Chapter 1 - Pseudonym

College. That was one place Kenzie Howell never thought she’d venture to again. But here she was, sitting in a cab, riding toward her destination, Lucky Palms University.

It was winter now, but Lucky Palms was similar, at the moment, to Riverview – meaning there was no snow about, but at least Lucky Palms didn’t get bitterly cold in the winter. Kenzie believed it was only in Riverview that Snowflake Day could come and go and be bitter cold without any of the white stuff actually falling.

As she rode, Kenzie felt slightly forlorn that she couldn’t bring Sage with her on this trip. But alas, this was her first undercover assignment. She couldn’t bring Sage to college anyway, but she’d be more recognizable with her trusty four-legged companion following her. She already had to invest in a realistic wig and new wardrobe to fit in with the university crowd. Jillian had even talked her into wearing contacts...she hated contacts. But they did change her eye color, and it was better than dealing with the hassle that came with glasses.

But Kenzie still didn’t like it.

Finally, Kenzie arrived on campus. She’d never been to Lucky Palms before, and she had a good witch friend, Paige, who lived there as well, whom she hoped to visit eventually.

But the reason she was here wasn’t fun. It was business. And very serious business.

Kenzie had solved a few cases with her new private investigator license in Riverview, but nothing major had occurred. She just hadn’t been called as often as she had been as a detective, but she knew the real reason for the lack of business – supernatural creatures. Since they came out of hiding, they’d started getting jobs with humans, including law enforcement. Their acute senses of sight and smell helped catch many more criminals than Kenzie would ever be able to. Some people were still skeptical about the creatures they’d presumed to be myths, so they still preferred to socialize with humans. Unfortunately, none of them wanted or needed a private detective.

So it was a surprise, albeit a nice one, when the dean of Lucky Palms University had called her and asked her to pose as a student at the college to determine why so many were suddenly falling ill, and in some cases, deathly so.

“How am I supposed to figure that out?” she’d asked him dubiously. “What about autopsies and toxicology reports?”

“Nothing has shown up in tox, so it’s likely some new form of party drug or something. But of course, whatever it is, these students are smart enough to not conduct anything incriminating where they’d be monitored.”

“But why do you need me to go undercover for this?”

“Students aren’t going to respond to an authoritative figure. They’re afraid of getting in trouble themselves if they’ve also been doing, well, whatever it is everyone is doing that’s making them so sick. They could be considered accessories after the fact, and they know that. A direct confrontation will get us nowhere. I’ve seen your files, Ms. Howell. I think you’re more than qualified to pull this off.”

Kenzie stretched out on the couch, debating. Did she really want to do this? Going undercover was a first for her. She’d solved several cases, yes, but always as herself. What if she blew her cover? What if she ended up getting herself or someone else hurt? What if she failed? What if she let someone down?

But she was in no position to decline the offer. The dean had offered to pay her a pretty reasonable amount for her help, and with business lacking lately, she couldn’t pass this up. Her money was running lower than it was when she’d been a detective at the police station. She was always finding herself wondering if she’d made the right choice in going back into the investigative field. After she lost her job due to an inadvertent conflict of interest, she’d gone back to college to get a private investigator degree. That way, she could still bring criminals to justice, but she’d be her own boss.

But her paychecks came from her clients, of which she was severely lacking as of late. The bills were starting to pile up, and she was too prideful to ask anyone for help. Even her parents across the street.

So it was with slight hesitation but no choice that she’d reluctantly agreed to take part in her first undercover case.

Now that she was on campus, Kenzie hastily threw on her wig and removed her glasses, then put her contact lenses in. The cabbie didn’t notice, or if he did, he said nothing. He wasn’t an actual university cabbie, so it was unlikely that they’d see each other again, anyway.

Her makeup was heavier than usual, and her clothes were more revealing (even in the ass-biting cold she’d left behind in Riverview). She looked like a college student, and she was starting to feel like one, too. She just hoped her hip-hugging jeans and low-cut shirt and jacket didn’t expose too much of her belly.

While working this case, Kenzie would be treated exactly like a student. She’d attend class (posing as a journalism major), live in a dorm (with a roommate, which was something she’d hoped to avoid), and not even the professors were aware of her status. She’d also have an alias, as well as a back story.

She’d be posing as Mindy Chandler, a transfer from Aurora Skies. Thankfully she didn’t have to alter her voice; she was never interviewed for TV, so it was unlikely anyone knew what she sounded like. Her reason for coming to Lucky Palms so late was due to the fact that her paperwork was mistakenly filed incorrectly, but the issue was finally resolved.

Kenzie had studied these notes assiduously, and though she was still apprehensive, she felt more ready than before.

Once she checked in, she made her way to the Malan Hall Dormitory, where she’d be staying. She looked up at the building and was impressed by how elegant it looked.

After entering the dorm house, she saw quite the array of students. Some were playing the foosball table, others were chatting animatedly in the living room, and others still were congregated in the kitchen. The smell wasn’t appealing.

Kenzie introduced herself to everyone (as Mindy), and she received some pretty warm, if not inquisitive, welcomes. She had to repeat her fake story a few times before she was no longer asked about it.

One of Kenzie’s housemates showed her to her surprisingly spacious bedroom.

“Just so you know,” the guy, who said his name was Tiberius, told her, “your roommate is a little...eccentric.”

“How so?”

“She’s to the point where she’s about to get kicked out. She’s kind of out of control, hanging out with the bad crowd. She’s gone downhill since she got kicked out of the sorority.”

This caused Kenzie’s head to snap up. She hoped it wasn’t too conspicuous. “She got kicked out?”

“Yeah, some psycho pledge bullshit that she apparently broke. I don’t know. Just don’t mess with her crap and you’ll be fine.”

Kenzie nodded and Tiberius left. She took off her coat and began to unpack her suitcase, emptying its contents into the empty drawers of the lone dresser. It was obvious which side of the room was hers; the other side had a zebra-print bedspread with hot pink sheets and black paint on the frame. The end table was painted in an identical black shade, and a matching coffee table was against the far wall with a pink and black leopard-print patterned chair next to it. It was way too chic for Kenzie’s tastes, though the rest of the room had very girly touches as well. Almost too childish, even.

Plus, a large easel was propped up with a half-finished painting on it next to the more chic side of the room. Apparently her roommate was an artist.

Just as Kenzie was finishing putting away her clothes, the door banged open. She looked up and saw her roommate.

And nearly dropped the pile of clothing she was holding onto.

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