The Phantom of Oz

by Cindy Brown

“Did you do it?” I asked Arrestadt. “Have a little after-hours Botox party with Babette? Then put Candy’s fingerprints on a syringe so she’d be suspected?”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “I think he did,” Logan said. “He framed both of us. Babette probably told him I helped with the accidents, so he thought I’d make a good fall guy. Tried to pin it on me with that stupid Post-It note.”

  “Which probably has his fingerprints on it.” I said it for Arrestadt’s benefit. After everyone else handling the note, I was pretty sure any fingerprints were a mess. “I bet there are some on the C-clamp you loosened too.” I didn’t believe it and apparently neither did he, since he didn’t reply. He just shivered under his net. Dang. We didn’t have any hard evidence of what he’d done, and Candy wouldn’t make a great witness. Now what?

  DAHHH, duh duh duh duh duh...

  “Logan,” I said, “I don’t think we need the organ music.”

  “Um, I didn’t do that.”

  “Ew!” Candy yelped. A wave of cockroaches skittered past us and into the passageway. Arrestadt looked behind him, where they’d come from. The door in the back corner of the Nightmare creaked open, and his eyes grew big as quarters. “Uh, uh...okay, okay.” Arrestadt swallowed noisily. “I did it.” Something white and filmy twisted in the doorway. “I killed Babette!” he shouted. “Now go away.”

  “Not yet,” I said. “How did Candy’s fingerprints get on the syringe?”

  “I made her give me an injection.” That’s why his face looked funny when I saw him in the hotel—the Botox made his forehead immobile. “I wiped the one I used for Babette.” He didn’t take his eyes off the doorway. “I did it for Candace. I couldn’t let Babette get ahold of her.”

  “You did it for me?” Candy said. “The woman you drugged and kidnapped?”

  “I was keeping you safe. From Babette. I was going to nurse you back to health.”

  “I think you were implicating her in a crime so she’d stay hidden and quiet. And I think that’s blackmail, which is why you really murdered Babette.” I looked for the ghost, but it had gone. It didn’t matter. Arrestadt was now focused on Candy.

  “She’d have done it to you too, eventually.” His eyes pleaded with her. “She did it to everyone. She’d find your weakness and sink her teeth into it, like the pit bull she was, hanging on until she choked the life out of you.”

  “What did she have to blackmail you about?” Candy must not have been able to hear well in the coffin.

  “I didn’t kill her because of that,” said Arrestadt. “I killed her for you. I love you. That’s why I’m confessing now. So you don’t have to go to jail.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” I said.

  “Candace,” said Arrestadt. “Do you see? Do you understand?”

  “I understand that you killed an innocent—”

  Logan coughed.

  “Okay, a not-so-innocent woman. And, and…” Candy continued, struggling for words. “And you tried to frame me for it. And you would have kept me in a coffin.”

  “Please,” he said. “I didn’t mean that. It was just—”

  “I…am not done.” Whatever drugs Arrestadt had given Candy had thickened her tongue and slowed her wit. “And I understand that Ivy…Ivy rescued me, even after I’d been ugly to her.” She threw her arms around me. “I love you, girlfriend.”

  I hugged her hard. “I love you too.”

  “What about me?” Arrestadt asked Candy. “Do you love me?”

  “Shut up,” Candy and I said together.

  Together.

  Chapter 72

  Redeemed by One Spontaneous Fine Action

  I was glad when Logan offered me a ride home, even if it was in his incredibly messy car. I had an important question for him. “Whose skeleton is that?” I said as I buckled up. “You know, in your Nightmare Room?”

  He yawned. “Not sure. It’s been at the theater forever.” He started the engine. “Some say it’s the Lady in White, others say it belonged to the guy with the eye patch, the one whose portrait hangs in the lobby. They say he willed his skeleton to the theater to use as a prop so he’d never have to leave.”

  “Wow,” I said. “Thanks for leaving me with creepy unsettling questions right before bedtime.”

  “Some things are just meant to be a mystery.” Logan said. “I kind of like it that way.”

