranormal Cozy Mystery - Complete Series Omnibus: Books 1 - 6

by K E O'Connor

  I frowned and took a large bite of burger. I wasn’t the enemy. I simply liked to know we had a competent police force.

  Alex laughed. “I’m joking. All I can say is that there are several lines of inquiry going on. We haven’t talked to everybody yet. There’s still lots more work to do.”

  “Has Nick talked to Abigail?”

  Alex shook his head and smiled. “I really shouldn’t tell you.”

  “I’m only curious,” I said. “I’ll see her myself soon. I want to ensure I don’t say anything I shouldn’t. We can’t have Nick thinking I’m interfering again.”

  “Of course, we couldn’t have that,” Alex said, giving me a sly smile. “Nick’s seeing Abigail tomorrow.”

  “To check her alibi? Was the relationship in trouble?”

  “Cassie!” Alex laughed. “No wonder Nick thinks you’re nosy.”

  I raised a hand. “I prefer curious.”

  “And I’d prefer to keep my job.”

  I sighed. “Okay, murder isn’t a great topic of conversation over food, anyway.”

  We finished our food, making pleasant small talk as we did so, and Alex kindly paid before we had another walk along the harbor.

  It was nice hanging out with him. I wasn’t sure there were any sparks flying, but he was decent company.

  “Do you like slushies?” he asked.

  I grinned. “I’ve not had a slushie since I was a kid.”

  “I spotted a slushie machine. They had some crazy flavors. Do you want to try one?”

  “Definitely,” I said.

  We walked back to the ice cream stand where the slushies machine was located. Alex selected a strawberry and mango slushie and I had a cranberry and coconut.

  We walked toward town sipping our slushies. I was enjoying myself. It had been a fun lunch date.

  “Thanks for lunch today,” I said to Alex as we reached the junction where we needed to part. “I had a lovely time.”

  “Me too,” Alex said. “Thanks for keeping me company. It’s nice to get to know a bit more about the town and the people in it. I’ll see you around.” He kissed me on the cheek and walked away.

  I watched Alex go. He was cute, but not for me.

  I dumped the remains of my slushie into a recycling bin and walked to the office. Jen would be more suitable for Alex. She’d always had a thing about blond guys.

  I didn’t want her to think I was getting rid of my unsuitable dates onto her, but I’d mention him the next time we caught up.

  Once I was in the office, the carnival took over my thoughts, even though Bert’s murder still lurked in the background. I hadn’t got much out of Alex and hadn’t wanted to push too much. It wasn’t fair to get him in trouble with Nick.

  I needed to get my head down and focus on work.

  ***

  At the end of what was a crazy working day, I went back to the warehouse. I needed to complete a final inventory of the floats and confirm that everyone who’d agreed to take part had their float in the warehouse.

  I was admiring the American football zombie brain, marveling over the intricate mechanics that would drive the helmet in the procession, when scuffling came from the back of the warehouse.

  I peered around the side of the zombie brain and squinted into the gloom. It looked like there were two people at the back. I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be there.

  Abandoning my inspection of the giant brain, I walked farther into the warehouse. “Is somebody in here?”

  The scuffling stopped. A few seconds later, Colin Figgins’s head appeared around one of the floats. “Cassie? Is that you? I wasn’t expecting anyone here today.”

  Colin looked like a younger version of his brother. His hair was receding, but he was five years younger than Bert, shorter, and with a more muscular physique.

  “I’m here to do a final check on the floats,” I said. “I didn’t know you were working at the warehouse.”

  Colin shrugged as he walked toward me. “No choice really. I need a second job. Caddying doesn’t pay well. Now that Bert’s gone, well, Johnny isn’t so generous with the tips.”

  Colin had worked with his brother for years, doing odd jobs and helping out when he could.

  “I’m so sorry about what happened to Bert,” I said.

  Colin sniffed and looked at the floor. “It’s weird him not being around. I keep expecting him to yell at me from out of the office, or message me to take him golfing. I’m still not sure it’s sunk in.”

