“Yeah,” she grinned, making her way to the front door of Liana’s house.
She wondered briefly if she ought to know the guy in the nerd costume. She had become a bit of a hermit lately what with starting her own newspaper and all. It didn’t leave her a lot of time for socializing.
She decided if he called her by name or otherwise indicated that he knew her, she would pretend to recognize him. That seemed like the polite thing to do.
Thankfully, he didn’t say another word. He was too busy puffing on his cigarette and coughing.
“Hey Clarissa!” a pretty, eye-patch-wearing pirate called as soon as she walked in the front door.
“Amy!” Clarissa exclaimed, instantly recognizing the petite frame and curly reddish-brown hair. She lit up, glad to see her old friend from high school. It had been far too long. “How are you?”
“Great! I didn’t know you’d moved back to town until I heard you had started your own newspaper,” Amy smiled as the stuffed parrot on her shoulder looked on. “Congratulations! I heard you’re living at your parents’ place?”
“I am. But it’s not what it sounds like. My parents retired to Florida and I couldn’t stand the thought of them selling my childhood home. I guess I’m sort of sentimental. So I bought the house from them and moved back to town,” Clarissa explained.
“Oh wow! How do your mom and dad like Florida?”
“They love the weather!” Clarissa replied. “It beats Minnesota’s winters.”
“That’s for sure! And how do you like being back in town?”
“It’s very different than being in the city,” Clarissa smiled.
“I bet! It’s really good to see you,” Amy said. “We should get together and catch up.”
“Definitely,” Clarissa agreed. “How did we ever lose touch to begin with?” she wondered aloud.
“There you are!” a vampire who sounded exactly like Liana exclaimed, interrupting the two. Well, she sounded like Liana would if Liana had a lisp. Apparently it wasn’t easy to talk clearly while wearing artificial fangs.
“Hi,” Clarissa said sheepishly. “Sorry I’m late. Great costume!” she added.
“What are you supposed to be?” Liana asked after removing her fangs.
“Um…a forgetful reporter,” Clarissa replied, flashing a big cheesy please-forgive-me smile.
“I knew you’d forget your costume,” Liana sighed with a shake of her head. “Come with me, I’ll hook you up. I’ve got stuff upstairs that you can wear.” With that, she grabbed Clarissa’s hand and pulled her up the stairs.
“A lot of people turned up for your party,” Clarissa remarked once they were in Liana’s bedroom. She took a seat on the edge of the bed as Liana rummaged around inside her closet in search of costume apparel.
“Yeah I know,” Liana replied. “There are a few people here I don’t even recognize! Oh, that reminds me, Parker Tweed is here…somewhere,” she shrugged. “He was looking for you.”
“Oh!” Clarissa exclaimed, feeling foolish. “I completely forgot I invited him.”
Liana emerged from her walk-in closet holding an oversized black t-shirt and a witch hat. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked with concern. “I think maybe you’ve been working too hard. Everyone needs to take a break sometimes – even you.”
Clarissa nodded and then pulled the black t-shirt on overtop of her own. “Who would have thought writing about boring small town news could be so exhausting, huh?” she joked. “I guess I underestimated how much work it would be to singlehandedly write and print a newspaper.”
“Maybe you need to think about hiring an assistant or something,” Liana suggested as she tossed the witch hat to Clarissa. “But anyway, I need to get back downstairs. Parker is wearing a ghost costume,” she advised. Then she grinned and gave her best friend a wink. “Good job inviting him. You two have fun tonight!”
Liana rushed back to her hostess duties, leaving Clarissa standing there alone. She looked down at the witch hat she was holding and smirked. It was kind of ironic that she was dressing up as a witch considering she had been dabbling in magic lately.
“Parker is looking for me,” Clarissa remembered, feeling almost as scatterbrained as her loopy aunt. She plopped the hat squarely on top of her head and then rushed out into the hallway. She nearly collided with none other than the handsome newspaper heir himself.
