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“Have fun,” I say, but she’s already drifting toward a group of fans waving copies of her bestsellers.

I scan the crowd, looking for Dexter and not finding him. Twenty minutes, he said. In detective time, that translates to sometime before dawn. And while he’s off verifying whatever he’s verifying, my brain won’t stop running its own investigation.

A lead. On who? Felicity with her sad eyes and her cryptic warnings? Gertie and her suspiciously detailed knowledge of underwater murder weapons? Every suspect in this case is currently within fifty feet of me, holding a signature cocktail and smiling for photos. One of them bashed Belladonna over the head, and here I am, trying to guess which smile is the rehearsed one.

Instead, I spot Eulla Bell holding court near the Haunted Mansion steps, surrounded by admirers with Salem perched regally in her arms.

She’s laughing at something with her head thrown back, and even in laughter her accent is thick as molasses. She really is every inch the Southern belle vampire queen.

But according to Delora, she’s just playing a part.

More sugar than substance, Belladonna wrote.

And if anyone knows what’s underneath all that sweetness, it’s the black cat currently surveying the crowd like a tiny, furry lie detector. Lucky for me, cats can’t keep a secret. Not from me, anyway.

I start walking toward her, weaving through costumes and conversations, my purple cat tail swishing behind me and Henrietta along for moral support. Between the two of us, she’s had the busier evening.

Salem’s yellow eyes find me halfway through the crowd, and her tail gives one slow, deliberate flick.

Well, well, she drawls, elegant and bored and dripping with magnolia. Here comes the cat woman with questions. Sugar, if you’re fixing to dig up bones tonight, you’d best bring a bigger shovel.

Wonderful. Even the cat thinks I’m underprepared.

Time to find out just how sweet Eulla Bell Nightwind really is.

Because everybody knows the most dangerous costume at a Halloween party isn’t the one with fake blood. It’s the one someone’s been wearing their entire life.

CHAPTER 19

Henrietta’s plastic eyes catch the green glow from the fountain, and I swear the creepy doll head hanging from my neck just winked at a shirtless vampire walking by.

I don’t blame her. He’s exactly her type—undead and available.

The Boo Crew Tricks, Treats, and Trouble Bash rages all around us. Music thumping, people laughing, the scent of cinnamon and funnel cake mixing with fog machine mist that’s working overtime to create the creepiness a haunted holiday like this deserves. Costumes are everywhere. Chaos abounds. Fish and Chip merchandise is being worn by at least half the crowd, which does fantastic things for my bank account and questionable things for the cats’ egos.

I’m weaving through the party toward Eulla Bell, who’s presiding near the glowing green fountain like a vampire queen surveying her kingdom, when two furry projectiles cut me off.

The aforementioned furry egos—Fish and Chip.

Both still wearing their parade costumes. Fish sports her red velvet cape and tiny heart-shaped crown, looking ready to hold court or lop off someone’s head (probably both), and Chip’s hot dog costume makes him look like an orange furry snack on the run.

Where are we headed? Fish demands, falling into step beside me like a tiny feline bodyguard, and I quickly scoop her up.

“Just going to chat with Eulla Bell.”

You have that look in your eye, Chip adds, his hot dog costume bouncing with each step. The look that says you’re about to ask questions Detective Dreamboat told you not to ask.

I contemplate scooping him up too, but I’m not brave enough to test the seam on these tights.

“I’m just planning on having a light conversation,” I tell him. “Last I checked, that’s not illegal.”

Your light conversations tend to end in handcuffs, Fish says.

She’s not wrong.

Do you think there will be dropped food at this conversation? Chip asks, his eyes widening with hope. Because I’m very good at being nearby when food drops. It’s basically my superpower.

Your superpower is being a walking stomach, Fish counters.