by Susan Harper
“Well, if you hire your boyfriend to shoot your husband, I don’t imagine you plan on keeping the man’s name,” Felicity said with an eye-roll.
He eyed the houses a bit as they drove around. “Nice,” he said. “These are some of Senoia’s best homes. The party planning business that good, huh?”
“Believe me, if it wasn’t for my fiancé, there’s no way I’d be living anywhere this uppity,” Felicity said with a laugh. “Brian has…classy taste. I guess that’s something I’m going to have to get used to.”
“Lawyer boy is your fiancé, right?” Steven asked.
Felicity giggled slightly at the nickname. “Sure is.”
“Nice guy,” Steven said. “Got to say, I’d have a hard time being with a defense attorney, but that’s just the cop in me, I think.”
“It took some getting used to,” Felicity admitted. “Especially when I found out he was representing Frankie—someone I helped put away. But, like he’s told me a few times, someone has to do it, and sometimes, the people he represents really are innocent and need someone to fight for them. I suppose if you think of it in that sense, it doesn’t seem so bad. He does a lot of pro bono cases for teenagers and youth gang members. He steers them right by helping them get a second chance, and those are the kind of cases he enjoys working. He’s a stiff lawyer type, but he’s got a humanitarian side to him that levels him out.”
“He sounds like a good guy.” He parked the vehicle and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a card. “Here’s my number. If anything does go down, you can give me a call, and I can get here faster than anyone else. I don’t live too far from here.”
“Thanks, Steven,” Felicity said before climbing out of the car. “Good to know I have a cop living in my backyard.”
“Okay, it sounds creepy when you say it that way,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll watch and make sure you get in okay.” He waved in her direction.
Felicity headed inside, checking to ensure that no one was waiting for her. She sighed in relief and then double-checked all the locks. Why am I so paranoid about this guy? she wondered.
Almost as soon as Officer Steven Sanders pulled out of the driveway, she spotted Autumn pulling in. Felicity gazed out the front window, watching as her friend jumped out of her car, decked out in her pajamas. She laughed and went to the door to greet her, and she smiled to see that Autumn had brought bubbly and had purchased a movie on her way over.
“Ooh, are we having a movie night?” Felicity asked.
“You got popcorn, right?” she asked.
“You know it!” Felicity said and pointed Autumn in the direction of the TV. “You get the movie in, and I’ll make the popcorn.”
“On it!” Autumn said.
They snacked on popcorn, drank, and chowed down on some delivery pizza while gossiping and sharing secrets like they had done back in high school. Some things really never changed. The two of them wound up passing out on the couch, and Felicity slept decently knowing that her best friend was right there with her. She felt thankful that Autumn had dropped any plans she’d had to come stay the night; it felt good having a friend like her.
Felicity could hardly remember passing out on the couch when she was abruptly woken up in the morning by the sound of her doorbell. Autumn jumped up from the little loveseat where she had fallen asleep, and the two women rubbed their eyes. “Too early!” Autumn moaned. The two walked together to the door; Autumn peered out the front window. “It’s a delivery guy,” Autumn said. “UPS, I think.”
“That’s weird,” Felicity said, opening the door.
A young delivery driver held up a small package. “Felicity Overton?” he asked.
“That’s me,” she said.
“Sign here,” said the young driver.
Felicity did as she was told, took the package, and bid the young man farewell, locking up behind her. The two women headed into the kitchen where Felicity set the box down on the counter and began searching for a pair of scissors. Once she found a pair, she went to open the box when Autumn suddenly cried out, “Wait! Stop!” Felicity jumped a bit in surprise.
“What? Why?” Felicity questioned.
“Look,” Autumn said, helping Felicity to examine the box. “Felicity, there’s no address on this box… How did that driver know to bring it here?”
Chapter 6
Felicity was relieved to see Jack and his partner Patrick pull up in her driveway. She and Autumn had changed into t-shirts and jeans while waiting for the police to show up. “What happened?” Jack asked frantically.