“There you are,” he announced triumphantly. He had lifted up his ghost mask to reveal his face and he was giving her a smile that could melt an iceberg. Those dimples of his were to die for.
“Hi!” she exclaimed, instantly brightening.
“I’ll be right out,” he said, nodding toward the bathroom.
“Oh, okay.”
As soon as Parker had disappeared into the bathroom, Clarissa raced back to Liana’s bedroom. She helped herself to her best friend’s lipstick and eyeshadow. She wished she had taken time to primp and preen before leaving the house, but at least she had an opportunity to make herself look more presentable now.
“Hurry up!” Clarissa urged herself as she fussed with her long, dark hair. She was eager to have a moment alone with Parker upstairs before they rejoined the noisy chaos of the party on the main floor. Once she was satisfied that she looked good, she rushed back out into the hallway.
A tall, broad-shouldered ghost was standing out there, leaning against the wall. The costume was simple but effective: a long white sheet that came up to the neck and a white face mask with holes cut out for the eyes and mouth. It worked.
Feeling emboldened, Clarissa walked over. “I should have done this as soon as I saw you,” she whispered in the ghost’s ear. Then she grabbed the bottom of the face mask and pulled it up. Boldly, Clarissa planted a kiss right on Parker’s lips.
That was when the bathroom door opened.
“Clarissa?” Parker asked uncertainly as he emerged from the bathroom.
“Hey, what are you doing?” the ghost Clarissa had just kissed demanded. “If you think I’m going to let you cut in line for the bathroom, forget it!” Indignantly, he pulled his mask back down over his face and stomped off to take his turn.
“I – I thought it was you!” Clarissa squeaked, completely mortified. What were the odds of someone else with the exact same costume being out there in the hallway? She didn’t even know who she had kissed! She was so embarrassed!
“Did you hear that?” Parker asked suddenly, looking past Clarissa.
“Hear what?”
Then she did hear it. When she strained, she could just barely make out the chanting that was coming from the backyard. Though it was muffled by the music playing downstairs, Clarissa could still discern what was being said – and it was alarming.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” a number of people were yelling.
“What’s going on?” she gasped in dismay. She made a beeline for the nearest window and peered out into the backyard. What she saw was a concerning sight.
There in the moonlight, a group of partygoers had congregated. They formed a semi-circle around two people who were violently wrestling. The surreal thing about it was that everyone was in costume. It made the whole thing look pretty crazy!
Parker winced as one of the people punched the other right in the face. “That’s gotta hurt.”
Clarissa nodded as she looked on helplessly. She hated violence.
The guy who had been hit in the face was doubled over now, the long dark cape of his costume trailing behind him. It didn’t seem to matter. His assailant threw another punch, knocking him flat on his back.
Parker shook his head in disgust. “That was dirty,” he complained, voicing Clarissa’s own sentiments. “You never hit someone when they’re down. That idiot down there isn’t even fighting fair. It’s a great way to really injure someone.”
“It looks like the fight is getting out of control,” Clarissa observed. “We should go stop it.”
With that, she raced down the stairs. Parker was right on her heels.
Downstairs, the music was so loud that no one even seemed aware of what was happening outside. The living room was packed – the turnout for the party this year was probably the best it had ever been. People were dancing, drinking and having a great time.
Liana was standing over in the corner giggling as a good looking werewolf attempted to juggle three red paper cups. She, like everyone else inside, was oblivious to the conflict in the backyard.
“Come with me,” Clarissa commanded, grabbing her best friend’s arm as she ran past.
She dragged a confused Liana outside. When they reached the backyard, she saw Parker was already out there looking around in confusion. That was when Clarissa realized there was no fight going on. That seemed odd considering how violent things had been only moments earlier.
Immediately, Clarissa spotted Amy standing with a group of people. The pirate hat gave her away. Clarissa ran over and tapped her old high school friend on the shoulder – the shoulder without the stuffed parrot on it.
Amy turned around. “Oh hey,” she said, forcing a tense-looking smile.
