Zee Town Paranormal Cozy Mystery - Complete Series Omnibus: Books 1 - 6

by K E O'Connor

  “Ah, yes! Good idea.” He hurried out of the way and stood next to me and Councilwoman Buster.

  Archer unlocked the gates and was met with a loud cheer as the crowds pushed through.

  I hurriedly stamped the first one hundred people’s hands with red ink, showing they’d be the prize winners and let them know to collect their prize when they’d finished at the park.

  After the initial rush, the crowd dwindled to a manageable number. I stood back and watched as they dashed around the theme park, checking out the stalls and rides.

  “We should go and see some zombies,” Councilwoman Buster said.

  “Good idea,” I said. “If you’ll both follow me, we’ll start at the ghoul train and work our way around the park, so you can see all the rides.”

  “That’s the place the unfortunate zombie was discovered dead, isn’t it?” Councilwoman Buster asked. “That was a nasty business. It could have derailed the whole project.”

  “It was unfortunate,” I said as we walked past the candyfloss stall. “Edward was a decent zombie. He’s missed.”

  Councilwoman Buster blinked at me like a startled owl. “We have a few in our office. I’m still not used to them. I understand the way you use them in this town, but I still carry a licensed firearm, just in case one of them looks at me strangely.”

  “After all this time, you still think one might take a bite out of you?” I asked with a smile, assuming she was joking about the gun.

  Councilwoman Buster shot me an ice-cold stare. “I live by the motto of keeping my friends close but my enemies closer. It’s good to have a few zombies around. You can monitor their behavior, make sure nothing changes, and they’re still controllable.”

  “You’d never shoot a placid zombie, though, would you?”

  “I wouldn’t hesitate.” Councilwoman Buster patted a bulge under her jacket.

  I swallowed and my eyes widened. I could only assume she had her firearm with her. They didn’t call her The Ball Buster for nothing.

  “Let’s start the tour, shall we?” I showed them the ghoul train first, introducing them to Danny and waiting while Councilman Tapping had a go on the train.

  Councilwoman Buster refused to even sit in one of the carriages and sighed repeatedly as she waited for Councilman Tapping to get out.

  “That was jolly good fun,” he said as he emerged from his carriage, his bald head covered in cobwebs. “I got the fright of my life when one of those zombie types jumped out and attempted to grab me.”

  “I’d have shot it,” Councilwoman Buster said.

  I exchanged a startled look with Danny. “On to the log flume.”

  We arrived at the ride just as a log full of people hurtled down the slope and shot a cascade of icy water over our heads.

  Councilman Tapping roared with laughter as the water slapped his face, while Councilwoman Buster let out an enraged shriek.

  I wiped my hand across my soaking wet face and sighed. This day was going to be a long one.

  ***

  Two hours spent handholding the Council members, and the headache behind my eyes was threatening to become a migraine.

  The screams from the tourists on the rides, the overwhelming scent of cooking oil, and the ever present taste in the back of my throat of burnt sugar was not doing me any good.

  My tongue also hurt from where I’d kept biting it to stop from snapping at Councilwoman Buster as she prodded and poked the zombies she met. She even poked one of the human employees!

  “This has been an excellent morning,” Councilman Tapping said, his gaze on his cell phone. “I have dozens of pictures to upload and nothing but good things to report at the next council meeting. This is an outstanding theme park, Cassie. You’ve done us proud.”

  “As far as theme parks go,” Councilwoman Buster said, “it’s an acceptable one.”

  “You aren’t a fan of theme parks?” I asked her.

  “I’m a fan of prosperous businesses, Miss March,” Councilwoman Buster said. “And this looks like one of those. Therefore, I’m a fan. More zombies, though. I want to see more real zombies the next time I visit. This is a zombie themed park, after all.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Is there anything else I can show you before you leave?” I hoped they’d say no. Then I could sit down for five minutes with a cup of tea and try to ease my pounding head.

