Dead Is Just a Rumor (2 page)

"I'm following you so far," I said.

"Well, when he came back, he probably still had that image of you in his mind. But you're not twelve anymore. And Ryan just reminds him of that."

"What can I do to make it easier?" I asked.

"Just give him time," she said. "He needs to get used to the idea that you're not his little girl anymore."

"Makes sense," I said. "How'd you get so wise?"

"Psychology 101," she replied. "I love college!"

My two older sisters, Poppy and Rose, both attended UC Nightshade. Poppy had just started her freshman year and Rose was a sophomore.

I retreated to my room, less angry at my dad, but still not in the mood to deal with him. I knew he'd been through a lot, but so had the rest of the family. My mom most of all. And for everyone's sake I needed to try to be more patient with my father.

With that in my mind, I went to find him in the kitchen. "Something smells good," I said.

Dad held up a spoonful of marinara sauce. "Want a taste?"

"Sure," I said. Dad was a great cook, possibly even better than I was.

It was delicious. "Dad, you're the best cook."

Rose came into the kitchen, carrying a pile of mail. She handed me an envelope. "This is for you."

She was still wearing her lab coat. She had a part-time job at a lab on campus. This time, it wasn't working for a mad scientist. She'd worked for her idol Dr. Franken, but that had ended badly when we discovered the professor was in league with the Scourge.

I examined the outside envelope, but it didn't tell me much. I ripped it open and scanned the contents. "It's from the contest I entered this summer," I explained. Natalie, my boss Slim's girlfriend, had convinced me to enter.

"What's it say?" Rose said. "Did you win?"

I read aloud. "We are pleased to inform you..." My heart sped up. The grand prize was a trip to Paris, to the famous Cordon Bleu culinary school. "You've won second place."

I stopped reading. Disappointment clogged my throat. I handed the letter to Rose.

"Daisy, this is fabulous!" she said.

"It is?" Had I won after all?

"You've won twelve cooking lessons with a local chef," she said. "And it's Circe Silvertongue."

"Circe Silvertongue?" I said. "She's famous. What's she doing in Nightshade?"

"Didn't you hear?" my dad said. "She's the new head chef at Mrs. Wilder's restaurant." Was that what Bianca was talking about when she mentioned a letter?

"How did you find out?" I asked.

My dad looked away. "It came up when I, er, attended a city council meeting."

Normally a city council meeting would be one of the most boring things imaginable, but this was Nightshade. Nightshade City Council was made up of paranormals, which made for lively meetings. But my dad was a norm, while my mom and sisters and I all had psychic powers. Rose was a telepath, Poppy was telekinetic, and I had a combo pack of powers—part telepathic, part telekinetic, part clairvoyant—but my powers were not exactly reliable.

"Why were you there?" I asked him. I knew the council was anxious to gather information on the Scourge, but I didn't see why they couldn't leave him alone. He hadn't been home that long and was still recovering from his ordeal.

Dad was too thin. Although the shadows in his eyes had faded, they hadn't disappeared entirely. He laid his hand gently on my head. "Don't worry so much," he said. "I volunteered to go. The council just wanted to ask me a few questions about ... the Scourge."

"Nicholas said the council thinks the Scourge is lying low while they plan something big," Rose chimed in.

Now I was really worried, but I tried not to show it. Rose's boyfriend, Nicholas, was in the know. His dad was the head of the Nightshade City Council. And Nicholas was a werewolf. So was Ryan. Poppy's only serious boyfriend had been a ghost, but Gage had moved on. Literally.

I changed the subject. "It's not the Cordon Bleu, but it sounds pretty cool," I said slowly.

"And it'll look great on your college applications," Rose said.

"College? Already?" Dad said. He sounded a little out of it.

Rose said, "Daisy's a senior, Dad, remember?"

I sent a thought her way.
Is Dad really okay?

Mom says it'll take time,
she sent back.

Mom walked into the kitchen. "How was everybody's day?" she asked cheerfully, but I noticed her eyes flickered anxiously.

"I made dinner," Dad said. He crossed the room to give my mother a lingering kiss.

"Time to set the table," Rose announced loudly, and she and I busied ourselves with cutlery to give them a little privacy. But seeing my parents together, and so obviously still in love, gave me a twinge of hope that everything was going to be all right.

At the dinner table, Mom cleared her throat. "What were you talking about when I came home?" she asked curiously.

"Daisy won cooking lessons with Circe Silvertongue," Rose said quickly. She obviously didn't want to mention Dad's bewilderment to Mom.

"Circe Silvertongue," Mom said. "I'm sure you'll learn a lot from her." But she didn't look happy. When she caught me staring at her, she pasted on a smile, but it didn't take a psychic to figure out that Mom didn't like Circe. I thought about asking her then and there, but Dad looked pale and shaky. He was still sleeping a lot, but had nightmares.