“We got a delivery from UPS,” Felicity said, pointing toward the house. “But there wasn’t a delivery address or anything. With everything that went down yesterday, we were a bit shaken by it. Something about the whole thing just seemed sketchy.”
“Agent Ryan is on his way. He told me not to touch it,” Jack said with a grunt. “I’m just glad that you’re both okay.”
“I’m going to drive around and look for a delivery truck,” Patrick said. “We already have two patrol cars out searching for the vehicle matching the description you ladies gave the operator, but it wouldn’t hurt for me to scope out the neighborhood.”
“Good idea,” Jack said as a car pulled up into the driveway.
Officer Steven Sanders stepped out of the car, wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts, since he was off-duty. “I heard there was some ruckus out this way?” Steven asked as Patrick pulled out of the driveway.
“Thanks for coming, Steven,” Jack said. “But we’re just waiting on the FBI now.”
They only had to wait a few minutes before a herd of black vans came pulling into the neighborhood. Agent Ryan led the charge, and he had a bomb squad with him. “Bomb squad?” Jack questioned, pointing at the labeled van. “Seriously? You think someone might have sent a bomb?”
Felicity shivered. She hoped she hadn’t come that close to blowing her and Autumn up.
“You can never be too careful,” Agent Ryan said. “Our killer went from hiring thugs to murder on his behalf to becoming more hands-on, and he went from murder to kidnapping. Now this? He’s evolving, so we’re not sure what to expect. We’ll all wait out here until the bomb squad gives us the thumbs up to move in.” Agent Ryan looked in Autumn’s direction, and he introduced himself properly. Autumn returned the introduction politely, but she stood in the front yard uncomfortably shifting her weight from one foot to the other to avoid too much conversation. The whole ordeal was a bit traumatizing. If there really was a bomb in her house, Felicity was sure that neither of them would ever sleep well again, regardless of whether or not the bomb actually went off.
A few more minutes went by, and soon Patrick was pulling back into the neighborhood. He parked on the curb, and Felicity saw the UPS driver from earlier get out of the car with Patrick. “That’s the guy who delivered the package!” Felicity exclaimed as Patrick and the young man approached.
The UPS driver looked pale. Agent Ryan pulled the driver aside to speak with him privately. “Did he tell you anything, Patrick?” Steven asked.
“Only that he was asked to deliver the package to this address and was given a hefty tip to ignore the fact that it wasn’t addressed properly,” Patrick said.
After a while, the bomb squad came and fetched Agent Ryan, letting him know the coast was clear and leading them all inside. “At least no one was sending me a bomb, I guess,” Felicity said under her breath as she and Autumn crossed the threshold into her living room.
Felicity, Autumn, Jack, Patrick, Steven, and a handful of other police who had been out looking for the mystery UPS driver all settled into the living room while the FBI took over Felicity’s kitchen to examine the contents of the package. “We should have just opened it,” Felicity griped.
“No, you did what you should have done,” Jack said. “There’s a serial killer out there interested in you, for some reason, and you got this weird delivery the day after Whitney is kidnapped. It might not have been a bomb, but it could have been. You did
the smart thing.”
“That’s right,” Autumn agreed. “You can’t be too careful right now.”
“I should call Brian,” Felicity said and began searching the living room for her cell phone. She gave him a call, and he answered in a quick, hushed tone that let her know he was probably about to head into a courtroom.
“Hey, Felicity,” Brian said swiftly. “Now’s a bad time.”
“I know, but I thought I’d just let you know we got a weird package in the mail. The FBI are here checking it out now,” Felicity said.
“Are you serious?” Brian’s voice raised slightly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Brian,” Felicity assured him. “I just wanted to let you know.”
“I’m coming home as soon as I get out of court, okay?” he said.
Felicity smiled. “Good,” she said. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said. “Please stay out of trouble, okay?”
“If you insist,” Felicity said before hanging up. She slumped into her couch cushions and sighed. She was starting to wonder if she had overreacted to the package delivery. It was probably one of Brian’s clients sending him something and had just been in a hurry.