  “I’ve seen everything I want to. I’m going to get candyfloss before we go,” Councilman Tapping said. “Mavis, can I get you anything?”

  “Do they serve alcohol?” Councilwoman Buster asked.

  I shook my head and discreetly checked my watch. It wasn’t even noon. “No alcohol at the candyfloss stall. We serve it in the restaurant if you want to go there.”

  “There’s no need,” Councilwoman Buster said. “I have a hip flask in the car. But you must make sure there’s an adequate alcohol supply for everyone. You don’t want your guests getting thirsty.”

  “I’ll look into that.” This was the place for families, not drunken louts or middle-aged councilwomen who enjoyed masking their unhappiness under a cloud of alcohol and snarkiness.

  I said goodbye to the council members and watched them walk to the candyfloss stall. I rubbed the back of my neck and my hand came away damp. I wasn’t sure whether it was sweat or from the soaking I’d received at the log flume.

  I looked at my still soggy pants. Did I have time to nip home and get changed before I faced the rest of the day?

  A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist. “Hello, beautiful. It looks like you’ve been busy.”

  Chapter 21

  I didn’t need to turn to know I was in Archer’s strong embrace. It was tempting to lean into it and forget the last few stressful hours.

  “I’m just trying not to kill two of our esteemed Council members.” My heart pounded as Archer’s warmth radiated into me.

  “You did a much better job than I ever could,” Archer said. “I keep my conversations with the Council limited to two minutes and pretend the phone has a fault so I can’t hear most of what they say. They’ve almost given up hassling me because it never gets them anywhere.”

  “You might like Mavis,” I said. “She carries her own gun and likes the idea of shooting a few innocent zombies in her spare time.”

  “I do like a woman who knows how to handle a firearm.” Archer dropped his arms from around my waist.

  I turned to face him. “Have the crowds been behaving themselves?”

  “Once the initial excitement wore off, they seemed happy enough,” Archer said. “I spotted a few arguments in the queues, but nothing serious. Nothing that needed my intervention.”

  “And no signs of unwanted company?” I was thinking about the possibility of rabid zombies being attracted to the noise, tempting them to find out what warm-blooded creatures were causing such chaos.

  “The thermal scanners only picked up some placid zombies. We double-checked them before letting them into the park. Most of the placids will stay away. All the noise will over-excite them.”

  That reminded me, I needed to check on Zara. I’d left her in the office, and the noise and crowds could panic her.

  “I should get changed,” I said. “I got hit in the face by a log flume wave.”

  “I like the tousled damp look on you,” Archer said with a grin. “Why don’t we test out the log flume now before you get changed? Then you can get as wet and messed up as you like.”

  Gulp! You didn’t get an offer like that every day. “I can’t spare the time. I need to check on the rides and make sure nothing has broken down and the staff are handling things.”

  “Five little minutes,” Archer said. “You promised you’d go on at least one ride with me.”

  “I think it was you who made that promise on my behalf,” I said.

  “You’re breaking my heart.” Archer placed a hand on his chest. “What’s it going to take to make you pay me attention?”

  “I pay you attention,”
I said. Far too much, especially when he wasn’t looking in my direction and I could lust over his muscles from a safe distance.

  “Then prove it,” Archer said. “Come on the Terrifying Teacups with me and I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the day.”

  “Just one ride?” I wavered. It could be fun.

  Archer grabbed my hand and grinned like a schoolboy. He knew he was winning me over. “One tiny little ride.”

  “Okay. Let’s go.” I exploited the fact that I ran the theme park and jumped the Terrifying Teacups queue with Archer, grabbing the next available teacup and hopping inside.

  My stomach swirled in excitement. I couldn’t figure out if it was because I was on a ride or sitting with my thigh jammed against Archer’s muscly leg.

  “Hold on tight. The ride’s about to start,” Howie, the employee in charge of the teacups, announced.

  Archer grabbed my hand again. “Are you scared?”

  “Of the teacups? Not likely.”

  “I’ll hold on to you,” Archer said.

