by K E O'Connor
I hurried out of my cottage and over to the dance hall to let in the cleaning crew and have the stage dismantled. After everyone was hard at work, I headed to the office and opened up, answered a few messages left on the voicemail, and settled Zara in for the day.
“Did you enjoy the dance?” I asked Zara as she nursed a cup of broth.
“Was a good evening,” she said. “Not enough brains.”
“I’ll make sure the next dance is better catered for zombies,” I said. There had been a number of zombie couples at the dance last night. I’d been surprised by how many had attended. Large crowds and noise could scare them, but even Zara, who preferred the quiet life, seemed to enjoy herself.
I sent a quick text message to Jen, Laura, and Selina, asking them to meet me at lunch time. Now the dance was over, we could focus on our missing zombies.
I got responses immediately. Everyone was in.
A few hours of work, and I was soon heading to the diner to meet the others.
Jen and Selina were already there when I arrived. Before I’d even sat down, Laura joined us, with two large plates of heart-shaped cookies in her hands, which she placed on the table with a triumphant flourish.
“You need to eat these,” Laura said. “Now Valentine’s Day is over, I won’t be able to get rid of them. Take as many as you like.”
We willingly obliged and sat there for a moment, enjoying Laura’s cinnamon infused cookies.
“So, our missing zombies,” I said, finishing my cookie. “So far, we’ve got Audrey, Chris, Digger, Lucy, and Beatrice unaccounted for.”
“And Phil is dead,” Selina said.
“Yes. Is there any more information you can share about the cause of his death?” I asked.
“The tests confirm one of two things,” Selina said. “He was either starved to death deliberately or given the wrong food by somebody who doesn’t know their zombies well. Phil died because he wasn’t given enough brains to eat.”
“Do you think that’s what’s happening to the other missing zombies?” A look of concern crossed Jen’s face.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that Phil dies and the others go missing,” I said.
“Who’s taking the zombies?” Selina twisted a strand of her gray hair around one finger.
“And why?” Laura asked.
“There are a few people we need to be interested in,” I said. “First, Bill from the store.”
“Bill Guthrie wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Jen said. “I know for a fact he doesn’t even use fly paper. He thinks it’s cruel. He guides any flying critters out of the store with a waft of his paper. Bill is a sweetheart.”
“I thought that at first,” I said. “When I spoke with him, he didn’t seem bothered that Chris has gone missing. He’s not letting him work at the store if he does show up. Plus, Bill’s got a checkered history when it comes to zombies. He lost his wife to them.”
Selina nodded. “It was a nasty attack. Bill only just got out alive.” She leaned closer. “I shouldn’t say this, but he has been to me in the past, talking about feeling depressed and having night terrors about zombies.”
“That wouldn’t turn him into a killer or a kidnapper,” Jen said. “I’d be depressed too if that happened to me.”
“He’s also out of town at the moment,” I said. “His nephew has no idea where he’s gone or what he’s doing. I get the impression Grant has no clue what’s going on with his uncle.” I struggled to keep a smile off my face when I thought about Grant and all those kisses.
“Weren’t the two of you dancing together last night?” Jen took another cookie.
The grin I’d been trying to hide revealed itself. “We may have had a quick dance.”
“You like him!” Jen bounced on her feet. “Does he like you?”
“I’m not sure.” Although, I hoped he did. You don’t kiss someone you don’t like.
“You so do,” Jen said. “You’re into this Grant guy. Has he kissed you?”
I waved my hand to dismiss her question. “Let’s focus on the zombies. We need to consider Bill a suspect. He claims to have left town. What if he’s hiding somewhere and has the missing zombies with him?”
“Given what Selina’s told us, Bill could have had a breakdown,” Laura said. “It happens. Maybe something tipped him over the edge if he was struggling.”
“He’s had a breakdown and stolen a load of zombies?” Selina didn’t sound convinced. “Bill never spoke about wanting to kidnap zombies.”
