by Susan Harper
“Veronica?” Jack questioned. “Is this plausible?”
Veronica seemed to be thinking, but she nodded. “Honestly, Jack, it is. Based off what Autumn found—the seed in her teeth and the cyanide in her stomach plus the apple seeds we found in the tobacco—it looks like Candice was at least trying to kill her grandmother.”
“And guess who was getting everything in Rose’s will?” Jefferson added.
“But I don’t get it,” said Jack. “Rose was an Alzheimer’s patient on a downward slope with various types of cancers. The woman wouldn’t have lived much longer. Why not just wait it out instead of risking getting slapped with a murder charge?”
“Oh, yes, I know exactly why!” Felicity shrieked. “That’s it! It makes sense. Why would someone need her to die now and not in a year or two? Candice is the only one with motivation there. Candice was worried that with Rose spending so much time with Tommy, she might adjust her will to compensate him for taking care of her for two years. She killed off her grandmother before she had a chance to change her will.”
“That’s cold,” said Jefferson. “Especially considering Grandma Rose raised Candice.”
“Actually,” Jack said as they turned a corner, “I had just gotten a hold of some family records. Those territorial cops wouldn’t let me look at anything until they gave it a thorough read-through. Candice’s father wasn’t just neglectful; he was outright abusive. Children of abusive and neglectful parents can develop all sorts of emotional attachment issues. Not everyone does, but Candice could have. It would explain how Candice would be able to kill someone she should care about, and Grandma Rose being so close to the end of her life probably was enough for someone with underlying problems like that to reason that it would be for the best for both her and for Rose.”
They all stopped just outside the waiting room where the Younglings were gathered. “So are you going to make the arrest?” Felicity asked.
“You know that I am,” he said, and they entered the room.
Some of the family glanced up, but most of them didn’t notice a few more people slipping in. Felicity and the others began looking around a bit frantically, only to discover that Candice was absent. Jack began asking around, but no one in the family seemed to know where Candice had slipped off to. Jack grumbled angrily under his breath. “I’m going to have to call the Newnan cops,” he said to Felicity. “We need to set up a perimeter and nab Candice before she realizes that we’re onto her. I want you all to go back to the emergency wing’s waiting room and stay with Monte and Dawn. Just be casual and act like you’re just waiting around to see Autumn again. If you see Candice, do not let her know that we suspect her. Just let me know you saw her and let the police handle this, understood?”
Felicity nodded and grudgingly decided to let Jack do his job. Felicity, Jefferson, and Veronica left the waiting area together without saying a word to any of the Younglings to avoid tipping any of them off. “Looks like you solved another case,” Jefferson said quietly to Felicity as they walked as casually as possible back to the emergency wing.
“Glad I got to be of some assistance this time,” Veronica said and giggled.
Felicity smiled, but she would not let herself celebrate just yet. Candice could possibly be in the lobby with the few remaining party guests, perhaps celebrating thinking that she had managed to get away with murder. That, or Candice could have bolted, and Felicity did not care for that thought.
A couple of the guests were sashaying down the hallway together. It was a good sign that the night was still going well despite the murder. The hallways were wide enough for everyone to get through without disturbing the guests. The friends watched as the guests cozied up together and started dancing. Felicity smiled, happy to witness something sweet in the middle of the investigation. She turned her mind back to the job and looked at her friends, seeing them enjoy the moment, too. The spell was broken and they started down the hallway again.
They headed into the emergency waiting room, catching Dawn and Monte snuggled up together in a corner of the waiting area. They both jumped off one another as they entered, and Felicity laughed softly to herself. Clearly, Dawn and Monte were still not used to their relationship being out in the open. “Have you two seen Autumn since we’ve been gone?” Felicity asked.
“No. She’s resting. Her parents just left to go grab an overnight bag. They left in a hurry from the house to get her and check on her, so they didn’t pack anything,” said Monte. “They should be back soon. So what’s going on?” He pointed toward the emergency wing exit that led out into the parking lot. They could see various patrol cars pulling up, their lights on. “Did our super sleuth solve the murder of Ms. Grandma Rose?”