“What’s happening?” Clarissa demanded. “We heard a commotion out here.”
“Yeah,” Amy nodded, spilling her drink in the process. “There was a fight. You know how people are when they have too much to drink,” she shrugged. “They went that way,” she added, pointing toward the neighbor’s backyard.
Clarissa and Parker took off running.
Liana stopped to take off her high heels. Clarissa couldn’t blame her. She didn’t know how her best friend managed to even walk in those things, never mind run! Clarissa, thankfully, was wearing unsophisticated yet practical sneakers.
When Parker got to the fence, he immediately reached over to unlatch the gate. It opened easily.
“I don’t see them!” he said, peering into the yard. “Do you think the fight broke up?”
Clarissa tipped her head to the side and listened very, very hard. She could hear the faint sound of chanting on the wind. She turned and looked, squinting against the darkness. She could see a few shadowy figures off in the distance.
“Over there!” she exclaimed, pointing across the street.
She and Parker ran across the street toward a darkened house. It seemed no one was home.
It also seemed that a few partygoers had followed the two fighting figures. Apparently they were getting quite a lot of entertainment out of the brawl. A few guys were drunkenly hollering, egging them on. No one seemed to be taking things very seriously, though that may well have been because they were all inebriated – some more than others.
Clarissa noted that one of the figures was dressed as the grim reaper. The other person was wearing a gorilla costume. The grim reaper, it seemed, was losing the fight.
“Hey!” Parker bellowed when he was near enough. “Break it up!”
A few partygoers turned and looked at him in dismay.
“Mind your own business,” one guy said before resuming his chanting.
“Yeah!” another one chimed in. “Stop ruining the party!”
“This is ridiculous,” Parker muttered, pushing past the crowd. Clarissa followed.
When she got near, she saw the fistfight was still in full swing.
“Stay there,” Parker instructed. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Then, fearlessly, he raced right into the lion’s den.
For a brief moment, Clarissa was hopeful. When Parker pulled the men apart, she thought that might be the end of the brawl. But then the other partygoers saw that he was trying to ruin their “fun” as they called it.
Two of the spectators wrangled Parker into a headlock. Without him there to break the fight up, the violence continued. So did the cheering. These idiots were acting like animals. Actually, Clarissa would expect better behavior from animals – even her psychotic cat.
Rolling her eyes, Clarissa marched over to the two idiots who were holding Parker hostage.
“Knock it off, Zack,” she said to the bigger of the two guys.
Though he was heavier set than she remembered, she recognized him from high school.
He was the infamous Zack Bishop, star football player and all around moron. He had been a bully then and apparently he was still a bully now.
Except back in high school he had been a star athlete. Now he appeared to be little more than an overweight, drunken slob with a chip on his shoulder. And he and his equally dumb buddy were holding Parker against his will!
Zack turned and glowered at Clarissa, trying to stare her down.
She wasn’t about to fall for his lame intimidation tactics.
“Let him go right now or I’ll call your mother,” Clarissa threatened. She still didn’t understand how an idiot like Zack could have such nice parents. And she wasn’t above tattling to them if that was what it took to make their grown son stop acting like a drooling Neanderthal.
“Clarissa Spencer, always a wet blanket,” Zack muttered. But he looked scared.
He motioned to his buddy, who reluctantly released Parker.
“Hey, we’re missing the fight!” one of the guys behind them bellowed.
Clarissa turned and looked to where the brawl had been taking place. Sure enough, it was over. In fact, the two men had disappeared. She exchanged a look with Parker. Then, wordlessly, the two hurried back to the street.
“Over there!” Clarissa exclaimed when she saw a tall, costumed man running toward the park. It was none other than the grim reaper himself – well, the guy in the grim reaper costume, anyway. He appeared to be alone and he appeared to be in a hurry.
She and Parker took chase, but he disappeared into the shadows.
“Huh, so much for that,” Clarissa said, huffing and puffing. “I hope he’s okay.”