“It’s a possibility,” I said.
“Who else?” Laura asked. “I’m also not buying into the Crazy Bill theory.”
“What about The Flounder?” I said. “When I saw him to find out more about his missing deck hand, he’d already replaced him with another zombie. And he told me he doesn’t pay his zombie workers. Well, he feeds them fish, but that’s hardly fair treatment.”
“He’s not my most favorite person in town,” Jen said. “He always smells funny.”
“Smelling of fish doesn’t automatically make you a suspect,” Laura said.
“He is mean,” I said. “The Flounder doesn’t treat his zombies well. He certainly didn’t have any fondness for his new deck hand. He chucked a load of rotten fish at him when I was there.”
“Why would he take the zombies?” Selina asked. “What’s in it for The Flounder?”
“Cheap labor,” I said. “When they get too weak or do something wrong, he dumps them on the beach. He’s in the perfect location to do so. The Flounder spends all his time on his boat. He could sneak out at night and dump the bodies.”
“If it is The Flounder,” Selina said, “why was Phil found on the beach with a stomach full of food he couldn’t digest properly? If what you’re saying is right, Cassie, Phil should have been stuffed with fish, which would have meant he wouldn’t have starved.”
I ate a cookie. Selina had a good point.
“How about the tourist Nick arrested?” Jen asked.
“His name’s Seth,” I said with a grimace. “I met him. We talked about the missing zombies. He’s also not a nice guy.”
“No, it’s not him,” Laura said. “I overheard a customer say that Nick escorted him out of town. He won’t be coming back. Our border security won’t let him in.”
“I did think it might be him,” I said. “But he had no clue about Phil’s death or the missing zombies. He was more interested in seeing zombies fight each other. It was creepy. I don’t think he’s a suspect anymore.”
“What if Seth took the zombies and locked them in a room somewhere in town?” Jen asked. “If he was enough of an idiot to think he could start a zombie fighting ring in Zee Town, it could be the sort of thing he’d do.”
I shuddered, hating the thought any of our zombies were locked away and forgotten about. “We should check if Seth rented a warehouse or storage place while he was here.”
“You definitely don’t think our zombies simply left or wandered off for some reason?” Jen asked. “I know we think we understand them, but there could be hidden depths behind those bloodshot eyes.”
“I’m convinced they’re being taken,” I said. “My gut’s telling me something bad is going on. Something we need to stop.”
“I agree,” Selina said. “Someone is taking our zombies. I don’t believe they wandered off. It’s not a natural behavior pattern of zombies.”
“We need to find them,” I said, “and stop whoever has taken them from getting their hands on more zombies. We want no more bodies appearing on the beach.”
“Where do you want to start the search?” Selina asked.
“How about we keep an eye on The Flounder to start with? He would have been out in his boat first thing in the morning, but should be back by now. We can watch where he goes and see if his movements appear strange. He must know about the warehouses by the harbor, and if any of them are empty for his use.”
“No problem,” Selina said. “I’ve got patients to see after lunch, but I
can meet you in an hour.”
“Great. I’ll leave Zara in charge while we spy on The Flounder,” I said.
“You be careful around him,” Laura said. “I think you’re right; he’s not a nice man. If he realizes you’re snooping, he might not be too friendly.”
“We’ll be discreet,” I said. “He’ll have no idea we’re watching him.”
“What do you want me to do?” Jen asked.
“Ask around and see about any warehouse or room rentals Seth might have arranged,” I said. “You could be right and he hid the zombies somewhere.”
“I can do some discreet asking around about Bill,” Laura said. “See if anybody knows where he’s gone and if he’s really out of town. He could be laying low somewhere with the zombies.”
“That’s great. See what you can find out.” My thoughts went to the baseball bat Bill had under his counter. He had a darker side, he just kept it hidden. As far as I was concerned, he was still a suspect.
