I love Halloween. When my kids were little, I had so much fun finding costumes for them and going to the school costume parade. Now that they’re older, I miss seeing all the little kids, so I’m already stocked up on candy for the big night. But this past Saturday, with Savannah and Josh out with friends, Chris and I had big plans of our own: popcorn, a little of that candy (purely for quality control), and a scary movie.
Just as things were getting started, my phone rang. It was Dimples.
“Shelby, I need you at the mayor’s house. Now.”
“The mayor? Did somebody die?”
“Worse. Somebody stole the prize money for his costume contest, and he wants it found before the press hears about it. The chief called me and said the mayor wanted you to come with me, since you’re so good at this type of thing.”
“I guess that’s a compliment?”
“You know it.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you there.” The mayor knew me from a case I solved a couple of years ago. He’d even had a plaque with my name on it installed at the Museum of Fine Art.
I handed the popcorn bowl to Chris. “That was Dimples. He needs me to find the missing prize money at the mayor’s Halloween party.”
“He thinks someone stole it?”
“Looks that way.”
“Well… if anyone can find it, it’s you.”
“It shouldn’t take long.”
“Good. I’ll pick out the movie.” He was thinking he’d pick a horror show.
“I hate horror shows.”
He grinned. “I know, but since you’re leaving, I think it’s only fair.”
I groaned and shook my head. “Maybe it won’t take that long.”
“We’ll just have to see when you get back, won’t we?”
I grabbed my leather jacket and hurried to the car.
The mayor’s house was decked out like a haunted mansion, with fog machines, glowing pumpkins, and a skeleton butler at the door. Inside, about forty of the city’s most important people stood around in costume, looking nervous. There were vampires, witches, the city treasurer dressed as a hot dog, and over by the punch bowl, not one, not two, but three Grim Reapers in identical black robes with their hoods pulled low.
Dimples met me in the foyer, his dimples nowhere to be seen. “The mayor had a thousand dollars in an envelope on the prize table. When he went to announce the winner, it was gone. Nobody’s left since then.”
“So everyone’s still here?”
“Yup.”
Mayor Hollister swept toward us in a full Dracula costume, cape flapping. “Detective. Shelby. Nice to see you again. Thanks for coming.”
“Of course,” I said, smiling.
“Someone in this room is a thief, and I won’t have it. Not in my house!” He was thinking about how bad this would look in the paper. MAYOR’S PARTY GUESTS ROB HIM BLIND.
“We’ll find them.”
I started mingling. Most of the thoughts I picked up had nothing to do with the money. The hot dog was worried his wife would notice he’d eaten six brownies. A witch was wondering if anyone could tell her hair was a wig. A sexy cat was hoping the vampire across the room would notice her, and the vampire was hoping his fangs would stay in.
I got to the punch bowl and the three Reapers. One of them, a woman, was thinking, Three of us? Seriously? I spent forty dollars on this robe.
But another one, a man, was practically screaming in his head. Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me. If they find out, I’m done. They’ll arrest me for sure.
Bingo.
The problem was, the other Reaper was also a man, and his thoughts weren’t helping. I need to get out of here before anyone figures out what I’m up to. Hollister can’t find out. Not until Thursday.
Great. Two guilty men in matching robes. They were the same height and carried the same plastic scythes, and when I stepped closer, all three hooded heads turned toward me at the same time. It was seriously creepy.
“Hi there,” I said. “Great costumes.”
“Thanks,” they all said.
I went back to Dimples. “Two of the Reapers are men, and it’s one of them.”
“You can’t tell which one?”
“No. They both have guilty thoughts.”
He sighed. “Of course they do.”
Dimples asked the three Reapers to lower their hoods, right there by the punch bowl. The mayor’s assistant hurried over with her clipboard. “That’s Dana Morales from the city planning office,” she said, nodding at the woman, who looked annoyed. “And that’s Councilman Bradford Grimes.” The councilman glared at us like we’d ruined his evening. The third Reaper was a young guy with red cheeks and a bad case of the sweats, and the assistant frowned, thinking she’d never seen him before in her life.
