All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt Read Free Page A

Alice asked. “Good catch.”
    â€œHe’s not my anything,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
    â€œBoyfriend?”
    â€œHe’s a detective. His name is Dylan.”
    â€œOh, well you’d better be on your best behavior. Maybe you can make him your beau.”
    I wasn’t going to answer that one.
    â€œHow are you holding up?” Dylan asked.
    â€œHe’s swoon-worthy,” Alice said. “He reminds me of my dear, sweet Joe. That was my husband. Of course he had been my parents’ first pick for me. Not that I didn’t love the man, don’t get me wrong, but . . . Well, just don’t let your true love get away is all I’m saying.”
    Why was she telling me her life story right now? Having a conversation with a ghost and a living person at the same time wasn’t easy. I’d have to ignore Alice right now.
    Dylan ran his hand through his hair. “Did you see Nicole near the water? I heard you were the first to spot her.”
    I wondered if he was thinking about the fact that I’d been the first to find that dead man in the alley during Sugar Creek’s Spring Fling festival. What an unfortunate coincidence.
    â€œWhen I saw her, she was already in the water.” I closed my eyes, wishing the sight from my mind. “She was floating at the surface. I guess it was already too late. That was when the director spotted her and jumped in the water to save her.”
    â€œI suppose she could have fallen in,” Alice said.
    Maybe it was nothing, but I felt I needed to tell Dylan about what I’d seen.
    â€œEarlier I was walking the plantation grounds. I heard what sounded like an argument. When I peeked around the bushes, I saw Preston and Nicole. I think he may have been cheating on her.” I sounded like a gossip, but Dylan needed to know every detail.
    He snapped to attention. “That was right before you found her like this?”
    I blinked back tears. “Yes, about thirty minutes earlier.”
    â€œWhere was the location of their argument?”
    I turned around to figure out just where I’d been. “Right over there.”
    I hadn’t realized just how close to the water we’d been. The detective stared out over the scene. I wondered what he was thinking.
    â€œLet me know if you remember any more details.”
    â€œYes, absolutely.” My voice was low as I absorbed the chaos around me.
    Unfortunately, I didn’t think there were any missing facts. How had she fallen in the water? Had she been standing too close? Of course she had. How else would she fall in the water?
    One of the officers called out to Dylan. “Thank you for the information, Cookie,” he said to me. “I’ll phone you later.”
    Dylan walked across the yard and over to the pond where the other officers stood. This wasn’t how I thought the day would end. Poor Nicole. She was so pretty, so young. The other people who had gathered looked as stricken as I felt. Some I recognized as her fellow actors, and the others were probably extras. A couple of women hugged each other and wiped their eyes. I hadn’t seen Preston since this had happened. Where was he? Did he know about this tragic accident? I hated that the thought had slipped into my mind, but what if this wasn’t an accident after all? They had been arguing.
    â€œWhat do you think happened to her?” Alice asked.
    I jumped and clutched my chest. I’d forgotten that she’d been standing beside me.
    â€œYou’re so jumpy. Maybe you need a nice cup of chamomile tea.”
    What I needed was not to talk to ghosts. I looked around to see if anyone was watching before I answered.
    â€œWell, she clearly fell into the water,” I said.
    Alice pursed her lips. “I saw their argument too. I’m not so sure this was an accident.”
    My eyes widened. “You saw the argument? Where were you?”
    â€œI was right behind