We left the diner with promises to meet later. I returned to the office to make sure Zara had clear instructions before I went on my spy mission with Selina.
An hour later, I stood on the harbor next to Selina, the freezing sea breeze numbing my nose and turning my ears red.
“There’s his boat.” Selina pointed to Charisma. She wore a black bobble hat and her black coat, her collar up as she tried to hide her face.
“I don’t see any movement on board,” I said. “I hope he hasn’t already left for the day.”
“He sleeps on the boat,” Selina said. “If he’s gone anywhere, it’s just to get a few supplies.”
“Or he’s gone to check on the zombies.” We exchanged a worried look.
We monitored the boat for ten minutes, my fingers slowly freezing. I wished for a hot mug of tea to keep the chill out.
My heart sped as the hatch below deck of Charisma was flung open. The Flounder pulled himself out and climbed onto the sand.
“Let’s see where he goes,” I said.
We waited a few moments as The Flounder walked across the damp sand and onto the harbor, his dark cap pulled low over his face and the collar turned up on his gray jacket. He was heading in the opposite direction to where we stood.
Following at a discreet distance, I watched as The Flounder bought a packet of tobacco and a newspaper from Bill’s store. He then went inside the Black Dog.
“Should we wait outside?” Selina asked.
“Not a chance,” I said. “If we don’t get inside soon, I’m turning into an icicle.”
“There’s no harm in having a drink at the same time as The Flounder,” Selina said. “There’s nothing suspicious about that.”
We walked into the welcoming warmth of the pub. Both the hearths had huge crackling fires going.
I defrosted in seconds as Selina ordered two teas at the bar from Marissa.
I picked a table on the other side of the pub, giving us a view of The Flounder but making sure we stayed a good distance away to avoid him getting suspicious.
Selina sat next to me and placed the mugs of tea down. “I got something to warm us up.”
“Thanks.” I took a gulp of tea and almost spat it across the table. “What’s in this?”
Selina grinned at me. “Something to warm the bones. Brandy and tea go well together.”
I stared into the mug. Selina enjoyed a drink, but I’d never have mixed these two flavors. I took another sip. Actually, it wasn’t bad.
Another twenty minutes passed. The Flounder looked settled in his seat as he read his paper and drank his pint of ale. So far, this wasn’t an exciting spy operation.
“This could be an opportunity for us,” I said to Selina, the brandy-laced tea filling me with courage. “It seems like he’s not going anywhere for a while. We could go to the boat and have a look inside.”
“The Flounder won’t keep any zombies in there.” Selina eyed the gray outside with narrowed eyes.
“There might be evidence that he has something to do with the missing zombies,” I said. “Or one of his other deck hands might be around. We can ask questions or hunt for clues.”
“I’m not sure,” Selina said. “Shouldn’t we tail him for a bit longer and see where he goes next?”
“He doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, though.” I finished my tea and stood. “Let’s go and investigate while we’ve got the chance.”
We slipped out of the Black Dog, into the frostbite inducing afternoon. Once we were at the harbor, we ran down the stone steps, onto the beach, and dashed to Charisma.
We both kept our heads down as we illegally boarded The Flounder’s boat in the hope no one would recognize us.
I hauled myself over the edge of the railing and was hit by the pungent stench of fish as my feet touched down.
“This is gross.” Selina’s hand was already over her mouth and nose as she stood next to me. “I’m used to foul smelling things appearing on my dissection table, but this takes it to another level.”
“Maybe he’s lost his sense of smell. I would if I lived with this all day.”
“Why doesn’t he clean his deck properly after he’s hauled his catch? There are fish bits everywhere.”
I’d already noticed that and was carefully stepping over tails and bits of skin to avoid sliding in any mess.
We had a quick look around the deck but didn’t spot anything obvious to help with the missing zombie puzzle.
“Time to go below.” I tested the hatch and was happy to find it unlocked. Maybe The Flounder really had nothing to hide if he wasn’t bothered about securing his belongings.
