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

by K E O'Connor

  “Does she bribe judges?” I asked.

  “Delia! Goodness, absolutely not. She has no need to. She can have any dog eating out of the palm of her hand. She could show a cross breed in a pure breed category, and it would probably still win. She just has this knack with animals. Now, if you’re asking about Paul and his methods, then he’s definitely one who will offer a sweetener if you decide to bump him up a class or give him a rosette.”

  I tilted my head. “Would you accept a bribe from Paul?”

  Ronald took a step back and pressed his lips together. “I believe in equal rights for all. Everyone deserves a chance to get ahead fairly, not through corrupting others.”

  “I agree. It’s the main reason I live in Zee Town. I always supported the plans to have a haven for placid zombies. After all, it’s not their fault they turned. We need to give them a fair chance to live among us.”

  Ronald nodded along swiftly as I spoke. “You’re absolutely right. They all deserve a good life. Everyone deserves to have a go and see if they can make a success of things.”

  “So, you’re a fan of our zombies?”

  Ronald gave a half-shrug. “I have no choice but to be a fan. I’m married to one.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “You married a placid zombie?”

  “I married my very human childhood sweetheart when I was twenty. I believe in the whole until death do we part portion of my wedding vows. My wonderful Maggie turned into a placid zombie during the uprising. We’ve been married twenty-five years. I know my rights, and I could have the marriage annulled; not everyone wants to sleep in the same room as a zombie, but she’s my wife, and I love her. It’s only fair we give the placid zombies a chance. I’m even championing to have them included at events such as this.”

  I was impressed by Ronald’s candidness. Everyone I knew whose partner had turned into a zombie left them. This was the first person I’d met who stayed married despite their partner turning. That took guts.

  “It must be hard to live like that,” I said.

  Ronald’s face sagged a little. “I’ve had my dark moments, when I wondered if the kindest thing to do was walk away. I still sometimes see the old Maggie and forget I’m living with a shambling zombie who’s lost three fingers. I know placid zombies don’t live very long, if you can call it living. I want Maggie to have good years in the time she has left. It’s the right thing to do. I love my wife, even though she’s different.”

  “You said you wanted to include zombies in an event like this,” I said. “Although that’s admirable, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but placid zombies have an unhealthy interest in animals.”

  Ronald’s expression turned shrewd. “I’ve noticed. I told Mavis the same thing when she came up with the idea of having a dog show in Zee Town. She’s playing with fire.”

  I grinned. “I bet Mavis was happy to hear that.”

  Ronald raised an eyebrow. “She mainly talked over me until I backed down. I’ve been around placid zombies and dogs long enough to know that the two can tangle. I even had to get rid of the family dog because Maggie kept looking at him with a scary glint in her eye. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to either of them, but if we don’t expose zombies to these sorts of everyday things, it could always be a problem.”

  “How about a zombie judge? One who doesn’t handle the animals?”

  “That’s not a bad idea.” Ronald nodded. “We could have a calm zombie as a judge. Something like that to show they aren’t excluded.”

  “That’s very decent of you,” I said. “Perhaps if we have a show next year, you can suggest it to Mavis.”

  Ronald chuckled. “If Mavis doesn’t like the idea, it won’t go ahead.”

  I shared a smile with him. We both knew Mavis Buster well.

  Fleur and Claire walked over and made themselves drinks.

  “We need to get ready for the next judging session,” Fleur said. “The first working dogs are ready, and then it’s round one of agility. That’s my favorite.”

  “Did you get a good look at the dogs yesterday?” I asked.

  “Pretty much,” Fleur said. “We walked around most of the evening checking out the dogs. Nothing official, but it’s good to get a feel of the animals before it gets formal. We only stopped for a quick bite to eat and were back to dog watching until you locked up at the end of the night.”

  “Come on,” Claire said. “We need to get back, so we don’t miss anything.”

  Ronald nodded at me before hurrying away with the other judges.

  From that conversation, I could discount the judges if they were all together on the night of Delia’s murder.

  However, what Ronald had told me about Paul was interesting. Jealousy was a powerful motive. Perhaps he’d acted on his feelings, and his determination to win this competition had overridden his morals.

  I looked around the room, hoping to spot Paul and have a chat to see what he was up to last night.

  My breath caught in my throat. Nick stood on the other side of the room. He was glaring at me.

  Uh, oh! I’d just been caught snooping.

  Chapter 10

  As hard as it was, I stood my ground as Nick stomped over to me.

  “Cup of tea?” I asked brightly.

  “I don’t want tea,” he said. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Looking at cute dogs? Keeping high-maintenance dog owners happy? Making sure no one has a tinkle accident on the artificial surface?”

  “You’re asking questions about this murder investigation,” Nick said. “I know you’ve been speaking to Jane Keegan. I also know about the incident in the alleyway last night. What are you playing at?”

  “I’m playing at nothing,” I said. “Last night, it was purely an accident that I stumbled into the alleyway and helped those zombies.”

  “More like, you stopped an attack. Cassie, that’s dangerous. We knew the zombies might react badly to so many dogs being in town, yet you jam yourself right into the middle of a potentially deadly situation.”

