Costume Corpse

by Marilyn Miggles

  C O S T U M E

  C O R P S E

  S U N S H I N E B L U F F

  M Y S T E R I E S

  B O O K T W O

  M A R I L Y N M I G G L E S

  Copyright © 2018 by Marilyn Miggles

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  C O N T E N T S

  C O V E R

  T I T L E P A G E

  C O P Y R I G H T

  C H A P T E R 1

  C H A P T E R 2

  C H A P T E R 3

  C H A P T E R 4

  C H A P T E R 5

  C H A P T E R 6

  C H A P T E R 7

  C H A P T E R 8

  C H A P T E R 9

  C H A P T E R 10

  C H A P T E R 11

  C H A P T E R 12

  D E S E R T D R I F T S N E A K P R E V I E W

  C h a p t e r 1

  It was fall in Sunshine Bluff and the town was talking about its annual costume party with great excitement and anticipation. Everyone was still deciding what or who to go as and I, Bryony Womack, was still as undecided as the rest of them!

  That was until Lulu, the pink-haired, bubbly lady who owned the diner in the town, suggested I go as Boudicea. I looked her up after her suggestion and that was when I fell in love with the idea of going as her. I just needed to get my costume ready! Which wouldn't be easy!

  I could get Sunny, the black and white cat I had inherited from my gran, Nelly Womack, who had also left me her house, to go as my steed!

  I had even persuaded my mom and bff from New York, Reese, to join me in Sunshine Bluff for the occasion and I was still deaf from the squeal my mom gave down the phone when I suggested the idea! I was beginning to regret it already!

  It would be a fun show if it was anything like last years!

  I was heading to the costume store at this moment to get myself kitted out for the big day. It was so exciting! I just wasn't sure if they'd have what I was looking for.

  "Here goes," I told myself, and walked into the store.

  The lady behind the counter smiled pleasantly at me, which was a good start. I was probably the hundreth person to ask about a costume that day anyway. I'm sure she was used to preparing such costumes, so I need not have worried.

  "Are you looking for a costume for the annual party?" The lady asked.

  "That's right, though I'm not sure if I can pull off the costume I'm looking for." I looked around the store to see if I could spot anything Boudicean.

  "Who or what are you going as?" The lady asked, following the direction of my eyes.

  "Boudicea, actually," I said hopefully.

  "Ah, right. That's different. But a good choice. I'm sure we can order some things in for you."

  "That's reassuring, thanks."

  "I'll just get you the brochures and you can decide." She tripped off into the back room and came back carrying a stack of brochures.

  As we looked through the brochures together, I was kind of bewildered by the amount of material choices there were, it was overwhelming and I hadn't realised there were so many different types of fabric available! You are probably thinking that I'm not very imaginative, and you'd probably be right to say so!

  Once I'd chosen all the necessary material for the different parts of my outfit, which there was a lot of, I called in at Lulu's diner to tell her I'd decided to go with her choice after all.

  I knew she'd be thrilled and that it would probably make her day, as she always liked to be the font of all knowledge in this town! I had certainly come to rely on her judgement. I had come to think of her as kind of like an agony aunt, which I needed! Especially since I'd left my mom behind in New York! She had always been the one to organise me.

  Lulu squealed when I told her I had decided to go as Boudicea and she let me try out her new creation traybake on the house, as I told her about my costume.

  The new traybake was a crispy chocolate base, with a layer of raspberry jelly and a soft, fluffy, marshmallow topping. It tasted very sweet but it felt good to the tastebuds!

  "You'll never guess who I have decided to go as," Lulu said.

  "A traybake?" I asked jokingly.

  "I would if I could. No, Annie Oakley."

  "Didn't you go as her last year?"

  "No, last year I went as a country and western singer, can't just remember which one now, wasn't that memorable, obviously. The costume won't be a lot different, so that's easy."

  "I guess not. We'll be two of a kind then, as Annie Oakley and Boudicea!" I laughed.

  "Yeah, partners in crime, here we come!"

  We high-fived just to emphasise the point and we noticed Lulu's daughter, Alley, and my friend, standing by our table dressed in a white sweater and jeans.

  "What is all this about?" She asked, sitting by me.

  "Costumes. Bryony has decided to go as Boudicea," Lulu said.

  "Ooh, nice. You'll have to help me decide. I can't for the life of me think of anything this year."

  "How about you think of another woman warrior or something? We'll be three of a kind, then," I said.

  "That'll be fun! It'll be like the musketeers or something!" Alley said.

  "Come round to my place later and we can have a girly evening. Get inspired by some sloppy movies."

  "Okay, I'll bring snacks!"

  "You're on!"

  * * *

  A L L E Y C A M E R O U N D T O my place on Sunny Side and we watched movies with heroines in them to get inspired for her costume. We then went online and looked up the kind of materials that were needed for each costume idea.

