In Good Hands: Book 5 Georgie B. Goode Gypsy Caravan Cozy Mystery

by Marg McAlister

  “At least that will cheer her up.” Lilli folded her arms, watching her boss work the crowd. “Nothing our Jaxx likes better than playing to the crowd.”

  “I guess it takes a big personality to carry off a show like that… but tell me what you mean,” Georgie pressed.

  “Just a succession of little accidents and things going wrong. On our last shoot, about the Torrens Tech-Toys franchise, Celie Torrens received minor burns while demonstrating; the one before that, it was Lisa Glynn from Glynn’s One-Hour Makeovers. Nothing major yet, thank God—that’s why she’s making noises about people suing: she’s getting worried they’re going to sue us.”

  “It’s as though we’re jinxed.” Lilli rolled her eyes. “Jaxx the Jinx. Spell that with two xx’s, of course.”

  They all laughed, but Georgie’s mind was starting to put things together.

  Tammy, Celie Torrens, Lisa Glynn…all female. And the person she was looking for was—she thought—female.

  Was there some kind of link?

  Crystal ball time…

  Chapter 8

  Georgie stood at the door of her gypsy caravan and watched Jerry's brake lights flash for a moment before he turned out of the gate, taking Tammy off to the hospital for an x-ray. She had gone under protest, insisting that she knew that it wasn't broken, and all she needed was to sit with it elevated for a while, but Jerry refused to listen.

  Georgie turned and allowed her gaze to rove around the caravan for a moment. It was strange how doing the shoot with Jaxx had given her a new perspective on her precious home on wheels. Not that she hadn't always loved it; she had. But seeing Jaxx’s enthusiasm, and hearing the admiring comments of the film crew, had made her realize again just what a special little home it was.

  Her gaze rested on the crystal ball, visible only as a dark shadow on the shelf, still covered with its black velvet cloth. She walked over to it and lifted it down, smoothing her hand over it as she removed its covering. The crystal winked back at her in the light from the stained glass window, filling her with deep glow of satisfaction. Maybe the cryptic messages it delivered sometimes drove her crazy, but it was unique. She realized anew why her great-grandmother had been so insistent that she carry on the tradition. Fortune-telling wasn't about entertainment – well, it wasn't only about entertainment. It was, indeed, a gift, being able to tap into realms that other people couldn't.

  Slipping into the comfortable velvet-covered seat at the table, she set the crystal ball down and gently ran her fingertips over the surface.

  This time, she didn't form a question. She just gazed at it and opened her mind in an invitation for anything important to be made known to her.

  The crystal ball warmed under her fingertips and she felt a rush of anticipation. Good, she was going to get something. She sat quietly, breathing evenly, and waited.

  The familiar white mist appeared, swirling gently. This time, it didn't turn the same threatening dark gray as it had when she did a reading for Jaxx; it formed pale white-gray spirals, growing thicker one moment and dissolving to a few fragile threads the next.

  Finally, an image appeared. At first, it was a dull grey shape, but then it gained clarity: the house on the cliff. The same one she had seen when shooting the crystal ball scene with Jaxx.

  Georgie focused more closely on the house, swiftly noting features while the image was relatively clear. It was an older house, made of some kind of grey stone, yet it didn't look threatening. It was bathed in sunlight, and behind it she could see an ocean, impossibly blue. Georgie felt more images flow into her mind. It was somewhere warm, she could feel that. She had a sense of time, too: it was somewhere Jaxx had been within the past six months, but not recently.

  Then the house began to fade, like an out-of-focus photo, but at the same time a red car drove up and parked outside the front door. It was closely followed by another one, exactly the same. Georgie frowned, peering more closely, waiting for someone to emerge. Would she see a face? Recognize somebody?

  Nobody stepped out of either car, and the image blurred further.

  “No!” Georgie murmured, stroking the crystal ball as thought that might bring it back. "Don't go away…"

  Her pleas failed to have an effect. The image faded kept fading until it disappeared. The mist swirled again, then suddenly vanished.

  All gone.

