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

by K E O'Connor

  I nodded, too surprised to speak. Nick just kept on surprising me.

  “I want you to be the zombie liaison during this investigation. I don’t want you thinking I’m overstepping the boundaries during the interviews.” Nick gave me a half smile.

  I still didn’t know what to say. I focused on inspecting the inside of Stool’s ears. Nick was right, if I’d found out he’d be interviewing every zombie in town, I’d have insisted on being involved. Nick was always suspicious around the zombies, no matter what kind they were.

  I wondered exactly what he had against them. From the comments he’d just made, he’d seen the dark side of the zombie uprising too many times.

  “I’m bringing in Maggie and Karl full-time on this as well,” Nick said. “They’re already out running searches alongside Archer’s crew, but they can assist with the interviews. They’ll be back at the station when we arrive. I’ll get a debrief from the team as to the search situation before we move forward.”

  Maggie Hull and Karl Jenkins worked with Nick and Alex at the station. They shared one police constable’s job, working part-time hours.

  “I’ll help, but I can’t leave the tourism office unattended. I can’t close the whole time I’m with you,” I said.

  “Can’t you get your assistant to cover things?” Nick asked.

  “Zara can cover the basics just fine,” I said. “By the sounds of things, she’s also a suspect in this case. That will stress her out. She shuts down when she’s stressed.”

  “I don’t want to stress the zombies out. But you’re right, Zara will have to account for her whereabouts on the night of the attack,” Nick said.

  I ignored the irritation that ran through me at Nick’s comment. Zara had nothing to do with this attack. “It’ll take weeks to interview every single zombie resident.”

  “Which is why I’m not doing formal interviews with every zombie,” Nick said. “Not to begin with. I’ve got Alex running off questionnaires to all households with zombie residents, asking them to confirm each zombie’s movements. We’ll impose a twenty-four-hour deadline to get the completed questionnaires back. The zombies without alibis will be our top suspects.”

  “That makes sense!”

  “Don’t sound so surprised.” Nick parked in front of the station and looked at me. “Are you up to this?”

  “Of course, I am,” I said. “If there’s a problem zombie in Zee Town, we need to find him, or her, and quickly.”

  “And what if you don’t like the answer we find?” Nick asked. “Are you willing to accept it might be one of our zombies who did this? Something is happening to Zee Town’s zombies?”

  I stroked my hands down Stool’s back. I wasn’t. It made little sense that one of our placid zombies did this. “I’m prepared to consider anything. I hope you’ll be disappointed when you find out it isn’t one of ours.”

  “So do I.” Nick looked at Stool who was sprawled across me and shook his head. “That dog is an embarrassment.”

  “He loves me.” I kissed his head.

  “He’s crazy.”

  I resisted the urge to poke my tongue out. Stool had excellent taste in women.

  We left the car and walked into the station together, Stool wedged in between us.

  Julia Browser was at the reception desk as we entered. She stood as soon as she saw Nick, her green eyes full of concern. “Alex is finishing up in the office. The questionnaires are almost ready to go.”

  “Good. We need them out by the end of the day.” Nick nodded at me. “Cassie is going to be our zombie liaison during this case.”

  Julia’s eyes widened, and she blinked at me. “A new job?”

  “I don’t think I’ll get any pay with this one,” I said.

  “Come through.” Nick was all business as he strode through the reception and into the main office of the police station.

  “I’ll get you some tea,” Julia whispered to me. “Nick forgets the niceties. In a crisis like this, tea and cookies are essential.”

  I grinned at her. “Tea would be lovely.”

  I’d never seen the inside of the whole station before. I’d only ever been forced to wait in the reception or been in an interview room being grilled by Nick over a false claim that I’d done something wrong. The main office was small, with pale blue walls, four compact desks in the center, a row of filing cabinets at the back, and a bookshelf jammed full of what looked like legal texts.

  “Wait in there.” Nick gestured to a room off to one side. “I’ll gather the others and we can make plans.”