  “Any excuse,” I said with a smile.

  His grin was wolf-like as the ride started with a jolt.

  I gripped Archer’s hand as the teacup spun around. We lifted into the air, higher and higher, the teacup wobbling from side to side. We spun through several clouds of smoke before being blasted in the face by cascades of cobwebs.

  I shrieked several times, forgetting to pretend I wasn’t scared.

  The ride was fun, but I was glad when it stopped. I didn’t have the stomach for anything fast and bumpy.

  Archer led me away from the ride. He turned and looked into my eyes. “You are allowed to have fun, sometimes. It doesn’t always have to be about work and worrying about other people.”

  “I know. I have fun,” I said. Although, when I thought about it, I couldn’t remember when I’d last enjoyed myself without worrying about others and making sure everyone was having a good time. Even now, I had to resist looking around to make sure everybody was smiling.

  Archer tilted my chin with a finger. “We could have a lot more fun together.”

  He was hot, but so dangerous. I’d never be able to rely on Archer. He thrived on adventure, adrenalin constantly racing through his veins. If I gave in to his flirting and took him seriously, he’d lose interest. He was a gorgeous guy, and funny with it, but I couldn’t handle that kind of frenetic relationship. It would burn me out, and I’d be left alone with a wounded heart and a man-hating chip on my shoulder.

  I took a deep breath and stepped away. “Another time. I need to keep an eye on things here.”

  “You don’t know what you’re missing,” Archer said. “We could enjoy ourselves together.”

  “Only until you’re called away on a month long mission to some out of the way jungle nobody has ever heard of to assassinate a dictator or overthrow a drug baron,” I said.

  Archer raised his eyebrows. “It sounds like you’ve been reading my latest mission brief.”

  “If you disappear on jobs like that, I’d never sleep at night, worrying about what you were getting up to. That wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

  “Let me change your mind,” Archer said. “We could go on another ride together.”

  “I’ll think about it.” A trace of regret ran through me. He wasn’t the guy for me. “Now, I have to get back to my park.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” Archer said as I walked away.

  I doubted he would. Archer was a lovely guy, but he must have dozens of women after him, Abigail included. It wouldn’t take him more than five minutes to shift his focus to somebody else. Somebody who liked danger a little more than I did.

  I headed to the office, keen to see how Zara was doing and focus on anything other than Archer’s muscles.

  I spotted Stool in the distance, sitting on the ground next to Nick.

  Nick walked over to me, Stool following him.

  “Is everything going to plan with the security?” I asked as Nick stopped in front of me.

  “No problems,” Nick said. “Have you made any more attempts at breaking and entering since we last saw each other?”

  I frowned. “I learnt my lesson. Don’t go after men on big boats with large harpoons.”

  “I’m glad you learned something,” Nick said.

  “The visit from the Council members went well,” I said, noticing the deep frown lines around his mouth. “I was concerned that Councilwoman Buster might shoot a zombie, but other than that, they were happy with the park.”

  “That’s good to know.” Nick’s gaze flitted around, settling on anything but me.

  “Is something wrong?” I squinted up at him. He couldn’t still be angry about last night’s failed break and enter attempt.

  Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  “With the theme park? I think so. It’s like running a much bigger event and having more staff to worry about,” I said.

  “No, not the theme park,” he said. “I know you can handle that.”

  “Then what?”

  “You and Archer,” Nick said. “I don’t know everything about his background, but what I do know makes me cautious. He’s not a man you want to cross.”

  “What makes you think I’m crossing him?”

  “I mean, you and him being together. Do you think it’s sensible?”

  “I’m not with Archer,” I said. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  “You looked like you were a few minutes ago,” Nick said. “I saw you together. And I see how he looks at you.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “But do you see how I look at him?”

  The line between Nick’s eyebrows deepened. “You look at him as if you like him. He makes you laugh.”

  I shook my head, exhaustion washing over me. “And I do like Archer. That doesn’t mean I’m with him or ever will be with him.”

