“Don’t worry, Georgie,” she said quietly after Layla had disappeared to talk to Seth. “Just taking a header out of that trailer yesterday was enough. There’s someone nasty around Jaxx, and I’m not taking any stupid risks. Jerry can’t get here until just before we go on, but I’m staying put.”
“I’m going to call Scott anyway,” Georgie said. “It only needs us all to be distracted at the same time by the camera crew needing something, or Jaxx wanting a sound bite, and someone could get to you.”
Once Scott arrived, she felt calmer. “Stick with Tammy,” she told him, before rushing off to liaise with the retro crowd and tell them more about the TV series. “Both before and after her piece—although Jerry can stay with her afterwards.” Then she re-thought that. “On the other hand, dressed as Conrad Birdie, he’s going to be swamped. No, stay with her.”
“Good as done,” he said, and made his way to Layla’s trailer.
Finally, at around two in the afternoon, came the moment they’d all been anticipating.
The band announced the end of a set, and then played a quick riff to get everyone’s attention.
“You all know our favorite Rockabilly Princess, right?” the lead singer boomed.
Everyone cheered, knowing what to expect. “Tam-my! Tam-my!”
“Are you ready to give her a big welcome?”
“Yes! YES! Bring her on!” More cheers.
The cheers became appreciate laughter and wolf-whistles—from both males and females—as Jerry, dressed in gold as Conrad Birdie, emerged from the tent behind the band. He carried Tammy effortlessly, and set her down on the stage before jumping up himself and taking the mic.
“As you can see, folks,” he said, grinning, “Tammy has managed to do herself some damage—she really did try to break a leg!”
The crowd laughed and applauded, with cries of ‘Way to go, Tammy!” and “Go, Tammy!”
“But,” said Jerry, “She’s not going to miss a chance to sing for you all. And I’m guessing that some of you will recognize the outfit!”
“Ann-Marget!”
“Bye Bye Birdie!”
“Go, Conrad!”
Jerry laughed and played to the crowd, waving Tammy forward to take a bow. “Are you all ready?”
“Yes! Yes!”
“Then let’s go!”
The band launched into “Bye Bye Birdie”, with the crowd joining in enthusiastically and the girls flipping their swing skirts in sync with Tammy. Disobeying Jerry’s strict instructions to stand still, she did a sterling job of prancing about the stage, casting star-struck looks at Jerry while he mimed playing the guitar.
Georgie had to force herself to look away, and when she did was shocked by the petulant jealousy on Jaxx’s face.
It was a stark contrast to Tammy’s air of innocence and fun.
She really did hate being upstaged.
Scott, standing on the fringes of the crowd, caught her eye and nodded. He’d seen the same thing. Then he looked away, scanning the crowd.
Georgie did the same, looking from face to face, and studying each of the vintage trailers carefully. Especially Layla’s.
Was there really a threat to them all, somewhere in this crowd of fun-loving people?
Chapter 12
After Tammy’s rousing reception by the crowd, Jaxx grew increasingly bad-tempered. Suddenly the attention was off the famous-and-beautiful Jaxx Saxby and focused on the retro crowd’s favorite Rockabilly Princess. By the time the tenth person had exclaimed to Jaxx how amazing it was that Tammy looked so much like her and enquired if Jaxx could sing and dance too, she was ready to rip someone’s head off. She did score a few points by hinting that she could well be appearing on Dancing with the Stars (murmured in a confidential tone with a coy finger to the lips and the warning: “but you didn’t hear that from me!”) but the reaction was not quite enthusiastic enough to sweeten her temper.
She had no choice but to stick around for interviews with some of the retro crowd, but by the time the day’s events were drawing to a close her face was set in a permanent frown. She stomped across to Seth and Dom, taking final crowd shots as the sun went down, and told them that they’d better get back to base and start downloading so she could assess the quality of the day’s film before the next day, because God knew they had another huge day tomorrow and she was exhausted. With that, she swept a final fulminating glance over Layla’s long tanned legs in her form-fitting shorts, cast a killing glare at Tammy and Jerry carousing with the band, and hurried off to her car, taking Ella with her. Ella cast a look back at the others and rolled her eyes while miming tearing her hair out.
