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Union Square & Co., LLC, is a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Text © 2025 Laura Lavoie

Cover illustration © 2025 Ash Roy

Chapter opening illustrations © 2025 Union Square & Co., LLC

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

ISBN 978-1-4549-5815-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-4549-5816-1 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024040158

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Cover and interior design by Liam Donnelly

Chapter opening illustrations by Liam Donnelly

To Phil, in our thirteenth year of marriage.

NOVELS WRITTEN BY AUGUSTA BLACK:

The Woman of the Waves

A Catastrophe of Crows

Secrets in the Storm

The Haunted Lighthouse

The Night Owl

The Case of the Stolen Stagecoach

Eyes, Eyes, Everywhere

The Mysterious Death of Catherine Kingsley

An Unexpected Guest

The Lone Wolf

A Murder at the Mansion

Clues in a Castle

1 SUBARUS AND SUNTANS

FROM THE BACK SEAT of Beulah, her family’s Subaru station wagon, Maya Murtagh scowled at the sun. After two straight weeks of clouds and drizzle, the sun had chosen today, of all days, to finally make an appearance. And it was majorly messing with Maya’s vibe.

Her family was about to embark on their annual weeklong vacation. Beulah was packed and ready, brimming with bags. But this year, Maya didn’t want sunshine for their travels. She’d hoped for grey skies, rumbling clouds, maybe some flashes of lightning. She wanted to set a mood: dark, ominous, mysterious. It was only fitting, given where they were going.

Dad closed Beulah’s hatchback, securing the mountain of bags, and the Murtaghs’ next-door neighbor waved from his driveway. Mr. Brown was holding a hose, washing down his own Subaru. The cars were a bit of a cult-like thing in Vermont. Nearly every family on the Murtaghs’ street owned one. With the irritating sun beaming off his bald head—bright and shiny—Mr. Brown called out, “Here’s hoping the rain stays away for you!”

Maya’s mom leaned out of the passenger window, her reflection in the sideview mirror showing a cheerful, red-lipstick smile. “You’ll see us in a week with tans!”

Maya’s mouth quirked. That was a major long shot. Sure, her dad might tan, but Maya and Mom were both redheaded and a see-through sort of pale. They wouldn’t do anything but burn.

Dad pulled away from the curb with a honk and a friendly Vermonter wave, then guided the Subaru toward the interstate. Maya rested her arm by the window, watching the rush of green along the side of the road pass by. To her right, Lake Champlain glittered with fragmented sunlight. Sailboats dotted the horizon for the first time in months. School may have gotten out a few weeks earlier, but summer sometimes came late in Vermont, and this was one of those years.

The sudden sun this morning had caught Maya by surprise. After months of wearing jeans and cozy flannel shirts, she’d scrambled to find her favorite pair of worn-in denim shorts, pulled a wrinkled T-shirt from the bottom of a drawer, and made the choice to break out her new white Keds—a birthday gift from Mom and Dad. She’d turned twelve two months earlier, but the weather hadn’t been right for summer shoes yet.

Wearing the Keds solidified it: summer was officially here. Which was a good thing, mostly. She just wished it wasn’t so darn sunny … especially today.

Dad steered Beulah onto the highway, with miles upon miles of nothing to look at but bumpers. Maya reached across the seat and grabbed the mystery novel she was reading. The book was written by her favorite author, Augusta Black. And it was scary—good scary. Maya loved a story that made her spine shiver, her toes scrunch up, and her stomach sink to the floor. This book did all three, despite the fact that she was reading it in the warm glow of July sunshine.

But as the Murtaghs passed through New Hampshire, then crossed the big bridge at the Piscataqua River and made their way onto the curving, narrow roads that weaved through Maine’s MidCoast, the weather shifted. Maya’s attention perked up as raindrops splattered her window—gentle at first, then picking up speed.

By the time they passed a sign that proclaimed, WELCOME TO WISTERIA, MAINE, black clouds hung overhead. Murky fog rose from the road, so thick you could barely see through it. Peering through her window now, Maya grinned. This was more like it.

“Okay, where are we?” Mom cupped a hand over her eyes, attempting to see through the fog. “Is it me, or is the GPS taking us in circles?”

“I’m sure we’re getting close!” Dad was trying to sound cheerful, but Maya saw his bushy eyebrows knit together in the rearview mirror. He leaned forward, cranking up the wipers to full speed.

Mom glanced over her shoulder. “You doing okay back there? It’s been a long drive.”

Maya dropped the grin, quickly rearranging her face into a solemn expression. She probably shouldn’t look ecstatic when her parents were clearly worried about the weather and the wonky GPS. “Yeah, Mom. I’m fine.”

