All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt (21 page)

“That will drive me crazy now—not knowing what that cat means by ‘house around the corner.'” Charlotte hated an unsolved mystery as much as I did. She would try to coax the cat into using the board again.

The bell caught our attention, and we looked up to see who had entered. Heather grabbed the board.

Dylan held his hand up. “No need to hide the Ouija board from me, ladies. I know you're using it.”

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. And I thought all this time that we had been keeping this from him. I should have known that we had done a terrible job of hiding it.

Heather smiled and set the board back on the counter.

“Have you talked to any ghosts?” he asked.

I looked over my shoulder at Charlotte. She shrugged. Dylan pointed toward the board.

“Oh, you mean through the board?”

He laughed. “What did you think I meant?”

I tried to look nonchalant. “The board, of course.”

Heather gathered up the board. “It's time for me to get to work. I'll call you soon, Cookie. See you, Detective,” she said on her way to the door.

She probably didn't want to be around if I had to explain about actually talking to ghosts. Not with the use of some board, either, but real ghosts.

Wind Song was still on the counter licking her paws after her morning breakfast. When Dylan reached the counter, he stretched down and rubbed her back. She purred and placed her paw on his hand.

“I think she likes you,” I said.

He chuckled. “I like her too. I didn't come just to see Wind Song though,” he said.

I busied myself holding a shirt just so that he wouldn't catch me smiling too much. Charlotte had taken a seat on the settee. She looked from Dylan to me.

“Something tells me he didn't come in to buy more clothing either.”

I thought Charlotte was right about that, although I could have used the business.

Dylan leaned against the counter, and I couldn't help but look up into his big blue eyes. “The reason I stopped by was to see if you'd like to have lunch with me today.”

“Lunch today would be good,” I said.

“It's about time you agreed to a date with him.”

I wasn't sure a lunch could be considered a date. Though it was a little more than coffee. But Dylan and I had already had a meal together once. This time he'd asked me, and I hadn't just been forced to sit with him because all the seats were taken like when we'd shared the breakfast. I guess that did make it different.

“Good.” He smiled. “I know this great place across town.”

“Something different than Glorious Grits?” That was almost like a real date.

“Well, what are you going to do now?” Charlotte asked from her spot on the settee. “You have both of these handsome men asking you out and vying for your attention.”

Now was not the time I wanted to think about that. I'd have to think about it later.

“Don't get me wrong, it's certainly not a bad situation to be in,” Charlotte said as she studied her fingernails.

Dylan was watching me. He followed my gaze. “I thought I saw a customer coming in.” I hadn't been looking at the window, and he probably knew that.

Just then the bell on the door caught our attention. We spotted Shiloh walking toward us. I wasn't exactly happy to see her. It brought up too many memories that were fresh in my mind. I had wanted to push the memories to the back of my mind for a while.

She had a big box in her arms and a smile on her face. “Good morning, Cookie. Hello, Detective.” Her voice was sugar sweet.

“Good morning.” My greeting was filled with suspicion.

I still wasn't sure that I trusted her.

“I brought back the clothing.”

Dylan took the box from her arms and placed it on the counter.

“That isn't all of them, of course. The rest are in my car. I can't thank you enough for all that you did for the movie. You made the cast and me look good.”

That wasn't what she'd said before. When she thought I wasn't listening, she'd been critical of my clothing selections. I wouldn't hold that against her now, I supposed. If she truly wanted to be nice now, I would put the past behind us.

“You're welcome,” I said.

“She should be nice to you now after how nasty she's been,” Charlotte said.

“I can help you get the rest of the boxes,” Dylan offered.

“Thanks. That's so sweet of you.”

I walked outside with Dylan and Shiloh, and we carried the cartons inside.

“Everything is there,” she said. “If you want to look it over and make sure.”

I didn't want her to wait around while I checked out all the items. I would just take her word for it.

“That won't be necessary,” I said.

Shiloh checked the time on her cell. “Well, I guess I'd better go. I have a plane to catch.”

“See you around,” I said.

Shiloh walked out of the shop. I had been excited for the movie crew to be in Sugar Creek. Now I was thankful that they were gone.

“So all the film stars and crew left?” I asked.

Dylan shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yes, they cleared out this morning. I guess Shiloh was the last to leave. What you did for Nicole was great, but I hope you never do that again.”

“I think the murder investigations in Sugar Creek are over, so we shouldn't have anything to worry about.” I cut a quick look at Charlotte.

She winked.

“You're probably right, but just the same.”

“I'll try to stay out of it from now on.” I crossed my fingers behind my back.

He tapped the counter. “Okay, so I'll see you back here at twelve?”

“Yes, that will be fine.” I wondered if my cheeks had turned red.

He smiled again before heading for the door.

“I'm looking forward to lunch,” Charlotte said.

I whipped around to glare at her.

She held her hands up. “Just kidding. I'll stay away this time.” Charlotte laughed.

“Thank you,” I said as I picked up the morning newspaper.

The front-page story was about the murder. There was a picture with me in the background at the parking lot next to my car. The reporters had asked me to talk with them, but I'd declined. It wasn't something I really wanted to discuss. Of course, the main photo was of Jessica. That picture of her face with the wild hair and mascara-covered cheeks would haunt me in my sleep. To the side was a photo of her from the movie, when she'd looked glamorous. What a stark contrast.

