A CAMPER & CRIMINALS COZY

MYSTERY BOX SET

BOOKS 4-8

TONYA KAPPES
 CONTENTS

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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20

Sneak Peek
RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS
RV Hack #1 and #2
EGG IN A BASKET
BAG KABOBS
APPLES ON A STICK
CANDY CANE DONUTS
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PREVIEW

CHRISTMAS, CRIMINALS, AND CAMPERS

The loudest scream I’ve ever heard came from the office.
I stood there in slow motion as I watched Hank draw the gun from the
hidden holster under his shirt. I shoved past him, running towards the
office. It was as though my feet had a mind of their own.
“Abby?” I questioned when I got to the door and noticed she was
standing over Nadine White on the floor. “Did you scream?”
I could feel Hank behind me.
“Abby?” Hank called.
She stood with her back to us. My eyes drew down her body until they
saw the bloody knife dangling from her fingers.
She turned around. Her eyes hollow.
“She’s dead,” she replied in a small frightened voice.
CHAPTER 1

“T he way Nadine carefully wove the tapestry of the small town

really did make it feel like its own character,” Abby Fawn
said with a deep sigh of happiness. She spoke so fondly of the
book she had picked for The Laundry Club’s monthly book club meeting.
It was no secret that Abby Fawn was Nadine White’s biggest fan. Many
times, Abby used her position as a librarian to get advance reading copies
of Nadine’s books before they were published.
“No matter what we say about the book, Abby is going to defend it until
she convinces us to feel the same way.” Dottie Swaggert curled her nose as
though she smelled dirty laundry a tourist was throwing into the closest
washing machine.
The Laundry Club was a full-service laundromat in downtown Normal,
Kentucky. It wasn’t just a place to do your laundry; it was like nothing
you’ve ever seen. It was upscale, and Betts Hager had done a fabulous job
making it feel like the comforts of home for the customers.
Since Normal was located smack dab in the middle of Daniel Boone
National Park, it was a tourist destination for campers and hikers who
needed a laundry facility. Betts wanted her customers to be as comfortable
doing laundry at The Laundry Club as they were in their homes. She set up
a coffee and drink bar and offered snacks. She had a sitting area complete
with a television and couches. The customers loved to hang around the
puzzle area where there was always a jigsaw puzzle to solve. The little
library area, where we held our monthly book clubs, had shelves stocked
with books from Abby that the library could no longer use or were too
damaged to put on the shelf as well as a computer.
 It was the first place I’d come to do my laundry when I drove into
Normal in my camper. And here is where I’d met these ladies that I now
could rely on for anything I ever needed. We’d truly become what the name
was - The Laundry Club.
“Do you have something to say about Cozy Romance in Christmas?”
Abby directed her question to Dottie.
“Nope.” Dottie sat back, crossing her arms in front of her. “I thought it
could’ve used a little more oomph if you know what I mean.”
“This is a very popular women’s fiction book. It was my pick and I
wanted to pick something that gave us a good and happy feeling inside that
we can hold onto during the Christmas season since our next book club
won’t be until the new year.” Abby jerked her head towards me. Her brown-
haired ponytail whipped around her. “Mae? What are your thoughts on the
town being its own character?”
“Well.” I hesitated by taking a moment to look at the front of the book
to get the author’s name.
We all knew that Dottie liked her novels a little steamier and Queenie
French liked her cowboy romances, but honestly, I preferred a good cozy
mystery. Over the past few months I’d even used some tricks I’d learned
from my favorite cozy mystery authors to help the local sheriff’s
department bring a few criminals to justice.
“Um. . . Nadine White does make you feel like you are in the town on
the cover.” I held the book up with the cover facing outwards. “I love how
the snow is falling in front of the yarn shop. It’s also cute how the cat is in
the display window.”
“But what about the friendships Nadine wrote about in the novel?”
Abby asked.
“If y’all treated me with kid gloves and all the rah-rah we are sisters
stuff, I’d think you’d lost your ever-lovin’ mind.” Dottie didn’t waste any
time giving her opinion.
“I think it was very nice.” Betts Hager was opening The Laundry Club’s
mail. “No matter what you think, Dottie, our little group has become a
much-needed girls’ group for me just like Nadine created in the book. There
were some people with flaws, but it’s fiction.” She ripped open an envelope
and pulled out a letter. “What about you, Queenie?” Betts asked another
member of our book club, pushing back a strand of her wavy shoulder
length hair and brushing her bangs to the side as she read the letter to
herself.
“I’m not saying it was the worst book we’ve read, but I’m certainly not
going to continue with the series.” Queenie adjusted the Jazzercise logo
headband up over her forehead. Her short blonde hair was sticking straight
up like a bunch of matchsticks. She did look great for being in her sixties,
but her colorful wardrobe choices could use a little improvement. “There’s
like twenty books in the series.”
Abby Fawn’s brows drew down.
“Abby, we all liked it, but just not as much as you.” I reached over to
give her comfort.
“Guys,” Betts Hager put her hands in her lap, gripping the letter. “We all
better really like it because Nadine White is coming to our book club.”
“What?” Dottie’s face pinched.
Abby reached across our circle of chairs and snatched the letter out of
Betts’s hands.
“I always invite the authors we pick to The Laundry Club book club
meetings, never figuring one would show up.”
“Oh my Gawd!” Abby shook with excitement. “She’s getting ready to
write her next novel over the winter and will be in Normal for Christmas.
When she looked up Normal on the internet, she noticed all of my social
media posts and hashtags. She decided that she’s going to check out Happy
Trails Campground and rent a camper for the entire winter season to work
on her next novel.”
“Happy Trails?” That got my attention right away since I was the owner
of the tourist destination of choice deep in the Daniel Boone National Park.
Long story short, my now-dead ex-husband had gone to jail for a Ponzi
scheme after swindling millions of dollars from people all over the country,
including all the women in the book club. When he went to jail, I had no
idea he’d named me the owner of a rundown campground while everything
else was seized by the government.
Going from the high life in Manhattan to a campground in Normal
wasn’t my idea of fun or the way I had wanted to spend my life. I’d spent
the better part of my teenage years getting out of the Kentucky foster care
system after my own family had been killed in a housefire.
It had taken me a few months to get the campground up and running on
top of doing many odd jobs around the quaint town of Normal, but I’d made
it a success. In doing so, not only did I gain the trust of the citizens that my
husband had abused, but I had also brought the tourists back to the sleepy
town by offering luxurious camper-style arrangements that were better than
any hotel in Daniel Boone National Park.
Over the past couple of seasons, Happy Trails Campground had been
used for family reunions, honeymoons, and family outings. I was proud of
what I had done and its impact on our small town, and Abby Fawn had
worked alongside me by doing her fabulous social media marketing in
addition to being the town’s librarian.
“I ain’t never gotten no call about a Nadine White.” Dottie Swaggert
reached out to get the letter from Abby. She would know. She and I both
lived at the campground. She was the manager and took all the reservations.
“Can I have that letter to keep?” Abby gushed with delight and took her
phone out of her pocket. “Hashtag Nadine White is going to join the
hashtag The Laundry Club hashtag book club to talk about her hashtag
women’s fiction hashtag novel hashtag Cozy Romance in Christmas.”
“Abby!” Betts called out her name when she realized Abby was
plastering Nadine White’s visit all over social media.
“What was that?” I looked around when the lights in the laundromat
flickered.
“The snow.” Betts waved it off. “We have overhead powerlines out back
that feed the electric and the heavy snow will sit on the line, wreaking
havoc with the electricity.” She pointed to the television that showed a
snowy picture instead of the Weather Channel we had been watching on
because there was a snowstorm headed our way. “The electricity rarely goes
out, but the internet and cable do. Abby,” she got Abby to look up from her
phone. “You can’t put it on social media. In her letter, she specifically states
that it’s a getaway and no one but her agent will know where she is.”
“Oh, no.” Abby clicked and swiped away on her phone. “I don’t have
service.”
“You better get service fast because she’s coming today.” Dottie shoved
the letter in my face.
“Today?” My jaw dropped. “I didn’t have her reservation.”
“Not under her name, but under Valerie Young.” Dottie poked at the
paper with her finger. “That’s her agent.”
“Valerie Young is the one who requested a Christmas tree and some fun
lights around the rental camper.” I had just finished putting up the
Christmas tree last night in anticipation of her arrival.
“You’ve got to do more than that,” Abby’s voice rose with each word as
the joy and anticipation over her favorite author’s arrival bubbled up within
her. “You’ve got to go all out and decorate the outside too.”
“I did see Buck put some new decorations in the display window of the
Tough Nickel Thrift Shop.” Queenie unzipped the fanny pack that was
clasped around her waist and took out an emery board to file a hangnail.
“You’ve got to do it. Can’t you tell how much that Nadine loves
Christmas from this book?” Abby begged. “I can help. I’ve read all of her
books and there’s a few Christmas ones. She loves tree all decorated in
colored bulbs and she loves those snowmen blow ups. Loves them,” she
emphasized with her hands along with wide open eyes. “I’ve got to invite
her to the library to do a reading.” Abby jumped up and started to pace.
She’d stop, hold her phone up in the air, look at it, shake it, and do it all
over again in an effort to get some cell service. “It’s perfect. A Christmas
present for Normal.”
“I’m not so sure she wants anyone to know she’s here.” Betts sighed.
We all stared at Abby in amazement. She was so giddy and childlike.
Granted, she was in her early twenties and the youngest of the group, but it
was an author, not some big Hollywood actress.
“No.” I put my hand out. That was the last thing she needed to be
involved in. I’d never seen Abby this excited, not even since she’d started
dating Ty Randal, one of Normal’s most eligible bachelors and kinda a
suitor of mine when I first moved to Normal. “You’ve got a lot on your
mind and I’m crunched for time to get the camper ready.”
“It’s her own fault if she didn’t tell you to get more decorations ups.”
Dottie tugged her cigarette case out of her front pocket. “Come on, I’ll go
with ya.”
“So it’s set.” Abby gathered in the middle of us before we all went our
separate ways. “If I can get Nadine White to do a book reading at the
library, you’re all coming, right?”
“Can I tell her that her book is no good?” Dottie took out a cigarette,
sticking it in the corner of her mouth and letting it bounce as she talked.
“She needs to be told that she needs more substance than a romantic fling
and hoping to find love again.”
“Dottie, I promise. You are going to love her. She’s amazing.” Abby’s
smile was brighter than the North Star on the night Jesus was birthed. Well,
at least brighter than how I pictured it. “I have to go! I’ve got to get to some
internet and take down that tweet about her being here.”
The rest of us stood there watching Abby bolt out the door into the
falling snow, leaving her coat on the back of her chair.
“Poor girl.” Queenie tsked, clasped her hands, and bended forward to
the ground. “I guess I better get to the church. I’ve got a Jazzercise class to
teach and that undercroft gets really cold if they haven’t put the heat on.”
Queenie gave hugs all around.
“We’ve got the heat on.” Betts moved the chairs from the circle back to
where they belonged. “I made sure Lester knew.” Lester was Betts’s
husband and preacher of the Normal Baptist Church.
“The three of you aren’t getting no younger, so you better come join me
for some good cardio exercise.” Queenie wiggled her fingers into jazz
hands before she slipped her hot pink gloves over them.
“Here.” Betts had run over to the coffee bar and made to-go cups of
coffee. “Take a cup with you. It’s cold out there.”
Betts was a woman who wore many hats. She not only did everything
she could to be a wonderful wife and mother, she ran The Laundry Club,
which was doing great, cleaned houses on the side, and was involved with
various clubs around town.
Dottie and I said our goodbyes to Betts and put our coats on.
“I sure hope Abby doesn’t get her hopes up.” Dottie stood on the
sidewalk and lit her cigarette.
“I’m worried about that too. She’s built her up in her mind to be this
wonderful woman. I just hope Nadine White doesn’t disappoint her number
one fan.” I wrapped my hand around the crook of Dottie’s arm. “Let’s walk
on over to the thrift shop and see what decorationsBuck’s got over there for
Nadine’s camper.”
CHAPTER 2