Mom smiled—not showing teeth—then turned her attention back toward the road.

Maya’s phone buzzed inside her pocket. She pulled it out, saw the name on the screen, and felt her shoulders tighten. Claudia.

Have fun on your trip! the text said. Then, a second one: I’m so jealous!!

Maya pushed down an uneasy feeling that wriggled into her chest. Claudia had been her best friend since kindergarten, but at the end of the school year they’d had a fight. Their first fight, and a big one. Things had felt awkward between them ever since.

Maya typed a quick reply: Thanks! and shoved the phone back in her pocket.

She hated feeling like things were weird between her and Claudia. But she had a plan to make it right. Maya wasn’t just going on a family vacation—she was on the hunt for a mystery of her own. If she could find one, it would fix everything.

She chewed a fingernail, thinking. She hoped it would fix everything.

“Hannah Montana,” Dad muttered from the driver’s seat. It was an expression that he, inexplicably, used in place of a curse.

“What?” Mom wanted to know.

Dad pointed, and Maya’s eyes followed. They were passing the WELCOME TO WISTERIA, MAINE sign again. They were definitely driving in circles.

2 NOAH DAVIS, IN THE NEWSROOM

THE FIGHT BETWEEN MAYA and Claudia started because of Noah Davis.

He’d strutted into the Addams Middle School newsroom one day back in April, all bright white teeth and neatly combed hair. Maya and Claudia were busy working on an investigative piece for the school paper—a major exposé about the quality of the cafeteria’s bagels. Poor Ms. Sullivan, the sixth-grade math teacher, had broken a tooth on one in a pretty horrific incident that had left the entire grade screaming along with her.

Maya had discovered that the bagels arrived at school chewy (as bagels should be). But when they were served in the lunch line, the bagels were so hard you could use one to break a window.

But why were the bagels turning into tooth-crushers? Were they not being served soon enough? Was the staff not storing them properly? This was what Maya was determined to figure out.

“Ah!” Mr. Newman, the paper’s adviser, clapped his hands when Noah entered the room. Mr. Newman’s pants were always too short, and his socks were always patterned with a funky design. That day, they were covered in hot dogs with tiny, wiggly stripes of mustard.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Noah Davis, a new seventh grader and a very talented writer.” Mr. Newman’s voice squeaked when he got excited, and it was squeakier than ever when he introduced Noah. “Noah will be writing a regular column for the Addams Gazette starting next week.”

Noah smiled and gave the room a confident wave.

Maya wrinkled her nose. Regular spots on the paper were earned, not handed out to whoever wanted one. What made Noah so special that he got his own column right away? It was hardly fair to the other writers who’d worked hard all school year trying to prove themselves to Mr. Newman. Writers like Maya and Claudia, who had each written a few articles here and there but hoped to convince Mr. Newman to make their bagel piece the first in a series: Maya and Claudia on the Case.

“What’s up with him getting a regular spot on his first day?” Maya whispered.

Claudia was staring at their pile of scribbled notes, her cheeks flushed pink.

Maya figured Claudia was annoyed, too. When Mr. Newman gave the girls the green light to write an investigative piece, he’d told them that Maya’s original plan—to write about the human toe bone that someone had found two miles from school property—was “too gritty” for middle schoolers. Please. She’d read way scarier stuff in the Augusta Black novels.

Maya wanted to be an investigative journalist. The detective in Augusta Black’s books, Thora Thurgood, was her inspiration. Thora was strong and brave, plus determined to make a name for herself, no matter what stood in her way—just like Maya. (They even shared double initials: MM for Maya Murtagh; TT for Thora Thurgood.)

But if Maya was going to make a name for herself at the paper, she and Claudia needed to find something to investigate. Bones were better, but without Mr. Newman’s approval, bagels were their next best bet.

“Clauds,” she prodded. “Did you hear me?”

Claudia nodded, still flipping through notes, her face growing redder by the minute.

Maya assumed Claudia was mad that Mr. Newman had given Noah a column. But as the weeks went on, she realized she’d been way off base.

She sprinted into the newsroom one day in early June, feet practically screeching like tires on hot pavement. She’d thought they’d hit a dead end with their investigation—with zero new leads—until she spied Mrs. Mangan, one of the cafeteria workers, pulling a huge bag of bagels out of the freezer. The sound they made when she thumped them on her workstation was like a bag of softballs hitting concrete. Definitely hard enough to break a tooth.

Claudia was supposed to meet Maya after school to help investigate. When she didn’t show—totally unlike her—Maya had raced for the only other place she thought her friend might be: the newsroom.

