SKIN DEEP

by

AUTHOR C

Chapter 1

The Chapters

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

EPILOGUE

"Yuck, look at that."

The young girl's voice carried quite a distance in the cool autumn air. She was petite with dark hair and violet eyes. She and her best friend were walking home from school and they'd stopped at the newly opened shop on Main Street.

Her friend nodded, wrinkling up her nose. "Gross. Wonder how it was made?"

"I don't know."

"Hey, no dilly-dallying, gotta get home." The new voice belonged to the first girl's older brother. He bustled up to them, making dry leaves scatter along the sidewalk.

His friends that were with him all laughed. "Where'd you hear that, Chet?" asked Tony Prito.

"Probably from Aunt Gertrude," muttered ten-year-old Joseph Hardy. "She says stuff like that all the time."

Joe's older brother gave him a look. "Not all the time."

"Whatever."

"But look, Chet," said his sister, Iola. "Isn't it just yucky?"

The mask in the middle of the display window was life-size and the color of faded wood. The nose was squished and hooked and the mouth was twisted into a sneer. A wart with one thick black hair was on one cheek while a hideous scar that stretched from eyebrow to chin marred the other cheek.

The group of friends crowded around the large plate-glass window. Philip Cohen leaned get a glimpse of the mask. "Eww."

Joe tried to see past the display. "Hey, it's a costume shop." He nudged the person closest to him, Biff Hooper. "So that's what it is."

Biff grunted. His real name was Alan but he liked his nickname better. "Well, it could have been a sports shop. That would have been cool."

"Hey," said Callie Shaw, Iola's best friend. "Why don't we go in, check it out."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, that would be so cool. We can pick out our costumes. Halloween's only a few days away."

The close-knit group threaded their way into the dim shop. Frank, Chet and Tony were all eleven, and shared classes while Joe, Biff and Callie were ten. At nine, Iola and Phil were the youngest of the group.

Racks of costumes hung along the walls while accessories were crowded into mini displays everywhere else. A tall woman with silvery white hair and a long black dress came out of the back. She studied the children for a moment and then carefully smiled. Both Callie and Iola were the first to notice the woman's black lipstick and nail polish.

"Welcome to my parlor," said the woman in a husky voice. "I am Remy. How may I help you today?"

"We're just looking," piped up Callie, echoing what her mother always said when they'd go shopping. "Is that all right?"

"Yes, of course. Please look around. The children's costumes are this way."

The woman, Remy, led the way to the back of the shop where shorter racks held everything from full body costumes like superheroes to delicate fairy and pixie costumes with layers of satin and sheer tulle. The girls, of course gravitated immediately to the princesses and fairies while the guys looked through the extensive collection.

Joe held up a floppy hat. "Hey, it's a pirate hat and this is the costume. That would be so cool."

Tony laughed and nodded. He held up a Spiderman costume. "Hey, what about this?"

Frank carefully set his book bag on the floor as he spotted something interesting. It was a long coat in a kind of zig-zag check, brown and white. Hooked on the hanger was a deer-stalker cap. He blinked, realizing what it was. "Sherlock Holmes..."

Chet pointed to one rack. "Hey, look, football uniforms from different teams. Wow."

A chime sounded from the back of the shop where the woman had disappeared to. Guiltily, all the children froze. "Um, what time is it?" asked Chet.

"It is three-thirty-three," said Remy, suddenly reappearing. "I do not close until six."

Frank found it odd how she'd given the exact time. Most people would have just said three-thirty. "No, we just realized we need to get home."

"Yes, of course." The woman glanced at each of them, some still holding a part of the costume they'd liked. As she stood there, they all returned the clothes to the hangers and re-hung the costumes. "Well, please come back. I enjoy such youthful visitors."

The kids nodded and in a sudden explosion of energy, burst out of the shop and onto the sidewalk. They chattered and goofed around as they continued home. The woman stepped to the display case and gave the mask a look of hatred. When the time was right, she'd rid herself of the hideous thing once and for all.