  Stool had remained by my side the whole time. He followed me into the meeting room. There was a large table with chairs, a white board on one wall and a pull-down screen.

  I sat at the table. Stool rested his head on my knee and gazed up at me.

  “You look about as confused as I feel.” I slowly stroked the soft fur on his ears. “What have I gotten myself into?”

  Julia hurried in with a tray of drinks and a large plate of cookies. “Have you been helping Nick for long?” She passed me a mug and set the cookies down.

  “About twenty minutes,” I replied.

  “He’s good to work with, but a bit strict.” Julia glanced over her shoulder. “He caught me painting my nails at the reception desk on one occasion. I don’t think I’ve ever been lectured at for so long.”

  “Did he punish you?” I selected an oat cookie from the plate.

  She leaned toward me. “After the lecture, he made me paint my nails black for a month.”

  I choked on my cookie. “You didn’t do it, did you?”

  “I did! You don’t mess with Nick Morton.” Julia smoothed her blonde hair. “He only did it because he knows I hate black. It drains the color out of my skin.”

  “I’d have told him to stuff that idea where the sun doesn’t shine.”

  Julia smiled as she left the room. “Yes, I believe you just might.”

  I fed part of a cookie to Stool and drank my tea as I waited for the others. That was a mean thing for Nick to do, but it showed he knew Julia well to opt for that warning to stop her slacking on the job again.

  A few minutes later, Nick, Alex, Maggie, and Karl entered the room. None of them appeared surprised I was there. They all acknowledged me with a greeting as they sat around the table.

  Nick was the only one who remained standing, his feet spread apart and his shoulders back as he looked at each of us in turn. “This is the situation to date; Selina confirmed the victim was attacked by a zombie. There are no signs of the rabid zombie in question. Alex, how far has the street search progressed?”

  “We’ve covered half the town. We’re anticipating full search completion by mid-afternoon today,” Alex said.

  Nick nodded. “Our initial focus has been the warehouse area, radiating out from there. The farther away from the site we found the body, the less likely we are to find the zombie. It won’t be able to move through town unnoticed. And it won’t be able to resist another attack if it meets a human. There’s no doubt that’ll happen if the zombie isn’t contained. So far, no other bodies have been found. We’ve been lucky. Maggie, any reports from concerned members of the public about rabid zombie sightings?”

  “Nothing rabid zombie related,” Maggie said, her light brown hair pulled off her face with a clip, showing her high forehead. Maggie was a few years older than me, with two young children, and a husband who worked on a fishing boat.

  “What about the questionnaires?” Nick’s serious gaze remained on Maggie.

  “The questionnaires are ready to go,” Maggie said.

  “Every household with a zombie in residence needs one,” Nick said. “Include the shelter in that. We must make sure the zombies who don’t have someone permanently supporting them also have alibis.”

  “I can help with that alongside Jen,” I said. “She’s volunteering at the shelter tonight.”

  “Get over there as soon as you can,” Nick said. “We can’t wait until this evening
to collect the details.”

  “What are we telling people?” Karl scratched a finger against the pale stubble on his cheek. He was short and squat, with broad shoulders, his hair pale and his eyes dark brown.

  “We need to keep things quiet,” Nick said. “We can’t risk word of this breach getting outside of Zee Town. It could devastate what we’ve built here.”

  “People are already talking, though,” Karl said. “They’re nervous and not sure what’s going on. Surely, if we told the residents what was happening, they’d take the questionnaire seriously and tell us if there’s a problem with their zombie resident.”

  “Zee Town residents aren’t stupid,” I said. “If you ask them about the whereabouts of their zombies, and they’ve heard rumors about a dead body, they’ll link the two together.”

  “It’ll only take one message on a social media site for word to get out,” Alex said.

  “I’d shut social media down if I could,” Nick said. “But that’s not an option.”

  “Most of the residents are linked to our cultural events Facebook page,” I said. “I can keep an eye on things. If anyone posts something worrying, I’ll deflect it. I can bombard everyone with updates and information about the Spring Fling to distract them.”

