Undercover with the Undead

by Susan Harper

  “He’s going to kill me,” Kenneth muttered, shaking a bit.

  “We need to get out of here before he spots us,” Felicity said. “How far are we from the exit?”

  “Too far,” Kenneth said. “But there is a security personnel station just around the corner. There are always a few officers near there.”

  “Can we bolt?” Felicity questioned.

  “I think we’re going to have to,” he said, still shaking. Kenneth glanced her way with a curious expression. “You’re frightfully calm.”

  “Kind of done this sort of thing before,” Felicity admitted. She took a deep breath. “Which way are we going?”

  Kenneth pointed down the street. “Turn left at the tank with the spray paint on the side,” he said. “It’s right around that corner there, and the exit isn’t too far once we reach the security station, but we should be safe once we reach the security personnel.”

  “Then let’s run,” she said, inching toward the other end of the prop building, Kenneth right behind her.

  Before they could bolt, Max appeared around the corner wielding his weapon—cutting them off. “Run!” Felicity called, and she and Kenneth wound up darting off in the opposite direction that they had intended.

  Kenneth was fast, but Felicity kept up. They turned down another road—one equally charming in its end-of-the-world type way, though this street was significantly more crowded with turned over vehicles. Max was starting to catch up to them, and he had a look of desperation now. It was evident that Max was aware that they had figured him out, and he wanted to silence them before they had a chance to blab to anyone.

  Felicity grinned to herself, realizing Kenneth had led her in a circle to give them a chance to make it to the security station near the exit. “Help!” Felicity called out, hoping security would hear her from the distance.

  She could feel Max right on her heels, and eventually, the man proved to be quicker. He pounced, and the two of them fell on top of one another. The knife slid across the pavement, and Felicity managed to kick Max in his side to escape his grasp. Max went for the knife, and the man wound up between herself and Kenneth. “Kenneth, get help!” Felicity shouted, and Kenneth didn’t hesitate to sprint the rest of the way toward the security station around the corner. Kenneth was half of Max’s size, so Felicity was certain Kenneth attempting to jump to her rescue would just wind up getting them both stabbed.

  Max gripped the knife and lunged in her direction, but Felicity managed to keep enough distance between them to avoid getting struck. She bolted, heading back into the show’s set. Her lungs burned, and she was certain that Max would catch her before Kenneth returned with help. She felt him right behind her once more, but she caught a new burst of energy and pulled ahead—but not far enough ahead to feel safe.

  Then she heard car tires squealing, and the next thing she knew, she heard a banging sound. As she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Max go flying after being hit head-on by a red truck. Felicity stopped, and she felt the soles of her shoes slide against the gravel beneath her feet from the abrupt halt. She spun around, seeing Max on the ground attempting to collect himself. “Dad?” Felicity asked, seeing her father jump out of the driver’s seat looking angrier than she had ever seen him.

  Jack piled out of the passenger’s seat, and Felicity’s mother climbed over the seats to get out of the back. “Felicity! Are you all right?” Mrs. Overton shrieked, darting toward her.

  “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Felicity assured. “What are you three doing here?”

  Jack rolled Max onto his stomach and sat on the man’s back, his knee pressing against Max’s shoulders to keep him down. Max grumbled and cursed under his breath. Mr. Overton had a scowl on his face. “Let me run him over again before the police get here,” he growled.

  “I can’t let you do that,” Jack said.

  “Why not?” he barked.

  Felicity hugged her father. “Thanks for the save, Dad. How did you get your truck on set?”

  “He ran over a security guy’s foot when he told him he couldn’t come in,” Jack said, and Felicity smirked. Jack then proceeded to list off Max’s Miranda rights with a bit of annoyance in his tone.

  Max just moaned, but in his frustration, the man spat out a confession as Kenneth arrived with a swarm of security personnel behind him. “You shouldn’t have pulled my wife off the show, Kenneth!” Max roared. “She was better than that floozy I stabbed. This was her dream job!”

  “You’re an idiot,” Felicity said, crossing her arms. The chief and some on-duty officers arrived shortly, and soon Max was carted off. Felicity received a handshake from the chief before the man departed; Jack followed to fill out some paperwork as the on-scene officer who had made the arrest.

  Kenneth thanked Felicity profusely for not only solving the case but for saving his life by getting him out of his trailer in time. The man assured her he would be getting her check to her soon, and Felicity thanked him for the opportunity.

  Felicity then found herself standing with her parents by her father’s truck, and she smiled. “Thanks for coming to my rescue, you guys.” Her parents both embraced her, and it made Felicity feel warm to be wrapped up in the group hug.

  Her father placed a hand on her mother’s shoulder and sighed heavily. “Our daughters are going to give me a heart attack,” he said.

  “You should have known that having children with me was going to produce such spunky girls,” her mother said and elbowed the man in the side.

  Her father sighed heavily and leaned in as though he had something important to say to them. “We better get out of here before that security guard whose foot I ran over decides to press charges.”

  Felicity’s face turned red. “Oh, wait, Jack was serious?”

