The Lost Heir

by Allison Whitmore

  “Okay, then. Ladies first,” he said, motioning toward the van after Dago had climbed into the driver’s seat.

  Cleo stepped into the vehicle first. The guide instantly turned around and opened his palm to shake her hand. “Ahh, Miss Foxworthy. It is a pleasure to have you here. Your great-grandparents were a treasure, to be sure—”

  “Umm, I’m not the Foxworthy,” said Cleo. ”She is.” She pointed over the side of the van at Isabella.

  Dago looked a little confused, almost as if he did not believe Cleo. “Oh. Right. Now climb on board, the rest of you lot. We have a lot to see and no time to waste.” He didn’t bother helping Isabella on board, maybe because he was embarrassed about his mistake. He got in the driver’s seat. “Step lively. Yes, that’s it. Hurry up.” He gunned the engine before Xander, the last of them, had even taken his seat. “Hang on! This baby goes off like Chinese New Year.” They buckled up as fast as they could before the open-top van shot off down the film studio’s streets of make-believe cityscapes.

  “The Brightwood studio backlot,” said Xander in awe as he pulled out his camera. “Hey!” he complained, when the van jerked sharply left down a row of buildings that looked like airport hangers. “The soundstages.” Xander pointed his camera at the sights. “Not much to look at, but some great films were made inside those. They’re probably making something right now. Dago sped up and turned another corner and then another until they were back on one of the streets made to look like it was a real city neighborhood. “I am trying to stay in focus here!” The camera bobbed up and down as the van swerved to and fro.

  “Don’t go all wobbly,” Dago called out over his shoulder to his hostages. “We’ll be there soon.”

  “Be where? I thought we were supposed to be seeing the sights,” Xander said.

  “You are,” he said as they continued up a street with facades that looked like buildings in Brooklyn, New York. A block later, they were in Midtown Manhattan.

  “He’s the worst tour guide… like, ever,” said Cleo as they turned another corner.

  Finally, the van stopped in front of what looked like an old saloon. “Here’s where I was takin’ ya. The Lone Cowboy’s Watering Hole. Best place on the lot. Why, you ask? Well, climb on out, and you’ll find out.”

  “This guy’s a psycho,” mumbled Seth as they spilled out of the van.

  “I know. He’s crazier than Theophilus,” said Isabella. Theophilus. She’d nearly forgotten why she’d wanted to get inside the studio in the first place. But how was she going to get away from this guy? Maybe she should ask him directly if he knew Jack. But she didn’t want the others to overhear and ask a lot of questions. Seth would ask the most, she imagined. He certainly was nosier than she’d expected.

  They followed the guide into the saloon, and to Isabella’s surprise, the interior was a complete replica of an old Western set.

  “They used this in Sweetwater County,” said Xander.

  “You know your movies, don’t ya?” Dago asked. He snapped his fingers. Music from a famous Western poured from unseen speakers.

  Xander grinned and nodded with a satisfied smile before walking around to admire the room’s trimmings.

  “Mr. Peck wanted me to show you the best of the best,” Dago continued.

  Who the heck was this Mr. Peck he kept babbling on about? Isabella wondered as the others started to explore the room with Xander.

  “My kinda place,” said Xander.

  “Now, the reason I brought you to this place is not just because it’s an old movie set. We got lots of those ‘ere, as you know. But ‘ere is where our special guests tend to have a whole lotta fun.” He walked over to the saloon bar and banged twice. A woman dressed like an old-time saloon girl appeared with a pad of paper.

  “What can I getcha?” she asked, fully in character.

  “A round of sarsaparilla for the tikes. Five of them, I think.” He looked back at the kids. “Yes, five, and a lager for me.”

  “But you’re working!” Isabella chirped.

  “Work ‘n’ play. Combinin’ ‘em makes life much simpler,” said Dago.

  “That's beer, ya know,” Seth whispered in her ear.

  Isabella rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

  “I’m hungry!” Xander chimed in. “This is all great, but I want food.”

  “Xander!” Cleo hissed, reprimanding her brother. She seemed to mother-hen him a lot. Isabella really wouldn’t know if that was normal or anything, having no siblings of her own to compare it to. Seth wasn’t as much like that with Micah. But there was definite sibling tension. It was odd. They loved each other, but there was more to it.

