“Women,” Scott muttered, shaking his head. “What chance does a guy have?”
“Good,” Georgie said, pleased. “That’s got it covered. Jerry and Tammy can tag-team her, Layla can make calf’s eyes at Seth, I’ll try to be there when she’s with family, Scott can keep an eye on her RV and…” she tilted an eyebrow at him, “…maybe follow her when she goes off in her car? That car seemed to figure largely in the crystal ball.”
“Sounds good to me. Any excuse to follow the voluptuous Ms. Saxby around.” He anticipated Georgie’s half-hearted kick and moved his ankle out of the way first. “I might ask my mother to do a reading too.”
“I was going to suggest that,” Georgie said. “It was her reading that pointed us to the right part of Kentucky to rescue Jerry.” Happy with their plans so far, she poured herself another cup of tea. “Hey, we’re more organized than ever before. As long as her stalker, or whatever, hasn’t murdered Jaxx while we’re sitting here talking, we’ve got her covered.”
~~~
Twenty minutes later, Jaxx came roaring in through RV Empire gateway, sending a group of prospective customers scattering before her. She pulled up next to them and slid out of the car in one sinuous, practiced movement, all legs and high heels. Grinning broadly, she gave a cheerful wave.
Georgie frowned at her. “Jaxx, you have to slow down when you come through that gate. We’ve got customers wandering around all day long. Didn’t you see the speed signs? And you should drive around to the car park.”
“Sorry,” Jaxx said airily, leaving her car right where it was. “Georgie, I have the most stupendous idea!” She dragged a camp chair from the display in front of the next-door vintage trailer and joined their circle, crossing her knees so her short skirt rode up to mid-thigh. She might as well have been clad in a handkerchief.
Georgie flicked a glance at Scott, but he plainly knew better than to be caught studying Jaxx Saxby’s attributes. He was carefully examining the polka dots on his luncheon plate.
“An idea,” Georgie said with trepidation.
“A stupendous idea,” Jaxx corrected her. “You’ve seen John Edward’s Crossing Over, right? I mean, with being able to see the future in a crystal ball, you’re in the same business. He sees things other people can’t. You see things other people can’t.”
“I’m in the RV business. I sell gypsy caravans and vintage trailers. I don’t think he does that.”
“Well, yes, but that’s not your real business. You’re an eighth generation gypsy. Fortune-telling is your destiny!”
“No it’s not,” Georgie said, her jaw tilting just a little. She glanced at the group of customers who had gathered to watch, some of them pointing at Jaxx. Damn it. They could probably hear what Jaxx was saying; she didn’t know what it was to speak at a normal volume. “It’s a sideline.”
“I know you feel you have to say that.” Jaxx winked at her, an action that looked rudely suggestive with her fake eyelashes and bee-stung lips and miles of flesh on display. “To abide by county laws and stuff. But really, you’ve got the Sight. That’s what your grandma told me, that she’s passed it on to you.”
Damn Rosa. How much had she shared with Jaxx Saxby? “She’s my great-grandmother.”
“Grandmother, great-grandmother.” Jaxx waved aside such minor considerations. “Anyway, the point is, I can build a whole series around you and your phenomenal skills. Georgie, it will be incredible! Bigger than John Edward! We can do a series of shows in venues all around the country—”
“Stop,” said Georgie. “The answer is no, Jaxx. Never ever. I’m not interested in doing a TV series. I’m not interested in doing shows around the country.” She waved a hand at the vintage trailers all around them with Tammy’s inspired retro settings, all colors of the rainbow. “This is my life. Vintage trailers, gypsy caravans, and my friends.”
“Well, I understand you might have a few reservations at first,” Jaxx allowed tolerantly, flicking her hair back—a move that made her breasts jiggle in her close-fitting emerald green silk top. “The world of television is not for everyone. But look at how well you did this morning! You were brilliant! I can make you a star. I can make you lots of money.”
“I don’t need money. I don’t need to be a star.”
“Everybody needs money.” Jaxx widened her eyes. “Imagine how much you could donate to the Red Cross!”
Beside Georgie, Layla snorted, and then turned it into a coughing fit. “Sorry. Something went down the wrong way.”