“We think so,” said Jefferson. “But Jack ordered us to come in here, sit still, and act casual.”
Jefferson sat down in a chair. The waiting room was less crowded than it had been earlier when Autumn had been brought in near death. There was a mother with a child sleeping on her lap and a young couple looking anxious. A young man paced in the corner and Felicity heard a nurse reassuring him that his wife would be out of surgery soon. Evidently his wife was giving birth and the baby was arriving early. Hopefully, there would soon be better facilities for families that are going through such awful times, thought Felicity, remembering what her party was trying to accomplish that night. Thinking about the worried father reminded Felicity of Autumn. Her parents had left and she was all by herself in the emergency room. It was not a fun place to be on your own.
“I kind of want to go tell Autumn what’s going on,” said Felicity. “Plus, I’d like to run our poisoned by apple seeds theory by her. She is the forensic pathologist here, and figuring out how people died is kind of her job.”
“Well, excuse me if my medical opinion was not up to par with Autumn’s!” Veronica teased in the sort of dramatic flair that they all knew was incredibly characteristic of her.
“Oh, shut up,” Felicity said, rising from her seat.
“They might not let you back there,” said Monte. “They’re going to be moving her to a more permanent room soon. They can’t keep her in emergency all night.”
As if backing up Monte’s claim, a nurse walked in and told the young father he could see his wife and newborn son for a few minutes. He smiled and hugged the nurse. When the mother with the child asked about another patient, she was told she would have to wait just a little longer while the doctors and nurses looked him over. The mother sighed and went back to her seat. Her child climbed back on her lap and they curled up together, getting as comfortable as they could on the hard chairs.
“You forget how charming I can be,” Felicity said and skipped over to the receptionist’s desk.
Autumn was being allowed to rest, so the doctors had yet to move her to another room. The woman at the desk picked up her desk phone to make sure it was okay for Autumn to have some company. After a moment, the receptionist nodded and pointed Felicity toward the double doors. Felicity gave Monte a rather sarcastic wave to let him know she had indeed been allowed to the back before she disappeared behind the doors. Almost as soon as she entered the back area of the emergency room, a terrible sinking feeling suddenly appeared in her stomach. She recalled the last conversation she had had with Candice. Candice had asked her about Autumn. Was Candice merely attempting to appear friendly and concerned, or was she perhaps worried about Autumn outing her as the murderer? Autumn was the forensic pathologist, after all.
Felicity bolted down the hall. Autumn’s door was closed, and doors tended to be kept open in the emergency wing since the patients were all under constant watch and nurses and doctors were constantly running in and out of the rooms. Felicity flung the door open and she saw a woman dressed up as Snow White leaning over Autumn. Felicity shrieked, “Candice!” when she saw that the costumed woman had her hands wrapped tightly around her friend’s throat.
Chapter 13
Felicity sprinted into the room, crying out for help as she
went in hopes that a passing doctor or nurse would hear. “Get off her!” Felicity roared; she could see Autumn fighting back with what little energy she had as Felicity flung herself around Autumn’s bed and grabbed hold of Candice’s arms. “You’re crazy!” Felicity exclaimed as she pulled Candice away from Autumn. Autumn began choking and gagging.
“I’m crazy?” Candice shrieked. “Get off me!” She pushed Felicity back and began to stammer, as though she honestly believed she had a chance of sweet-talking her way out of what Felicity had just seen.
“You killed your grandmother!” Felicity shouted. “And now you were going to hurt Autumn to keep her from telling what she found during the autopsy!”
“That’s not true!” Candice countered.
“We found the apple seeds, Candice! You should have dressed up as the evil queen instead of Snow White!” Felicity shouted. “The police are looking for you, and they’re going to arrest you, and you are going to go to prison!”
