Undercover with the Undead

by Susan Harper

  The group of girls piled into the car: Dawn, Veronica, Autumn, Felicity, and finally Brittany. “Wait, where are we going?” Brittany moaned as everyone found their seat in the back of the limo.

  “Um, that’s a secret, honey,” Veronica teased.

  “But I can’t get into the Atlanta clubs,” Brittany said. “I’m twenty, remember?”

  “Yes, we know all about how our buddy Jack is a little cradle-robber,” Veronica said with a wave of her hand. “You can get in where we’re going, sweetie, no worries. I’ve thought of everything.”

  Brittany rolled her eyes. Jack was really not that much older than her, but it was enough of an age difference to make the two of them easy targets among the group of friends. Dawn leaned over and whispered to Felicity with a slight moan, “I told her I did not want to go to a club… I’m too old for that crap now.”

  Felicity laughed. “I honestly have no idea where we’re going. Veronica texted us a bunch of weird questions, though, so I’m curious about what she has in store.” She reached down and rubbed her ankle a bit. She had been off her crutches for a few days and the swelling was completely gone, but heels had not been her best decision.

  “Drinks!” Veronica practically wailed as she opened up a secret apartment, revealing to everyone a hidden compartment with various types of alcohol. The sun was just setting outside of the limo, so Felicity was almost one hundred percent certain Veronica was having the limo driver take them to a club up in Atlanta—the suspicion becoming even more likely when the driver turned up the highway.

  “Okay, ladies,” Dawn said. “While I have all of you in this confined space, I wanted to give everyone the final lineup for the procession.”

  “Ooh, which of those hotties has Monte chosen as his best man?” Veronica squealed and then extended her right arm. “Got to make sure I’ve got some eye-candy latched around me here.”

  “She says that, but her date is Agent Ryan,” Brittany said. “And…he…is…hot!”

  “It took you guys a long time to sort out the procession,” Autumn said. “So, who am I stuck with?”

  “Okay, so Monte decided to make his brother Theo his best man, so obviously he’s escorting Veronica,” Dawn began. “Then we’ll have Autumn and Monte’s cousin Nathaniel.”

  “Awesome,” Autumn said.

  “Nick’s going to be jealous,” Veronica said. “Nathaniel is an Abercrombie and Fitch model!”

  “He’s not going to be shirtless, Veronica,” Dawn said and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Felicity will be next with Jefferson, and then Brittany gets to have her boyfriend walk her down.”

  Felicity blushed. Jefferson? She gave Dawn a look, and she started to wonder if everyone in their group of friends were shipping them or something, as though their life was some sort of daytime drama. She chose not to say anything. At least with Jefferson, she didn’t have to worry about awkwardly making small talk with someone she barely knew during the bridal party dance. Oh wow, she thought for a moment, imagine if they had wanted Jack to walk me down… That would have been way worse! Jack was her ex, after all. Jefferson was her roommate, so it shouldn’t be awkward. Right?

  “So, where are we going, Veronica?” Dawn asked.

  “Not yet, my lips are sealed until we get closer,” Veronica teased. “You ladies are going to have to find something else to talk about. Just…don’t get too tipsy on the way there, okay?”

  What is she up to, Felicity wondered. Veronica had asked for nearly $100 from each of them for this big surprise, so she was hoping it was something better than her renting out a VIP room at a club. “So, how are things with you and Nick?” Felicity asked, turning to Autumn.

  “Really great, actually,” she said. “His physical therapy is going well too, and that is keeping him in good spirits.”

  “You’re a better person than me,” Veronica admitted. “I would have had a hard time dating a guy in his situation. I mean, it would be one thing if you were already dating him when all that went down and you decided to stay, but you have a heart of gold, so you know.”

  Nick, Autumn’s boyfriend who had recently moved in with her, had been shot in the neck—a plot Brittany’s sister had been involved in. Autumn had gotten to know Nick really well while he was at the hospital, and the two of them had started dating. Brittany was actually a replacement bridesmaid; she had been close with Dawn and Veronica when she was a kid, but her crazy sister Whitney had originally been bridesmaid number four before she had conspired to murder Nick, her husband at the time.

