Camp Club Girls: Elizabeth

by Brumbaugh Green, Renae;

  McKenzie turned to find Megan walking toward them. “I see we all had the same idea,” she said. “I think we need to check that supply closet again.”

  Elizabeth scooted over in the booth to make room for her friend. “Did you and your mom talk any more last night?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I ended up sleeping in her bed and we talked for a long time. She does think it’s weird that Mr. Jacobs is looking for the marbles. She promised to keep her distance from him,” Megan told them.

  The other two girls observed something in Megan’s attitude that seemed…not quite right. “You don’t seem happy,” said McKenzie.

  Megan let out a heavy sigh. “It’s just that my mom’s been through so much. I wasn’t thrilled when Mr. Jacobs flirted with her. But he made her smile! She was singing, and humming. For the last few days, she’s seemed happier. I just hate that he’s a fake.”

  Elizabeth thought about that. “He might not be a fake. My dad doesn’t have a problem with him, and you know my dad. He’s pretty good about figuring people out,” she said.

  “Maybe so, Elizabeth, but he’s definitely after those marbles. We can’t let him find them before we do,” McKenzie said.

  “I have a feeling that when we find the marbles, we’ll find out the answers to a lot of our questions about Mr. Jacobs,” McKenzie told them.

  After a moment, Megan stood and said, “Well, we won’t find them sitting in this booth. Let’s get started. Come with me.”

  The girls followed their friend through the restaurant, into the kitchen area, and to the supply room. The early morning manager, a friendly-looking woman in her early fifties, said, “You’re here early, Megan!”

  “Uh, yes, Mrs. Edgar. I really want to get that supply closet cleaned out. My friends have volunteered to help.”

  The woman gave them a strange look, but smiled. “Interesting. I suppose it’s a better way to spend your time than sitting in front of the television. It’s good to see young people with a sense of responsibility. Have fun!”

  The girls entered the supply closet, and Megan flipped on the dim light. “I guess I’ll have to fix that light myself,” she said, grabbing a step-ladder. “McKenzie, could you hand me one of those bulbs behind you?”

  McKenzie did as she was asked. Elizabeth got on her hands and knees. She moved the tomato cans away from the hidden panel.

  “Megan, do you know where a Phillips screwdriver is?” she asked.

  “Well, I know where a Phillips is,” Megan responded, and she and McKenzie laughed. It took a moment for Elizabeth to catch on to the joke about McKenzie’s last name, but when she did, she laughed too. After a few minutes, the lightbulb was changed. Elizabeth was on her stomach unscrewing the panel in the wall. When the last screw was loose, the panel was removed to reveal a small square.

  Elizabeth reached inside and felt around but found nothing. “This hole goes pretty far back. One of us will have to go in with a flashlight.”

  The three girls stood looking at each other, trying to decide who was least likely to get stuck. All three were slim but had different shapes and builds. Finally, McKenzie and Megan said in unison, “Elizabeth is the skinniest.”

  “Hey!” Elizabeth said, then looked down at her long arms and legs. “Okay, I guess I’m skinny. But so are y’all.”

  “Slim, yes. String beans? No. You’re the only string bean in the bunch,” said Megan.

  Elizabeth sighed good-naturedly. “I knew I should have gotten three scoops of ice cream yesterday…,” she muttered. “Where is Kate when we need her?”

  McKenzie laughed at the memory of their tiny camp friend. Kate had made them all look like giants.

  Megan got a flashlight from the office, and Elizabeth shimmied into the opening. The beam from the light revealed years of accumulated dust, a crack in the concrete floor, and a few dead bugs. There was even an old label from a green bean can, which looked as if it had been there for decades. “Cool!” Elizabeth called out, examining the label.

  “What did you find?” asked Megan.

  “This old green bean label must be older than our parents!” she called.

  Megan and McKenzie shared exasperated looks. “The marbles, Elizabeth! Stay focused,” Megan called out.

  Mrs. Edgar pushed the door open and poked her head in. “Megan, dear, since you’re here early, why don’t you clock in? We’re shorthanded this morning. I may let you try waitressing.”

