A Nightingale in Parkleigh Square

Chapter One

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N ina fastened the miniature pumpkin lights behind the orange and black garland, keeping its cord hidden from sight as the flashing jack o' lantern faces grinned in yellow on a rotating power cycle.

The two large ceramic carved pumpkins in the middle of the window scene remained lit constantly, as shadows of spooky bats and flying witches flashed over them from the mini image projector hidden behind the haunted dollhouse. But the focus point, the bulk selection of bargain Halloween candies in colorful wrappers, shone in bright neon baskets spilling artfully onto black drape fabric printed with sparkly cobwebs.

Nina stepped outside to survey it. Catching sight of her own reflection in the glass, she adjusted the cream-colored chunky necklace askew from leaning over the display’s props, her dark brown tresses flowing past her shoulders, her hands sweeping her long hair back from her face to tuck it out of the way. A smile lit up her face for the sight of the autumn window scene, ready to entice any shoppers who might be passing by, looking for seasonal treats. Perfect.

She snapped a photo, as she always did when the job was done, or, in this case, nearly so — the last part depended on if the client whose window she just dressed was happy with it.

"What do you think?"

The manager of Candy Warehouse had taken a break from restocking Halloween-themed cupcake decorations on the shop's main aisle to assess the finished window display. Nina waited for the verdict — not that the work of her company Display by Design had ever earned complaints. Candy Warehouse was a fairly easy client to please.

"Exactly what I wanted," said Tamrey. "It'll grab customers right off the streets. This is my biggest buying season now, it leaves Christmas sales in the dust, I tell you."

"I have some extra glitter cobwebs if you want some applied directly to the window's glass. Or I can change the big spider to a black widow if you don't like the neon green stripes," suggested Nina. "We aim to please, that's our rule. Sometimes the little details are the most important."

"No, it's great, it's perfect like it is, so call it done," answered Tamrey. "You're a rock star. It's even better than last year's, with the haunted graveyard Molly did. I love those paper mache Halloween ornaments you hung from the cobwebs, they look like they came from my grandma's attic."

"They might have — I found them in a box at a garage sale," laughed Nina. "Who knows, maybe they were in a trunk your grandma cleared away before she moved to Florida."

"Yeah, who knows, right?" said Tamrey. She opened a box of candy corn novelty toothpicks and began hanging the little packets from the store's display rack. "We'll be talking Easter after the holidays, right? You know I love me some white bunnies to contrast all those chocolate eggs."

"We'll brainstorm as soon as Christmas is over," promised Nina.

"Say hello to Molly for me," said Tamrey, putting up little toothpick bats now. "Tell her I have some of those marshmallow candy skulls she thought were to die for — on sale this week only."

Candy Warehouse wasn't exactly on a chic street in New York — more like a bargain district in Queens. That was where Nina's own business was located, because most of Display by Design's work was local small retailers: restaurants, home decor and gift shops, boutiques, and a local designer. Her team headquartered in a room above a local bakery, and kept their props and staging materials in a storage locker.

Behind their reception desk, which was really an old buffet top supported by two filing cabinets, their office manager Valarie was in the middle of a phone conversation, pulling at the threads on the tear in the knee of her jeans — a real one, not a fashionable one made by the denim's manufacturer. " Mi vida, Madre. Mine." She rapped her fingernails on the desk for emphasis, like rapping on a door. "What do you mean? No, it's not . Este el loco ?" She rolled her eyes. "No. No. No. "

She took notice of Nina's entrance. "Look, I have to go, Ma, one of my bosses is back. We'll talk later." She disconnected the call, and adjusted the hoop earring which was caught in a loose lock of her hair after being pinched by the phone. " Ola , bossita. Two calls, both from Paula, about whether we can do her Christmas thing in blue?"

"I thought she wanted red," said Nina, checking the design folder on her phone. "It says red and gold here. Now she's thinking blue, so we'll have to do two tones and silver, maybe some ice crystals. I'll ask Molly if we still have those frosted fake tree branches in the warehouse."

"Oh, by the way, my vacation? The thing in the Bahamas?"

"Your Christmas in the sun?" said Nina.

"Yeah, I had to change my booking at the resort, and the airline only has half price rates after New Year's, so I'm going to need to bump it to Epiphany week, if that's okay," said Valarie.

"It's not our busy season, is it?" answered Nina. "Of course, there's basically nothing for you to do here except reorganize and clean the place on your own. Even Bradley won't be here. I think he's skiing."

"No problemo. I'm penciling it in." Valarie made the mark on the office calendar. "Also, I picked up the mail already, looks like Bram sent this year's packet." She topped the stack of bills with a large white envelope, one stamped with Skyline Inspirations' corporate logo, because being one of Manhattan's premier design and staging companies it was entitled to be pretentious.

"Two weeks in Madison again?" guessed Nina. She checked the schedule for December to see who would be answering the office's phone. Below Valarie's note — Vasquez, moved to 1-8th — was the mark-through for most of Christmas week for Alvarez and Stephens — herself and Molly. Bradley was working after all.

Wilder Department Store in Madison, Wisconsin was one of the oldest department chains in the Midwest, and the Christmas window scenes of its historical flagship store had been assigned to Nina and Molly's team for the past two years, courtesy of being one of Skyline Inspirations' satellite associates. Small companies like theirs were tapped to handle staging jobs of lesser importance, particularly during the busy holiday season, when the Manhattan team's top employees would be flying off to premier assignments around the globe.

"Maybe the ski trip fell through," said Nina, putting it back on the wall. Bradley probably had a college assignment due instead. "You'll have company cleaning the utility closet."

