So I guess you could say that Elvis had left the building.
But Scarlett and Rhett were just arriving.
Chapter 46
The foyer of Ginny and Ted Townsend’s house appeared to have about the same square footage as my entire townhome, and it was the perfect setting for Laura’s dark green velvet gown with gold trim. Several people turned to look at us as we entered, and I leaned over to Laura and whispered, “I know I look good, but this is embarrassing.”
She smiled and shook her head, then introduced me to Ginny and her husband, who approached us in their matching Marx brothers outfits. I wasn’t sure who was who, but since they both said hello, that ruled out Harpo. The four of us chatted for a few minutes before they left to greet other guests, and Laura and I wandered into a large, high-ceilinged parlor that was already crowded with everyone from Tinkerbell to Darth Vadar to Matt Dillon.
“Oh, there’s Walter,” said Laura. “I’ve got to ask him about science class yesterday. My kids told me that Mr. Williams had a real live dinosaur in his room, which I tend to doubt.”
“How about if I get us some drinks while you talk to him?” I said. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”
After Laura left, I looked around the room and spotted what looked like a portable bar that had been set up in one corner. Walking over there, I saw a thirtyish woman handing out drinks to people. She was tall, with short blonde hair, and she was wearing a long-sleeved, clingy white top, cut very low, with the word VIXEN in red and green sparkly letters across the front. The rest of her outfit consisted of a short, tight red skirt and white boots, like the old go-go boots of the sixties. All in all, it was an interesting look.
The woman herself wasn’t unattractive, but she had a sort of hard look to her. As I approached the bar, she studied me for a minute, as though sizing me up. Then she gave me a big smile and said, “The answer is, Wouldn’t it be fun to find out?”
“I beg your pardon,” I said.
“Most men,” she said, looking down at her chest, “when they meet me, the first thing they want to know is if these are real.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just asked if I could have two glasses of white wine.
“Of course,” she said. “I’m just helping Ginny and Ted for a few minutes. By the way, did you figure out my costume yet?”
“Uh, not completely,” I admitted.
“I’m Vixen,” she said, as she used the index finger of her right hand to slowly trace the sparkly letters, pausing just a little when she got to the X, the upper half of which nicely framed her considerable breasts.
“Vixen,” she repeated. “One of Santa’s reindeer, Silly. I thought about adding a little reindeer tail, back here,” and she turned slightly to give me a better view of her admittedly admirable derriere.
“Would that have been a good addition to my outfit?” she asked. “I mean, do you think you’d like that, a little tail?”
Again, I found myself unsure of the appropriate response, but I was spared the trouble of trying to come up with something that wouldn’t get me arrested when the woman said, “Oh, where are my manners? My name’s Louise. What’s yours?”
“Jeremy Barnes,” said Laura, as she suddenly appeared at my side and slipped her arm through mine. “I’m sure you remember my telling you that I’d be bringing Jeremy as my date tonight, Louise.”
“Oh,” said Louise, “and this is Jeremy. Your date.”
“Yes, indeed,” said Laura, smiling widely. “This is Jeremy.”
My identity having been firmly established for one and all, I thanked Louise for her help and made what I hoped was a graceful exit from the bar, with Laura in tow.
“So,” she said, as she sipped some of her wine, “what were you and Miss Boobs-R-Us doing over there in the corner?”
“Playing some sort of pornographic Jeopardy!, I think.”
“That sounds about right, knowing Louise.”
“She’s really a teacher?”
“School librarian,” Laura said, “and, actually, a very good one. She’s great with the kids. Fortunately, her predatory instincts don’t seem to kick in with anyone under twenty-one.”
The two of us mingled with other people for a while, and had something to eat, and we shared another glass of wine. I’m actually not that big a fan of costume parties, but I’m a gigantic fan of doing anything with Laura, so I was having a good time.
Just after I’d finished a second piece of pumpkin cheesecake, just to be polite, since our hostess had made it, my phone rang. Pulling it out, I checked the screen.
“It’s Denny,” I told Laura.
“Go ahead,” she said. “I’ll keep myself occupied over by the appetizer table. Tell Dennis I said Happy Halloween.”
I watched Laura for a minute as she walked away. Not at all a bad way to spend a minute. As she got to the other side of the room, she turned and gave me that ‘I know you were looking’ smile that made me want to run over there and hug the bejeezers out of her. Instead, I turned my attention to Denny.
“’Sup?” I asked. Denny loves it when I talk like the brothers.
“How’s the party?”
“Not bad, all things considered,” I said.
“Teachers lettin’ down their hair, are they?”
“One in particular,” I told him. “The librarian-slash-bartender. She did everything but rip my clothes off when I asked for some wine. Fortunately, Laura intervened.”
“Bet she did,” said Denny. “I’d have paid good money to see that little encounter.”
Then his tone become more serious.
“Listen,” he said, “I thought you’d want to know we found Rodney.”
“Philly?”
“Yeah. One of the detectives there called me a little