“Name?” Dimples asked him.
“Kevin. Kevin Pratt.”
The mayor’s assistant checked her clipboard. “There’s no Kevin Pratt on the guest list.”
Kevin went pale. Now everyone was staring at him, including the hot dog.
I listened closer, and the whole story came tumbling out of his head. He worked in the mailroom at City Hall and had had a crush on Dana for a year. He’d overheard her telling a coworker she was coming as the Grim Reaper, so he’d bought the same costume, thinking it would be a cute icebreaker. He’d snuck in through the side door with the caterers. He had never even seen the prize table.
Meanwhile, Councilman Grimes was stewing about Thursday’s city council vote. He’d lined up enough votes to kill the mayor’s new parking garage, and he’d only come tonight so nobody would suspect a thing. Sneaky, sure, but not a crime. And he definitely hadn’t touched the money.
I leaned close to Dimples. “Neither of them took it,” I whispered. “Trust me.”
Dimples nodded, but he still had to do his job. He turned to Kevin. “Mr. Pratt, you weren’t invited, and a thousand dollars went missing. You’d better explain what you’re doing here.”
Kevin’s mind went into full panic mode. He was going to jail. He’d lose his job. His mother would see it on the news. “I didn’t take anything! I swear! I only came because of Dana!”
Every head in the room swiveled toward Dana.
Kevin’s face turned red. “I mean… I heard she was coming as the Grim Reaper, and I thought if I wore the same costume, she might… you know… talk to me.”
Dana’s eyes went wide. Wait. Kevin from the mailroom? The one who always saves me the good pens? Then a little smile tugged at her lips, and she was thinking that the matching costume was kind of adorable.
Councilman Grimes rolled his eyes and muttered, “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” but inside he was relieved that nobody was looking at him anymore.
I bit back a grin. Score one for love.
But that still left the missing money, and the mayor wasn’t happy. He climbed onto the bottom step of the staircase, his cape flaring. “Friends, I am deeply disappointed. Someone in this room took that money, and I promise you, we will—”
He stuck his hand into the inside pocket of his cape for dramatic effect, and froze.
His mouth kept moving, but he was thinking, Oh no. Oh NO. I put it in my pocket so nobody would take it before the announcement. It’s been here the whole time.
I almost laughed out loud. Instead, I hurried over before he could make it worse. “Mayor, could I have a quick word?”
He stepped down, smiling stiffly. In the corner, I lowered my voice. “I know where it is. Give it to me, and I’ll find it.”
His eyes bulged. “How did you—”
“I’m very good at my job.”
He slipped me the envelope like we were doing a drug deal. I wandered over to the prize table, crouched down, and peeked under the black tablecloth. “Oh, look! Here it is! It must have slipped off the table.”
Everyone cheered. The mayor clutched his chest and declared it a Halloween miracle. Dimples looked from me to the mayor and back again, thinking that I’d pulled something, and he couldn’t wait to hear what it was.
The costume contest went on. The hot dog won, which I think was a sympathy vote. Kevin got to stay, since the mayor was suddenly in a forgiving mood. Councilman Grimes slipped out, and the last thing I saw on my way out was two Grim Reapers sharing a cup of punch.
As for the mayor, he shook my hand at the door and said, “If you ever need anything, Shelby, anything at all, my door is open.” He meant it, too. Having the mayor owe me a favor might come in handy someday. You never know.
I walked out with Dimples, told him what had really happened, and we both got a good laugh out of it.
So that was my weekend. I solved a case that wasn’t a case, got two Reapers together, and saved a vampire’s reputation. I also picked up a few secrets I’ll never repeat, mostly about who ate all the brownies.
Even better—I made it home in time to pick out a movie that wasn’t a horror show. Go me! Not a bad way to kick off Halloween week.
Have you ever turned the house upside down looking for something you were holding the whole time? Tell me in the comments. I promise I won’t judge!
Happy Halloween!
XOXO,
Shelby