As if he could hear my thoughts, he said, "I think I'll head to bed."

"But you hardly touched your dinner!" Poppy said, then caught herself. We'd agreed we wouldn't hover. "You go ahead," she said, covering her blunder. "I'll clean up."

As soon as Dad was out of sight, dishes began to float off the dining room table and into the kitchen.

"Hey, that's not fair," I said.

"You do it your way, I'll do it mine," Poppy replied. "In fact, you should be practicing with me." She was right. My telekinesis skills weren't getting any better with me just sitting there.

"I'll practice by loading the dishes into the dishwasher," I promised.

"There has to be more for you girls to do with your skills than household chores," my mother said. "I appreciate the help, but it just seems like—"

"We can't all solve crimes for a living," Rose reminded her. "Although Daisy's getting close to doing it as a serious hobby."

It was true. I'd helped to solve several mysteries in Nightshade, but it had been awfully quiet in the past few weeks.

"Maybe I'll have a nice, safe senior year," I said.

Poppy snorted with laughter. "Or maybe not."

I hated it when my sister was right.

CHAPTER TWO

At school the next day,
everyone was talking about the latest addition to Nightshade High. We had a new guidance counselor, Beatrice Tray, who came all the way from Atlanta. She was young, attractive, and Principal Amador thought it was a feather in his cap to have recruited her.

The bell rang, and Ryan and I headed to the cafeteria. We had more classes together this year, but I loved being able to talk to him at lunch, too.

"What happened to Mr. McNamara?" I asked. The old guidance counselor was friendly enough, and I'd grown used to him.

"Someone said he retired suddenly," Ryan told me.

"He was kind of young to retire, wasn't he?" I said.

Ryan shrugged, obviously through talking about it. "Hey, we're still on for tonight, right? I talked to Sean, and he and Samantha are in, too."

"Cool," I said. We were going to an all-ages club, the Black Opal, to see our favorite local band, Side Effects May Vary. Our school nurse happened to be the bass player.

Ryan grabbed my hand and swung it. "That reminds me," he said. "I have an appointment with her next week."

"With Nurse Phillips?" I said, confused.

"With the new guidance counselor," he said. "It's our senior year, remember? I'm supposed to start narrowing down my college choices."

"How could I forget?" The thought of our possible separation made my good mood disappear. We'd both looked at UC Nightshade, of course, but there was still a very real possibility that Ryan and I might choose colleges far away from each other. It seemed inconceivable that this time next year, I might not see him every day.

"Hey, where'd that smile go?" he said. He pulled me closer, for a hug.

I gave him a tiny smile. It felt forced and he could tell I faked it, but fortunately, the bell rang before I had to explain my sudden bad mood.

The rest of my day didn't improve, but by the time I made it home from school, I had my date with Ryan to look forward to. I was putting the final touches on my makeup when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said.

My dad poked his head in. "Mom's working late," he said. "But I made your favorite for dinner—peanut butter pancakes."

Breakfast for dinner had been a tradition when I was little. And peanut butter pancakes had been my favorite when I was ten. I repressed a sigh. "Sorry, Dad, but I have a date."

He frowned. "Your mother knows you're going out?"

"Yes, Dad," I said. "She knows."

"Where are you going?"

"To a club," I said.

His frown grew deeper.

Boy, I was really blowing this. "It's an all-ages club and Nicholas works there," I reassured him.

His expression lightened, but I wasn't out of the woods yet. Then the doorbell rang.

Ryan must have picked up on my dad's mood, because my boyfriend's kiss was definitely briefer than usual. My dad cleared his throat and Ryan practically vaulted away from me.

"Hello, Mr. Giordano," Ryan said.

"Ryan," my dad said. We waited for him to say something else. He just stood there, still frowning. "Will you be bringing my daughter home by curfew?"

"I don't really have a curfew," I said, without thinking. I re-covered quickly. "But I'm usually home by eleven."

"I'll have her home on time, sir," Ryan assured him.

"Eleven o' clock," Dad barked. "And don't be late."

"Uh, okay. See you later, Dad," I said. I grabbed Ryan's hand and pulled him out the door. I was trying to understand my dad's point of view, but he was making it difficult. Didn't he trust me? Didn't he trust Ryan? Ryan would never let anything happen to me, at least not while he was still breathing.

"That was intense," Ryan said. "Your dad doesn't like me, does he?"

"It's not you," I replied. "I don't think he would like anyone I was dating."

"You're sure it's not me? Because I'm of the furry persuasion?"

"Positive," I said. "There's no way my father would side with the Scourge in anything." Though he was a norm, my dad was an insider in the paranormal community. His research at UC Nightshade had focused on paranormals, which is why the Scourge kidnapped him.

Ryan nodded and then changed the subject. "Sean and Samantha are meeting us at the club. Samantha had something to do first."

