Dead Is Just a Rumor

by Marlene Perez

  My jaw dropped open. It was bad enough that she was taking Bam away from Lily again, but she also still owed me four more cooking lessons.

  "I'm afraid it's true," he replied. "The council has been investigating the possibility that Circe was responsible for the disappearance of Bam Merriweather. We believe that there is evidence somewhere tying Circe to Lily's disappearance, as well."

  "What now?"

  "Circe is a public figure. She can run, but she can't hide. I'm confident we will be able to find the evidence tying her to Lily's disappearance and then bring Circe back to Nightshade to mete out justice."

  I shivered. I didn't like Circe, but I felt a little sorry for her. I'd hate to face the wrath of the council. She'd messed with one of the founding families. They'd find her, eventually. And Balthazar, too. Poor Bam.

  Natalie might be able to help figure out a way to restore him and Lily.

  Lil kicked in suddenly with "Goodbye My Lover" by James Blunt.

  I took a deep breath. "I know what happened to Lily, too," I said. I motioned to the jukebox. "That's what she's been trying to tell me. Lil is Lily."

  "You've got to be kidding," Mr. Bone said. "She was under our noses the entire time? Impossible."

  Lil played "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" by Robert Palmer.

  "I think she's trying to tell you something," Samantha said wryly.

  "I'll be darned," Mr. Bone said.

  "What do we do now?"

  "Don't breathe a word of this to anyone," he said. "I must consult with the council."

  I started to protest, but Mr. Bone cut me off. "We shouldn't be hasty. We have to make sure that we can restore Lily without doing any harm. There are some spells with some nasty counterattacks built in."

  I nodded, reluctantly. "Can I at least tell my family?"

  "Yes. The council relies on their help and we trust them implicitly. Now, I must be going. Good work, Daisy, Sam," he said. He took a last sip of coffee and then paid the bill and left.

  Sam yawned. "I'm beat. This detective stuff is hard work."

  "Me, too," I said. "I'm ready for a nap."

  Once I was back home, I headed straight for bed. Information swirled around in my brain until a piece of the puzzle clicked into place, but I was already tumbling toward sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  I was still napping a couple of hours later when my cell rang and jerked me from a sound sleep. An unfamiliar number appeared, but I picked it up, anyway.

  "Hello?"

  "Daisy, it's Lilah Porter. I thought of something. It may be nothing."

  "You never know what little detail may end up being significant," I said, encouraging her.

  "It's about the boarding school that my parents are sending me to."

  "Go on," I said.

  "My dad let it slip last night that it wasn't exactly his idea," she said. "In fact, Ms. Tray is the one who encouraged them to send me there."

  I gasped. "That's horrible."

  "I know," she said. "Ms. Tray really seems to dislike me. In fact"—Lilah hesitated, then seemed to make up her mind about something—"she dislikes a lot of thekids at Nightshade who are different."

  "By different, you mean paranormal?"

  "Exactly."

  "Thanks a lot, Lilah," I said. "You've been a big help. Are you still leaving?"

  "Tomorrow," she said miserably.

  I didn't know what I could say to cheer her up. "Hold off on leaving as long as you can," I said.

  "What difference does it make? Either way, I'll have to go."

  "Maybe not," I said. "If my hunch is right, people will be embarrassed that they ever listened to Ms. Tray."

  After I hung up with Lilah, I sat on my bed and tried to figure out what my next move should be. I was pretty sure I knew who the blackmailer was. But now I needed to prove it.

  I needed to get back into the school, but it was the weekend, so it was probably locked up tight. I wanted to take a look at a certain guidance counselor's office.

  What Lilah had just told me made me certain Ms. Tray was the blackmailer.

  I called Samantha. "I need to get into an office at the school," I said. "But it might be dangerous."

  "I'm in," she said. "I'll be there in ten minutes." She hung up before I could thank her.

  The school was deserted, but that didn't stop us. I hesitated. "I don't want you to get into any trouble," I said.

  "Don't worry about it," she said. "We won't get into any trouble. At least, not if you manage to find out who has been sending all those letters," she added.

