by Susan Harper
“Did you kill Edgar Uldridge?” Felicity asked again, and she suddenly anxiety in her stomach.
“Yeah,” Sonny said matter-of-factly as he pulled a knife from his pants pocket, holding it up to where Felicity could clearly see the hook blade Autumn had described. “And you’re going to tell me where my girl is with my kid, or I’ll gut you both like I did him.” The man abruptly took a swing at Jefferson with the knife, and Jefferson’s only choice was to throw up his arms in defense.
“Crud!” was all Jefferson managed to shout in response to the blade piercing his left forearm as Sonny flung it in his general direction.
Before Jefferson could be hit again, Felicity heard a gun go off. She jumped, and turned to see that Jack had made his way around the building. Sonny went down as the other two officers appeared right behind Jack. Sonny had merely been shot in the shoulder, and he wailed terribly, screaming at all of them about the wound. Jack threw some cuffs on Sonny and made him sit on the curb while one of the other officers called for an ambulance. “I want a lawyer!” Sonny shouted.
“You’ll get one,” Jack assured him and then smiled. “And, when you do, be sure to play your confession for them.”
“You got the confession!” Felicity exclaimed.
“Yeah,” one of the officers from the car said. “Jack made it over here just in time for the recording to pick up what Sonny said. Good job, Overton.”
Felicity then hurried to Jefferson, helping him roll back his sleeve to check his arm. “Oh, it’s not so bad!” Felicity said, examining the thin line that began at Jefferson’s elbow, ran down his forearm, and ended just before his wrist.
“Speak for yourself!” Jefferson cried out. “This crap is going to scar! I’m going to need stitches!”
Sonny grunted from the ground, and Felicity rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, you’ll probably need stitches too, Sonny,” she said and tried not to laugh at her own comment.
“Stupid woman! Of course I will, I was shot!”
“And you know what, you creep? I hope it hurt!” Felicity declared, and Jack snagged her under the arm.
“Okay, let’s not antagonize. I’m already in enough trouble with the chief, Felicity,” Jack said, escorting her and Jefferson away as the other officers waited by Sonny. “So, who wants to call Dawn with the good news?”
“Let Jefferson have that honor,” Felicity said. “He did take a knife to the arm for those two today.”
Jefferson smiled. “Thank you, and you know what? I’m going to take that win. Give me a phone.” Felicity handed her phone to him. The ambulance along with two patrol cars were pulling up as Dawn answered the phone, which Jefferson put on speaker for their benefit. “Hey, Dawn, how you holding up?” Jefferson asked.
“How am I holding up?” their friend cried. “Jefferson, I’m supposed to be getting married on Saturday, and my fiancé is in jail! How do you think I’m holding up?” Jefferson laughed slightly, and Dawn snapped at him. “Jefferson, that’s not funny! Monte could be going to prison! Have you guys found anything?”
“Yeah, Dawn,” Jefferson said, smiling. Felicity felt quite warm inside to hear Jefferson say, “We got some good news. Monte’s going to be coming home. We did it, Dawn. You’re getting married this Saturday.”
Chapter 14
Felicity swayed back and forth with her broom as she and Jefferson worked on some last-minute closing duties for the shop. They were in official countdown mode. It was the night before Dawn and Monte’s big day, and as both members of the bridal party as well as the official wedding planners, they had quite a day ahead of them. Felicity was becoming increasingly thankful for the new hires the more and more she thought about the day she had ahead; she could not imagine how stressful her friend’s wedding could potentially be, especially if Trixie and Fix were out of the picture.
“Check this out,” Jefferson said with a smirk as he picked up a book left sitting on the small couch where customers tended to sit and look at their sample books.
“What is it?” Felicity asked curiously as she turned the shop’s front lights down.
“I saw Fix reading this earlier,” Jefferson said. “Sherlock Holmes.”
“Fix reads?” Felicity asked, only half joking.
“This isn’t the first book he’s left in here,” Jefferson said. “He was reading a mystery series not too long ago too.”
