Death of a Pumpkin Carver by Lee Hollis Read Free Book Online Page A

warmly.
    â€œSee! I knew you’d come up with something great!” Liddy said.
    Hayley did a double take.
    Liddy was virtually unrecognizable in a strapless minidress with a sweetheart neckline corset top and a gold overskirt with lace trim and panniers and hoops that gave the dress the classic baroque look of full exaggerated hips. Her legs were covered with suggestive white lace thigh highs and she also wore a sky-high powdered white wig and carried an elegant feathered eye mask.
    Liddy had obviously embraced the whole “Sexy Marie Antoinette” costume.
    It was a getup fit for a queen.
    Sonny’s costume was almost as impressive. He was dressed as a pirate in a revealing black lace-up shirt that accentuated his smooth barrel chest, a black pirate captain hat, eye patch, billowy black pants, leather boots, and a deluxe seventeen-inch pirate cutlass.
    â€œYou two look fantastic!” Hayley said, feeling as if her last-minute thrown-together Princess Leia costume was uninspired.
    â€œI know! I’ve been searching for the perfect costume for months! Ever since I saw that Sofia Coppola movie about Marie Antoinette on Netflix I’ve been dying to get just the right look,” Liddy said. “And when Sonny showed up at my door dressed as a pirate I nearly fainted.”
    â€œHer favorite sex fantasy is being captured by a pirate so I already had everything in my closet,” Sonny said.
    â€œNot in front of the child, Sonny!”
    Dustin, who was lounging on the couch with Leroy and Blueberry sleeping next to him while watching a Vin Diesel movie, suddenly realized and burst out laughing. “Me! She’s talking about me!”
    â€œHe’s almost sixteen, Liddy, I think he can handle it,” Hayley said.
    â€œDoesn’t your mother look great, Dustin?” Liddy asked, trying to get Hayley excited about going to the party.
    â€œI like the ray gun,” he said giving her a quick once-over before turning his attention back to his movie.
    â€œThat’s because it’s his,” Hayley said to Liddy and Sonny before turning back to Dustin. “Don’t give Leroy and Blueberry any more snacks. They’re getting too fat. Have a good night. I’ll be home early.”
    â€œNot if we have anything to say about it,” Liddy said. “You need to get your mind off you know who.”
    â€œWho?” Hayley asked.
    â€œDad,” Dustin said, petting the top of Leroy’s head absentmindedly. “She’s talking about Dad.”
    â€œWhere is he tonight anyway?” Hayley asked, disappointed he was in Bar Harbor and not spending every free moment with his kids.
    â€œHe said he had plans. We’re going to get together tomorrow night. Bye. Have fun,” Dustin said, not taking his eyes off the TV.
    After leaving the house, it took ten minutes for Liddy to climb in the back of Sonny’s Mercedes parked out front because of her giant, unwieldy, powdered white wig. She had to crank her head to the side in order to keep it firmly in place and not crush the top of it on the interior roof of the car. Hayley jumped in the passenger’s seat and Sonny drove them to Mary Leighton’s house on Bowles Avenue just a few minutes away.
    The party was in full swing when they arrived. A lot of guests had similar ideas. There was an abundance of Avengers and Justice League superheroes and scores of Disney characters that never seemed to go out of style. The hostess, Mary Leighton, was dressed as Maleficent complete with black horns on top of her head and over-the-top white makeup and ruby red lipstick. Music blared and half a dozen people had cleared the middle of the living room to dance to one of Taylor Swift’s hit songs while the rest of the costumed guests had to shout in order to carry on conversations.
    â€œI’ll get us some drinks,” Sonny said, making a beeline for the table with a large punch bowl and stacks of plastic