  I stared at the door, willing the lock to click open. It did and Sam and I entered the school.

  As soon as I stepped in the room, I knew I'd found our blackmailer. The hearts. There were hearts all over her office. That's why the seal's design had looked so familiar.

  The minuscule triple-heart design was repeated in the cushions in Ms. Tray's office, on the painting hanging on the wall, and on her personal stationery, which didn't match the creamy white stationery the blackmailer had used. Unless she'd written the blackmail notes at home, I was sure I'd find the wax-seal stamp in her office somewhere.

  I went to the file cabinets first. "Try her desk while I look here," I told Sam.

  I went through the files, but I didn't find anything that would link her to the blackmail.

  "Did you find anything?" I asked Sam.

  "Not yet," she said. "Hey, this drawer is locked."

  I crossed to the desk and knelt next to her. "Did you see a key anywhere?"

  "Nope," she said. "Why don't you, you know?" She crossed her arms and made a little blinky face, like the woman in the bottle in that old TV show.

  "I'm not a genie," I said. "But maybe I can use my psychic powers to open it."

  I concentrated on turning the lock, and a minute later, it clicked open.

  Samantha yanked open the drawer. We'd found what we needed. In the drawer was creamy white stationery, red wax, and an embosser with three tiny hearts.

  "C'mon, let's go," I said. I grabbed the stuff and shoved it into my bag.

  "You're not going anywhere," Ms. Tray said. She was standing in the door of her office, but when we looked up, she shut the door and locked it.

  "We were j-j-just..." Sam stuttered.

  "Please do not insult my intelligence," Ms. Tray said. "I know what you two naughty minxes were up to."

  I crossed my arms and faced her. "You can't stop us. We know you were the blackmailer."

  "Who would believe two girls over a well-respected counselor?"

  "Chief Mendez, Mr. Bone, pretty much everyone in Nightshade," I said.

  She frowned. "I'm afraid you're right about that. Your kind does stick together."

  Your kind? That sounds like the Scourge rhetoric.

  "This does pose a problem. What will I do with you?" Her smile made my stomach clench. Despite her sweet tone, there was a threat in her words.

  "It was so convenient," I said. "As a guidance counselor, you found out everyone's secrets and used your position to blackmail."

  "That was a little sideline. A very profitable one," she said.

  I glanced around the room and my eyes fell upon the La Contessa purse. I pointed to it. "You blackmailed Circe into giving you that, didn't you?" I said.

  She smirked. "It looks better on me than it ever did on her."

  Sam said, "You don't have the personality to carry a purse like that off."

  "A lot you know," Ms. Tray said.

  "We know more than you think we do. We know you were working for the Scourge."

  "My main job is more like a recruiter, actually," she said smugly. "But manipulating parents into sending their spawn away was useful. Divide and conquer works every time."

  "A recruiter?" Samantha said.

  "Yes, for an organization I'm sure you're very familiar with," she said. "I was trying to recruit your boyfriend."

  It dawned on me what she was talking about. "You were trying to
recruit Ryan into the Scourge? But you sent him a blackmail letter."

  She shrugged. "Merely a fishing expedition," she admitted. "I had nothing on him, but sometimes a little nudge will get one of my little friends to spill the beans."

  "Friends? You don't know the meaning of the word," Sam hissed.

  "I have plenty of friends," she said. "And they'll take care of Nightshade. You'll see."

  I was trying to keep her talking while I sent a telepathic message to Rose. Help.

  She chuckled. "I'll miss blackmailing y'all. Those notes were so much fun to write."

  "Words have power," I said. "The power to hurt."

  Bea Tray's face grew animated. "You understand, then."

  "You want to hurt other people? Your students? People who trusted you?" I couldn't believe it. "Why did you convince Penny to write those things on the bathroom wall?"

  "That girl was so malleable," Ms. Tray said. "Brain like putty, honestly."

  "How did you find out which students were paranormal?" I asked. Samantha and I edged closer to the door.

  Ms. Tray grabbed me by the shirt front and slammed me against the wall. My head spun for a second.