  “You know, you are dating an FBI agent, Veronica,” Autumn said. “You never know what might happen while he’s on the job. Are you—”

  Veronica held up her hand. “Believe me, I’ve thought about that. It’s nerve-wracking, but he’s a good man. I really think I might actually see a future with him.”

  “Oh my gosh, what!” Dawn cried. “Did Veronica just say something about commitment, or have I had too much champagne?”

  “Shut up,” Veronica griped. She looked in Felicity’s direction. “Speaking of Ryan, Felicity, have you considered his offer any?”

  “To train at the FBI academy…” Felicity mumbled, still hardly able to believe she had been honored with such an offer. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s a lot to think about. I’d be gone for a long time. It would be a whole career change. I would have to leave Georgia, and quite possibly on a permanent basis. It would involve relocating, and…well, things are going so well with my shop. Yet, after everything that’s happened this year, it’s tempting to want to dip out and start over.”

  “We’d miss you,” Brittany said. “But, I would definitely consider it. It’s a pretty big opportunity.”

  “Maybe,” Felicity grumbled slightly. “So, Dawn, any pre-wedding jitters?” Felicity asked, eager to draw the conversation back on the bride-to-be.

  “Not really,” she said. “And, as far as I know, Monte hasn’t had any freak-outs yet. Although, there is one thing…” She rolled her eyes and took a swig of her champagne. “Edgar sent in an RSVP. He is coming.”

  “Edgar?” Veronica asked. “As in supervisor Edgar who fired Monte?”

  “That Edgar,” Dawn grumbled. “I can’t believe he thinks he would still be invited after that. Turns out, this was one hundred percent his decision. Apparently, he had asked to fire Monte like a month ago and got turned down, but he kept at it. He was really ticked about Monte doing the deejay thing on the weekends, and he knew Monte didn’t plan to the be at the hospital too much longer.”

  “You know the real reason, don’t you?” Veronica asked.

  “What? Please, enlighten me,” Dawn hissed.

  “Because Edgar has a creepy crush on you, and he’s going to be free to flirt all he wants without your husband-to-be walking around the hospital,” Veronica said, and Dawn shivered.

  “Creepy,” Autumn said under her breath. “Is what Monte said true about him hiring a prostitute?”

  “I don’t know,” Dawn said. “Could be. There were a lot of weird rumors circling around him a while back after his divorce finalized.”

  “Ahem!” Veronica interrupted, then excitedly grabbed and shook Dawn’s shoulders. “Ladies! We have arrived!”

  They all exited the limo, eager to see what party-girl Veronica had come up with for the bachelorette party. Felicity was expecting to step out into the parking lot of a club—it was Veronica, after all—but instead, she found herself staring at a strange, round building not too far from downtown Atlanta. “What is this?” Felicity asked.

  Dawn evidently knew. She squealed, practically screamed, and gave Veronica a big hug. “Oh my gosh, this is going to be so fun!” Dawn yelped. “Veronica, we are so not dressed for this.”

  “Sweetie, I’ve got us covered,” Veronica said with a wink. “And, we got the place booked out just for us.”

  “What is this place?” Brittany asked, a bit louder than Felicity had.

  “Indoor skydiving!” Dawn exclaimed. “I’ve been
wanting to come check this place out for months!”

  Felicity’s stomach started doing flips. Indoor skydiving? What did that even entail? Frankly, all she heard was skydiving, and she was not so sure she was the daredevil type. Nevertheless, it was for Dawn, and she seemed really excited. And, honestly, Felicity was just relieved she was not about to spend her evening in a club. Plus, now she could ditch the heels that were already killing her. She was certain they were not going to let them skydive in high heels and dresses.

  The next thing Felicity knew, they were inside and Veronica was handing each of them a pair of pink shorts and white shirts with a glittered Bridesmaid emblem. They took some pictures together and then sat in on a safety course. By then, Felicity’s heart was pounding. However, the video of this indoor skydiving that the instructor showed calmed her down quite a bit. They were just going to be in a large, round room with a giant fan underneath that would blow them upward. Okay, so no getting in a helicopter or anything…thank goodness, Felicity thought.

