Up to No Good: Georgie B. Goode Vintage Trailer Mysteries, #4

By Marg McAlister

If ever there was a stark contrast to the fun of the retro scene with its rockabilly fun and gorgeous little homes on wheels, it would have to be preppers, stockpiling food and waiting for the Apocalypse.

It's not a scene that Georgie has ever had much to do with, until her brother Jerry starts specializing in building Bug-Out vehicles and selling Get Out Of Dodge packs. 

Unfortunately, Jerry draws the attention of some of the more extreme members of the survivalist movement—and it's not only his expertise in building the ultimate bug-out vehicle that they want! They are seeking information that he's not ready to give, and very quickly he realizes that his usual charm isn't going to work with this crew. 

Georgie, struggling right now to read anyone's fortune, still manages to catch a glimpse of a dangerous time ahead for Jerry and Tammy, but by the time she gets word to them, it's all too late. Jerry has disappeared, communication has broken down, and his fate is in the hands of a couple of gypsy fortune-tellers: his great-grandma Rosa and his sister Georgie. 

The Crystal Ball Investigation Team sets off in hot pursuit, armed with a crystal ball that appears to go to sleep when it feels like it and only a vague sense of where Georgie's missing brother might be. 

Now if Jerry can just stay alive until they get there… 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Gem Publishing
• Release date: Jan 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524265571

Marg McAlister

If you've been reading my books in the Georgie B. Goode Gypsy Caravan Cozy Mystery series, then you won't be at all surprised to learn that I love to do road trips! In fact, it was while I was on the road with my husband, seeing parts of Australia, that I first got the idea for this cozy mystery series. It arose from two different events. First, I saw an old gypsy bowtop wagon in an RV park and was instantly fascinated (especially when I talked to the gypsy who owned it, who was available to tell fortunes!) Soon after, we happened to be staying in another RV park that was hosting a vintage caravan rally. All those lovely vintage homes on wheels! I was instantly captivated. Georgie B. Goode and her gypsy home wheels was born of those two events - as was her little band of amateur sleuths. Georgie's adventures have been so much fun to write!  What else can I tell you about my life (writing and otherwise)? Let me see... well, I've been a keen writer since I was about 9 years old (yes, really!) and over the years I've written fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children. I spent a few years on the Committee of Romance Writers of Australia, and I've created a series of books for writers as well as running workshops on writing.  I guess I'm lucky that I can make a living doing what I love so much: I can travel and write at the same time, and I get to make up stories as well as pass on tips to writers who want to publish their own books! 

Book preview

1

A SPECIAL EVENT

Georgie sat with her chin resting on her hand, frowning at her crystal ball. She should have been a hacker instead of a fortuneteller. Hackers could dig deep and find out people’s deepest, darkest secrets with much more certainty than staring into a stupid crystal ball.

Being a wizard could work, too. Schazam, wave a wand and demand answers from… well, somebody. Or maybe to have messages from beyond arrive via owl post, like Harry Potter. 

Will I marry and have children?

Give me a second; an owl will be along any second now with the answer.

She reached over and smoothed a hand over the gleaming surface of the crystal ball and then gave it a light tap. "Come on. What’s going on with you?"

For two weeks now, her crystal ball had been acting up—if that was the correct term to use with something that didn’t plug into a wall. Her customers still seemed entertained enough—but there was some kind of severe blockage in the channel.

Did you even call it a channel?

Georgie groaned and banged her head gently on the table. She was such a know-nothing. A couple of months of success had made her over-confident; that was the problem. She had expected her understanding of all this to grow, and instead, she had gone backward. So much for being an eighth-generation gypsy who had supposedly inherited the Sight.

What had happened to the strange drifting white mist that had scared her to death the first time she used the crystal ball? It was gone. Gone. She needed it; it had always presaged some sort of insight.

Light footsteps sounded on the steps outside her trailer, and Layla’s cheerful voice called, Georgie? before she appeared in the doorway.

Hi, Georgie said without enthusiasm.

Layla took in the situation at a glance. It’s still not working, huh?

No. I’d ask Rosa what’s going on, but I can’t bother her right now. Her great-grandmother had used the crystal ball for decades before Georgie, so should know its quirks, but a few days earlier, Rosa had taken a tumble down the steps of one of the new gypsy trailers back at the Johnny B. Goode RV Empire. With a sprained ankle and a nasty knock to the head, she was resting up in bed. According to Georgie’s father, she was covered in bruises and more temperamental than ever.

How is she? Layla set down the folders she was carrying on the table and slid into the opposite seat. It can’t be good news for a ninety-year-old lady to have a fall like that.