  She stared at the crystal globe, pushed aside the disappointment and focused on remaining receptive and calm. She closed her eyes. If there was anything more to come, it was not necessarily in the crystal ball itself.

  The same image that she had seen before floated into her mind: Jazz, leaning against the car, gazing at her reflection in a lake. This was really bizarre: these images must be important to be repeated like this.

  Within a nanosecond, it was replaced by a completely different scene: Jaxx again, but this time looking at herself in a mirror. She reached out a hand to touch the mirror, and her reflection did the same. Two hands touching: Jaxx and her twin, staring at each other. As she watched, Jaxx’s expression grew frosty, and her eyes narrowed, staring at her image. The girl in the mirror didn't reflect the same expression. Instead, she smiled – a slowly growing smile that seemed to rejoice in the anger and discomfort of the real Jaxx.

  In a blink that was gone too. The feeling of expectation in the room disappeared, too, and Georgie knew that that was as much as she was going to get.

  She opened her eyes, looking at the crystal ball, now nothing but pretty ornament. She raised her eyes and stared unseeingly at the wall.

  What? What was she supposed get from all this?

  "Come on Georgie," she admonished herself. "You know how this works. It's partly what is given to you, and partly solving a puzzle. Figure it out."

  The house on the cliff: obviously that was significant. It looked like she would have no choice but to tell Jaxx what she had seen, and ask what she thought. The idea made her quail. Jaxx was sure to turn it into a big event on camera… and what if she was wrong?

  She’d tell Jaxx only as the last resort. First, she could try Lilli, or Seth. Somebody associated with Jaxx and her team would have to know what it meant.

  Her mind drifted. Reflections in a pool, reflections in a mirror… What did reflections tell you? Was Jaxx supposed to be looking deep into herself? No, that didn’t work.

  Could Jaxx be a twin? Was this all about some long-held family grievance?

  Well, when a crystal ball couldn’t come up with the answer, perhaps the Internet could. Georgie got up, pulled out a laptop from the drawer under her bed, and set it on the table. Whatever there was to be known about Jaxx Saxby, she would find out. And while she was doing that, she could get Layla ask a few questions when she finished filming her segment with Seth.

  She took out her phone and called Layla. “Hi. It’s me. Are you still going to shoot that segment with Seth, or are they going to postpone?”

  “I’m here with him now. He said he can shoot a few fill-in shots with Tammy later.”

  “I’ll make this quick, then.” Georgie told her about the repeated visions, and the new one with the mirror. “I know it doesn’t give us much to go on—but can you ask Seth if a grey stone house on a cliff, with the sea behind it, means anything to him? And Jaxx by a lake?”

  “OK, can do. Anything else?”

  “Just get him talking, if you can.”

  “Should I tell him where this came from?”

  Georgie hesitated. Her instincts told her that Seth was trustworthy. “If you like. Play it by ear. I think he’s OK.”

  “He’s coming over now. Catch you later.” Layla rang off.

  Georgie opened the door of her caravan to let the sunlight stream in, just in time to see Jaxx’s sleek red car roar by. Speak of the devil… Georgie hissed in irritation. Dammit, how many times did she have to tell Jaxx to drive slowly around here?

  She glared after the car, watching a mother hastily seize her child by the collar and drag her back out of the wa
y, yelling something after the car and pointing to the speed limit signs.

  It seemed she’d have to have a few sharp words with Jaxx.

  She shook her head and booted up the laptop. Time to start digging.

  Chapter 9

  Seth and the second cameraman, Dominic, had Layla walking from one trailer to another while they conferred, exchanged cryptic comments and checked the position of the sun and drifting clouds.

  “Can you move over there and stand near the door of that pale blue trailer?” Seth glanced at the sky and motioned to the other cameramen. “Dom, better get the reflector. We’re going to need it with that cloud."

  Dominic disappeared in the direction of their truck, discreetly hidden at the back of the workshop, and came back unfolding a large floppy disc, silver on one side and white on the other.

  Seth pondered for a moment, his finger on his chin, glancing from Layla to the surrounding trailers. “No, change of plan. I think we'll get a better result if we put you over here. The colors work with what you’re wearing.”