“If everything’s good here, I’m going to head out,” Steven said. “I’ve been pulling double shifts all week. I’m beat.”
Jack and Patrick nodded as Steven slipped out of the house. “Glad to see you back at work,” Autumn said to Patrick, who smiled at her.
“Glad to be back,” Patrick said. “It took longer than expected to get back on my feet again after Frankie shot me, but I’m good. Got a good story and a battle scar out of it, so I suppose it could have been worse.”
“You could be in Nick’s boat,” Jack said, and Autumn nodded.
“How is Nick doing?” Patrick asked.
“Good for someone who got shot in the neck,” Autumn said. “Still in the wheelchair, but that’s probably going to be long-term. He’s regained most of his movements from his waist up.”
“That was fast,” Patrick said. “How’s he holding up in the head?”
“He has friends and family who have been really supportive,” Autumn said. “So that really makes a difference. The physical therapists at the hospital say that Nick has the most positive attitude of anyone they have ever dealt with. He was even joking yesterday that he’s glad Kristopher shot him so he could get away from Whitney. Apparently, he knew their relationship was getting rocky… Of course, he just thought they were headed toward divorce, not attempted murder.”
“Well, it’s good to hear that he’s doing well,” Patrick said.
“Miss Overton?” Agent Ryan’s voice called from the kitchen.
Felicity stood and headed toward him, leaving Autumn, Jack, Patrick, and the rest of the police behind in the living room. “So what was it?” Felicity asked, eyeing the box that sat open on her kitchen counter. “Something for Brian?”
“No,” Agent Ryan said. “If you think you can stomach it, here.” He handed her a plastic bag with a picture inside. It was a picture of Whitney; she was tied up, and her eyes were wide in fear.
“Poor Whitney,” Felicity said and shook her head. Whitney was far from a friend. She was Jefferson’s ex; she had tried to kill her own husband, Nick; she had cheated on Nick with Kristopher; Whitney had worked with her father on his drug trafficking; and she had even attempted to frame Jefferson for Nick’s shooting. Despite all of that, though, Felicity certainly did not like seeing images of Whitney in distress—especially since Felicity had become friends with Whitney’s younger sister after everything that had happened. “So the killer did send me the package? This is getting insane. Do you think Whitney is still alive?”
“We are hoping so,” Agent Ryan said and took the picture from her. “Tell me if you can identify everyone in this picture. This was also found in the package.” He then handed her another image that one of the agents had carefully placed in a plastic baggy for protection. It was a simple 8x11 computer paper, and a group of headshots were on the page.
At the top of the page were mugshots of Kirk, Frankie, Gregory, Brandon, and Kristopher. Kirk and Frankie’s faces each had an X over them in red marker. Gregory, Brandon, and Kristopher had the words “You Win” scribbled across their faces. The next row of headshots were of Candice, Nadine, Whitney, Brian, and Autumn. Candice and Nadine had the words “You Win” scribbled across their faces as well. Whitney’s face was circled in red marker, and a clock was drawn beside her picture. The next row of pictures were of Jefferson, Dawn, Monte, Jack, and Veronica. The final row of pictures started with Brittany and ended with herself.
“He’s marked out the people he has had killed,” Felicity said. “And he’s circled Whitney…because he plans on killing her next.”
“Do you know everyone he’s put on this page?” Agent Ryan asked. “Can you identify everyone for us?
“Yes,” Felicity said shakily, pointing at each picture as she spoke about the person. “Kirk and Brandon were the first people I helped to arrest. Kirk killed Brandon’s father when his and Brandon’s drug deal went south. Frankie killed my friend Wanda. Gregory and Kristopher and Whitney all conspired to kill Nick Fontant together. Then Candice and Nadine I helped put away too. Everyone else on this page are my friends!”
“The killer has given you his hit list,” Agent Ryan said. “I need the names and addresses and work places of everyone on here. We need to get you all to a safe house.”