D owntown Normal was truly beautiful in falling snow. I had never

lived here before during the winter and the scenery didn’t
disappoint. In Kentucky, we had all four seasons. I’d have to say
that fall happened to be one of my favorites, with all the changing colors
Mother Nature offered deep inside the forests of Daniel Boone National
Park.
The shops downtown were all different shapes and size. Some were cute
chippy buildings and some were quite large, but none of them had big signs.
They all had small, wooden, hand painted signs. There was The Smelly Dog
Groomer, Cookie Crumble Bakery, Normal Diner, the Normal Library,
Sweet Smell Flower Shop, The Trails Coffee Shop, Grassel’s Gas Station,
Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, and the Tough Nickel Thrift Shop, to name a few.
“It looks like Abby has gone into Sweet Smell.” Dottie drew her finger
along Abby’s footsteps in the snow and pointed into the window of the
flower shop as we passed by.
“She is probably telling them all about Nadine White.” I shook my head
and looked both ways before Dottie and I crossed the one-way street along
that side of the median to cross to the other side of Main Street.
Main Street was split in two, right down the middle. One-way streets on
each side. In the middle was a small amphitheater, covered shelter, and
several picnic tables scattered around the tall trees. During the warmer
seasons, it was a wonderful place to have lunch while visiting downtown or
to see plays put on by the community theater. A lot of tourists liked to come
down here and have family reunions in the shelter. In the winter, it was
turned into a tree lot, with twinkling Christmas lights scattered around the
perimeter of the entire area.
 There were a few vendors and local artists set up that were allowed to
sell what they made. Crafts were a big thing around here, especially
anything monogrammed. It was definitely a great place to Christmas shop
for someone because you were guaranteed to find something unique.
Dottie snuffed out her cigarette as we hurried across the streets and into
the Thrifty Nickel. It was a neat shop owned by Buck. He’d left the old
building exactly the way it was built, leaving the exposed brick on all wall
and the entire store open with tall ceilings. There was an upstairs full of
clothing and a back room with thrift store items, but I was more interested
in the blow-up snowman he’d displayed in the front window.
Dottie and I made sure to shake the snow off our coats and boats near
the door. We didn’t want to get Buck’s hardwood floors or his oriental rugs
wet. While she moseyed around to look at the big antique furniture and
expensive items, I checked out all the Christmas things he had until I found
Buck to ask about the snowman.
Buck was tall and slender with coal black hair. He was in his late sixties
and was very knowledgeable about the history of not only Normal, but of
all the items in his shop.
“Mae West. How’s your first Christmas season in Normal?” Buck
trotted down the steps. He had a stack of long johns in his hands.
“Surprising.” It was a word I’d found myself using a lot when people
asked about Happy Trails for the last couple of weeks. “I never figured
anyone would want to stay at a campground during winter. Especially with
the big snowstorms we are projected to get.”
He folded and stacked the long johns into a tobacco basket he used for
display near the front of the shop.
“I think it’s that people love to gather and enjoy each other. At least, I
hope that’s what the campground offers. Which brings me to why I’m
here.” I gestured over to the snowman. “I have a special camper coming. . .”
“That writer woman?” He asked, interrupting me. I guess the look on
my face asked him how he knew. “Abby came in here like a jumping bean
she’s so excited. Looking for a perfect gift for the woman. I had an old
leather-bound book that she’s going to turn into some sort of flower vase.
She mumbled about going on over to Sweet Smell Flower Shop to get this
woman’s favorite flowers or something.”
“Oh, boy.” Abby was further gone than I had thought. “Abby is her
biggest fan.”
 “I gathered that.” He adjusted the pile of long johns and rubbed his
hands together. “What about the snowman?”
“According to Abby, Nadine White - that’s the author - loves blow up
snowmen. I was wondering if I could either buy it or rent it from you to put
in front of the camper she’s staying in over the Christmas holiday.” I had to
admit it was super cute.
It wasn’t too big or too small. It’d be perfect for the size camper she was
renting.
“I also need some lights to go on the outside along with one of those
multi-colored camper flag banners you sell.” I might as well go all out just
like Abby said Nadine would love. “I do want to show her the hospitality
Happy Trials and Normal have to offer. Maybe she’ll set her next book in a
town like ours.” I fluttered my lashes, knowing Buck was a sucker for a
southern gal.
My insides began to flutter. Was I climbing aboard Abby’s wagon and
getting a little excited too?
“Oh, alright.” He shook a finger at me. “Just because I like you, Mae
West.”
I stood near the window watching Buck make his way into the winter
wonderland display he’d made. The snowman wasn’t easy to get out of the
window, but Buck forged ahead. I heard the snowman’s fan turn off,
followed by the sound of the round, white guy deflating.
The knock on the glass made me jump and look up. Bobby Ray Bond,
my foster brother from when I was a kid who’d recently found me back in
Normal, was waving from the sidewalk. He was dressed in a pair of thick
mechanic’s overalls, a knit blue cap, and a pair of snow boots.
I waved him in.
“May-bell-ine, what on earth are you doing out in this weather?” He
scolded me, raking off his cap. What was left of his thinning, brown hair
stuck up due to the static electricity from the hat. His brown eyes bore into
me. “I don’t think it’s fittin’ for you to be out when there’s a storm
coming.”
“I’m fine, Bobby Ray. I lived through all the people milling about New
York City all those years. A little snow isn’t going to bother me.” I
reminded him that he was no longer my protector even though he was the
one who’d paid for me to get out of Kentucky the minute I turned eighteen.
 I mean the exact minute after, which was in the middle of the night.
He’d given me enough money to get me to New York and I’d made all the
arrangements. I hadn’t looked back either. At least not until my ex and all
that mess and his leaving me with the campground. It turned out to be a
blessing in disguise. I’d actually found myself in love with being back in
Kentucky.
I can’t say I was exactly thrilled when Bobby Ray showed up at Happy
Trails looking for a job and a place to live, only because I didn’t want to
relive my past. It was in the past and I didn’t like to live there. Bobby Ray
had embraced the new me and I’d felt like we’d moved past the foster
family days.
“Okay. If you say so. I’ve got to get back to work.” He slipped his hat
back on his head. “I’ll see you, Buck,” Bobby Ray called out before he
headed out the door and walked down Main Street towards Grassel’s Gas
Station where he worked.
Bobby Ray was a great mechanic and it was just his luck that Joel
Grassel had been looking for a good mechanic. I told him to look no further
than Bobby Ray. He was the finest around. In Normal everybody brought
their cars to him and he’d done right well for himself. He even bought the
camper he’d been renting from me and was a full-time resident there along
with me, Dottie, and Henry, my maintenance man. Other than that, the rest
of the campers were intended to be rented for short periods of time. There
were some bungalows nestled in the back of the campground, only they
didn’t have heat, so those weren’t rentable for the winter.
“Here you go.” Buck handed me the snowman all neatly folded like
he’d done the stack of long johns. The blower for the snowman, a box of
outside lights, and the banner were all stacked on top of the deflated
snowman. “ You just need to plug it in. The amps on the camper should be
fine. It doesn’t take up too much electricity.”
He was talking about all the hookups and electricity required for the
campers. Some of them required more since they were bigger and had more
electric items, but the one Nadine’s agent had rented was a simple camper
with not many amenities.
“You’re the best, Buck.” I took the snowman. “I can have it back to you
after the New Year.”
“Nah, you keep it. But I do want to come to the campground’s
Christmas feast.” He smiled. “I’ve got nowhere to be, so I figured I’d just
show up there.”
“You got it. We’ve got some good food planned.” Each month I had a
themed party at the campground.
It was originally for the campers’ enjoyment, but they had gotten bigger
and bigger since the citizens of Normal had gotten involved and I’d invited
them. Happy Trials had needed a lot of work when I moved here. It was
broken and rundown. Nothing worked. With the help of many of the local
businesses and donations, we were able to get it up and running again.
There was a year long wait for a reservation now.
We were booked solid for the month of December, and I knew the
Normal Diner would be closed on Christmas Day. It was the perfect time to
host a Christmas Day lunch for anyone who wanted to come, but with the
impending weather, I was just hoping we would have electricity.
“Did you see Dottie upstairs?” I asked Buck, wondering where she’d
disappeared to.
“Yep. She was trying on some new clothes I just received from an estate
sale. I haven’t even gone through all of it yet. But she helped herself,” he
said right before she appeared at the top of the steps.
“How much?” She had a plastic bag full of pink sponge curlers.
“Free. I don’t think anyone wants used hair curlers but you.” He
laughed, shook his head, and pushed his hands down into the front pocket
of his jeans. “I swear, Dottie Swaggert.”
“Let’s get out of here before the snow really starts to fall and we can’t
get this snowman up in time.” I was more worried about getting the
decorations up in time than the snow. “But first, I’m going to grab a small
tree from the tree lot.”
I’d bought a small Ford to get me around since I’d parked my RV at
Happy Trails. It was sorta a pain in the neck to move once you got situated.
I had to take everything down, put it away, and secure it in order to drive it,
so when Joel Grassel had a car I could buy, I jumped at the chance. I had a
golf cart to use around the campground, but not in the snow.
The little Christmas fir we picked out for the outside of Nadine’s
camper fit perfectly on top of the Ford.
There weren’t many big highways around Normal. We were located in
the middle of Daniel Boone National Park and Forest, which meant the
roads were maintained by the county. This was a good thing since the
National Guard was in charge and they kept the roads clear as best they
could.
“It sure is coming down, Mae.” Dottie drummed her fingers along the
door. “You be careful.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll get you back in no time to get those new curlers
in your hair.” I joked, but kept my hands steady on the wheel. One slick
spot and we’d no doubt hit a tree. “It looks like they’re going to have to
make a few passes on this road.”
I looked in the rearview mirror at the snow covering my tire tracks
faster than my wheels could make them.
Dottie reached over and turned on the radio. The latest weather update
was just coming on.
“The Bluegrass Airport is going to be shutting down in two hours. If
you are coming to the airport, be sure to check the status on any and all
flights leaving out of or flying into the airport,” the woman said. “The snow
is falling at a more rapid pace than we’d initially anticipated.”
I took it slow as I turned right into the campground’s entrance and under
the Happy Trails Campground sign. The entrance was a long and windy
gravel road that took you deeper into the park before you entered the
clearing where the cute and cozy campground was located.
“I wonder if our famous camper will be here?” Dottie asked a good
question. She’d put her hands in her pocket and pulled out her cigarette
case. “I’ll be happy to get in my house.”
“Did I make you nervous?” I laughed and drove further into the
campground, passing the office building on the left and the storage units on
the right before turning right onto the road that circled around the lake in
the middle.
“You don’t make me nervous.” She had her door open before I could
even stop the car in front of her camper. “This weather makes me cranky
and achy.”
“Alright. Be on the lookout for our famous guest,” I told her. “Also, can
you send a call out to Henry to meet me down at her camper, so I can get
some help putting all this up?”
“Sure will!” She hollered and looked up at the sky. The snow was really
coming down now. “You better hurry up or you’re going to turn into a
snowman.”
CHAPTER 3

T he campground was surrounded by the park, with its wooded tree

lines and entrances to many trails for different levels of hiking
expertise. Each trail had something special to offer. The tall
evergreens were as pretty as a picture with the snow caked on top of each
branch and a burst of green popping out.
Happy Trails added to the park’s natural beauty with lights around the
campers and on all the trees that surrounded the lake. Henry had taken it
upon himself to put white lights around all the tree trunks, making the lake
look like a winter wonderland. Ty Randal, one of the residents who lived at
the campground fulltime, had donated ice skates in various sizes to the
campground. Instead of closing the cute tiki hut bar next to the dock for
winter, we turned it into a skate shack, where guests could borrow skates
and enjoy the frozen lake.
Instead of going to the right of the lake, I drove around the circle on the
left, so I could drop off the Christmas tree. The rest of the stuff I’d bring
over after I parked my car at my RV.
You could spot my RV from a mile away. The vibrant yellow pop top’s
awning was up with a farm-style picnic table underneath. I’d hung icicle
lights around the awning and the camper. I loved Christmas and spending it
here was perfect.
I parked the car on the concrete pad next to my RV.
The yelping from inside the RV came from Fifi, the miniature poodle
I’d acquired from a woman’s whose house I’d cleaned. Long story short,
she was one of the suspects in a crime I’d helped solve. Only she’d gone to
jail for a few days before I solved it and she picked me of all people to
babysit her prized, award-winning poodle.
 Unfortunately, it was during the summer and our busiest season. I let
Fifi run around during one of the campground parties and Ethel Biddle’s
brown and white pug, Rosco, was seen in an uncompromising position with
Fifi. And Fifi got pregnant. She’d done “gone to the wrong side of the
tracks” as her original owner had told me and Fifi was no longer worth half
a cent, making Fifi useless to her and my problem from then on.
“Hi, baby girl.” I opened the door, greeted by a small ball of fur, tap
dancing around on her four little paws. “You are exactly what I needed to
see.”
I picked her up and gave her a few kisses before sliding her paws into
little shoes. It was ridiculous. Me with a dog. I’d barely been able to take
care of myself, much less a dog. It’d been an adjustment for me to to stop
by the RV to let her out or take her with me, which I’d been doing a lot. She
didn’t like the snow and the only way I could get her outside to do her
business was to put these dog booties on her.
I’m sure they’d look adorable if I’d continued to keep her groomed like
she’d been used to, with balls of fur in various places along her otherwise
shaved body, but I couldn’t do that to her in the cold winter. She shivered as
it was, with a coat on. Besides, she didn’t need to perform for anyone now
that she owned me. And that’s what it was. She owned me now.
“Want to come with me to decorate?” I asked Fifi once I’d put her down
under the awning, so she’d get her footing and realize she was going to
have to go potty in the snow. “I’ve got to put up a snowman and some
lights.”
I glanced across the lake at the mini camper Nadine had rented before I
retrieved the wagon from the backside of the RV. It was one of those
industrial wagons with big wheels. It was perfect for when I wanted to go to
the lake with blankets and beach things. It was also perfect for wheeling
Fifi around and for doing some gardening around the campground, though
Henry did most of it.
“You comin’?” The familiar voice called from the distance, though the
echo off the mountains and trees made it sound like Henry was much closer.
“Gettin’ colder by the minute!”
“I’m coming!” I hollered, pulling the cart behind me. Fifi did her
business and ran over as quick as her little legs would carry her before she
stood on her back legs and clawed the air with her front legs for me to pick
her up. “I’m going to grab you a blanket too.”
 I talked to her like a person. I swear she knew what I was saying. It
made me feel better to think she did. I carried her until we got to the car.
After I put the items Buck had given me in the wagon, I grabbed a blanket
from my backseat and put it in there with Fifi perched on top.
“Dashing through the snow, in a little wagon,” I began to sing on our
way over to the other side of the lake where Henry had started to put up a
small Christmas tree. “Fififi, Fififi, Fifi all the way.” I changed the lyrics to
get my little pup to wag her cute tail when I said her name.
No matter what, she was always happy to see me, and it lifted my
spirits.
“This here sure is a cute tree.” Henry stood back from the little four-
footer and went back to straighten it up. “Is this for your foster mama?”
I jerked up from the taking the blowup snowman out of the wagon.
“What did you say?” I was sure the bitter cold had frozen my eardrums.
“I thought you said something about my foster mama.” I laughed and turned
back to get the electric fan to blow the lawn ornament up.
“I did.” Henry had picked up the lights he’d gotten from seasonal
storage unit and walked around the tree, placing them on the branches.
“Bobby Ray said something about your foster mama comin’ to visit or
something.”
I thought back long and hard to when I saw Bobby Ray at the thrift shop
and he never mentioned Mary Elizabeth Moberly name once. Or trust me,
I’da come unglued.
“Mae?” Henry called my name. It was like I was frozen right there in
my snow boots. “Mae?”
I blinked a few times. The chill had left the outside of my body and
moved inside to my organs.
“Did you say that Bobby Ray Bond,” I said, pointing to Bobby Ray’s
camper, “said that?” I had to make sure I heard him correctly. “Because I
know I’m not hearing you right.”
“Yep. She’s comin’ for Christmas. He even asked Dottie if there was a
rental available and when Dottie said we was all booked up, he mumbled
about putting her in his camper or even up at one of the log cabins up on
Tree Top Lookout.”
“Or he could put her up in a cabin in Colorado,” I groaned, knowing it
was just like Bobby Ray to get a soft heart on me now. He was always a
sucker around the holidays and if I knew Mary Elizabeth Moberly like I
did, she was going to use that to her advantage.
“Colorado? Why Mae West,” Henry cackled. “I’m not that smart on
geography and all but I do believe that’s clear out yonder across the United
States.”
“That’s where she needs to be.” My eyes narrowed as I glared across the
lake wondering when it was the blizzard was going to blow in. And I didn’t
mean the snow blizzard.

