Murder in the Morgue: A Senoia Cozy Mystery

by Susan Harper

Various sections of the hospital were set up with themed party games. Down one hall was nothing but a murder mystery theme—Felicity hadn’t been able to resist. She had dressed up as Nancy Drew, which had become a bit of a nickname after she had solved two local murders, and the theme for Overton’s Events had rapidly become sleuthing because of it. It was a good opportunity to add some additional advertising for the party planners, and the little finger printing game she had creating for young children attending was a big hit and was raising a lot of additional money for the fundraiser. A young volunteer, a girl who was still in college who was shadowing one of the nurses, was dressed as a police officer while hosting this particular event.

  “If you all look over here,” the young woman bragged to the children and their parents while pointing at a notebook that was on display. “This is Felicity’s Overton’s crime notebook she used to solve two local murders in Senoia. It has all of her notes from her investigations.”

  Felicity blushed and did her best to blend in with the background. Putting her sleuthing notebook on display had been Jefferson’s idea, but it was actually turning out to be a bigger hit than she thought it would be. It turned out she was more famous than she thought. “My word, Watson, can you believe this crowd?” a British-sounding voice spoke from over her shoulder, and she turned to see that Jefferson had at last changed into his costume.

  She laughed. “Oh my goodness, are you supposed to be Sherlock Holmes?”

  “Got to stick with the Overton theme, right?” he said and did a spin. “What do you think? Not too shabby, right?”

  “I actually really love it,” said Felicity. “Come on, let’s do our rounds. So far everything is checking out.”

  “All right. I’ll head around and take some pictures. I’ll meet you outside in a bit, sound good?” he said, holding up a camera.

  “Sounds good,” she said and headed down the hall, ready to make her rounds. She made her way down to the lobby where the main partying was taking place. There was music and dancing as well as a table of food. She played the role of a social bee for a moment, chatting it up with guests to ensure that everyone was having a good time. Much to her amusement, a few celebrity guests had shown up—a few actors from Senoia where a zombie-themed television show had been filming for the past few years, and she was especially pleased to see that some of them had dressed in their characters’ attire. Felicity knew she had Veronica to thank for that; the woman had a cousin who was an extra on the show and had worked diligently to convince a number of the stars to come to the local fundraiser as a sort of publicity stunt. No doubt their appearance had a lot to do with how crowded it had gotten in the past half-hour. Felicity stammered slightly over her words when she spoke with the show’s stars face to face, and truthfully, she was a little relieved to be out of their presence before she embarrassed herself.

  After checking out the dance area, she forced herself over to the elevator to head down into the cellar of the hospital—the morgue. Once she reached the lobby entrance of the morgue, she saw Autumn in a full witch attire scaring a few customers before they headed into the entryway of the haunted house. “This was a morbid idea,” Felicity said as she made her way over to Autumn once the guests had entered the haunted house.

  “A haunted house in a morgue? Please, this was genius and you know it,” said Autumn.

  “I’m just glad you didn’t dress up as a zombie or something,” said Felicity. “This place always gives me the creeps, and now you made it worse with a morgue-themed haunted house.”

  “People are loving it, though! Only one dollar to enter, so people keep coming back. This haunted house alone will probably raise enough to pay for half an incubator for our NICU,” Autumn bragged.

  “This was one of the easiest events I’ve ever done,” said Felicity. “With pretty much the entire hospital staff throwing in ideas and volunteering, this has turned out great.”

  “Have you seen the Younglings’ tent outside yet? The walking table?” Autumn asked.

  “Not yet. Have you?” Felicity asked.

  “It was freaking crazy!” Autumn explained. “I have no idea how it works, but that little coffee table was walking around that tent like it was nothing. You have to put your hands on it and talk to it to get it to move. At first I swore that Linda was moving it, you know? But then she stepped away, and it was moving by itself under my hands. It freaked me out!”

  “I’m sure there’s some sort of trick to it,” said Felicity.

  “Magic,” said Autumn, throwing in jazz hands for extra flair.

  “I’ll go check it out,” said Felicity. “Let me know if you need anything down here.”

