Georgie Be Good by Marg McAlister

smiled. “You’re not the first to find it hard to believe a gypsy fortune-teller, and you sure won’t be the last.” 
    Rachel took a deep, quavering breath. “There’s more.” 
    “Rachel, you don’t have to,” Sarah said. “You’ve apologized. You’ve thanked Georgie. That can be the end of it.” 
    “No.” Rachel’s voice was decisive. “I know I can’t really make amends, but I’m going to try.” 
    So, Georgie thought, we were right.
     “I was the one who passed on the company secrets to their rivals.” Rachel stared straight ahead, her face grim. “I can’t excuse it…but there was a reason.”
    “Money?” Georgie asked. “I had a feeling you might have been blackmailed.” 
    “Close, but it’s worse than that. I didn’t do it for money. The man who… who took Izzie…” Rachel quailed for a moment, but then went on. “He drugged her and took photos, of her with other men. Nude photos. Then he came to see us both late one night, said he would post them all over the Internet. Sell them to pedophiles.” Her voice dropped to a near-whisper. “Izzie’s a small girl for her age, undeveloped.” 
    Georgie felt a growing rage. Poor girl. Poor mother. 
    “He didn’t want money. He wanted information.” Rachel swallowed. “He told me what he wanted and how to get it. I had to wait until James was out of the room, or in a meeting, and had forgotten to shut down his computer. It took weeks, but I got it all.”
    Georgie sneaked a look at Sarah and James. Their faces mirrored Georgie’s outrage, but she didn’t feel it was directed at Rachel. 
    Sarah’s next words confirmed her thoughts. “We don’t blame Rachel,” she said. “I might have done the same if it were Grace.” 
    “I’m going to the police,” Rachel said. “And Damian and Cory. I’m telling them everything, so they can get the evidence they need. James will get his job back. If he wants it.” 
    James said nothing, and Georgie could imagine how he felt. Betrayed, not only by Rachel, but by everyone who had been ready to believe that he would do this. 
    “The thing is, I was ready to do anything to protect Izzie. Anything. But in the end, what drove her to try to kill herself wasn’t just the photos, or what happened to her. She told me, tonight, at the hospital.” Rachel slumped, looking too exhausted to cry any more, and went on, “It was what happened after it as well: betraying our friends. My best friends, Sarah and James. Izzie’s best friend, Grace. She couldn’t live with it all.”
    James let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulder, resting his arm across Sarah’s. “We’ll see you through this, Rachel. We’ll go to the police with you, and to see Damian and Cory.”
    “Yes. We will.” Sarah nodded, and then her face hardened. “And we’ll catch this bastard. There’ll be a trail, somewhere.”
    Georgie looked at them, and thought what good people there were in the world. It made her heart warm. 
    “Well,” she said. “I’m glad it all worked out. Give my regards to Izzie, Rachel.” She stood. “Thank you for letting me know.”
    Sarah stayed with Rachel while James escorted her to the door. 
    “Rachel is not the only one who owes you an apology,” he said. “I was pretty tough on you.” 
    “Water under the bridge. I’m glad the truth is out.” Georgie held out a hand. “I’m glad you and Sarah are standing by Rachel, too.” On impulse, she added, “You’ll be even closer after this, you know. Tell Rachel that.” 
    “I will.” He shook her hand. “If there’s ever anything I can do for you, let me know.” 
    “I will,” she said, not really meaning it but knowing he needed to hear it. “Goodbye, James.”
     Back at the truck, Scott was leaning on the passenger door. Without a word, he opened his arms and Georgie walked into them, leaning on his broad chest and sighing deeply. They stood like that for several minutes, while Georgie felt the