by Marja McGraw
“Again, you’re throwing this party because…?”
“Because basically, it’s my turn. Simple as that. And I figured if I have to do this, then I might as well have some fun with it. That’s why I chose a costume party. And I’ve talked Jolly into taking pictures. This is going to be a real blowout.”
“Uh huh.”
“Now come with me. I want to show you my big party surprise. I’ve never shown this to anyone.”
“What kind of surprise?”
“Follow me.”
I did, and Felicity led me into her office, or library, or whatever she felt like calling it at any particular moment in time.
“What could be surprising in here?” I asked.
“Help me pull this bookcase away from the wall.”
I noticed that she’d taken all the books out and packed them in boxes.
We slowly inched the bookcase away from the wall.
“What’s this?” I asked. “I had no idea this was here.”
Chapter Four
“This is my secret room.”
“Why don’t you use it?” I asked, peeking around her. The room was poorly lit and filled with boxes, and it was small.
“Because it’s not very big, maybe eight feet square, and as it turned out that was the only wall where the bookcase would fit. I use it to store a few things right now, but I’m going to make it the Spook Room for the party.”
“Spook Room?”
“Yes. Would you help me take all the things I’ve stored here out to the garage? Then we’ll bring in an old wooden table and chairs I bought. We’re going to seat that skeleton I borrowed at the table with an empty gin bottle. Maybe lay out a hand of Solitaire or something.”
“How about if he’s holding four aces? Better yet, let them lie on the table like he dropped them.”
“Aren’t aces a death hand or something like that?”
“I think one of the aces is a death card. Ace of spades maybe? Oh! I remember, aces and eights are called a death hand.” Enthusiasm overwhelming me, I said, “And let’s have a knife sticking out of his chest to show why he dropped the cards.”
“Perfect. We’ll put a second hand at the other side of the table, like three Kings or something. It’ll look like he was killed over the hand he held. Then we’ll cover everything with dust and cobwebs.”
I felt like a kid. “Felicity, this is going to be great. We’ll put nothing but a candle in the room so it will be darker and shadows will flicker on the walls, and – ”
“Well, let’s get started. We can think things up as we go along.” Felicity lifted a box to cart out to the garage. I lifted another one and followed her outside.
She stopped and glanced around. “I don’t see anything of the Bogey Man.”
“He’s gone, but I doubt if that’ll last long. I’m having a good time, Felicity. Thanks for asking me to help with your party. It’s kind of nice to get away from P.I. work for a few days.”
I’d trick-or-treated when I was a kid, but I’d never been to a Halloween party. In fact, after age fourteen, I hadn’t had time for parties. Things had fallen apart at home because of some of my father’s indiscriminate business dealings, and then he’d had a heart attack and died, leaving my mother to try to clean up his mess. My mother and I had been too busy trying to fix things to have a social life. Don’t get me wrong, my father was a good man and I still missed him terribly, but our lives had sure changed after his death.
“I’m having fun, too.” Felicity smiled at me, pulling me away from my dark thoughts. “It’s nice to have a friend that I can do silly things with and not worry about feeling foolish.” She’d told me she’d been through some rough times in her own life, but she’d never gone into detail. I hadn’t pushed her.
“I know what you mean.”
~*~
The party was to take place in two days, and we’d finished our work – scarecrow, skeleton and all. So we called Dolly and invited her out to lunch. We picked her up and she seemed delighted to be doing something with the girls.
Dolly has a favorite diner in town, The Red Barn. She’s a regular, and they treat her well, even to preparing her favorite sandwich, a PBT. I was the one who introduced her to the peanut butter, bacon and tomato sandwich and she couldn’t seem to get enough of them.
The diner was unusually quiet and Pamela, the waitress, devoted her attention to us.
“Are you girls all ready for the party?” Dolly asked after we’d placed our orders.
“We’re prepared to scare all who enter the door of my humble home.” Felicity grinned. “We’ve set up a couple of little surprises.”