  Losing a brother was hard. I should know, having lost my only sibling in the uprising. “Nancy took you on at the warehouse?” The warehouse was owned by Nancy Atherton. She owned a number of buildings in town, including all the warehouse storage facilities.

  “Nancy took pity on me,” Colin said. “I was in the diner a few weeks ago and didn’t have enough money to pay for my food. She was behind me. She paid for my meal and offered me a job. I’ve been here ever since.”

  “That was good of her.”

  “I’m not sure about that. Nancy saw an easy mark. It’s only minimum wage here, but I’m desperate.”

  I felt sorry for Colin, struggling with money and losing Bert. My eyes widened as a worrying thought entered my head. I’d never heard of any problems between Colin and Bert. They were close. Colin might be strapped for cash, but he wouldn’t be callous enough to harm Bert to get his hands on his money, would he?

  Colin shuffled his feet and glanced over his shoulder as I continued to stare at him. “I should get back to work. If Nancy catches me slacking off, she won’t be gentle on me. She works her employees hard.”

  I’d heard that from other people. “Of course. I’ll be another half an hour checking over the floats. Don’t mind me.”

  “Oh, you’re staying that long? I was planning on locking up soon.”

  “If you leave me the keys, I can do it.” I’d done it before and was used to locking the warehouse when I needed to check on the party supplies we stored there.

  “No, it’s no problem. I’ll wait for you to leave,” Colin said. “I’ve got a few things to do before I go.” He turned and hurried back to his work.

  I returned to the floats, taking pictures and checking the stability of anything that looked unsafe. I didn’t want things falling on the tourists during the procession.

  The floats looked amazing. I was certain this would be the best carnival procession we’d ever had. And so it should. Five years of Zee Town working successfully was a cause for celebration.

  Once I’d finished, I walked to the back of the warehouse to say goodbye to Colin and let him know he could lock up and go home.

  He was nowhere to be found. All I discovered were empty food bags and a woman’s flat pink shoe. I didn’t think there were any women working in the warehouse. Nancy was as old-fashioned as Johnny when it came to her values about women working in traditionally male occupations.

  Maybe Colin had a thing for women shoes. Or maybe he had a girlfriend, and he’d snuck her in for some fun. That could be why he didn’t want me hanging about.

  I grinned as I walked out of the warehouse. Colin’s secret was safe with me. He deserved some happiness after losing his brother.

  Chapter 16

  Despite running late the next morning, my mood was positive. The bright sunshine certainly helped, but we were only a couple of days away from the carnival. It was exciting.

  I dashed into Laura’s diner to grab a quick breakfast on my way to the office.

  “I’ve got some warm cranberry muffins if you’d like to try one,” Laura said.

  “That sounds perfect,” I said. “And add an order of fruit salad and tea to go. I’m going to need my energy today.”

  Laura smiled. “Is everything going well with the carnival?”

  “So far. All the decorations are up. I just need to do a few final checks and we should be good to go. I looked over the floats yesterday, they’re great.”

  “I can’t wait,” Laura said.

/>   “I bumped into Bert’s brother, Colin at the warehouse yesterday.”

  “Is he helping with the carnival this year?” Laura poured tea into a takeout cup.

  “Not directly. Nancy hired him to work in the warehouse.” I leaned closer. “I think I caught him in there with a girlfriend.”

  “Colin has a girlfriend?” Laura raised her eyebrows as she passed me the tea.

  “You seem surprised.”

  “He’s not exactly prime dating material.”

  “Colin’s okay.”

  “I like Colin well enough, but he always seems so... directionless. I’ve never known him hold a job down for more than a couple of months. Nancy will fire him if he’s caught bringing women to work.”

  “Maybe having a girlfriend will do Colin good. He’s having a tough time.”

  “He needs somebody to straighten him out,” Laura said. “Poor guy was in here just a couple of days ago crying over his chips. He must miss Bert.”

  I lifted the bowl of fruit salad and balanced the muffin bag on top before handing Laura some money. “I was wondering about that.”

