Gossamer Ghost (29 page)

M
AVIS
smiled up at the green alien. “An accident. What a perfectly marvelous idea.”

“Who the heck are
you
?” Ava shrieked at the green alien. Even with someone pointing a loaded gun at her, Ava's bravado hadn't faltered.

“He's not a nice guy,” Carmela murmured. “Unfortunately, I've encountered him before.”

The green alien slid closer to Mavis. Then, in the manner of a lover, he put an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I thought you might be needing some help,” he said.

Mavis turned her face up and let him kiss her.

“Yuck,” said Ava.

“Shut up,” said Mavis.

Carmela wanted to fly at both of them. To kick, scratch, and claw them to death. Unfortunately, there was a gun pointed at her chest.

“Who are you?” she demanded of the green alien.

“Just a friend,” smirked the green alien.

“A very good friend,” said Mavis. “My Ricky.” Her eyes had taken on a strange glint and, for the first time, Carmela believed she was truly dangerous.

“Ricky,” said Carmela. “Were you the zombie who chased me the other night? Did you shoot at me today?”

“Look at her,” Mavis crowed. “The hotshot investigator wants some answers.”

“We don't have time for that,” said Ricky. “We need to get rid of them.”

“You're going to
shoot
us?” said Carmela. “You'll never get away with it. Your shots will echo all the way through the train and bring . . .”

Ricky stepped swiftly over to the back door and pulled it open. A whoosh of cool air immediately filled the car. The rattle of the train as it thundered down the tracks was almost deafening.

“I've got a better way,” said Ricky. “A more
final
way.”

“No, no, no,” said Ava, her courage finally faltering. “We can be reasonable about this, can't we? Find another solution?”

“No,” said Ricky.

Mavis waved her gun again. “Get outside,” she commanded.

Both Carmela and Ava were herded out onto the rear platform. It bounced and swayed dangerously as the train hammered along. They had to grab hold of the flimsy metal railing just to remain on their feet.

“You first,” Mavis said to Carmela as pure malevolence shone in her eyes.

“Yeah, you,” said Ricky. He shoved Carmela closer to the open edge of the back platform.

Still, Carmela hung on for dear life. And as warehouses, boat slips, and views of the Mississippi flew by, Carmela felt like she was seeing her life flash by, too.

Dear Lord! If ever there was a time for prayer . . .

Mavis prodded Carmela in the ribs with her pistol. “Time to say good-bye.”

Carmela gazed sorrowfully at Ava, who seemed to be sneaking a hand into the shoulder bag that was slung across her body.

“Ava,” Carmela choked out. Her mouth was dry, devoid of any moisture whatsoever. In fact, she was so frightened she could barely draw breath.

“Come on, come on,” Mavis snarled. She shot a knowing look at Ricky. “We need to take care of her while the train's still running along the river.”

“You heard her,” said Ricky. “Time to get off.” He shoved Carmela all the way over to the very edge of the platform where there was no protective railing at all.

Carmela looked straight down through the metal grill and saw tracks spinning by. The thought of landing on those metal tracks and crushed cinders made her dizzy and sick to her stomach.

Mavis moved over and poked her gun into the small of Ava's back. She would be the next victim.

“You don't want to do this,” Carmela babbled. She knew it was a pathetic, made-for-TV-movie line, but it was all she could dredge up at the moment.

“Sure we do,” Mavis cackled. She prodded Ava again and said, “Just do it, Ricky. Give Carmela one hard shove!”

Just as Ricky was about to give Carmela a fatal, final shove, Ava ripped the vial of fake blood from her purse. In one fluid motion she popped the top off and spattered gobs of red liquid directly into Mavis's eyes.

“Owww!” Mavis howled. Her wild-animal scream rang out loudly as she pawed frantically at her injured eyes. As she struggled to wipe them, she fumbled the gun completely and it dropped hard and loud onto the train tracks.