“Me too,” Parker agreed. “It looked like he was taking quite the beating.”
“He wasn’t limping or anything,” Clarissa observed. “Maybe it looked worse than it was?” she suggested hopefully. “The way they were going at it, I was sure there would be broken bones and concussions.”
“It was a nasty fight. But you’re right – judging by the way he was running, I’d say he isn’t too injured. But whoever that guy is, I bet he’ll be sore tomorrow,” Parker predicted. “He took some hard hits. And some dirty ones,” he added angrily.
“I don’t know why people have to be that way,” Clarissa complained.
“Yeah, tell me about it. Good job threatening that idiot back there, by the way.” Parker grinned.
“I rescued you,” she informed him.
“You did,” he agreed. “You’re my hero!” he joked.
“Don’t you forget it,” she laughed, comically flexing her muscles.
“So you’re a wet blanket, huh?” Parker couldn’t resist asking.
“According to that waste of space – whose opinion I would take with a grain of salt. I went to high school with him,” Clarissa explained. “Zack was a brainless bully then and it appears he’s a brainless bully now.”
“That was the impression I got,” Parker laughed. “What do you say we head back to the party?”
“Sounds good to me,” Clarissa agreed.
She and Parker walked side by side toward Liana’s house.
They were so close that their fingers nearly brushed. Clarissa briefly contemplated whether she should take Parker’s hand, but after the kissing faux pas in the upstairs hallway she was feeling rather timid. Instead, she simply enjoyed the comfortable silence that had come over them.
“What’s that?” Parker asked suddenly.
Clarissa peered into the darkness. She saw a figure lying on the grass. “Is it a Halloween decoration?” she wondered, stepping closer. Then her heart sank. It was the guy who had been in the fight – the one who had been fighting dirty!
She hurried over, as did Parker.
“Hello?” Clarissa called out. “Are you alright?”
There was no response.
When she got clos
er, she saw the man was facedown in a small pond.
“We’re too late. He’s gone,” Parker said after checking for a pulse.
“He’s dead?” she asked in disbelief.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Do you think this could be an accident?” Clarissa asked him, her eyes wide. “Or could it have been self-defence, maybe? The other guy was getting beaten up pretty badly when we last saw him,” she reasoned.
“It doesn’t look like it an accident and if it was self-defence it went way too far,” Parker replied stoically, still crouched down over the dead man. He looked up at Clarissa with a grim expression on his face. “I think this was intentional. It has to have been intentional.”
He pointed toward the man’s hands. That was when Clarissa saw they had been tied behind his back with a lasso. She gasped in shock, unable to believe the man had been drowned on purpose. But the evidence was right there in front of them.
“Somebody meant to kill him!” she exclaimed in horror.
Parker nodded grimly. “I think you’re right. I’ll call the police.”
Swallowing hard, Clarissa bent down and lifted up the man’s gorilla mask. She braced herself to see somebody she recognized – Sugarcomb Lake was a small place and it was her hometown, so chances were it would be someone she knew.
She let out the breath she had been holding when she realized she didn’t recognize the man. His death was, of course, still horrible and tragic. But even so, the fact that it wasn’t a familiar face under that mask was a relief.
October 31 would never be the same again.
Liana’s Halloween parties were always epic, but usually in a fun, carefree sort of way. This year’s holiday bash was going to be memorable too, but for a very different reason. Would it permanently cast a black cloud over the annual get together? That would be a real shame.
With a sigh, Clarissa looked around. The tall, dark shadows of trees stared back at her and the cool night air was unforgiving. The street, though packed full of vehicles, seemed ghoulishly quiet. It felt like the calm before the storm.
She wrapped her arms around herself as a shiver ran up her spine.
She was standing at a crime scene. If that wasn’t surreal, she didn’t know what was. It was still hard to wrap her head around, but it was the truth. She was staring down at a dead man and his drowning hadn’t been an accident.
A Hint of Magic Page 3