"He could be going to Wisconsin with you two instead," suggested Val. "What's there, anyway? Cows? Cheese? Wheat fields or something?"

"Who knows? In the past two years, I've only seen the interior of Wilder's and Buckey's Diner outside of the hotel," said Nina. "We should go on a sleigh ride or go ice skating, do something fun this year after we finish. There must be scads of Christmas activities in Wisconsin. It snows there, too."

The door to the street stairs opened behind her. "You would not believe the morning I had," said Molly, as she dropped her box of props on the floor. Her jacket had a grease smear on its sleeve, and her long blonde hair, caught in a halfhearted ponytail, was sticking out at an awkward angle beneath her knitted tam, as if she had been in a struggle recently.

"What happened?" Nina and Val both spoke at once. Not a mugging , thought Nina, although those were becoming all too common in the neighborhood.

"Relax, nobody was killed. I almost was, but no big deal, right?"

"What?!" said Nina.

"So I'm coming out of the storage locker after I picked up the big tombstone props, and you know how the lock sticks, right? So I'm fumbling, I still have the back hatch to the van open, and the guy with the neighboring unit whips into the spot behind me and rear ends the van. And the whole car moves. And I'm in front of it, struggling with the lock like an idiot, and I almost get run over by my own vehicle."

They both gasped. "Molly, are you okay?" said Nina, horrified. "Are you hurt?"

"I said relax, it nudged me, and that's all. But we have a dent in the fender now, and I have a feeling the guy won't be phoning the insurance company like he said. The inside of his locker was a very sketchy-looking setup." Molly sorted through her box.

"Whoa, wait — the last guy didn't call either, who tried to parallel park in the loading zone after the big opening at Superhero Central," said Valarie. "It's like society is total animals now." She rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I got the stuff for the display at the senior home park, all except the fake fire pit, because I'm using it as my coffee table at home so I have to clear it off first," Molly continued, unpacking the oversized fake graveyard stones, which looked surprisingly realistic, and a pirate's chest made out of Styrofoam also, with tarnished brass handles. "I picked up the box with the pirate hats and swashbuckler stuff they're borrowing from the local drama group, too."

"The extra mile, way to live up to the slogan," joked Nina. "Do you want me to help drop it off? I'm finished at Candy Warehouse."

"No, I'll handle it," said Molly.

"The packet came from Skyline Inspirations," said Nina, as she checked their inventory list of props against the items in the box.

"Are they hiring us this year? Are we getting Chicago?" asked Molly, pulling off her coat. "I've been thinking with the rise in crime, some companies might pass on it, and it would make us the natural choice. We're hardened New Yorkers, right?" She unwound her scarf. "Who better?"

"Maybe the St. Louis Zoo? The company's social media page says they're expanding to stage gift shops for historic attractions," said Nina. "It's on the list. Right next to the park near the Louvre."

She wiggled her eyebrows, and Molly laughed. "Yeah, a Christmas tree for the chimpanzee house, that's us," she said.

The phone rang, and Valarie answered on the second trill. "Display by Design, windows and lobby staging — we show the magic inside to the outside world." She opened the agenda book, searching past the price index to the current bookings. "Right, I know you — Lexie from I Do Dresses. Yeah, they can stage something for New Year's, but two days before Christmas is probably the only time anybody could do it."

"Hey, this year, let's do Wilder's with an old-timey theme — I saw some motionettes of Victorian carolers for sale on eBay last night, they'd look sensational in the middle." Molly grabbed a box containing a water vapor fog maker.

"Let's see our budget size first, I don't know if Wilder's is wanting to go big this year," said Nina, searching for the letter opener in the desk supplies to open the envelope. The department store had only one large window and limited space in its main lobby — last year, they put up three trees instead of one large one, decorating them in a winter lodge theme. Would old-time sports equipment work for the window scene Molly had in mind? Hockey was big in Wisconsin, too.

The door opened again — Bradley had arrived from his latest class, still carrying his book bag. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "The library called about my interlibrary loans for the paper on French fabric, so I had to stop off."

"Glasses fog," joked Valarie, making a motion with her fingers, teasing him. He removed them and wiped the lenses. "What's the big deal with French fabrics? Shouldn't you be studying something more college-y, like math or something?"

"Not for interior design. Anyway, the community college only offers a side course in French decor, so that's what I have to take," said Bradley. "Nothing's more essential to fundamental decor than French artistry, though. I need a niche understanding if I want to use it."

"For the Valentine's Day window for Tommy's Tuxedos, right?"

"No, for my future," said Bradley. "Someday I'll have my own interior design firm. I already have the business card imagined. I'm calling the place 'Interior Motives'." He spread one hand as if unveiling it.

Nina slit the top of the luxury company's envelope, opening the flap. As usual, the packet contained a lot of paperwork, the contract for the job, details about the client and their wishes, and a dossier of rules, as well as the budget and expense account details.

"Sounds like a crime show on Netflix," joked Valarie.

"It's a clever twist," said Bradley. "Is that the Wilder assignment?" He pointed to the envelope.

"'Tis the season," said Molly, as Nina drew out the forms, including the letter at the top with Skyline Inspirations' crest at the top. She read it, and the color drained from her cheeks.

Molly noticed. "Nina?" she said. "What is it?"

"They rejected you?" said Valarie, jumping ahead. "Oh, my, gosh. How could they do it? Madison loves you. They're so rude at that firm in Manhattan, I swear, you should tell them to stop hiring you."

Nina lowered the papers. She felt dazed. "We've been assigned London," she said.