  He posed her in a chair with a polka-dot slipcover and positioned a vintage radio and some old magazines at her elbow on the dainty table. "Okay, I think that'll work. Let’s do a sound check.” He winked. “Make sure that it's turned on.”

  Layla was beginning to feel like a pro at all this. She pulled the power pack out of her pocket, flicked the switch to on, and stuffed it back again. “Testing one, two, three. This is Layla talking to Seth.”

  Seth gave a thumbs up. "Loud and clear. Let's kick off with you talking about how you became involved with the Johnny B. Goode RV Empire. From there we’ll segue into how popular these vintage trailers are, and how you managed to grow the business."

  "I don't know that it's all that accurate to say that I grew the business," Layla pointed out. "I'm just one of the road team. The RV Empire has different road teams, for different RVs."

  "Yes, but Georgie says that you're a super-salesperson.” He looked at his watch. "After I shoot this one, we’ll wrap it up for the day so Dom and I can go and process today's lot. You start talking, and I’ll hold up a hand if I need you to stop. If you get tongue-tied or you need to think, just stop and we’ll redo it."

  Layla nodded, suddenly feeling nervous—partly because she was completely on her own, and part because she really wanted to do this properly, with Seth on the other end of the camera. She took a deep breath and began.

  "My name is Layla Blue, and I've been traveling in a vintage trailer for some years. Mostly, it was because it was fun, and because I enjoyed the lifestyle and the people I met. Then I met Georgie Goode. That was really a turning point, because I found out something I hadn't known before – that I was actually good at selling as well as living in one of these trailers." She swallowed and glanced at Seth.

  "Cut." He straightened up behind the camera, frowning slightly. "I'm getting this clicking sound. I think the mic could be rubbing against something?" He walked over to her, unpinned the microphone, and repositioned it. His finger flicked her necklace, a collection of charms threaded onto a silver cord. “This is the problem. You were gesturing while you spoke, and this was rattling against the mic.”

  Layla looked up into his eyes, smiling into hers, and swallowed. It was nerve-wracking enough sitting in front of the camera, but it was even more distracting talking to Seth when his face was inches from her own. "Sorry. I’ll take it off."

  He patted on the shoulder. “No need for that. I've fixed it. But that was great, Layla – can you do it again, exactly the same thing? After that keep talking about the popularity of vintage trailers and how sales are growing.”

  He returned to his position behind the camera and they started again.

  Layla talked about her position with the Johnny B. Goode RV Empire for the next 20 minutes, stopping and starting as Seth ran with what she said and fed her further questions to answer. Dom was crouched at her feet, angling the reflector up so that it caught the light from the slight cloud cover and illuminated her face. Layla hadn't realized that making a film could be so complicated, with stops and starts because of clouds moving across the sun and changing the light, or noise from the workshop interrupting a take. It was a bit off-putting, too, to see the interested crowd in the background, stopping at the barrier and watching while the filming was taking place.

  Seth made a winding up motion with his finger and grinned at her. "Aaaand – that's it! It's a wrap."

  Relieved, Layla immediately reached for the power pack and switched it off. She disconnected the mic, unthreaded it from under her shirt, and handed it all to Dom.

  “Thanks.” Dom took it from her and wound the cord around the battery pack, expertly securing it before he put it in a small carry bag in front of him. "Here, Seth. Give me the camera and I'll take it back to the truck. How about if I go and set things up and start the download while you finish up here?" He flashed Layla a knowing look as he suggested it, and she didn't miss the grin that Seth shot across to him, either.

  Layla pushed both hands into the back pockets of her pedal pushers and watched him while he efficiently collapsed the tripod, and wound up cables. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"

  "Thanks, but no thanks. As you can imagine, Dom and I have done this a thousand times. But after we’re done, how about going out for a meal?" He glanced at his watch. “It will take us about an hour and a half – couple of hours, maybe – to get this all downloaded and backed up, and then we’ll be free. Say, about 6. 30?"

  Layla didn't need to be asked twice. "Sounds great. You're in one of the Platinum Care suites?”