T HE DARKNESS DURING THE WINTER MONTHS CAME MUCH EARLIER IN

Daniel Boone National Park than it did other places in Kentucky. In most
other parts of the state it got dark around six p.m. In the mountains of the
park, it got dark around five p.m. and there wasn’t much to do but sit in my
RV staring across the lake to see when Nadine White was going to arrive.
Well…there was one thing I’d been doing that I’d tried not to do and
that was stew over what Henry had said. I continued to tell myself I was
waiting on Nadine White, but when Bobby Ray Bond’s car rolled up next to
his camper, I darted out the door.
“Well, well. May-bell-ine, you sure are in a rush to greet me from work.
Are you inviting me to supper?” He smiled as big as the moon hanging over
our head and as bright too. “It’ll just take a second for me to clean up.”
“Right now, the last thing I’m going to do is sit down for supper with
you if what Henry told me is true.” I stuck my hands in my coat pocket. The
temperature had dropped at least ten degrees since the darkness had crept in
and taken over any and all light.
“Do you mean that Henry didn’t tell you I was visiting?” A familiar
looking woman with glossy brown hair cut in a stylish way stood at the
entrance of the camper. “Mae, you better get over here and give me some
sugar.”
There stood Mary Elizabeth Moberly in all her southern glory, pearls
and all, with her arms outstretched. She was dressed head to toe in Lily
Pulitzer or at least someone with a similar design. Trust me. I knew. She
used to cover me in the same bright pinks and yellows.
“Whaaat?” Her southern voice dripped off her like the pearls around her
neck. “You aren’t happy to see me? I did take you in and give you a
wonderful home after you bounced around to a few homes. Got you
debutante lessons and etiquette classes and put you in the finest of clubs.”
She frowned, batted her eyes and jutted her arms out again. “I forgive you
for not inviting me to your wedding. Though.” Her head bobbled side-to-
side. “I did hear it didn’t end so gracefully.” Her eyes raked over me.
Gracefully wasn’t a word I’d used to describe the situation with my
murdered ex-husband, but it was a word that Mary Elizabeth would use.
And use often. It was that southern grace that she tried to put in me when I
went to live with her and it was her southern manners that I fought against
tooth and nail until I clawed my way out.
I found myself staring at that straight head of hair of hers that lay so
perfectly over her shoulders. As I tried to tame down my curly hair by
patting my head, I realized she was staring at my sweatshirt that had a
picture of that Grumpy Cat from the internet. It was like a quarter from the
thrift store and I thought it was cute.
I put my hands in my pocket and brought them to the middle of my
stomach, forcing the jacket to close up around me. I would’ve zipped it up
but didn’t want to give her the satisfaction that I’d noticed she was judging
me by my outfit. Sweatpants tucked in snow boots and a sweatshirt wasn’t
her idea of clothing, much less a sweatshirt with a big cat head and Stay
Away printed across the front.
“Mae, she deserves to have Christmas with us now that you’re back,”
Bobby Ray whispered as I continued to stare at Mary Elizabeth.
“Fine.” I stomped. “But I won’t call you mom,” I protested and hurried
back to my RV, where I was going to do what I did with every other
situation that made me mad.
I would replay this over and over in my head until I’d ran over it with
my car, dragged it home, and beaten it to death in my mind.
“Mae, honey, can’t we just get along?” Her voice ran right through me,
sending chills all along my spine.
In my head all I heard was “May-bell-ine, honey, you are a Moberly
now. You need to act as if you have some good southern charm. That
includes politeness, kindness, table manners, and social grace, all at the cost
of happiness. Do you understand me, May-bell-ine? Are you listening to
me, May-bell-ine? You can’t get anything below an A in your classes. Don’t
you know that you’ve got to go the University of Kentucky and join my
sorority? You can’t be embarrassing me with mediocre grades. Do you
understand your place in society, May-bell-ine?”
 It was dialogue I’d replay in my head all night until I finally fell asleep
and the alarm on my cell phone woke me the next morning.
CHAPTER 4

A light snow had fallen all night long. It was a nice powdery mix
that swept away from the warm car tires along the pavement of
the road around the campground instead of sticking and making
everything slick as cat’s guts. Henry had already used brine, a type of ice
repellent, on the road to help out. Given the cost of our insurance, we had to
make sure everything was safe and clear for all the campers in Happy
Trails, including Mary Elizabeth.
The brewing of my much-needed coffee was a much-needed jolt to my
foggy head. It was the smell that carried me out from underneath the warm
covers and into the shower.
“Did Bobby Ray honestly think he was giving me a good Christmas by
bringing her here? It’s more like coal in my stocking and I was a very good
girl this year. Okay, so the year didn’t start out like I thought it was going to
but still. Did he have to bring her here at Christmas?” I asked Fifi as I
dumped some kibble in her bowl. “See, you know what I mean.”
I took her wagging tail as confirmation that she agreed with me. Fifi
gave me one last look before she started to devour the food. I poured myself
a cup of coffee and watched out the window while I let my hair air dry a
little before I decided what on earth I was going to wear. I had to work in
the office this morning and later this afternoon I needed to head back into
downtown to finalize all the merchant donations to Christmas Dinner at the
Campground.
There was a rental car parked on the concrete pad next to Nadine’s
camper. The snowman was still blown up and all the lights were still on
outside. That made me happy. They were there to greet her. She must’ve
gotten in late because it took me a long time to fall asleep and I knew it was
in the middle of the night before I’d finally given into my thoughts. I didn’t
hear a car drive into Happy Trails, which was unusual since at the top of the
campground next to the office, the gravel usually spit up around tires,
pinging things and creating all sorts of noises.
Then I turned my head towards Bobby Ray’s camper. There was a light
on like most mornings. Bobby Ray had to go to work and I wondered what
on earth Mary Elizabeth was going to do with her time.
I shook my head, shaking any thoughts of her out of my head. I was a
grown adult now and I needed to act that way. If she did try to correct me or
mother me, I’d just have to stand my ground.
It took me longer than normal to get ready for work and get Fifi’s little
fake fur jacket on her.
“Did you drive up here?” Dottie Swaggert asked as soon as I opened the
door to the office, Fifi wiggling around in my arms.
She never missed a beat. “What on earth do you have on? You got a
fancy meeting or something?”
She asked, her eyes going up and down my body after I hung my coat
up on the rack.

“J UST COMING TO WORK .” I BENT DOWN AND PUT F IFI ON THE GROUND . S HE
scurried over to Dottie knowing Dottie would give her a bite of her
breakfast biscuit. “I’ve got to run into town this afternoon and make sure all
the merchants are ready with their donations for Christmas Dinner at the
Campground.” I brushed down the front of my red pencil skirt before I
unbuttoned the matching red suit jacket.
“Henry put up the rest of the flyers about the dinner around town.” She
looked me up and down. “Everyone is excited about wearing an ugly
Christmas sweater.”
My red heels ticked across the tile floor of the office. Inwardly, I
groaned with each step. I’d not worn heels since I’d stepped foot in the RV
months ago. This was one of a few clothing items I’d brought with me or
that my lawyer had packed and sent to the campground before I’d driven
here.
“Well, if you ask me, that’s suit’s uglier than a pair of bowling shoes.”
Dottie’s lips were pressed together in a hard line. “You can wear that outfit
as your ugly Christmas sweater at the dinner.”
 “Did I ask you?” I sat down in my chair and let out a long sigh. “I want
to look good for when I go see everyone about donations.”
“Did you forget that you didn’t look like that when you asked them?
And your face? What did you do?” Dottie asked.
The sunlight coming through the windows must’ve caught my face
perfect.
“I put on a mud mask last night and I fell asleep before I took it off.” I’d
tried to cover it over with make-up, but Dottie had better eyes than an eagle.
“You need to go back home and put on some winter clothes. It’s coming
and you’re gonna slip, fall, and break your neck.” She grabbed a file and
brought it over to my desk. “This here is the agreement signed by Nadine
White. I found it underneath the door this morning when I came in.”
I took the file from her and opened it up.
“Do you want me to get you a cup of coffee? I don’t want your feet to
give out on you.” Dottie headed over to the coffeemaker we kept in the
office.
I didn’t even have to answer her. She’d already poured me a cup and
brought it over while I read over all the extras Nadine had checked.
“It’s like she decided to come and didn’t bring anything.” I noticed
she’d picked the breakfast package, the cleaning package, and the linen
package. “Like she decided to just put her finger on a map and go.”
I should recognize this behavior. It was how I decided to go to New
York City when I turned eighteen.
There were some things that left me scrambling when I’d moved to
Normal. I had no idea how to keep a camper or RV. I had no knowledge of
the purple bag (the poop bag), the electrical hook-ups, the water hook-up, or
all the supplies I would need. That’s how I came up with the idea to sell
packages. Sometimes it was easiest just to show up and pay extra for the
packages, so you didn’t have to worry about bringing so many things from
home.
The sound of gravel made me look out the window before I saw the
zooming car fly by the office.
“Who on earth is driving so fast?” Dottie rushed over to the door and
swung it open.
“Well, excuse me,” Mary Elizabeth gasped, drawing a gloved hand up
to her chest as her face drew back in a look of surprise.
Fifi jumped up from the blanket on the floor, teeth showing and yipping.
 “Excuse you.” Dottie nodded and pushed past Mary Elizabeth to get a
look at the car speeding away. “Who are you, Nanook of the North?”
Mary Elizabeth looked as if she were getting ready to go on an Alaskan
expedition in a full-length mink coat and matching hat.
“Please, stop that . . .that . . .” Mary Elizabeth pointed a gloved finger at
Fifi. Fifi jumped up and tried to grab the edges of the mink.
“Fifi.” I clapped my hands and pointed to the small bed next to my
desk.
Fifi gave an extra little growl, getting the last word in before listening to
my command.
“Mary Elizabeth.” I stood up. The two women were both very strong-
headed, and this was not how I needed them to meet. “This is Dottie
Swaggert, the manager of Happy Trails.” I pointed to Mary Elizabeth. “This
is . . .”
“Mae West’s foster mama,” Dottie finished my sentence and did a slow
walk around Mary Elizabeth, taking in all there was to see. “Our Mae sure
didn’t tell us that she was fostered in a home full of money.”
“I’m sure our sweet Mae,” Mary Elizabeth’s tone held sarcasm,
“probably didn’t tell you much about the home we provided for her.”
“Just the fact she skipped town right after her eighteenth birthday.”
Dottie slid her eyes towards me. “No wonder you’re dressed in that get-up,”
she referred to my suit.
“Get-up?” Mary Elizabeth scoffed. “As the manager, I believe you
could learn a lesson or two from how Mae dresses. I did spend a lot of
money on her modeling lessons, so she would take pride in herself.”
Mary Elizabeth slowly unhooked the eye hooks that ran down the front
of the fur and slipped it off as graceful and smooth as her southern accent.
“Here.” She held it out to Dottie.
“I’ll take it.” I jumped up from the chair and grabbed it before Dottie
could light a cigarette and put it out on it. “I hear you knew she was
coming,” I said to Dottie under my breath when I passed her to hang up the
coat.
She grunted but didn’t move her eyes from Mary Elizabeth.
“Would you like to join us for a cup of coffee?” I asked.
“Yes. Please, a straw if you have one.” Mary Elizabeth pulled on the
fingers of her gloves before she elegantly peeled them off her hands.
 Dottie’s mouth gaped open while Mary Elizabeth did the routine I knew
all too well. Where she walked into a room and commanded it from the
time the soles of her heels hit the floor. Mary Elizabeth had a style and ease
that carried her around the room like a feather floating on the breeze until
she found a seat in front of my desk. She swept her fingers along the top of
my desk and took a good look at them before snarling at the dust.
“Thank you.” She brushed the dust off her fingers and accepted the cup
of coffee, taking the tiniest sip through the straw. She put the coffee cup on
top of the desk and leaned over to look at Fifi.
Dottie’s nose curled, making her mouth open even more. “Too bad she
didn’t lean too far,” Dottie mumbled.
“Mary Elizabeth takes pride in how white her teeth are, so she drinks
through a straw.” It was another memory that I’d stuck in the back of my
head along with the gloves she made me wear as a child.
“Oh, Mae.” Mary Elizabeth tsked. “Dottie, I’m sure you’ll understand.
We gave Mae the finest. We hated that she came from the mudflat as a child
and adopted her.”
“Fostered me,” I corrected her.
“We legally adopted her,” Mary Elizabeth said matter of factly. “After
we adopted her, we put her in the best private schools.”
“You sent me off to a boarding school.” It was so funny how her
recollection of my life was completely different than the one I had lived and
will never forgive her for.
“It was an all-girls’ prep school. She was going to attend the finest
college and make something of herself.” Mary Elizabeth glanced around the
room.
“I’m thinking her owning a campground wasn’t in your plan.” Dottie
was one that saw it and said it. She didn’t mince words. You always knew
where you stood with her.
“It sure wasn’t. But no sense in looking backwards when we have so
much catching up to do.” Mary Elizabeth put her hands in her lap. “Now,
where do we go to get your hair fixed?”
“I’ve got a meeting.” I had wondered how long it was going to take her
to say something about my hair. When she’d sent me off to boarding school,
she took me to a salon to have them fix me. They ended up burning my hair
and I was ridiculed all year long. “Dottie, do you mind watching Fifi for
me?”
 I lost my parents and had been moved around to two different families
over six months. Yes, Mary Elizabeth and her husband Jerry had adopted
me. I’d protested in the courtroom, but the judge said that I needed a home
and the Moberlys had always wanted a child of their own. It wasn’t enough
for them to have Bobby Ray Bond. He was a boy. Mary Elizabeth wanted a
girl she could groom and play with. I was already a teenager whose parents
let me go with my friends to public school and play soccer, not Barbies. We
didn’t have a lot of money, but my family’s house had been filled with love.
Something Mary Elizabeth thought came in the form of manners and
learning how to talk properly.
When I didn’t use the table manners I had learned at the country club,
she’d throw a fit, saying I was rebelling against her and not appreciative of
the money they were spending on me to get me educated.
“But I just got here.” Mary Elizabeth drew her shoulders back. “I
thought we could just talk.”
“I’m sorry if Bobby Ray gave you the impression that I wanted to spend
the holidays with you. No matter what you think...” I walked over to get my
coat. “My life is great. My husband was a loving man to me until I found
out the awful things he did to others. We had a nice life and yes, my world
was torn apart a few months ago, leading me straight back to Kentucky.” I
laughed because I’d spent the better part of my life trying to forget my life
here and move on. “Here, I have not only grown the economy in Normal.” I
pointed to the framed article on the wall where the National Parks
Magazine had done a feature story on me and how much bringing Happy
Trails back to life had also brought the economy back to our cozy town. “I
gained true friends. Friends who don’t care that I was poor growing up.
Friends that don’t care if I lick my fingers. Friends that don’t care if I wear
sweatpants.”
“Actually, we don’t want to see you lick your finger.” Dottie gave a
slight smile. “But we do love you. And I’d love to keep Fifi here with me.”
“I have never in my life. . .” Mary Elizabeth stood up.
I didn’t bother waiting to see what Mary Elizabeth had to say to me
before I slammed the office door behind me.
CHAPTER 5

