A Fatal SlipEmma glanced at the “to do” list in her hand:

  1. Change the outfits on the mannequins in the shop
  2. Get a haircut
  3. Pick up some croissants for Sunday breakfast with Arabella and Francis
  4. Have dinner with Brian

That last made her smile. Dinner with Brian was definitely something to look forward to. She mused on what she was going to wear for her date as she chose new outfits for the mannequins. First a Fischer Heavenly Lingerie bias cut, blush silk and beige lace negligee from the early 1940s. Emma fingered the delicate, soft fabric as she placed the nightgown over the mannequin’s head.

She was smoothing it out when she heard Aunt Arabella call from the back room.

“Yoohoo, dear, I’m here.”

Pierre, Arabella’s French bulldog, came bounding into the room, stopped dead in front of his black and white toile dog bed and climbed in for his first serious nap of the day.

Arabella laughed when she saw him. “Did you know Frenchies were originally bred by lace makers in England?” she asked Emma. “When the workers were displaced by the Industrial Revolution, they moved to France and took the breed with them.”

Emma smiled. “That seems absolutely perfect for a vintage lingerie shop,” she said as she carefully placed a Lucie Ann 1950s royal blue, marabou trimmed peignoir on the second mannequin.

“Are you seeing Brian tonight?” Arabella asked with a coy smile.

“Yes, I am. He’s taking me to L’Etoile.”

“How nice. Do you think he’s going to—“

“I don’t know,” Emma said quickly, knowing what Arabella was about to ask. “What about you and Francis?” She tied the belt around the waist of the peignoir. “Are you going to—“

“Hello, everybody,” Sylvia called from the stock room as she bustled onto the sales floor. She looked from Emma to Arabella and back again. “What are you two talking about?”

“Oh, nothing,” Arabella said.
“The future,” Emma said simultaneously.

“If you want to know about the future, I can get out my tarot cards,” Sylvia said, placing her handbag on the counter and opening the clasp.

“I think I’ll wait and see what happens,” Emma said.

“Me, too,” Arabella replied.


You can read more about Emma in A Fatal Slip, the third book in the “Sweet Nothings Lingerie” mystery series, published by Berkley Prime Crime. The first book in the series is Murder Unmentionable. Books are available at retail and online booksellers.

GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post by noon EST on February 5, and you will be entered for a chance to win a copy of A Fatal Slip. One winner will be chosen at random. Unless specified, U.S. entries only.

Meet the author
Meg London is the pen name for writer Peg Cochran. Peg grew up in a New Jersey suburb about 25 miles outside of New York City and now lives (on exile from NJ as she likes to joke) in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

She has two cozy mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime— the Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie series, written as Meg London, set in Paris, Tennessee and the Gourmet De-Lite series, under her own name, set in Connecticut. Her Cranberry Cove series for Berkley Prime Crime will debut in August 2015. She also writes The Lucille Series for Beyond the Page Publishing. Confession Is Murder is available now for all e-book platforms.

Visit her at www.pegcochran.com and www.meglondon.com or join the conversation on Facebook.


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