  Megan and McKenzie jumped and turned to block the pair of legs that were sticking out of the wall.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Megan said.

  “Pronto,” the woman said, shooing the two girls out of the supply room. “I thought there were three of you,” she questioned.

  Suddenly, a loud crash came from the kitchen, followed by a yelp. “Jessie, how many times do I have to tell you to wear oven mitts?” Mrs. Edgar said to a young man across the room. She closed the door, leaving Megan and McKenzie wondering what to do next. The woman called over her shoulder, “Megan, show your friend out of the kitchen. Too many people are back here as it is. Then go sign in and report to the waitress’s station.”

  Trapped!

  Elizabeth heard the muffled voices. She tried to draw her feet up into the hole, but something caught on her blue jeans. She was trapped! She couldn’t wiggle backward or forward.

  The voices faded, and she heard a loud crash, followed by the click of a door. Somehow, she knew she’d been left alone. She tried to shine her flashlight to find what was catching her jeans, but she couldn’t wiggle her body that way in the tight space. She finally gave up and decided to wait.

  Lord, what have I gotten myself into? she prayed silently into the darkness. What will my dad say? He’ll tell me I should have known better than to go crawling around in holes in buildings. But Lord, we have to find those marbles! Please help us.

  Elizabeth made herself as comfortable as possible and waited. After a while, she shined her light on the green bean label. Not very interesting.

  She heard a sound above her head like running water. Shining her light, she tilted her head backward to find pipes. Water pipes. So that’s the reason for the panel. To let the plumber work on the pipes.

  “I wish I had a book or something,” she whispered. Then, it dawned on her. The journals! In their excitement to solve the mystery, she and McKenzie had abandoned Mrs. Wilson’s journals. But what if there was more?

  How could we have been so blind? Elizabeth mentally berated herself for jumping to conclusions and not reading the journals at least to the end of Emily Marie’s story. Her mind raced with the possibilities of those journals when she heard another click. She felt two hands on her ankles.

  “Hello?” she called in a soft voice. “Who’s there?”

  Through the darkness, she heard a familiar twang. “What have you gotten yourself into? Gracious sakes alive, girl! Here, your jeans are caught. Be still now. Okay, I’m gonna pull.”

  After a few tugs from behind, Elizabeth was able to back herself out of the hole. She sat up, looked into Jean Louise’s face, and sighed with relief. “Oh Jean Louise! Am I glad to see you! I was scared I was going to—”

  “You should be whipped, young lady! What kind of stunt do you think you’re pulling? Why, there could be rats in those walls, or loose wires…”

  Elizabeth shuddered. She hadn’t considered those possibilities.

  “And you could have been arrested for breaking and entering. You have no business being back here!” the woman continued.

  Elizabeth blinked back tears. “I–I’m sorry, Jean Louise. We were only—”

  The woman grabbed her and hugged her. “Now don’t you start crying. I’m just glad you’re okay. You better be thankful I was on duty! When the girls told me what y’all were up to, I just about died. I’ve got to get back. Come on now, dust yourself off. And no more crawling around in holes, ya’ hear me?”

  Elizabeth nodded and promised. Jean Louise pushed open the supply room door. When the coast
was clear, the two headed out of the kitchen.

  Out front, Megan was frantically taking orders. When she saw Elizabeth, she smiled, but continued her work. Mac was waiting on a bench near the entrance and stood when she saw her friend. Without a word, the two girls headed back to the motel room.

  Several hours later, Elizabeth and McKenzie were stretched out by the Texas-shaped pool. Elizabeth read aloud from Mrs. Wilson’s journal, while McKenzie listened. They were determined to read to the end of the story this time.

  Dear God, I can’t believe this is happening. Why Emily Marie? Why now? Lord, You knew her car was going to break down. You knew she would be out alone after dark. Why couldn’t You have stopped this from happening?

  Oh, I’m not blaming You, Lord. It just doesn’t make any sense. She’s got those two precious children, and now Foster. Why did that car have to hit her?

  If only I had gone with her, like she asked. Maybe then, none of this would have happened. Oh God, please let her be okay. It doesn’t look good.