  “Will do!” Autumn sang in the best witchy voice she could muster.

  Felicity was glad to leave the morgue. It was only a few months ago that she had seen Jamie, her ex-boyfriend Jack’s younger sister, laid out on a table in there. She didn’t understand how Autumn could spend all her time in that place. Felicity headed back into the party, and she rolled her eyes. Speaking of Jack, she thought as she saw her ex waving at her. Ever since Felicity and Jefferson had helped to solve his sister’s murder, Jack had slowly been weeding his way into her group of friends. She didn’t mind it so much. Truthfully, they made much better friends than they could ever hope to be as romantic partners. He was standing a short distance away from the elevator talking with Veronica. Felicity laughed. Veronica had always been the more…extravagant of her friends. She was dressed up as a nurse—a sexy nurse, of course. “Wow, Veronica,” Felicity said as she approached. “That is the most cliché thing I have ever seen.”

  “I look good, though,” she said with a wink. “But look at you, Nancy Drew! I love that you’re living up to your new nickname!”

  Felicity looked at Jack. He was just wearing a white t-shirt with the word LIFE written on his chest in red marker. “What are you supposed to be?” Felicity questioned.

  Jack laughed and held up a small basket full of lemons. “Get it?” he asked.

  “Wow,” was all Felicity could say, but she laughed slightly.

  Veronica gave Jack a friendly punch in the arm. “Have you seen Jefferson? He dressed up as Sherlock. You two better get a picture together, Felicity.”

  “Of course he did,” Jack griped slightly, showing his jealousy.

  Felicity rolled her eyes and quickly changed the subject. “What were you two over here talking about?”

  “We just went and checked out the walking table,” said Jack. “It creeped me out.”

  “Everyone keeps talking like it’s something else,” said Felicity.

  “I didn’t believe it until it told me how old I was,” said Veronica.

  “Wait, what?” Felicity questioned.

  “Yeah. It knocks once for each year, and it knew! It was weird,” said Veronica.

  Felicity laughed. “Okay, okay. I guess I really do have to go check this thing out, huh?”

  “You are the one who brought in that side attraction,” said Jack. “And I have to say, it impressed me, and you know how skeptical I am about those sort of things.”

  “All right, all right,” said Felicity. “I’ve put it off long enough. I’m going to go check out the table. I’ll catch up with you two later.” She gave them each an awkward wave and headed outside into the parking lot. She looked around for Jefferson, knowing that they had agreed to meet shortly.

  The party seemed to be drawing a nice-sized crowd. Felicity was excited and happy that the hospital would get its new unit that much sooner. She looked around and recognized some people from town. They waved and she waved back. She thought everyone looked cute in their costumes. There were vampires, zombies, and ghosts, and also some cute couples in prince and princess outfits, fairy tale couples enjoying the beautiful night. It was supposed to rain, but Felicity kept her fingers crossed that the rain would stay away until after the party. The local weatherman was right some of the time, but this was a typical “mostly cloudy” forecast that could go eit
her way. Right now they had clear skies, and Felicity hoped it would stay that way for the rest of the night. Rain tended to put a damper on fundraisers, and the hospital could use all the help it could get. She continued to look for Jefferson while people stopped by to say hello and tell her how lovely everything looked and tasted.

  She only had to wait a minute before she saw Sherlock Holmes running toward her from the hospital’s main entrance. He had a huge grin on his face, and he seemed to be blushing. Jefferson was also incredibly breathless, like he had run there. “You all right, Jeffrey?” Felicity asked.

  “You will not believe what I just saw,” he said and laughed.

  “What?” she asked, catching his laughter.

  “Dawn and Monte, no longer just a rumor. I walked in on them making out in an empty hospital room,” he said excitedly.

  Felicity squealed. “I knew it! Oh my goodness! Oh, Jefferson, I bet you really embarrassed them!”

  “Yeah…I think so, but I was pretty embarrassed too. I mean, we were bound to figure it out tonight anyway. She’s dressed up as a girly Luigi and he dressed up as Mario. They look like a couple,” he said.