The foul smell only intensified below deck, the stale fishy air drifting around us as we descended the rickety wooden steps.
“It’s too small to keep any zombies down here.” Selina’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Have a look around anyway,” I said.
Selina checked under the bed and grimaced. “These sheets haven’t been cleaned in months.”
As I checked in a few of the tiny cupboards, I realized this was a wasted exercise. If there were any zombies on board, they’d be easy to find. “There’s nothing here.”
“Let’s get back to the pub.” Selina made it to the top of the steps and ducked. “Somebody’s coming.”
“Who is it?” I hoped it was a deck hand. We could talk ourselves off the boat if it was one of The Flounder’s assistants.
“I smell cigarette smoke. It could be The Flounder back already.” Selina hurried down the steps, her eyes wide.
“Let me look.” I crept up the steps and eased the hatch open. My heart sank; it was The Flounder. His back was to me as he tugged on a decking rope.
“What do we do?” Selina whispered.
I had no idea. We were trapped.
“Cassie! How do we get out?” Selina tugged on the back of my coat.
“I don’t think we can.” There was no way we’d be able to talk our way out of this one. The Flounder would catch us down here. When he did, he would be furious.
Listening to my gut again, I knew we were in big, fishy trouble.
Chapter 13
After staring at The Flounder for a few seconds, wishing he’d disappear, I sighed. We had to reveal we’d been hiding below deck.
I moved to open the hatch door.
Selina grabbed hold of my arm. “What are you doing?”
“We can’t lurk down here for much longer,” I whispered.
“He might only have returned for a few minutes,” Selina said. “We should wait him out.”
“And if he isn’t leaving? What if he comes down here and finds us hiding? That will make things worse. If we go out now, we might convince him we were waiting inside out of the cold.”
“What were we waiting for?” Selina asked.
“I don’t know. We could ask about the price of fish or something,” I said. “We can’t wait any longer or it will look even more suspicious.”
Selina frowned but nodded. “Fine. Le
t’s get this over with.”
I turned back to the steps. My blood chilled as I spotted one of The Flounder’s beady eyes peering at us through a gap in the hatch.
“What are you doing down there?” He hauled open the hatch door and glared at me. “Cassie March! Trying to steal my gold?”
I attempted a friendly smile and hurried up the steps toward The Flounder, ignoring the smell of fish and tobacco wafting off him. “I hope you don’t mind us being in here. It was so cold outside that we decided to wait below deck until you returned.”
He scowled at me. “I do mind. You shouldn’t invade a person’s home. That’s breaking and entering.”
Selina followed me up the steps, her long gray hair blowing in the wind. “We wanted to inquire about the price of crab.” She glanced at me and gave a discreet shrug.
“Crab! I don’t deal with crabs. Fish! I haul fish.” The Flounder continued to glare at us.
“Oh, well, our mistake.” Selina grabbed hold of my arm. “We’d better get going. We’re sorry to disturb you.”
“Yes! And sorry for going below deck,” I said. “The wind has a bite to it in February.”
“Hold on a second,” The Flounder said. “Weren’t you two just in the pub? Why didn’t you come over and ask me about crab when you were there?”
“Now, that’s an excellent question.” Selina turned to me. “Why didn’t we think of that?”
“We... didn’t want to disturb you.” I fumbled my words as I tried to think of a decent reply.
The Flounder snorted, unimpressed with my feeble response. “You shouldn’t be sticking your nose into my private affairs.” He jabbed a finger at the hatch. “You wouldn’t like it if I turned up in your house when you were in the bath.”
I repressed a shudder. “We are sorry.”
“You’re snooping again,” The Flounder said. “What have you got against me?”
I backed up to the railing, Selina by my side. “Nothing, and I’m not snooping. We really were interested in buying some crabs.”
“You need to keep your nose out of how I handle my boat and its crew.” The Flounder stalked toward us.