  On the drive home, I did a quick news search on my phone. Pretty sure Arrestadt was going to be charged with kidnapping and murder, and I thought I’d spotted the jowly journalist among the police that showed up at the theater. But no, nothing yet. Candy was big news, though. The gossip sites were full of the pic of her and me in Mexico. For a dumpster diver, Mama T had some pretty good media contacts.

  I made a call as soon as I walked in the door. Matt picked up after the first ring. “Ivy. Is everything okay?” He sounded bleary.

  “I know it’s three o’clock in the morning, but I had to call and tell you I found Candy and she’s okay and...” I told him the whole story. Then I told him the real reason I was calling. “I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about the tour. I...sort of forget that it’s not just me anymore. That my decisions affect you too.”

  “I know,” said the best boyfriend in the world. “I’m not mad at you.”

  “You’re not?”

  “Well, I was, a little. But I’ve been able to blow off steam this weekend.”

  “With Jesse?”

  “Yeah. His cabin”—his cabin. Phew—“is awesome. Yesterday, a bunch of us guys had a Lord of the Rings marathon. There’s this drinking game called Lord of the Beers where you drink whenever there’s a close-up of the ring, stuff like that, and tomorrow—today...” Matt yawned. “We’re playing paintball.”

  “I’ll let you go. See you when you get back?”

  “You bet.”

  “Do you still have chocolates for me?”

  “Will you eat them?”

  “Yeah. I will.” When I’d looked at the photo in Mexico, I realized again how beautiful Candy looked. How beautiful we looked. Not Hollywood plastic perfect, but happy and healthy and full of joy. “Ha!” I said out loud, thinking about it. “Eden’s magic panties must have worked.”

  “Magic panties?”

  “I’ll show them to you when you get home.”

  “Stop it. You’re waking me up.”

  “You’re really not mad?”

  “I’m not,” Matt said. “But Cody is.”

  “I know. But I think I know how to make it up to him.”

  Even though it was Sunday, my agent agreed to meet me, probably because I offered to treat her to lunch at the Arizona Biltmore. Cody joined us afterward in the Wright Bar. He looked great, his blonde hair slightly tousled, wearing one of those blue shirts that brought out his eyes. Vicki stood to meet him, offering her hand. “Nice to meet you, Cody. And sorry you had to deal with that so-called agent.” Vicki shook her head. “Guys like him give the rest of us a bad name.” As I’d expected, Bette had jumped on the voicemail message I left her and exposed Essence Talent’s modeling scam. It was all over the internet today, thanks to her.

  “Um, thank you.” Cody shook Vicki’s hand. She sat down and he did too, his back straight. He didn’t look at me, but I knew he was nervous from the way his leg jiggled.

  “Hmm.” Vicki studied him like he was a painting. “Gorgeous natural blonde hair”—she slid a look at my dyed locks—“strong jaw...You said you wanted to model, not act, right?”

  Cody nodded. “Yes.”

  “Let’s see you walk.”

  Oh, I hadn’t thought this through. Cody’s disability wasn’t obvious to most people unless they engaged him in a conversation or...

  Cody got up from his chair and tipped forward. “Oops.” He blushed. “Walk where?”

&n
bsp; “Just over to the bar there.”

  Cody looked at me then, trepidation in his eyes. The bar wasn’t far away, but there were lots of people and chairs to weave through. “You can do it,” I whispered.

  He began walking to the bar, his eyes on the carpet.

  “Head up,” Vicki said. Cody reached the bar, turned around, and walked back. He looked (and probably felt) like he was walking through a minefield.

  “Loosen up,” Vicki said. “Look like you’re having fun.”

  “Fun?” Cody’s face said this was anything but. Still, he pasted a smile on his face and walked back to us. He did okay until he stopped. His wobble hit. He looked like a drunk trying to stay upright after an all-nighter.

  Vicki sighed. “Sit back down.” Cody did, tears in his eyes. Vicki seemed not to notice. “You’re not cut out for the runway, that’s for sure.”