  Her mother gave her a friendly shove toward the truck. “Probably shouldn’t dawdle, dear! Let’s go!”

  Chapter 15

  Felicity placed the last of the little boxes into the back of her car, thankful that her car was finally out of the shop after having to drive the event van around for so long. Beside her car in her parents’ driveway was Jack’s truck, and he and Jefferson were just finishing loading up the last of her bedroom furniture. “Is that everything?” Jack asked, hopping down from the bed of his truck and heading around to his passenger’s side door. He went digging for straps to tie everything down.

  “That’s everything,” Felicity said. “I’m glad I kept my bedroom furniture in my parents’ basement.” When Felicity had moved in with Brian, she had stored a lot of things in her parents’ basement under the assumption she would sell it after the wedding.

  “I can’t believe you two are shacking up,” Jack said as he and Jefferson strapped her furniture down in his truck.

  “It’s not like that,” Jefferson said. “I have a spare room; she even wants to pay rent to help out with the bills and whatever.”

  Her parents came out of the house, each carrying a small box. “You forgot these,” her father said. “I think these are shoes or something.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Felicity said, taking the box from her father and placing it in the back of her car and then doing the same for the small box her mother was holding.

  “So, any news on that Max guy?” Jefferson asked, making small talk.

  “Jasmine is filing for divorce,” Felicity said. “And she closed their account so he couldn’t post bail, so he’s in jail until court.”

  “Ouch,” Jefferson said. “Well, I guess it serves him right.”

  “Hard to imagine what it must be like for Jasmine,” Felicity said. “She just had the baby, and I had a chance to speak with her. She feels almost guilty for what Max did because she had complained some about having her scenes cut, but she said it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Max just felt like she had been wronged and needed to make amends for it somehow.”

  Felicity’s mother abruptly changed the conversation. “Are you sure you want to move?” she asked.

  Felicity smil
ed. Her parents were in marriage counseling, and as Iris predicted, they had shredded the divorce papers. But Iris also said this was the first time their parents had decided to actually work on improving things. “I’m sure,” Felicity said. “You two need your space right now. I don’t want to be in the way while you two are trying to work on you.”

  Her father smiled at her. “You’re all grown up, aren’t you?”

  “I try,” Felicity said. She gave her parents a hug.

  “You need our help unloading at the house?” her father asked as they separated.

  “The whole gang is at the house,” Jefferson said. “So, we have plenty of helping hands. But you’re welcome to come hang out if you want.”

  “Actually,” Mr. Overton said and hooked arms with his wife. “If you are all good, I think I’m going to take my wife out on a date night.”

  “A date night?” Felicity asked with a smile. “When’s the last time you two went on a date night?”

  “We went to the shooting range three years ago,” her mother said with an eye-roll. “Your father almost shot the chief in the foot!”

  The smirk on her father’s face made Felicity wonder if there was more to that story; the chief obviously had some sort of crush on her mother, and by the look her father was wearing, she suspected almost shooting the man in the foot had not been accidental. “I’ll have to hear that story sometime,” Felicity said.

  Her father winked. “Any time, Felicity.”

  Felicity hopped in her car and followed Jack and Jefferson as they rode ahead in the truck. Jefferson had a nice place not too far from downtown Senoia. It was just a small, two-bedroom house that he had bought when the market was still decent. Jefferson had ordered pizza and the whole gang was waiting for them inside, already munching on their reward for helping with the move.

  Dawn and Monte were the first to be pulled from the food to help. They were all over each other with the wedding rapidly approaching. Autumn had her boyfriend Nick with her, but Nick remained outside on the porch in his wheelchair enjoying a soda he had snagged from Jefferson’s fridge; Jefferson wound up sitting down by Nick to chat. They had been old friends turned enemies for the longest time, but they were reacquainted now and had picked up where they had left off as kids. Brittany, Jack’s young girlfriend, sat with them chatting about her day at college. Veronica was hiding out in the living room on her phone, texting her mystery boyfriend.

  The group took their time unloading the car and helping Felicity set up her furniture. They ate pizza and all seemed quite content with settling in for a fun evening hanging out, but Felicity had plans for them. She got the group’s attention once everything was unpacked. “I need everyone to load up! We’re heading to the event shop for a surprise!” she called.

  “What’s this about?” Jefferson asked.

  “Oh, it’s a surprise!” she said and winked.

  Intrigued, the group didn’t argue. They squished into three cars and followed Felicity into town. She parked in the lot behind the shop, so her friends all did the same. She was positively giddy, and every last one of them was at a loss for what she was so excited about. “What are you up to?” Jefferson asked, but she would not budge.

  “Follow me, everyone!” she called, and she began walking around the building. They followed, and Felicity burst onto the front walkway and called out, “Tada!” and pointed up at the top of her shop where the sign that usually read Overton’s Events would be.

  “What!” Jack exclaimed, the first to see it.