  All of the ladies entered into this large round room with the instructor dressed in bright orange jumpsuits, goggles, and ear plugs. The outer wall of the room was cushioned, and there was cushioned ring around the fan where they all stood. Thankfully, there was a net between themselves and the fan, so Felicity was feeling more and more confident. Once the fan started up, Felicity couldn’t hear a thing apart from an occasional excited shout.

  The instructor took Dawn up first, and they all watched from the ground as she zipped up eight feet in the air and spun in a circle. There was a big grin on her face. I had no idea Dawn was such an adrenaline junkie, Felicity thought. She felt herself inching away from the instructor as he brought Dawn in for a landing. She tumbled and landed on her back against the cushioned wall as they had learned in the safety course.

  Felicity suddenly felt the instructor grab her wrists; she was next, and her heart was pounding. She went up, her arms and legs outstretched, and she watched her friends wave at her from below. Much to her surprise, she enjoyed it and let out an excited shout. They spun, went up and down, and the instructor even let her do a flip before shoving her to the side. She fell gracefully, landing as instructed in the safety video.

  Suddenly, the fan stopped after the emergency light went off. It grew quiet in the room after a minute. “What the heck?” the instructor shouted up toward the camera where a safety grew was watching them.

  The door to the room opened, and one of the other instructors popped his head in. “Um…there is a cop on the phone looking for the bride,” he said. “And he sounds pretty freaked.”

  “I swear,” Dawn roared, pointing a finger in Veronica’s direction. “If this is some sort of bachelorette party joke—”

  “I have nothing to do with this!”

  They exited the room and followed the instructor who had interrupted their fun back into the lobby. Dawn answered the phone, and they all stood by watching and waiting. “Jack!” Dawn exclaimed. “I swear, you and Monte and the guys better not be playing a joke on me tonight… I’m sorry?” Dawn’s face suddenly grew pale. “That’s not funny, Jack…” she said. “Oh…God, you’re serious, aren’t you?” Dawn started to shake. “Okay, we’re headed back… No, I’m not going to enjoy myself tonight and forget about it until later! We will be there soon!” She hung up the phone and looked to her friends.

  “What’s going on?” Veronica asked.

  “It’s Monte,” Dawn said. “He’s in trouble. Big trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?” Felicity asked.

  “Edgar’s dead, and they just arrested Monte for homicide.”

  Thanks for reading the sample of Homicide at the Hospital. I really hope you liked it. You can read the rest at:

  amazon.com/dp/B078L7LZVQ

  Make sure you turn to the next page for the preview of A Pie to Die For.

  Preview: A Pie to Die For

  "But you don't understand, I use only the finest, organic ingredients." My voice was high-pitched as I pleaded my case to the policeman. Oh, this was just like an episode of Criminal Point. Hey, I wondered who the killer turned out to be. I shook my head. That's not important, Rachael, I scolded myself. What's important is getting yourself off this murder charge. Still, I hoped Pippa had recorded the ending of the episode.

  I tried to steady my breathing as Jackson—Detective Whitaker—entered the room and threw a folder on the table, before studying the contents as though he was cramming for a test he had to take the next day. He rubbed his temples and frowned.

  Is he even going to make eye contact with me? Is he just going to completely ignore the interaction we had at the fair? Pretend it never even happened.

  "Jackson..." I started, before I was met with a steely glare. "Detective. Surely you can't think I had anything to do with this?"

  Jackson looked up at me slowly. "Had you ever had any contact with Mrs. Batters before today?"

  I shifted in my seat. "Yes," I had to admit. "I knew her a little from the store. She was always quite antagonistic towards me, but I'd never try to kill her!"

  "Witnesses near the scene said that you two had an argument." He gave me that same steely glare. Where was the charming, flirty, sweet guy I'd meet earlier? He was now buried beneath a suit and a huge attitude.

  "Well...it wasn't an argument...she was just...winding me up, like she always does."

  Jackson shot me a sharp look. "So, she was annoying you? Was she making you angry?"

