A Finder's Fee by Jim Lavene, Joyce Page A

that were parked too far in the road. There were no sidewalks.
    It was going to be awesome when all of the boardwalk was complete so everyone could get around town without walking along the narrow, sometimes crowded road.
    There were a few cars at the Duck Shoppes. Trudy’s Beauty Spa was closed and dark. I couldn’t tell if anyone was in Shayla’s shop—there were always dark curtains on the windows. A small group of people were outside at Wild Stallions, talking and nursing their drinks as they looked at the lights across the sound.
    I opened the door to Missing Pieces, but before I could go inside, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked back and found a person-sized mirror right up in my face. I took a step back, almost tripping over the threshold into the shop. The mirror followed me like it was possessed.
    “Jump out now while you can, witch,” Flourine yelled with a vigorous shaking of her beads and charms.
    “You’re kidding, right?” I looked around the edge of the mirror at Shayla. “I can’t believe you think something like that would work even if there were a witch inside of me.”
    Flourine frowned. “It always works. You can see the witch inside when you look in the mirror. Everybody knows that.”
    “I guess you forgot to tell the witch inside of me.” I grinned at Shayla but was secretly terrified. Would that really work? “What next? Rubber chickens? A green umbrella?”
    “I never heard of those,” Flourine confessed. “How do they work?”
    Shayla put down the mirror. “Come on, Gram. She’s just making fun of us.”
    “No. Really.” I laughed to disguise how close they were to the truth, but my heart was pounding. What would happen if they found out about Maggie?
    “Okay. Laugh now. We’ll see who laughs last.” Shayla’s usually melodic voice was harsh. “Oh, and by the way, watch out for Ann. Her idea was electrocuting you to reveal the witch. Maybe she’s got the right idea. At least you wouldn’t be
laughing
right now.”
    That was scary.
“Maybe you should give it up before someone gets hurt.”
    “Somebody like that
witch
.” Flourine huffed.
    “Let’s remember that even if there is a witch in me, I’d still be here. Hurting me would be bad.”
    Flourine squinted into my face. “You threatening me, witch?”
    I glanced at Shayla. “Seriously? I think this has gone far enough, don’t you?”
    I didn’t wait for an answer, just turned and continued into Missing Pieces, closing the door behind me. I felt a little sick. Maggie might not be a witch, but I didn’t know what Shayla and her grandmother would have done if they’d seen Maggie in the mirror.
    I needed to get back to the construction site and find those bones before one of Shayla’s stunts hurt either Maggie or me. I wasn’t sure about Flourine’s magic, but usually Shayla’s was more hoodoo than voodoo. I didn’t want to find out that I was wrong.
    I hoped Dillon wasn’t outside waiting for me and witnessed the whole thing. It had been dark on the boardwalk. I might have missed him. That would be embarrassing.
    I took out the silver bells—as soon as I felt sure Shayla and Flourine were gone. I looked at them one last time before I packed them up. I’d been so sure all three bells would find their way to me. I’d boasted of it confidently, especially after Dillon had given me the one he’d located. I would really have liked to see them all together, even if I didn’t get to keep them.
    “Your friends are very stubborn.” Maggie appeared as I looked into the old mirror on the wall.
    “They are. We’ll get a lead on Thomas’s grave soon. So much has happened, it’s been hard to find time. I’m sorry.”
    She laughed, tossing “our” head back in a way I would never have done. “Don’t worry about me. I’m having a wonderful time. Perhaps I’ll stay awhile longer.”
    I started to argue with her (a complicated procedure), then I heard the door to the shop open and close. I