Dreams Of Fame
1.10 - A Terrifying Development
Jo slipped on her most formal outfit before heading out to the police. Checking herself in the mirror, she nodded once, curtly.
She didn’t know what’d happened that ended in Giovanna being locked in the basement, but she swore she would make sure Zoe was brought to justice. She knew it was going to be difficult, Giovanna seemed to still be obsessed with the woman. And even Liberty and those other two were still living with her.
Jo, sadly, was all on her own. That’s the way it always had been and the way it would probably stay. Jo was getting on in life, and ever since her parents passed a few years back, she’d come to accept that she’d die alone. She was alright with it.
Her move to Willow Creek has been her last hurrah, in a sense. She clearly wasn’t going to find anyone at home, so, with a sudden change of heart, Jo had packed up, sold most of her possessions, and left all her friends. Her family had been all that was truly holding her back. They’d always been Jo’s number one priority, and, with both her parents gone, her number one priority became herself.
If Jo was being completely honest with herself, she’d started to see Giovanna as the little sister she’d never had. Someone she could care for, nurture, and protect. Sure, Giovanna had always been a little odd, even to her, but nothing can change the way a person is. In the few months Jo had known Giovanna, the two had truly grown close. So when Giovanna suddenly dropped off the face of the earth, Jo was devastated.
She’d spent hours at the local library, designing and printing missing posters. The only other person important to Giovanna, Zoe, seemed unconcerned and Jo was once again left all alone. And this time, she didn’t even know what had happened to her loved one.
Jo couldn’t thank Liberty enough. She finally knew the truth. And now, it was time to act on it.
Jo spent several hours riding the bus to a far away police station, and when she got off, she looked up at the building, an envelope full of photos of the basement clutched to her chest. She had Liberty to thank for that too.
She boldly walked up the front steps to the police station and pushed open the doors. After waiting in line for a fifteen minutes, Jo stepped up to the person in charge.
“Um, yes, I-I’d like to report a kidnapping?” Jo stammered.
She’d never done this before.
“Okay m’am, we just need you to leave your name and information, and we’ll contact you in three to four business days,” the receptionist drawled.
“No,” Jo said boldly. “My friend was locked in a basement for months on end and deserves her rightful justice!”
The receptionist sighed, sensing there was no getting rid of her. “Go wait over there, I’ll have a cop with you shortly.”
Jo nodded curtly and walked over to where the receptionist had pointed. After a few minutes, a man emerged, and held out a hand.
“Officer Landgraab. You can call me Geoffrey. Right this way,” the man said.
“Landgraab? As in the Landgraab family?” Jo asked as she followed him.
“The one and only,” Geoffrey responded. “I used to be at the top of this place, you know? Wherever you work, lady, don’t drink on the job. It’ll hurt you big time.”
He sat down at a computer, and gestured for the folder, which Jo handed to him. He nodded as he thumbed through the photos.
“Seems pretty harsh,” he remarked. “What’s the friends name?”
“Giovanna Cardwell,” Jo said. “I know some people who found her there, and she’s been released, but in my own opinion, I think she has Stockholm Syndrome. She doesn’t want to leave.”
Geoffrey nodded slowly as he typed Giovanna’s name into the register. The search turned up nothing.
“Is this spelled right, m’am?” he asked.
Jo took a look, and nodded.
Geoffrey looked at Jo and frowned sadly. “Look, I don’t know what game you’re trying to play here, but this person doesn’t exist.”
“No, no, she does!” Jo exclaimed.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave, m’am,” Geoffrey said, standing up.
“Her kidnapper needs to be brought to justice!” Jo shouted as she was escorted out of the police station. “Put an end to Zoe Presley!”
Geoffrey stopped when he heard that name. “Zoe Presley? I read one of her books recently… hang on a minute. I get what you’re trying to play here. You’re trying to pretend that the woman, Giovanna, in those stories is a real person! Good one, lady, but next time, please don’t waste our time.”
Jo was prepared to respond, but Geoffrey shut the door in her face.
Back at the Presley household, Giovanna was walking all over the house, singing loudly. Zoe had left on a book tour earlier that day, and Liberty, Travis, and Summer had been left alone with her.
“Could you stop?” Summer snarled. She was still pissed about Travis and Liberty interacting.
Giovanna ignored her completely.
Liberty and Travis shared a look. Every day they spent here, the more obvious it became that moving in with Zoe was a mistake. Everything was purple, Zoe was a controlling psychopath, and Giovanna, the unofficial roommate, had lost her mind.
Giovanna suddenly stopped humming and quickly turned to the three of them. “I know!” she exclaimed.
“What?” Travis asked.
“I’m going to adopt the three of you! What’s a granny with no children?” Giovanna went on. “But not you,” she added, pointing at Summer.
“Excuse me?”
“I think by three she meant me, Travis, and Zoe,” Liberty whispered.
“I can’t believe that I actually wanted to move here,” Summer sobbed.
She went over to the fridge and violently pulled out a bottle of wine. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, she poured herself a drink.
“Look at what you're doing to me!’ Summer shouted. “I’ve drank half this bottle only this morning! You know what? When Zoe came up all nice and friendly and asked us to move in, I should have told her to fuck off. Should have known this was a bad idea from the very moment she stopped us from moving the crap that used to be piled up in that corner. But now we’re stuck here because Zoe’s already spent the money we earned from selling the house the three of us bought as friends on her stupid book tour! Doesn’t help that you two are always freaking eyeing each other, she’s running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, and I’m literally the only sane person left in this dumb purple house!”
Summer tore off for her room in the basement, wine in hand.
“Well…” Travis coughed.
Liberty looked down. “She does have a point... in terms of smart moves, moving here definitely wasn't it. I honestly want to find a job that lets me spend as little time here as possible.”
“An adventure? Fun!” Giovanna smiled.
Later that day, Liberty signed up to be an astronaut.
“Is this everyone then?” Zoe asked from behind her desk.
“Yes, Ms. Presley,” the librarian said. “You said this would start at 4:00 and you’ve kept people waiting until 4:30, you need to start.”
Zoe cleared her throat, and the audience quieted down.
“Back when I first starting writing this book, I never imagined what it would lead to. A friend who’s… very dear to me first introduced me to some ideas, and well, from there I hit the ground running.”
“A Day in the Life of Granny… a title as lengthy as that… who would have thought it would lead to success? My publishers certainly didn’t. But, here I sit. Successful. While some people told me audiences would prefer something more like the lifestyle books of Kayla Brooks, I forged my own path. And, sitting here before all of you know, I know the truth now. Even if your ideas seem… unconventional, absurd, even, don’t give up your dreams. Do whatever you have to do to get to where you want to be in life.”
“From a very little girl, I wanted to be a successful author. You wouldn’t want to know how many manuscripts or how many different genres I attempted. Most were rejected by publishers immediately. Some only had to see the title. My parents… they gave up on my dreams by the time I was 16. Kicked me out by the time I was 22. I’ve really showed them now.”
“At the end of the day, I want A Day in the Life of Granny to be shown as what it is; a success story. Just as Giovanna always beats down her enemies, I beat down many trials to reach where I am now. Now, if any of you want your book signed, feel free to come up, and I will answer any questions you have.”