  I cleared my throat loudly. I’d met her early for lunch so I could talk to her about Cody and ask her to be gentle with her feedback. She must have remembered then, because she threw me a glance. “Yeah,” she said. “Runway models need to be really skinny. Your build is all wr—”

  I cleared my throat again.

  “You’ve got a great face, though,” said Vicki. “Nice coloring, straight white teeth, and that all-American kind of look.”

  “I do?” said Cody.

  “Yeah. I mean, your eyes are a little too close together...” When Vicki was on a roll, no amount of throat clearing would stop her. “And we’ll have to make sure you shave better. Might need to wear some foundation to get rid of that redness around your nose.”

  “Foundation?” Cody asked.

  “Face makeup,” I said.

  “But yeah, I think we could use you. Tell you what, get yourself some headshots, and I’ll start submitting you for work.”

  Cody hung his head. “I don’t have enough money for head—”

  “My treat.” I had just enough left in my ghost photo stash. “And an apology.”

  Cody smiled and ducked his head at me, then said to Vicki, “I thought you said I wouldn’t be a good model.”

  “I’m thinking about print work. You know, photos for magazines, catalogues, that sort of thing.”

  Cody looked at me. “You don’t do print work.”

  “Uh, no, I don’t usually get called for—”

  “Your sister’s a good actress, but she isn’t right for print,” Vicki said. “Doesn’t have the right look. Her face is too round, her eyes are too small—”

  “My sister is beautiful.” Aww.

  “And I like my nose.” You go, Cody.

  “And my girlfriend Sarah has freckles.” Not sure where that came from. Cody stood up and offered his hand to Vicki. She took it hesitantly, not sure what was up.

  “Thank you very much for your time,” Cody said in a professional-sounding voice I’d never heard before. “But I don’t want to be a model. Goodbye.”

  Chapter 73

  Fresh Hope

  I was a little relieved that things had turned out the way they had, not just because Cody wouldn’t have to go through the modeling self-esteem wringer, but also because I wouldn’t have to buy headshots. I was going to need most of that money to get my pickup out of hock tomorrow.

  I had a few more things I needed to wrap up. First I called Uncle Bob. He must have still been enjoying Mexican fun and sun because he didn’t pick up, so I left a long message on his voicemail, and made sure to ask him to thank Bette. Next I texted all of the cast members of The Wizard and asked them to meet me at the spring room at six o’clock. Then I swung by Safeway, where I picked up a couple of prepackaged salads with turkey breast and a large bouquet of white roses. I knocked on Candy’s hotel room door around five fifteen.

  She squinted at the flowers. “Are those for me?”

  I plucked one of the roses out of its cellophane wrap and gave it to her. “This one is. And I do have something else for us.” I came in and set the salads on the table.

  “Oh,” Candy said. “I’m not sure...”

  “I know.” I opened up the clamshell container for my salad and began to eat. “I understand if you feel like you can’t eat, but I brought it in case you want to try. And if you can’t, we’re going to get you some help. Okay?”

  “...Okay.” Candy opened up her container and stared at it. She picked up a fork and stuck it into a piece of lettuce, brought it up to her mouth, and chewed delicately on the edges of the leaf. I knew she was doing it for me, but it felt like a start.

  “Candy,” I said. “You know I love you, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No, no, don’t sound so sad. This is not about guilt, or about anything either of us did in the past few months. This is about moving forward, about knowing that we love each other no matter what happens.” I grinned at her. “Even if one of us becomes famous.” I stuck out my hand, little finger extended. “We will not let stupid stuff get in the way of our friendship. Pinky swear?”

  Candy gave me a shy but real smile and linked her finger with mine. “Pinky swear.”

  “Now, did you see this?” I pulled up our Mexico photo on my phone and handed it to her. I’d saved it along with the best quotes about Candy looking gorgeous. Of course, not all of the comments were nice. Some people really needed better manners, or maybe some magic panties of their own.

  “Did you put this online?” Candy’s eyes glistened.

  “No. A friend did.” Something hit me. “Hey, I found some MoonPie wrappers, and you said in your text that you were holed up in your hotel room eating MoonPies, but...” I looked at Candy’s mostly untouched salad.