“No wonder he was okay with working here with his girlfriend,” Felicity said, waving toward the super sleuth party décor they used to decorate their shop’s main entrance.
“We got everything we need for tomorrow?” Jefferson asked, stuffing Fix’s book down in a box of things they would be taking with them to the wedding venue.
“Just that last box, and we’re good to go,” Felicity said happily.
Jefferson glanced back down at the box. “So, I think it’s fair to say that Fix is not the only one around here interested in criminal justice. Have you considered Agent Ryan’s offer?”
“I’ve decided officially to turn it down,” Felicity said. “I’ll have to break his heart tomorrow at the wedding.”
“Wow,” Jefferson said. “I honestly thought you would take it after the crazy year we’ve had. You’re really good at that stuff. It definitely comes natural to you.”
“True,” Felicity said with a not-so-modest smirk. “But, I love this shop. I love being here, and I love working with you.”
Jefferson beamed slightly. “Oh, yeah?” The door opened. “We’re closed,” Jefferson said, turning around.
Jack came barging in, and he looked antsy. “You all right, Jack?” Felicity asked. “What are you doing here? I thought you were on patrol until nine?”
“I was,” he snarled. “But I guess I won’t be late to the rehearsal dinner after all. I just got fired.”
“Whoa,” Jefferson said.
“Fired!” Felicity exclaimed. “What do you mean you got fired?”
“I mean this was my first shift since we booked Sonny, and as soon as I came in, Chief asked me to his office and told me I was done,” Jack hissed. “Says I don’t know how to take orders.”
“Well,” Jefferson said under his breath. “He did tell you to stay away from Monte’s case…”
“He always tells me to stay away from a case!” Jack exclaimed. “I’m tired of all the political crap around here. He knows I’ve been studying online to become a detective, but he won’t let me do anything. I think the creep is just worried about his job.”
“Chief Morgan is a good guy, Jack,” Felicity argued. “Maybe being a cop just wasn’t for you. You do have a problem with authority.”
“Gee, thanks,” Jack said and flopped himself down on one of the couches. “We did something good. We caught the bad guy. We got closure for Naomi about her mom, and she’s doing better than ever. Valerie managed to dig up Edgar’s will, and she saw that he had left everything to Naomi. Naomi’s living with Valerie now, and the woman is helping her ex-husband’s kid with getting a high school diploma. This story wrapped up nicely, and the chief doesn’t even appreciate my part in it. I like being a cop, Felicity. I just…”
“Don’t like taking orders,” Felicity said as she and Jefferson sat down with him.
“I guess not,” Jack said, crossing his arms. “I guess I got to figure out what it is I really want.”
“You’ll get there,” Jefferson promised.
“So, what were you two talking about before I came barging in?” Jack asked.
“How Felicity has decided to turn down Ryan’s offer,” Jefferson said.
“Really?” Jack asked. “I had a twenty-dollar bet with Monte that you would take it. Dang.”
Felicity smirked. “I guess it’s the same reason you were never a perfect fit at the police station. You like to see justice done, but you’re more entrepreneurial like Jefferson and me. Working for someone just doesn’t work for you, and it doesn’t work for me either. You say that little old Senoia’s police station is political. Could y
ou imagine how much more political working for a government agency like the FBI would be? I don’t think so. It wouldn’t work for me, and that sort of thing won’t work for you either, Jack. Maybe you should look into doing something where you can be a little more independent at work? But, doing something that is still in the criminal justice realm. That would be ideal for you.”
“Yeah…maybe…” Jack said, sinking down even further in his seat. “Maybe you and I could start our own private investigative business, Felicity.”
Felicity laughed. “As if I don’t have enough on my plate working the event shop!”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Jack said.
Jefferson sat up slightly. “You know… This shop has a huge attic space we don’t use that could easily be converted into a second business. You two could set Jack up an office and have him do the nitty gritty work like I do for the event shop. Felicity is good at the managerial stuff. She could have both businesses run out of one building.”