  “Hold on. The only thing at risk in the alleyway was Mischief the dog. Zara was protecting her, and when the zombies saw me, they lost interest in Mischief and came to the shelter. No one was harmed. Nobody was at risk.”

  “You were.”

  “How do you know about this, anyway?”

  “Archer does occasionally share information with me,” Nick said, “especially when residents do foolish and dangerous things.”

  “How much information did he share?” My gaze narrowed. Archer had assured me he wouldn’t let on that I’d been talking about Delia.

  “He mentioned it when I filled him in on the Delia problem.”

  I let out a relieved sigh. “Archer shouldn’t have bothered to tell you. Like I said, there was no drama.”

  “He thinks otherwise. His team has noticed the zombies are restless. Archer’s adding three more of his crew on the roof of the town hall. They’re monitoring if the hordes of zombies come together.”

  “You have to stop using the word horde,” I said. “It alarms people. It makes them think of rampaging zombies, not our sweet placid zombies. If a few zombies happen to hang out together, then they’re a friendly bunch of individuals occupying the same space. They’re not planning anything malevolent.”

  “Are you telling me that the three who got you cornered in an alley last night weren’t planning on doing something they shouldn’t?”

  “First off, they didn’t corner me. Second, no, they weren’t planning on doing anything. Their basic desires were stimulated, no doubt by Mischief running around. Their curiosity led them to investigate. Nobody got eaten. Everybody is safe, and I warned off the zombies.”

  Nick’s gaze ran over me. “How exactly did you do that?”

  I stiffened and hid my scarred hand behind my back. “It’s easy. I reasoned with the zombies, just as any normal person would.”

  Nick snorted. “You are anything but normal when it comes to the zombi
es.”

  My eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Nick’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything.

  I pressed my lips together. We weren’t having this conversation again.

  “Tell me more about the zombie you talked to at the shelter,” Nick said.

  “How do you know about him?”

  “I have my sources. What did he tell you?”

  I huffed out a breath. “Nothing you need to worry about. He’s innocent.”

  “Does he have an alibi for Delia’s murder?”

  “Mostly,” I said. “There are better suspects than an innocent zombie.”

  “Let me decide if that’s true,” Nick said. “Who is it?”

  “Don’t go hassling him.”

  “I never hassle. I simply ask questions. Who were you talking to at the shelter?”

  “I don’t have to tell you.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “That’s true. But if you don’t, I might arrest you for obstructing a police investigation.”

  I threw my hands up. “Ashton. He’s vulnerable. Don’t stress him out by dragging him in for questioning.”

  “I won’t drag him anywhere.” Nick’s eyes narrowed. “You’re hiding something.”

  “Nope. I have nothing more I wish to tell you.”

  “Cassie.” Nick sighed. “I’m looking into everyone who could have killed Delia. I can’t ignore Ashton.”

  “It’s nothing,” I said.

  “I’ll find out, eventually.”

  “It’s just that Jen might have seen Ashton leave the shelter with several other zombies on the night of the murder.” I shook my head, feeling like I was telling tales. “Ashton told me he didn’t leave the shelter.”

  “Which means, he’s lying,” Nick said. “Why do that if he’s innocent?”

  “He made a mistake,” I said. “It’s easy enough to do, especially under pressure. He’ll make more mistakes if you go after him.”

  Nick was already turning. “This could be just the lead we need.”

  “No!” I grabbed his arm. “Don’t pin this murder on a zombie.”

  “I will if Ashton did it,” Nick said.

  “At least, let me come with you,” I said. “Ashton will open up if I’m around. I can keep an eye on his stress levels and make sure he’s getting fair treatment.”

  “Nice idea. You don’t want the local bullying police sergeant getting in the way of your precious zombies.” Nick glowered at me.

  “Hey! Not fair. I don’t always get in your way. I occasionally help.”

  “Or hinder.” Nick pointed over my shoulder. “Don’t you have a dog show to run?”

  I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t abandon the show. The next event was about to start. I had to make sure everything ran smoothly.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” I said to Nick.

  “Like my job?” He shook my hand off his arm. “I will question Ashton. I already know he was seen arguing with Delia.”

  “So why hold out on me?” I followed Nick to the door.

  “I wanted to see how much you’d withhold. As usual, you’re on the zombies’ side.”

  Nick was unbelievable. “I don’t care that Ashton’s a zombie. I care that the right person gets caught.”

  “And they will. So long as you let me do my job.” Nick jabbed a finger at me. “Leave this case alone.” He turned and strode out the door.

  I heaved out a sigh. Nick couldn’t get any more annoying. He’d tried to trap me by withholding information he already knew. I felt cheated.

  As I turned back to enter the hall, I spotted Paul and his aloof, snooty dog, Ernest.

  I hurried over. “Are you ready for the next event?”

  “Ernest doesn’t do ball tricks,” Paul said. “His physical perfection is his asset.”

  I looked at Ernest. He sneezed and turned his back on me.

  Since Nick was leading the charge against a zombie, I needed to act fast. It was time to drop a truth bomb on Paul.

  “Have you heard the news about Delia?”

