Camp Club Girls: Elizabeth

by Brumbaugh Green, Renae;

  A lady got on behind her and pressed the button for floor seven.

  At the sixth floor, Elizabeth got out. There were two sets of glass doors. Which ones should I choose? Did he say which doors? Elizabeth tried to remember if the man said left or right, but couldn’t recall anything except, “the double glass doors.”

  Elizabeth turned to her left. She nearly dropped her muffins, however, when the doors opened and Carrie Underwood walked through! The young woman smiled at her and kept walking.

  She was still staring at the back of the star’s head when she felt her cell phone vibrate.

  Double Trouble!

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Where are you?” Bailey whispered frantically.

  “I’m on the sixth floor. Have you heard from Kristi?”

  “No! You mean she’s not with you?”

  Elizabeth’s other line beeped. “Hold on, Bales, I’ve gotta get this.” She pressed the button. “Hello?”

  “Elizabeth? It’s Kristi. Meet me on the sixth floor as soon as you can. I’m on my way to the elevators to meet you.” Kristi was gone before Elizabeth could say anything.

  She punched back to Bailey. “Gotta go. I’ll call you in a few minutes.”

  She shoved the phone in her pocket.

  “But—”

  Elizabeth hated to cut Bailey off. But Kristi had sounded pretty urgent. Now where was she? At that instant, Kristi pushed through the double doors.

  “Whoa. How did you get here so fast?”

  “I was already here when you called.”

  Kristi grabbed Elizabeth’s arm. “They’re in recording room G! And they’ve got dad’s guitar!”

  “Who? Robert and Lori?”

  “Yes! And some other man I’ve never seen before.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for?”

  Kristi led Elizabeth through a long hallway, flanked on either side with soundproof recording rooms. Many of the rooms were empty, but a couple of them had people inside, some singing their hearts out into microphones, others working soundboards or playing instruments. Not a sound could be heard in the hallway.

  They rounded a corner, and Kristi stopped. “They’re in the next room. Should we stay out here and spy, or just barge right in?”

  “Are you sure it’s your dad’s guitar?”

  “Yes!”

  Elizabeth peered through the window of studio G. Sure enough, Robert, Lori, and one other man were inside. Robert and Lori appeared to be arguing. The man was examining the guitar. He had a rocket-shaped tattoo on his right hand, and wore layers of gold and silver chains around his neck. His hair hung in waves past his shoulders.

  They watched as the man stood, pulled out an envelope, laid it on the table, and said something.

  Lori grabbed the envelope and pulled out a wad of cash. She shoved it back in the envelope, and then grabbed the curtain to pull it shut. Before the girls had a chance to move, she saw them. Her face registered something akin to shock.

  A moment later, the door opened.

  “Girls, what are you doing here? You’re not supposed to separate from the group. Mr. Forrest isn’t going to like this at all,” Lori sneered.

  “Cut the act, Lori. I know you have Dad’s guitar. I saw it. Now give it back!” Kristi said, her voice getting louder with each word.

  The man stepped into the hallway, guitar case in hand. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing at all. These are just a couple of kids from the music camp. Robert and I will take care of it. Won’t we, Robert?”

  Robert glared at the woman.

  “Well, you’d better,” said the man. “I paid a lot of money for this guitar, and I don’t want any problems.”

  “That’s my dad’s guitar!” yelled Kristi, and Lori grabbed her and shoved her in the room. Robert grabbed Elizabeth and did the same.

  “You’d better get out of here,” Lori told the man, and he left. With the guitar.

  Elizabeth struggled against Robert’s hold, but she was no match for him. “What do you think you’re doing? You’ll never get away with this!” she told him.

  “Oh, be quiet!” Lori hissed. She pushed Kristi into a chair, and then began rummaging through the bottom drawer of a file cabinet. She pulled out cords, wires, and some duct tape.

  “Here. Tie them up,” she said, handing Robert the cords. She used the duct tape to secure Kristi’s hands behind her back.