“Not for me, thanks.” Georgie decided to change the subject. “What are your plans for this afternoon, Jaxx?”
“Oh.” Jaxx looked blank, and her brow furrowed in thought. “I think I’m interviewing another one of your family. Someone who runs the vintage trailer section here; it will follow on from the gypsy thing. Tandy? Is that her name?”
“Might that be Tammy?” asked Tammy.
“Tammy. That was it,” agreed Jaxx, not looking at her. “Georgie, don’t dismiss it right away. Ask me any questions you like. Really, you’ll be in good hands with our company. Look how well “From Little Things” took off!”
Georgie looked at her, trying not to grind her teeth. The woman was like a drip on a stone. No, more like a bull at a gate. Charging ahead until she got her own way. In good hands indeed.
“I’ll think about it,” she said, just to get Jaxx off her back. “But not right now.” She gestured at Tammy. “This is your interviewee, Tammy, right here. She’s in charge of the vintage trailer division. This whole display is her handiwork.” She swept her arm around the vintage trailer lot with its pretty trailers and coordinated outdoor settings and bright awnings. “She’s fantastic.”
Jaxx looked at Tammy again, and then something calculating came into her eyes. “Weren’t you the one with Jerry the other day?”
“Tango princess, that’s me,” Tammy agreed. “Would you like a lesson?”
Jaxx drew in a deep breath, tossed her hair and re-crossed her legs, an action that had Scott bolting out of his seat and hurrying away, muttering something about agreeing to lend a hand to one of the guys at the workshop. Jaxx cast a knowing smile after him before turning her attention back to Tammy, her green eyes narrowed. “Darling Tammy, thank you for that, but my tango is excellent. As you will see when I’m on Dancing with the Stars. It’s a pity that Jerry didn’t get to see more of it before you took over.”
“Oh well,” Tammy said nonchalantly, “feel free to try again. I do tell Jerry that he should get out more.”
Georgie didn’t dare catch Layla’s eye. Jerry should get out more? Maybe if he could exist on two hours sleep. Desperately, she waved at Layla. “And this is Layla. She’s the head of sales on our Vintage Road Team. People fall over themselves to buy from Layla.”
Jaxx looked at Layla, clad in her scarlet pedal pushers and candy striped top. Then her head swung towards Tammy, wearing the same outfit in buttercup yellow.
Knowing what she was seeing, the two sent her identical innocent smiles from underneath their bandanas.
“Are you two sisters?”
“No,” they said together.
“Then why are you dressed the same?”
“Product testing,” Tammy told her. “For the designer. This is just another part of our business. But don’t worry your head about it, Jaxx.” She reached across and patted Jaxx on one bare tanned knee, bestowing on her a full-wattage Tammy smile. The kind that made men act like fifteen-year-olds. “I know all this business talk is boring for you. I’d love a job like yours where all I had to do was look glamorous and let the producer do all the work. How do you get a job like that?”
Georgie sat straighter in her chair, certain that Jaxx might slash at Tammy with one of her lethal-looking fingernails, like an angry cat.
Jaxx didn’t attempt to hide her annoyance. “I don’t know where you got that idea, but you couldn’t be more wrong. I tell Lilli Chin Lee what to do. I am the talent in this show, not the producer. If it
were not for me, she’d be still waiting tables with her precious media degree.”
“Oops,” Tammy said. “I seem to have struck a nerve. I’m so sorry, Jaxx. I just meant that you look so glamorous and sexy and all, that you must have to work at it all the time. It can’t be easy to look like you do.”
Jaxx looked at her suspiciously, but Tammy simply looked at her with wide, innocent blue eyes and a suitably remorseful expression.
“Yes,” Jaxx said, somewhat stiffly. “It is a lot of work. I have to come up with the ideas, and plan the shoot, and do the voiceover, and make sure that the cameramen have the right angles, and ensure that Lilli doesn’t get carried away with her own ideas. Nobody really understands the level of responsibility.”
“I think we’re beginning to get an idea,” Georgie said soothingly. “I don’t know how you do it. Perhaps we’d better let you get on with it, or you’ll be late finishing today. Tammy, are you ready?”