*****

Laura Hardy stepped back along the walkway to survey her project. Orange lights dripped from the roof covering the front steps while two plastic jack-o-lanterns sat perched at either corner of the bottom step.

"Well, how's that?"

She turned to see her husband make his way carefully down the ladder. He'd hung the five-foot skeleton from the tree where the wind would blow it, startling passers-by. "Perfect."

Fenton Hardy smiled at her. "Good. So...everything's done?"

Laura nodded, delighted to have her husband home early on a Friday afternoon. She knew the boys would be glad too, to come home and find him back from his trip. "The boys will be excited to see you. They've missed you."

There was no censure in her tone but Fenton felt a moment's guilt anyway. "Good, maybe I'll take them costume shopping when they get home. Halloween's just a couple of days away."

Children's voices drifted their way and Laura, being a mother, immediately recognized her boys talking excitedly. She and Fenton moved to the end of the walkway to see the group of kids coming toward them.

Joe was busy goofing off with Biff but when he spotted his father, he made a beeline for their yard. "Dad!"

Fenton removed his arm from around Laura's shoulders just in time to grab Joe as he ran up to him. "Hey, son, had a good day at school?"

"You bet. Dad, there's this awesome costume shop downtown. Can we go?"

Fenton bit back a smile. "Maybe you should tell your mother hello first."

"Oh, hi, Mom. Dad, can we go?"

"They don't close till six. The lady said so," said Frank. "Hi, Dad."

"Yeah, but the pirate costume might be gone by then."

There was a flurry of good-byes as Biff, Tony, Phil and Callie drifted off to their own homes. Chet gave Laura a self-conscious smile. "Mom wanted to make sure you didn't mind."

"Oh, Chet, don't be silly. I told Sarah you're welcome anytime. Come on inside, I'm sure Gertrude has something to eat and drink for all you hungry ones."

Joe hung back. "Da-aaad.."

Fenton placed a hand on his youngest son's shoulder. "Patience is a good thing to have if you ever want to be a detective, son. We'll go in a little bit. Let's have a snack first."

Joe grumbled but went on inside. Fenton held back the laugh threatening to escape only until the front door slammed shut. He glanced toward the downtown area. Laura had mentioned being invited to some costume party at the country club. Maybe they could all get costumes this time.

Fenton went inside to hear Chet exclaiming over Gertrude's fudge brownies. He smiled, catching the delicious scent himself, and followed his nose to the kitchen. "Chet's right, Gertrude, your fudge brownies are wonderful."

Gertrude, a tall slender woman several years older than Fenton, let out a soft grunt and served him some brownies. "It's about time you got back. The boys were missing you."

Fenton savored a rich square of fudge brownie. He didn't resent his older sister's tone, not anymore. He understood it was her way of saying she'd worried about him. "And believe it or not, I was even missing you, sis."

She shot him a look but smiled and served everyone else seconds. Five minutes later, Joe was done with his brownies and his milk. "Now, Dad?"

Gertrude frowned. "The least you can do, Joseph, is put the dishes in the sink and go wash your face and hands. You have chocolate everywhere."

Joe groaned but did as he was told. As he left the kitchen, Frank finished up his snack and put his dishes in the sink. "Dad, there's this one costume that I saw..."

Fenton patted his older son's shoulder. "We'll take our time when we get there. Chet, Iola, do you want to come?"

Before either one could answer, a horn blew outside. Iola looked ready to cry. "I guess not, Mr. Hardy. That's our Dad."

Chet gave Gertrude a sad, sad look and the older woman immediately put some of the brownies in a container. "No more, Chester, until after dinner, though."

"Yes, Aunt Gertrude," he said, suddenly beaming.

The horn outside sounded again and Chet and Iola left. Joe came back into the kitchen and displayed his clean face and hands. "Okay. Now can we go?"

Fenton chuckled. "Now we can go."

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