Mrs. Undercover Page

“Welcome to the neighborhood!” the woman chirped. “I’m Brenda. I live three doors down. Just brought you my famous tuna surprise.”

“Big day here, too,” Ellie said, pouring his coffee. “Mia has a playdate. Leo has a dentist appointment. And I have to figure out why the neighbor’s new ‘gardening shed’ has thermal signatures consistent with a small missile launcher.” Mrs. Undercover

She didn’t cut a wire. She reached into Mia’s art bin, pulled out a tube of glitter glue, and squeezed a glob onto the main circuit board. The clicking stuttered, whined, and died. “Welcome to the neighborhood

Ellie grabbed a butter knife, popped the lid off the dish, and stared at the tangled mess of wires inside. Red, blue, yellow. Standard. But the Serpent never did standard. She saw the trick—a secondary loop hidden under a blob of what looked like congealed cream of mushroom. Just brought you my famous tuna surprise

It was 10:47 AM. The kids were at school. She was scrubbing a grape juice stain out of the rug when the doorbell rang. On the porch stood a woman in a floral dress, holding a covered dish.

“Good.” Ellie watched Leo and Mia climb onto the school bus, safe and oblivious. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a casserole to return.”