Page 4 of Hexes and Hiccups (Mystery In A Bottle #3)

“Working might take my mind off of it.”

Daisy pressed her lips together. “Anne,” she began, “is there any chance you’d know of someone who would wish to spread rumors like that about you? Anyone at all?”

“You mean,” Anne gulped loudly, “like an enemy ?”

“Probably nothing that harsh, but…” She shrugged.

Anne’s face flushed. “I could hardly say, Daisy! The only things I do are work here and volunteer at the shelter. Whoever would believe such a thing…Oh, it just riles my blood!”

“I-I understand, Anne,” Daisy said, squeezing the woman’s knee reassuringly. Standing back up, she glanced over her shoulder at Tessa, who was sweeping up after the rush of customers began to file out of the shop.

Anne suddenly grasped onto Daisy’s hand with a tight grip. “Tell me you plan on catching whoever did this.”

The urgency behind the woman’s voice caught her off guard for a moment.

She watched the woman's brown eyes turn incredibly serious, the determination behind them more surprising than she thought it would be.

Daisy gripped onto her hand back, hoping her face looked as confident as she wanted it to be.

“We are going to do everything in our power to figure it out,” Daisy replied. “There are only so many places where a person can hide in Willowbrook, where everyone knows everyone.”

“I can only think about the next victim of this gossip attack,” she continued. “Some people might only call them words, but they hold more value than you may think. Gossip can be as harmless as you make it to be – and it can be as harmful all the same.”

Daisy took in the woman’s words. While gossiping seemed to roll off Daisy’s shoulders, she felt quite naive for not considering the consequences it might have on someone else.

Seeing how Tessa’s future as an empath was being tested alongside Anne’s reputation was all she needed to solve the case.

The last thing she wanted was for someone else to fall victim to a baseless rumor, one that could turn the entire town in a different direction.

For a community that was full of powerful magic, it was odd to believe that a few simple words could have more hold over the mind than a well thought out spell.

Daisy pressed her lips together. “We’ll figure it out, Anne. I promise. Susy,” she turned her attention towards the young girl, her familiar pig tails swinging every time she moved around, “with how busy things have been lately, would you prefer us to hang around longer?”

“Oh,” Susy drawled, looking incredibly carefree, “there’s no need for that! I’ve got Anne, don’t I?”

Rising from her rocking chair, Anne pocketed her badge and straightened her clothes, pulling a smile across her face. “You certainly do, dear.”

“Well,” Daisy started, still hesitating, “I –”

“There’s really nothing to stress about!” Susy’s smile beamed across her face. “We can handle the store with no problem. You and Tess are free to head out, if you need to.”

Retrieving the pouch full of beads once more, Daisy curved around the counter, pulling Tessa along with her.

With a wave over their shoulders to Susy and Anne, the pair left the store behind, slipping into the alley beside the shop discreetly.

Daisy opened up the pouch with a little tug, revealing the shimmering beads once more.

They were incredibly fragrant because of the juniper berries, and Daisy kept telling herself they’d taste just as good.

Tessa reached into the pouch and retrieved one of them. “So we just eat it?”

“More like,” Daisy mused, “rest it on your tongue.”

Tessa shuddered. “This better taste good, Flowers.”

Holding back her laugh, Daisy pulled the ripped paper out of her pocket, holding it out in front of them. “Focus on the paper, and it should lead us to the book.”

“You keep saying ‘should.’”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure.”

Tessa raised a brow. “Well, you haven’t failed me yet.”

Moving at the same time, Daisy and Tessa popped the pearl-shaped beads into their mouths, letting them rest against their tongues.

At first, it didn’t taste much like anything, except for a savory hint of salt.

But, once it began to dissolve within their mouths, Daisy was overwhelmed with a sweetness, as if she had bit down on a ripe juniper berry.

With her eyes holding onto the page, the magic began to swirl within her stomach before trickling down to her feet.

Before they could even exchange a look, Daisy and Tessa raced from the alleyway and back onto the sidewalk.

The spell shot straight towards their feet, making them speed walk through main street relentlessly.

All feeling and willpower over their legs were gone, the spell leading the way forward.

People stepped out of their way, eyes wide and bewildered with how fast they were going.

A few familiar faces appeared on the sidewalk, raising their hands and beginning to say hello.

Maria Blakey, a widowed mother of three, walked along the sidewalk with a few groceries in hand. “Daisy!” she exclaimed, waving at the pair of them. “Good afternoon, Tess! How’re you –”

Daisy couldn’t stop moving even if she wanted to. It was as if an invisible string had been tied around their stomachs, pulling them forward relentlessly. Daisy eyed the mother as kindly as she could as they passed her by, a wide smile stretching across her face.

“Hello, Maria!” she blurted. “Running late for…for…for…”

Tessa raised a hand to wave. “For the bathroom!” she shouted. “We really have to go!”

Leaving Maria behind with a bewildered expression, Daisy glared over at her friend.

“What?” Tessa asked with a shrug.

Daisy shook her head, holding back how much she actually wanted to laugh. “You couldn’t come up with anything else?”

“Oh, well,” she snapped, “I didn’t hear you coming up with any bright ideas!”

The pair kept going through Main Street before delving into the neighborhoods, slowly nearing the end of town.

Though they would have normally been exhausted by that point, the magic did all the work for them.

By the time they reached the outskirts of town, where the road would eventually curve into the rushing highway, the magic began to loosen and trickle away.

Daisy almost fell forward as the urgency left her, her feet abruptly stopping in front of a tall billboard.

She caught herself at the last moment, pressing a hand to her heart as she breathed in deeply.

“Good grief,” she mused. “That was way more than I thought it would be.” Daisy straightened, still holding the ripped note in her hand.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Tessa standing there, her head angled up to see the front of the billboard, a shocked expression on her face. “What’re you looking at?”

Tessa raised her hand to the billboard, her mouth wide open.

Following her gaze, Daisy took a few steps backwards to be able to see the top of the billboard.

Across the sign that marked it as the end of town, words were painted across it with a sharply red color, just like the message that had been scrawled across the salon’s front window.

Daisy’s eyes narrowed as she read it, her heart almost coming to a stop for a second time.

Marigold Shadowbrook is unstable and dangerous. No man should date her.

Daisy choked on her own breath. “That-That-That –”

“Oh, yeah,” Tessa murmured. “This isn’t good.”

Daisy gulped.

That was an understatement.