  “Well, I am,” Xander insisted to his sister. “It’s already, like, one o’clock, and you know I have to eat at noon every day.” He turned to the waitress. “Got any food, ma’am?”

  The woman smiled and nodded toward the left wall. There was a Wanted poster for a man named Billiard Bob, a buffalo’s head—which made both Isabella and Micah cringe—and several half barrels sticking out of the wall.

  “I don’t get it,” said Xander.

  “Oh, I see,” Cleo said, feeling the bottom of an eye-level barrel. “The faces of the barrels are facades. Can’t you tell?” She pressed something, and a portable monitor ejected outward from within the barrel.

  “Whatever you wish is our command,” the voice from the screen said, before menu items began scrolling down the screen like credits in a film.

  “What a great concept,” said Micah, second to power up one of the barrels.

  Xander was third, leaving Seth and Isabella to share the fourth one.

  “You can go first,” said Seth.

  “No, you go,” Isabella insisted. “I take forever deciding what to order.”

  “But you’re a girl,” said Seth. “I have to let you go first.”

  “Who says?” She folded her arms and looked up at him.

  “Society. Rules. I don’t know,” he said, looking her in the eye.

  “Well, I don’t like listening to what society tells me.” She stepped to the side so he could go before her.

  “Isn’t that a shocker?” Seth chuckled, taking a full step back.

  “I should curtsey now, right?”

  Seth sighed. “Just order. Please.”

  “Fine.” She browsed the menu for quite a while. There was just so much to choose from. Pizzas and pastas. Cakes and pies. Tacos, burritos, nachos with all the trimmings. There was even seared ahi with carrot straws and potato dumplings.

  “You were right,” said Seth, coming to lean against the wall beside her. “You do take forever.”

  Isabella ignored him and chose the homemade chicken potpie. Seth selected spaghetti and meatballs.

  When their food arrived, Xander, who’d ordered a roast lamb sandwich with mashed potatoes and mint jelly, laughed at the both of them. “You two are so boring.”

  “Leave them alone,” Cleo said, sipping her Tuscan white-bean soup.

  Micah was devouring his basil-artichoke-and-sausage pizza, paying them no attention.

  “Well, at least we eat like kids,” said Seth.

  Xander ignored him and stuffed his mouth full of potato.

  “Now then, after we leave here, I’m going take you through our French Quarter and up to the Landry House on foot.”

  “Ooo! Fineas Landry’s house of ghosts and ghouls. Excellent,” said Xander.

  “House of ghosts and ghouls? Sounds like the hotel,” Isabella joked.

  “It’s actually a real house?” asked Cleo.

  Dago readjusted his fez and launched into the story of the Landry House. Isabella fidgeted, bored.

  “I need to find Jack,” she muttered.

  Naturally, Seth heard her. “Jack? You mean the guy from your dream?”

  “Can you mind your own business?” Isabella asked in a hushed tone.

  “And that would be fun how?” Seth teased. Then all of a sudden his eyes widened with understanding. “You
think this guy Jack is the lost heir that Theophilus was talking about.”

  “Shh! Okay. Yes, I think he is, but I don’t want the others to know. I think he works here.” Seth shot her an inquisitive look.

  “All right, you lot. The place we’re goin’s at the top of Pine Crest Road,” Dago said, taking a swig of his beer before standing up.

  “And you’re going to drive us?” asked Micah, looking at Dago skeptically.

  “Remember what I said? On foot. The road is too narrow.”

  “Great,” said Xander. Micah nodded in agreement. But Cleo did not look pleased at the prospect.

  “I might've gone ‘80s chic and worn some sneakers instead of ‘60s mod, if I had been warned,” she complained. Isabella had stuck to a simple wardrobe for a reason.

  “No one told you to wear those go-go whatever they're called,” said Isabella, pointing at Cleo’s high white boots.

  Cleo frowned. “I shouldn’t be punished because I care how I look.”

  “Ah, young lady, do not despair. I may have a solution for ya. Sit tight.”

