Haunted Is Always in Fashion Read online

  Chapter 13

  Cookie’s Savvy Tips for Vintage Shopping

  Look for great vintage patterns.

  Floral, stripes, paisley, and polka dots

  are all must-haves for any vintage wardrobe.

  I wasn’t convinced I could say anything to persuade Regina that Ken’s counsel was unnecessary, but he was picking me up and taking me to her house. She was probably just freaked out because the police had been talking to her. Whenever the cops on television came around to talk to someone, that person always seemed to need an attorney. Maybe that’s why Regina thought she needed one too.

  Honestly, I’d done nothing wrong and I was a little scared too.

  Later that day, I closed up the shop and waited on the sidewalk for Ken. Charlotte and Juliana stood with me.

  I looked at my watch. “I hope he’s not late.”

  “Well, it’s not exactly like you have anywhere else to go,” Charlotte said.

  “Thank you for that observation, Charlotte.”

  “I think it’s kind of a waste anyway,” Juliana said.

  I spotted Ken’s car coming down the street. “Ladies, try not to get me in trouble, okay?”

  Charlotte laughed. “As if.”

  He pulled up to the sidewalk and hopped out. In a black suit, white shirt, and a red tie, it looked as if he’d just come from the courthouse. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.” He opened the car door for me and I slid in.

  “He’s such a gentleman,” Charlotte said from the backseat, “but he could stand to get a bigger car.” Her Louis Vuitton handbag rested on her lap.

  She was a ghost. Why did she need a purse?

  Ken pulled away from the curb. “I want to thank you again for coming with me today.”

  “It’s no problem. I just hope that I can convince her.”

  We made the next right and headed away from town. Within a few minutes, we were turning onto Maple Grove Court.

  Ken pulled up to Regina’s house and shoved the car into park. “Fingers crossed.”

  “I hope she doesn’t have an escaped squirrel this time,” Charlotte said.

  We got out and headed up the path to her front door. It felt as if someone was watching me, but when I peered around no one was there. Not even neighbors were outside. Ken rang the doorbell and we waited. After a couple seconds, I thought Regina wasn’t going to answer, but then the door opened. She stood in front of us in a black dress and a big black hat.

  “Is she going to a funeral?” Charlotte asked.

  I exchanged a look with her and we realized it had to be Juliana’s funeral. Perhaps we could’ve picked a better time to visit.

  “I hope we’re not intruding,” I said.

  Regina narrowed her eyes and looked at me. “I remember you.”

  “Yes, we spoke previously. I’m Cookie. I’m friends with Ken.” I gestured toward him.

  “Hello again, Regina.” He gave a short dip of his head.

  She stared at me for a moment longer and then said, “Would you like to come inside?”

  We stepped inside the house. Luckily no squirrel followed us. Ken never left my side. It was as if he was a little afraid of Regina.

  “Why did you say you were here again?” she asked.

  “She really has the hospitality thing down,” Charlotte said sarcastically.

  “Well, you’re no flower yourself,” Juliana said.

  Regina looked at Ken. “Now that you’re here, can I get you to help me hang a picture?”

  Ken exchanged a look with me. ”Sure. Where is it?”

  “It’s right back here in the bedroom.” She motioned for him to follow.

  He grimaced and followed her down the dark hallway.

  “I have to hand it to her. She gets what she wants.” Charlotte peered out the living room window at the house next door.

  “I told you she’s eccentric,” Juliana said.

  I was standing in the living room with the ghosts. I didn’t know what to do while I waited. I could have had a seat on the sofa. Then again, I liked staying close to the door in case I wanted to get out of there quickly.

  Charlotte turned to face me. “Cookie, you should have a look around while she’s gone.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Sure you can. She won’t know,” Charlotte said with a wave of her hand.

  “It’s probably not a good idea,” Juliana said.

  Charlotte looked unhappy with that answer. She tossed up her hands. “You never want to do anything. This isn’t even slightly dangerous.”

  “That’s nonsense,” I whispered. “Because of you, I’m always doing things that could get me into trouble.”

  Charlotte placed her hands are hips. “Name one.”

  “Name one? I can name twenty and they just happened last week.”

  “Oh, you just want to argue with me,” Charlotte said.

  “Trust me, arguing is the last thing I want to do.”

  “You’re wasting time while you could be looking.” Charlotte crossed her arms in front of her chest.

  I gave up. “Okay, okay. I’ll look, but it has to be fast. Besides, I don’t think I’ll find anything.”

  “I’ll keep guard by the bedroom,” Juliana said.

  “For once she has a good idea,” Charlotte said.

  I didn’t really know where to start. The table by the front door looked like it had a few bills on top. “I suppose I can start over there,” I whispered.

  I moved closer to the table, but Charlotte stopped me. “You should look in that coat closet first.”

  I took her suggestion and grabbed the knob. After a brief pause, I twisted it and eased the door open just a little.

  “What do you think you’re going to find in there? A body?” Juliana asked.

  “There could be skeletons in her closet,” I said.

  “Just hurry and open the door.”

  Releasing a deep breath, I opened it and saw hats. Lots and lots of hats.