“I just don’t know who she thinks she is.” I stuffed a forkful of
gravy and biscuits in my mouth. “Seriously, she thinks she can
come here and act as if she was the best foster mother around?”
My phone chirped a text from Abby Fawn.
“I thought you just said she said she adopted you.” Trudy leaned her
hips against the counter of the Normal Diner. Her hand dangled the coffee
pot, with her elbow tucked into the waist of her lanky, five-foot-eight-inch
frame. The long, dishwater blonde ponytail pulled around her shoulder and
down the yellow button-up diner dress.
“I’ll never claim them. Never,” I protested and took another bite,
swiveling my body in the stool butted up to the counter. I hit the message
button on my phone and quickly read through Abby’s text. She’d gotten
confirmation that Nadine would be at the library today at two p.m. to talk to
The Laundry Club book club members about the book.
“Well, I think you look as pretty as a picture.” She dragged the white
coffee mug that had a small chip on the rim across the counter and refilled
my coffee. “Better than this awful yellow thing the Randals are making us
wear.”
“Thank you. I guess I shouldn’t get all crazy over just a visit.” I gnawed
on my lip. “She really can’t do anything to me. I’m an adult.”
“That’s right. Just like Preacher Lester says, it’s our attitude about
things.” She patted my hand and took off down the counter, refilling all the
empty mugs along the way.
Even though I knew Trudy was right, I still didn’t feel like listening to
her. I wanted to be mad and feed my emotions with the awesome southern-
style biscuits and gravy Ty Randal had made.
 I quickly texted Abby back letting her know I’d be there. It’s not that I
didn’t want to go, although I did have a lot of work to do on the Christmas
Dinner at the Campground. It’s just that I wasn’t ready to be so easily
available to Mary Elizabeth. I had to get a grip on feeling towards her like I
did when I was a teenager. But I wasn’t so sure what those feelings were.
They were still just as confusing now as they were then. I’d been to several
therapists the year I left Kentucky, but never truly felt like I’d gotten any
sort of answers. I’d let the bitterness take hold of my heart and let it fester
there for her.
The front door of the diner opened, sweeping in the frigid air and
sending chills along my legs after the cold found my ankles.
“Aren’t we all fancy today.” Hank Sharp’s green eyes twinkled. His
black hair was perfectly combed to the side.
My heart quickened. I gulped down the bite of gravy and biscuits I’d
just stuffed into my mouth. He reached his hand over to my mouth, placing
his thumb under my chin and using his forefinger to gently touch the corner
of my lip.
“You had a little gravy.” He smiled seductively, or at least in my head it
was, before he reached over my shoulder to grab a napkin from the steel
napkin holder on the counter. His cologne carried past him and tickled my
nose.
“I’ll grab us a table.” The woman tapped him on the shoulder.
“Is that…?” I pointed and reached for my purse that I’d put on the floor
since I’d decided to sit at the stool. I pulled out Nadine White’s book from
book club and flipped it to the back where there was her bio and a photo.
“That’s Nadine White.”
“Yes. It is.” He nodded and reached around me, pinching off a piece of
my biscuit.
“Stop that. I need some comfort food.” I smacked his hand away,
teasing him.
We had been doing this little flirting dance with each other over the past
couple of months and had yet to take it to anything more than that. The
closest thing to a date we have had was his popping by for a cup of coffee at
my RV.
“What’s going on?” He asked as if he weren’t with Nadine.
“What’s going on with you and Nadine?” I asked, leaning back to get a
look at her.
 “She said something about social media getting out that she was here
and how there was this one photographer person who stalks her.
Apparently,” he let out a long sigh, “she’s decided to live in Normal for the
majority of the winter months and sorta hide out. She wants some
confidence in the sheriff’s department and forest rangers that her calls will
be taken seriously if this guy does show up.”
“Hmmm,” I hummed, knowing it had to have been Abby’s hashtags that
had gotten the word out. “So you brought her to breakfast?”
“I told her to meet me here. And she just told me that she’s staying at a
campground called Happy Trails.” He smiled so big like he had a secret.
“What?” I asked. “You’re hiding something.”
“She also said that when she got there, the place looked like the north
pole. She said she’s going to talk to the manager about taking some of the
decorations down.”
“Have you read these books of her?” I smacked him in the chest with it.
“She loves Christmas in them. I just wanted her to feel welcome and at
home.”
I was going to kill Abby Fawn when I saw her next.
“And they really aren’t that great.” I shrugged, feeling a little jealous
that he was having breakfast with her when he’d never invited me to eat
out. The fact she was pretty didn’t help matters either.
I mean. . . She had straight, shoulder length, brown hair with caramel
highlights in the right places. She had a nice olive complexion with
perfectly shaped lips. Her nose fit her face dead set in the middle while
mine jutted slightly to the right at the tip. She also appeared to be stylish
with a black overcoat neatly buttoned then tied at the tapered waist.
“I’m sure you know that I prefer a good dead body mystery over any
friendship mushy stuff.” I reminded him in a not so subtle way how I was
the one who had helped him solve a few cases around here.
“Is she the reason that’s got you all up in arms?” He asked.
It didn’t go unnoticed that he looked at her. Their eyes met and he gave
her the one more second finger gesture.
“No. Bobby Ray invited my foster mother. . .”
“Adopted mother,” Trudy corrected me. “Two coffees?” she interrupted,
asking Hank.
“Yes. Thank you.” He nodded at her then looked back down at me.
“Adopted?”
 “Bobby Ray invited our foster mother to Christmas without telling me.
She showed up last night.” I picked up the coffee cup and took a drink.
“You know, we’ve never talked much about your past.” His jaw tensed.
He ran a hand through his black hair. “Maybe we can grab some supper or
something. I’ve got a good ear.”
“Hank Sharp, are you asking me out on a real date?” I asked, trying to
stop the huge grin I felt creeping up on my face.
“I think I am, May-bell-ine West.” He drew out my real name in his
long, slow, southern drawl, making it sound so much cuter than it truly was.
“What if I pick you up around six tonight?”
“That is perfect. It gives me time to go to the library where your new
citizen for the winter is going to give a small talk to our book club group.
Abby Fawn is a huge fan of Nadine’s and giddy as a child on Christmas
Eve.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at six.” He started to walk away, but turned back
around. “Mae, please don’t be the date that doesn’t eat.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not.” Now, a few years ago when I’d started to date
my Paul West, my dead ex-husband, things were different.I was a flight
attendant. I’d met him and became his private flight attendant, which
quickly turned into a romantic relationship.
He swept me off my feet, lavishing me with gifts. Flying me all over the
world, keeping me draped in the finer things in life. I loved the clothes, the
handbags, and all the facials, not to mention the fine dining and trips. I’d
realized I’d become exactly who Mary Elizabeth had dreamed I’d be, minus
the college education.
Trust me, Mary Elizabeth never intended me to use a college education.
She just expected me to find good breeding stock there. Life here in Normal
seemed like the real me and maybe that’s why I held such a grudge against
Mary Elizabeth.
I needed to explore and dig deep to find out what it was I didn’t like
about her if I was ever going to get over it. It wasn’t bothering her any. It
was funny how it was bothering me and more and eating me alive inside.
Having Mary Elizabeth send me away to boarding school should have
been enough, but the second year I was there, I’d put my foot down and
started to defend myself and others against the rich girl bullies, making me
the most popular kid there. Still, I hated it and I hated that my family had
died, but like I always did when life served me lemons, I just kept going.
 “Who is that?” Trudy lifted her chin towards Hank and Nadine.
“She’s some big author. We read her book for book club. Abby loves
her. She’s staying at the campground for a couple of months. Apparently,
she wanted to let the law know she’s in town in case those trashy magazines
hear of it and invade our little town.”
“Really?” Trudy’s brows rose. “I might have to pick up a book and see
exactly what she writes.”
“I’m sure you can come to the library today around two. She’s going to
meet with our book club and answer questions I guess.” I picked up my
coffee cup and brought it to my lips.
My eyes zeroed in on Nadine putting her hand on top of Hank’s,
flipping her hair as a giggle escaped her lips. Our eyes met, hers narrowing
and mine popping open when I recognized her look.
“Ah oh.” Trudy put the coffeepot on the counter and crossed her arms.
“It appears she’s wanting some company while she’s visiting.”
“Yeah. Right. Over my dead body,” I groaned and looked away.
But not for long.
“What’s going on out there?” Trudy nodded towards the window.
I turned my head to look over my shoulder and when I did, I caught a
glimpse of horror on Nadine’s face.
There were two women in the middle of the snowy median on Main
Street. One of them had a camera strapped around her neck while the other
one was pulling at it with her hands.
I felt a gust of wind along my back as Hank Sharp ran past me and out
the front door of the diner. Like all good citizens who loved gossip and
drama, the customers of the diner rushed out of the diner like stampeding
cattle, all gawking and whispering about what on earth was going on.
Not me. I tapped my feet around on the base of the counter’s footrest
and swirled the stool so that my knees were facing Nadine White. It was
just me, Nadine, Trudy, and the kitchen staff left in the diner. I didn’t need
to go see what was going on outside. It was cold and these heels weren’t
going to let me do it gracefully. I would just get Hank to tell me when we
had our date that night.
“Hi, Nadine.” I carefully stood up. Once I felt sure on my feet and
looked a little less like a newborn giraffe, I picked up my coffee and headed
her way. “May I?”
“I’m sorry. Do we know each other?” She asked.
 “Actually, you’re staying at Happy Trails Campground and I’m the
owner. I’m the one who put up the ridiculous Christmas decorations that
you found a little tacky.” I sat down without her inviting me. “I have to
apologize for that. Abby Fawn is the local librarian and my friend. You
might recognize her name. She’s a huge fan of yours and picked your book
for our book club.”
“Yes. I’m going to be visiting with you today.” She nodded, putting on a
much different expression than she worn earlier.
“Well, she’s the one who has read all of your books. Probably five times
over. But this Christmas book was the first book of yours I’ve read and
apparently you write a lot about Christmas, making my friend Abby think
you love and adore Christmas.” I could tell she knew where this was going.
“I understand that you hate the decorations, and I’m more than happy to
take them down. I don’t need you to be nice to me. I’m not in the market for
a new friend while you’re in town, but I will tell you that I won’t have you
being nasty to your number one fan while you’re here.”
I sucked in a deep breath when I noticed a young woman come through
the diner doors. She glanced our way when she walked by, but her attention
was focused on what was going on outside.
I heard her ask Trudy what was going on. Trudy leaned across the
counter and whispered, causing the customer to look at me and Nadine.
“I’ll make this fast because I’ve got to go back to work.” I took a drink
of my coffee. “Abby Fawn is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She
takes pride in her job and the fact that she thinks she knows you. All I’m
asking is that you don’t burst her bubble by talking about the decorations.
Trust me. I get it and I have thick skin, but Abby does not.” I stood up and
Nadine’s eyes followed me. “If you can’t show a little kindness while
you’re here, just stay in the camper. You’ll find that everything you need is
in there. If not, look across the lake at the camper with all the gaudy
twinkling Christmas lights and the poodle with unruly hair - that’s mine.”
“Duly noted, Mae.” Her face was stone.
The sound of customers filing back into the diner brought me out of the
competitive staring contest Nadine and I seemed to be having, like we were
at the grade school lunch table. At least, me and my friends used to see who
could stare the longest without blinking. Make no bones about it, I was a
champ every time, but today I decided it was best to go ahead and have
peace instead of victory.
 I took my seat back at the counter and let Trudy fill up my coffee cup
one more time before I forced myself to go back to the campground. I’d
been gone long enough to make it look like I’d been doing business like I
said I had to do.
“What was that about?” I stopped Hank after he came back into the
diner.
“Nadine was right. That was some sort of paparazzi and her agent.
According to her agent, Nadine is writing her next book while she’s
vacationing here. It’s highly anticipated and there’s a big cash reward for
anyone who can get a glimpse of what it’s about.”
“Romance, small town, friendships,” I muttered. “All her books have
that.”
“Not this one. The agent told the photographer it isn’t like anything
Nadine has ever written before.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I read Bait
and Tackle.” He smiled. “And keep the peace.”
“Is that the photographer Nadine was worried about?” I asked, noticing
over his shoulder that the agent and the photographer were still talking.
“Nope. Different one.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I gotta get back
to her and let her know that we aren’t her security detail and how sorry I am
that we can’t keep a guy on her at all times.”
“Yeah, sure.” I smiled back.
“I am looking forward to tonight.” He gave me a wink that sent my
heart into palpitations.
“Did you say that’s a famous author?” The customer who’d come in
when I was talking to Nadine had sat down on the stool next to mine.
“Yes. Nadine White,” I confirmed. I didn’t care if everyone knew she
was here. “Do you read?”
“I do. I write too.” The young woman looked over her shoulder and
watched as Hank and Nadine left.
“I don’t know much about her, but I’m more than happy to extend an
invitation to the library gathering today at two o’clock. She’s going to speak
to our book club and I’m sure one more won’t hurt.” I put some cash on the
counter, but not before glancing back at Nadine White and my Hank Sharp.
Nadine had scribbled something on a piece of paper and folded it up.
She smiled with a flirty look in her eye as she handed him the piece of
paper. Their fingers met. My heart hurt.
CHAPTER 6