Seth raised his eyebrows at Dominic. “Got enough, Dom?”
“Enough for a whole show on the vintage scene alone,” confirmed Dominic, casting a wistful glance at the rowdy crowd jiving to 50s rock tunes. “Going to take us hours to download and back up.”
“We’d better get moving then.” Seth pressed a few buttons on his camera and then folded the tripod and put the whole thing over his shoulder. “When Jaxx is in that kind of mood…”
Georgie rolled her eyes at Scott and sighed. “We’d better go too; keep an eye on her. I’ll have a word to Jerry to make sure he doesn’t leave Tammy’s side.”
Scott’s lips twitched as he looked at Jerry, sitting with a proprietary hand on Tammy’s knee. “I don’t think there’s any danger of that. I’ll go now, follow Jaxx along the road.” He put a hand on Georgie’s arm. “And while you’re busy looking after everyone else, don’t forget what I said. Be careful.”
He didn’t elaborate, since Seth and Dominic were still in earshot, but Georgie nodded. It was nice having someone concerned for her welfare. “I won’t. I’ll be following you as soon as I tell the others I’m going.”
“OK.” Scott walked off at a rapid clip, his eyes on Jaxx’s red car backing out of its parking spot.
Layla looked undecided, looking from Georgie to her friends whooping it up as Happy Hour got underway.
Georgie saved her. “You stay, Layla, and help watch Tammy. I’m not going to feel comfortable until she gets back to being a blue-eyed blonde, instead of a Jaxx Saxby clone.”
“Are you sure…? Thanks, I will.” Happy to be with her gang, Layla made a beeline for the band.
~~~
Jaxx had taken off like a bat out of hell, with Scott in hot pursuit, and Georgie could see neither vehicle on the road ahead as she turned out of the gate. Typical of Jaxx, she thought, thinking of the way the other woman ignored the 5mph signs around the RV Empire. She appeared to be completely self-centered. It wasn’t really surprising that someone was out to get revenge—but who was it, and for exactly what?
While she drove, she ran through the information that she and the rest of her team had unearthed. Crystal Ball Investigations was, she thought, a bit of a misnomer: all she had seen in the crystal ball so far were a few images of Jaxx and a house on the cliff. Although, to be fair, that had led to Layla asking Scott about the house, and they now knew that it was part of a shoot where Jaxx had fired three people.
And there was her own conviction that the person after Jaxx was a woman.
The women in Jaxx’s life, she thought… Lilli and Ella, neither of who particularly liked her, but put up with her to further their own careers. Then the two women who were fired: Courtney, the personal assistant who became too attractive to keep around—of all the stupid reasons—and Mel, the girl doing publicity who got back at her by sending out less-than-flattering promo shots. That made four. She thought briefly of Jaxx’s three schoolteacher sisters, but that just didn’t feel right. They were all married with families. What motivation would they have for chasing Jaxx around the country and wreaking mischief?
She entered the outskirts of Elkhart and turned towards the huge RV Empire lot, still thinking. It wasn’t likely to be Lilli. She had been inside the trailer with Seth and Tammy when the step had been moved.
That left Ella, Courtney and Mel. Unless
she was completely on the wrong track and it was someone she hadn’t even thought of.
No, she thought immediately, her heart giving a giant thump. She wasn’t wrong; she felt it. It was one of those three, but which?
Ella had access to the motorhome and Jaxx’s private quarters, and would know every movement that Jaxx made. She could also move freely around the RV Empire; with her Goth looks and clothing, she stood out. But she was a hairdresser—she could, presumably, make herself look like Jaxx if she wanted to. It would have to be a wig, though, because she couldn’t change her hair color from black to auburn in a hurry… could she? Or could you buy spray-on colors?
No, that would be too time-consuming. It would have to be a wig.
She sighed. Ella just didn’t feel right.
Her thoughts turned to the other two. First, the publicist—Mel. From what Seth had told Layla, it sounded as though she and Jaxx had clashed before the incident that led to her being fired. She had sent out unflattering photos because she wanted to get back at Jaxx.
Would being fired be enough to make her stalk Jaxx?