Fast as a snapping turtle, Carmela whipped around, tore off her stiff white shroud and snapped it at Ricky. The stiff, hardened material caught him across the forehead and, as he batted it, like an unsuspecting bug suddenly trapped in a spider's web, Carmela spun sideways and quickly wound it around him. Then Ava got into the act, too, hastily ripping off her shroud and wrapping Ricky up completely, as if they were circling a maypole.

Then, as the train slowed slightly to round a curve, Carmela planted her foot directly against Ricky's backside and gave a mighty shove. Flailing and helpless, Ricky went tumbling onto the tracks as Mavis continued to shriek at the top of her lungs.

“Waaaah!” was all they heard from Ricky as the train chugged away.

“Ouch!” said Ava, scrunching up her face. “That looks like it might have hurt.”

“I sincerely hope so,” said Carmela. She spun Mavis around and shoved her back inside the train. “You shut up,” she ordered. And to Ava, “Better hang on tight. This isn't going to be pretty.” Then Carmela reached up and yanked the emergency cord as hard as she could. The smile hardened on her face as she braced herself with all her might. Beneath them, the train shuddered dangerously. The antique cars rocked and careened from side to side as their wheels locked tight and the entire Ghost Train ground to a screeching halt.

“J
UST
think,” Ava beamed at Carmela. “You have the power to stop a train.”

“Excuse me,” said Jekyl. He was standing nose to nose with Carmela, wildly flailing his arms. “Did you
really
need to rip on that emergency brake? Was it necessary to bring the entire train to a
screeching
halt?”

They were standing in a narrow patch of weeds next to the waiting, belching train. Carmela had made her call to Babcock, while Ava was happily pointing the gun at a cowed and greatly subdued Mavis Sweet.

A terrible situation had been defused and a pair of killers had finally been apprehended. But Jekyl remained upset.

“You couldn't have resolved this problem any other way?” Jekyl asked. “I mean, stopping the Ghost Train is a disaster of epic proportions! What if all our customers demand refunds?”

“Are you insane?” Carmela shouted back at him, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. “For the great show we just put on? Turn around and take a look, Jekyl. And while you're at it, wave to all the nice people on the train who are hanging out the windows—because they're waving at
us
!”

Carmela gestured toward the halted train, where everyone really was hanging out the windows. Smiling faces looked on with laughter and encouragement, and there were shouts of “More, more!” and plenty of applause. Clearly, all the passengers had enjoyed the rather unorthodox “show” that they'd just witnessed.

Then Babcock arrived in a blast of sirens and blaze of red and blue lights.

“Uh-oh,” said Ava, “you're gonna have some 'splaining to do, Lucy.”

But Mavis, still smeared with fake blood, was promptly put into handcuffs. And Babcock kept his words and temper in check as Carmela laid out the entire story for him. At one point he even held up a hand and demanded that Titus Duval be brought out to join them.

When everything was explained and unraveled—and Carmela had made a formal apology to Duval—the episode appeared to be over.

Except for one thing.

“Who
is
that jackhole, anyway?” Carmela asked as a uniformed officer marched a limping, trembling Ricky toward them. She was happy to note that his green alien costume was shredded beyond repair and he sported a couple of enormous red welts on his forehead.

“That sorry sight is Ricky Bumgard,” said Babcock, recognizing him immediately. “He's a known thief and sometime arsonist. Needless to say, he's got quite a record.” Babcock threw Ricky a nasty smile. “From everything I've heard tonight, it looks like we can add murder, too. Am I right, Ricky? Did you overstep your smarts and get a little too greedy, Ricky?”

Thankfully, Ricky was still too shaken to muster an answer.

“Ricky, the green alien,” Ava said in a challenging voice. “Now he'll have to trade his green costume for an orange jumpsuit. Then he'll be Ricky the jailbird.”

“Uhrrhmm,” said Ricky, shaking his head.

“So where
is
the death mask?” asked Titus Duval.

“I'm guessing it's probably stashed at Mavis's house,” said Carmela. “She probably tucked it away all nice and neat until she had a chance to sell it.”

