by Susan Harper
“Thank you, Jeffrey, but I’m doing okay,” she said. “Just ready to get this little family gathering over with.”
Jefferson pointed toward the living area where a few boxes were gathering. “What’s up with the boxes?” he asked. “Are you moving?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I can’t really afford to keep this place on my own. Brian’s father was kind enough to buy the house, but now I don’t really have anywhere to go since I had sold my place to move in here.”
“Aw, man, Felicity—”
“I’m okay, Jeffrey. It’s just a matter of figuring it out. I’d ask Autumn, but Nick just moved in with her. With his handicap, I can imagine I would just be in the way. Veronica lives in a studio, and I really don’t know Brittany well enough to ask. We haven’t exactly been friends that long. I’m not sure what I’ll do. Maybe move back in with my parents for a while. I’m sure they won’t mind after everything that’s happened.”
“I have a spare room,” Jefferson said. Felicity frowned and put down her makeup. He held up both hands defensively. “I was just trying to help. I’m not putting the moves on you or anything right after losing Brian. I’m not that guy. I really just want to help you. You’re my best friend.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Jeffrey. I’ll think about it.”
“You know,” he said. “If you don’t feel like going to this gathering, I think they would understand. It’s been a rough day for you. Just call his grandmother. After meeting her and seeing how feisty she is, I’m sure she’ll whip any of Brian’s relatives into shape if they have the audacity to be bothered by your absence.”
“Grandmamma Studdford is feisty,” Felicity said. “Honestly…I just want to take a nap!”
“Then take a nap,” Jefferson said, “and go afterward. From what I heard, it sounds like it’s going to be an all day sort of thing. Everyone will understand if you’re a little late, Felicity.”
She smiled. “I think I will.” She pulled out her phone and set an alarm. She grinned slightly at him. “Thanks for making me feel like it’s okay to be a little bit of a flake. I really think I need to just rest for a minute before making that drive.”
Felicity didn’t make it all the way to the bedroom. She threw off her shoes and collapsed on the couch. “You want me to stay or go?” he asked.
“Would you stay until I go to sleep?” she requested. He nodded and found himself a seat in the sofa chair beside the couch she had collapsed on.
Soon she was asleep, so Jefferson rose from his seat. He found a blanket in a linen closet and covered Felicity. He noted she left the casserole sitting out, so he returned it to the fridge. He double-checked to make sure her alarm was set, knowing that she wouldn’t forgive herself if she slept the entire day away and missed Brian’s family get-together completely. Jefferson took one last look at Felicity before locking up and heading home, the sun finally coming out from behind the rainclouds.
Thank You!
Thanks for reading Victims of His Vengeance. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, it would be awesome if you left a review for me on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
At the very end of the book, I have included a couple previews of books. First is a preview of the next book in the Senoia Cozy Mystery series, Undercover with the Undead. Second is a preview of A Pie to Die For - it’s the first book in the popular Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery series. I really hope you like the samples. If you do, both books are available on Amazon.
Get Undercover with the Undead here: amazon.com/dp/B075WGV92K
Get A Pie to Die For here: amazon.com/dp/B01D6ZVT78
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Preview: Undercover with the Undead
Felicity had to pause for a moment to re-glue some of her face mask that was threatening to peel away. Then again, peeling away skin did make her look more zombie-ish, but she wasn’t a fan of the grotesque zombie look. “Thanks, Veronica,” Felicity said as Veronica finished gluing the zombie flesh back onto her cheekbone.
Felicity had told all of her friends working the party to dress up like zombies, but Veronica had elected to dress up as one of the living stars of the show in sexy boots, short shorts, and a denim crop top and cowgirl hat. “No problem, girlie,” Veronica said, and each of them grabbed a tray of drinks and made their way back into the crowd of partygoers.
“Can you believe some of the A-list celebrities that are here?” Felicity asked Veronica as they passed out drinks.
“It’s fabulous, darling!” Veronica exclaimed. “I love that the party is on set!”
Everyone was dancing in the middle of what looked like a street set in the middle of the apocalypse, but it was mostly smoke and mirrors. With the fog machines and the cover of night, it really did give off an eerie glow. “Oh no,” Felicity mumbled and nudged Veronica, pointing to the opposite end of the crowd.
“Oh no, your parents are dancing,” Veronica said with a laugh. Felicity’s parents had managed to weasel their way into receiving an invite from Felicity to help out at the party as well. They had worn zombie attire and had been passing out drinks, but currently they were swaying along to the music. Felicity made eye contact with them and shook her head in their direction to let them know they weren’t there to play. Her parents both seemed to moan and then disappear in opposite directions to get back to work.
“Okay, well, I’m out of drinks,” Veronica said. “I’m going to restock.” Veronica disappeared into the crowd.
Almost as soon as Veronica left, Monte, Dawn, and Autumn appeared. “So have you noticed yet, Felicity?” Autumn asked over the loud music.
“Noticed what?” Felicity questioned her zombie friend.