  “Wow, she really likes hats,” Charlotte said. “Where do you think she got them?”

  “I suppose she’s been collecting them for a long time.”

  A lot of the hats were beautiful . . . ones I’d like more time to look at, but I didn’t want Regina to catch me.

  “I suppose that rules her out as a suspect. Now we know why she was asking for the hat.” Charlotte placed her hands on her hips.

  “Does it? This could be why she wanted to kill Juliana . . . so she could get that hat.”

  “True. It might be the one to finish her collection.” Charlotte tapped her index finger against her lip.

  I closed the door. “I don’t think she’ll ever be finished with her collection.”

  “Don’t forget to look at the table.” Charlotte pointed to the one by the front door.

  I moved over and started sorting through the envelopes, but nothing caught my eye . . . until I saw the name Victor. It was written on a piece of paper along with the name Hunter. Who was Hunter? Their phone numbers were also listed. I pulled out my phone and took a quick picture of it in case I needed the numbers for later.

  I turned to Charlotte. “Why would she have Victor’s phone number?” I said.

  Charlotte shrugged. “I suppose to help them plot the murder.”

  “So you think they were in on it together?”

  “What else can we think?” Charlotte said.

  I’d just put my phone back in my pocket when noise came from the other room. I didn’t want Regina and Ken to catch me snooping so I hurried back into the living room. I spotted a man walking into the kitchen. It definitely wasn’t Ken. Surprised, I said, “I didn’t know she had a guest.”

  “I wonder if he heard you talking about Regina being the murderer? He probably thinks you were talking to yourself.”

  “That would be bad.”

  He had been in the next room so he could’ve easily overheard. I hurried over to the kitchen and peeked into the room as the man walked out th
e back door. He wore all black. I saw only the back side of him but could tell that he had dark hair too.

  “That’s odd,” Charlotte said.

  I heard Ken and Regina talking and knew they were headed back into the living room.

  Juliana appeared by the kitchen door. “They’re coming.”

  I rushed over and leaned against the chair by the fireplace, trying to pretend that I’d been there the whole time. Did I have suspicious written on my face?

  “We’re innocent until proven guilty,” Charlotte said.

  Regina narrowed her eyes when she looked at me. “Oh, I forgot you were here.”

  It was pretty obvious that she didn’t like me much.

  “I just saw someone in your kitchen, Regina. Did you know you had a guest?”

  She had a funny expression on her face for a second and then she said, “Yes, he’s a friend of mine.”

  “Regina has a boyfriend?” Juliana said.

  “He must like cranky,” Charlotte said.

  “Anyway, Regina, back to the reason we’re here,” Ken said.

  “Would you like some iced tea?” she asked.

  “Now she’s friendly,” Charlotte said. “She’s just trying to stall and change the subject.”

  “No, thank you,” I said.

  Ken shook his head. “No thanks, but back to the reason we’re here, Regina. You do understand that there’s really no need for my services.” He looked at me so that I could talk to her.

  “Yes, the police are not going to arrest you.” I wasn’t so confident when I said that. Maybe she really did need an attorney.

  “Well, it’s better safe than sorry,” Regina said.

  “She has a point,” Charlotte said. “I always kept an attorney.”

  How should I ask her about the hats? “I’d like to ask one thing.”

  “You sure you don’t want tea?” Regina said.

  “Drink the tea!” Charlotte said.

  “I was looking for the bathroom and accidentally opened the closet door.”

  “Nice try, Cookie, but I don’t think she believes you,” Charlotte said.

  Juliana was staring at me.

  Regina narrowed her eyes. She knew where I was going with my question.

  “That’s quite a collection of hats you have,” I said. “Where did you get them?”

  She glared at me. “I collected them for a long time. They’re all mine.”

  “She didn’t say they weren’t yours,” Charlotte said.

  Regina immediately changed the subject. “If I can’t get the hat Juliana had back from the police, I’ll be forced to sue them. That’s why I need your services, Mr. Harrison.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, Regina.”

  She was clearly angry. “Well, I’ll just have to find someone who can.”

  “That’s probably for the best,” Ken said. “We’ll show ourselves out.”

  “Fine,” she said.

  Ken and I walked over to the door.

  “I really think you’re making a mistake,” Regina called after us.

  “I think it’s for the best,” Ken said.

  We stepped outside, leaving Regina inside muttering to herself.

  “That went just about how I suspected,” Juliana said.

  “Do you think I upset her?” Ken asked.

  “I just think she’s upset, that’s all. Things will work out. Don’t worry.” Of course, I didn’t know if they would work out for the good or the bad.

  We climbed into the car and I looked back at the house. Regina was at the window, but when she noticed me, she moved back and closed the shade.

  “Did you really see someone in the house?” Ken asked.

  “Yes, he went out the back door,” I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

  “I get a bad feeling from this,” Juliana said. “Maybe we shouldn’t leave.”

  “You think she’s okay?” I asked. “Should we help her?”

  “I don’t think there’s anything we can do . . . especially anything that she would allow.” He started the car.

  “Perhaps there’s another family member who could check in on her,” I said.