  “I know. I pretended to, to keep Arrestadt off my back. And maybe to try to fool you too. Sorry, I’ve been acting like the south end of a northbound mule.”

  “Doesn’t matter now, but do you still have that stash of MoonPies?”

  “So you were in the spring room after your disappearance?” We walked past the entrance to the Hotel La Fuente.

  “Waiting for Babette to smuggle me out. She brought me a wig and sunglasses. Arrestadt said he locked you in there once. Hoped it’d spook you enough you wouldn’t go back. Didn’t want you figuring out I’d been there.” Candy laughed. It was just a little laugh, but it sounded real. “He hired you to throw you off the trail. Never imagined you were actually a good detective.” We turned a corner into the alley. “Um, why are we here?”

  “Some, ah, new friends helped me find you. This is just my way of thanking them.” I started to place the brown paper bag in between two dumpsters.

  “But...” Candy looked around us, at the cigarette butts and the overflowing trash.

  Wait. Yeah, I could spare it. “Don’t worry.” I opened up the bag and tucked the end of my ghost photo cash underneath the MoonPies. “I’m sure Mama T will find it.”

  Chapter 74

  The Secret Confided To Us

  The spring room was crowded. Most of the cast had shown up, along with several of the techies. Toto was even there in Madison’s arms. She and Desirée had decided to go on with the tour. “After all,” Madison had said on the phone earlier, “this cast does feel like family. Some of the munchkins are like bratty brothers and sisters, but it balances out when you have a big sister like Eden.”

  I passed out candles to the cast. When they were all lit, I said, “Thanks for coming. I asked you here tonight to honor the Lady in White.” The candles’ light reflected in the black waters of the pool, pinpricks of warmth in the cool room.

  “You really believe in her ghost?” asked the Tin Man.

  “I do,” said Madison. “I saw her walk off the balcony. Ivy didn’t believe me.”

  “I do now,” I said.

  “Me too,” said Logan. “She saved your ass with Arrestadt.”

  “She did. I think she may have saved it
more than once.” I remembered the ghost light blinking on right before the accidents, the misty shape that drew me out of my bubble-ship before it fell. “I think she may have even tried to help me find Candy.” I could still feel that damp hand on my face, pointing me toward the scrap of MoonPie wrapper near the pool. “I’d like to order a plaque for this bench, in memory of the Lady. Anyone who would like to contribute can talk to me later. For now, these white roses will have to do.” I placed the bouquet of flowers on the bench. “Let’s have a moment of silence.” I waited, hoping. Everyone was quiet. Then, Toto barked, just once. A violet-scented breeze swept through the room, shivering the flames on the candles and rippling the surface of the pool. Then, a glimmer of light, like a smile on the water. It faded into a misty ribbon, sinking into the well’s black depths.

  After a moment, Eden spoke. “I want to contribute to the plaque, as long as we make one change.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “I think it should say ‘In honor of the Lady in White,’ not ‘In memory of,’” Eden said. “After all, she’s still here.”

  As we were leaving the spring room, Eden said, “Candace, can I talk to you? In the wardrobe room? I’ve got something for you.”

  Candy looked at me, her eyes wide and fearful. She’d been through a lot in the past week, probably wasn’t sure who to trust.

  Eden caught the look. “Ivy can come too.”

  We followed Eden back to the wardrobe room. She’d told me earlier she was going to finish this tour, then take some time off, see if maybe she could use some of her Hollywood contacts to help Logan get some film work. Candy had decided not to go on with the tour at all, to take a break and reassess what she really wanted. A tough decision, but a smart one. I was proud of her.

  Eden flipped on the lights in the dark wardrobe room. She’d obviously been packing the costumes: most were already in boxes and suit bags, but a few were still out on the counters and near the sewing table, probably awaiting mending.

  Eden turned to Candy. “First of all, I want to apologize to you. I messed with your costumes, and maybe with your head. I should’ve been looking at you, at your true soul, and helped you, but instead I lashed out. I thought I was fighting the commercialism of beauty, but I was really just being mean. I forgot we were all sisters. Can you forgive me?”