Free Dead Is Just a Rumor by Marlene Perez

went off. She looked at the number. "I have to take this," she said. "I'll be right back. The acoustics are horrible in here."
    "Wait," I said. But she was already gone. I didn't want to admit that the changing handwriting gave me serious heebie-jeebies, so I hopped up on the counter and waited for someone to come back.
    It seemed like they were gone a long time, so when the door opened, I didn't even look to see who was standing there.
    "It's about time," I said.
    "Are you talking to yourself?" Penny asked. "Geez, Giordano, you're really losing it lately."
    She had a point, but I wasn't going to let her know that.
    "I thought you were my sister," I said. "What are you doing here?"
    "The usual," Penny said dryly. "Not that it's any of your business."
    "Why didn't you use the bathroom by the gym?" I said suspiciously.
    Penny sighed, clearly annoyed. "If you must know, the downstairs bathrooms are being cleaned."
    "Oh," I said. Then I noticed she was carrying a purple and orange La Contessa bag. Just like the one Sam said she'd sold to Circe. A one-of-a-kind item that suddenly seemed to be popping up everywhere. "Where did you get that bag?"
    "This bag?" Penny smiled triumphantly. "You'd never be able to afford one of these in a million years," she said.
    I refrained from pointing out that I'd never want a bag like that in a million years.
    Rose walked back into the restroom. "Sorry that took so long," she said. "Oh. Hi, Penny."
    Penny nodded coldly and then left.
    "Any sign of the perp?" Rose asked.
    I stared after Penny, lost in thought. "Maybe," I said.
    Natalie came back and put the whammy on the nasty little bathroom-wall spell. I watched her as she mixed up ingredients and then sprinkled the powdered substance around the room.
    "It smells like peppermint," I said.
    She nodded. "I mixed peppermint, wintergreen, and chamomile into arrowroot powder."
    The words disappeared, and this time, they didn't come back.
    "I'm so relieved," I said. "Thanks so much, Natalie."
    "Any time," she said. "But, Daisy, be careful. Someone doesn't like you very much."
    "What do you mean?"
    "The spell wasn't just to create random gossip. Your name was embedded in that spell," she explained. "Which means those nasty words were definitely aimed at you specifically."
    "Who did you tick off this time?" Rose asked.
    I sighed. "There's a long list," I said. And now Penny was at the top of it.

CHAPTER TEN
    My "cooking lesson " that Saturday turned out to be a total disaster. My orders were to report to the Nightshade Harbor to help Circe cater the high school's big fundraising event on a yacht. The name on the side was Sea Nymph.
    Practically everyone in town was going to be there, including my parents.
    As instructed, I wore plain black pants with a white button-down shirt. Circe provided the aprons. Wilder's Restaurant was the official caterer, but I noticed that the aprons read "Cooking with Circe."
    Most of the food had been prepped already, but there was a full, although small, kitchen on the yacht. I had assumed I'd get the chance to observe Circe in action. Instead, I ended up as a buffet runner, which meant I refilled the food on the buffet line when it was empty. And I didn't even get a fun station, like the carved prime rib station or the dessert station. Instead, I got stuck with making sure the breadbaskets were well stocked.
    The room looked lovely, with white linen tablecloths and dark purple napkins.
    The double doors were thrown open wide and the room was filled with people. Ms. Tray sat at a table in the front, near the bandstand. There was a clipboard in front of her. She wore a long white angora sweater dress, which made her look like a fluffy little kitten. Gold heart earrings dangled from her ears.
    My parents arrived with Rose and Nicholas. Since the breadbaskets were secure, I went to say hi. But Ms. Tray beat me to it.
    "Mr. and Mrs. Giordano, so nice to see you," she said. She greeted them like they were long lost friends. For