“Um… Veronica!” Monte exclaimed as though whatever it was she was supposed to have noticed was incredibly obvious. “She’s not flirting with any of the movie stars here!”
Felicity laughed. Veronica had a reputation as the major flirt of the group. “Yeah, so? She’s working, and she knows I’ll get on her.”
“You don’t understand,” Dawn said. “Jerome Mason—a star of the show—asked for her phone number. She said no!”
“Wait, what?” Felicity stood upright. “Veronica said no to Jerome Mason?” Felicity knew Veronica well enough to know that she was completely in love with the show, and especially its lead actor. “Are you sure it was Jerome and not like a body double or something?”
“We’re sure,” Dawn said. “She told him she wasn’t interested.”
“Is she playing hard to get?” Felicity asked. Jerome Mason was gorgeous! Felicity was just getting over a serious loss, and she was fairly certain even she would have caved and given that man her number.
“I think it’s a sign of the apocalypse,” Monte said.
“Or,” Jack said, suddenly appearing from the crowd. “Maybe Veronica is trying to mess with us.”
“You all are idiots.” Brittany, the youngest person in their entourage, appeared with Jack. “Veronica has a secret boyfriend.”
“No way,” Jefferson said from behind Felicity.
“Okay, so now half of my workers have gathered in one spot to gossip,” Felicity complained. “We can talk about this another time. Everyone needs to get back to work if we are going to pull this event off.”
“Right,” Jefferson agreed. “Felicity, you go check in on the guests.”
&n
bsp; Felicity headed to the room where some hired hands were setting out a second round of entrees for her friends who were playing the part of servers. She noticed two women, one of whom was very pregnant, eyeing the food being brought out. Felicity giggled slightly to herself and grabbed a tray. “Starving?” she asked as she allowed the two women to help themselves.
“Always,” responded the pregnant woman. “Thanks. I’m really digging the zombie makeup all of you guys are wearing. Someone told me you all did that yourselves. Better not tell the makeup crew, they might get jealous you were able to do all that with just a home kit.”
“Thanks. I wasn’t sure if this would be cliché or not, but the gentleman who hired me loved the idea.”
“Oh, so you’re the party planner? My husband told me they were hiring someone local,” said the pregnant woman.
“Who is your husband?” Felicity asked.
“That would be me,” a young man appeared holding a glass of water, which he handed over to his pregnant wife. “How you holding up, baby?”
“Doing okay,” she said. “Max, this is… Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”
“Felicity.”
“The event planner,” Max said with a warm smile. “Great party. I’m Max. I’m one of the show’s assistant directors. This is my wife Jasmine.”
“And I’m Bridget,” said the woman who had been standing with her pregnant friend while her husband got her some water.
“Do you two ladies work on set too?” Felicity asked.
“We’re extras on the show,” Jasmine explained.
“That must be so fun,” Felicity said.
“It would be,” Jasmine said. “If I wasn’t so pregnant. It’s exhausting.”
“I bet all that zombie makeup under the Georgia heat doesn’t help,” Felicity said.
“Oh, we’re not zombie extras. We play people who live in the town,” Bridget said.
“That’s even better,” Felicity said.
“Yeah,” Max said. “The writers have been known to pull in living extras and add them to the main cast, so here’s hoping.”
Suddenly, they heard shouting. Felicity glanced up to see two of the most familiar actors from the show having some sort of spat. Philip James, the show’s other handsome star, had his fists up and was glaring in the direction of Ronnie Tosh, the show’s main villain. “Oh man, they’re at it again,” Bridget said with a slight laugh.
“What’s going on?” Felicity asked.
“Those two are always up in arms about something,” Max said.
A woman came hurrying up to them, separating them. “Is that Alisha Tosh?” Felicity asked, and Jasmine nodded. Alisha was on the show as another lead player, and she was Ronnie’s wife. Whatever Alisha said seemed to settle things down, and the three of them all separated and went their own directions.
Crisis averted, it seemed. Felicity wished her new friends a pleasant evening and went right back to work. The rest of the evening continued without incident until the lead director of the show approached Felicity. Felicity smiled. Kenneth had been the one to hire her to host the event. He smiled back at her and handed her a glass of champagne. “Good job, Overton. Everyone is enjoying the party.”
“I’m glad,” she said, and just as she was about to enjoy the champagne he had offered, they were interrupted by a loud scream.
Felicity ran toward the sound of the scream and saw a small group of people gathered; several with hands over their mouths staring in shock, others crying. She felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew that look. Not only did she know it, she had felt it herself. Thoughts of Brian and his death tried to rush through her, but she pushed them back and forced her way through the small crowd. There, lying on the ground between two of the prop buildings, was Bridget, an extra Felicity had met earlier that night. She closed her eyes and demanded her brain to stay focused. When she opened them, she realized that Bridget had not only been stabbed to death, but someone had done her up in zombie make up.
Thanks for reading the sample of Undercover with the Undead. I really hope you liked it. You can read the rest at:
amazon.com/dp/B075WGV92K
Make sure you turn to the next page for the preview of A Pie to Die For.
