Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
FLETCHER
I doubt Sweetspire’s tiny costume shop has seen this much business in years. When I tell the little old man behind the counter I need thirteen costumes, his eyes all but fall out of his head. He doesn’t have enough to match the theme, so I take the eight he has and figure we can pick and choose a few pieces for everyone and get creative with the rest.
Casey tears into one of the bags the moment we’re in the truck and slips the eye patch on. He whips toward me with a hooked finger. “Aaarrgggg!”
“Don’t forget the pet monkey.”
He slips that over his shoulder next. “Are you going to be a pirate too?” he asks.
“I don’t know.” I start the car and throw a hand over the back of the passenger seat as I reverse out of the parking lot.
Casey and I got the idea for a costume party while we were browsing for games, but it was Jacks who suggested we make it one of those whodunit murder mystery parties instead.
A few minutes of internet searches later, I found a script to print with a list of characters and instructions on how to host. Murder among the Mateys it’s called, so they’re all pirate themed. Casey’s clearly vying for the pirate captain.
“I figured I’d let everyone else pick their characters and I’d take whatever was left,” I add. “Who do you think we should save for your mom?”
He sifts through the costumes in the seat beside him and I see him pull up the big dress in the rearview mirror.
“That’s for the governor’s wife. Kind of boring. Chris needs something more badass than that.”
Casey’s eyes go wide, and it takes me a moment too long to realize what I said.
“Sorry!” I whip around as we pull up to a stop sign. “Don’t tell your mom I said that.”
Casey covers his mouth with his hand and giggles.
“And if you repeat that, you did not hear that from me, right?” I say as I turn and pull forward.
He salutes me in the rearview mirror, and I smirk. He must’ve picked that up from Liam.
“I’m thinking we should make her the innkeeper.”
“What’s an innkeeper?”
I flip the blinker on as we pull into Chris’s neighborhood. “Someone who runs an inn—it’s like a hotel.”
Casey screws up his face in a way that’s also eerily similar to Liam.
“Hey, hey, I wasn’t done. The innkeeper is a cool character because she’s also secretly a vigilante.”
“What’s a vig-il-ante?”
I smile as he struggles to pronounce it.
Luckily, there are several cars outside the house when I pull up. I knew Liam would already be here, but didn’t have a ton of faith in Leo’s punctuality. And we have only so much time to set up.
“Uh, it’s someone who fights crime. But not like a police officer. They take matters into their own hands. Kind of like a secret superhero.”
Casey ooo s. “Mom would be a good superhero.”
God, I wish Chris were here to hear that.
“Look!” Casey squeals, pointing.
I squint through the windshield, and sure enough, the decorating crew has gotten started. A wooden sign hangs from the door with a skull and crossbones and the words Enter at Yer Own Risk in black paint. Beside the door hangs a tattered pirate flag, along with a cheap Halloween skeleton “door man” with an eyepatch, a pirate hat, and a lantern.
I stare at it for a second, then scan the surrounding cars. There is no way this is Liam’s or Leo’s doing, and Gracie’s busy occupying Chris right now, so then who…? I do a double take when I reach the car parked along the curb across the street.
Casey’s already climbing out of the car, trying to carry the twenty pounds of costume pieces himself even though the load is bigger than he is.
“Here, bud.” I throw the larger garment bags over my forearm and the strap for the bags over my shoulder. Once I have a free hand, Casey links his fingers through mine and starts pulling me to the door. I smirk when I realize he’s still wearing the eye patch and monkey.
“Let’s go !”
The front door is unlocked, and Casey bursts through it first, eyes bright.
“Oh my God,” I breathe.
If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought Christine did this herself.
There must be a speaker somewhere—the kitchen, if I had to guess—playing a soundtrack of creaking wood, crashing waves, and slightly eerie nautical music. It even smells like we’re in the middle of the ocean—a mix of salt water, wood, and…is that vanilla? How are they doing that?
