“Look, I won’t pretend to know your Boss all that well, but the only bear costume we have looks like a mascot thing and . . . yeah, no, I can’t imagine any girl wanting to look like that.” He moved over and past Teddy, then kicked open a trunk. “Last year we did the Greater Gatsby. It was like the Great Gatsby, but if he had powers and . . . yeah, never mind.”

Teddy moved over and peered into a truck full of folded cloth. Most of the costumes were simple and black, though some had very sparkly fabric.

Alea pulled out a very small dress, the kind that Teddy figured would only cover the Boss to midthigh. “Something like this, maybe?” he asked.

Teddy imagined the Boss wearing something like that, then dismissed the idea. The Boss liked wearing clothes that covered her more from what she’d seen. Looking back down, Teddy saw a mask sitting next to a fedora. It was made of a material that matched a loose suit beneath. “What’s this?” she asked as she lifted both up.

“Uh,” he said. “That’s Baker’s Hero costume. The writers shoved this whole side plot in with her and . . . yeah, never mind, it was kinda trashy.”

Teddy held the costume up. It had straight-cut pants and a black vest. The Boss probably had a blouse that could fit under it all, and if it was a little loose on her, that was okay.

“Yeah, this will do,” Teddy said.

“Really?” Alea Iacta asked. “I mean . . . yeah, great. Here, shove it in this.” He reached over one of the racks and pulled out a bag, then he dumped its contents on the ground and pushed them to the side. A bunch of folded-up rain boots clattered to the floor.

Teddy shoved everything in the bag, then turned and pointed to a big jacket by the back. “And that too.”

Alea looked up, then his face went strange. “That’s a pimp jacket,” he said.

“Is a pimp a kind of big predator?” Teddy asked. The jacket was very furry, after all. Though she didn’t think there were that many purple animals out there.

“Uh . . . yeah, sure.”

“Cool,” she said. “I can use that for my costume.”

Alea Iacta opened and closed his mouth a few times. “You know what, sure. You just talk to your Boss about it first.” He took the jacket off the hanger, grabbed a big matching hat from above it, and shoved them into her bag.

In the end, the bag was full to bursting, with a sleeve trailing out behind it, but it all more or less fit.

“Okay,” Alea Iacta said. “You’re all geared up. Now please leave and never return.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Costuming Up