  Paul tilted his chin. “That she’s dead? The word is going around as we speak. I heard a few minutes ago.”

  That was disappointing. I’d hoped to see his reaction when he first heard the news. “It must have been a shock.”

  Paul shrugged. “I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before this. She was a dog snob. No one was ever as good as her dog. Delia looked down her nose at everybody else. I wasn’t a Delia fan.”

  “Were you ever in direct competition with her at any of these shows?”

  “We were always in competition,” Paul said. “Delia got greedy. She wanted to win every award. She’d travel the country to pick up a trophy. The woman was obsessed. An obsession like that never ends well.”

  “Did you see her the night she died?”

  “I saw a lot of people that evening,” Paul said. “Not that I was interested in them. I spent most of my time with Ernest, fine tuning his already excellent skills.”

  Ernest sneezed again and shook his head.

  Paul scooped him up and dabbed the dog’s nose. “This place is too dusty, and the sea air disagrees with Ernest. I’ll be glad when we can get out of here.”

  I couldn’t agree more. “Did you see anyone talking to Delia before she left the show last night?”

  “I pay that woman as little attention as possible,” Paul said. “Besides, I wasn’t here the whole time. I did a run through with Ernest, made sure our accommodation was finally suitable, and then went for dinner with a friend.”

  “Who did you have dinner with?”

  He smiled at me. “Mavis and her naughty poodles.”

  “I didn’t know you were friendly.”

  Paul smoothed an eyebrow into place. “We aren’t in the show ring. Mavis and I met at a dog show. We bonded over her love of bitching about the competition. Mavis has a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor, especially when she’s taken a few nips from that hip flask she carries around.”

  “Where did you eat?”

  Paul’s eyes narrowed. “What’s with all the questions?”

  “There’s talk that Delia’s death might not have been an accident.”

  “Ha! And you think I shoved her down a flight of stairs to win this contest?”

  “How do you know that’s how she died?”

  Paul’s cheeks grew pink. “I might have overheard that dark-haired officer talking to his colleague. He mentioned something about stairs.”

  My eyes narrowed. Was that true or had Paul just implicated himself in this murder?

  Paul raised his chin. “I might have killed Delia to get my hands on the prize at a national show but not for an award in a tin pot place like this. I came here as a favor to Mavis. Ernest has a solid reputation as an excellent show dog. People take part just to say they’ve shared the same air as my wonderful boy.”

  I kept my tone level. “I can imagine they do.”

  “Mavis had me on the phone for ages, telling me about this event and how I had to attend. She promised there would be a bonus reward at the end. I’m here to keep her happy. I certainly wouldn’t kill to win this show.”

  I tried not to feel slighted. Zee Town’s first dog show was going fabulously. “You admit you didn’t like Delia?”

  “Find me one person who actually liked her,” Paul said. “And not just because of her ability with dogs. Even I appreciated that she had a knack for soothing the most savage of beasts. Delia was a truly horrid person. If you said anything to slight her, you were dead to her. She went out of her way to be thoroughly unpleasant. It’s like she operated as the alpha in a pack of wolves. If you didn’t meet her standards, then she shoved you to the bottom of the pile and bullied you.”

  “Sometimes, people prefer animals to humans,” I said. And from spending time with Paul, it made me realize they were most likely right.

  “Delia was just like that,” Paul said. “She was estranged from her fam
ily. They were sick of her letting them down at the last minute because her dog had an upset stomach or needed an extra hour of training. I love Ernest and go out of my way to make sure he has a good life, but there has to be limits.”

  “Can you think of anyone here who would want to do Delia harm?”

  “Get out your list of participants and start at the top,” Paul said. “Out of the hundreds of us here, one of them will have done it. No one liked Delia. If they tell you they’re sad she’s gone, they’re not telling the truth. People are happy she’s dead.”

  I frowned. “Thanks for the tip.”

  “Actually, I have a question for you,” Paul said. “Have you lived here long?”

  “Sure. All my life. Why do you ask?”

  “Why are the zombies hanging around?” Paul asked. “Is that normal behavior?”

  My eyes widened a fraction. “You mean, outside the town hall?”

  “I’ve seen a few out there. But last night, at the bed-and-breakfast, there were twelve zombies standing outside. None of them were moving. It was a touch creepy. It was like they were drawn to the building. Is that what they do?”

  “Um, well, they can look a bit aimless. Zombies sometimes need motivation to get going.”

  “Why were they standing outside my accommodation?”

  I gave a quick shrug. “I have no idea. It’s nothing to worry about. Our zombies are perfectly safe. They sometimes like to walk around. Perhaps they were out for a late-night stroll and got tired.” Or rather, they were interested in all the yummy dogs staying in the bed-and-breakfast.

  “Another odd thing about these zombies,” Paul said, “when I was walking back with Ernest last night, five of them appeared from nowhere and tried to touch him.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Ernest gave them a sharp nip, and they backed off, but they were only interested in him. They didn’t want to talk to me. It was unnerving.”

  “How odd.” My heart hammered in my chest. Paul and Ernest had had a close call last night. “As I said, there’s nothing to worry about. The zombies are a friendly bunch.”