  By the end of the evening, she had decided to go as a Shakespeare heroine named, Cordelia. We thought it would be a fun mix with the three of us of going as women from different times!

  "I'm sure the costume store will order you in what you need, they're good in there. I've got to pick up my costume in a weeks time, they do work fast," I said, reading over the list of items needed to complete her outfit.

  "Yeah, they're usually pretty good. I've just never been this imaginative before. This year will be different, though."

  "You'll look great if the outfit looks anything like this drawing we've put together."

  "It is a nice sketch. I hope I can pull it off."

  "I know you can."

  "I'm really looking forward to it, actually, more so than other years. The good thing about this party is that you can hide behind your mask that accompanies your costume. You have more chance of success in meeting someone that way."

  "Yeah, no doubt that's what my mom will say when she gets here. She keeps on reminding me that I need to meet the 'one,' as she calls it."

  "You may just have success there at this party. People come from other towns round about, so you have chance of meeting new people."

  "I doubt it, but it's possible, I suppose."

  "You should be more optimistic. You never know!"

  "You could be right," I said laughing.

  * * *

  O U R C O S T U M E S H A D A R R I V E D at the store by the end of next week and me and Alley went to collect them, as well as try them on and have a laugh at how silly we both looked!

  As we were about to go inside, we bumped into Sheriff Mali just coming out and we looked at each other in surprise. He walked on by without acknowledging us, and apart from how rude that seemed to me, it also struck me as odd that he should be coming out of the cos
tume store looking so official!

  "That's weird," I muttered, watching after him. "Do you suppose the Sheriff is coming to the costume party?"

  "No way! He hates it! He hates all party's and social events in general, but the annual costume really gets his goat," Alley explained.

  "That's what I gathered as he was not there last year. Why was he in the store then?"

  "He's probably trying to get all costumes banned or something, he did try and get a petition signed one year to get the party stopped, but not many signed it."

  "That's unbelievable!"

  "He is unbelievable."

  "What is his problem, anyway? I have lived here for two years now and I still don't have an answer to that question," I asked, frustrated.

  "I shouldn't worry about it. No one really knows. There are rumors about this and that, but I think it's just his personality."

  "What rumors? I never hear any."

  "Just this and that. You know. the usual stuff, and then there's the talk about what happened to deputy Williams, the one that was killed when on a job for him. People talk about him because of that and I think that can't help, somehow."

  "Yeah, I know. It makes me so mad how he doesn't even admit to having any part in it. But if people talk about him because of it, that's his own fault, right?"

  "Yeah, but he doesn't see it that way. He thinks he's invinsible, you see?"

  "I kind of gathered that. I think he thinks he's John Wayne or someone. Anyway, enough about the Sheriff, let us go and try on our costumes!"

  C h a p t e r 2

  "You look just like a princess in that!" Alley gushed, when I stepped out of the changing room in my costume.

  "A tough princess, I hope?" I asked.

  "Oh, yeah!"

  "I was going to say you look like you're just about to go on stage with the royal Shakespeare company."

  "Thanks, that's a great testimony to professionalism."

  We both turned to the long mirrors hanging upon the changing room doors to get our own verdict on the costumes. I giggled when I saw my helmet with red flowing hair attached, it was different from my straight brown hair but I thought the color kind of suited by pale complexion and green eyes. I had on a long, white, tassled robe and brown sandles to complete the outfit.

  The shop assistant, who I know knew was called Sandy, came across to us with a smile.

  "Is everything okay with your costumes?" She asked.

  "Yeah, thanks. Everything's fine. They are perfect," I said.

  "I love them!" Alley cried.

  "Good, good. I'll get them bagged up for you then to keep them nice."

  "That will be great. By the way, I noticed the Sheriff was in here earlier, was he after a costume?"

  "No way! He doesn't do the annual. He is trying to get it stopped, he was in here telling me to warn my customers that it might not go ahead this year. Like I'm going to scare people off like that."

  I pulled a face.

  "Is he getting a petition signed again?" Alley asked.

  "He said so, but don't worry, no one will sign it, apart from Midge and a few other guys who can't stand that sort of thing."

  "No, most of the town love it, it's something they look forward to every year," I said.

  "He's always throwing his authority around, no one takes much notice of him though," Sandy said.

  "Well, we intend to enjoy ourselves at this thing!" Alley said.

  "You forget, my mom is coming over for it," I joked.

  "Of course, and your friend from New York. I can't wait to meet them!"

  We changed out of our costumes and left with them in clothes bags, carefully lifting them into my new car, a new shiny yellow beatle I had named Canary, for want of a better name!

  I then dropped Alley off at the diner and Lulu came out to us just as Alley was lifting out her costume.

  "I can't wait to see your costumes, girls!" She said.

  "You'll have to wait, I'm afraid," Alley said, holding her costume close to her body so her mom couldn't see inside.

  "Oh, alright. I suppose I'll have to wait and see," Lulu said.