T he rest of the morning and through lunch was pretty quiet. After I
went home to change into a pair of jeans and a sweater, Iwent to
Nadine’s camper and took down all the inside decorations, leaving
her a note that I’d appreciate it if she could leave up the outside decorations
just to appease Abby.
The agent must’ve been staying with Nadine because I saw them leave
together when it was around the time I was leaving for the library.
“We are all full up. Do you understand, Henry?” Dottie questioned
Henry since we had to leave someone in charge of the office during
business hours so we could go to the book club.
“Yes. No vacancy.” Henry nodded.
“Now, last time you said you understood, you double-booked some of
the campers. So, tell me again what I said.” Dottie jabbed her finger at him.
“No vacancy,” he said again.
“What does that mean?” She asked him.
“He gets it.” I turned to Henry. “If anyone calls, just take a message. Or
you can let the machine get it. I just want you to answer any maintenance
calls or hiking reports.”
Hiking reports were from the rangers themselves. Since the snow had
fallen and continued to fall, although lightly, they liked to update all open
campgrounds on the conditions of the open hiking trails. Most trails were
open, but the more rigorous trails usually closed for a couple of months in
the winter since they consisted of thick forest and big drop offs.
“That I can do.” He sat down at the desk and propped his feet up on the
desk.
“Come on.” I picked Fifi up and headed towards the door.
 “Are you sure he can do it?” Dottie grumbled and groaned all the way
to the car.
“He’ll be fine.” I opened the door to the back seat to put Fifi in her
seatbelt. “What are you doing in here?”
Mary Elizabeth was perched up in the back like a bird in a nest.
“Oh, I invited her.” Dottie had already situated herself in the front
passenger seat.
“Yes. It was mighty nice of her too. She did inform me that I had to sit
in the back.” Mary Elizabeth’s eyes focused on Fifi, then she looked at me.
“That dog has better clothing than you.”
“Okay.” I put Fifi in Mary Elizabeth’s lap.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” Her nose curled and she had a
look of sheer terror in her eyes.
“You never let me have a dog. Now I’ve got one and if you want to be
with me, then you have to be with her. You’re bonding with and holding her
because you are hooked in her seat belt.” I couldn’t help but smile looking
at her all bunched up in a dog seat belt.
“I wondered why it was so small.” She actually giggled and settled into
the seat with Fifi on her lap.
It was apparent she wasn’t going to enforce her no dogs ever policy and
would suck it up.
I continued to give Dottie the death stare every so often because I
wasn’t sure where the friendship had started between her and mommy
dearest, though that might’ve been a harsh word to use on Mary Elizabeth
since she didn’t beat me with wire hangers or anything else for that matter.
She only tried to beat manners into me, though I felt I had been a pretty
good kid considering the circumstances.

T HERE WAS NO PLACE TO PARK IN FRONT OF THE LIBRARY OR ALONG M AIN

Street.
“What on earth is going on?” The streets were jammed. I didn’t see
anything happening in the snowy median and I wasn’t aware of a play being
performed by the community playhouse.
“Who knows.” Dottie shrugged and pulled out her cigarette case after
I’d finally squeezed into a spot that may have put my Ford a teensy little bit
over the yellow line on the curb. Before I could put the car in park, she’d
jumped out and lit the cancer stick.
“You should tell her it’s really bad for her health to smoke, not to
mention her body odor.” Mary Elizabeth waved a hand in front of her face
for effect.
“Why don’t you tell her?” I suggested, knowing how Dottie reacted to
people when they told her that very thing. It’s not like Mary Elizabeth
would be the first one to tell her that.
“Hmm.” Mary Elizabeth huffed and fumbled with the seat belt until she
got it.
I took Fifi from her and carried her close to my body so she wouldn’t
get cold. The snow had started to come down in bigger flakes, but it was
still the fluffier type that didn’t leave the roads slick.
I let Fifi do a quick tinkle before we headed into the book club.
“Oh, my stars,” Dottie gasped when we got to the door and saw it was
standing room only inside of the library. “I’ve never seen more than two
people in here and that includes Abby.”
“Do you think people are here to see that author?” Mary Elizabeth
asked a very good question after we stepped inside.
“Wait over there and I’ll go find out what’s going on.” I gestured to the
children’s section where there looked to be enough room to squeeze in two
more people.
I weaved in and out of the crowd. Fifi wiggled in my arms. She wasn’t
used to packed crowds like this when we went into buildings. I held her
tighter. She’d get trampled if I let her down.
Abby and the rest of The Laundry Club ladies were nowhere to be
found.
“Hey there, Mae.” Trudy from the diner tugged on my jacket. “I guess
the word is out around town that we have a celebrity staying here.”
Standing right next to her was the woman writer I’d met at the diner.
“I wonder who told,” I said, sarcastically giving each of them the stink
eye. There’d been a long table set up in the open part of the library with just
enough chairs for the members of The Laundry Club. There was another
table covered with all of Abby’s Tupperware products, which was odd.
“It was just too good to keep to myself.” Trudy really thought it was
okay to spill her guts. “I mean, it was already all over town and the diner
about the scuffle with that photographer. It wasn’t like I got on the
telephone and went through the directory calling up everyone.”
She called up enough people for this.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Abby scurry into the library office
with Betts and Queenie following behind.
“Excuse me.” Fifi and I pushed out of the crowd and into the office.
“What on earth is going on?” I set Fifi on the ground.
“Nadine White hates me,” Abby cried out. “I didn’t get that social
media post off the internet fast enough and it went viral.”
“I told her not to worry about it. Everything has a plan.” Betts tried to
use all her wisdom about plans and creation on her, but Abby wasn’t buying
it.
“I told her to set up her Tupperware stuff and sell it. That way she could
tell Nadine White that she was having one of them holiday bazaar sales.”
Queenie nodded. “And she can make a little spending cash. Everyone out
there bought something.” She held up the sheet with all the orders on it.
“That explains the Tupperware table,” I said. “I did notice that. Have
you told Nadine about this?”
“Told her. She is in there right now talking to her agent.” Abby pointed
to the door in the office. “It’s the closet.”
I let out a long sigh and walked over to the closet, flinging open the
door.
Nadine was sitting on a box of copy paper with her agent next to her. . .
in the dark.
“You!” Nadine gasped. “You did this, didn’t you?”
“No, Nadine. I did not.” I opened the door wide. “Please come out of
there. We can talk about this.”
“You don’t understand. She has a real fear talking in front of people.”
The agent had a very stiff upper lip.
“I’m Mae West.” I put my hand out. “We’ve not been properly
introduced.”
“Valerie Young, Nadine’s agent.” The tall, lanky woman with greasy,
dishwater brown hair shook my hand. Her face softened when she realized I
wasn’t an enemy. “What do you suggest we do?”
“First, let me say that I’m sorry this has happened. It’s not every day or
even every month that such a well known celebrity visits Normal.” Even
though I had never heard of Nadine before this book Abby had us read, I
did hear Mary Elizabeth’s saying in my head; “Mae, dear, live like a
peacock; don’t ruffle your feathers unless you’re prepared to fight.”
Fighting with Nadine was the very last thing I needed on my plate this
winter.
“Can you just read one or two pages of your book? I will address the
crowd and talk about how we all need to respect your privacy while visiting
our town.” I continued as she began to process my words and walk out of
the closet. “After you read a few pages, they will leave and then it’ll just be
our book club like we initially intended.”
“That sounds do-able.” Valerie nodded to Nadine. “She’s right. This is a
small town and honey, word gets around fast.”
“Don’t you write about small towns? You should know this.” Abby
made a great point.
“No. I write the love scenes. I have a ghost writer.” Nadine might as
well have slapped Abby across the face as hard as she could because it
looked like Abby had just been beaten up. Her body had gone limp, her
eyes dulled, and her jaw dropped. “My heart is in doing a cookbook for
lovers.”
It was as sad as the day a sweet child found out the real truth about
Santa Claus.
“Okay.” I gulped and gave Betts a look to get Abby out of there as soon
as possible. “Let’s get this done.”
There wasn’t much time. The crowd’s murmurs had gotten a lot louder,
louder than the library was supposed to be, and it was well past two
o’clock.
I gestured for Nadine and Valerie to follow me, leaving Fifi in the
office. Abby wasn’t having any part of Betts cuddling her. When we all
emerged from the office and walked up front, a blanket of silence once
again fell upon the library.
“Wow. Bring an author to town and the crowd will come,” I tried to
make a joke. “Seriously, I’d like to thank Nadine White on behalf of
Normal for picking our small town that maybe she can use in her novel
while she’s writing here.”
“Liar,” Abby whispered behind me. “Cookbook for lovers,” she
muttered. “Ridiculous.”
“I’d like to think that we as a community can let Ms. White to have her
privacy and enjoy the amazing winter season Mother Nature has gifted our
part of the world. I’m sure if you see Ms. White out and about, she’ll be
amazing as she is, but please keep in mind that during those times, she’s
creating in her mind.”
“Unlikely.” Abby’s voice was getting louder as the disgust was getting
deeper.
“With that, Ms. White is going to read a couple of pages out of her
novel Cozy Romance in Christmas.”
Nadine was right. She wasn’t the best public speaker. Her voice cracked
and trembled with each word. While she tried to keep it together, I pulled
Abby back into the office to try to get her to keep it together.
“I can’t believe it.” Abby thrust a fist into the air.
“I know. She’s a hot mess.” I wanted Abby to know that I understood
where she was coming from.
“Hot mess? She’s not even that, she’s a lukewarm mess.” Abby curled
her lips in. They quivered. “I thought she was a real person. Come to find
out, she didn’t even write the parts I love. I love the scenery, the small
town. I felt as if she were in my mind and heart.”
I watched Abby go from mad to sad. She was going through the stages
of grief, as if she’d just lost a best friend.
“Librarians get lost in the books. We take them personally. She comes in
here to a book club and tells us that she has a ghost writer who adds all the
cozy to her scenes. I skip over the romance part.” Abby went right back into
the angry stage. “She’s a scam. A disgrace to the writing community.” She
pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hashtag Nadine White is a hashtag
scam.”
“Okay.” I grabbed her phone. “You’re not going to do that. You’re mad
and this vindictive person you’re pretending to be is not you.”
I clicked the back button on her phone to erase the social media
message.
“We don’t need any bad publicity.” I handed her phone back to her. “So,
she’s not what you thought she was. Who is? Look at me. When I came to
Normal, everyone judged me by what my ex-husband had done. People just
couldn’t believe we lived under the same roof and I had no idea what he
was doing in front of my face.”
“That’s true.” She snapped her fingers.” Nadine is no different than your
husband. She is scamming everyone who is buying her books and funding
her lifestyle.”
 “I think several authors have ghost writers, it’s just that the public has
no idea.” I ran my hand down her arm. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine. Let’s just get the crowd out of here and get this book club
thing over with.” Abby headed out the door with a little more foot stomping
than normal, but it was to be expected. Abby’s image of her idol had really
been shattered.
I’d heard about this before, how social media paints authors as super
nice and kind, but when you meet them in person, they aren’t what they
appeared to be. Hiding behind a screen on social media didn’t appear to be
any different than hiding behind the computer to write their books. In any
case, all I cared about was Abby.
One thing Mary Elizabeth had always been good at was dispersing a
crowd. When she was finished at an event she’d hosted, she got them out
right quick and right now it was nice to have her and her skills.
“Who on earth has ever heard of selling Tupperware at a book club
event?” Nadine snickered under her breath to Valerie.
“Excuse me!” Abby’s hands formed fists. “I’m sorry that I ever thought
you were a decent and sincere person. I honestly thought you understood
small town life. Your heroine sells Tupperware in your series! Maybe that’s
why I decided to sell it myself!” Abby shook a finger at Nadine. “You. . .”
she caught her breath. “You. . . you are disgrace to this library! Get out!”
Nadine’s jaw dropped for a few seconds. Her face reddened, and she
closed her mouth. Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw tensed.
“I’ve had enough of this for one day.” She turned to Valerie. “I want to
go back to the camper and get my things. Get me on the first flight out of
here tonight.”
“I’m not sure if the airport is even open since a blizzard is coming
through.” Valerie gestured out the window.
Without us even realizing it, the snow had fallen a lot faster and
everything looked like it was covered by a fluffy blanket of white.
“Get me out of here!” Nadine yelled at the top of her lungs.
Abby ran off in a fit of sobs. Mary Elizabeth stood there with Betts,
Queenie, and Dottie.
“I can take you back to the campground.” The young woman who’d I’d
talked to at the diner earlier said, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ve got a truck
that’ll drive through just about anything.”
 “Great.” Nadine headed towards the door and then turned around.
“Valerie, are you coming?”
“Yes. One second.” She lifted her finger. “I’m sorry about this,” Valerie
apologized to me. “I thought everyone knew that because Nadine is so
popular now that she simply can’t do all of the writing with her schedule of
appearances. We have several different writers who write various parts of
the story, but the romance is really her thing.”
Why was she telling me this? I didn’t care.
“I guess what I’m saying is that Nadine is really a great woman and I
think all of this has caught her off guard. She didn’t bring any clothes to be
seen in and the paparazzi showing up didn’t help matters. She wants to get
back to writing the entire book without having to rely on a ghost writer, so,
please, give her some grace.” She shrugged and looked at each of us. “It’s
all we ask while we are here.”
“We’re sorry it didn’t go as planned. When Abby settles down, I’m sure
she’ll understand.” I really didn’t know where Abby’s head was at the
moment, but I knew she was very disappointed.
After Valerie left the bookstore and hopped into the woman’s truck next
to Nadine, there was a few moments of silence before Queenie started to
laugh and bounce on her toes.
“We need a little oxygen in our muscles after that,” Queenie huffed and
transitioned her little dance into a Jazzercise grapevine. “By the looks of
things, I’m going to be a little late for teaching my class.”
“Yeah. It looks like a lot of things might be late or cancelled.” I knew I
wasn’t being a good friend to Abby when all I could think about was my
supper date with Hank and where it stood with this snow.
Queenie and I found Abby in the romance section, right in front of
Nadine White’s shelf that Abby had dolled up for the big occasion. She had
made sure Nadine’s books were displayed to perfection. The top of the
bookcase had Nadine’s framed bio photo alongside her framed bio. Abby
had even gone as far as to list all of Nadine’s achievements.
“All of those are lies.” Abby pointed to the list of book awards. “She
didn’t deserve them. Whoever her ghost writer is deserves them.” The anger
in her voice was so strong and deep, I wasn’t sure she was ever going to
recover.
“Abby, why don’t you come with me to release some of that steam?”
Queenie jabbed the air as a growl expelled from deep within her gut as she
twisted her core with each hit, jutting towards Nadine’s framed photo.
CHAPTER 7