  I sat with her tonight, Lord. She talked a lot, but she didn’t make much sense. She kept asking about her babies, and then saying something about the big blue fin. She’s hallucinating, Lord. I tried to hold her hand and comfort her. But she just kept telling me to look under the fin.

  The next few pages told of Emily Marie’s death and funeral. After that, the journal entries ended until nearly a year later, but nothing more was said about Emily Marie.

  The girls thumbed back through the pages, trying to find something more that would help them. But it was no use. They found no more hidden clues.

  McKenzie sat up in her lounge chair. “The big blue fin,” she said. “What a strange thing to say.”

  Then, as if reading one another’s mind, they both started talking at once. “The fish! Isn’t there a—”

  “A big fish! In the restaurant!”

  “Yeah, it’s hanging on that back wall! It’s a—a swordfish or something!”

  “A blue marlin, I think the sign said!”

  The girls looked at each other, excitement flashing in their eyes, and started for the restaurant. They were halfway there when they realized they were wearing their swimsuits.

  They practically ran back to their room and changed, and were at the restaurant in no time.

  Jean Louise greeted them at the door. “Well, well. If it isn’t Bonnie and Clyde.”

  Elizabeth laughed at the comment, then leaned over and whispered, “We think we may have found the marbles.”

  Jean Louise’s eyes grew wide, and Elizabeth continued. “Can you seat us at that table under the big fish? Your mom put something in her journal about a blue fin.”

  The waitress looked skeptical, but led them through the restaurant. “That fish has been hanging there since I can remember. Just don’t go crawling through any more holes in the wall without telling me first. I don’t want to be bailing you kids out of jail.”

  The girls laughed and took their seats. They were thrilled to be sitting right beneath the fish, and felt certain this would be the end of their search.

  They examined the fish closely. McKenzie lightly tapped the wall under the fish, but stopped when the people next to them looked curiously.

  Elizabeth picked up the crisp linen napkin from the table. She dropped it on the floor. Crawling under the table to retrieve it, she examined the wall and floor. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning to find Jean Louise’s white work shoes, Elizabeth scrambled out from under the table. She banged her head.

  “Ouch!” she cried.

  Jean Louise showed little sympathy. “Elizabeth Anderson, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

  “But Jean Lou—”

  “Don’t ‘but Jean Louise’ me! You’ll get in big trouble if you don’t stop poking around.” The woman sighed and placed her hands on her hips. “I’ll tell you what. The restaurant closes at ten p.m. If you can be here then, I’ll let you look to your heart’s content. I’ll even help you. But you have to leave well enough alone while the customers are here.”

  Elizabeth jumped from her seat and hugged the woman. “Oh thank you, Jean Louise! You’re my hero! I just know we’re going to find the—”

  “Shhh! Not so loud. You never know who might be listening.” She gestured toward the opposite corner of the restaurant, and they noticed Mr. Jacobs for the first time. He was looking at them strangely. When they made eye contact, he waved.

  Elizabeth sat back in her seat. “Okay. We’ll meet you here at closing time,” she said. The woman left them, and McKenzie and Elizabeth leaned their heads together, trying to decide whether the marbles would end up being in the floor or the wall.

  “Just think. We may be sitting on them right now,” McKenzie said.

  Elizabeth’s eyes grew round. “They could be in the booth! What if she pulled the stuffing out of one of the benches and put them in there?”

  “They’ve probably replaced the benches since then,” McKenzie told her. Their eyes grew wide at the thought. They pushed it aside and decided to deal with that possibility when the time came.

  Back at the motel room, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were looking at travel brochures. “We only have a few days left in our vacation, and we want to make the most of them. There’s a water park, a cowboy museum, and the famous Cadillac Ranch,” said Mr. Phillips.

  “There’s also an outlet mall I’d like to visit, and a zoo,” added Mrs. Phillips. “What are you all interested in?”

  “Water park!” shouted McKenzie.

  “Cadillac Ranch!” shouted Evan.

  Elizabeth remained quiet.

