it’s not much, and it’s as vague as all hell, but that’s all I’ve got. So all I can say is, be careful. Please.”
Tammy felt her heart lurch. Georgie wouldn’t be here telling her this if she wasn’t seriously worried.
“You didn’t see anything?”
“Nothing specific. I saw leaves, trees, like a forest or a wilderness area. And a few shadowy people.” Georgie closed her eyes for a moment, and Tammy could see that she was trying to recall it. “I didn’t see the people, I sensed them. I haven’t read tea leaves before, so I didn’t really know what I was doing.”
Tammy just sat there for a moment, caught by surprise. “I don’t know what to say. More important, I don’t know what to do.”
“Me neither,” said Georgie with a hollow laugh. “Just ‘be careful’. That’s all I can say. And tell Jerry. I’m not sure what his reaction will be; he’s always treated Rosa’s crystal ball as a bit of a joke—window dressing for the gypsy caravan. I don’t know if he really believes that it works.”
Tammy thought back to the way their little group had used the crystal ball’s predictions back in Santa Monica, and before that in Dayton. “I told him about the cases you’ve solved… like the last one with Nick, and how we put things together from your crystal ball readings.” She added reluctantly, “Even so, I don’t know how seriously he takes it. I think he thought I was exaggerating.”
Well, she thought, Jerry could darn well take it seriously now , she would see to that. It was more than time he gave his sister the credit she deserved.
She stood up, leaned over and patted Georgie on the shoulder. “I’ll go find Jerry; he’s due back in Dumpsville about now with that new bug-out vehicle… what did they call it? The Barbarian?” She rolled her eyes. “ Barbarian. Men…! Let’s meet up in an hour, right? Are you staying at your Dad’s house?”
“Yes. But can we make it an hour later? I heard from Scott this afternoon. He’s heading back from Cherokee Park. If we wait, and I grab Layla, we can all meet up for a council of war.”
“Perfect,” Tammy said. “The Crystal Ball Investigation team back together again…only with Jerry there too.” She sent Georgie a rueful look. “I’m not sure how the team will feel about that. ”
“Whatever it is that’s coming, Jerry’s in it up to his neck,” Georgie assured her, looking marginally happier to be taking some action.
“Done. I’ll find someone to pack all of this away for the night, and go find Jerry.”
Georgie nodded. “I’ll locate Dad, give him an update on Rosa, and catch you later.”
Tammy watched her make her way toward the main building, an unlikely-looking gypsy fortune teller in blue jeans and an asymmetric navy t-shirt. It was a reminder that although she might wear flowing gypsy skirts and shawls a lot of the time, just as Tammy herself usually dressed in vintage clothes, real life wasn’t a dress up party.
There were real threats to happiness out there.
Chapter 6
Several hours later, when she answered the chimes to the front door of her father’s house, one look at Tammy’s face told Georgie that her warning had come too late. Her heart sank.
“He’s missing, Georgie.” Tammy was trying to sound calm, but Georgie could hear the strain in her voice. “Nobody has seen him since yesterday. Except me, but I was still half asleep when he left this morning.”
“Wait, save it for the others so you don’t have to tell it twice.” Georgie gave her a quick hug, then led the way to the media room with its soft lounges. “Dad and Angela are out, thank goodness, so we can talk this through without him going off the deep end.”
Layla and Scott were waiting, and their expressions changed when they saw Tammy. Layla immediately bounced to her feet and took her arm. “Come sit by me. No Jerry?”
“No.” Tammy took a seat, and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She was still wearing