“Sure am,” Tammy said brightly. “I’m going to watch and see exactly how Jaxx does this. Learn from the master. Er, mistress.” She nodded over Jaxx’s shoulder. “And speak of the devil, here comes your producer. Let’s get the show on the road!” As though overcome with excitement, she bounced up out of her seat and waved at Lilli.
Georgie leaned over and muttered in Layla’s ear, “For God’s sake keep those two under control. Tammy’s out for blood.”
“I have sisters,” Layla whispered back. “I’m used to refereeing. You go consult your crystal ball. See if you can pick up anything else.”
Maybe, Georgie thought. And maybe she’d get better results by talking to Lilli.
If anyone would know who might be after Jaxx, it would be the person who spent hours in her company every day.
Unless, of course, the threat was coming from Lilli herself.
Chapter 5
Georgie watched from a distance while Lilli walked around with Seth, pointing her pencil at various vintage tableaus and making notes as she went. Heads together, they conferred for a few minutes, vacillating between two possible settings for Tammy’s interview. Seth pointed at the sun, and then at the direction of the shadows, before they agreed on a charming trailer that showed Tammy’s creative side: pale blue with a hot pink stripe on the outside: the interior a delightful blend of pale blues and all shades of pink, wallpapered with a gray-blue paper with splashy hot-pink trumpet lilies. Soft pink drapes at the window were tied with blue ribbon, and the tiny table inside was draped in a tablecloth that picked up the exact shade of the lilies. It was daring and gorgeous and, as most women who saw it declared, ‘good enough to eat!’
Seth disappeared into the interior with his camera, and then Lilli beckoned to Tammy and Layla.
“We’re going to have to interview one of you at a time, because of the limited space,” she said. “Jaxx has gone off to change into something more suitable.” She rolled her eyes, and went on, “When she comes back, we’ll have you inside with her, Tammy, and then after that, Layla outside at this little table. Tammy, we’ll film you coming out of the trailer and greeting Layla, and Tammy can explain the merchandising before we focus on Layla again to talk about how vintage sales are growing.”
Seth stepped out again. “Clip this on for me, Tammy—run it up under your shirt and clip it to your collar.” He tactfully looked away while she did it, and then took the trailing end of the cable, pushed it into the power pack and switched it on. “Got a back pocket in those pants? Good…just tuck this inside.” He grinned at Layla, who was standing to one side watching. “Now your turn.” He went through the same procedure, and then pointed to the battery pack, his eyes twinkling. “Note that the switch is in the ‘off’ position. You can talk freely.”
“I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice,” Layla assured him, looking almost as pink as the trumpet lilies visible on the trailer’s wallpaper.
“Don’t worry about it.” He reached over and patted her on the shoulder, but left his hand there for a fraction of a second, holding her gaze. “It took the guesswork out of it for me.”
“Seth!” came Jaxx’s voice from behind Georgie. “Will you quit flirting long enough to get some work done? Once those shadows come across the colors of the trailers won’t pop.”
“Right on it, Jaxx,” he said cheerfully. “Ready to be miked up?”
“I’m always ready.”
Turning, Georgie saw that Jaxx had indeed changed her clothes, renewed her makeup and done something to her hair to make it bouncier. And shinier. She peered at it more closely. It looked like Jaxx had sprayed it with something to catch the light.
Jaxx caught her looking. “Good, isn’t it?” she asked, pulling one long curl around to observe the effect of the sun shining on her hair. “Brings out the color. My hairdresser has cans of the stuff.”
“Great,” Georgie said, sneaking a fascinated glance at Jaxx’s outfit. Clearly, she had dressed to compete with Tammy and Layla in their fifties pedal pushers and tie-waist shirts, but her version consisted of steel-colored skin-tight stretchy pants that ended mid-calf and had, Georgie wouldn’t mind betting, been bought as workout gear. Jaxx had added a tangerine low-cut singlet and tossed a casual long-line shirt in some filmy, shimmery gray fabric over the top and tied the tails together. The whole ensemble did a wonderful job of showcasing her curvy hips and flat midriff.
The only slight resemblance to what Tammy and Layla had on was the length of her pants. On Jaxx, everything looked as though she was about to perform in Jaxx Saxby’s Hot Nights.