And then, Courtney: the assistant who was too attractive to keep around. Fire your competition and jeopardize a whole shoot. Good one, Jaxx. Would that girl be mad enough to haunt Jaxx’s footsteps?
Would any of them be likely to mistake Tammy for Jaxx, and target her instead?
This was all beginning to make her head ache.
She drove up the side street to the Platinum Customer Care entrance to the RV Empire, admiring the effect of the sunset reflected in reds and oranges from dozens of windows of RV windows in the background as she leaned out of the window and punched in the code to open the gate.
There was nothing else for it: she was going to have to take Jaxx into her confidence. If the woman decided to turn all this into a big publicity stunt, there was nothing Georgie could do about it. Better to be safe than sorry.
Then, as she drove up toward Scott’s camper, a scream sent everything else out of her mind. She saw Jaxx in the door of her motorhome, her hands to her mouth, and Scott running to her from his truck.
No, she thought. No.
Chapter 13
Georgie parked her truck askew in front of Scott’s and raced after him.
Jaxx’s face was pale, her eyes panicky. “Quick! Oh, hurry!” She disappeared inside, Scott launching himself up the steps after her.
Her mind in a whirl, Georgie followed close on his heels.
Inside, Ella was on her knees watching Trixxi, who was trying to get up and wobbling on unsteady feet before collapsing again, her bright eyes moving rapidly. A small pool of vomit lay in front of her feed bowl.
Scott hunkered down next to Ella, reaching for the dog. He tipped up her chin and looked at her eyes, and then lifted her into his arms. “Trixxi, girl. What’s the matter?” he said softly, gentle fingers stroking her.
“What’s wrong with her? Is she having a fit?” Jaxx clutched at his arm. “We need a vet.”
“We do.” Scott shot a glance at Georgie, and although his face was calm, there was pure fury in his eyes. “It looks like she’s been given a bait.”
“A bait?” Jaxx stared at him, aghast. “Who would poison Trixxi? She so good, she doesn’t make a sound. She doesn’t annoy anybody, not like some dogs I’ve seen in RV parks.”
“It’s not Trixxi they’re after, Jaxx,” Georgie said. “I think it’s you. Trixxi is just a way to get at you.” She ran a finger over Trixxi’s fluffy topknot, feeling the little dog’s head tremors. “Poor little thing.”
Jaxx’s mouth dropped open. “What? After me? But why?”
Georgie could think of a dozen reasons, but forbore to say so. “The day we did a reading, I sensed that there was trouble coming for you.” That was putting it mildly, but the last thing they needed was Jaxx in hysterics. “Somebody is not happy with you, Jaxx. I didn’t want to say anything until I could find out more, but now—” She looked at Trixxi, who after giving Scott one half-hearted lick had sunk into lethargy. “This could be a warning, or a threat.”
“Here. Take her for a moment.” Scott handed the dog to Georgie and turned his attention to Jaxx. “Do you have any small plastic containers? Or zip lock bags?”
“Uh. Yes…” Jaxx looked at him uncomprehendingly. “Why?”
Scott pointed at the dog’s vomit. “We’ll take this in: the vet might be able to tell what she’s ingested.”
Jaxx’s nose wrinkled, but she nodded and opened a cupboard to grab a box of zip lock bags. “How could they do this? Trixxi never hurt anyone. I never hurt anyone.”
“Can it, Jaxx,” Ella said crossly, getting to her feet. “You hurt people all the time, or make them angry. You’d fired three people just before I started, had you forgotten that? You’re always losing your temper.”
“I am not! Don’t you say that about me!” Jaxx almost flung the box at Scott. “If I get a bit short with people, it’s because I’m surrounded by incompetents.”
“Not now, ladies,” Scott said, extracting a bag and turning it inside out before scooping up some of the vomit. “Let’s worry about Trixxi.” He turned the bag back the right way again, enclosing the contents, and zipped it up. And then his eye fell on Trixxi’s water dish, and a speculative light entered his eye.
“What is it?” Georgie asked, seeing him glance at the dog and then back to her bowl.