Candice’s innocent demeanor vanished and she gritted her teeth. “This is your fault! My grandmother was going to die anyway!” Candice surged forward, her hands outstretched as though she intended to use them like claws. Felicity took a step back, but it didn’t stop Candice from getting a hold of her. The two women fell into the back wall, and Candice took hold of Felicity by her hair and slammed her head against the cabinet behind them.
“Let go of me!” Felicity cried out and attempted to swing at her, but the woman held her too close to do so. Felicity managed to grab onto Candice’s Snow White wig, but that didn’t do her any good. The wig fell, so Felicity grabbed Candice by her actual hair. Now this fight felt more like two teenaged girls getting into a tussle, grabbing one another’s hair and doing a lot more scratching than hitting.
“This is your fault!” Candice kept shouting and then managed to knee Felicity in her stomach. Felicity felt her legs give in, and she instinctually let go of Candice to grab hold of her own stomach. This left her vulnerable, and Candice gave her a punch in the face and knocked Felicity all the way down to the floor before jumping on top of her.
“Get off!” Felicity kicked and screamed, wondering how in the world a doctor hadn’t heard her yet.
The next thing Felicity knew, Candice’s angry face became frighteningly relaxed and the woman fell over, her face slamming into the hard tile flooring. Felicity sat up, seeing Autumn standing over them, gripping her metal bedpan she had evidently just used to smack Candice on the back of the head with. Felicity scurried to her feet just as two nurses and Dr. Roberts came darting into the room. “What happened! Autumn, get back in bed!”
Felicity helped Autumn back into bed while one of the nurses held onto her IV stand to keep the IV from being yanked from her arm. Felicity looked to Dr. Roberts. “She was trying to kill Autumn, and then she went after me. Let the police know Candice Youngling is in here; they’re looking for her.”
Right before they had heard the noise in Autumn’s room, Dr. Roberts and the nurses had been trying to keep a man steady while they reset his shoulder. He was not very cooperative and it took all of them plus an orderly to hold him down. His yelling drowned out most of the noise from Autumn’s room during the attack.
Dr. Roberts told the orderly to notify the police. He moved over to Candice and started to check her out. She was out cold and he told the nurses to bring some smelling salts and a pillow. Candice was still in her costume, although it was a bit shredded after the fight. She looked like a beat-up Sleeping Beauty, but she would not be seeing her prince for quite some time. Felicity sighed and rubbed her scalp carefully. Her stomach still hurt, but that pain would go away soon. The police arrived and asked some questions, then they turned to Candice.
It didn’t take long before the police were waking Candice up, allowing her to be checked by a doctor, then dragging her out of the hospital. On her way to the car, she screamed that her grandmother had gotten what she deserved. The policeman told her to be quiet and stop kicking. She growled at him and yelled again. Some of the Younglings heard her and went back in to report the news to the rest of the family. Felicity remained in Autumn’s room until Dr. Roberts kicked her out because they were now able to move Autumn to a more permanent location outside of the ER.
Autumn was glad to be out of the room where she had almost been choked to death. She smiled at Felicity as she passed her and Felicity told her to get some rest. Felicity would stop by the next day, or later that day as it was past midnight, and bring her some good food. Felicity watched her friend being wheeled down the hall, glad that they had both survived this crazy night.
Felicity headed into the waiting area of the ER. Her friends Jefferson, Dawn, Monte, Veronica, and even Jack were all waiting for her. “Felicity, what in the world!” Jack exclaimed. “I said lay low!”
“Seriously!” Jefferson scolded. “How many near death experiences is it going to take before you learn to leave the actual arresting to the police?”
“I didn’t know she was in there!” Felicity insisted, realizing her friends had obviously been filled in by the Newnan officers about what had taken place. “Jack, aren’t you going to go down to the Newnan station to help with the booking?”
“Honestly, I think those clowns can handle it,” he huffed. “I don’t need credit for this; I’d rather just not have to deal with them anymore. Although, I can imagine that booking a woman dressed in a Snow White costume is going to be a real laugh. If they need me, they’ll call me.”