Pamela brought three glasses of iced tea to the table and set them in front of each of us. Remembering straws, she turned back and set those down, too.
“Like what?” Dolly didn’t always like surprises.
“I can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you.” Felicity’s grin turned evil and she rubbed her hands together, cackling like an old witch.
Pamela’s eyebrows shot up, which they seemed to do a lot when we were around. “Now what are you ladies up to? Last time I heard this kind of talk you were involved in solving a murder.”
Dolly chuckled. “We’re talking about a costume party. No murders this time.”
Felicity appeared thoughtful for a moment. “Pamela, would you like to come to the party?”
Pamela looked surprised. “Why, uh, thank you. I think that would be a lot of fun. And you said it’s a costume party? No, wait. You’re not obligated to invite me just because I heard you talking about it.”
“I know. I think you might enjoy yourself, and bring a date if you want to.”
“No date. I’m not seeing anyone right now. No time between two jobs and raising a child.” She smiled. “But I do have Friday night off, and I’m sure my neighbor would watch Mikey for me.”
“I didn’t know you had a child, or that you worked two jobs.” Dolly’s surprise was equaled by mine.
“Ya do what ya gotta do,” Pamela said, brushing it off. “I’ll have to think about the costume. I want to wear something special. Knowing that you’re a model, I’m sure there will be some important people there.” Pamela tapped her order pad on her chin. “This is going to be fun.”
“How old is your child? Boy or girl? Mikey. Must be a boy. Have you got a picture? And what’s your second job?” Dolly asked.
“Yes, I have a six-year-old son, and I also work at a department store in the evenings. I’ll bring a picture back for you to see.” Her eyes softened. “He’s quite a boy. I wish I didn’t have to spend so much time away from him. Fortunately, I have a neighbor who baby sits for me and she loves him almost as much as I do.”
Felicity wrote her address on the back of one of her business cards and handed it over. “The party will start around nine o’clock.”
I was surprised and pleased that Felicity had invited Pamela. My friend didn’t have a snooty bone in her body, and I told her so.
“I’m glad to hear you feel that way. I invited Sharon Stone, too.”
I sighed. “I hope you mean the actress.”
“No, I mean the reporter. She’s going to cover the party for the newspaper.”
Sharon Stone is an annoying young woman who works for a small newspaper and writes fluff pieces. She tried to break out of that narrow box by hounding me about the murder case Pamela had referred to, and even though I gave her the exclusive when the case was solved, her editor said she was too inexperienced to write more than fluff. However, she’d saved my life. I had to give her that.
“Well, I’m still glad you invited Pamela, even if you did invite Sharon, too.”
I turned and watched Pamela walk away. She was a somewhat average looking woman, probably in her late thirties. Her long auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, probably the fastest and easiest way to wear it on workdays. I noticed that when she walked away her five foot five inch frame was straighter and her step a little lighter.
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br /> “I’ll bet she could be pretty with a little make-up and a nice hairdo. She has beautiful green eyes.” Dolly was watching Pamela walk away, too. “She always looks kind of tired though, but at least now I know why. I think you made her day, Felicity.”
“I hope so. She’s always so sweet to us when we come in here. And I think you’re right about the make-up and hair. She’s got a nice figure, but she hides it with that uniform. It’s too big for her. All she needs… Hmmm.”
“Felicity, what are you up to?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just thinking. So, Dolly, what kind of costume did you pick out?” Quick change of subject.
“You’ll see. Be patient.”
“Did Sandi tell you that she’s been having Humphrey Bogart sightings?”
“She mentioned that she’s seen someone who looks like him.” Dolly turned to me. “You’ve seen him again?”
I told her what was going on and she seemed quite interested, but then, Dolly is always interested in my life. “Sure wish I’d seen him when he was standing across the street. He was a real hottie.”
“Hottie? You’ve been watching too much TV again.” Or listening to me. I patted her hand. “But yeah, he is, uh, was one sexy guy. This is confusing. He is and he was. Sure wish I could talk to this guy and find out who he is and what he wants.”
