A Fatal Fall: A Senoia Cozy Mystery Read online

  “I don’t know,” Felicity said. “I should probably just respect Jack and back off this time. You remember how angry he got when I kept putting my nose into the Charles Jones case. And this one is way too personal. I should probably just back off for Jack’s sake.”

  Autumn nodded in agreement. “Well, as long as the local police can catch the guy who did this, I don’t care who solves it. I hope whoever did this winds up down here visiting me next.”

  “Autumn!” Felicity scorned.

  “Oh, whatever, Felicity,” Autumn griped. “I’m sorry, but this one really got me. I mean, it’s Jamie.”

  Felicity let Autumn’s crude comment slide for the time being. It had been a long night for them both, and Felicity could only imagine how the Hudson family was feeling.

  Chapter 5

  Felicity arrived at Overton’s Events nearly half an hour late the next morning, so she was relieved to see that Jefferson had managed to make it on time and had already opened up shop. It was Saturday, after all, and that meant walk-ins. Lots and lots of walk-ins. In fact, as Felicity made her way up to the shop, cringing slightly at the tarp-covered window, she could see that Jefferson was already speaking with some potential clients. She smiled; he always had her back.

  When she had first asked him to help her, long before Overton’s Events was anything more than her hosting on occasional tea party for the local Red Hat Ladies, she would have never guessed he would have flourished in this business. In fact, she had assumed he would only work a few jobs for her; never had she expected him to hang around so long and even eventually help her open up a physical location.

  She entered into the shop quietly, not wanting to throw Jefferson off his game, and made her way around the counter. He was speaking to a young couple who were considering hiring them to do their wedding. The woman seemed hesitant as she wanted to do everything herself. “You can be as involved as you want,” Jefferson assured her. “Hiring a wedding planner doesn’t mean you don’t get a say. We just help you organize everything and get into contact with all of your vendors and your location, and on your big day, you get to relax a little bit more as we make sure that everything runs smoothly,” he assured the timid woman.

  “I think it’s a good idea, and these people have way better prices than the other wedding planners we talked to,” the future groom said. By the look on the man’s face, Felicity could tell he was fearful of his future bride becoming one of those anxiety-filled bridezillas. He was definitely the one pushing to hire a planner.

  “Yeah, well, this place also does birthday parties and murder mystery parties. Maybe we should look at someone who specializes in weddings,” the woman argued.

  Felicity was tempted to step in, but Jefferson had it covered. “Oh, I completely understand,” he began, but he led her toward some of their wedding sample books. “But I want to assure you that we are quite experienced in weddings. It’s certainly one of our specialties. We’ve done everything you can think of as far as weddings go: destination weddings, themed weddings, classy and formal, and even those rustic barn-style weddings that are so popular right now.”

  “That’s what she wants,” the future groom interrupted. “A barn-style wedding. This girl wants me to wear boots and a suit. She can’t really decide if she wants something classy or wants to have a hoedown!”

  The woman blushed. “Well then,” Jefferson said, quickly returning one book he had started to hand the girl and swapped it out for another. “I suggest you have a look through this book then. We have some connections in Brooks to a local family who rents out their property for events just like this. The barn has been fitted to serve as an amazing reception area, and we do the ceremony out by their lake where they’ve added in a beautiful man-made stream that flows right by where we would put your arch. We did our first wedding there two summers ago before we even opened up our location here. This location is affordable, it is super elegant, yet it has a good rustic feel for those barn weddings. It’s a great balance if you’re not sure what direction you’re leaning.”

  Felicity watched as the woman flipped through the book, and her eyes started to light up. Her and her fiancé whispered to themselves for a moment, and she seemed bent on having that location now. Felicity grinned. They had a private contract with the family, so only people who booked through Overton’s Events could use it. Five minutes later, Jefferson was drawing them up a contract and speaking with the mother of the bride on the phone and promising to send pictures of the location to the woman’s email.

  The couple left after about an hour, and Felicity gave Jefferson a thumbs up. “Good job figuring out what she wanted,” she said. “I think that’s the first event you’ve booked and contracted completely by yourself since we opened up the shop. We’ll have to celebrate.”

  “That wore me out,” he admitted. “You know weddings aren’t my favorite to book, but I had to since you showed up late today.”

  “Sorry,” Felicity said. “It was a long night.”

  “How was Jack?” Jefferson asked, and he seemed sincere in his asking.

  “Not great,” she said. “I’ve never seen him like that before. And his parents were so upset. I can’t imagine what they are going through right now.”

  They both were quite distracted the rest of the morning. Felicity wound up on the phone with Abigail for a bit that morning, thanking her for clearing out the party. Abigail informed her that one of her employees would be coming by later to drop off some of their materials.

  After speaking to Abigail, Felicity felt a bit drained. She wasn’t looking forward to talking to the city council about this; she was still training under her friend Wanda to take over as the official city planner, and a girl falling off the roof of a building during one of her parties was certainly not going to make the transition any easier.