“I honestly can’t wait to see that mug shot,” Monte said.
They all laughed and were shushed by the receptionist. They looked around and saw a few remaining patients. Thankfully, there was no one else there from the party. It seemed they had managed to keep a lid on things, for the most part. A doctor was speaking to the mother and child who had been waiting anxiously all night and Felicity held her breath. The mother smiled and thanked the doctor, and Felicity breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy that good news was around that night.
“Felicity!” a familiar voice called, and they all looked up to see Linda hurrying into the emergency wing, her brother Tommy close behind. The woman came up and gave her a big hug. She looked sad but also a bit satisfied. “Thank you so much, Felicity. I’m sad to see that Candice would pull something like this, but she’s admitted to the police that she did it. It’s good that Grandma Rose’s killer, even if it’s family, is going to see justice.”
“Have you guys decided whether or not to press charges against your uncle?” asked Jefferson.
“Yeah, we’re not going to. He’ll never be allowed around the table again, though. I’m just glad it still works after getting all of that water damage!” Linda exclaimed.
“So you ever going to tell me how it works?” Jefferson asked. “Come on. Felicity and the rest of us just solved your grandma’s murder. Give me a hint.”
“All right,” Linda said and waved them all nearer with her finger as though she was about to divulge a very serious secret. She whispered, “I have no idea how it works, Jefferson.”
“Aww, come on!” Jefferson complained, and Felicity nudged him gently in the side.
“Well, I’m glad this is all settled,” said Monte. “It’s a shame that Candice is going to get that woman’s inheritance now, though.”
“Actually, she won’t see a dollar out of that money,” said Jack. “If she gets convicted, which after trying to kill Autumn and screaming out a confession in the parking lot she probably will, they’ll enact the Slayer Rule.”
“Slayer rule?” questioned Linda.
“It means if you kill someone to gain an inheritance, you lose the inheritance. She can contest it in court, of course, but I don’t see this one going well for her,” explained Jack.
“Good,” said Tommy. “Candice doesn’t deserve it. Not after all this.” He turned to Felicity and smiled. “Thank you, Felicity. I really appreciate this. You have no idea.”
Felicity smiled. “Of course, Tommy. I’m just
glad you all can have some peace with this, knowing what happened.” Felicity took a breath. “Jefferson, we have a party to close down.”
“Ugh,” he moaned. “It’s been a long night.”
Tommy and Linda yawned. The night was catching up with them and they decided to find the rest of the family and tell them about the will. They thanked Felicity and Jack again and walked together down the hospital hallway. The hallway had a hushed air about it and it seemed to swaddle Tommy and Linda in a protective embrace as they left.
Felicity laughed, and she and Jefferson headed to the hospital’s main lobby where only a small handful of late-night partygoers were still present. The guests were getting ready to go and the DJ was closing up his kit. The janitorial staff was in cleaning up after the guests and sweeping the night away. A few cars were in the parking lot and some guests were hanging out talking after the party. There was a chill in the air and the moon was out with a few clouds lingering in the sky. Another case had been solved, and the Youngling family would be able to move on knowing that the killer of their family’s monarch would be spending the night in the local jail to await her court date. It had been a rather successful night after all.
Chapter 14
Six months later…
Felicity stood next to the podium stationed in the refurbished hallway of Newnan Hospital’s updated NICU area. Dr. Morrison, the doctor who headed up the NICU, was speaking at the podium to a conservative crowd of reporters as well as doctors, nurses, and a collection of Felicity’s friends. The man smiled brightly for the cameras as he unveiled the plaque at the entryway of the hall. “And as a special thank you to Ms. Felicity Overton for not only running the fundraising operation that helped pay for the new equipment, but also for salvaging the fundraiser as well as salvaging our hospital’s reputation after the murder of Mrs. Youngling. We have decided to dub the new hallway Overton Hall.”