  “Which is definitely not happening this year,” Nick said.

  My attention snapped to him. “We can’t cancel the Spring Fling. Everything’s been arranged. People are looking forward to it.”

  “It’s too dangerous. We need to minimize risk to the public,” Nick said. “Having a large group of warm-blooded humans in one space will be too much of a temptation for the rabid zombie. You don’t want carnage at your event.”

  “It’ll be held in broad daylight on the beach. There’ll be hundreds of people there. We’ll see if a zombie is approaching,” I said.

  “It’s out of the question,” Nick said. “I can’t risk another attack.”

  “I’m not canceling,” I said.

  “I’m not giving you the option to cancel it or keep it,” Nick said. “The event isn’t happening. End of debate.”

  I glared at Nick, who glared back with equal ferocity. “What if we had extra security?”

  Nick held his hand up and turned away from me. “Maggie? Any further updates from Archer’s border patrol as to the fence situation?”

  “They’ve done another sweep of the perimeter and confirm there are no breaches.” Maggie looked from me to Nick, seeming to sense the growing tension.

  I fought not to snap at Nick in front of his team, even though he’d just blanked me and shut down my suggestion without trying to find a compromise.

  Nick stepped forward and rested his hands on top of the table. “It’s looking more like this is an inside job. One of our zombies has gone rogue.”

  The room was silent as everyone absorbed this information.

  “A placid zombie gone bad?” Alex asked. “I didn’t realize that was possible.”

  “It isn’t,” I said sharply. “This is a mistake.”

  “We don’t know that. Let’s make a start,” Nick said. “Maggie, you and Alex batch the questionnaires. I want them ready to go in half an hour.”

  “We’re on it,” Maggie said.

  “Karl, keep chasing for half hourly updates from the border patrol team doing the searches,” Nick said. “Archer thinks I have some kind of psychic ability and know what they’re doing without being kept informed.”

  “Will do,” Karl said.

  “Cassie, I need you to help stop the story leaking out to the public.” Nick finally bothered to look at me again. “I also want you over at the shelter. Work with the zombies to complete the forms, especially if they don’t have anybody who can help them. I’m thinking a zombie who doesn’t have a human mentor could be more likely to go off the rails.”

  “So, you’re sending me into a potentially deadly situation?” I was angry at Nick for trying to get my Spring Fling canceled.

  His gaze cut to mine. “I’ll come with you if you feel you need backup. I assumed you thought all of our zombies were harmless?” The challenge was clear in his tone.

  “They are.” I shook my head. I didn’t want Nick trailing after me and snapping at my heels every time I said a kind word about a zombie. “I’ll get Jen to help for a few hours. She knows most of the zombies at the shelter better than I do. They might be more open with her.”

  “Good idea,” Nick said. “Report in if you find anything useful.”

  I nodded, the seriousness of the situation wiping away the smart remarks I wanted to say to Nick. This was a deadly serious operation. Someone had died. The killer was on the loose. They could strike again at any time. I had to put aside my differences with Nick and work with him.

  “Get to it, people,” Nick said. “Keep me informed as to what you’re doing and the progress made.”

  Chairs were pushed back, and the others left the room, leaving me with Nick and Stool.

  “About the Spring Fling—”

  “No, I can’t deal with that now.” Nick turned toward the door. “There’s too much going on. Having a public event is dangerous and not worth the risk. We’re too exposed on the beach. You cannot risk people’s lives for the sake of entertainment.”

  “What if I thought up a way we could have it safely?” I followed Nick out of the room and over to the kettle.

  “It’s not worth the hassle.” Nick flicked on the kettle.

  “Let me try,” I persisted. “I’ve worked so hard on the Spring Fling. It’s just what the town needs. I’m sure I can think of a way to keep it going.”

  “Haven’t you got a shelter full of zombies to interview?” Nick asked, ignoring my plea.