  “Why not?” Nick’s tone grew sharp.

  Stool whined and nudged Nick’s leg.

  I took a deep breath, not wanting to start a fight. “Like you said, Archer’s a mystery. He goes on all those secret missions out of Zee Town. He’s lethal. He has a dark past. I don’t want to get mixed up in any of that. No matter how much weight he can bench press.”

  “You’re not with him?” Nick’s arms dropped to his sides.

  “Right now, I’m looking after myself,” I said. “There’s too much going on with this park to think about anything else.”

  “Does that mean you’re not dating him?” Nick persisted.

  I sighed. “If you want to interrogate me over my personal life, you’ll have to arrest me and take me in for formal questioning. I’ve got things to do.” I turned on my heel and walked away without a backward glance.

  I felt too tired to start an argument over why Nick was poking his nose into my personal life. The sooner this day was over, the better.

  Chapter 22

  The satisfying click of the locks on the park gates filled my heart with gladness. The first day was over.

  People had enjoyed themselves, but they were all gone. The only sounds were the ticking of hot ride machinery as it cooled under the dipping summer sun.

  “All quiet now,” Zara said from behind me.

  “Yes. At last, we can hear ourselves think.” I turned to her. “Sorry I couldn’t spend much time with you, today. It wasn’t too stressful for you, was it?”

  “Office was quiet,” Zara said. “Lots of people putting pictures online. They had fun.”

  “I’m glad they did,” I said. “Time for you to go home. It’s been a long day.”

  Zara nodded. “Busy day.”

  “Same time tomorrow?” I asked as I unlocked the staff gate for her.

  Zara gave another nod. “Same time.”

  I watched her shamble along the road toward town. I should join her, but I didn’t have the energy to do anything other than rest my head against the gate and enjoy the feel of the cool metal on my skin.


  Today had been exhausting. Although I’d enjoyed parts of it, on the whole, it had been highly stressful. Several dozen people got sunstroke and needed medical attention, numerous tourists got sick on the rides, and there had been several fights because of the long queues.

  If this was my day-to-day life from now on, it wouldn’t be long before I’d turn into another Mavis Buster, seeking solace in alcohol before noon.

  I turned in the direction of the office and plodded forward. I needed to check the final visitor numbers for the day before I could go home.

  I stopped by the entrance of the ghoul train. One carriage sat there, looking lonely. The fire breathing demon painted on the side seemed to beckon me to join him.

  Stepping over the threshold, I sat in the carriage. The ride was off, so I had no concerns about meeting an unexpected ghoul.

  I looked around the deserted park grounds. There were so many half-finished things in my life. My sort of relationship with Archer, my sort of friendship with Nick, the unresolved issue of Edward’s murder. My job, which I didn’t hate, but equally didn’t enjoy. I missed being in the center of Zee Town, helping tourists with their queries and putting on events to make residents happy.

  Everything felt unfinished and messy. A part of me wanted to walk away. To forget about the job, the tricky relationships, and the zombies.

  Was it time for a change? Had Zee Town outgrown me? Or had I outgrown it? It didn’t feel like a perfect fit anymore, as if I was trying to squeeze my feet into too small shoes. I could walk around in them for a while, but eventually, I’d get blisters and have to kick them off.

  “Cassie, is that you?” Abigail walked toward me, a stick of pink candyfloss in one hand, her heels clicking against the ground. “I thought I was seeing one of the ride ghouls relaxing after a hard day of scaring people.”

  I wasn’t too thrilled to be compared to a ghoul. “No, it’s just me. I was about to shut the office for the night. I didn’t know you were still here. How did your first day go?” I pulled myself out of my morose pondering and smiled.

  “It was good fun.” Abigail stopped by the carriage. “Crazily busy. I’ve never seen people so desperate to get their hands on candyfloss and sweets before. I enjoyed myself. Although, in the long-term, I might look for something that makes me feel a little less sticky.” She took a bite of her candyfloss.