“I thought I’d better dress like the other girls,” Jaxx confided, not missing Georgie’s quick survey. “I don’t want to upstage them.”
“I’m sure you won’t,” Georgie assured her.
“Don’t think I’ve given up on you,” Jaxx said, slipping her arm companionably through Georgie’s. “I’m going to talk you into that show. This will be the best thing for your career ever. If you thought that the Johnny B. Goode RV Empire was big, wait until I get my hands on you.”
Thankfully, Lilli popped her head out of the door of the trailer, a frown on her face. “Oh, there you are, Jaxx.” The frown grew deeper as she took in Jaxx’s appearance. “What are you wearing?”
“I thought I’d go retro along with the girls,” Jaxx said gaily. She pirouetted so that the tails from her knotted shirt fluttered in the breeze, and finished with her hands spread out in a ‘ta-da!’ movement. “Now we all fit the theme.”
Lilli’s eyes met Georgie’s in a look of perfect accord. Jaxx’s idea of retro didn’t fit anyone else’s on the planet, but nobody was going to argue.
“Great. Well, I’ve got Tammy in here ready to roll. If you can wrap this up in half an hour, we can move outside to Layla while we’ve got some sun.”
Jaxx squeezed Georgie’s forearm. “Don’t go anywhere. I haven’t finished with you yet.” She flashed her best Jaxx Saxby sexy smile and headed for the trailer, her ridiculously high wedge-soled sandals clop-clopping on the concrete pad. She almost dived headfirst into the trailer after wobbling on the portable step outside it, but recovered with an annoyed comment about stupid steps that violated safe work practices, and disappeared.
Don’t go anywhere? Yeah, right. Like Georgie planned to hang around waiting for Jaxx to nag her into filming some crazy psychic show.
Layla had already disappeared in the direction of the coffee van on the other side of the lot, and Jaxx should be safe enough inside the trailer with Tammy.
She was going to find Scott for a dose of sanity.
~~~
Thanks to Georgie’s father, Scott was living in a lap of luxury for a few weeks—something that he wasn’t used to but felt he could easily come to enjoy. His humble truck camper was in noble company in the Platinum Customer Care area, just three spaces down from Jaxx Saxby’s massive motorhome—which certainly made his job of watching Jaxx easier. Fifteen minutes earlier he had seen her dash into her motorhome in her eye-popping tiny skirt and form-fitting top and em
erged in something different; an ensemble that had him staring after her in bemusement. Was she really going to present a segment of the show in that outfit?
Apparently she was.
From his dining table he had a good view of Jaxx’s RV, so he got out his cards to fill in the time. He might as well see if he could pick up anything to help Georgie work out who was after Jaxx.
He hadn’t been entirely honest with Georgie about his cards, although he had a sneaking suspicion that she knew he was more adept than he pretended. Well, when you grew up with a mother who lived her life according to sun signs and moons rising in this that and the other, you had to pick up something.
Once or twice a week he spent an hour or so with the cards, seeing what they had to say about his life. And about Georgie, since her life was now inextricably linked with his.
While he laid out the cards for a reading, he thought about Georgie, and smiled to himself. His perfect mate: he was content to accept that without having to analyze it. A forest ranger from Australia and a gypsy fortune-teller from half a world away. It didn’t seem like a match made in heaven—but it was, he was perfectly certain, a match made in the stars.
Strange, that he hadn’t had the slightest inkling that she was coming into his life, yet his mother had seen it. A Libran, she said, someone who could see into the future… someone who would be important to him. His mother assured him that it often worked that way. Fortune-tellers, psychics, seers of all kinds... a good many of them couldn’t see their own futures.
Probably a good thing, he thought. He didn’t mind a bit of mystery in his life.
He turned the top card. An eight of spades, signifying misfortune and danger. Not a great start. But still, that could be overpowered by a good card.
The next was an eight of clubs, showing that the cause of the problem was related to Georgie’s work or business, possibly due to jealousy. He went through the next four cards in the spread: they showed more jealousy and ill will; possible help from a male – himself? No, he didn’t think so... and Ace of Spades: death or a difficult ending. Scott shuffled the cards, his concern growing.
In Good Hands: Book 5 Georgie B. Goode Gypsy Caravan Cozy Mystery Page 3