Felicity attempted to laugh this idea off quickly, but Jack piped up. “That would make a lot of sense, since Felicity is already known as the Senoia Nancy Drew, right? She’d have her spy-themed event shop down here, and we could even add a stairway entrance around back leading up to my office up top. I’d handle booking cases.”
“Say…” Jefferson said, nodding toward the last box of supplies they needed to take to Dawn and Monte’s venue. He reached around the couch, dipping his hand in it and pulling out the Sherlock Holmes book. “Look here, Felicity. Remember Fix’s book? You two could use Fix as your errand boy for the PI part of the business while Trixie could work mainly in the event shop. You and I both know Fix is only working here because he followed Trixie. Imagine his surprise if he could get involved with something he’s actually interested in. Those two might stick around a bit longer if they can keep working together under the same roof while each of them are able to get experience in something that actually interests them. I’d hate to lose an employee like Trixie just because her bozo boyfriend gets bored.”
“You two are serious, aren’t you?” Felicity asked.
“Well, I’m out of a job,” Jack said. “And I’m still taking those online courses. I can work toward getting my private investigator’s license, and you could do the same, Felicity. It would all be right here out of this building, so you would be here most of the time unless you were actively working a case or doing an event. You could do both of the things you enjoy. You and I could partner up on the PI business, and you and Jefferson for the party planning.”
“This is happening a little fast,” Felicity said, attempting to hit the brakes.
“It’s all talk right now,” Jack said. “But it’s an idea.”
“You’d really be okay with me and Jack running a separate business in the attic of our shop?” Felicity asked Jefferson.
“It was my idea, wasn’t it?” Jefferson said with a slight smirk. “You have to admit that you love doing the detective work, but you love the party planning too. If there is a way for you to do both, why not?”
“Plus, you’ve been doing this whole Private Eye thing for free for far too long,” Jack said with a wink. “You wind up stepping away from your shop a lot to help out the community. Why not get licensed and actually make a job out of it? You can split the detective workload with me, and we can make it a partnership just like you do with Jefferson with the event shop. Hudson and Overton Private Investigators.”
“Not Overton and Hudson?” Felicity asked, and Jack grumbled slightly.
“Well, I’m the actual detective,” Jack said.
“Actually, Jack, you have to make it Overton and Hudson,” Jefferson argued. “Overton already has a name in the detective scene around here. Plus, the event shop is Overton and Scott’s Events. Keep it consistent by keeping her name first.”
“I suppose I can get on board with that,” Jack said.
“Okay, boys, that’s enough. Let’s just all get going before we’re late for Dawn and Monte’s rehearsal dinner,” Felicity said. “I think that those two have been stressed out enough this week leading up to the big day.”
“Agreed,” Jefferson said, snagging the box of supplies. The three of them finished locking up and headed out back.
Jack asked if he could hitch a ride since he had driven the patrol car that day, and they of course agreed. Felicity sat in the back of the van while the two guys sat upfront, and she smirked a bit listening to the two of them throw marketing ideas back and forth. The thought of being an actual detective did intrigue her quite a bit. She was an entrepreneur at heart; it was why she wound up doing the event shop instead of finishing her degree in investigative journalism. Her two interests had always been criminal justice and event planning; if she could do both, why not? It was a heavy idea, but it certainly had piqued her interest. But, running a detective business with the guy she dated all the way back in high school? It seemed like a lifetime ago, but was that really a good idea? She and Jack had become friends again in the past year, but could they really run a business together?
They swung by hers and Jefferson’s home so that the two of them could change. Jack just borrowed a nicer shirt from Jefferson, though it was a bit snug on him, rather than them having to drop him off by his house before they all headed to the venue. Felicity decided not to think too hard about the detective business just yet. Their friends were getting married the next day, so she had a lot on her plate. She was a bridesmaid, which had its own duties, but she also was the wedding’s event coordinator alongside Jefferson. She shot both Trixie and Fix a quick text message, reminding them to be at the venue early the next morning. She also let Fix know that they had found yet another one of his detective novels lying around.
