Death by Pumpkin Spice Read Free Page B

something else.” Her eyes widened. “Oh!” She scurried over to a rack full of fake guns, wigs, and gangster outfits. “Maybe I should get something that matches!”
    â€œYou should,” I said.
    As she started poking through the rack, I wandered off to find something for myself. While the gangster outfits were far less revealing than what I’d seen so far, I didn’t want to ride on Vicki’s coattails the entire night. I should have called Will and asked him what he was wearing. Maybe it would give me an idea what to look for. We could match, just like Vicki and Mason.
    There were only a handful of people in the shop, mostly college age. I figured once school let out, the teenagers would be in full force, throwing plastic eyeballs at each other. I could call Will without anyone overhearing.
    No, Krissy . I was a big girl; I could find something on my own. I didn’t need to go running to a man every time I was unsure about something.
    I glanced at a rack of horror movie character costumes. Would Will have a problem if I went as Jason from Friday the 13th ? The mask would give me something to hide behind, as would the baggy overalls. The machete had fake blood inside that sloshed around when you moved it.
    I started toward it, thinking I’d give it a few swings, when another costume caught my eye. The red twine wig and the red and white socks would surely draw the eye. I picked up the blue polka dot dress and checked the size. There was nothing sexy about Raggedy Ann, and it wasn’t as manly as Jason. With the face paint and wig, I might not be easily recognized. It might save me from embarrassment the next day if I made a fool out of myself at the party.
    The costume looked like it would fit, but the thought of going as a character that was more appropriate for little girls curdled my stomach. I shoved it back onto the rack and continued to search.
    And then I saw it. The costume was in the men’s section, but I thought I could pull it off. I took it from the rack and held it up to my chest to see if it would fit.
    â€œIt’s perfect!”
    I turned to find Vicki grinning at me, her chosen gangster costume folded over one arm. She was wearing a cheaply made fedora pulled down low over one eye.
    â€œI don’t know,” I said, loving my choice, but worried about it at the same time. What if Will didn’t like it? “It’s for men, and it’s, I don’t know, a little too on the nose, don’t you think?”
    â€œWill it fit?”
    I double-checked the size, though I’d just held it up and knew it would be fine. I picked up the hat that went with it and tried it on. Perfect fit. “Looks like it.”
    As soon as the hat was on, Vicki pulled a plastic gun from somewhere and pointed it at me. “You’re not going to take me in, Holmes,” she said in a surprisingly good British accent. “Not this time, you won’t.”
    I laughed but refrained from attempting a Sherlock Holmes impression, knowing how badly it would go. I considered the costume a moment longer and then walked over to Vicki. “I guess it’s decided then.”
    We carried our wares to the counter and paid for them. I wondered if I told Will what I’d chosen, if he would go ahead and be my Watson. Matching outfits could be cliché, sure, but I was positive we’d make a cute couple. The more I thought about it, the more, I don’t know, romantic it seemed.
    We left the shop and started the short walk back to Vicki’s car. Would Will be offended if I recommended a costume to him? I doubted it, but I wasn’t sure I could bring myself to ask. The party was only a few days away, so I was pretty sure he’d have a costume picked out by now, anyway. It was probably best I didn’t make things more difficult than they needed to be.
    A police cruiser rolled past and vanished around the corner, causing me to pause midstride. It