Preview: A Pie to Die For
"But you don't understand, I use only the finest, organic ingredients." My voice was high-pitched as I pleaded my case to the policeman. Oh, this was just like an episode of Criminal Point. Hey, I wondered who the killer turned out to be. I shook my head. That's not important, Rachael, I scolded myself. What's important is getting yourself off this murder charge. Still, I hoped Pippa had recorded the ending of the episode.
I tried to steady my breathing as Jackson—Detective Whitaker—entered the room and threw a folder on the table, before studying the contents as though he was cramming for a test he had to take the next day. He rubbed his temples and frowned.
Is he even going to make eye contact with me? Is he just going to completely ignore the interaction we had at the fair? Pretend it never even happened.
"Jackson..." I started, before I was met with a steely glare. "Detective. Surely you can't think I had anything to do with this?"
Jackson looked up at me slowly. "Had you ever had any contact with Mrs. Batters before today?"
I shifted in my seat. "Yes," I had to admit. "I knew her a little from the store. She was always quite antagonistic towards me, but I'd never try to kill her!"
"Witnesses near the scene said that you two had an argument." He gave me that same steely glare. Where was the charming, flirty, sweet guy I'd meet earlier? He was now buried beneath a suit and a huge attitude.
"Well...it wasn't an argument...she was just...winding me up, like she always does."
Jackson shot me a sharp look. "So, she was annoying you? Was she making you angry?"
"Well... Well..." I tripped over my words. He was now making me nervous for an entirely different reason than he had earlier. Those butterflies were back, but now they felt like daggers.
Come on, Rach. Everyone knows that the first suspect in Criminal Point is not the one that actually did it.
But how many people had Jackson already interviewed? Maybe he was saving me for last. Gosh, maybe my cherry pie had actually killed the woman!
"Answer the question please, Miss Robinson."
"Not angry, no. I was just frustrated."
"Frustrated?" A smile curled at his lips before he pounced. "Frustrated with Mrs. Batters?"
"No! The situation. Come on—you were there!" I tried to appeal to his sympathies, but he remained a brick wall.
"It doesn't matter whether I was there or not. That is entirely besides the point." He said the words a little too forcefully.
I swallowed. "I couldn't get any customers to try my cakes, and Bakermatic was luring everyone away with their free samples." I stopped as my brows shot up involuntarily. "Jackson! Sorry, Detective. Mrs. Batters ate at Bakermatic as well!"
My words came out in a stream of breathless blabber as I raced to get them out. "Bakermatic must be to blame! They cut corners, they use cheap ingredients. Oh, and I know how much Mrs. Batters loved their food! She was always eating there. Believe me, she made that very clear to me."
Jackson sat back and folded his arms across his chest. "Don't try to solve this case for us."
I sealed my lips. Looks like I might have to at this rate.
"We are investigating every place Mrs. Batters ate today. You don't need to worry about that."
I leaned forward and banged my palm on the table. "But I do need to worry about it! This is my job, my livelihood…my life on the line. If people think I am to blame, that will be the final nail in my bakery's coffin!" Oh, what a day. And I'd thought it was bad enough that I hadn't gotten any customers at my stand. Now I was being accused of killing a woman!
I could have sworn I saw a flicker of sympathy finally crawl across Jackson's face. He stood up and readjusted his tie, but he still r
efused to make full eye contact. "You're free to go, Miss Robinson," he said gently. There was that tone from earlier, finally. He seemed recognizable as a human at long last.
"Really?"
He nodded. "For the moment. But we might have some more questions for you later, so don't leave town."
I tried to make eye contact with him as I left, squirreling out from underneath his arm as he held the door open for me, but he just kept staring at the floor.
Did that mean he wasn't coming back to my bakery after all?
Pippa was still waiting for me when I returned home later that evening. There was a chill in the air, which meant that I headed straight for a blanket and the fireplace when I finally crawled in through the door. Pippa shot me a sympathetic look as I curled up and crumbled in front of the flames. How had today gone so wrong, so quickly?
"I recorded the last part of the show," Pippa said softly. "If you're up for watching it."
I groaned and lay on the carpet, my back straight against the floor like I was a little kid. "I don't think I can stomach it after what I just went through. Can you believe it? Accusing ME of killing Mrs. Batters? When I know that Bakermatic is to blame. I mean, Pippa, they must be! But this detective wouldn't even listen to me when I was trying to explain Bakermatic's dodgy practices to him."
Pippa leaned forward and took the lid off a pot, the smell of the brew hitting my nose. "Pippa, what is that?"
She grinned and stirred it, which only made the smell worse. I leaned back and covered my nose. "Thought it might be a bit heavy for you. I basically took every herb, tea, and spice that you had in your cabinet and came up with this! I call it 'Pippa's Delight'!"
"Yeah well, it doesn't sound too delightful." I sat up and scrunched up my nose. "Oh, what the heck—pour me a cup."
