Vacations and Victims (Senoia Cozy Mystery Book 10)

by Susan Harper

“Definitely,” Iris said with a smile.

  “Awesome,” Caleb said, grinning in Iris’s direction. “We’ll see you all tonight then. Make sure you wear a swimsuit under your clothes.”

  “Will do,” Felicity said, trying not laugh at the way her sister was gawking over the devilishly handsome young man standing before them.

  4

  “Seriously? What did I do with it?” Felicity asked as she dug around her suitcase and purse, unable to locate her cellphone. “I had it this morning.”

  “Did you leave it in the car?” Iris asked, waiting impatiently by the door in her daisy dukes and bikini top.

  “I just checked there,” Felicity said, standing upright after searching under the sofa. “I remember making a phone call when we first got to town to remind Jefferson to lock up the back door and to call the elevator installment today.” Felicity suddenly paused and eyed her sister. “You didn’t take my phone and hide it so that I wouldn’t make phone calls during our trip, did you?”

  Iris rolled her eyes. “No, I didn’t, but that wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Come on, let’s go! We’re already going to be late for the party, and I want to try to enjoy the little bit of daylight left before the night scene kicks in.”

  “Okay, okay, fine,” Felicity said, standing upright. She straightened her button-up shirt, groaning a bit.

  “You couldn’t have dressed a little…cuter?” Iris teased.

  “What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?” Felicity asked. She had thought she looked cute in her short-sleeved button-up and short shorts.

  “No offense, Felicity, but you got to dress your age,” Iris said, pointing at her hips. “No one wants to see stretchmarks.”

  “Stretchmarks!” Felicity yelped. “I don’t have stretchmarks!”

  Iris just laughed. “I’m just kidding, Felicity,” she said. “You know I like to give you a hard time. You look cute.”

  “Thanks,” Felicity grumbled. “But that doesn’t really make my missing phone situation any better. Would you please try calling it again?”

  “I’ve done that four times,” Iris said. “If we see Sam again, we can ask him if you left it in the carriage.”

  “I didn’t even think about that. He did say he was going to be at the party tonight, right?” Felicity asked.

  “I think so,” Iris said, practically dragging Felicity out of the cabin.

  They headed further into town, eventually arriving outside of a local pub where everyone seemed to be parking and walking to the river. They unloaded and began their short walk, and sure enough, there was a party by the river already in full swing. A deejay was blaring music at the riverfront, where the water was slow enough for swimming. There was a food truck set up a short distance away, so people were chowing down—drinking, swimming, dancing, and just generally enjoying themselves.

  Some people floated by on inner tubes and Iris pointed out that she definitely wanted to do that before they left Helen. “Sure,” Felicity said. “We can probably do that tomorrow.”

  “Awesome,” Iris said, grinning.

  “I haven’t done that in a long time,” a voice behind them said, and the girls turned to see Caleb Lull standing there. Even Felicity blushed a bit; he was in swim shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. No wonder Iris seemed to be smitten with him, Felicity thought. He was a tanned, well-built young man with a charming smile. “Maybe I’ll tag along, if you ladies don’t mind the company.”

  Iris grinned. “That sounds good to me.”

  “Hey, Iris, let me see your cell phone real quick,” Felicity said. “I want to make a quick call to Jefferson before we decide to dip into the water.”

  Iris huffed. “Working. Really, Felicity? Fine. My phone is in the car.”

  “It will be really quick, I promise,” Felicity said with a smile. “And after this call, I promise—no more business calls on our sister trip.”

  “Okay, well, I think I’m going to go with Caleb down to the river. We’ll be down there waiting on you, okay?” Iris said, and Felicity nodded.

  Felicity hurried back to the car, where she found Iris’s phone in the cup holder. She called Jefferson, and he answered perkily. “Overton Family of Companies, how may I direct your call?” he asked.

  “It’s me, Felicity,” Felicity said.

  “I know. We have caller ID,” he teased. “What are you doing calling the shop? You’re on vacation.”