  I tried to focus on something so I wouldn't throw up. "This," I slurred, "is my favorite shirt."

  Sam started forward, but I shook my head.

  "Trying to keep me talking?" Her smile was as syrupy as ever, but it was giving me the major heebie-jeebies. "They warned me you were tricky," she said.

  "Who did?"

  "My clients. The people who are going to pay me very well for the information I've gathered about the citizens of Nightshade."

  "But you promised the people you blackmailed that if they paid you, you'd keep their secrets," Samantha said.

  Her smile grew even wider. "That's the thing about blackmailers, my dear. They just can't be trusted."

  I figured something out. "You're going to sell the secrets to the Scourge, aren't you?" I said. I probably shouldn't have opened my big mouth, because Ms. Tray's eyes flashed for a second and her southern belle façade cracked open. What I saw there in her eyes made me shudder.

  "Daisy, what am I going to do with you?" she said, advancing toward me. "I just can't let you leave here and give away all my secrets, now, can I?"

  I was wishing for a giant set of bleachers at about that time, but no such luck. The room was empty, except for Ms. Tray's overdone decorations, which didn't seem like they would be of much use.

  I sent out another SOS to Rose, but knew that even if she heard it, she might not be in time to save Sam and me.

  Beatrice smirked when she saw me glancing around the room. "I heard what happened to your cheerleading coach," she said. "You don't have any weapons, but I do."

  She held up a long slender knife. It looked like it could filet me in about a second. She warned me. "Don't try anything tricky with those powers of yours or your friend gets it first."

  "Gets what?" Sam said. Then she saw the knife and shuddered. "What are you going to do with that?"

  Beatrice smiled. "Bless your heart," she said. "I'm going to kill y'all with it." She grabbed my hair and dragged me over to the window.

  "What are you doing?" Sam said.

  It hurt, but I gritted my teeth. "You can drop the phony accent," I said. "We know you're not from Atlanta." I waved my hand in front of her.

  "You've been a busy little bee, haven't you?" she said, without at race of a drawl. Her real voice sent splinters of fear down my spine. This was not a helpless southern belle.

  She moved closer to the window, taking me and pieces of my hair with her. She'd clearly been anticipating that I would try to use my psychic powers. But in desperation, I gave her a head butt WWF style. For the first time, I was thankful that Ryan liked to watch pro wrestling on TV. My head rang with the force of the blow, but it slowed her down long enough for me to use my powers to bring the knife to my hand.

  "Samantha, go get some help," I said. The hand that held the knife was shaking, so I used my other hand to steady it.

  "But I don't want to leave you," she said.

  "Just go. I'll be fine."

  I kept one eye on Ms. Tray as Sam took off at a run.

  Ms. Tray hissed, "You won't do anything with that knife. You don't have the nerve. It's all there in your files. You're weak."

  She came toward me and I dropped the knife. She bent down for it and I grabbed a plaster cupid. I brought it down on her head and she crumpled to the floor. I kicked the knife away from her.

  "File that in your Rolodex," I said to her prone form."I may not use this knife, but I'm not weak."

  She was so still that, for a moment, I thought I'd killed her. Would Principal Amador expel me? I thought wildly. After all, this wasn't the first staff member I'd attacked, even though I'd had plenty of good reasons.

  Sam ran back into the room, followed by my sisters and Ryan.

  "Are you okay?" he said.

  "I'm fine," I replied. "But I'm getting tired of people underestimating me."

  Samantha said, "They really need a better screening process for the staff at Nightshade."

  "Seriously," I replied.

  Ryan hugged me so hard I couldn't breathe. "Hey, I'm okay," I said. "Or I will be if you let up a bit."

  He looked hurt, so I whispered so only he could hear. "Werewolf strength, remember?"

  "Sorry," he said. He hugged me again. "You scared the life out of me."

  Samantha said, "I called Chief Mendez and he's on his way."

  "Dad is going to flip out," Poppy warned.

  "Do we have to tell him?" I asked.

  "Of course we have to tell him," Rose said. My sister looked stern.

  "I was just kidding," I said. Mostly.

  "What should we do with her in the meantime?" I asked.