  “Well, we sort of do too,” said Felicity. “Friends can dress up in matching costumes. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  Jefferson frowned. “Yes, I suppose so.”

  “You ready to go check out that walking table? Everyone is talking about it, so I really want to see it,” said Felicity.

  He smiled. “Sure, let’s go.”

  The two of them walked across the parking lot and over toward the tent where a small crowd was gathered, waiting to enter the tent. Linda stepped out of the tent, ready to invite the next people in line inside, but upon seeing Felicity and Jefferson, she called them up front and let them skip the line to go in. Inside the tent there was nothing but a small, brown wooden table sitting on a rug.

  “You two haven’t met Table yet, have you?” asked Linda, and Felicity giggled excitedly. Linda was dressed up like a psychic—very fitting for her role for the party.

  “Met Table?” Jefferson questioned.

  Linda giggled excitedly. “Oh, yes, and I really think she’s going to like you, Jefferson.”

  Felicity laughed to see Jefferson cringe. Her stomach fluttered with excitement; she couldn’t wait to see this mystical table in action.

  Chapter 3

  “So how does this work?” Jefferson asked.

  “You put your hands on top, and then you just talk to it,” Linda explained as the three of them circled around the table. They placed their palms gently on top of the small, rickety table, and Linda began to speak.

  Very soon, Felicity felt the table shift beneath her palm and she shrieked. “How do we know you’re not moving it, Linda?” Jefferson questioned.

  “I’ll show you,” Linda said, and after the table was rocking back and forth for a moment, Linda told it to sit. Then Linda stepped back and let Jefferson and Felicity work the table on its own.

  Felicity spoke to it, asking the table to stand up on two legs, and it leaned toward Jefferson. Jefferson’s eyes were wide. “Are you moving it, Felicity?” he asked, frightened.

  “No, are you?” she responded as the table continued to lean toward Jefferson.

  Linda laughed. “Tell it to get up on one leg and spin.”

  Felicity gave the order, and the table leaned until it was balanced on one leg, and it began to spin in a circle. Felicity and Jefferson ran in a circle, their palms gently touching the top of the table as they hurried around to keep up with the now rapidly spinning table. “I’m going to trip!” Felicity exclaimed giddily. She told the table to slow down, and reluctantly, she and Jefferson stepped back, both laughing and speaking erratically about the other-worldly experience they’d just had.

  Linda laughed. “It always freaks people out the first time.”

  “How does it work?” Jefferson exclaimed.

  “I have no idea,” said Linda.

  “Bull,” said Jefferson.

  Linda laughed. “No, really, I have no idea.”

  “What do you mean you have no idea?” Jefferson questioned. “You’re pulling my leg! How does it work? Come on, tell me.”

  “I really don’t know,” Linda said, and Felicity couldn’t tell whether or not the woman was serious or just messing with them. “It’s time for my break! I am starving! They still have food inside, right? Those hungry badgers haven’t cleared you out?”

  Felicity smiled at the perky woman. “No, you’re good. We’ll walk you inside.”

  Linda walked out of the tent, placing a sign that read Back in Ten out front, and a few exasperated sighs escaped the crowd. “Don’t worry!” she called out, clearly loving the attention she was getting from her side show. “I’ll be back soon!”

  The crowd wasn’t happy, but there were enough other things to keep them busy. There was apple bobbing, a cake walk, and numerous games with prizes set up in the parking lot. There was even a dunk tank sponsored by the local bank. Felicity was happy to see doctors and nurses lining up to dunk the hospital CEO. Inside was a dance floor that would have different bands and a DJ performing throughout the night. And, of course, the food was provided by Felicity and Jessica. People had already said that Felicity had outdone herself with the food for this event. Felicity had poured her heart into it. She wanted to make sure people opened their wallets after they filled their stomachs.

  The three of them began their walk through the parking lot back toward the main building of the hospital. “All right, all right,” Jefferson said. “I get you’re not going to tell me how it works, but—”

  “Because I don’t know how it works,” Linda quipped.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Jefferson. “Whatever you say. Is there at least some sort of story behind this thing?”

