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  "You love being scared for Halloween so much you'll love being a hostage," Tanya said.

  “I said let her go.” Heather yelled, “Now!”

  Tanya didn’t react, but something else happened. Suddenly the lights changed to the black lights. The spiders could be seen in the distance, dancing on their webs. Lucrecia fainted to the floor.

  Tanya was momentarily confused, and Heather jumped on the opportunity. She pounced forward and grabbed Tanya's sword hand. With Amy's help, the two women were able to make Tanya drop the sword overboard.

  Ryan and Captain Braxton arrived on the scene. Captain Braxton checked on Lucrecia, while Ryan helped the others with a struggling Tanya.

  “Good news and bad news,” Heather said.

  “What’s that?” asked Ryan.

  “The bad news is that the murder weapon is in the water now,” said Heather. “But the good news is that we caught the killer red-handed. She was willing to commit a second murder to make her getaway.”

  “What did she do to Lucrecia?” Captain Braxton asked.

  “Actually, that was Jamie,” said Heather. “I told him to turn on the dancing spiders when the time was right. It caused Lucrecia to faint and gave us the chance to disarm her.”

  “Tanya, we’re going to hold you in our custody until we reach the shore and you can be officially arrested by the police,” said Ryan.

  “It should only be about ten minutes from now,” said Captain Braxton.

  “Good,” said Amy. “Now I’ve had enough of these tricks. I want more treats.”

  Treats

  After all the chaos of the cruise, Halloween day turned out to be relatively peaceful. Donut Delights sold plenty of Pumpkin Donuts, and Heather had prepared wrapped donut holes to hand out to trick-or-treaters, as well as some traditional candy.

  That morning the friends had all gone to a Halloween parade and had enjoyed the sights. There had been floats and fanatical costumes. Heather was happy to lean back and enjoy the show with her friends and family.

  Eva and Leila had even said the parade had given them some inspiration for their costumes. Combined with the advice Lilly had given them when they babysat, they were sure they would have one-of-a-kind costumes.

  “Lilly, are you all ready?” Heather called.

  “Tada!” Lilly said, entering the living room. “Or should I say roar?”

  “You look wonderful,” Heather said. “Just like an Apatosaurus.”

  “Well, my mom helped me make it,” said Lilly. “And she’s pretty awesome.”

  Lilly started lumbering around the room in her dinosaur costume. Two dinosaur legs were connected to her waist, along with a tail. Her torso acted as the Apatosaurus long neck, and she had a special hat to give her the properly shaped head. They weren't sure what color a dinosaur should actually be, so they selected pink as the color.

  Heather heard someone at the door and let Eva and Leila inside.

  “Careful,” Leila said. “There seems to be a dinosaur on the loose.”

  “You look just like a dinosaur, dear,” Eva said. “It’s the perfect costume for you.”

  “Thank you,” said Lilly. “I like yours a lot too. But, um, what are you?”

  Eva and Leila broke into giggles.

  “We decided to be something silly like Amy and Jamie were,” said Leila.

  "And after seeing the parade with all their floats and you telling us to choose something important to us, we decided that maybe we should represent Texas," said Eva.

  “So, we are Texas Tea,” announced Leila.

  Heather and Lilly joined in the laughter after they understood the costume. The two women wore dresses that were reminiscent of teacups and had attached handles to themselves.

  “All we need is a giant spoon,” said Eva.

  “A giant spoon?” Amy asked, poking her head inside the door. She and Jamie joined the group, dressed up as the rainy cat and dog again. “I hope it’s to go with some giant food. Maybe some giant donuts?”

  “You don’t want to ruin your appetite,” Heather said. “We’re about to gain a ton of candy from our trick or treating.”

  “I know,” said Amy. “But I think I’d still prefer the Pumpkin Donuts.”

  “Me too,” Eva confessed.

  “Fine,” Heather said. “We can have some donuts. But don’t eat everything. I’m going to need some treats to give away.”

  Her friends didn’t need the offer repeated. They all grabbed a donut snack. Dave and Cupcake joined them in the room, convinced that if those in the dog and cat costume could have a donut, then they were entitled to them too.

  “After this snack, are we all set to go trick or treating?” Eva asked.

  "We're just waiting for Ryan," said Heather. "He said he had to get something from the store. I'm guessing it's more candy. He was preparing for you all to come and converge on my donuts."

  “Can you blame us?” Amy asked.

  Heather laughed.

  "I do have a question for you," Amy said after she had finished her sweet pumpkin pastry. "What's with you get up?"

  “It’s my new costume,” Heather said.

  “You’re not Sherlock anymore?” Jamie asked.

  “No,” Heather said. “Today I’m the Watson to Ryan’s Sherlock. I have my new suit and tie, and my cane and a doctor’s bag.”

  "I like it," Amy said. "But to me, you're always the master detective."

  "And you two decided to stick with your costumes?" Heather asked.

  "We have to now that we're award-winning," Jamie said. "Captain Braxton still found time to award his favorite costume at the end of the night."

  "To be fair, we were the only ones who weren't in a repeating costume," said Amy.

  "No. I think he liked it for its own merit," said Jamie. "We're the cat's meow."

  They heard the door opening and Dave’s happy barks.

  “Ryan must be home,” Heather said. “Are we all ready to get our treats?”

  “Yes,” said Amy. “But no more tricks.”

  “I don’t think you’re going to get what you're asking for,” Jamie said quietly as Ryan entered the room.

  “Sorry if I’m late,” Ryan said. “I know trick-or-treating is very important, but I wanted to make sure that my new costume was perfect. And now I have a doctor’s bag for my Dr. Watson costume.”

  “You’re Dr. Watson?” Heather asked.

  “You’re Dr. Watson too?” Ryan said.

  They both started laughing.

  “We’re going to have to improve our costume coordinating,” Ryan said.

  “No shoot, Sherlock,” Heather said.

  They all laughed.

  “Should one of us change?” Ryan asked.

  “I think it’s all right,” said Heather. “We can both be Sherlocks and Watsons. And I wouldn’t want Lilly to miss any candy time. Not when she has such a great costume.”

  “Roar,” said Lilly.

  “Let’s get going then,” said Ryan. “Follow the dinosaur.”

  The friends followed Lilly out, ready to help her collect her candy. It was a wonderful evening, and Amy’s wish came true. It was only full of treats.

  Also by Susan Gillard

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  To each and every one of my Amazing readers,

  I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Let me know what you think by clicking here and leaving a review!

  Stay Curious,

  Susan Gillard

  About the Author

  Susan Gillard is a lover of all things mysterious. She grew up in Kansas City, Missouri where her love of murder mystery novels grew.

  Now she travels the country in search of the best baked goods and engaging with the locals who often become the inspiration for her wacky characters

  Get In touch with Susan

  suangillard.comr />
  [email protected]

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