  “I just wanted to check in and make sure those flowers got done and to make sure to remind you—”

  “Felicity, slow down,” Jefferson said, laughing. “Listen to me, I’m only going to say this once: stop. We’re fine. You have been working non-stop since this shop opened almost two years ago. Stop worrying about it so much. Jack and I can handle it, and for what we can’t handle, we’ve got Fix and Trixie. And if that’s not enough, I’m sure Autumn, Veronica, Monte, or Dawn would step in and lend us a hand during your absence. Just go have fun with your sister, okay?”

  She sighed heavily. “Okay, okay,” she said. “You’re absolutely right. I’m a stickler. I know it. I don’t know how to unwind. My baby sister is running around in the creek with some boy she just met. I should go check on her.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Jefferson sang. “I love you. Go have fun.”

  “I love you too,” she said, then she bit her tongue.

  “What?” Jefferson asked.

  “Got to go! Iris needs me!” she said, hanging up the phone quickly. Her heart was racing. Jefferson had told her he loved her back in February, but she hadn’t returned the kind words. These had just slipped out of her mouth. It had felt so natural. Her face turned red, and she put Iris’s phone back in the cup holder and slowly made her way back to the party, hardly able to keep her mind on anything but what she had just said to Jefferson.

  Iris was already in the water, and it seemed that Caleb and some others had begun a game of chicken in the water. Yeah, that’s safe here, Felicity thought sarcastically as she eyed all of the rocks. Iris was of course on top of Caleb’s shoulders. Felicity had never really seen Iris flirt before, and truthfully, it was a little unsettling. A part of her still thought of Iris as her goofy little sister who used to wear pigtails and could never put on eyeliner straight enough to save her life. It was strange seeing her sister, a college girl, being lovely-dovey with a young man she had just met.

  Felicity joined the group in the river, and she and Iris truly started their vacation. They laughed and chased each other around in the water. They had an awesome dinner from the food truck, and they danced the night away with the Lull family. Just as the party was starting to die down and the girls were standing by the edge of the river dancing together to yet another rendition of Chattahoochee, someone from the water screamed.

  Felicity jumped, and she saw Iris pointing out toward the water. A girl had screamed because a body had floated down the river into the party area. It was Donald the Pirate, still in costume.

  The next thing Felicity knew, the police had been called, Donald’s body was fetched from the water, and the area was roped off. Guests were asked to remain for questioning, and Donald was covered in a tarp. Felicity and Iris sat with the Lull family on some wet rocks near the river’s edge. Other partygoers, nervous locals who knew Donald fairly well or were at least familiar with his character, made similar groupings

  Iris was a bit shaken up, and Caleb sat near her, talking her through what she had just seen. Felicity, on the other hand, was distracted watching the officers. A female officer in particular had caught Felicity’s attention. She acted nervous, and she was also quite young. Felicity picked her out as a rookie very quickly. Eventually, the woman made her way to Felicity’s group to get their statements.

  Felicity did most of the talking, because Iris was a bit shaken, and she explained to the woman (whose name she learned was Officer Bonnie) that she and her sister were from out of town, gave the woman the address they were staying at, and told her everything they had witnessed pri
or to the police arriving. “Thank you for the information, Miss Overton,” the officer said, smiling slightly. “I am sorry your stay here in Helen hasn’t been quite what you expected.”

  Felicity nodded, but she kept studying the woman. “Are you in charge of this investigation?”

  “Yes,” she said. “First time.” Then the woman bit her bottom lip. “Probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

  “Every detective has to have a first case,” Felicity said. “I understand. I’ve sort of been there.”

  “Are you a cop?” Officer Bonnie asked.

  “No, I do private in—” Felicity began, but Iris suddenly whipped a business card out of the bag the girls had brought down to the river.

  “Here, this is my sister’s card,” Iris said. “She’s really good at what she does.”

  Officer Bonnie raised a brow. “Overton Family of Companies,” she said as she read the card. “Party planner and private investigator…interesting combination there… Wait… I saw you on the news!”

  Felicity blushed ever-so-slightly. “Oh, did you?”

