All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt by Rose Pressey

the other item. It was a jewelry box.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Charlotte asked, standing on tiptoes to peer over my shoulder.
    I opened the little black velvet box. The diamond ring was huge and sparkled more than I remembered. I’d seen the ring before, when it had been on Nicole’s finger. At least I was pretty sure it was her engagement ring.
    How had Preston gotten it back? Had she given it back during their fight? Had they broken up? Preston didn’t mention it today. He had acted as if their engagement was still on when she’d been killed. Now that I had seen what was in the bag, I didn’t know what to do with it. It contained the expensive ring, so I couldn’t just put it back on the sidewalk next to the Mercedes.
    â€œWhat do I do with it?” I asked.
    â€œSee if the car is unlocked,” Charlotte said.
    â€œIt probably has an alarm.” I walked over to the vehicle and peered in.
    I couldn’t tell if the doors were locked unless I tried to open one. I doubted that the man would leave the car unlocked. Sugar Creek seemed like a safe town until dead bodies started showing up. With my adrenaline high, I reached out and grabbed the handle. When I pulled the door, it opened and no alarm sounded. Whew.
    â€œThat was a touchy situation,” Alice said.
    â€œYou’re telling me.”
    I tossed the bag onto the seat and slammed the door shut. I couldn’t believe Preston had been so careless with the ring. At least it was out of my hands now. Maybe I should have told him I’d found it and that his car was unlocked. Then again, I didn’t want him to think I was a celebrity stalker. I’d just leave it where it was.
    â€œNow we know that he doesn’t really care about that ring,” Charlotte said.
    â€œThat’s true, or he would have taken better care of it,” Alice added.
    I thought back about meeting Nicole. She’d briefly stopped in the store with several other women the other day. One woman—I thought—was her agent, and the other was an assistant. I’d sold Nicole a Dior floor-length blue dress from the seventies that she said she might wear to the premiere of Moonlight and Magnolias. I’d been excited because that would have been great publicity for the shop. I wished I’d asked her more questions when I’d had the chance, but I hadn’t wanted to bother her. I had wanted her experience in my shop to be a pleasant one so that she could tell others how much she liked it.
    I slipped into my store and tucked my purse behind the counter. The ghosts walked in as though they owned the place.
    â€œThey were fighting,” Alice said.
    â€œWell, we already know that,” I said as I turned on my computer.
    â€œThat just means he had the motive. I wonder why the police haven’t arrested him already.”
    I straightened a pink Suzy Perette silk gown on its hanger. “I suppose they have their reasons.”
    Charlotte moved toward the front of the shop. “I suggest you find out what those reasons are.” She waved and disappeared out the front door.
    â€œYes, that’s exactly it. You have to call the handsome detective and ask him.” Alice tapped her finger against the counter.
    After flipping the sign to OPEN , I worked on changing the dress on the mannequin in the window. I’d decided on a summer picnic theme in both display areas. This one would be from the fifties and the other window would be from the seventies. My mother had found a pristine condition vintage wicker picnic basket, so I placed it in the window with a red-and-white checkered tablecloth. I also placed small bottles of Coca-Cola next to the basket. I dressed one of the mannequins in red-and-white-checked high-waist cotton capri pants with a white halter that had tiny red flower buttons on the front. The other mannequin wore a handmade blue-and-white polka-dot dress. The neck and hem had red ricrac trim.
    Wind