  Lulu waved to me and I sped off home to unpack my own costume.

  ***

  L A T E R T H A T D A Y, I had lunch at the diner with Alley and I had plumped for a stacked burger and fries, with one of Lulu's famous milkshakes in all weird and wonderful flavours, yet they all really worked! This one was an apple and cinnamon flavour, topped with a thick, pistachio whipped cream and pistachio nuts flaked on top.

  Lunch was then finished off with another of Lulu's amazing tray bake creations, a chocolate chipped shortbread base, topped with a thin layer of orange jell-o and finished off with a crunchy milk chocolate shell. It was one of her best!

  "Have you chosen the menu for the party yet, Lu?" I asked, as she cleared away our plates.

  "You bet I have. There are some new surprises to tempt you with too, and they'll be on the menu at the diner afterwards."

  "That's sounds risky, but I know you always pull it off. If anyone can it's you," I said, assured as I was by this time of her skills in the kitchen.

  I had worked for Lulu for a few months and she had helped me find my feet in the town when I first arrived here. I now had my own town newspaper up and running called, Sunshine News, as I used to work as a columnist for a magazine in New York and it was the only thing I was really any good at! I didn't miss working in an office that was for sure, and I enjoyed working for myself so much better, as I could keep my own hours.

  Before Lulu could make a reply to this, the bell tinkled on the door and a girl of about Alley's age, with shiny blonde hair, coming to just above her thigh and wearing thick make-up, including large fake lashes, walked through the door. She was smiling smugly and Lulu discreetly pulled a face at me and disappeared into the back room.

  Alley turned around to see what the commotion was all about and she quickly turned back and frowned at me.

  Before I could ask her who she was, she came towards our table walking like she was Britney Spears, and she stood before us with her arms folded across her chest, as though waiting for Alley to speak.

  "Hi, Vera. What's up?" Alley asked, humoring her.

  "What's up yourself. I saw you going into the costume store this morning," she said, speaking in a sarcastic tone.

  Her voice was a little raspy making her sound like a rock queen. She was obviously not one to be messed with!

  "Yeah, that's right," Alley said.

  "I hope you're not going to steal my thunder, are you, Alley? I demand to know who you're going as and so I can be sure to go as something better."

  She glanced across at me when she was speaking as if waiting to be introduced. Alley took the hint.

  "This is my friend Bryony Womack, she is new in town," she said.

  She nodded to me whilst glancing down at my clothes with a little distain on her perfect features as she compared me to her own fashionable appearance.

  "Bryony, this is Vera Pritchard. You woulnd't have met. Vera has a house here but she has been away for a few years visiting relatives," Alley said.

  "Leave it out, Alley. I can tell my own story, thanks very much!" Vera said.

  "Nice to meet you," I said, nodding to her.

  "I can't say the same about you, not 'till I know you better. I don't form judgements from first impressions. It can get messy that way."

  "Right, I'll remember that then," I said sarcastically.

  I was not afraid of Vera as Alley seemed to be, it took more than someone like her to frighten me away. I could even stand up to my old boss when called for, even though I had to admit I had been a little afraid of her.

  Vera frowned at me and then ignored me for the rest of the conversation, she didn't like people who could stand up to her!

  "So, frog face. What are you going as!" She cried.

  "Hey! Leave her alone. She's not telling you. That goes against the rules of a costume party," I said.

  "
I didn't ask you! Tell me, frog face!"

  "Right, that's enough, Vera Pritchard! Are you ordering anything, or not?" Lulu asked, coming out of the kitchen at this moment, red-faced.

  "No, I was just leaving, thanks. See yah, frog face!" She called after her, as she left the diner.

  "Who on earth was that?" I asked indignantly.

  "That was Vera Pritchard, the school bully," Alley said, rolling her eyes.

  "She was nasty."

  "Yep, she used to tease me something terrible at school," Alley said.

  "Yeah, she was the bain of my life when Alley was at school. She used to come home crying about her most days'. Her mom wasn't much better. They are a very rich family," Lulu explained.

  "Where did frog face come from?" I asked.

  "Oh, it's a long story. She once planted frogs in me and my friend's bags and they jumped out at us when we opened them. One of them landed on my face, and since then it's been my nickname," Alley said.

  "What a nickname. She is still the town bully, it seems," I said.

  "That's right, she is. You ask anyone in this town. No one has a good word to say about her or her family," Lulu said.

  "Luke is alright, he was always the quiet one of the family," Alley said.

  "Luke?"

  "Her brother, Luke Pritchard. He has been traveling the world, he has just returned like his sister I heard," Alley said.

  "So he'll be at the costume party?" I asked, grinning.

  "He will, but don't get any ideas about him and me. I'm not interested in him and besides, I wouldn't want to have Vera for a sister-in-law."

  "No, imagine that. Is he cute though?"

  "Not cute enough, I'm afraid."

  "I'll have to see for myself, won't I?"

  C h a p t e r3