  “You saved the senator at his fundraiser recently,” Bonnie said. “I remember laughing my head off at the news report when I saw the footage of your partner shoving the senator off the stage.”

  “That would be us,” Felicity said.

  Bonnie held the card in her hand. “I don’t suppose you would be interested in keeping an eye out for me?”

  “Are you hiring?” Iris asked. Felicity gave her younger sister a nudge.

  “Of course,” Felicity said. “I’d be happy to help. But I need information. Anything you can tell me?”

  “Not much just yet,” Officer Bonnie said. “But it was definitely homicide. I’ve already looked at the body. I don’t need an autopsy to tell me someone did the poor guy in.”

  “How come?” Felicity asked. “What gave it away?”

  “Bruising all over his wrists, and a few on his arms, like he had defended himself from an assault. And I checked out the wound on his head. At first, I assumed he might have hit his head on the rocks, but there were some remnants of something metallic in his skull. He was hit by some sort of weapon, something sharp,” Bonnie said. “This was no accident. Our pirate friend over there was murdered.”

  “Did you know him?” Felicity asked.

  “Not really, but I think he had some sort of reputation on the force,” Bonnie said and glanced around the crowd of officers who had arrived with her and were currently obtaining statements from other witnesses. “They all knew who he was the second dispatch told us someone in a pirate costume was found dead at the party. I’m kind of new on the force here in Helen, but I’m guessing he must have gotten into some sort of trouble in the past.”

  “Sounds like you already know where to start, then,” Felicity said.

  Bonnie nodded. “I guess I do.”

  5

  People were finally being allowed to leave the crime scene, and patrons were expected to pay their tabs. Felicity went to get her wallet out of her purse, only to discover that, like her cell phone, it too had gone missing. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” she gasped as she stood by her car holding onto her purse.

  “You lost your wallet too?” Iris asked, sighing. She dug around the back seat of the car for her own purse, locating her debit card that was carelessly tossed to the bottom of the bag. “I got dinner,” she said and trotted off toward the food truck where they had kept a running tab for the night.

  “What is wrong with me today?” Felicity moaned. “I am usually pretty good with keeping up with things.” She waited for her sister to return, and once she did, Felicity expressed her concern for her missing phone and wallet.

  “Well, you already scavenged every inch of that cabin,” Iris said. “So, I’m guessing you left them somewhere when we were out and about today. Why don’t we go into town and just ask around?”

  “Okay,” Felicity said, sighing. She was hopeful she would find her wallet, at least, because she really didn’t want to go through the process of cancelling all of her cards and getting new ones. Plus, she was on vacation. The last thing she wanted was for her baby sister to have to pay for everything while they were in Helen.

  By the time the two women got deep into town, it was quite dark outside. Some shops were still open, and their stoop lights allowed them to see, but Felicity imagined they weren’t going to find anything. They walked up and down the street, searching the ground first as it seemed likely she could have just dropped her phone. Her wallet was another story, as she had only used it twice that day—once to tip the carriage driver and another time at lunch. As they walked up and down the street, Iris would dip into each shop and ask the owners if anyone had turned in a wallet or cell phone. Unfortunately, it was starting to turn out to be a rather useless quest.

  Eventually, the two women found themselves standing in front of a slightly rundown knick-knack shop that sold a lot of Helen-themed junk: refrigerator magnets, bumper stickers, and other items whose sole purpose was to let people know you had paid a visit to the Germany-themed town. They headed inside. The shop owner was an older, somewhat round man with a massive balding spot in the center of his head. He smiled when they entered. “Hello. Can I help you ladies with anything?”

  “Looking for a missing wallet,” Felicity said. “And cell phone.”

  “Uh-oh,” he said. “Hold on, I did have a couple of things turned into me today. Let me see.” He dipped down behind his counter and returned with a small box. “You’d be surprised what all people leave lying around. Usually my box is full of children’s toys, but every once in a while, someone leaves a phone or a debit card or something.”

  Felicity looked through the box. It was mostly children’s toys, as the man had said, but no wallet. She sighed. “Nope, not here,” she said.