I bet Sam was shopping for a new outfit. I looked down at my jeans and top, suddenly worried that I was underdressed for clubbing.

The parking lot at the Black Opal was already almost full and Side Effects May Vary didn't go on until nine p.m.

As soon as the car stopped, Ryan jumped out and came around to open my door for me. He took my hand as we headed into the club. Nicholas was at the door and he waved to us.

To my surprise, Sean and Samantha were already at a table at the front.

"What took you so long?" she said as we slid into the two empty seats.

"The Inquisition," I said.

"History homework?" Sean asked.

"No, my dad," I replied. "He's still in overprotective mode."

Samantha said, "My dad was like that when I first moved in with him."

Samantha's parents had divorced, and she'd moved in to her dad's place by the university.

"Is he over it yet?"

"Not really," she said. She laughed at my look of gloom. "Cheer up! We have tonight."

Ryan pulled me closer and whispered in my ear. "We have forever."

"I'm surprised you're here so early," I told Samantha. "Ryan said you had something to do first. I thought you'd be picking out a new outfit, or something."

"Those days are long gone, remember? The Devereaux family finances do not allow for splurgy trips to the mall anymore. I just had to pick up a few more supplies for decorations," she explained.

Samantha's family had been rich but had lost their money. She didn't like to talk about it, and I didn't want to pry.

Before I could respond, Side Effects May Vary came onstage and the room broke out into loud applause. Nurse Phillips was almost unrecognizable in her naughty nurse outfit, teased beehive, and stiletto heels strumming a sparkly turquoise bass guitar. The lead singer wailed out a cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding."

"C'mon, let's dance," Ryan said.

So we did.

About an hour later, the band took a break and I noticed that Poppy and Rose were at the club, sitting with Nicholas at a table in the back.

Rose and Nicholas were staring into each other's eyes, but Poppy looked completely bored.

I tugged on Ryan's arm. "Let's go say hi to my sisters."

He took my hand and led me through the crowd.

He grabbed two spare chairs and pulled them up to my sisters' table.

"I didn't know you were coming tonight," I said aloud. I sent a message to Rose.
Poppy looks miserable.

She sent a message back.
I know. I thought a night out would cheer her up.

Poppy caught on to what we were doing and sent me a scathing look. "Quit doing that," she said. "C'mon, I'm tired of sitting here. I came here to have some fun." She gave one smile to a cute guy with shaggy dark hair standing nearby. He was at our table in a heartbeat, asking her to dance.

Ryan and I followed her and her new friend out on the floor. Even Nicholas and Rose got out of their chairs for a couple of songs.

It seemed like we'd only been there a few minutes, but when I looked at my watch, it was past eleven o'clock.

I'd lost track of the time. "I told Dad I'd be home at eleven," I said.

"Oh, boy," Poppy said. "Are you in trouble."

I stuck out my tongue at her. "I'll call him. I'm sure it will be no big deal."

Nobody picked up, so I relaxed a bit. Dad had probably already gone to bed. Just in case, I left a message. No big deal.

But it was a big deal.

When Ryan and I walked up the walkway, the front door opened and my dad stormed out in his bathrobe.

"Where have you been?" he fumed.

"I told you," I replied. "At the Black Opal."

He pointed to his watch. "You were supposed to be home twenty minutes ago."

"Mr. Giordano," Ryan started to say, but my father interrupted him. "Ryan Mendez, I suggest you head on home yourself. Your father is probably wondering where you are." Then he turned around and stomped inside.

I gave Ryan a very brief kiss and whispered, "I'll be okay. Go ahead and go."

"Are you sure?" he whispered back. "He seems pretty mad."

"I'm positive," I replied.

Dad was waiting for me in the kitchen. He was listening to my message when I came in.

There was a long silence as the sound of my voice faded.

"Daisy, I ... I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't check the machine and I overreacted."

"Yes, you did," I replied. "But I'm sorry I was late. I wasn't trying to push it, I just—"

"Lost track of time?" he said wryly. "If I would have taken a few more seconds to listen to your message, I would have known that. My apologies. I hope I didn't embarrass you in front of your boyfriend."

"You could never embarrass me," I said. I gave him a hug, and then cleared my throat. "Where's Mom? Still at work?"

Mom was a psychic investigator and often had weird hours. It had been clear early on that Rose and Poppy had inherited her abilities, but everyone had thought I was a normal, just like Dad, until my junior year, when my talents finally manifested.

He nodded. "Yes, but she's due home any minute. She missed dinner so I was just fixing her a salad. Want to help?"

"Sure," I said.

He handed me a head of lettuce and some vegetables and I happily chopped while he whipped up a quick dressing for the salad. It seemed like old times at the Giordano household and I felt a warm glow at having my father back. But he wasn't adapting well to the changes in our lives since he went away. I pushed away the niggling worry that maybe he never would.