“You will,” Felicity said. “He can’t avoid you forever, and it’s obvious he does want something.”
Pamela brought over a picture of her son for us to admire. He was a cutie with curly dark blonde hair, blue eyes and a smile that would one day put a hem in the skirt of some sweet young thing. He had one small dimple on the right side of his mouth.
Motherhood. Would I one day be showing off a picture of my own child? I wasn’t getting any younger, but at thirty-two I wasn’t too old yet, either. I pushed the thought away as quickly as possible.
I kept glancing out the front window of the diner, expecting the Bogey Man to walk by, but he didn’t. I was almost disappointed. He would have taken my mind off motherhood.
We finished eating and paid our bill. Pamela waved at us cheerfully when we left the diner. “See you at the party.”
After driving Dolly home, we returned to Felicity’s house with one last job ahead of us. We had to dirty up the Spook Room.
Smiling at Felicity, I said, “I’m gonna love this part. I’ve always wanted to mess up a house. Well, in this case, a room.” And thankfully, it’s not my own place, I thought. House cleaning is the bane of my existence. This would make up for years and years of being too tidy.
We hung cobwebs around Felicity’s tiny secret room and shook gray dust over everything, including the skeleton. Stepping back, I was surprised to see that it didn’t look as hokey as I’d thought it would.
Felicity closed the door on the Spook Room so that no one would see it or disturb it. We pushed the bookcase to the side and replaced the books, making it look like the bookcase had recently been moved aside to reveal the room.
“We’re set,” Felicity said.
“And we have a free day tomorrow. By the way, is there anything I can bring?”
“Just yourself. I’m having the party catered, so I won’t have to worry about a thing. I do have to fight the urge to clean though.”
I laughed. “Think about it. You have an excuse to be a slob for the next two days. I have to go home and clean. I’d gladly trade places with you.”
I would live to regret that last remark, and I wouldn’t have long to wait.
Chapter Five
It was party time and I was close to being ready. Bubba had watched me while I set my hair on rollers I’d borrowed from Dolly. He kept sniffing those old-fashioned rollers, curious, and eventually tried to slink away with one gently dangling from his mouth.
Combing my hair into the classic Bacall style had taken longer than I’d anticipated, but the effect was worth it. With no bangs, it was brushed to the side. There were soft waves down to my shoulders where the hair was gently curled. The hardest part was creating the “S”-shaped wave by my right eye. I set the little felt hat at an angle on my head and hoped I could keep it on.
My face was fuller than Miss Bacall’s, so I used make-up to slim it down and I drew sleek eyebrows to match hers as closely as I could. Lip liner and gloss helped me get the full lower lip effect.
I added my vintage clothing, rearranged my hat and stepped back for a look in the full-length mirror in my bedroom. I was definitely no Lauren Bacall, but I had “the look” down pretty well. I lowered my head and looked up, through my eyelashes, at the mirror. It simply didn’t work for me. I didn’t have the same sex appeal, no matter how hard I tried. I decided that was okay. I had other things going for me. I whistled, recalling a line Bacall had spoken in one of her movies. Put your lips together and…
Bubba goosed me and brought me back to reality.
“You’d better not get any dog slobber on this skirt, you mutt.”
Bubba dropped to the floor with a thud, not an easy task for a bear-sized dog, and rolled onto his back, grinning at me. This is a trait of Bubba’s. He grins with all of his teeth showing and most people think he’s baring his teeth at them. He’s really just a downright happy dog. I scratched his belly.
The doorbell rang. I ran downstairs, knowing it would be Pete. He was facing the street when I pulled the door open.
“Let’s go pick up Dolly and get this show on the road,” he said, turning around.
He whistled, curled his lip under and spoke with a slight lisp. “Doll, you’re a knockout! Now I know why ol’ Bogey was so nuts about Bacall.”
