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“Are you sure?” I asked. The last thing I wanted was to take advantage of her. “It’s kind of a big project.”
In response, she just sent me a wide smile. “Then I suppose I’d better get started.”
She headed back to the stockroom, and a minute later, wheeled out one of the big bins I’d gotten at the Container Store, followed by the second. After that, she started pulling out the various decorations, separating them by type so it would be easier for her to find what she needed once she really got going.
And honestly, I thought she might have been even faster than I was about setting out the haunted trees with their purple lights and the fake gravestones and all the other little bits and pieces that transformed Once in a Blue Moon into a spooky cemetery. Once or twice, she paused so she could ask me a question about the placement of a particular item, but after about an hour, she’d finished the job and was wheeling the now-empty bins back into the stockroom.
“That was amazing,” I told her when she came back out. “Were you a professional set designer once upon a time or something like that?”
She gave an amused chuckle. “No, but I took some theater classes in college and worked on the sets for a couple of productions, so I guess this kind of thing just comes naturally to me. But I’m glad you like it.”
“I love it,” I replied. “And I’m sure my customers will love it, too.”
That turned out to be nothing more than the truth, because the people who came into the shop those last couple of hours before closing all praised the decorations, and said they were glad my store was finally getting in the spirit of the season. I was glad, too, because I had a feeling that if I’d delayed putting up my Halloween decorations any longer, I would’ve had to hand in my witch card.
The day wound down to its end, and at five, Melanie headed over to lock the front door with the key I’d given her. I got my purse out from under the counter and said, “I need to get going, but if anything comes up tomorrow that you’re not sure about, just call me. I’ll only be a few minutes away at Archie and Victoria’s house, and I can come over and help out if you need me to.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Melanie said, almost sternly. “You go help your friends, and don’t worry about me. It’s not like you’re leaving me alone on Black Friday or something.”
No, I wasn’t, and even at its busiest, I doubted my shop was something my assistant couldn’t handle. “All right,” I said. “Still, if there’s an emergency — ”
“There won’t be an emergency,” Melanie cut in, almost laughing. “It’s going to be fine. Now shoo — I’ll finish locking up.”
Deep down, I knew she was right. The worst that would happen was that a tour bus might disgorge its passengers right in front of the store and she’d be busy for a half hour or so, but that was the most nightmarish scenario I could conjure up.
So I thanked her again for handling everything, and headed out back so I could climb into my Renegade and drive over to Paradise Nails, which was about five minutes away, not too far from the Super Walmart. Hazel was just locking up her ancient but beloved Volvo station wagon as I entered the parking lot, so I pulled into the space next to hers. Victoria’s red Mercedes SUV was nowhere to be seen, however.
Well, Hazel and I were both a couple of minutes early, something that surprised me a little. In general, my artist friend wasn’t known for her punctuality.
“Hi,” I said as I walked over to her car. “Have you heard from Victoria?”
“She sent me a text a few minutes ago that she was running a little late but would be here as soon as she could,” Hazel replied. “Something about getting some sketches off to the builder.”
That sounded exactly like Victoria. She always put her clients first.
“Well, we might as well go in,” I said. “Then she can just join us when she gets here.”
Hazel was agreeable with that plan, so we headed inside. Jackie, the Vietnamese woman who owned the salon, obviously had been expecting us, because she guided Hazel and me to a pair of pedicure stations toward the back, and surprised us by offering some chardonnay.
“None for me, thank you,” I said, and put a hand on my belly, already more rounded than it had been even a week ago.
Jackie smiled. “Of course, Selena. Some sparkling water, then?”
I said that sounded wonderful, and soon enough, Hazel and I were sitting with our feet in warm water, me with a glass of Perrier in one hand, and Hazel with some chardonnay. We’d just taken our first sips when Victoria hurried in.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she came over. “I was just trying to get all those last little bits done before the weekend got here.”
“It’s fine,” I replied, and paused as Jackie came up and offered Victoria a glass of chardonnay, then pointed at the pedicure station next to mine so she could get situated. “I’m just glad you could make it.”
“Oh, Archie would’ve let me have it if I skipped my spa experience,” she said with a laugh. “He’s trying to make everything as festive as possible, even with, well, you know.”
I definitely knew. And even though I was sure Jackie knew almost as much as we did about the case — you couldn’t run a business that had a good percentage of the town’s population coming through on a regular basis without learning about every single thing of note that was happening in Globe — that didn’t mean I thought we should talk about it openly.
“That’s good,” I said, glad that Archie knew how he should be treating his soon-to-be wife. Not that I expected any less of him, considering how besotted he was with Victoria, but still, after so many years of not thinking he would ever fall in love with anyone, and many more years trapped in a cat’s body, this whole world of romance was still fairly new for him.
Jackie came by with Victoria’s glass of chardonnay, confirmed that all of us wanted French manicures, and then sent over three technicians to start working on us. I had to admit it felt good to have someone do my toes and rub my feet, since it had been a while since my last pedicure. Hazel also looked as though she was enjoying herself, taking sips of chardonnay, dipping into the conversation when we started discussing the music for the reception.
“So, you decided to rent a dance floor after all?” she asked.