  “This wasn’t part of the deal, Lori. I agreed to take the guitar for you. You said you wanted it for your collection, and that I could play it anytime I wanted to, for inspiration. That was the deal. You weren’t going to sell it! That guy doesn’t appreciate the value of Joshua Conrad’s guitar. He’s just going to auction it on eBay. No telling who will end up with it!”

  “You fool! Why would I want a stolen guitar in my collection? Do you know how many people see that collection? You don’t think they’d figure it out?”

  She jerked the cords from Robert and began to tie Elizabeth’s wrists behind her back.

  “But you said I could—oh, never mind. I should never have gotten mixed up in this.” He looked at Kristi. “Your dad is my hero. I’ve been having writer’s block, and my job is kind of on the line. When I read the letter that you sent to Lori’s dad, asking him if he wanted to buy the guitar, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I knew if I could just hold it, I might somehow get the inspiration to write something worthwhile. But I knew I couldn’t even begin to afford something like that.”

  Elizabeth flinched. The cords were cutting off the circulation in her hands. Dear God, help us!

  “I don’t understand,” Kristi said to Lori. “Your dad could buy you that guitar. He could give you any amount of money you wanted. Why did you have to steal it?”

  Lori ignored the question, using duct tape and cords to tie each girl’s ankles together.

  Robert laughed. “You’re right, Kristi. Lori’s dad has money. But what you don’t know is that he’s tired of bailing his little girl out of jail and paying for all her little fiascoes. He’s cut off her allowance, and has made her go to work for the company just like anyone else. Why do you think she’s a substitute teacher at a kids’ music conference? It certainly isn’t because she loves children and teenagers.”

  “You don’t know when to keep your mouth shut, do you? I’m getting out of here, and I suggest you follow me,” Lori said as she covered Elizabeth’s, then Kristi’s mouths with the duct tape. Finally, she yanked each girl’s chair out from under them, leaving the girls bound and gagged on the floor. She drew the curtains, turned out the lights, and motioned for Robert to go ahead of her.

  Elizabeth looked at him, wide-eyed, and prayed. His eyes held hers for just a moment, and then he turned and walked out the door. They heard it shut.

  Click!

  The lock was set.

  Her heart pounded in her chest, and she prayed like she had never prayed before.

  Bailey held the phone to her ear, straining to hear the conversation on the other end of the line. Elizabeth had failed to hang up her phone, and most of what Bailey could hear was a jumbled mess. But she heard enough to know that her friends were in trouble.

  Keeping the phone close to her ear, she whispered to Mary-Lynn, “Elizabeth and Kristi need our help. I think I heard something about recording room G.…Which floor are the recording studios on?”

  Mary-Lynn looked at her, then back at the tour guide. “She just told us—floor six. We’re going there next.”

  The elevator doors opened, and Robert and Lori stepped out. Bailey hadn’t heard any sound from the phone for several minutes. She didn’t know whether to follow the two suspects or look for her friends.

  Mary-Lynn saw them as well. “You go find Elizabeth and Kristi. Leave these two to me.” She took off after them.

  Bailey felt she had no choice but to trust Mary-Lynn. She had to make sure Elizabeth and Kristi were okay.

  The tour guide smiled. “We’
ll stop for a short break on the fourth floor, where you can purchase a soda or a snack. Then you’ll get to sit in on a real, live recording session with a mystery superstar! I can’t tell you who it is, but trust me. You’ll be thrilled!”

  Spotting an emergency exit sign, Bailey decided to take the stairs. She pushed open the doorway and bounded up the steps two at a time, three flights up, and into the hallway on the sixth floor. Panting, she looked around. Two men carrying coffee were exiting a set of double glass doors, and one of them held it open for her.

  “Thank you,” she said. The long corridor held rooms on either side. Each door was labeled, RECORDING ROOM A, B, C, and on down the row.

  God, please help me find them! And please let them be okay! She tapped her phone to make sure it was still working. Why hadn’t she heard any sounds?

  She was still tapping her phone as she rounded a corner and barreled right into a blond woman.

  “Oh, excuse me,” the woman said.

  Bailey barely looked at the woman. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I was looking for my friend.”