Everything from the hall to the living room to the kitchen is loaded with decorations. Fish nets, thick ropes, and loose woven fabrics are draped over the furniture, and lines of candles waiting to be lit cover every hard surface. Some random pieces are added here and there on the floor and walls—a starfish, a treasure chest overflowing with plastic gold coins, a parchment scroll.
Mom’s head pokes into the hall from the kitchen. “Oh good, you’re back! I could use some help in here!”
I blink at her, stunned. “Mom?”
Casey hesitates and looks up at me. “That’s your mom?”
“I still have a few more clue stations to set up, and I could use an extra set of hands for the food!” Mom calls.
“Hey, Case!” Liam appears at the top of the stairs with a wide grin.
“Liam!”
Li jogs down, arms full of scraps of paper and bottles of fake blood. “Your parents have been a lifesaver .”
As he says it, the back door to the kitchen swings open, and Dad steps in, dusting off his hands. “Done!” he announces.
What is going on?
Liam turns to Casey. “You want to help me hide some treasure?”
“ Yes. ”
“Don’t spoil the whole game for him,” I whisper.
Liam waves me off. “I know.”
The two of them disappear upstairs as I set the costumes on the living room couch and make my way to the kitchen. The table is covered in plastic goblets, rustic silverware, and mini signs with cheesy names on them—Dead Man’s Fingers, Shark Bait, Seaweed Dip . The room is warm, like the oven’s on.
“Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?”
Mom waves me off. “Oh, don’t worry. We’re not sticking around for the party. But we thought you might need some help setting up.”
I’d only mentioned the party in passing, mainly to explain why I couldn’t help Dad with the house today. “How did you…?”
She shrugs unapologetically. “I happened to run into Liam the other day, and he mentioned what a big undertaking it was going to be…”
I cross my arms, unable to hold back my smirk. “Oh, you just ran into him, huh?”
“Well, go on, take a look around,” says Dad. “Tell us what’s missing. Give me a new job.” He rubs his palms together. “I’m ready.”
Casey’s laughter echoes from somewhere upstairs, and Mom hands Dad another box full of decorations. “By the fireplace,” she instructs, then he’s off again.
“Have you already assigned everyone a character?” she asks.
“Loosely,” I mumble.
Her hand shoots out. “Which in Fletcher language means not at all.”
I dig the instructions from my pocket and hand it over. “You really don’t have to do all this.”
She pulls out a kitchen chair, plucks a pen from behind her ear, and waves for me to join her. When I do, she finally slows down for a moment, and her eyes meet mine.
“I like her.” Her soft smile is gone just as fast, replaced by a stern expression as she clicks her pen and smooths out the paper in front of her. “So don’t screw it up.”
I smirk and lean forward so I can see the names too. “I’ll try not to.”
“Shh! Everybody, get down!” I let the curtain fall back into place and hurry away from the front door as Gracie’s car pulls into the driveway. I crouch behind the couch with Liam and Casey, the others tucked behind the walls in the kitchen.
“What is that ?” comes Christine’s muffled voice through the door.
I ended up with the treasure hunter character—leaving me in a ridiculous loose shirt with no neckline to speak of, a leather vest, fingerless gloves, and a thick belt full of loops and pouches. The absurd amount of fake leather packed into my costume squeaks with my every movement, and Casey whips around to hold a finger to his lips.
The security system beeps as the door opens, and the moment the light flips on, we all jump out and shout “Aaarrrggg”—per Casey’s request.
Chris grabs Gracie’s shoulder to steady herself.
“Happy birthday!” Casey darts forward and throws his arms around his mom’s waist.
“Thank you!” She grins and squats down to inspect his costume. Her head cocks as she lifts the stuffed monkey’s tail. “Was this your idea?”
“It was Fletcher’s. But I helped!”
Her eyes find me next, and my lungs fill with air, like it’s the first breath I’ve taken all day. Her eyebrows skyrocket as she takes in my outfit. “Pirates?”
