Page 2 of Unhallowed Murder (A Paranormal Halloween #2)
Chapter Two
Ronnie stood in front of the mirror, hands on her hips, and blew out a breath. “I can’t believe I let ya’ll talk me into this.”
“At least you have the figure to pull it off,” said Mandy. “I’m over here showing every damned curve I have.”
Ronnie turned and pulled her friend into a hug. “You’re beautiful just as you are, and don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.”
The five women had been close friends since high school, and while some of them had drifted away right after getting married, or while their kids were babies, everyone had been able to make it tonight. Amy had made their Power Ranger costumes from unitards, which — as Mandy said — hid nothing .
Only two of the five didn’t have children, and Ronnie was happy to be an honorary aunt to her friends’ kids, but had no desire to become a mom. Her career was her life, and if her friends didn’t practically demand she spend time with them, it might’ve become all of her life.
Getting ready together was part of the fun of these nights, and Amy’s kids were with her ex-husband, so they were using her house for the pre-party.
The women talked about kids, boyfriends, husbands, sex toys, and a book about to come out from their favorite author.
Ronnie was happy she’d come, and she relaxed into the energy of the group.
It was nice to step away from talk of homicide.
The dead would be waiting for her tomorrow.
But she’d made enemies in her line of work, and that meant she rarely went anywhere unarmed. No one said a word when she looped her cross-body mini-purse over her shoulder and situated the bag at her hip. At least she’d brought her deep blue one that closely matched the blue Power Ranger color.
The evening was cool, but Ronnie was fine in the long-sleeved unitard. Her human friends brought jackets in case they needed them, but didn’t intend to wear them.
The Haunted Corn Maze was a madhouse of kids and adults, with most everyone in costume. Ronnie immediately identified it as a security nightmare, but tried to ignore those thoughts so she could have fun. The cop in her was always watching though, as was her inner tiger.
They rode the haunted hayride first, and screamed when the guy ran after them with the chainsaw — which she assumed didn’t have a chain on it. They ducked when the giant spider dove at their heads and barely missed, and just all around had fun reacting to everything the ride tossed at them.
The group stopped by the restroom when they got off the hayride, and made their way to the refreshment area.
Ronnie’s cheeks tingled from the chilly night air, and hot chocolate would hit the spot.
Mandy bought a funnel cake and insisted they all help eat it — and Ronnie happily took her up on the offer and then bought another to share.
Shapeshifters need a lot more calories than humans, and her friends were always jealous that she could eat whatever she wanted and stay skinny.
In truth, the tiger wasn’t a fan of the sugary snack, but she wasn’t going to buy a burger right then.
Amy looked longingly at the plate, and Ronnie pushed it closer to her friend. “We’re going to need our strength to walk through the haunted maze — you can afford a few calories!”
“I got hot cider instead of hot chocolate.” Amy scrunched her nose. “I don’t think they’ll go together.”
She probably had a point. “Do ya’ll want to walk through the arts-and-crafts section? Or go straight to the maze?”
“Let’s do that last, in case we want to buy something,” said Amy. “I’m hoping the woman with those beautiful quilts is back, but no way do I want to carry a heavy blanket through the maze. ”
Fifteen minutes later, they rounded the huge barn to head to the maze, and Ronnie caught a hint of something.
Something dead.
The closer they got to the maze’s entrance, the stronger the scent. She doubted any human smelled it, but it was impossible for her to ignore.
They neared a zombie diorama set up on a hillside, and Ronnie zeroed in on the smell.
One of the fake zombies was a dead woman, but she couldn’t go traipsing past the phony crime scene tape to investigate without a good reason.
She turned and scanned the crowd, took a deep breath… and smelled vampires.