L uckily, Betts had brought her big cleaning van. We all piled on top
of the sweepers, spray bottles, and mops, making the most of our
trip. The radio weather update confirmed that the Bluegrass
Airport had shut down due to low visibility and ice on the runway. That part
of the state must’ve been getting more wet snow, unlike the fluffy stuff we
were getting.
Betts dropped Abby and Queenie off first, making the campground the
last stop since it was further out of town. Queenie continued to badger
Abby about going to Jazzercise. She was too mad to do anything, but
Queenie was right. It would probably do Abby some good to let out some of
that anger and steam before she popped like a pressure cooker.
Reluctantly, Abby got out of the car with Queenie after we talked her
into getting out some of that aggression. This gave Dottie, Betts, and I some
time to talk about Abby and how we were going to try to help her disgust
this huge blow.
“What are we going to do about Abby? She’s heartbroken.” Betts
gripped the wheel and drove the van very slowly along the curvy road
leading back to Happy Trails.
“I hate how her idol shattered her.” Dottie sighed.
“I know. I tried talking to her, but she wasn’t very receptive. She wants
to burn all of Nadine’s books. I’ve never seen her so angry.” I shook my
head. “I would hate for Nadine to have this awful experience and then tell
the world about it, undoing all the work Abby has done along with the rest
of the town to get the economy back on track.”
“True. It only takes one false claim and one stray tweet to put a whole
world against you.” Betts made an excellent point. “Even before you can
prove the accusations aren’t true.”
“Mmmhhh.” Dottie looked back at Mary Elizabeth. “What do you have
to say? What if Abby was your daughter?”
“I would ask Abby what is it that she gets from books. Is it an escape?
Because we know the books Nadine writes with all that happy ju-ju aren’t
reality. Abby needs to take stock in why she loves being a librarian and
realize everything she sees with her own eyes isn’t reality.” She slid her
eyes towards me.
My intuition told me she was not only trying to give that advice to
Abby, but to me as well.
“That’s an excellent point.” Betts looked at me through her rear-view
mirror. “I think I’ll call her when I get home. I know Lester will want to
take food to some of the older congregation members since the weather
won’t allow them to get out. Maybe I’ll swing by her house and check on
her.”
“Remember, she’s the youngest of us. She’s not lived long enough to get
too many disappointments, and this was a doozy.” Dottie held on to the
door handle when the tail end of the van fishtailed as Betts turned into the
campground.
Valerie Young was standing by the door of the office, shivering, when
we pulled up.
“Let me off at the office,” I told Betts. “I can walk to my camper.”
Betts stopped and before I got out, I unzipped my coat, putting Fifi
inside and zipping it back up so just her head was sticking out. The things I
did for her even shocked me. Who on earth was I turning into? I wondered
and thanked Betts for the ride.
“Let me know how Abby is doing.” I waved goodbye to them. “Hi,
Valerie. Let’s go inside and get out of the cold.”
With my free hand, I dug into my purse to find the flamingo keychain
that had the office and camper keys on it.
Henry was in the gator cart with the snow plow shoveling the road
around the campground and clear the concrete pads of the campers. We
didn’t need anyone suing us. He was really good at his job.
“Can I make a pot of coffee?” I asked her and pulled my phone out of
my bag. There weren’t any missed calls or text messages.
Fifi had run over to her bed and curled up in a tight ball. I had enough
time to brew some coffee, have a quick cup with Valerie, and get back to
my place before I had to get ready for my visit with Hank, since he’d yet to
cancel. There was no way I was canceling.
“I want to apologize again for Nadine’s behavior today.” Valerie stood
next to me and watched me scoop the coffee grounds.
“You don’t need to apologize for her. I think she’s a big girl.” I flipped
on the coffeepot switch to brew.
“That’s where you’re wrong. She used to be very sincere and kind. She
had this amazing vision of how she wanted to treat her readers and fans.
She was so young when I took her on for representation.” Valerie smiled at
the memory. “In fact,” she laughed, “I turned her down several times. She
wasn’t ready. She’d not experienced love and her love scenes were rather. .
.” She flip-flopped her hand in the air, “rather. . .umm. . .G-rated.”
“Well, she’s caught up.” I grabbed a couple of mugs and poured just
enough before the entire pot brewed. “Creamer? Sugar?” I asked.
“Both.” Valerie sat down in the chair and crossed her legs, swinging the
top one. “I told her she needed to make herself a little softer while we are
here.”
“I thought you were going to get the first flight out of here.” I took her
the cup and the items to doctor it up.
“She was being. . .Nadine.” She poured in more sugar than coffee,
slowly stirring the cream in. “She has a tendency to go off at the hip and it’s
my job to clean up the aftermath.”
“You’re staying then?” I asked, to be sure I didn’t need to send in Henry
to clean the camper.
“As of now, we are staying. She needs the time to explore Normal and
how everyday people live. She’s forgotten that after all of her success. But
she truly wants to get back to writing all the books herself.” Valerie took a
couple of sips of the coffee. “Did you know that Laura has written a book?”
“Laura?” I asked and sat down at my desk to face her.
“The young woman in your book club.” Valerie gave me a strange look.
It took me a second to realize she was talking about the young woman who
took them home.
“She’s not in our club. I just met her at the diner this morning. It was
very nice of her to bring y’all out here from the library.” Laura, I repeated
in my head, so I could make it a point to thank her when I see her next.
“It was nice and those are the people Nadine needs to rub elbows with.
In fact, I suggested Nadine take a look at Laura’s manuscript. You know,
give her a few pointers.” Valerie wrinkled her nose. “We can get a write up
in the paper how Nadine is living here for a few months, helping a local
aspiring writer bring her dreams to life.”
“Wow. That’s nice of Nadine.” I didn’t see that coming.
“Oh, it was my idea. You know. . .” She rolled her eyes, “the cleaning
up after the mess she’s made. I don’t want all the people in Normal to think
Nadine White is a monster. Then we’ll never sell another book or the new
series.”
“New series?” That was a little tidbit I could tell Abby to make her feel
better.
“Like I said, Nadine wants to get back to the style she wrote when I first
took her on as a client. More of the G-rated things you see on those mushy
television channels. Books-made-for-TV types of things.” She added more
cream to her coffee and slowly stirred it. “This new series is unlike any of
her past ones, so we are hoping a big publisher is going to pick it up. We
have high expectations. After all, she is Nadine White.”
“Yes. Yes, she is.” I smiled, wondering exactly what it was Valerie had
come to see me about. I looked at my phone. I’d been here long enough.
“What was it you wanted to see me about?”
“I wanted to know if you could give me the address of that wonderful
librarian. Nadine feels awful about what happened, and we’d like to pay her
a visit. A peace offering of sorts.” Valerie smiled.
She sure was good at her job of sweeping up after Nadine’s mess.
“Like what?” I asked.
“We’d like to drop off a big basket of signed books for the library as
well as have her take us around Normal tonight. Get to know the town. The
small life. You know, make things right so she realizes Nadine was having
an off day.”
“Off day.” I lifted my chin. “Is that what you’re going to call it?”
“It is what we call it.” Valerie’s voice didn’t quiver. It was strong and
steady. She meant business. “The publisher is going to fly into the
Bluegrass Airport in a couple of days to meet with her about the concept of
her next book. I have to have her in the right mental state for that meeting.
Everyone bends over backwards for her and she just doesn’t see it.”
“I’m sure Abby will be thrilled.” I scribbled Abby’s name and address
on a sticky note, handing it to Valerie. All that other stuff she was telling me
about publishers and concept just went right over my head. “Now, if you’ll
excuse me. I’ve got to be somewhere.” I plucked a business card for the
campground out of the small acrylic holder sitting on top of my desk and
gave her it. “If you need anything through the night, our handyman, Henry,
is on site and available twenty-four seven.”
It was a nice little extra that made the tourists feel a little safer. It was
interesting how they loved to hike the woods in the daylight, but the woods
scared the bejeevers out of them at night.
“Thank you.” She took the business card and put it on the sticky side of
the note, folding them together and placing it in her pocket. “Please don’t
tell Abby about our plan. We like to surprise Nadine’s fans.”
“No problem. My lips. . .” I drew an invisible zipper across my lips and
dusted off my hands.
CHAPTER 8