Maya waved an everything bagel in the air, sending sesame seeds flying. “Clauds! I think I figured it—oh.”

Claudia was huddled close to Noah’s computer monitor, her mouth spread in a grin that stretched practically up to her eyes. When she saw Maya, she sprang sideways, like Noah was the opposite pole of a magnet. “Hey, Maya! I was just, um, reading Noah’s interview questions for Madame Dubois.”

Noah had been interviewing every teacher at Addams Middle School, asking boring questions like, What’s your favorite color? and What are your plans for summer vacation? He’d interviewed four teachers so far, and Madame Dubois, the French teacher, was up next.

Mr. Newman was eating Noah’s stuff up. There was even talk of giving Noah a second column. Maya didn’t get it. What was fresh and exciting about the seventh-grade science teacher’s favorite pizza topping?

Noah looked up from the monitor. “You don’t have to be modest,” he told Claudia. Then, to Maya, “She’s not just reading it, she’s helping me come up with questions. After four teacher interviews, I’m running out of ideas.”

Maya gaped. Claudia was helping Noah—their main competition? The guy who had practically stolen their spot in the Gazette?

If they didn’t write an amazing piece, Mr. Newman might not give them another chance. Everyone knew the story of Chase McGuire, a kid who had left Addams Middle School altogether after Mr. Newman nixed his sports column.

It was bagels or bust. Didn’t Claudia care?

Maya went home steaming. When Claudia’s face popped up on her phone later that night, she’d answered the video call by snapping, “What?” instead of saying Hi, or Hey, Clauds, like usual.

“I’m sorry!” Claudia burst out. Her face was scrunched up, as if she might cry. “I didn’t mean to bail on bagel recon after school. I ran into Noah, and he asked me for help. I got distracted and forgot. I didn’t ditch you on purpose, I promise!”

Maya’s anger melted a little, like an ice cube slowly forming a puddle. “It’s okay.” She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry I was kind of a jerk.”

Claudia smiled. “I’m not mad. Tell me about that bagel you were waving around!”

They spent the rest of the week working hard on the story, sneaking into the cafeteria and checking the freezer where they found bags upon bags of rock-hard bagels. Jackpot!

When the piece was finished, the girls hugged and high-fived. Maya thought that was the end of their fight and everything would go back to normal. No—better than normal, because she and Claudia would finally get their big investigative feature in the Gazette!

But when Mr. Newman hiked up his frogs-and-lily-pads socks and announced which pieces would be in the last issue of the paper, Bagels: Busted! didn’t make the cut. Maya stayed behind in the newsroom long after the rest of the staff had left, pacing and seething.

“I can’t believe it! Noah got two columns in the Gazette. If it wasn’t for him, we would’ve made the last issue for sure!”

Claudia, who had hung back with her, frowned. “I don’t think it’s Noah’s fault. Mr. Newman just didn’t like our story. I mean, bagels aren’t exactly …”

Maya stopped pacing. “Bagels aren’t exactly what?”

Claudia wrinkled her nose. “Interesting?”

Maya stood stunned. If Claudia hadn’t liked the bagel idea, why had she gone along with it?

“Is that why you were helping Noah? Were you hoping you’d get a byline with him because my idea wasn’t good enough?”

Claudia’s cheeks flushed. “No, of course not. I was just being nice.”

It hit Maya then, like a kickball right to the stomach.

Claudia liked Noah. In that kind of way. That’s why she was always turning into a human tomato around him.

“But we were really onto something, and maybe, if you’d spent more time investigating with me instead of helping Noah prep interview questions …” Maya shook her head. “You know what, forget it.” She grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m going home.”

She spent the night fuming. They’d blown their big chance, and it turned out that Claudia didn’t believe in their piece in the first place. Why hadn’t she said something instead of buddying up to Noah?

Maya spent that night tossing and turning until she was twisted up in her blankets, a tangle of hurt, anger, and disappointment wrapped in layers of mint green fleece.

The next day, both girls apologized. It was hard to fight with someone you’d been best friends with for seven years. Plus, Claudia was right. The bagel idea was kind of lame … which meant Maya needed to come up with a better story. She could spend the summer making a plan. Come fall, she’d hit Mr. Newman with something so impressive, he couldn’t possibly turn her down.

If Maya and Claudia were a team again, it would fix the last of the weirdness lingering between them—Maya felt sure of it. She just needed some inspiration … an idea for a story that Claudia liked more than she liked Noah Davis. As luck would have it, Maya knew the perfect place to find it.