Read Stalk, Don't Run for Free Online

Mr. Safer told her with a smile. “So far you’re doing an excellent job.”
    But I wasn’t smiling. Not one bit. I had a feeling whose idea it had been to replace me with Mandy.
    “Do you know how many grams of fat are in one of these?” Mandy asked as she struggled to place the cheese wheel on a shelf behind the counter. “I’ll bet you can get cellulite from just looking at it.”
    “Mr. Safer,” I said, lowering my voice. “This was Deirdre Shannon’s idea, wasn’t it?”
    “Deirdre did suggest Mandy,” Mr. Safer said in practically a whisper. “But that wasn’t the only reason I hired her.”
    “Why did you?” I asked.
    “Theater, Nancy,” Mr. Safer said. “I’m hoping Mandy, Mallory, and Mia will agree to star in my production of The Three Sisters by Chekhov.”
    I stared at Mr. Safer. I knew that when he wasn’t selling cheese, he was directing plays at the River Heights Theater. What I didn’t know was that he could be so star-struck.
    “You know theater is my life,” Mr. Safer went on. “Besides cheese, of course.”
    “Okay,” I said. “Maybe Mandy and I can both work here.”
    “I can only afford to pay one worker at a time,” Mr. Safer said. “Besides, as soon as Mandy commits to the play, she won’t have time to work here anymore—and you can come back.”
    “Gee, thanks,” I mumbled.
    “I knew you’d understand, Nancy,” Mr. Safer said. “It’s not like you really need this job. After that case you solved on Malachite Beach, you’re a famous detective.”
    Mandy shrieked as the wheel of cheese fell to the floor with a clunk .
    “It’s okay, dear,” Mr. Safer said, running to her aid. “Let me give you a hand with that.”
    I decided to suck it up and not argue, but the whole thing did stink—worse than some of Mr. Safer’s cheeses. Deirdre had put Mr. Safer up to this—not just to get her a job in town, but to get me fired.
    “Bye, Mr. Safer . . . Mandy,” I said.
    I was just about to leave when the door flew open. Some guy wearing a wide straw hat pushed past me, bumping my shoulder, not even saying “excuse me.”
    Mandy can have this job, I told myself as I left the store. And let Deirdre Shannon deal with the crazy Casabians.
    The crowd went wild when they saw me come out of the store.
    “Did you see Mandy?” someone called out.
    “Are you going back in?” another shouted. “Can you get me her autograph?”
    “No comment,” I said, shoving through the crowd. I was happy when I made it through—and even happier to see Bess’s car double-parked at the curb. George was in the passenger seat.
    “Nancy, what’s up?” Bess called.
    “You’re not going to believe this,” I said. “Mr. Safer just sacked me for Mandy Casabian.”
    George leaned out the window and said, “He gave your job to Mandy? Are you serious?”
    “Totally.” I sighed. “Deirdre was behind it, but Mr. Safer has his own plans.”
    Before I could explain about the play, Bess nodded toward the crowd. “Hey, aren’t those the girls we saw at Maggie’s camp?” she asked. “The ones who were wearing the Casabian Sisters T-shirts in the dining hall?”
    I turned toward the store and looked. Bess was right. It was the three rude girls who’d looked familiar to me. So that’s where I’d seen them before—Camp Athena!
    “That’s them,” I said. “I wonder if Amy knows they’re not at camp.”
    “I wonder if Amy knows what they’re eating!” George said.
    One of the girls was digging into a small bag of chips. The two others were stuffing their mouths with candy bars.
    “They’re not supposed to be eating junk food!” I said. “I thought Camp Athena was all about healthy lifestyles.”
    “Well, they’re not at camp now,” Bess said angrily. “How did they get their sneaky little hands on all that?”
    The girl eating the chips noticed us watching and stuck her tongue out.
    “Nice,” I said.
    “Well, this day is off to an awful start,” Bess said, leaning