“Aaarrgg!” Casey raises his plastic hook. “There’s been a murder on the ship!”
Her jaw drops open in fake shock. “A murder ?”
“The murder mystery part was Jacks’s idea,” I say.
Chris rises to her feet, her lips curled in a smile that crinkles her eyes now, and she’s fucking breathtaking. I drift a few steps closer, and I don’t care that everyone is looking at us right now—don’t care about anything else at all other than this need to be close to her.
“Happy birthday,” I say, but before I can kiss her, Gracie tugs Chris back a step.
“Save it, lovebirds! Our costumes are upstairs, and we have a murder to solve!”
Chris presses her lips together and gives me a bemused smile over her shoulder as she follows Gracie upstairs. My eyes stay locked on her until she disappears around the corner, then a hand claps me on the back.
Leo flashes his crinkled-eye grin as he glances from me to the now-empty staircase. “You gonna wait here all night?”
I blink back to the surrounding room—everyone else has already ventured to the kitchen for snacks and drinks.
I cough and look Leo up and down. “Who are you supposed to be again?”
He stands a little taller and straightens his ridiculous ruffled cravat. The suit itself is long and fitted—and velvet . “You can call me Your Highness.”
The monarch, right.
“If you need to head out of here early, don’t worry about it, all right?” I murmur.
He gives me a tired smile, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes. Last I heard, he was taking all the night shifts, and it’s starting to show. I was surprised he showed up at all, to be honest. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen him this summer. I knew getting Keava here, too, would be a stretch with a two-month-old at home.
“How are Keava and Rowan?”
“Oh, good. They’re on the rocker in the nursery.”
I lift an eyebrow.
His smile turns a little sheepish as he holds up his phone. “There’s an app that connects to the cameras in there.”
“What are you two gossiping about?” Liam appears on my other side, double-fisting the punch my mom made—The Captain’s Poison, I think she named it.
“I cannot take you seriously with that thing on,” Leo deadpans.
Liam ended up with the commodore character, so his outfit isn’t that different than Leo’s. Apart from, of course, the pointed hat with a giant white feather.
He grins and offers one of the drinks to me. “I think I’m going to keep it.”
I take a sip, expecting something like root beer, and sputter at the fire that immediately rages down my throat. Liam discreetly flashes the flask in his breast pocket, then pats it twice and pops his eyebrows.
Laughter echoes through the house as Casey chases Erin out the back door with a plastic sword.
Leo clears his throat and nudges me with his elbow. My head snaps back to the stairs. Gracie appears first, dressed as the governor’s daughter in a gigantic hoop skirt. Liam beams when he sees her and slips past us to wait for her at the foot of the stairs.
“Nice hat,” she says as she reaches him.
“Nice corset.” He offers his arm. “If you need help getting that off later, just let me know.” He lowers his voice as he says it, but not enough.
Leo chokes next to me, his complexion going red as he looks from his sister to Liam. Before Leo can get any words out, Liam grimaces and whisks Gracie toward the kitchen.
But my attention is locked on the stairs. Time slows as Christine rounds the corner. She bunches the layers of her skirt in her hand as she heads down, and her soft blond curls bounce around her shoulders with each step. She catches my eye and gives me one of those coy little smirks of hers.
“Do you like it?”
She has a corset like Gracie, though hers is covered in thick leather buckles that match the tool belt hung low on her hips. It’s layered over an off-white blouse with puffy sleeves and strings cinching it together at the neckline. Despite my best efforts, I can’t help but stare.
Role-play has never been my thing in the past, but this…this is making me question things about myself.
“You have to stop looking at me like that,” she says lowly.
“Believe me, I’m trying.”
“Help! Help!”
A chorus of screams breaks out in the living room. Christine hooks her arm through mine as we hurry to join them.
In the center of the room lies Jacks, a mess of fake blood covering her throat.
“Arrrg!” cries Casey. “There’s been a murder on the ship!”