  “What were you wondering?” Laura grinned at me.

  “Do you think Bert will leave Colin something in his will?”

  “I’m not sure about that. They’ve had a few arguments recently.” Laura rang up my sale. “Bert thought Colin was one of life’s disappointments.”

  “He’ll leave him something, though. Maybe his half of the golfing business? Colin used to caddy for Bert.” I checked over my shoulder to make sure no one was listening. “You don’t think Colin hurt Bert to get his inheritance?”

  Laura’s hand paused in mid-air. “He hasn’t got it in him. And can you imagine Johnny and Colin working together? The place would be shut down in months. Johnny would spend all his time drinking the profits and chasing the women, and Colin would forget to open up. He’s always off on those gaming weekends.”

  “Gaming weekends?”

  “Where you dress up and re-enact battle scenes,” Laura said. “At least, that’s what I think his little guys only club does. They meet here some evenings. It’s all hush-hush, but they’re always planning something. I figured it was a bunch of guys in armor playing fake battles.”

  “Was Bert involved in the club?” I asked.

  “Not that I know of. In fact, he made a joke about it on one occasion. Colin was fuming.”

  I shrugged. “It’s just a thought. Colin seems down on his luck, but if Bert hasn’t left him anything, we can rule him out as a suspect. I wonder if Nick has talked to him.”

  “I’m sure he has,” Laura said. “Colin doesn’t have it in him to do something like that. He’s one of life’s drifters. Not that it’s such a bad thing. It just didn’t sit well with Bert.”

  I checked my watch. “You’re right. I’ve got to go!”

  “Wait! I wanted to ask you how your date went with Alex,” Laura said.

  I paused, already halfway to the door. “How do you know about that?”

  “You walked along the sea front in the middle of the day with one of the hottest new guys in town,” Laura said. “I’m going to know about it.”

  I grinned. “It was nice. He’s a good guy.”

  “I’m sensing no signs of lust in that comment,” Laura said. “He’s not for you?”

  “Alex is cute. But he doesn’t seem sure about what he wants out of life. I’m not certain I want to be with a guy like that.”

  “You like men who are driven and focused,” Laura said. “Someone like Nick Morton? He’s very driven in his work.”

  I took a couple of steps back and knocked into a chair. “Sure, he’s driven. And stubborn, and pig headed, and intensely annoying.”

  “And good-looking.” Laura waggled her eyebrows at me.

  I grunted in reply. “Got to go.” I hurried to the door and pulled it open.

  “Don’t work too hard,” Laura called.

  I dashed out of the diner and over to the office. Me and Nick? That’s just not going to happen. We didn’t like each other. We always fought. I didn’t find Nick attractive. I mean, he wasn’t unattractive, but we couldn’t date.

  Once the office was open, I set to work on the final checks for the carnival. I looked over the schedule of staff and volunteers, the timings for the procession and events, and was about to check through the security arrangements when Jen came into the office.

  “Is now a good time?” she asked, looking around the office and waving at Zara.

  “It’s a busy time, but I could do with a break.” I set the schedule down and smiled at Jen.

  “I wanted to see how things are going.” She stood by my desk, twisting her hands in front of her.

  “Things are fine.” My eyes narrowed. “How about you?”

  “I’m good.” Jen bounced on her toes a few times. “Actually, I need to ask you something.”

  “Go for it.” I paused and looked Jen over carefully. “Is everything really okay? You look a little tense.”

  Jen sat in the seat opposite my desk and leaned toward me. “How was your date with Alex?”

  “Oh, that. It was a nice date. We had a good time together. We walked along the harbor and had lunch over at the V Joint. Alex even bought me a slushie at the end of the date. He was sweet.”

  “Are you going to see him again?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I didn’t get that feeling. He’s a lovely guy, and he’ll make someone happy, but not me. Why do you ask?”

  “I’ve done something stupid,” Jen said. “Don’t hate me.”

  “I could never hate you. Go on, spill, what have you done?”

  “Alex came over to the salon this morning.” Jen looked at her feet.