  “Sort of,” said Linda. “Let’s see… My great-great-grandfather made the table. Supposedly, he knew it was going to walk before he made it. One theory has something to do with the type of wood he used, but I like the other theory better.”

  “And what is the other theory?” Felicity asked curiously. Truthfully, the mystical walking table had her incredibly captivated.

  “Well, the old legend states that these special tables would attach themselves to someone, and when they died, their spirit would possess the table,” Linda said in the eeriest voice she could.

  “So you think your great-great-grandfather makes it move?” Jefferson asked skeptically.

  “No, his wife,” Linda said.

  “Why his wife?” asked Felicity as they reached the sidewalk.

  “We asked it once.”

  “Ask?” Jefferson questioned. “What do you mean you asked it?”

  “Knock once for yes and twice for no, we always say. We ask it questions, and it responds. It leans up and knocks its legs down. We asked it if it was a boy or girl once—knock once for a boy and twice for a girl—and it knocked twice. So, Table is a she.”

  “Did you ask it if it was your great-great-grandmother?” Felicity asked.

  “We did, but it wouldn’t answer us. Creepy, right?” Linda laughed and hopped up toward the walkway that led to the front door.

  As soon as they opened the door, Felicity’s ears were bombarded with the drumming sound of the music as well as the murmur of people excitedly socializing. Linda headed straight for the table of food, and Felicity and Jefferson followed. Truthfully, Felicity was simply hoping to learn more about the incredible table she had just witnessed spin around on one leg. But, thus far, it seemed that one of two things were true: either Linda truly had no idea how the table worked and it truly was in some way magical, or she was just a really good actress who had no intention of spilling the beans on this particular family secret. Either way, Felicity was happy that Linda had donated her time to this worthy cause.

  Linda waved into the crowd, and Felicity turned to see a number of familiar faces from the Youngling family reunion. She smiled, glad to hear that Linda had been corr
ect in her assertion that the family would be there to support the fundraiser for the NICU. So far, everything was going just perfectly. The weather was nippy but nice and the partiers were enjoying the Halloween theme. They seemed to be enjoying the food, and people were already starting to dance.

  “Hey, Felicity!” a familiar voice called out, and she looked up to see Jack headed their way.

  “What is he wearing?” Jefferson questioned.

  “When life gives you lemons,” said Linda. “Clever.” She began to devour what she had put on her plate while the three of them stood huddled together at the end of the buffet table.

  “Hey, you guys,” Jack said. “Great party. This turned out really well. I was just talking to Monte, and he was telling me you all have already raised enough money to pay for some of the equipment they’ll need. I’d say you threw a very successful party.”

  “Thanks, Jack,” said Felicity.

  Jack reached out a hand toward Linda. “I don’t believe we officially met? You’re Linda, the woman doing the walking table booth, right?”

  Linda balanced her plate in one hand and reached to shake hands with Jack. “That’s me.”

  “That’s a pretty cool trick,” said Jack. “How do you do it?”

  “Nice try, but I’ve been trying to get her to spill the beans and she’s not budging,” said Jefferson.

  A slight smile crept across Felicity’s face. She never imagined a world where Jack and Jefferson could stand next to one another and get along so well. The two of them started talking about the table and what they saw it do, and they both seemed very excited by it. Linda laughed and kept swearing up and down that there wasn’t any sort of trick behind it. Felicity wasn’t buying it, but she enjoyed the trick for what it was. She watched with slight astonishment to see Jack playfully punch Jefferson’s arm as they spoke about Linda’s mysterious piece of furniture. Jack had been her ex-boyfriend from high school, and Jefferson was a close friend whom she had shared much of hers and Jack’s relationship drama with. It was obvious that Jack found Jefferson to be a threat, but in more recent days, the two men had started to get along. Jack had slowly been working his way into their group of friends, and truthfully Felicity didn’t mind. They had been close in high school, and it had been a real shame that they had gone so long without being acquainted with one another. It was nice having him back in her life, and it was nice that he could get along with her friends, even Jefferson.