  “Maybe, but she lost contact with everyone a number of years back,” Juliana said. “Like I said—”

  “She’s eccentric.” Charlotte finished for her.

  As Ken pulled away from the curb, I looked out the back window. A cat that looked exactly like Wind Song sat on the sidewalk.

  How could she get there all the way from the shop? I remembered seeing a cat the other day when I visited Regina. Maybe it was that one.

  I decided to find out. “You have to stop the car,” I said to Ken. “I think my cat is out there.”

  “How is that possible?” Charlotte said.

  Ken pulled into the next driveway and turned the car around. The cat was still sitting on the sidewalk.

  I knew right away that it was Wind Song.

  “I can’t believe it, but that really is your cat,” Juliana said.

  “How did your cat get here?” Ken asked.

  “That’s what I’d like to know,” I said.

  When we pulled up to the curb the cat didn’t move. I’d expected that she might run when she saw me. Maybe she didn’t want to be caught. She looked at me though. Recently I’d noticed that she didn’t want me leaving her, but I wasn’t sure why. I suppose I was going to have to start taking her with me more often.

  I climbed out of the car. “Wind Song, what are you doing out here?”

  She meowed loudly when I picked her up.

  I hugged her. “You scared me. Don’t ever do that again.” I climbed back into the car and sat with her on my lap.

  “Maybe the cat just doesn’t want you to leave her anymore,” Charlotte said.

  “How do you think the cat got over here?” Ken asked.

  “I have no explanation for that.”

  “I wish she could tell us,” he said.

  It was one of the strangest things. Regina’s house was simply too far for Wind Song to have walked there in the time we’d been gone. I intended to find out the answers. She was going to answer with the Ouija board or the tarot cards. I didn’t care which.

  The cat remained on my lap, looking out the window the entire ride back, and even started to purr.

  We reached my shop and went inside. I showed Ken the picture of the phone numbers. “What do you think about that? Do you think that one of these guys thinks that Regina has the hat?” I massaged my temples. “It’s just so confusing.”

  “I don’t know what to think,” Ken said.

  Juliana was at the front window staring out again. I knew she was upset by the latest development.

  Chapter 14

  Charlotte’s Tips for a Fashionable Afterlife

  Check fashion shows and magazines,

  envision the garment you like,

  and you can have the latest styles instantly.

  Ken left and I went right back to work, pricing inventory and putting things out on display.

  He’d been gone only a short time when Juliana approached me with a worried look on her face. “Cookie, I have a strange request.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “I want to go to my funeral.”

  I stopped in my tracks. Charlotte was speechless.

  “Okay . . . can I ask why you want to do that? It could be traumatic.”

  “I already know I’m dead,” she said.

  “Yes, but your friends and family will be crying.”

  “I’m prepared for that. Sometimes the killer shows up at the funeral.”

  “Oh, I’ve seen that in the movies,” Charlotte said.

  “You know, you’re right,” I said. “I’ve seen that too.” It also sounded like something the cops would do, and as strange as it seemed, I agreed to take Juliana to her memorial service.

  I changed into the simple black skirt and blouse I kept at the shop for emergencies, put on my black heels, and hea
ded out for the car. Charlotte had on her complete funeral attire—hat, gloves, and the whole shebang. Juliana was a little more subtle, but she still wore black slacks and a blouse. She was going to her own funeral!

  We arrived at the funeral home and I found a parking spot.

  “Looks like a nice turnout,” Charlotte said.

  Juliana put her hands on her hips. “What did you expect? I have a lot of friends and family.”

  “Now you get to see who cries over you,” Charlotte said.

  I gave Charlotte the look. Knock it off.

  “What? It’s the truth,” she said.

  Inside, the funeral home was quiet except for soft music in the background. Never a pleasant experience to step into one of those places, sometimes it had to be done. Juliana’s body had been cremated. I hadn’t asked her if that was a choice she’d expressed before she died or if the decision had been made for her after she’d died.

  Note to self—make out a will. Charlotte had been on me about that, but I kept putting it off. I was young. Why did I need one? However, look what had happened to Juliana.

  “Recognize anyone?” I asked Juliana.

  “There had better be someone she knows or this is just plain weird,” Charlotte said.

  Juliana pointed across the room. “They are my parents. I can’t stand to look at them, so we’ll just avoid them.”

  “Okay, but don’t you want to talk to your parents?” I asked.

  Exasperated, Charlotte said, “Duh. She can’t talk to them, Cookie. She’s dead.”

  “Charlotte, you’re so sassy,” I whispered from behind a giant plant in the corner of the room.

  “People might not see you talking to us, but they’re still going to think you’re strange if they find you hiding back there. Get out here and talk to people,” Charlotte said.

  “Fine,” I said as I straightened my blouse and came out from behind the plant.

  Juliana pointed at a couple young women. “There’s my friend Trisha. She’s cool. Go stand by her. She’s talking to another friend, Amy.”

  I had no idea how I would approach those people. Would I really talk to them? They didn’t know me. I was getting a few strange looks which made me feel uneasy. Did they know something about me after all?

  “I just can’t believe she’s gone,” Trisha said.

  “It’s all so unreal.” Amy wiped her eyes with a tissue.