  Felicity looked at Jefferson with an excited grin; he had somehow wound up at the back of the line and was the last to see the new sign. It read: Overton and Scotts’ Events. Jefferson’s face lit up, and he was at a loss for words. “Jefferson Scotts,” Felicity sang. “If it suits you, I have some paperwork for you to sign to turn my shop into a joint partnership, and that comes with a new name too.”

  Jefferson stood with his mouth open, hardly able to contain himself. “You’re kidding, right?” he asked.

  “That was an expensive sign,” Felicity said. “No, I’m not kidding.”

  “Woo!” Veronica exclaimed. “Jefferson, you own a business! Get excited and quit standing there gaping!”

  Jefferson gave Felicity a hug, and he still looked quite stunned by the decision. “Felicity, thank you,” he said. “I would love to run the shop with you.”

  “You already do,” Felicity said. “You’ve been a lot more than just hired help for a long time now. You work the shop more than I do, and now that we’ve been doing so great, I figured it was time.”

  “We need to celebrate!” Veronica called out. “Senoia Coffee, anyone?”

  The group agreed, and they headed a few doors down to the coffee shop on the corner. The group crowded into their regular corner seat, and they all talked excitedly about all the changes coming up in their lives. Dawn and Monte’s wedding, Brittany finishing her associate’s program, Autumn heading up Coweta’s morgue, Dawn and Monte’s new jobs, Veronica heading up Newnan Hospital’s NICU, and now Jefferson becoming an official owner of the shop. There was a lot to celebrate.

  “So,” Veronica chimed in, drawing attention to herself, the way she liked it. “Let’s talk about the bachelorette party plans, ladies. The bridal shower went well earlier today, but we need to focus in on what really matters now.”

  Dawn laughed. “You better not be planning anything too crazy, Veronica.”

  “It’s me,” Veronica said. “You know it’s going to be crazy fun.” Veronica paused to send a text, and Dawn snatched it.

  “Okay, I got to know!” Dawn cried. “Who are you texting? Who is this mystery boy of yours?”

  Veronica snatched her phone back. “Someone who appreciates me for the clever, sophisticated lady that I am.”

  “So…he’s not real, then?” Jefferson joked, and Veronica punched him in the arm.

  “Someone who appreciates you for being clever? Who thinks you’re clever?” Felicity asked somewhat jokingly. “Oh my gosh, she’s dating Agent Ryan!”

  Veronica’s face turned red. Jack called out, “Oh! She got it! She got it! That’s who it is!”

  Veronica crossed her arms. “You ruined my fun, Felicity!”

  “Why the big secret?” Felicity asked.

  Veronica sighed. “Honestly…” She looked at her sadly. “I was worried about how you would feel about it, and I wanted to see where the relationship went before I brought him around.”

  “Veronica, Ryan is a nice guy,” Felicity said. “He helped us solve Brian’s murder. There is no way I would be upset with you for liking a man like that.”

  Veronica smiled. “Good...because I totally do. He is my plus one for Dawn’s wedding.”

  “You mean Monte and Dawn’s wedding, right?” Monte grunted.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Veronica said with a hand-wave.

  “Agent Ryan!” Felicity suddenly exclaimed and reached for her purse. “Oh, gosh, I got a letter from him like two weeks ago and forgot I had shoved it into my purse!” Felicity dug around in her purse until locating a crumpled-up envelope at the bottom, underneath a hairbrush and her makeup kit.

  “Why is Ryan sending you a letter?” Veronica asked.

  “I don’t know, but it looked all official with the FBI logo on it,” Felicity said with a slight laugh as she tore open the envelope. “Can’t believe I have been walking around with this thing in my purse for almost two weeks.” Felicity unfolded the letter and gave it a read, her eyes widening as she did so.

  “What’s it say?” Nick asked.

  Felicity re-read the letter to be certain she had read what she did. “Ryan wrote me a recommendation letter.”

  “Recommendation for what?” Jefferson asked.

  “For the FBI Academy.”

  Thank You!

  Thanks for reading Undercover with the Undead. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, it would be awesome if you left a review for me on Ama
zon and/or Goodreads.

  At the very end of the book, I have included a couple previews of books. First is a preview of the next book in the Senoia Cozy Mystery series, Homicide at the Hospital. Second is a preview of A Pie to Die For - it’s the first book in the popular Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery series. I really hope you like the samples. If you do, both books are available on Amazon.

  Get Homicide at the Hospital here: amazon.com/dp/B078L7LZVQ

  Get A Pie to Die For here: amazon.com/dp/B01D6ZVT78

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  Preview: Homicide at the Hospital

  Felicity felt like she should have known that Dawn’s bachelorette party would be a little crazy considering that Veronica was the maid of honor. They had been enjoying an early evening at Dawn’s mother’s house, sipping on champagne in their little black dresses, when a large limo pulled up in the driveway.

  It was then that Veronica busted out the cheesy and oh-so-typical bachelorette party décor: a pink tiara for Dawn and sashes reading “Bride,” “Maid of Honor,” and “Bridesmaid.” Felicity laughed even though this was far from the type of partying she was into, because she was determined to enjoy her evening.