  Mrs. Phillips placed the brochures to the water park and the Cadillac Ranch to one side. “That nice man, Mr. Jacobs, offered to take us back to the rodeo grounds and let us see the livestock up close. There’s also a fair with the rodeo,” she said while reading over some of the brochures. “We’ll probably go there this afternoon.”

  “Cool!” said Evan. “Do you think he’ll let me ride a bull?”

  “No, but you might be able to ride a real rodeo horse,” his father told him.

  “Dad, are you going to buy that horse from him?” McKenzie asked.

  “I’m thinking about it. He seems pretty anxious to sell. Says he wants to buy a house near here. But he’s not sure what will happen until some inheritance of his comes through.”

  “Inheritance?” McKenzie and Elizabeth asked at once.

  “Yeah, apparently his uncle left behind some priceless…marbles or something. But they’ve disappeared. Jacobs is trying to track them down.”

  Elizabeth stood and grabbed McKenzie by the arm. “I just remembered something I wanted to look at down at the gift shop,” she said.

  “Okay, girls. Stay close,” said Mrs. Phillips.

  As soon as the door closed behind them, McKenzie looked at Elizabeth questioningly.

  “I have an idea. We’ve been skirting around Mr. Jacobs, trying to go behind his back. But since he’s so interested in those marbles, why don’t we go straight to him?”

  McKenzie’s eyes grew wide. “You mean just come out and ask him?”

  “No. I have a plan,” Elizabeth told her friend. They headed to the gift shop, where they purchased sidewalk chalk and a bag of marbles.

  A half hour later, the two young detectives sat on the sidewalk near Mr. Jacobs’s room, casually playing a game of marbles. Elizabeth had drawn a large circle using the sidewalk chalk, and the two girls took turns thumping their shooter marbles, trying to knock the other’s marbles out of the circle. They were absorbed in the game and didn’t notice when the door behind them quietly opened and shut.

  McKenzie noticed the embroidered cowboy boots first. They were behind Elizabeth, who was concentrating on which angle to shoot her marbles. McKenzie’s eyes followed the long legs up, up, up, until she looked into the amused eyes of Mr. Jacobs.

  “You know, if you shoot to the left, it will ricochet and knock out the marbles on the right,”
he said.

  Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin, even though she’d expected him. “Oh, hi, Mr. Jacobs!” she told him after she regained her composure. “Are we in your way? We’re sorry.”

  “Oh no, not at all,” the man told her. “I love a good game of marbles.” He eyed the colorful balls with interest.

  The two shifted into sleuth mode. “Really? Are you a marble expert?” McKenzie asked the man.

  He stepped off the curb and sat on the sidewalk next to them. “I guess you could say that. I’ve played marbles since I was a little boy.”

  “Really? Not too many people play the game anymore. Did someone special teach you how?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Yep,” said the cowboy. “My uncle. He was more like a father to me than anything. He never married or had children, but he loved me like I was his son.”

  “Really?” Elizabeth probed him. Her plan was working perfectly. “Do you still see him a lot?”

  “Unfortunately, no,” he said. “He passed away about a year ago. But he had a soft spot in his heart for Amarillo. Never told me why, though. I suspect he fell in love here. He never talked much about the time he spent here. But whenever he mentioned Amarillo, he got a distant look in his eyes.”

  The girls remained quiet and let the man talk.

  “I really miss him. I’ve decided to settle here, since he seemed to love the place so much.”

  “What was your uncle’s name?” Elizabeth asked. Just then, Evan rounded the corner.

  “McKenzie, Mama says to come. We’re going to the fair,” the boy told his sister.

  Mr. Jacobs stood up and said, “I need to be going too. Nice talking with you girls.” And with that, he left.

  The girls gathered up their marbles as Evan watched. “Those are cool,” he said. “Where did you get them?”

  Elizabeth replaced the colorful round balls into their drawstring pouch and handed them to Evan. “Here you go. I got them at the gift shop, but you can have them,” she told him.

  “Cool! Thanks, Elizabeth!” he said.

  The three of them walked back to the Phillips’s motel room, where McKenzie’s parents were waiting. “Elizabeth, call your mom and ask if it’s okay if we pick up James. He’d probably enjoy a day at the fair, don’t you think?” Mrs. Phillips asked.