  "Yes, we’re in Unit Five, next to Ella, Jaxx’s hairdresser.”

  Belatedly, Layla remembered that she was supposed to be finding out more about Georgie’s visions regarding Jaxx. "Can I ask you something?"

  "Sure. Shoot."

  “How long have you been with Jaxx?”

  "Pretty much since the beginning of the show—say about a year and a half, maybe 20 months now.” He pulled a wry face. “How time flies when you're having fun."

  For a moment, Layla was diverted. "Tell me if it's none of my business, but when you and the others talk about working with Jaxx, nobody seems to be particularly happy about. So why do you keep doing it?"

  Seth finished packing away cables and power packs into the case at his feet and zipped it shut. “She can be difficult, that's true. But people in the industry know what she's like to work for, and I figure if I put in a couple of years with Jaxx, and let the results speak for themselves, then it's a springboard to other things. As for Ella –" he stopped and shook his head. "No, I really can't speak freely. It's her business whether she tells you or not.”

  "I didn't mean for you to betray confidences." Layla forced her mind back to the issue at hand. "Tell me, when you’ve filmed with Jaxx, did you ever film a house up on a hill overlooking the sea? Or stay in it?”

  Seth looked at her in surprise. "Well, yeah, we did. When we were doing the one on the toys. How did you know that?”

  “It was just something Georgie saw when she was doing that reading for Jaxx,” Layla said, trying to sound offhand. “She didn’t think much of it at the time, because there was a lot coming through – but she mentioned it to me, and I was curious.”

  “Right.” Seth looked at her as though he didn’t quite believe that was all there was to it, but continued anyway. “That was a difficult shoot, because she fired three people in a row. Talk about make things challenging.”

  Layla felt her pulse quicken. Jaxx had fired three people? If they were looking for a motive for revenge, that could be it.

  “Must have been a fun shoot,” she said casually. “Yet you stuck it out? You deserve to move ahead in your career.” So he couldn’t see her face, she busied herself folding a couple of the director’s chairs and stacked them inside the trailer for the night. “Who’d she fire? She must have been pretty mad.”

  “Doesn’t take much to make Jaxx mad. Here, let me g
ive you a hand with these.” He nodded at half-dozen different outdoor displays. “Do you have to pack all this away?”

  “No, Georgie’s dad has staff to do it, but we give them a hand when we can.”

  Seth folded another chair. “Who did she fire… one was the liaison person back at her father's office, because he was supposed to book accommodation and talent for the next show, and didn't get it right. That one was fair enough, I think. He had a job to do, and he didn't do it. Number two: she fired her personal assistant, Courtney Glover. That was ridiculous, because she was very efficient, but the girl should have known better. There’s only allowed to be one popular redhead around, and that’s Jaxx. No competition allowed.” He rolled his eyes. “As you could see by her reaction to Tammy’s performance today. Not a good idea to be talented, a crowd-pleaser and a Jaxx clone.”

  “She must be really insecure,” Layla said thoughtfully.

  “Yeah, well, she regretted firing Courtney, because the whole shoot almost imploded. Lilli had to produce the show and try to organize Jaxx, and Ella couldn’t start for a week.”

  “And the third?”

  “Mel, the girl doing promotion and advertising. Apparently she sent out publicity shots of Jaxx that didn’t show her in a good light – according to Jaxx, anyway. And you know, I think Jaxx was right about that; I always had a feeling that Mel did it to get back at Jaxx for going over her head about other promos. But with this company, most of their people don’t last long anyway.” He went to the next trailer with her and put some of the props inside for the night before casting her a sidelong glance. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

  Layla turned to him and said straightforwardly, "Yes. Before I agree to go out to dinner with you, tell me you’re not in a relationship and playing away from home.”

  A slow smile grew on Seth’s face. “That's easy to answer. No. Until I meet the person that makes me want to stay monogamous, then I'm going to stay free."

  "Good enough." She grinned at him, hearing the honesty in his voice. "Shall I call for you, or will you pick me up from my trailer? It’s about seven places down from Jaxx’s motorhome, past Scott’s camper.”