“This is going to be a beautiful wedding,” Felicity said happily as the three friends headed into the little town of Brooks for the rehearsal.
Chapter 15
Felicity felt butterflies in her stomach when she saw Dawn finally step out after having the last bit of her wedding gown tied up in the back. The girls all shrieked excitedly; she looked like a princess. They were inside a home of a family in Brooks who did private wedding events on their property; Felicity’s event shop had had a deal with them since before the business had been an actual location. The family would let the women take over their home for the day, and they had a trailer out back for the guys.
There was a knock on the door, and Veronica scurried to answer it. “Gorgeous!” she called out. “The men have arrived, ladies! It’s almost time for the procession.”
Monte’s brother Theo and his cousin Nathaniel were both being a bit rowdy as they entered the house. Theo paused to take a look at Dawn and told her she looked great. Jefferson and Jack wandered into the house a little behind Monte’s relatives, and Felicity felt herself blush slightly to see Jefferson so dressed up. He was rocking his suit just as well as Nathaniel, the model.
“Looking good, Jefferson,” Felicity said.
“Thanks,” he said and smiled. “You look good yourself.” He then glanced over at Dawn, who was chatting with her soon-to-be brother-in-law, Theo. “She looks incredible. Monte’s shaking.”
“I bet,” Felicity said. “Poor Monte. He’s had a rough week.”
“Can’t think of a better way to end the week, though,” Jefferson said.
“Agreed.”
“Okay, everyone, let’s get you all lined up and ready to go!” Trixie’s voice rang out from behind them.
“Glad she’s been so on top of things,” Felicity whispered to Jefferson. “She’s getting really good at this.”
“You should have seen Fix,” Jefferson said. “Monte’s suit tore.”
“What!” Felicity exclaimed with uncomfortable excitement.
“Fix sewed it up, and it looks great,” Jefferson assured her. “You can’t even tell.”
“Really? Go, Fix,” Felicity said. “He always manages to surprise me.”
“Yeah, well, expect to get an earful
from him after the wedding. Jack and I were talking about our little idea for the event shop’s attic in front of him, and he latched onto it quicker than Jack did.”
“Oh, dear.” Felicity giggled.
Trixie ushered everyone in their proper lineup. Jack and Brittany would be going out first, behind Monte and Dawn’s parents and grandparents. The music started, and the ceremony had officially begun. Trixie dipped out to watch everything from outside of the building. Fix appeared from the back to handle any unexpected wedding-related catastrophes. Jack and Brittany headed out as the song changed. Felicity smirked slightly. It was weird seeing her old high school boyfriend in a relationship. For the longest time, everyone in their group of friends had thought Jack’s relationship with Brittany had been somewhat of a joke since she was significantly younger than him, but that had not been the case. They made a great couple.
Felicity and Jefferson were next, and when they exited the home, she breathed in the scenery. “Don’t trip,” Jefferson teased. She was so glad the girls were wearing flats. Outdoor weddings and heels just did not match.
The backyard was a slight slope down toward a lake. There was a man-made creek that trickled over stone next to the ceremony site that had a beautiful effect on the scenery. They walked down the aisle; people were seated on small white chairs with bright yellow bows tied to the back. Jefferson gave Felicity a wink as they separated to stand on their opposing sides of the lovely white arch that was covered in various flowers and green vines. Standing under the arch was a nervous-looking Monte. Felicity gave him a subtle thumbs up, and he smiled. Felicity stared back up at the house as she saw Autumn and Nathaniel heading down the grassy slope.
Nick, Autumn’s boyfriend, was seated toward the back of the rows in his wheelchair, and he glowed slightly to see Autumn all dressed up. She waved a little at him as they passed. Autumn took her place beside Felicity. Next to come down the aisle was Veronica and Monte’s brother Theo. Veronica always had a little extra pep in her step. Agent Ryan was sitting in the crowd as Veronica’s plus-one, and he had that same sort of glow to him that Nick had had when his lady had come down the aisle in her gorgeous blush pink dress.