  Ms. Tray groaned and sat up. She lunged at me, but Ryan stepped in front of me.

  "Don't try that again," he snarled. His eyes turned yellow and Ms. Tray's face went slack in shock. Recognition dawned in her face.

  "You're one of them," she said with loathing.

  "Not such a great recruiter for the Scourge, are you?" Ryan said. "Couldn't recognize a werewolf when he was standing right in front of you."

  "Ryan, do you think you should say anything?"

  She lunged again and I jumped back. Outnumbered or not, she still scared me. Ryan grabbed her arms and restrained her, but she kicked him in the shin.

  "We should tie her up," I said, but, fortunately, Chief Mendez arrived while we were looking for rope.

  He read Ms. Tray her rights and cuffed her. Officer Denton escorted her down to a waiting squad car.

  We followed them outside. My heart was still racing, but my hands had finally stopped shaking.

  "Daisy, thank you for getting to the bottom of this," Chief Mendez said. He hesitated and then said, "I called your parents to let them know I was en route."

  I groaned.

  "I had to tell them," he said."Yourfatherworriesaboutyou, and I don't think I could look your mother in the face if anything ever happened to you. Or my son."

  Ryan gave my hand a squeeze.

  "I've done all right so far," I said defensively.

  "You've done an excellent job," the chief said. "But please, for me, be a little careful."

  "I will," I said. "If you'll do something for me."

  "What is it?" he asked cautiously.

  "Talk to Lilah Porter's parents," I replied. "They're shipping her off to boarding school."

  He seemed a little reluctant until I added, "At Ms. Tray's recommendation. Lilah didn't do anything wrong, except take a midnight swim."

  "I'll send Officer Denton to do it," he said. "He knows Lilah's mother."

  "She's a, a swimmer, too," I said, trying to delicately convey that I knew Mrs. Porter was a mermaid.

  He gave a wry grin, which reminded me so much of Ryan's smile.

  "Officer Denton will talk to them," he said. "But I can't guarantee they'll listen."<
br />
  "I hope they will," I said. "The best place for Lilah is in Nightshade. With her friends."

  Chief Mendez said something to Officer Denton and then the officer took off in a separate squad car.

  "Boy, almost getting killed makes me thirsty," Samantha said. "Want to go to Slim's to get some coffee?"

  "Sure," I said. "But first I have to make a quick phone call."

  I punched in the number and waited for it to pick up. "Lilah, it's Daisy. Hold on. The cavalry is on the way."

  "What was that all about?" Ryan asked.

  I linked arms with him. "I'll tell you all about it at Slim's."

  I was holding hands with Ryan when Dad and Mr. Bone arrived. On reflex, Ryan dropped my hand, but I linked our hands again. He gave me a sheepish grin.

  "Daisy," Dad said. "We heard what happened. Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine, Dad," I replied. "It's all under control."

  "So what's going to happen to Ms. Tray?" Poppy asked.

  Ryan's dad said, "She's been arrested and is cooperating with the authorities. That's all I can tell you right now."

  "I heard she'd been gathering intel for the Scourge for years," Poppy said. "Daisy was the first person to suspect her."

  The chief nodded. "That's true," he said. "She'd probably still be blackmailing people if it weren't for Daisy."

  My father said, "I guess you can take care of yourself, Daisy. You suspected Ms. Tray all along, but I believed everything she said."

  "I didn't suspect her at first," I admitted. "I didn't like Ms. Tray, but I hadn't a clue that she was involved with the Scourge."

  "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?" Dad asked.

  I shook my head. "Not at all. I didn't trust her, but I didn't suspect her for a long time. Almost too long."

  My dad suppressed a yawn.

  "It's late," I said. "Let's get you home."

  "I was thinking we could grab a milk shake at Slim's," Dad said. "Or are you too tired?"

  "All of us?" I said, glancing at Ryan when I said it. I still wasn't too sure if my dad's newfound trust of Ryan was going to last.

  "All of us," Dad replied. "My treat."

  Even the chief came with us to Slim's. Dad ordered enormous milk shakes of every flavor.