The doc says she’s in amazing shape for someone her age but was lucky not to break a hip. He’s ordered bed rest for another week, and she’s not happy about it.

Good thing you’re two hundred miles away, Layla said. She jerked a thumb at the folders. Do you want to go through sales figures now or leave it for tomorrow?

Georgie eyed the folders, feeling guilty for not showing more interest. Layla was doing a brilliant job selling vintage trailers. Not only that, she had an entrepreneurial eye for what the retro crowd wanted. A vintage trailer was just the first step: they wanted to play house with it after that. Dress it up, buy things for it, buy clothes for themselves to look the part… even now, she could hear the happy beat of rock and roll hits of the 50s somewhere outside, where the rockabilly band booked for the retro rally was in full swing. She owed it to Layla to spend some time on this.

No, let’s do them now. She gently covered up the crystal ball with the familiar black velvet cloth, almost as though tucking a sick child into bed.

That made her think of Rosa lying in her bed, and she flicked a glance at Layla. Do you think that there’s any connection between Rosa’s accident and what’s going on with the crystal ball?

Layla widened her eyes at her. "You’re asking me?"

Well, I was just thinking…she had it forever before she passed it on to me, and now it’s playing up just as she has an accident. Georgie thought about it some more. "I know the problems started before her accident, but it can see the future, right?"

"Not exactly, from what I’ve seen. You see the future, using it as a conduit. Then Layla shrugged. I’m just guessing. I don’t have a clue."

Nor do I. Deciding to leave her uncooperative crystal ball to its own devices, Georgie moved it to its place on the shelf. What have we got?

Layla flipped open a folder. Overall sales figures for vintage trailers are still climbing. Your dad made the right call; there are plenty of people out there who want the retro look without restoration problems. Our vintage renovation team of specialists is growing too. People find it’s too hard to do it themselves and end up coming to us. She turned the folder around so Georgie could read the numbers.

Georgie skimmed through the figures, and her eyebrows rose. Nothing like the figures for motorhomes and fifth wheels, of course, but this is enough to keep Dad happy. Jerry too, now that he’s finally let Tammy put vintage trailers near the entrance instead of hogging all the space for his precious motorhomes. She and Layla exchanged a grin. It was a source of enjoyment to both of them to see Georgie’s conniving brother Jerry being deftly outmaneuvered by his retro-look girlfriend. Jerry, it seemed, had, at last, met his match.

Speaking of Jerry, Layla said, "have you seen your brother today?"

Not since breakfast.

You know how Tammy’s been all mysterious about a surprise? Well, I just spotted him ducking back inside her trailer. All I can say is, he doesn’t look like the usual Jerry.

Ye-es…? Georgie made ‘give it up’ motions with her fingers.

Tammy has sworn me to secrecy. Just know that you don’t want to miss this. Layla mimed zipping her lips and sat back with a gleam in her eye.

Miss what?

A special event at 3 pm.

Georgie eyed her suspiciously, and then her jaw dropped. "They’re not going to announce their engagement, are they?"

No, no. Layla hastily waved away that idea. Nothing like that. I can’t say any more. Just make sure you’re in front of the stage at three o’clock.

Georgie glanced at her watch, cunningly disguised as a gorgeous gypsy bracelet. That’s only twenty minutes away.

So let’s run through these. Won’t take long. Swiftly, Layla summed up the current orders and the production schedule and finished up with a list of prospects. Then she grinned. Now for the fun stuff: our spinoff lines. Tammy has started an eBay store for retro chinaware, flatware, kitchen accessories, cushions, and posters. She’s got ideas for more—see here? Her finger skated down a list. When Georgie nodded, she flipped to the next section. Here we have the clothing line. There’s your Gypsy Georgie label, and here’s Tammy’s line of 50s fashions. She’s going to add the 40s and 60s as well, but this is a start.

Georgie shook her head, smiling. Who would have thought this would grow so big?

I know. Layla gave a happy sigh.

Jerry might make more money with his extreme RVs, Georgie said, but we have more fun. The thought of Jerry made both of them check the time.

Let’s go. Layla slid out of the seat and ran down the steps, with Georgie close on her heels, careful not to catch a heel in her gypsy skirt. Whatever it was that had Layla so excited, it sounded as though it would be worth seeing.

2

HE’S UP TO SOMETHING…

P erfect timing—look, the band’s just finishing a set, Layla called over her shoulder, weaving her way through the crowd.

Excuse me… Georgie squeezed through in her wake, edging past a group of thirty-somethings in bobby sox