Felicity felt her heart starting to race. The thought that someone would go after her friends because of her terrified her. It was bad enough that the killer was targeting convicts that she had put away, but her friends? It both angered and horrified her, and it didn’t help that her own face was on the killer’s hit list. “Yes, of course, I can identify everyone. Well, Jack and Autumn are already here with me,” she said, turning and pointing toward the living room. “Brian is in court up in Atlanta right now. He lives here with me; he’s my fiancé.”
“We’ll send someone up there to get him right now,” Agent Ryan assured her.
“Jefferson is probably already at the event shop,” Felicity said.
“Okay, we’ll send someone to go get him too,” Agent Ryan said.
“Dawn, Monte, and Veronica are all working at the hospital today. Monte and Dawn should already be there, and I think Veronica’s shift starts in twenty minutes,” Felicity said and then turned toward the living room and called out to Jack. “Jack, do you know where Brittany is right now?’
“She should be at school, why?” Jack asked, and Felicity didn’t spare him the time to answer but instead turned back toward Agent Ryan.
“She’s attending Gordon State College out in Barnesville,” Felicity said.
“Okay,” Agent Ryan said. “We’ll send someone to get all of your friends, don’t worry. They’ll be in good hands.” Agent Ryan took the sheet of paper in the plastic bag from her and flipped it over. He pointed. “Does this mean anything to you?”
Felicity looked at the back of the page. The words “For Felicity” were written at the top, but it was done in some sort of childish code. It was a bunch of silly squiggles and drawings—a flower, a horseshoe, a few Xs, and a star, among others.
“I don’t know what this is,” Felicity said. “Looks like some sort of code.”
“We’ll have to try to decipher it,” Agent Ryan said and pointed at the top corner of the page where another clock was drawn. “Because something tells me if we don’t, Whitney Fontant is not going to make it.”
Chapter 7
Felicity entered the poorly lit room; she was not even entirely sure what city they were in, but she knew they were a good distance away from Senoia. This was the safe house they were being taken to until the FBI could assure their safety. Jack and Autumn entered behind her, as well as Agent Ryan. The air in the room felt uncomfortable, like something straight out of a horror movie, even though nothing seemed dark or out of place. Perhaps it was just k
nowing that it was a safe house was what made it so unnerving. Knowing that the only reason she was there was because someone had put her and her friends on a hit list.
“So this is where we have to stay until you all figure out who’s after us?” Felicity asked with a grunt. The room was brown and plain. There was a hall that she would later learn was nothing but an abundance of bedrooms. The one open room consisted of a small kitchen area and a living space with oversized couches. In one corner was a large cabinet and in another was a door leading to what Felicity assumed was the bathroom.
“Until we can assure your safety, yes,” Agent Ryan said. “It’s not exactly cozy, but you have everything you need here to get by. As someone who has had to hide out in a safe house before, boredom is the worst thing you’ll have to deal with, I promise you that.”
“What about everyone else on that loony toons hit list?” Jack asked.
“Rounding them up now,” Agent Ryan said. “They’ll be arriving shortly.” He waved at the kitchen, where a large gentleman in a suit was standing. Felicity jumped slightly; she had not even noticed the man standing there. “This is Agent Toft. He will be acting as your security while here. If you need anything, just talk to him.”
“Are you leaving, Agent Ryan?” Autumn asked nervously. Autumn seemed to be the most shaken at the moment, but she was warming up to their circumstances. Autumn was always the stoic type; she never let anything trip her up or cause her to lose her head.
“Yes. I have a case to work. This case,” he said and slipped out of the room.
Agent Toft headed to the door and locked it up. “Well, this is not like any case we’ve worked before, is it, Felicity?” Jack teased, and Felicity punched him in the arm.
“I can’t say that we’re working this case at all!” Felicity exclaimed. “The FBI have us locked in a room.”
“To be fair, Miss, if you hadn’t worked any cases to begin with, you probably wouldn’t be in this mess,” Agent Toft said before finding himself a chair in the living space to sit in.
