The Case of the Missing Mascot (A Sherlock Shakespeare Mystery Book 1) (15 page)
Read The Case of the Missing Mascot (A Sherlock Shakespeare Mystery Book 1) Online
Authors: Sydney Katt
"I'll tell you about it later." I let out a breath and asked the one question I cared about. "So, does this mean we're friends again?"
"I'm still mad that you went rifling through my stuff, but of course we're friends."
"And you're sure you want to go to the dance with me? I'll be like chick repellant if we go together. You'll be stuck with me all night."
"It's cool. How many guys get to say they took the Homecoming queen to the dance?" He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the scoreboard. "Third quarter's nearly over. I've got to get back."
I nodded and watched him walk away. When I noticed Tom glaring at me from just inside the gate, I grinned at him and then headed off to the parking lot. I wasn't completely sure whether getting crowned Homecoming queen would make it easier or harder for Tom and his pals to attempt to ruin my last year of high school.
What I did know was that I hadn't hallucinated or heard voices in my head once today.
The whole Homecoming queen thing didn't fully hit me until I was looking at my dress for the first time. It was a deep shade of green, had a flowing skirt that hit me just above the knees and clung to the curves I always kept hidden under my hoodie. At least it wasn't as low-cut as the shirt I'd put on at LePort's house. Sure, there was a little cleavage, but it didn't make me feel like Streetwalker Barbie or anything.
Why was it so cold in my bedroom tonight? Watson must've kicked up the AC before he left for the game and forgotten about it. I hadn't noticed it in the rest of the house, but I was still in a daze from everything that had happened at the game when I got home. At least my mother wasn't home to buzz around me with a camera while I tried to get ready. The gazillion pictures of me in the tiara would come when she saw me at the dance, but I was free to fumble with makeup in peace.
Drew called as I was finishing curling my hair to let me know he just had to change and then he'd be on the way to get me. I pulled back some of my hair into a clip before I placed the tiara on my head. I had to admit it; my mother had done a good job with the dress. It was the exact same shade of green as the tiara's accent stones.
Seeing my face without my glasses and with makeup on was always a strange experience for me. I knew I looked better this way, but I'd never particularly liked to be the center of attention. No getting around that tonight after getting crowned in front of the entire school. All eyes would definitely be on me.
Ugh. My picture from the dance was probably going to end up in the yearbook.
I was checking in the mirror one final time to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything when my lipstick fell over on the uneven desk. Slowly, it began to roll to the edge and clatter to the floor. Our house was a little old and creaky, so it's wasn't unheard of for movement elsewhere in the house to knock things over.
What was strange was that the lipstick rolled uphill to fall off the desk.
Trying to ignore the chills chasing up and down my arms, I knelt to retrieve the lipstick. As I was closing my trembling fingers around it, a swirl of brown skirts stopped right in front of my face. I looked up, expecting for the figment of my imagination to be gone when I did.
It wasn't.
I fell back onto my butt and crab-walked away, the lipstick falling forgotten from my fingers. Where I'd expected to see nothing but my wall, an exotic woman in an old-fashioned brown dress stood staring at me. She stretched out her hand to me. "Apologies. Let me help you up."
Her voice was eerily similar to the one I'd been hearing in my head all week.
While there was no logical reason for this woman to be in my bedroom, or for me to accept her help, I reached for her hand. My fingers went right through her, nearly freezing as they did.
"
Seriously
? I'm not weird enough as it is without
this
?"
The woman regarded me with a curious expression on her face. "I do not know what this means, Sherlock Shakespeare, but I need your help."
I heard my front door close and someone taking the stairs two at a time. The woman in front of me flickered once like a light bulb’s last hurrah and vanished completely before Drew entered the room.
"You okay?" He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I was never so grateful for how solid he was as I was in this very instant. "You know you don't have to wear heels if you're having trouble with them. I'm used to you being shorter than me."
"I'm fine. Just thought I saw... a mouse."
"Okay." He glanced around the room as though looking for it. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yep." I glanced in the mirror one final time to straighten my tiara and followed Drew out of my room.
"You look amazing, by the way."
"Yes, she certainly does," the woman said. When I glanced back, she was leaning against the doorframe, arms casually folded over her chest. "Have a nice time with your gentleman caller. We can speak later."
And then she vanished.
Holy. Shit. I hadn't been losing my mind. I was being stalked by a ghost.
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THE CASE OF THE HAUNTED HAUNTED HOUSE
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Coming Summer 2015
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For Sara
Thank you for being a friend ;)
Sydney Katt has been writing books for as long as she could string words into sentences. Today, her books are more complex and feature romance, murder and mayhem, all subjects her grade school teachers frowned upon.
Happily married since before the beginning of time, Sydney and her husband live in the Dallas area, where three demanding cats rule their lives. When they aren't slaying video game dragons, the five of them keep a watchful eye for the first signs of the zombie apocalypse.
For more information about Sydney's adventures in Dallas, new book projects and upcoming releases, visit
www.authorsydneykatt.com
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You can also join the Katt Lovers Community at
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The Case of the Missing Mascot
is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
2015 Random Distraction Books Kindle Edition
Copyright © 2015 by Sydney Katt
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, except for reviewers who may quote brief passages.
Cover art: Farah Evers
www.faraheversdesigns.com
Editing: Priceless Proofreading UK
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