  Less than two minutes later, he appeared with a pair of hiking shoes.

  “Look, Cleo, you can go ‘90s grunge instead.”

  “So you do know fashion?” Cleo quipped. “Wouldn't have thought so, judging by that big bow you were wearing on the front of your dress the other night.” Isabella ground her teeth, but before she could reply, Cleo turned her attention to Dago. ”Are they used?” she asked, holding them out as if they carried a deadly virus.

  “Never worn,” Dago said, winking at the boys, who all snickered.

  “I’m not wearing used boots!” If fire could have blown out her nose at that moment, it would’ve.

  “They are not used,” Dago said. “I promise.” He added a wink.

  “Fine.” Cleo changed her shoes, not trusting anyone to watch her designer footwear but Xander, who now climbed the narrow road with a pair of patent-leather go-go boots protruding from his backpack.

  “Are you okay?” Micah whispered to Xander, who was perspiring the most when they reached the midway point. ”You’ve got a lot of stuff in there, and after all that pie—”

  “I’m fine!” Xander snapped.

  “Sorry, I was only pointing out a fact.”

  The Landry House was a foreboding Queen Ann Victorian with a black rooftop; its cracked windows had cobwebs stretching across them. It had a wraparound porch and a lookout tower. A small band of ravens hung about on the rooftop.

  “How do you get them to stay up there like that?” asked Xander.

  “It’s not that hard,” said Dago. “Just feed ‘em peanuts and dried corn. They love it.”

  Inside, they found precisely what Xander had been going on about during their walk, between his huffing and wheezing. The interior did not match the exterior in the slightest; in fact, it immediately suggested the 1920s.

  “It’s all art deco,” said Cleo. She twirled around in the foyer beneath a glittering chandelier. The winding staircase and the floor it spilled onto made Isabella’s head spin with its twisted black-and-white checkered pattern. It was vast and wide. An ornate mirror hung above.

  “Here it is!” shouted Xander from a room down the corridor and to the right. ”The ocean-liner room! This is awesome.”

  Seth was the next to cry out, “Sick!”

  The girls could no longer resist, so they filed in after Dago. Xander wasn’t kidding. The biggest clock Isabella had ever seen was at the center of the back wall. Another wall was a giant aquarium, and the rest of the room had portholes looking out over the studio.

  “Why does this place look so dumpy outside and so awesome inside?”

  “So we can make that movie magic you’ve ‘eard ‘em tell you about.”

  “I always thought the Landry House was eerie, but it’s not at all,” said Isabella.

  “Well, there is Dracula’s cellar,” said Xander. “Isn’t that right, Dago? And the Landry House crypt. I heard there were also some secret rooms.”

  “Right on all that, kiddo, but the secret rooms are going to remain just that.”

  They all seemed disappointed until Dago said, “Well, except maybe the founder’s room.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s an old-time screenin’ room. Would ya like to take a look-see? I’m not sure Mr. Peck would very much approve, because it’s usually reserved for big shots. Ya know the kind. But he won’t be ‘round here anytime soon.”

  “Who is this Mr. Peck dude you keep talking about?” Seth asked.

  “Only the right-hand man to our new studio head. Greatest boss alive. Givin’ me a huge bonus for comin’ in extra today to give you kids this tour.”

  “He must be good friends with Johnna’s dad,” said Cleo, which made sense. Of course, Isabella still did not have the information she was there for in the first place.

  “Uh, Dago, can I ask you a question?” asked Isabella.

  “Sure thing, love.”

  Isabella looked at the others, her eyes willing them to go away which, to her great surprise, worked. An odd expression passed over Dago’s features, but Isabella ignored it and asked what had been on her mind all day. “Is Mr. Peck’s first name Jack? I’m looking for someone who works here at the studio, I think.”

  “I’m sorry, love, but I do believe his name is Millford. Why are you seeking out a man named Jack?”

  “He’s a family friend. I just wanted to see if I could stop by his office or something before we left.”

  “Well, I don’t know the names of every executive at the studio, but I am under strict instructions to keep you lot together. Now, I think I can scrounge up an old reel for you and your friends to watch downstairs. Sound good?”

