Killer Among Us

KILLER AMONG US Y.G. KNIGHT Copyright 2023 by Y.G. Knight - All rights reserved. In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher. CONTENTS Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 13. - Three Months Later Epilogue The End. Sneak Peek - Chapter 1 FREEBIE! PROLOGUE Colleen Hunter had spent most of the day feeling like she was about to have some sort of a nervous breakdown. Of course, no one looking at her would know that she felt that way. She had learned over the years to hide her emotions behind a blank façade, and it had served her well so far- everyone thought Colleen was the type of woman who was always in control. Colleen knew it was ridiculous that she felt like this really – a grown woman on the edge of a panic attack in case one of the details of a party didn’t go right wasn’t normal was it – but to Colleen, this was more than just a party. This was her annual December gathering, a Bennison Beach tradition that kicked off the Christmas festivities every year. The December gathering was always held on the first Saturday in December and only the most elite of the elite were invited. In a place like Bennison Beach, that meant something. This year, the bash was even more exclusive than usual and while that was somewhat daunting – there would be nowhere to hide if anything went wrong - it was also going to be much easier for Colleen in some ways because there were a lot less moving parts for her to keep track of than there usually would be. Colleen was starting to relax a little bit now that most of the preparation was done, but she wouldn’t allow herself to relax completely until the event was over and people were talking about what a success it had been. She was already looking forward to the praise her guests would heap on her and the looks she would get from the people who hadn’t been invited – a mixture of hatred, envy, and a longing to be one of the elites. “Where is the damned bar tender?” Colleen asked, looking around at the gathered staff before her. She had another quick look around the room to make sure she hadn’t overlooked the bar tender, but no, she hadn’t. She could see the wait staff - Georgia, Eric, Callie, and Gabe - along with the catering manager, Rachel. Wayne Watson was sitting with them too. While technically neither wait staff nor bar staff, Wayne was still on the staff for the evening. Colleen had hired the actor to play the part of the victim in her murder mystery for tonight’s party so that none of her guests had to be the victim and miss out on the fun of solving the murder. “I’m here,” a voice said from behind Colleen. “And I’m a mixologist not a bar tender.” “Right,” Colleen said, fixing him with an icy look. “And I’m a party planner not just a bored housewife.” She could see Dave, the prodigal bar tender – sorry, mixologist - biting his tongue, dying to throw a retort back at her, but a warning glance from Rachel stopped him. Shame, Colleen thought. A little spar might have gotten some of this nervous energy out of me and calmed me down. “Ok, now Dave has seen fit to join us, let me just run over the plan for the evening one last time,” Colleen said. “Dave you will obviously be in the bar area which has been set up in one of the rooms off the dining room. Start the drinks off nice and strong, get people merry, but use your discretion if people are getting a little bit too merry, ok?” Dave nodded and looked bored, and Colleen wondered again why she put up with his attitude. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-two and he already had this world-weary thing going on. It irritated Colleen to no end, but she knew deep down why she put up with him; when the guests arrived and he went into server mode, there was no one better for both mixing drinks and keeping the people happy as they waited. This was the eighth event of hers he would have worked, and she had heard nothing but praise from her guests. “Wait staff,” Colleen said, looking at each of them in turn as she spoke. “I expect to see you guys on the move constantly. Make sure no guest goes unfed but don’t be in their faces if they decline what you are offering.” She was well aware of the fact that the instruction was contradictory but, in her mind, she knew what she meant and judging by the nods of agreement she was getting from the staff, they knew what she meant too – let no hungry guest go unfed but don’t bother anyone who has made it clear they didn’t want anything more to eat. “Thank you,” Colleen smiled at them. “You can go and get yourselves set up.” The wait staff and Dave stood up and left the room. Colleen turned her attention to Rachel. “Keep an eye on them. Make sure everything runs smoothly. You know the drill,” she said. “Of course,” Rachel said. Colleen noted that her smile didn’t meet her eyes and figured the woman was a little bit insulted that she was getting told how to do her job, but Colleen didn’t much care. She wanted everything to be absolutely perfect and her giving