  "Well... Well..." I tripped over my words. He was now making me nervous for an entirely different reason than he had earlier. Those butterflies were back, but now they felt like daggers.

  Come on, Rach. Everyone knows that the first suspect in Criminal Point is not the one that actually did it.

  But how many people had Jackson already interviewed? Maybe he was saving me for last. Gosh, maybe my cherry pie had actually killed the woman!

  "Answer the question please, Miss Robinson."

  "Not angry, no. I was just frustrated."

  "Frustrated?" A smile curled at his lips before he pounced. "Frustrated with Mrs. Batters?"

  "No! The situation. Come on—you were there!" I tried to appeal to his sympathies, but he remained a brick wall.

  "It doesn't matter whether I was there or not. That is entirely besides the point." He said the words a little too forcefully.

  I swallowed. "I couldn't get any customers to try my cakes, and Bakermatic was luring everyone away with their free samples." I stopped as my brows shot up involuntarily. "Jackson! Sorry, Detective. Mrs. Batters ate at Bakermatic as well!"

  My words came out in a stream of breathless blabber as I raced to get them out. "Bakermatic must be to blame! They cut corners, they use cheap ingredients. Oh, and I know how much Mrs. Batters loved their food! She was always eating there. Believe me, she made that very clear to me."

  Jackson sat back and folded his arms across his chest. "Don't try to solve this case for us."

  I sealed my lips. Looks like I might have to at this rate.

  "We are investigating every place Mrs. Batters ate today. You don't need to worry about that."

  I leaned forward and banged my palm on the table. "But I do need to worry about it! This is my job, my livelihood…my life on the line. If people think I am to blame, that will be the final nail in my bakery's coffin!" Oh, what a day. And I'd thought it was bad enough that I hadn't gotten any customers at my stand. Now I was being accused of killing a woman!

  I could have sworn I saw a flicker of sympathy finally crawl across Jackson's face. He stood up and readjusted his tie, but he still refused to make full eye contact. "You're free to go, Miss Robinson," he said gently. There was that tone from earlier, finally. He seemed recognizable as a human at long last.

  "Really?"

  He nodded. "For the moment. But we might have some more questions for you later, so don't leave town."

  I tried to make eye contact with him as I left, squirreling out from underneath his arm as he
held the door open for me, but he just kept staring at the floor.

  Did that mean he wasn't coming back to my bakery after all?

  Pippa was still waiting for me when I returned home later that evening. There was a chill in the air, which meant that I headed straight for a blanket and the fireplace when I finally crawled in through the door. Pippa shot me a sympathetic look as I curled up and crumbled in front of the flames. How had today gone so wrong, so quickly?

  "I recorded the last part of the show," Pippa said softly. "If you're up for watching it."

  I groaned and lay on the carpet, my back straight against the floor like I was a little kid. "I don't think I can stomach it after what I just went through. Can you believe it? Accusing ME of killing Mrs. Batters? When I know that Bakermatic is to blame. I mean, Pippa, they must be! But this detective wouldn't even listen to me when I was trying to explain Bakermatic's dodgy practices to him."

  Pippa leaned forward and took the lid off a pot, the smell of the brew hitting my nose. "Pippa, what is that?"

  She grinned and stirred it, which only made the smell worse. I leaned back and covered my nose. "Thought it might be a bit heavy for you. I basically took every herb, tea, and spice that you had in your cabinet and came up with this! I call it 'Pippa's Delight'!"

  "Yeah well, it doesn't sound too delightful." I sat up and scrunched up my nose. "Oh, what the heck—pour me a cup."

  "Are you sure?" Pippa asked with a cheeky grin.

  "Go on. I'll be brave."

  I braced myself as the brown liquid hit the white mug.

  It was as disgusting as I had imagined, but at least it made me laugh when the pungent concoction hit my tongue. Pippa always had a way of cheering me up. If it wasn't her unusual concoctions, or her ever changing hair color—red this week but pink the last, and purple a week before that—then it was her never-ending array of careers and job changes that entertained me and kept me on my toes. When you're trying to run your own business, forced to be responsible day in and day out, you have to live vicariously through some of your more free-spirited friends. And Pippa was definitely that: free-spirited.