  “I guess.”

  “In fact,” said Dago loudly, grabbing the attention of the rest of the group once more, “I have just the perfect thing. It will be a real treat for ya.”

  “What is it? A movie or a documentary?” asked Micah. “I prefer documentaries.”

  “It’s a movie,” he said cheerily. “But it’s very educational.”

  “Documentaries are great,” said Xander. “But movies are fun. They’re like halfway between a truth and a lie, but because of that, you can learn everything you want to know about human beings. I read that somewhere, I think.”

  “Maybe we should be heading back,” Isabella interrupted. “How long is this going to take?”

  “It’s an old one,” said Dago. “Shouldn’t take too long.” He led them out of the ocean-liner room through the main hall to a door underneath the staircase.

  “I thought you were trying to find this lost heir person. Why would you want to leave?” Seth whispered in her ear.

  “I don’t,” Isabella whispered back. “But I don’t want to sit around watching a movie, either. I need to try to get away from this guy. He’s ruining my plans.”

  “Maybe we can sneak off on our own while it’s going,” Seth suggested as they filed down a very long set of stairs.

  “We?”

  “Yes, we. Do you think I’m going to let you go traipsing around here by yourself?” Seth asked harshly.

  “Let me?”

  “That Dago guy could slip away and grab you. Plus, who knows who’s in here or out there?” He worried like an old woman. She wished he would stop.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

  “I know, because I’m coming with you.”

  He was exasperating. Why did he care so much about what she did? He didn’t even know her. But company wouldn’t be the worst thing. Then again, it might look suspicious if both of them slipped away, wouldn’t it? “Okay. Sit next to me inside and wait for me to elbow you in the ribcage.”

  “Snotty and abusive. My kinda girl,” said Seth.

  “I’m not your kind of anything.”

  “Relax,” said Seth. “I was kidding.”

  Isabella shook her head and walked off with the others and Dago. They had to figure out somet
hing fast before the place closed.

  Chapter Eleven

  Expect the Unexpected

  Isabella grumbled and folded her arms as the group filed toward the screening room. The door opened quietly, though it looked like the type of door that would moan like a dying cow in a horror film. They slipped down a short, shadowy corridor and then pushed through a set of dark, heavy curtains. The room, fashioned after an old movie palace, reminded her of the theater at the Foxworthy, but it was about an eighth of the size and about ten times gloomier.

  Each of Dago’s captives took their place in the velvet chairs facing the screen. The guide left them alone as he headed off to start the movie. Seth nudged Isabella the instant he was gone. Before they could sneak away, the title of the film flickered onto the screen: Lily Field starring Sinclair Worthy and Renee Fox.

  Isabella gasped. “I thought it was…”

  “Disintegrated,” finished Seth.

  “Yeah.”

  Xander, two seats down, leaned forward quickly to look at Isabella. His eyes were wide as he pointed at the screen like he’d just spotted a UFO landing on the hotel roof.

  Isabella shrugged.

  “Whoa,” was the last thing he said before sliding down into his seat and enjoying the picture. It was the story of a young girl whose parents died, forcing her to live alone on a homestead called Lily Field. Naturally, there was a love story component as well.

  Halfway through the movie, Seth poked Isabella. “Do you want to give it a shot still?”

  Isabella’s eyes were glued to the screen. “Huh? No. I mean, yes. We have to.”

  “Should we go now?”

  Isabella looked up at the screen. She’d always wanted to see this film and never thought she’d get the chance. It was her legacy but not more than the Foxworthy Hotel was. “Okay. Let’s go.” Isabella leaned over to whisper in Cleo’s ear, “Gonna go look for snacks.”

  “There aren’t any down here.”

  “I saw a cart in that little section by the door.”

  “Okay. Get me a lemonade or a Diet Coke.”

  They stood up, but Cleo stopped them.

  “What about them?” she asked, nodding her head toward Xander and Micah.

  Isabella and Seth shared glances. ”They can get their own.” With that, the two of them scurried to the back of the screening room. However, just as Seth pulled the door open, a small wave rolled beneath their feet. “Did you feel that?” It happened again, but this time the wave felt like a boulder.