  “Oh, maybe I can help you. Which room is your friend in?”

  “I think she’s in—” Bailey focused on the woman’s face for the first time. She nearly dropped her phone.

  There, smiling the friendliest smile, with the biggest blond hair she’d ever seen in real life, was Dolly Parton. The real Dolly Parton. The woman wasn’t much taller than Bailey.

  “I…uh…”

  “I’ll bet you’re with that tour group, aren’t you? Well, this is supposed to be a surprise, but I’m going to sing for you all. Are you lost? How did you get separated from your group?”

  Bailey remembered her friends. This was no time to be starstruck. “I think my friends are in trouble. They said something about recording room G.”

  “In trouble? I hope not! Room G is right up ahead. Let’s just take a look, shall we?”

  Dolly led the way and tried to open the door. It was locked. “It doesn’t look like there’s anyone in there. The lights are off. Do you think they might be in a different room?”

  “No, I’m pretty sure I heard them say room G. Look, I know this sounds crazy, but is there any way we can just check? Can we get a key?”

  Dolly tossed her blond hair and said, “Of course we can, honey.”

  She pulled out a cell phone and punched a number. “Hi, Jim. I need to get into studio G, and it’s locked. Could you send someone over here with a key?”

  Closing the phone, she said, “You’re in luck. Jim is right next door.”

  Jim turned out to be a security guard. He smiled at Bailey, and then unlocked the door. “There you go, Miss Parton.”

  Dolly turned the knob, pushed open the door, flicked on the lights, and gasped. “Oh my stars above!”

  Bailey pushed past the superstar.

  “Elizabeth! Kristi! What happened? Are you alright?”

  Jim pulled out his walkie-talkie and called for backup.

  “Lori! Robert! Wait up!” Mary-Lynn called. The two stopped just outside the lobby doors, turning to look at the young redhead. “Oh, forgive me. I mean, Mr. Kranfield and Miss Miller. You’re both so young, I keep forgetting you’re teachers. Where are you going?”

  Lori looked at Robert, then at Mary-Lynn. “You should really go find your group.” She turned to go.

  “No, wait!” Mary-Lynn grabbed the woman’s arm. “I was actually wanting to know where you buy your clothes. You always look so…put-together.”

  Lori rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for this.”

  “No, seriously,” Mary-Lynn said. “I want to be successful in life, like you are. And the first step is to know how to dress. I…um…am beginning to wonder if my clothes are a little too dramatic at this stage. I’m afraid they might be keeping people from taking me seriously.”

  “Well, you certainly look more theatrical than professional,” Lori said. “But I have to go. Right now.”

  She pulled her arm away and turned toward the door. Suddenly, an alarm sounded, and several security guards rushed toward the entrance.

  “We’re sorry, Miss Miller, but we have a security issue. No one is allowed to leave the building until it’s resolved,” said one of the men.

  “This is ridiculous! My father owns this studio. I demand to be let out of this building, immediately!”

  Robert said nothing, just looked at his feet. Sirens sounded outside the building, and several police offers entered.

  “We had a report of an assault,” one of them said, and a security guard led the way to the elevators.

  Lori glared at Mary-Lynn. “Now look what you’ve done!”

  Mary-Lynn just smiled. Her work was done.

  An hour later, Elizabeth repeated her story for the fourth time, as a uniformed police officer recorded her words on a yellow notepad. Kristi was in another room, telling the same story, she was sure.

  “And you’re sure it was Lori Miller who tied you up?”

  “Yes, sir.” She rubbed her wrists where the cords had been. Since becoming a Camp Club Girl, she’d found herself in some pretty sticky situations. But this one was the worst, by far.

  “Thank you,” the officer said, and then left the room.

  Almost immediately, Bailey entered, nearly knocking Elizabeth out of her chair with a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried. Why did you sneak off like that without telling me?”

  “I’m just glad you found us. I heard you telling the police officer you could hear us on the phone? I had no idea I didn’t hang it up. I must have been so distracted, I accidentally put it in my pocket without shutting it.”

