“Nothing so far,” she said. “It’s only been a couple of weeks since I realized I had any ability at all. My father always told me I was a dud, so confidence is my downfall.”
Brianna jumped in. “I thought I was a dud, too. It was such a disappointment to my grandmother, who was arguably Wyldwood’s leading botanical expert. Instead, I got a science degree I didn’t need, because it turned out I had her talent for growing all along. My weakness is that I’m only good at one thing, and that’s plants.”
The pen dangling from Norris’s fingertips dipped a little. “We don’t use the d-word here. That belief is behind your lazy neurons.” He glanced at the blonde woman. “With one notable exception, apparently.”
“I’m no dud but I did lack training. My name is Marli Seagrave and my dad is well known in this town. A friend of Oscar Knight’s, for starters. When my mom died, he sent me to boarding school, where I got into trouble a lot. Did better at college and graduated early. They probably wanted to be rid of me.” Her smile looked more proud than embarrassed.
“Criminal record, yes?” Norris said.
Her smile contracted. “That was unfair. It was an accident. I threw something very heavy at someone I didn’t like. Without using my hands.”
“Strength and weakness in one neat package.” The pen came my way. “Miss Brighton knows much about accidents, as those attest.” He directed his ballpoint at the thriving bouquet he’d left on the table, perhaps as a reminder of humility. “Your turn.”
Mr. Bixby spoke in my head. “Cards close to the vest. Who knows what he knows or who he knows.”
I nodded. “Mr. Strump is right. Most of my magic happens by accident and what’s intentional backfires. I have some psychic ability that comes and goes. And my weakness has been shared already.” I gestured to the flowers. “Anxiety.”
His sharp eyes stayed on me. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” My mother may have fallen short in the empathy and training departments but she didn’t raise me to be stupid. There was no way I’d share my magical strengths and weaknesses with people I didn’t know well. People who could so easily turn them against me or share them with others who might. “Most days that’s more than enough to get me into trouble.”
“Fine.” He shrugged. “I can’t support what I don’t know about. So, we’ll need to let things unfold naturally. Or unnaturally, as the case may be.” He leaned down and pulled a small sheaf of paper from the leather bag I’d seen often on the chair opposite him at the café. “We have two assignments for this program, and only two.”
“For the entire term?” Marli asked.
He peered at her over his glasses. “For the entire program as far as I’m concerned. I’m an old man. I don’t take on long commitments.”
“But how are we supposed to learn anything from one assignment?” she persisted.
The dog stirred in my arms. “If Mr. Crossword doesn’t bite her, I will.”
Norris paused for a long moment. “I thought Miss Brighton was going to be the handful but it seems like she has competition.”
“Oooh, he bit both of you. Nice one, Crossword,” Bixby said. “Way to knock ’em down before you build ’em back up. That’s training I can get behind.”
I squeezed him into silence and he hacked dramatically.
“On the topic of competition,” Norris said, “I’m a big proponent. This is an independent project. You may not work together, and trust me, I will know.”
“How?” Marli asked. “What’s your special ability?”
He pressed his lips together. “It isn’t patience, that’s certain. But I am rather good at these.” Rising stiffly, he distributed a single piece of paper to each of us.
It was a crossword puzzle. At the top of mine, my name appeared in pen.
“When is it due?” Marli asked, before he even got to her. “Wait a minute. A crossword puzzle? That’s our assignment?”
“One of them. Remember I said there were two.”
Mr. Bixby chuckled. “Don’t leave us hanging, old man.”
This time, Norris looked straight at me when he spoke. “Stay out of trouble. And more specifically, stay out of the current police investigation. That edict comes straight from Mayor Longmuir. Understood?”
Most of us repeated, “Understood,” but not Marli. “Why would we get involved in something dangerous like that anyway? There’s a killer on the loose. What if they come after Cassie and Blaine?”
Norris was still standing and swung his arm in a flamboyant slash. “One more word, Miss Seagrave, and I’ll have you expelled.”
“You can’t do that. The mayor herself invited me.”
Norris made a show of collapsing into his seat. “Go. Let me get back to peaceful retirement.”
“But when are we meeting again?” Marli was on her feet now. “Is there a class schedule?”
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “May I request support from the canines in the room?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” Mr. Bixby said, scrambling to get down.
Tiffin was fastest off the mark and today I was grateful for his sharp teeth and complete lack of manners.
Marli screamed and fled, not without a war wound.
“Let’s hope that’s the only blood shed,” Norris said. “Now, go.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
An hour later, Sinda, Ren and I gathered at the counter at Whimsy to snack on the baked goods Ren hadn’t been able to sell today. Her only part-time staff was Brianna Peck, and since both were called away, Flour Girl had to close. When she had surplus, she donated it to the homeless shelter no one wanted to admit was on the outskirts of town. Wyldwood projected an image of prosperity that only made it harder for people to ask for help.
I’d been closed for the day as well since my only backup was Sinda. If this kept up, it wouldn’t be a merry retail season for our bank accounts. A tenant for the third store in our awesome little building hadn’t materialized so we were still carrying the full financial load.