  Felicity’s mind kept wandering back to Jack and how devastated he had looked. It was becoming increasingly hard to concentrate on getting any work done. Jefferson seemed equally distracted; the night before had taken a heavy toll on them both.

  A few more hours dwindled by, and it was during the dead hours—lunch—when they rarely saw customers. The door opened, and they both hopped up after having been seated on the couches—not expecting to see anyone coming through the door at this time. A tall, thin man with a thick head of graying brown hair entered the shop, a slight smile on his face. “Hello,” he said. “I’m looking for Ms. Overton.”

  Felicity returned the smile and extended her hand, greeting him just inside the door. “That would be me. Felicity Overton.”

  “Roger Tannings,” he said with an unusual amount of perk.

  “You own the apartments next door? Nadine’s husband?” Felicity asked as she dropped her hand.

  “That’s me,” he said and began to glance around the shop. “I like the décor. So I hear the busted window is due to a falling crowbar, huh?” He laughed quietly. “I’m so sorry about that. I really dig the spray-painted flower on there, though.” He whipped out his checkbook. “Have you gotten a quote for it yet? I want to pay for the window and I’ll just have the construction company reimburse me. I don’t want to put you out because someone I hired was clumsy.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” Felicity said, and she led the eerily perky man over to the counter. She had thankfully already gotten a quote from a company to replace the window, and she printed him out the email she had received for him to look at. “You really don’t have to do this, but I certainly appreciate it,” Felicity said as she handed him the paperwork.

  “Hey, I’m just trying to be neighborly,” the man said, still smiling. It was strange. There was still an air of discontent around Senoia that day after what had happened the night before, but Roger was acting like it didn’t bother him, and it pinched a nerve with Felicity.

  “Um… I’m sorry, but I have to ask…” Felicity said with an intentional frown because the man was smiling with his entire face and she felt the need to counteract it.r />
  “Shoot,” he said with a slight wink as he looked at the quote she had given him.

  “You just seem awfully…peppy?”

  He laughed. “That’s a weird thing to ask about, don’t you think? The weather’s nice today, I guess. I had a good breakfast this morning. My old high school football team won last night. Guess I’m just not sour today.”

  “Mr. Tannings, didn’t you hear about what happened at your apartment building last night?” Jefferson finally asked.

  He laughed. “Oh, I know all about the party. I didn’t go. Not really my scene. My wife went, though.”

  Felicity exchanged glances with Jefferson for a moment. She had figured the police would have gotten in contact with him already. Felicity stammered slightly as she spoke. “Roger, um, Mr. Tannings—”

  “Roger is fine,” he said, still as upbeat as ever.

  “Someone died last night at the party,” Felicity said, and the man went wide-eyed.

  “Excuse me?” he questioned.

  “A teenage girl fell and was possibly pushed off the roof during the party,” Felicity said. The man looked back at her, his face turning white.

  “I had no idea!” he yelped. “I–I was in bed. It was late by the time Nadine got home, and I left before she got up this morning. She didn’t have a chance to tell me what happened.”

  Felicity raised a brow slightly. Nadine had left the party early, or so she thought, because she was worried about her husband staying up to wait on her. “What time did you go to bed last night?” Felicity asked.

  “Does it matter?” he retorted.

  “Just curious,” Felicity said.

  “I suppose one in the morning. I was up late,” he said. He looked ghostly. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell me that happened.”

  “She might not have known,” Jefferson said. “I don’t think she stuck around the party that late.”

  “This is terrible!” Roger exclaimed. “The only reason I agreed to do that party was to try to get some good publicity for the apartments. This is going to ruin any reputation I had hoped to gain for the complex. How am I supposed to rent apartments to people if someone died in there? That completely messes with my marketing plan.”

  “Roger,” Felicity scolded. “Don’t you think you’re being a little cold?” While Felicity herself had worried slightly about what the death of a party-goer would mean for the shop, she certainly didn’t vocalize it and focus on it. She had been much more concerned for the sad soul who had died. This man seemed unfazed by the fact a young girl was dead with the exception of how it affected him.

  The man gritted his teeth and pointed a finger in her face. “You don’t know how much I’ve invested in these apartments! I’ll have to drop the rates I was planning on charging if word gets out about this. I’ll be taking a huge financial loss because some drunk teenager threw herself off the roof!”

  “Hey! I knew her, and she wasn’t some drunk kid! The police are saying she was pushed by someone. What’s wrong with you? You are being so cold-hearted; it is unbelievable!” Felicity snapped.

  “You know what?” he snapped right back and tore up the quote she had printed out and tossed it in her general direction. “Pay for your own window!” He stormed out of the shop.

  “What a creep,” Jefferson said once the man was gone. “I say you need to get that little notebook out that you kept your notes in, your sleuthing notebook from the Charles Jones case, and you need to add him and his wife on the potential suspect list. She told us she was leaving the party early, but she didn’t wind up back home until sometime after one. And then this guy acts like a complete tool about Jamie. We should…”

  “I’m going to stop you right there,” Felicity said. “I’m not looking into this case like I did with Charles.” She stepped out from behind the counter and went to sit down on one of the couches.