  “It wasn’t an accident. God was looking out for you! If you hadn’t done that, you might still be bound and gagged on the floor.”

  Elizabeth shuddered. That was an experience she’d just as soon forget.

  Kristi entered the room, looking dejected. “They caught Robert and Lori. They have them handcuffed, downstairs. Unfortunately, they didn’t catch the man with my dad’s guitar. He’s probably long gone by now.”

  “Maybe they’ll find him. We gave his description to the police. With that tattoo on his hand, he should be easy to spot,” Elizabeth reassured her.

  “Unless he wears gloves,” Kristi took the chair next to Elizabeth. “I can’t believe we were so close to getting it back, and we failed. We caught the thieves, but we still don’t have the guitar. This is going to break my dad’s heart.”

  “He’ll know it’s not your fault. He won’t blame you,” said Bailey.

  Kristi wiped a tear from her cheek. “Oh, he won’t care about the guitar. But it will break his heart that now he’ll never be able to send me to Julliard. We just can’t afford it.”

  “Let’s not worry about Julliard just yet,” said a man’s voice from behind them. The girls turned to find Mr. Forrest, leaning against the doorway. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I feel terrible that I had a couple of undesirable people on staff at the camp. Girls, I’m sorry. I’m going to make this up to you, I promise.”

  Just then, Dolly Parton pushed her way past Mr. Forrest. She had a tray in her hands, filled with burgers and sodas. “Excuse me, Rick. I thought these girls might be hungry after all they’ve been through. Here ya’ go, girls.”

  Elizabeth was amazed. One of the biggest country music stars on the planet had just served her lunch, on a tray. Talk about humility.

  “Thank you,” she told her.

  Dolly just laughed. “No need to thank me. I’m just glad that everybody’s okay. And Kristi, don’t you worry one bit about that guitar. I’ve made a few phone calls to my own security staff. With your description and Robert’s confession, I think they may be able to track the guy down.”

  She pulled up a chair and helped herself to a french fry. “Mmmmm. These are good.”

  Elizabeth couldn’t help but laugh. Dolly Parton was just a regular person. Just like she’d told Bailey—people are just people. She just hoped the
woman’s star-powered security team could track down that guitar.

  The Song in Elizabeth’s Heart

  Back at the conference center, Elizabeth, Bailey, Kristi, and Mary-Lynn had taken on a celebrity status of their own. Everyone wanted them to tell their stories, over and over, until Elizabeth was downright weary of it all.

  Mary-Lynn, on the other hand, thrived on the attention. “You should have seen Lori’s face when the alarm went off. And Robert, well…he looked as guilty as could be. I almost felt sorry for him, standing there like a whipped puppy while Lori ranted and raved about her daddy and her lawyers and her money. I don’t think her daddy or his money will be able to get her out of this mess, though.”

  The last day of the conference, Elizabeth awoke with a start. “Bailey! Today is the talent show!”

  Bailey rolled over in bed and groaned.

  “Bailey, I have to practice! I don’t even know what I’m going to perform.”

  Silence.

  “Bailey! Wake up! You have to help me. I can’t perform on the stage of the Grand Ol’ Opry if I’m not prepared.” Elizabeth flicked the light on.

  “Hey! Turn that off!” Bailey yelled.

  Elizabeth chuckled. “It’s payback time. Remember when you woke me up early at camp, just so I could help you practice for the talent show? Well, it’s your turn. I need you.”

  Bailey pulled the covers over her head. “Go back to sleep, Elizabeth. Whatever you do, you’ll be great. You’ll probably win the thing without even practicing.”

  Elizabeth sat on the side of her bed. Obviously, begging wasn’t going to work with Bailey this early in the morning. She needed to try another tactic. “You’re probably right. I’ll probably beat you.”

  That hit the mark. Bailey sat up in bed. “Beat me? Ha! Not without a fight, sister!”

  Elizabeth laughed. She knew she could appeal to Bailey’s competitive nature. “I’m just teasing. But I really do need your help. I don’t know what to sing.”

  “I thought you were going to perform one of your originals,” Bailey said around a yawn.