T here was a sense of relief that all had been worked out between
Nadine and Abby because if it wasn’t, it was going to be a long and
cold winter. I didn’t mean that to be about the weather either.
Poor Fifi was shivering as we headed back to the camper. I decided to
take the long way around the lake to make sure all was well with the
campground before I left for my big date. The last thing I wanted was a call
from Dottie saying I had to come home from my date early due to someone
at the campground needing something.
“I’m telling you, it’s not going to sell!” Valerie’s voice carried through
the thin walls of the camper she and Nadine had rented. “No one is
interested in that. Your readers want the fire. The sex. The romance. Don’t
you get it?”
There were some mumbles from another voice that could only be
Nadine responding to an angry Valerie.
I held Fifi closer to my body, so she’d stay warm and not squirm or
yelp. Call me nosy. I liked to think I was curious.
“This is ridiculous. If you think that I’m going to sign off on any sort of
thing like that, then you’re out of your mind! No one wants romance in the
kitchen! The bedroom is where you write the words! That’s what makes it
steamy. Not a cup of pasta!” There was a pause before Valerie started
yelling again. “Just like this camper! What on earth is going around in that
head of yours to make you want to stay in this hick town for months? These
very cold months? That’s it! The cold has made you crazy!”
There was some stomping around, but I didn’t know who it was. When I
heard the footsteps coming closer to the door, I took off. I didn’t want them
to see me.
 “Okay, sweet girl.” I grabbed one of Fifi’s sweaters from her drawer in
my dresser.
It was the time of year she had to wear a little sweater all day and night.
Tammy, her previous owner, did give me a slew of sweaters to pick from.
After Fifi had babies from Rosco the pug, Tammy was all too happy to give
me all of Fifi’s wardrobe, which at this time in my life was larger than
mine.
“You’ve got it made, little girl,” I said to Fifi as I pushed around the
hangers in the camper’s small closet. “What about this one?” I pulled out a
black sweater that was more form- fitting than the sweatshirts Hank was
used to seeing me wear.
I held it up to my body and turned around. Fifi was doing a little tail jig
on the bed, causing her whole body to shake with delight. I swear fashion
was ingrained in the little white fur ball. Tammy was like Mary Elizabeth,
ingraining it in Fifi by putting her in all the clothes, classes, and makeup in
an effort to make her the best show dog around.
See where we both ended up. . .Happy Trails Campground.
“I think you’re right.” I twisted around the other way in the very small
bedroom situated at the back of the camper and looked at my reflection in
the full-length mirror I had attached to the wall.
Space was limited in campers. Well, my space was limited. We had
many tourists that’d come in those big fancy campers and RVs that were
truly like houses on wheels. I’d never realized just how many people
actually lived their life full time as campers, going from state to state and
exploring the US. It was truly awesome.
“With the only pair of skinny jeans I’ve got and those beautiful snow
boots,” I said with a hint of sarcasm, “this just might be the right outfit.”
I held the hanger up against me with one hand and grabbed a wad of
hair with my other. I pulled it up a bit, thinking I’d wear the messy curls up,
and moved side to side to see what I’d look like from different angles.
Fifi yipped from the edge of the bed.
“You’re right again.” I let go of the moppy mess and let the curls fly out
on all sides. “Down. There’s no sense in trying to fix this mess with . . .” I
glanced over the bed and looked on the night stand at the glowing clock.
“Only five minutes!”
I threw the shirt down on the bed and quickly ran to the bathroom to
grab a spit bath since it was all I had time for. The night had gotten away
from me and I thought I had a little longer than five minutes to get ready.
Before I knew it, the five minutes were up and Hank was right on time.
Fifi had warned me before I heard the knock at the door. She was jumping
up and down near the front door of the camper. It was her way of telling me
someone had pulled up.
I had barely enough time to swipe on some red lipstick to give my pale
face a pop of color before the knock came. I took one last look at my face.
One thing I did miss about having the lifestyle I had before was the monthly
dermatologist appointments that kept my face in shape with peels. I had had
terrible acne as a teen. Though Mary Elizabeth got me at an early age, she’d
always complained that I should’ve gone to see a dermatologist for my skin
way before she had fostered me. It was another dig I felt she’d made about
my deceased parents. Maybe that was another reason I’d not liked living
under Mary Elizabeth’s roof. I felt she was always trying to put my parents
down.
The louder the knock, the louder Fifi barked.
“Just go on in. Honey, if she’s expecting you, then she knows you’re
here.” Mary Elizabeth’s voice travelled through the camper. When I came
around the corner of the bathroom, she and Hank were standing in the
combination family room and kitchen area of the camper chatting away like
two old pals. “See, there’s my baby girl. And look at her. She’s beautiful
just like they taught her in those fashion classes I stuck her in when she was
fifteen.” Mary Elizabeth’s face beamed with pride.
“Hi.” I looked directly at Hank and nearly wanted to die right there.
“Can I see you for a minute in my bedroom?” I gave Mary Elizabeth the
death stare.
“I’m sure she wants my opinion on her outfit.” She fluttered her eyes at
Hank, gently touching his arm as she walked past him. “Mmmmmm. . .”
she hummed under her breath as she approached me. “I could sop him up
with a biscuit,” she growled, lifting her perfectly tweezed brows.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, sliding the accordion door to the
bedroom shut, giving us what little privacy a camper had.
“I saw your light on and was coming by to drop off a little pecan pie I
made today. I noticed you’re a little too skinny.” She elbowed me in the
ribs. “And if you want to keep that hunk out there, it appears I arrived just
in time.”
 “Listen, I’m so glad that you and Bobby Ray are having a wonderful
time over there. Let’s get one thing clear.” I sucked in a deep breath and
looked her square in her eyes. I wanted so bad to tell her that it was Bobby
Ray who had invited her and make it known I had nothing to do with it.
Then she smiled. Her cheeks puffed out, and she smiled bigger. There
was a touch of age in her eyes that I’d never seen before. The big old softie
I’d become from all the warm welcomes the citizens of Normal had shown
me over the past six months started to melt the hardness of my heart
towards Mary Elizabeth.
Instead of giving her a piece of my mind and telling her I didn’t want
her around for Christmas, I swallowed that big breath and decided for my
peace of mind that it was time to bury the hatchet. After all, it wasn’t like
she was moving to Normal. Her visit would be over soon.
“This is my first date with Hank.” I bit back the anger. “Do you think I
look okay?”
Mary Elizabeth clapped her hands in delight before she rubbed them
across my shoulders like she was getting off some lint. Her mouth opened,
and I waited to take the blow about how I needed to do something different
or how my hair was unruly. She closed her mouth and smiled.
“You look beautiful.” Her words were simple and sincere. “You are the
most perfect you there ever was. You’ve truly grown up to be an amazing
individual. Though I didn’t raise you, I do hope that I had some hand in
how you’ve turned out.”
My eyes watered. This was the first time I’d ever heard words come out
of her mouth that I felt were honest as the humility covered her face.
“I know I wasn’t a perfect foster mom,” her voice cracked, and she
lifted her hands around her neck. The strand of pearls cascaded down the
front of her as she held one end of the strand pinched between her fingers.
“I hope we can sit down while I’m here and make amends.”
She reached up and over my head, placing the pearls around my neck
and clipping the clasp together. Then she adjusted the necklace, placing it
perfectly around my neckline.
“I do love you and Bobby Ray as if I had birthed you.” She turned me
around to face the full length mirror, her hands on each of my arms, her
eyes staring at me over my shoulder. “Perfect touch.”
I gulped back the lump in my throat. I lifted my hands to Mary
Elizabeth’s precious pearls that I’d once gotten grounded for after she
caught me trying them on when she was in the shower so many years ago
and ran my fingers along them.
“Are you sure I can wear them?” I asked when I realized they did make
the outfit truly amazing.
“Wear them?” Her hands squeezed my arms. “They are yours now.”
There was no denying the tone of her voice. She meant it. The stern and
final squeeze of her hands told me so.
“Now, before we forget and get lost in this crazy moment, you get out
there to that man waiting for you.” Mary Elizabeth always did know how to
diffuse a situation when she knew it was getting too heavy. “I’d love to
keep my foster grand-dog.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I gave her the side eye.
“No. I’d love to. Just show me where the remote control is because I
love that Real Housewives show and it’s about to come on.” She did not
just say that.
“Who are you and where did you put Mary Elizabeth?” I asked in a
joking way.
“You only know the mother side of me, which was what I had to be
when you kids were growing up. Now you get the fun side of Mary
Elizabeth,” she referred to herself in third person, ripping open the
accordion door before she trotted out of the bedroom in her white furry
snow boots.
“That was interesting.” Hank walked around the side of his truck and
opened the passenger door for me.
“What? Hank Sharp opening the door for me? Or the fact my foster
mom has showed up and decided to be someone I don’t recognize?” I
asked. “I’m sorry,” I immediately apologized before I hoisted myself up
into the truck.
Hank leaned up against that open door, his body shielding me from the
chilly winter breeze.
“Sorry for what?” His big grin reached his green eyes, lifting them at
the corners. “I finally get to know the real May-bell-ine. When you asked
her how you look? You look amazing.” He winked, slamming the passenger
door. My heart did all sorts of flip flops in ways it’s never flopped before.
“I guess you heard us in the other room?” I wiggled around nervously in
the seat and adjusted the heat vents on my side.
 “It’s not like we weren’t ten feet from each other with a tiny door
separating us.” He had both hands on the wheel, slowing taking the road
through Happy Trails. “I think it’s interesting to meet the woman who
fostered you after your parents’ deaths. I mean, I’m sure it’s hard to take in
a teenager.”
“You know all about that?” When I looked over at him, we were passing
Dottie Swaggert’s camper. She had the curtain pulled back and waved at me
with a big grin on her face.
“When someone by the name of Mae West decided to blow into
Normal, Kentucky, with the attitude you had, I had to know what this gal
was all about.” He leaned over the wheel, looking past me and then the
other way before he pulled out to the main road leading into Normal. “Of
course I looked you up, even though I knew about your past with your ex.
Then I really got to know you after you decided to put your nose into my
investigations.”
“Listen, I think I have a knack for that sleuthing stuff.” I teased as he
belted a big belly laugh. “But you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“Is that right?” His southern drawl gave me goose bumps all over my
body.
“I’m sure there’s not going to be any more murders of people I know.
Three is plenty. If we could just skip the rest of this month and get to the
new year, I’d be all for it.” I looked out the window at the snow. “It sure is
coming down out there. I didn’t know you had a truck.”
“Yeah. I think everyone in this part of Kentucky has one since we have
the national park and curvy roads.” He continued through town and past the
library, which was the last building on the street.
“Maybe I should get a truck,” I made mention.
“I’ll be more than happy to take you anywhere you want to go.” He
reached over and touched my hands I had folded in my lap. “I’m sorry. Was
that too forward?”
“No. Not at all.” I liked how his hand was heavy on top of mine. For
some odd reason, it made me feel safe and gooey inside. I liked that. “It
looks like Nadine is going to see Abby.”
Nadine White was walking up the steps of the library holding a big
basket.
“Her agent told me they were going to drop off a big basket of goodies
and books for Abby at the library as a way of not only apologizing but to
make peace.”
“I heard about that whole scuffle thing when I called to check on Ms.
White before I picked you up. She seemed awfully concerned with that
photographer this afternoon and I just told her that I couldn’t be hired on the
side since I was going to be on forest ranger duty a few times during her
visit.” He took the next road on the left. There weren’t any street lights, but
the moon shined so bright off the snow there was barely any need for the
truck’s headlights to show us the way.
“I wished the internet at The Laundry Club hadn’t gone out just as Abby
put it on social media that Nadine White was going to be in town.” I could
feel my shoulders start to relax a little more and I let my fingers entwine
with his. I felt like a teenager going on a date.
“Abby is the one who let the world know Nadine was here?” He shook
his head.
He turned the truck into a parking lot where there were a lot of other
cars parked in front of a big red barn. The Red Barn was the name posted
across the top of the barn near the open door to what was a hay loft at one
time.
“I’ve never been here. I’ve heard about this place and they do have
some flyers at the campground office for tourists, but I’ve never checked it
out.” The snow on top of the barn roof sparkled in the moonlight. The
mountains of the Daniel Boone National Park shadowed in the background
made the entire scene as pretty as a picture.
“I’m honored to be the first to bring you.” Hank put the truck in park.
“Now, you wait right there because I’m going to be the southern gentleman
you don’t think I can be and open your door.”
“I never. . .” I started to protest his observation of me. And started back
up when he opened the door, “To clarify, I never thought you weren’t a
southern gentleman.” I got out of the truck. “I said that you were a different
type.”
“You told me that Ty was sincere and thoughtful. True to his southern
roots.” Hank had a good memory.
“But you didn’t hear me say that I thought you were the protective type
of southern gentleman.” Which was the truth.
When I first opened up my heart to even think about a relationship, I
was charmed by Ty’s sweet demeanor and attention, which was what I
needed at that moment in time. It was Hank’s protectiveness and making
sure I had everything I needed in the long term that really stole my heart.
“You are a listener. When I mentioned that I needed to plow the
campground’s gator for snow removal, you found me one.” I was about to
give another example, but Hank had a different idea.
He put his finger on my lips. His large hand took my face and held it
gently, forcing me to look at him. There was a deep softness to his green
eyes that I’d never seen before.
“You will always be safe with me. I will always protect you.” He leaned
in and his lips touched my lips like a soft whisper.
He pulled back, leaving me standing there with my lips puckered and
ready for more. When I opened my eyes, he was grinning.
“I had to get that out of the way or it would have been on my mind all
night.” He reached down and grabbed my hand, leaving me breathless and
speechless. “Looks like I did it again. I left Mae West speechless for the
second time in six months.”
“Stop it.” I teasingly smacked his arm and let him lead me into the barn.
If you’d told me that an old farm barn could be romantic, I would have
laughed and told you about some really neat place in New York City that’d
charm the pants right off you when you stepped inside, but this old barn
was so charming. I had not been to a nice restaurant and almost a year now,
so maybe that’s the reason I immediately fell in love with the place.
Long gone were the old stalls , hay lofts, and dirt floor. The inside was
completely open with exposed wood beams. I wasn’t sure if they were
original to the barn, but if they weren’t, someone had gone to great lengths
to make it look like they were. Each wood beam had strands of small and
round light bulbs that were turned down just enough so you could see what
you were eating but felt as if you were under the moon.
Tables draped with white linen tablecloths were scattered around with a
romantic red candle in a lantern in the middle of each. Some of the tables
had two chairs while others had four.
Along the back of the barn was a long bar with floor to ceiling shelves
of any Kentucky bourbon and wine you could imagine. There was no
mistaking the pride the Red Barn took in their spirits.
To the right of the bar, there was just enough space for a band. Tonight
the band was playing some jazz, which I loved.
 “Reservation for Sharp.” Hank held my hand so tight as he proudly said
his name.
“Please follow me.” The hostess grabbed two menus and walked ahead
of us. “Can I start you off with some wine?”
Hank rattled off something that I wasn’t familiar with. Really, I wasn’t
familiar with much alcohol other than a beer every now and again.
“What do you think?” He asked a very good question that I wasn’t sure
how to answer.
“What do I think?” I needed clarification. Was he asking about the kiss
or the restaurant?
Both were amazing.
“About the atmosphere?” He suddenly looked very amused. “Wait. You
were thinking I was asking about me kissing you.”
“No, I wasn’t.” I tried to play it off.
“Oh, Mae West. Yes, you were.” He gave me a friendly smile, bantering
back and forth with me in a relaxed manner. “I’m getting so good at reading
you now. I was a little off when you first moved here, but you aren’t as
transparent as you want to be.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tossed some curls behind
my shoulder. Had I really lost the touch of not showing all my cards, I
wondered.
He laughed triumphantly.
“Stop it.” I folded my arms in front of me. “Stop making fun of me.”
“I’m not. You’re cute.” Those two words sounded so odd coming from
him.
Cute and the six-foot, dark haired, green eyed and just enough muscles
under his shirt to make him hunky didn’t seem to go together, but he pulled
it off.
“Cute?” My jaw dropped.
“Gorgeous and I’d like to revisit that kiss later. I just knew I couldn’t sit
across from you like this if it were still burning in my head what it would be
like to kiss you. And I’m glad to say it didn’t disappoint.”
The waitress had come over with the bottle of wine Hank had
mentioned to the hostess and did the whole swirl test. It was something my
ex would do at the restaurants we visited in the city before the scam he
pulled over everyone’s eyes imploded and blew up my life.
 Hank gave her the nod and she poured two glasses of the pinot he’d
picked out.
“To a real first date of many.” Hank lifted his glass in air, starting off the
first toast of many to come in our future.
Both of us had gotten the steak special. The conversation flowed with
ease like we’d known each other for a longer period of time. I got to know
about his family and how they still lived in Normal. He’d even slipped and
said that he couldn’t wait for me to meet them, which made me believe this
was more than a onetime gig. The way things were going, that sounded
good to me. I knew I wasn’t ready to make a big commitment, but spending
time with Hank was a responsible way for me to have companionship and
take baby steps in that direction.
“My mom loves Ginger.” He lit up when he talked about one of Fifi’s
puppies that he’d given to his mother as a gift. “Ginger goes everywhere
with her.”
“I love that. What does her fur look like?” I questioned if the mix of
poodle and pug did any sort of damage to the little ones. Since I had given
the other puppies to tourists after I’d made them fill out adoption paperwork
with the local SPCA and undergo a background check, I’d not kept in touch
with them.
“She looks like a poodle, but she has tan fur, not white. What amazed
my mom the most was that she could walk into any gun shop and walk out
with a gun in fifteen minutes while it took five weeks to adopt a dog.” He
shook his head. “As someone who carries as an officer of the law, I agree
with my mom.”
“I’m so glad the ASPCA has that process because I was so worried
about the safety of Fifi’s babies.” I wanted to keep them all, but there was
no way I could have them in a camper. Fifi was already high maintenance,
and I couldn’t imagine having several more like her.
When the band played, we both sat back with our wine and listened
with ease, never once trying to make conversation or force it along. It was
nice to be able to go out and enjoy another adult. Especially a good looking
one that did have good kissing skills, though I wouldn’t admit that at this
point.
“I hate to see the night end.” Hank hinted around to extending it once
we got back to the camper.
 “That’s strange,” I noted when we drove past the library. “Abby is still
there and it’s after ten.”
Nothing in Normal was open past eight or nine p.m. Most businesses
closed around six p.m. and the library was one of them.
“That is odd.” Hank pulled the truck over to the curb right behind the
rental I’d seen barreling out of the campground that Nadine White had been
driving.
“Oh, maybe she and Nadine have bonded. I’m sure they’re gabbing over
books.” I shrugged Hank’s concern off.
“I’d rather go check it out. That Nadine sure was upset about people
finding out she was here.” He threw the gear shift into park. “You wait right
here.”
As if.
I jumped out of the truck as soon as I saw him walk around the front of
it.
“Really?” His brow lifted with amused contempt.
“She’s my friend. I want to make sure she’s OK.” Not that I thought
anything was wrong, but I did kinda wanted Nadine to see that I was with
Hank because I seen the look on her face at the Normal Diner this morning
when she was sitting across from him.
Hank left the southern gentleman from earlier at the restaurant behind as
he bolted up the front steps of the library. It was a very old Victorian house
that’d been converted into the town’s library. There were concrete steps
leading up to a wraparound porch where Abby had placed rockers for
readers’ enjoyment. She even left them out in the winter along with a basket
next to each one with a quilt made by women in the Women’s Club of
Normal.
Hank opened the front door.
“That’s weird too.” I bit on my lip as a tiny bit of worry settled into my
gut. “I’ve been here before when she’s putting newly cataloged books on
the shelf after hours and she always locks the door.”
The loudest scream I’ve ever heard came from the office.
I stood there in slow motion as I watched Hank draw the gun from the
hidden holster under his shirt. I shoved past him, running towards the
office. It was as though my feet had a mind of their own.
“Abby?” I questioned when I got to the door and noticed she was
standing over Nadine White on the floor. “Did you scream?”
 I could feel Hank behind me.
“Abby?” Hank called.
She stood with her back to us. My eyes drew down her body until they
saw the bloody knife dangling from her fingers.
She turned around. Her eyes hollow.
“She’s dead,” she replied in a small frightened voice.
CHAPTER 9