  “Were you ladies here earlier today?” the man asked.

  “We didn’t come inside,” Iris said, “but we watched a street performer out in front of your shop. Thought maybe she had dropped her stuff and maybe someone brought it inside to one of the shop owners.”

  “Maybe you should talk to that stupid parrot, then,” the man said.

  Felicity raised a brow. “Parrot?”

  “Oh, Donald’s dumb bird is always swiping stuff from people,” he said.

  “What was your name, sir?” Felicity asked.

  The man smiled. “Lonnie Egrit.”

  “So, the parrot… Is this an ongoing problem around here?” Felicity asked.

  “Oh, absolutely,” Lonnie said. “Donald’s gotten himself quite a reputation around here. His bird has an eye for jewelry or anything shiny. Locals around here are always chasing him away from their shops because the bird upsets the customers. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but he’s been accused of training the bird to steal. I mean, it’s possible. I can’t imagine his little balloon animals makes him a lot of money. I bet he makes his money off stolen goods, but no one’s ever been able to prove it. I accused him of stealing money out of my register before, but police weren’t ever able to prove it.”

  Felicity saw Iris messing with her necklace. “The parrot did try to take my necklace.”

  “See what I mean?” Lonnie said. “Why don’t you go see if that bird got a hold of your wallet? Not sure if he could carry a phone, but you never know.”

  “That’s going to be awfully hard to do,” Felicity said. “Donald was murdered this evening.”

  Lonnie suddenly looked sickly. “Aww, man…and here I was bad mouthing the man…”

  “You didn’t know,” Iris said. “Were you at the party by the river tonight?”

  “No, I was here working the shop,” Lonnie said with a sigh. “Poor Donald. I mean, the man was a nuisance, but I wouldn’t want nothing to happen to the guy.”

  “Do you know anything else about Donald that might would be helpful?” Felicity asked.

  “Not really. Like I said, he had a sour reputation—not a lot of folks
around here cared too much for Donnie, so he didn’t make a bunch of friends. He kept to himself. Lives in the trailer park down the road from here,” Lonnie said, shaking his head. “Well, ladies, it’s high time I start closing up. I have to get on home. It’s late. I do hope you find your wallet and cell phone.”

  “Thanks, Lonnie,” Felicity said, and she and Iris headed out. “Let me see your phone,” she said to Iris once they were outside.

  “Why?” Iris asked.

  “I’m going to call Officer Bonnie,” Felicity said. “Let her know we spoke to someone. I want to make sure we keep her informed. Since she hired us, that makes her our client.”

  “Okay,” Iris said, digging in her back pocket for her phone. She handed it over to Felicity. “I need to put a t-shirt on. It’s getting kind of cold out tonight. I don’t want to keep walking around in a bathing suit and pair of shorts.”

  “Well, let’s swing by the cabin really quick to change, then,” Felicity said as they walked toward the car. “You drive so that I can talk.” Once they got in the car, Felicity called Bonnie.

  The woman answered. “Officer Bonnie,” she said. “Is this Overton?”

  “That’d be me,” she said. “Wanted to let you know we spoke with a shop owner about Donald. The man made it sound like a lot of locals around here didn’t care for Donald too much. Sounds like he trained his bird to be a pick-pocket, but that might just be the local gossip. Though the bird did manage to swipe my sister’s necklace today. We were also told that he lived in a local trailer park. It would probably be a good idea to search it.”

  “Agreed,” Bonnie said. “I’m pulling up his address now. You interested in tagging along? I could use the extra set of eyes.”

  “Absolutely,” Felicity said. Her sister’s phone buzzed, and she could see that Bonnie had texted them the address. “We can meet you there in twenty?”

  “Sounds perfect,” Bonnie said. “See you then.” She hung up the phone.

  The two sisters hurried inside and changed into some dry clothes, and they both opted to pull their damp hair up into ponytails before heading back out. “Well, this is kind of exciting,” Iris said from the passenger’s seat. “I’m getting to see you in action.”