Free Georgie Be Good by Marg McAlister Page A

sure that if I actually see Izzie, I’ll know for sure.” 
    “Hmm.” Layla was staring at the floor, thinking. “Yes, I agree, but…” 
    Scott beat her to the punch. “But Rosa showed up again in the crystal ball. That’s got to tell you something.” 
    “I was thinking that maybe it was her way of saying: At last you’ve got the right person. That it wasn’t about James. That I had to get to Izzie through the James-Sarah-Rachel connection.”
    Tammy swung her feet, seemingly hypnotized by the rhythmic motion of her espadrille-clad feet. 
    “Tammy?” Georgie prompted.
    She held up a hand, still thinking, and then nodded. “With James, I was saying it might not be about money, remember? It might be about passion. Anger. Revenge. Any of that. And blackmail.” 
    Georgie tried to follow her reasoning. “You still think it’s all connected.” 
    “Izzie meets some sleazebag at an audition. Izzie gets… compromised.” Tammy’s perfectly etched eyebrows drew downward at the thought. “The sleazebag asks for money. Izzie doesn’t have any money. Her family doesn’t have any money. So Rachel comes up with a way to get some.” 
    It didn’t feel quite right to Georgie, but she had a feeling that Tammy was close. Perhaps it was all linked. And if it was Rachel selling secrets for money… Sarah was going to be devastated. 
    She looked around at the others. “What do you think?” 
    “Maybe. Maybe.” Scott didn’t sound convinced either. “But I think if you see Rachel, you’ll know. You have to get her over here. Or go to see her.” 
    Georgie nodded. “I agree with that much. Everyone..?” 
    They all assented, and Georgie sighed. Another uncomfortable meeting coming up. 
    She called Grace to get Izzie’s home number, and then phoned Rachel. 

    A t first , Rachel declined a meeting, but when Georgie said it was about her daughter, not the Wests, she ummed and aahed and then finally agreed to come to Georgie. “I don’t want you here with Izzie,” she said bluntly. “I’ll be there in half an hour.” 
    It was closer to forty minutes, and just as Georgie was wondering if she had changed her mind, she spotted her weaving her way through the swelling afternoon crowds. The Elvis lookalike competition was just getting underway over at the camp kitchen, and Georgie closed the door on the haunting strains of It’s Now or Never.
    Rachel sat in the same position as Grace had an hour earlier, and immediately folded her arms.  Her face looked mutinous. “I should start by telling you that I haven’t changed my opinion of gypsy fortune-tellers, no matter what Sarah says. So tell me what this is about.” 
    Well, that was upfront enough. Georgie decided to be just as straightforward. 
    “I asked you to come here because Grace came to see me. She was worried about Izzie.” 
    “ Grace ?” Rachel’s expression changed from annoyed to wary. “Why?”
    “She says that something happened to Izzie, and she’s not the person she used to be. Essentially, she’s lost her friend, and it’s eating at her.” 
    For a moment Rachel just sat like a statue, her eyes fixed on Georgie’s. Then she swallowed and said, “It’s all because of this mess at work. It’s been terrible, with James on forced leave and everyone there wondering if I’m working with the police against them. I’ve been coming home early or crying half the night, and of course that’s had its effect on poor Izzie. She…she hasn’t been eating. Doesn’t want to see anyone—especially Grace.” Her lower lip trembled, but she regained control and lifted her chin, staring Georgie down. “She’ll get over it. We’ll be all right.”
    Georgie looked down at the crystal ball, still covered by its black cloth, and thought about how to handle this. Rachel wasn’t exactly lying, but she had come out with a tangle of half-truths. 
    The lies weren’t helping anyone. 
    She raised her eyes to Rachel again, only to see the