“Nice Bogey impersonation,” I said, grinning, “even if you do look totally Italian. Love the way you have that fedora tipped forward a little bit. It makes you look tough, like a real old-time detective.”
Pete raised one eyebrow without replying.
I locked the door after putting Bubba in the backyard and we headed for Dolly’s house. I wondered what she’d be wearing. She hadn’t told anyone what her costume would be.
Pete knocked on her door and I stood beside him, waiting for my neighbor.
Dolly opened the door and Pete looked stumped. “Okay, I know I should know who you are, but tell me anyway.” He reached toward the plastic ax she was holding.
Dolly had on a late-1800’s full-length black dress with long sleeves and a decorative white, lacey bib around her neck. Her white hair was pulled up and pushed under a bowl-shaped black hat that was covered with black bows, and there were long ribbon ties hanging down her front. She had on gloves, held a bible in one hand and the ax in the other hand. She was ready to go break bottles of booze at the local tavern.
Pete pointed to the ax. “Are you supposed to be Lizzie Borden?”
I shook my head. “Leave it to a man. You’re Carrie Nation, right?”
Dolly tightened her lips into a severe straight line before laughing. “I had Stanley get a picture of Carrie off his computer so I could make the costume. I couldn’t tell what was on her hat, so I covered it with lots of black bows. Do I honestly look okay?”
“You look so real that I’m going to tell Felicity to hide the booze.” Pete was enjoying himself, whether he wanted to or not.
“You made that costume?” I asked.
“Yes, but I was in a hurry. If anyone grabs me by the sleeve it’ll probably fall off. Lots of basting on this baby. Rush job.”
“Dolly, you’re a one-in-a-million. Let’s go.” I carefully took her by the arm and we headed for Pete’s car. It was already dark as we drove to Felicity’s house.
“Did you notice how much it’s clouding up? Perfect night for a Halloween party. Did you bring a camera? I brought one. Pete, you’re a real hunky guy tonight.” Dolly talked nonstop from her place in the back seat.
“I did.” I patted my purse where I’d stored the throw-away camera.
“Then get it out quick. Look at that full moon. It was made for Halloween.”
I glanced up.
The thick, black clouds had drifted in front of the moon in such a way that the sides were covered and darkened, and the moonlight reflected off clouds below the heavier ones. It effectively made the moon look like a skull and crossbones.
“Pull over fast, Pete, before the clouds move. Dolly’s right.”
He did and I clicked my little heart out.
“Save some film for the party.” Pete pulled away from the curb.
“Looks like a storms a’comin’,” Dolly said, grinning.
Arriving at Felicity’s house, I saw that our scarecrow presented a frightening spectacle. My friend had directed the light so that it centered on his hatchet, but it only lit him up enough to make him sinister. And she’d draped the rubber snake over his arm and the hatchet. She’d been right. This was going to be a party to remember. I could feel it in my bones before joining the party in the haunted house.
A flicker of lightning and distant thunder emphasized my thoughts.
Pete opened both of our car doors and we entered the house with one of us on each of his arms. I thought his chest puffed out a little.
Dolly walked with a regal gait to her steps. For the moment she was the queen of the anti-booze brigade.
Pete handed her into the room and then linked his arm through mine again, putting a little attitude into his walk. I gently swished my hips, tilted my head down and slightly to the side, and looked up through my lashes, trying for sexy and alluring.
Stanley and Felicity joined us, and all I could do was stare. Felicity had put white stripes in her hair and had it piled high on her head, like the old beehive hairdo, only higher. She had bolts glued to her neck, and a scar down her cheek, and wore a long gray dress with thick-soled shoes. Her complexion was unusually pale.
Stanley also had on shoes with thick soles – making him taller – old slacks and an aged gray suit jacket that was puffed up and out. By what, I didn’t know, but he suddenly looked much heavier and more muscular than his usual slender self. He had something on his head that made it look big and flat at the top, and he also had bolts glued to his neck. His complexion was gray and he had scars on his neck and face.