Duffel Bags And Drownings Read Free

everything else Irish you could think of.
    “Cool,” I said. “These will look great at the party.”
    “We can make them for any occasion,” Faye said. “Let me tell you how it’s done.”
    She closed the freezer door and launched into an explanation of how colored water
     was mixed in the big tank, then pumped into rubber molds and lowered into chest freezers
     by a hoist, and then everything turned into blah-blah-blah and I drifted off.
    That happens a lot.
    Edie, Priscilla, and whatever the heck was going on at L.A. Affairs popped into my
     head. I wondered if I could find a way to stay out of the office for the rest of the
     day. Maybe tomorrow, too. I mean, jeez, if I wasn’t there, they couldn’t fire me,
     right?
    Faye jarred me back to reality by walking away. I followed, pulled the door closed,
     and we headed toward what I thought was the front of building—my sense of direction
     isn’t the greatest—where the display room and offices were located.
    We stopped at the entrance to the employee lounge. Inside were tables and chairs,
     vending machines, a fridge and microwave. On one wall was a bulletin board pinned
     with announcements, and on another ran a row of lockers; duffel bags and backpacks
     were piled up under them.
    Near the restrooms, two clothing racks held leprechaun costumes. Guy servers rotated
     in and out trying them on, while the girls sat idle at the tables. I’d worked with
     Maisie’s Costume Shop on other events and knew they’d do a great job.
    Maisie, a stout woman in her forties who owned the shop, checked the fit on each server
     as they came out of the restroom, and her assistant Wendy entered their sizes on her
     iPad.
    “Hey, Haley,” Wendy called.
    Like most of the wardrobe people I’d met, Wendy had a fashion-forward sense of style
     that bordered on outrageous. Today she had on boots, tights, shorts, a tank, and vest
     in progressive shades of purple. But since she probably didn’t weigh a hundred pounds
     on a rainy day, she really pulled it off.
    Faye’s cell phone rang. She stepped away and answered it.
    “Awesome costumes,” I said.
    Wendy gestured toward the clothing racks. “We brought skirts for the girls. Jeri is
     going to try on one so we can see how it looks. What do you think?”
    “I think it will be great,” I said, “as long as the servers don’t look better than
     the guests.”
    Wendy laughed, then stopped as Fay’s voice rose.
    “She didn’t get back to you?” she said into her phone. “She assured me she would.
     I’m so sorry. I’ll get on it right away. Yes, of course. You have my word.”
    Faye snapped her phone closed and exclaimed, “Has anyone seen Cady?”
    “Wasn’t she here just a minute ago?” someone asked.
    “I thought I saw her car out front when I came in,” one of the girls said.
    “Well, is she here, or not?” Faye asked, looking more annoyed by the second. “And
     where is Jeri? She’s supposed to try on the skirt with her costume. Why aren’t people
     here, where they’re supposed to be? Things have to get done.”
    “I’ll look for them,” one of the girls said.
    “Me, too,” another one added.
    “All of you,” Faye said, “please, look for them. And tell them to report back to me
     immediately.”
    Faye blew out a big breath as the girls hurried out of the room, then caught sight
     of me standing nearby.
    “Oh, Haley,” she said. “Please don’t think this sort of thing happens often. Really,
     we’re all dedicated to the success of this business. I’m sure Cady is here somewhere
     and she’s anxious to go over the menu with you.”
    “No problem,” I said.
    I thought there definitely was a problem but this didn’t seem like the time to say
     so.
    “I’ll look for them, too,” I said.
    Honestly, I didn’t know how I’d have any better luck finding Cady and Jeri than anyone
     else, but it seemed like a great excuse to get away and call Kayla at the office to
     see if there’d