  “Was he booking a haircut? Or are you going to tell me he likes to have pedicures and a back wax?” I grinned, but Jen kept her gaze lowered.

  “Nothing like that.” Jen raised her head and shut her eyes. “He asked me out. And before I knew what I was doing, I blurted out ‘yes.’ I do want to go out with Alex. He’s so hot and has such a lovely smile. And he seems so sweet. It was crazy. Like someone had removed my brain, and I forgot that only a few days ago he’d asked you out. I panicked and realized that maybe he was trying to date us both. I had to come clean to you.” Jen sucked in air and opened her eyes. “Are we still friends?”

  I stared at her for a few seconds. “Did you think I’d be angry?”

  “I thought you might like Alex. He’s so lovely,” she breathed out.

  I laughed. “Yes, he is lovely, but he’s not my kind of lovely. If he makes you happy and you want to go out on a date with him, you won’t find me getting in the way.”

  “Are you sure?” Jen asked. “I don’t want us to fall out over a guy. And you’ve been single forever. I don’t want you to miss out because I’m being selfish.”

  “I’m sure. I promise you, I’m not interested in Alex.” I felt a twinge of sadness that things hadn’t worked out between us. I had been on my own for a long time, but there was no point in forcing things. The heart wants what the heart wants, and mine didn’t want Alex.

  Jen grinned and her shoulders relaxed. “He’s so lovely.”

  “You might have mentioned that once or twice.”

  A blush crept across Jen’s cheeks as she stood. “I’d better let you get back to work. Are you coming to Spooks and Kooks tonight?”

  “I’ll be there.” Even though I hadn’t finished the book we’d been assigned at the last book club gathering, I’d be going. It was a chance to catch up with friends, and it would be an excellent place to ask for people’s opinions about Bert and who wanted him dead.

  I waved goodbye to Jen and turned my attention to the security schedules. I didn’t mind for one second that Jen had found Alex. I’d wondered myself if he’d be more suitable for her. I was glad that they were dating.

  It still left me in my terminally single state, but I was used to that. It seemed normal to be alone. Normal, but not amazing.
My thoughts went to Laura’s comment about Nick, and I shook my head. Nope, I wasn’t dating Nick. No way, no how.

  Chapter 17

  The rest of the day flashed past quickly. Before I knew it, I was closing the office, saying goodbye to Zara, and grabbing a snack from the Boat Shed diner.

  I walked through town, eating my food and admiring the decorations as I headed to my monthly book club meeting, where I loved nothing more than a good read and a chat about anything horror related.

  All the bunting was up, floating in the gentle evening breeze. The store owners had made an effort, decorating their windows with displays. Some stores had images of friendly zombies in the window, while others had memorials, reminding people that we’d gone through hard times.

  I arrived at Selina’s flat over her clinic. We rotated the venue for the book club. Last month I held it at my cottage, but it was a little cramped. Selina’s flat was a huge open plan affair, all clean white walls and chrome surfaces. It looked a bit like the surgery she held downstairs, but Selina liked everything neat and in its place.

  The door was unlocked, and I walked through to find Selina, Jen, and Laura already seated around a low wooden table.

  “Come in. Take a seat,” Selina said when she spotted me. “I’m about to make some drinks. We’re having my zombie inspired cocktails, complete with fake eyeballs.”

  I sat and grimaced discreetly at Laura and Jen. Selina went all in when she did her zombie themed ideas.

  “We’ve got new people coming tonight,” Laura said. “I spotted Abigail Lovejoy in the diner and thought she might like some company. She’s agreed to come along. Although, she hasn’t read the book. She can listen, and it will be good for her to get out of the house.”

  “That’s great. I want to talk to her.” I sat on Selina’s large, squashy pale cream couch.

  “Let me guess, you’re still investigating Bert’s murder?” Jen said. “Nick’s not going to be happy if he catches you interviewing his suspects.”

  I waved my hand in the air. “He’ll never know. I can chat to Abigail and see what she knows. An angry girlfriend is a perfect suspect.”