Murder By Muffin (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 3)

Paco looks up at me with his how-are-you-gonna-answer-that face.

A dog that sees ghosts, for one thing.

“I guess I was just in the right place at the right time,” I say.

She narrows her eyes. “That’s it?”

“Well … I’m pretty intuitive when it comes to reading people.” Ha! If she only knew just how intuitive I really am.

“Does that mean you can tell when someone’s bluffing?”

Her question makes me sit up straight. “You mean, like in poker?” I ask carefully.

“Something like that.”

It’s not like that at all. Whatever she’s trying to get at isn’t about poker or any other game. I’m not sure what she wants to know, but I get the feeling that she’s talking about something serious here.

“Sometimes I can tell when someone’s bluffing, but not always,” I lie, because of course I can tell. Just like I can tell that something has her on edge.

“Oh.” She sounds more than casually disappointed.

“Why do you ask?”

She looks away but not before I think I see a tear slip down her cheek. I must be hallucinating because this is Tara. She doesn’t cry. She makes other people cry.

I’m immediately ashamed of myself. She’s human (sort of).

“Tara, are you in some kind of trouble?” I ask gently. “Because … maybe I can help.”

Her head snaps up. “Trouble? Why would you say that?” She brushes the crumbs off her chin. “I’m a very busy person, Lucy. I don’t have any more time for your groveling. It’s pathetic, really. You can go now.”

And just like that, it’s the old Tara. I take it back. She’s not even partially human.

Paco sticks his nose in the air as if to say, Good riddance to you too.

I leave the same way I came in. Gilly is standing by the front door, looking like it’s the end of the world. “So did she tell you?”

“That The Bistro by the Beach is off the show? Yep. I even brought her muffins. Too bad I didn’t poison them,” I mutter.

Gilly sucks in a breath. “Why would you say that?”

“Lighten up. It’s just a joke.”

“Did she seem … okay? I mean, is she in a really bad mood?”

“I’d say she’s pretty much the same as always.” Gilly winces, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her. “You don’t have to put up with her screaming and snapping at you. Stand up for yourself, Gilly.”

“Oh, I couldn’t. I mean, I really need this job. What if she … what if she—”

“Fires you?”

Gilly nods.

“Then you’ll get another job. Screw Tara. She can’t treat people like dirt and get away with it. If you don’t demand respect, then you won’t get any.”

“I wish I was brave enough to stand up to her, but like I said, I just can’t lose this job.”

“That’s too bad. Hopefully, in the end, Tara will get exactly what she deserves.”