“You'd have to sell it on the black market,” said Jekyl. He pursed his lips. “Although underground art sales seem to be flourishing these days.”

“That's why I was so suspicious of James Stanger,” said Carmela. “And Johnny Sparks.”

“They may be clear of this,” said Babcock. “But if they are guilty of art fraud we'll get them eventually.”

“And I'm still not sure if the countess is on the up-and-up,” said Carmela.

“She'll be right next door to you,” Babcock smiled. “So you can keep an eye on her.”

“If you ask me,” said Ava, “that death mask is bad luck. Bad juju.”

Babcock gazed mildly at Ava. “You're imagining things. A simple object can't possess the powers of good or evil.”

“Sure it can,” said Ava. “Look at the curse of King Tut's tomb. Or the Hope Diamond. Those things carry well-known curses!”

“Excuse me,” said Titus Duval. He looked thoughtful and very interested in their conversation. “Is there any possibility that stolen mask might be for sale?”

“No!” Carmela and Ava cried together.

“We need to return the mask to its rightful owner,” said Carmela. She gazed at Babcock. “And the sooner the better—don't you think?”

“Absolutely,” said Babcock. “It's the law.” He pulled Carmela closer to him and beamed at her. Then, throwing caution to the wind, Babcock leaned forward, dipped Carmela over backward, and gave her the kind of kiss that definitely made for a Hollywood ending.

Once again, the passengers on the train clapped and cheered loudly. Their evening, crazy as it had been, had enjoyed a perfect ending. Besides riding the Ghost Train, they'd witnessed a wild chase, apprehension of a dangerous criminal, and an old-fashioned romantic ending.

Smiling, a little embarrassed at all the fuss, Carmela regained her footing and gave Babcock a subtle nudge. “We should take the mask back to Dallas as soon as possible. Deliver it in person to that poor man, Mr. Pitney.”

“Oh no,” Babcock laughed. “You're not roping me into going.”

Carmela turned toward Ava and said, “How about you, girlfriend?”

Ava grinned happily. “Road trip!”

Scrap Your Scraps

If you have scraps of paper left over (and who doesn't?) you can turn them into bookmarks. Trim and layer your leftovers on top of each other in fun combinations, then punch a hole and thread in some ribbon or raffia. Just be sure to finish both sides!

Got Game?

If you have tokens, poker chips, or small pieces from old board games (Monopoly or Scrabble, anyone?) they can be reworked in lots of different ways. Drill your Scrabble letters and use jump rings to create a necklace. Or drill a poker chip to use as a key fob. Most of the jewelry findings you need can be found at your local craft store.

Wine Labels

You can make your own wine labels the same way Carmela does. Measure your wine bottle and create a label template. Then get creative with rubber stamps, transfer letters, stickers, and ephemera. When your label design is finished, simply color copy for however many bottles you want to decorate. Vampire Wine, Christmas Cabernet, or Valentine Blush Wine, anyone?

Design Your Own Guest Towels

Use your favorite rubber stamps to create your own unique guest towels. Just paint your rubber stamps with fabric ink and stamp carefully—you can use one signature stamp or create an entire border. Because you're stamping on terry cloth, the image is likely to be a little fuzzy, so keep that in mind when selecting your rubber stamp.

Collage Backgrounds

Create unique backgrounds on your scrapbook pages by using strips of leftover paper that are all in the same color or design family. The strips need to be as wide as your page and torn so they are 2"–3" high—and distressed edges always work best. Glue your strips onto your scrapbook page, add a glaze layer to preserve them, then go ahead and add your photos.

The Sweet Smell of Sachets

Create sachets the way Carmela did, using cheesecloth tied with ribbon. Or you can even use fabric bits that you have on hand. Cut 2 squares, about 5" x 5", using a pinking shears. Seal them on three sides using fusible bonding tape such as Stitch Witchery. Fill your sachet with dried lavender, dried rosebuds, eucalyptus, or even your favorite spice. Now simply fuse the remaining edge.