“Just a thought.” He took the bowl to the sink and tipped it until a thin trickle of water splashed out, and his lips tightened. “Damn it! Damn it!” He dipped a finger into the bowl and tasted it. “Jaxx, I need a bottle—no, never mind.” He yanked open the fridge, extracted a bottle of water, and poured the contents into the sink. Then he filled it with the water from Trixxi’s bowl.
Georgie narrowed her eyes as she watched. “It’s green.”
“They used antifreeze,” Scott said shortly, and followed up with a few choice swear words. “Georgie, where’s the nearest vet?”
“I’ll take you there.” She swapped Trixxi for the bottle and the zip lock bag. “Jaxx, Ella, I don’t think it would be a good idea to stay here tonight. I’ll contact the security guard and ask him to stay with you until I can call Dad; he’ll arrange for a hotel.”
“I want to come with you.” Jaxx started to follow them, but Scott stopped her with a look.
“No, do what Georgie says and go pack a few things,” he said, looking uncharacteristically grim. “We’ll let you know about Trixxi. And this time, lock the damned door behind you!”
Jaxx’s eyebrows drew together in a frown, and she opened her mouth as if to argue, but then her eye fell upon Ella, who was still looking daggers at her.
“Well,” she said, with a new target for her anger, “If you can be bothered, Ella, we need to pack. If I’m not too bad-tempered to spend time with.” She whirled on her heel and disappeared.
Georgie called the security guard, filled him in and then dismissed Jaxx and her tantrums from her mind.
Right now, the only important thing was the welfare of a tiny ball of fur that had been an innocent victim.
~~~
A few hours later, Georgie and Scott met up with her father in the security room at the RV Empire. Johnny B. Goode, looking grim, was standing behind the second night guard, staring at a playback screen. With him was Michael Crosby, the owner of the security company, eager to offer help. The mammoth RV Empire was one of his best clients.
He looked at Georgie and Scott, and then at Johnny.
“You know my daughter,” Georgie’s dad said. “This is Scott... Scott, meet Michael.” He looked at them, his eyes somber. Johnny owned three dogs, and he was not taking this lightly. “How’s the pup?”
“We got there in time. She should be OK in a couple of days,” Scott said. “How long it takes depends on when she drank it.” He nodded at the screen. “This might tell us when it happened—but if the dog was asleep and it was a few hours before she ingested the poison, that’ll help.”
&nb
sp; “We’ve bookmarked the places where there was activity around the RV,” said the guard, “starting from when everyone left this morning. I’ll jump to each instance.”
For the next ten minutes, he ran the recording, jumping from one bookmarked spot to the next. Since the Johnny B. Goode RV Empire had invested in top quality equipment, the high-definition color recording allowed an impressive clarity and zoom.
They watched while Jaxx and Ella hurried out, early that morning, Jaxx bubbly and excited, whirling around in her aqua and black swing skirt, her high ponytail bobbing. They left, and the next few people in the vicinity of the motorhome were just employees taking care of the grounds; trimming shrubs or walking past with supplies. Then, at sixteen minutes after three in the afternoon—shown on the timestamp as 15:16— Jaxx returned to the motorhome, wearing sunglasses with impenetrable black lenses and carrying her usual oversized tangerine-colored Celine tote. She paused at the steps to the RV, looked around casually, and then mounted the steps and pushed open the door.
She stepped inside, and the door closed behind her.
“Jaxx?” Georgie frowned at the screen, not willing to believe what her eyes were telling her. “Are you sure that’s the right time stamp?”
“Camera doesn’t lie,” said the security company owner. “Well, it can, but not in this case. That’s her all right.”
Georgie shook her head. “No, it isn’t. I was there with her all day—keeping an eye on both her and Tammy.” She glanced at Scott. “So was Scott. And did you see what she’s wearing here? Just those black capris she likes and one of her tight t-shirts. Not what she wore out this morning.”
Scott confirmed her words with a nod. “Georgie’s right, it can’t be Jaxx. Can you go back and zoom in?”
Georgie’s father interrupted. “I’ve watched this several times while we were waiting. Keep watching. Marty, go to the next bookmark.”
In Good Hands: Book 5 Georgie B. Goode Gypsy Caravan Cozy Mystery Page 7