  I grabbed a plastic spoon and threw it at him. “I’m going.” I stalked out the room and back into the reception, where I found Alex with a huge pile of questionnaires.

  He took one look at my face and stepped back. “You didn’t convince Nick to have the Spring Fling?”

  “Not even close,” I said. “Give me a handful of those questionnaires. I’d better get over to the shelter so I don’t get told off by Nick for slacking on the job.”

  Alex nodded and passed me a pile of questionnaires. “I got a message from Jen about your visit to the border patrol.”

  “Nick caught us there. He wasn’t happy.”

  “I haven’t seen him smile since we got word of the zombie attack,” Alex said.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen him smile for about a month, so that’s not unusual.”

  “We’re all worried, Cassie.” Alex’s face was unusually downcast.

  I sighed and patted his arm. “I know. So am I. I’ll get to the shelter and see what I can find out.”

  “Keep an eye on Jen for me,” Alex said. “She was panicked when I spoke to her earlier.”

  “I will. We’ll be safe together.” I hurried to Jen’s salon. When I entered, she was at the reception desk, booking in a client.

  Jen glanced at me and gestured to the seats in the reception area. I sat and waited for her to deal with her customer, the scent of apple shampoo and the quiet blue’s music in the background not calming my nerves.

  She dashed over the second the customer left and sat down. “I’m so glad you’re here. I thought Nick might have stopped you from leaving now he’s recruited you into the police.”

  “He wouldn’t dare offer me a job working with him,” I said. “He’d never get me to follow his orders.”

  “That’s true.” Jen’s eyes widened. “I mean because you’re an independent minded woman, not a trouble maker.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Nick definitely sees me as trouble.” I sighed. “I’ve got bad news.”

  “The rabid zombie’s been seen?” Jen clutched my arm.

  “Worse. Nick’s threatening to cancel the Spring Fling.”

  “I knew he’d do that.” Jen frowned.

  “It won’t happen. I’m determined to keep the event going,” I said. �
��If anything, it’s even more important to hold the Spring Fling. It’ll be a way to show everybody we’re still united. One rabid zombie won’t spoil anything.”

  “Good. I’ll back you in keeping the event going.” Jen pointed to the questionnaires in my hand. “What have you got there?”

  “They’re what’s going to keep us busy for the day,” I said. “Nick created a questionnaire for households. He needs to know the whereabouts of their zombie residents.”

  “Keep us busy?” Jen asked. “Who are we going to talk to?”

  “The zombies at the shelter,” I said. “That’s why I need your help. They trust you. If we can get over there now, we can get through the residents today. Nick’s insisting the forms are completed within twenty-four hours so he can put together a list of suspects.”

  “He thinks one of our zombies did this?” Jen said. “Could that be true?”

  “No. I don’t want to believe it’s true,” I said.

  “But if the rabid zombie didn’t come from the outside, where else could they have come from?” Jen shook her head. “They were already inside Zee Town? It’s too awful to believe.”

  “We don’t know that for certain.” I squeezed her hand. “The police are continuing their search. They’ll find the zombie. They’ve got the border patrol team doing street patrols. They’re also keeping news of the rabid zombie quiet so as not to alarm the public. I’ve got to keep an eye on any postings that appear online to make sure word doesn’t leak out. Nick’s keeping it quiet from the Council as well, for fear they’ll shut us down.”

  “We need to find this zombie,” Jen said. “I don’t want Zee Town to become a place people are scared to visit.”

  “That’s why we need to get moving with these questionnaires,” I said. “Can you close the salon and help?”

  Jen nodded. “Give me ten minutes. I need to cancel a couple of appointments.”

  I had a look through the questionnaire as I waited for Jen. The questions were standard, confirming whereabouts at the time of the attack, who could vouch for the zombie, and if the zombie had any urges to bite a human. I doubted they’d tell the truth if they had urges like that. But they wouldn’t. It couldn’t be a Zee Town zombie who’d done this.