I placed the paper down and looked over at Charlotte. “So it's just you and me now.”

She tapped her fingers on the seat. “That's true. It's kind of quiet. You know, without a murder to solve or anything.”

“Well, I do have a lot of work around here to do.”

She jumped up from the seat. “Yes, and I need to help you get more customers. There are more ads to place and blogs to post. We need to advertise a sale or special event.”

Yes, it looked as if Charlotte wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

I busied myself with folding shirts and placing dresses on hangers. I needed to redo the window too. Wind Song had taken her place in the sun now. She was content. Everything was back to normal. Just the way that I liked it. I had pulled out a stack of invoices and settled on the stool behind the counter.

But the bell over the door pulled me away from the work almost instantly. A customer entered. It was the brunette who had been by earlier when Ken was here. I was glad that she had returned. She had stylish brown hair that fell just to her shoulders. She wore jeans that looked expensive, with a white tank top and white sandals. Charlotte hurried toward the counter—I knew she didn't want to miss this conversation.

The woman scanned the entire shop within a couple seconds, then focused her attention on me again. “Good morning. I hope I'm not too early. I came by earlier and you weren't open yet.”

“Welcome to It's Vintage, Y'all. You're not too early. May I help you find something?”

“Oh, I just wanted to come in and look around. The window display was just so fabulous that I couldn't resist.”

“Thank you.” My voice was packed with pride after her compliment.

Charlotte was looking the woman up and down.

“I'm new in town,” she said. “I just moved here last week.”

“Ask her where she's from,” Charlotte said as she stared at the woman.

“I bought the beauty shop here in Sugar Creek.”

“Really? Where did you move from?” I asked to make Charlotte happy.

“I came from Tallahassee, Florida. That's where I grew up. But I figured it was time for a change.”

Charlotte held up her hand. “Oh no. You don't just pick up and move to Sugar Creek for no reason. You need to get to the bottom of this.”

I couldn't ask that many questions all at once. Charlotte would have to wait. I had to ease into the questions.

“Well, I'm going to look around,” she said.

“Sure.” I smiled. “Let me know if you need anything.”

When she walked away, Charlotte said, “Why didn't you find out more about her?”

“I will, but you have to give me time,” I whispered.

The woman brought a turquoise and lime-green cotton Lilly Pulitzer dress up to the counter. “I just have to have this dress.”

“Nice selection.” I took the dress from her.

“Ask her now,” Charlotte said.

“Oh, I forgot to ask your name,” I said as I rang up her dress.

“My name is Brooke House.”

“House around the corner,” Charlotte said at the same time as I was thinking it.

Like I said, I should always listen to the cat.

An Excerpt from Cookie Chanel's Fashion Blog

 

 

When shopping for vintage clothing, it helps to know the year of the fashion you're looking for, that way you'll be better equipped to judge its value.

1920s: The roaring twenties was the era of the flapper and brought big changes in fashion.

Popular items included flapper dresses, cloche hats, finger wave short hairstyles, pants, ankle strap button shoes, and stockings.

1930s: The thirties were a time of economic struggle, but despite that, clothing was still fashionable.

Popular items included floral feed sack dresses, suede gloves with matching bag and shoes, slinky silks, bolero jackets and fitted sweaters, and padded shoulders.

1940s: This was another time for big change in the fashion world. With the war came the need for rationing, and that spawned creativity.

Popular styles in the forties included jumper dresses worn over blouses and sweaters, wedge heels, wide-leg trousers, and hair snoods.

1950s: The fifties brought a feminine and tailored look. Dresses were the most common women's clothing worn.

Popular items in the fifties included strapless cocktail dresses, pedal pushers, crinoline or swing skirts, pencil skirts, Bermuda shorts, Peter Pan collars, and saddle shoes.

1960s: Many changes took place with fashion in the sixties. Different styles came into being, such as hippie and mod. The success of the space program also influenced fashion with the use of metallic fabrics and plastic.

Popular items from the sixties included knee-high white patent leather go-go boots, miniskirts or dresses, low hipster pants, bell-bottom jeans, and tie-dye.

1970s: Fashion in the seventies had transitions from sixties pieces and was influenced by movies and celebrities.

Some popular items in the seventies included hot pants, platform shoes, leisure suits, and denim decorated with embroidery, colorful stitching, or other embellishments. Also popular: macramé bags, gauzy cotton dresses, gypsy tops and caftans, tube tops, crop tops—and don't forget the bell-bottoms.

1980s: Fashion in the eighties was influenced by color. Lots of fashion in the eighties was unisex.

Popular styles in the eighties included jackets with shoulder pads, acid-wash jeans, bomber jackets, leg warmers, Members-Only jackets, neon colors, off-the-shoulder tops, jellies, stirrup pants, parachute pants, scrunch socks, fingerless gloves, and Jordache jeans.

1990s: The casual look was popular in the nineties. Nineties fashion also included recycled styles from the previous decades.

Popular styles in the nineties included tapered pants, cargo pants, biker shorts, Air Jordans, ripped jeans, Hypercolor T-shirts, and knee-high socks.

All of these tips can be applied to nonpsychic cats too. Now that you have these helpful tips, I hope life with your new psychic friend is a breeze.