  Jefferson followed her. “What! Why not? This is personal! You knew Jamie when she was just a little girl. You’ll look into Charles’s murder, and he was a complete creep, but you don’t want to look into Jamie’s? Someone you knew?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to, Jefferson. You remember how angry Jack got with us about the Charles Jones case. He wanted us nowhere near it, and we stepped on his toes. This time is different. This is his baby sister we’re talking about, and I think for his sake, we should just back off and let the police handle it. He’s not going to want us anywhere near this.”

  Jefferson slouched into the chair next to the couch she was on. “But, Felicity…”

  The door opened and in walked Jackson. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. Felicity couldn’t remember the last time she saw him in civilian’s clothes; they rarely spoke, so she only saw him when he was working in the area. “Jack? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be working right now?”

  Felicity walked with Jack as he made his way inside and slumped down on the couch where she had been seated. She sat beside him, and she and Jefferson eyed him carefully. “I need help,” he said.

  “From me?” Felicity asked.

  “From both of you,” Jack said. He looked angry but also incredibly drained, as though he had just run a marathon. “The station is forcing me to take a sabbatical to keep me away from Jamie’s case. They took my badge and my gun and they’re restricting me from accessing Jamie’s file because they think I need forced time off.”

  Jefferson started to speak, “Jack, man, maybe you should think about listening to them about—”

  “No!” Jack hissed. “If they think I’m going to step away from this then they’re insane! You two solved the Charles Jones case earlier this year. I want you to help me solve Jamie’s. They put me on sabbatical, but I’m still a cop! They say I should back off because it’s too personal for me, but that’s all the more reason for me to be involved!”

  “Jack—” Felicity started to intervene, but Jack stopped her.

  “Please,” he said. “I need your help. Help me find out who did this to Jamie. I have to help in any way I can, but they’re not going to let me do it behind the wheel of a patrol car.”

  Felicity looked at Jefferson and felt like they were having a silent conversation without Jack. Jefferson nodded, and she turned her attention back on her ex. “Okay, Jack, what do you need us to do?”

  Chapter 6

  Felicity sat across from Jack at the coffee shop, Jefferson to her right. Jack’s eyes were bloodshot, but he wore a serious, unmoving expression as they spoke about Jamie’s case. “We don’t really have a lot of information, honestly,” Jefferson began.

  “Well, neither do I,” Jack snapped. “How desperate do you think I am to come to you two?”

  Jefferson took quick offense. “Maybe you should just go enjoy your time off work, Jack. Because I’m not too excited about working with you and hearing you smart off to me every ten minutes.”

  Felicity bit her lip, deciding not to intervene just yet. Jack and Jefferson were adults, so surely they could manage to get through a coffee together without fighting? She watched as Jack took a deep breath, releasing an exasperated sigh before looking Jefferson in the eye. “You’re right,” he said. “And thank you, Jefferson, for agreeing to help me. And for the ride to the hospital last night too. Why don’t we just start with what we do know?”

  Felicity smiled slightly, feeling satisfied that the men seemed to agree that they could force themselves to get along if need be. They had always been so childish toward one another, but she supposed that was her fault. She and Jefferson were very close, and she had probably shared one too many unflattering stories about her ex-boyfriend with him. Meanwhile, Jack likely sensed Jefferson’s discontent with him because of it. Jack was a good guy, but the two of them had certainly not ended things on good terms that summer after their senior year.

  She opened up her notebook, ready to take notes. “We know it’s being investigated as a murder. We know location. From what Autumn told me, the person who did this would need t
o be stronger than Jamie. Either a fairly fit female or your averaged size male teen or youthful man.”

  “That narrows it down to literally every single person who attended the party,” Jefferson huffed. “Okay, well, access to the roof should have been blocked off. So maybe it was someone who had access to the roof?”

  “That’s possible,” Jack said. “But then again, unless the assailant forced Jamie up onto the roof, how did Jamie get up there to begin with? It’s possible someone just left the door unlocked, so really, I guess that doesn’t mean much either.”

  “Is there a possible motive?” Felicity asked, looking to Jack.

  “I mean, Jamie was just a typical teenager,” Jack said. “She was a little rebellious, but as far as I know, she wasn’t into anything she really shouldn’t have been. So if you’re asking if she had any enemies, none that I can think of. She got along well with her classmates. People liked her. She never got into any trouble or did drugs or drank or—”

  “Apart from the booze at the party, Abigail did say there were some underaged people she was having to deal with who were bringing in fake IDs. Jamie could have been one of them,” Jefferson said. “Has Autumn gotten back with her autopsy report yet? If Jamie had been drunk, she could have gotten into an altercation with someone at the party that escalated.”

  “Not yet,” said Felicity. “But I texted her this morning, and she promised to get back to me with it when she finished filing it.”

  “So it sounds like we don’t have any suspects,” Jack griped.

  “We will soon enough,” Felicity assured him. “So… I guess we can start with interviewing people at the party.”

  “There were hundreds of people there,” Jefferson complained. “And we have no way of knowing who attended.”