Books And Covers Thereof (1.18)

>Kitty: COSTUMES COSTUMES COSTUMES you love costumes and it shouldn’t be scary or embarrassing!

>Kitty: Suggest that you help with costumes. Pam and the officer can find the invitation. Mindy can search the day job.

“I’d like to do costumes!” says Kitty, immediately. Every turns to look at her.


“Costumes!” shouts Annie.


“Costumes!”


“Costumes!”


They both high five.


“That answers one question,” says Pamela. “There’s a costume shop just down the street. You should have no trouble there.”


“I need everyone’s sizes!” proclaims Annie. “And I have no trouble invading your personal space to find out!”


“She’s not lying,” says Kitty.


Against a background of suddenly frantic scribbling, Pamela continues talking. “I believe Mindy and Kiplin should handle Dante Ilucis’ day job. I will take care of the invitation.”


“You want me to go to his job?”


“Is that a problem?”


Mindy grinned. “Not at all.”

*     *     *

“Hey, barkeep,” says Pamela, sitting in front of the bartender.


“What’s up?” she asks.


“Do you have an invitation to the party?”


“Duh,” says Meb Faust.


“Right. Were you planning on going?”


“Nope.”


“May we have your invitation, please?”


Meb considers this for an entire, agonizing minute.


“Nope.”


“What? Why not?”


“Because.”


Pamela stares straight ahead.


She slams her head on the bar.


“Ugh.”

*     *     *

>Be Officer Kiplin

Ilucis Auto-Repair And Robo-Shop stands only a short distance away from the bar. It is a large, rectangular building with two large garage doors, revealing a small group of people crowded around someone’s sports car.


Mindy and Kiplin are inside the front office now, waiting at the desk. Mindy rings the bell.


“Let me do the talking,” says Mindy. “They know me here.”


A woman wearing a white shirt with overalls, her black hair tied up in a bun and covered in grease, pokes her head in through the back door. She looks a Mindy.


Mindy waves.


“Hey! Remember me?”


“Boss isn’t here,” says the woman flatly, and slams the door shut.


Kiplin slowly looks at Mindy.


“What?” asks Mindy. Kiplin rolls her eyes, vaults over the counter, pulls out her badge, and kicks the door open. She runs in, flashing it at the gaggle of confused mechanics.


“”Did Dante die?” asks a woman in jean short shorts.


“No,” responds Kiplin. “But we’re looking for him-”


Kiplin is rather nonplussed to discover that all of the mechanics have gone back to working.


The overall-clad woman storms up to Mindy and Kiplin. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever it is, we’re very busy and we’d appreciate it if you would just get it over with and leave. All right? Dante’s office is in back, our newest hire is miss ‘Oreo’ in the short pants over there, Andrej in back probably hates our boss, and if this is some kinda murder investigation the boss is a die-hard pacifist so the most you’re gonna get on him is accidental manslaughter or negligence.” The woman blows a large pink bubble from her mouth, pops it, and then walks off.


Mindy and Kiplin glanced at each other, and then ran to the office door, Kiplin literally punching it open. Mindy shuts it behind them as Kiplin flips the lights on.


It’s a small but cushy office, soundproof and safe away from the hubbub of the garage outside. Air conditioned, too. A large mahogany wood desk dominates the area, with a television in the corner. There’s no computer visible, but the top of the desk has a variety of what are probably family photos. On one wall is a calendar. A disrobed woman appears to be attending to a car engine on it.


Behind the desk lurks a picture of Dante Ilucis himself, as noted by the plaque underneath it. He’s wearing a finely pressed suit, arms folded. A small amount of make-up appears to have been applied to his face at some point, culminating in an accentuating green on top of his eyelids, bringing out his also-green eyes.


Mindy flops in the chair before Kiplin can say anything.


“Ahhhhhh,” she says, putting her arms behind her head.


“What are ye doin’?”


“Sinking into his well-worn butt prints, presently. It’s magical.” Mindy opens up the desk drawers and begins searching through them at high speed as Kiplin moves around to look at the photos.


“...Why does he have two photos of himself in dresses?”


“Those are his sisters.”


“Oh.”


There are, indeed, two photos of woman strikingly similar to Dante aside from a few obvious areas. Olive skin, green eyes, dark hair. One of them is nearly identical. The other seems to be nearing the end of her teenage years. A third photo is of a young girl with similar features but shorter hair, around the age of twelve.


“I’m not finding anything so far,” mumbles Mindy. “But he’s probably got a key in here somewhere. You know, to his apartment? He tends to keep spares of things.”


“Ye know that?”


“I know a lot.” Mindy chuckles. “Oooh, here we go!” She pulls a key out from a stack of important looking papers, waving it triumphantly. “Little genius can’t even hide a key from me properly. Can you believe that?”


“I guess?


“Don’t think he left an invitation here, though.”


“Great.”


“Why don’t you wait outside? I want to do something stupid while I’m here.”


“...Okay.”

*     *     *

“Do you think we bought too many costumes?” asks Kitty.


They had to smash several tables together, such was the volume of costume bits that presently lay in front of them. Masks, hats, dresses, shoes, and other assorted, frequently animal themed costume pieces were piled together.


“Nah,” says Annie. Judging from the look on the shop owner’s face as they left, it had been the best day of his life.


At the bar, Pamela continued to try and argue with Meb.


“Could we just borrow it for five minutes?”


“Nope.”


“...Could we pay y-”


“Nope.”


Pamela slams her head down again.


“So,” says Kitty, impressively resisting the urge to leap out of her chair at the noise. “We should probably figure out what everyone is wearing.”


“We should, yes.”


“Yes.”


“Yep!”


“Yeah.”