“L et me have the knife,” Hank talked gingerly to Abby.

She looked down at her hand as though she didn’t realize
she was holding a knife. She blinked a few times, like she
was trying to bring herself back to reality. Like a robot, she lifted her hand
in the air.
Hank grabbed the handkerchief out of his pocket and took the knife. As
I watched, I knew he was doing his detective thing by taking the knife so as
not to disturb the fingerprints. After I’d helped him a few other cases over
the past six months, I’d watched more crime television than one woman
should in a lifetime.
“Why don’t you just come out here and sit.” Hank guided her out of the
office and completely ignored me like I wasn’t even there.
Nadine White’s eyes were open. Her clothes were tidy and neat, but the
blood was still gushing from the side of her neck where there appeared to
be a stab wound to her carotid artery. I bent down next to her, careful to
barely breathe and not touch a thing, to see if there were any signs of life.
Her chest was still. I put my hand over top her mouth and nose and there
was nothing coming out.
“What are you doing! Get back!” Hank had turned into the Hank I
didn’t like.
“I was just seeing if she was alive,” I tried to explain myself, pushing
off my knees to stand.
“Listen, I know you’re trying to help here, but I’ve called backup and
the best thing you can do is go out there and talk to Abby. Find out what the
heck happened here.” He ran his large hand through his hair before he bent
down and used his hands to feel for a pulse.
 There was an icy twist around my heart with the sudden realization that
Hank thought Abby had done this.
“Wait, you don’t think Abby had anything to do with this?” I asked him
like he was out of his mind.
“Do you see anyone else?” He asked me sarcastically. “She had the
knife. She was stunned.”
“She’s in shock,” I reminded him as I left the room before I took the
knife and did a number on him myself.
Abby was sitting in the swivel chair at the reference desk where she sat
most days to welcome library patrons. Her face was pasty white. Her eyes
stared blankly in front of her. Her hands were shaking.
“Abby,” I whispered her name to let her know I was coming up behind
her. “Abby.”
When I touched her she flinched, jerking around with her hands fisted in
front of her.
“It’s okay.” There wasn’t life in her eyes. “It’s me, Mae,” I reminded her
who I was because she didn’t look at me. She looked through me, so I
wasn’t sure if she was seeing me even though I was the only one standing
right there.
With the same look on her face, she put her shaky hands back down in
her lap. Her chest lifted up and down.
“Abby.” I squatted down next to her. “Do you know me?”
Slowly she nodded, her eyes slide over to look into mine. She blinked a
few times, finally focusing on me. Her mouth gaped open. Her breath
heaved in and out.
“Mae,” she gasped in desperation. “Nadine is dead.”
“Yes, honey.” I ran a hand down her hair. “I know.”
“She. . .she. . .,” her voice trembled. Her head turned, eyes glazed over
facing the library, away from me. “She was lying there.”
“Lying there?” My inner voice alerted my brain to ask more questions,
even in Abby’s fragile state. “Abby, what do you mean by she was lying
there.”
“She was lying there. Her eyes open. The knife. . .” Her nostrils flared
up and down, her chest heaved up and down as the sound of her breath went
in and out of her nose. “Oh my God, Mae,” she cried out, her eyes filled
with tears. “Nadine is dead.” She buried her head in her hands.
 I stood back up and bent over her, wrapping my arms around her while
she sobbed. A couple police officers rushed past us and filed into the office
where Hank was.
“Abby. I’m going to need you to help me out here.” I pulled away when
I felt her breathing return to normal. “What happened between you and
Nadine?”
“What do you mean?” She gulped for breath.
“Did you get into another argument?” I asked. “Did you fight?”
“What are you talking about?” Her brows furrowed. She was obviously
in shock and not in her right mind.
“You do understand that Nadine White was found dead in your office
with you standing over her with a knife,” I looked her square in the eyes.
“Yes. I found her there.” She nodded, searching my face.
“You found her in your office and you fought with her?” I asked, trying
to get to what happened or jar her memory.
“She was dead. I pulled the knife out of her neck,” she cried out,
sobbing again.
“Wait.” I bent back down and put my hand on her leg. “Are you telling
me that you found her in your office already stabbed?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“This changes everything,” I muttered.
“Do you think I stabbed her?” Abby looked at me like I had five heads.
“Mae?”
“I’ve got to get you out of here.” I glanced around to see who was near
us. “Abby, I need you to focus more than ever on me.” I held her face and
made her look into my eyes. “Hank and I found you standing over Nadine’s
body, holding the knife. It looks like you killed her, and Hank is going to
think that.”
“I didn’t.” She jerked her head around, looking behind her. “Where is
he? I’ll tell him.”
“You’re going to have to get it together.” I glanced over at the library’s
complimentary Keurig station. “You sit right here, and I’ll grab us a cup of
coffee.”
“I don’t want a coffee.” Abby shrugged.
“I’m going to need you to drink a coffee to get you out of this fog. We. .
. I need to know exactly what happened tonight.” I didn’t leave her any
room for arguing with me. She didn’t realize the severity of the situation
and what it looked like for her.
The Keurig rumbled to life when I put the pod in the holder and pressed
the largest option available.
“Keep an eye on her.” I overheard one of the officers say to another one.
“She’s the killer. From what Hank said, he’s not had a minute to ask her
anything.”
Killer? The word knotted in my gut. Abby couldn’t kill anyone.
I doctored up my coffee with creamer and slowly stirred it in, more than
usual, so I could hear more conversations between the two cops.
“Why’d she kill her? Do we know?” One of them asked.
“Fan turned psycho. I’ve seen it all now.” The other’s voice dripped
with a hint of laughter.
I grabbed my cup and moseyed over to Abby just in case I heard
anything else, but I didn’t. The rest of officers were standing watching
Colonel Holz push the church cart through the automatic front doors of the
library.
Colonel Holz was the county coroner. I’d yet to meet him properly, but
there was never a better time than right now, especially since I was going to
have to figure out, with his help without a doubt, who really killed Nadine
White.
“Hi, Dr. Holz.” I walked next to the church cart. “I’m Mae West and
Nadine White had rented a camper in my campground. I sure hate that she’s
dead. What do you think I should tell the family?”
I pulled that question out of nowhere, a little proud of myself. There
was a place on the rental form that asked for next of kin. Since we were a
hiking and camping community, there were more than just hiking accidents,
there were also critters to deal with, including dangerous ones. I liked to
have the emergency contact or next of kin on the form, so we had a way of
getting in touch with someone.
“Well, you’re gonna have to take that up with Detective Sharp. I’m not
sure what’s going on until I take a look at the body. I suggest you let
Detective Sharp call the family.” The Colonel wasn’t budging.
Abby’s face flushed white again when she noticed the coroner. She
started to sob all over again. It didn’t go unnoticed that the two officers next
to the Keurig station nudged each other.
 “Abby.” I rushed over to her with the coffee. I held it out to her. She
waved it off. “Listen, I know you’re in shock.”
“Outta the way!” The boisterous voice pushed through the officers.
When they parted, Queenie was leading The Laundry Club gals straight
over to us. “What are you lookin’ at, Violet Rhinehammer?” Queenie
stopped and looked at a woman who’d come in right before them. “You
better sweep your own back porch before sweeping somebody else’s.”
Queenie pointed to the notebook Violet had in her hand. “You can quote me
too.”
After Queenie said that, I recognized Violet Rhinehammer as the new
reporter for the local newspaper. There’d been some gossip down at The
Laundry Club about her, but I reckoned it was all talk and Queenie just
flapping her lips. I wished I’d listened a little more closely now.
From what I knew about reporters from the crime shows, they could be
valuable with information and with ways on how they got that information.
“What in the blue blazes is going on here?” Dottie asked, assessing
Abby.
Betts Hager had already rushed to Abby’s side and was talking to her
like a good pastor’s wife. It was her natural ability to comfort and soothe. I
wanted to get to the bottom of it.
“I can’t get much out of Abby, but I found her standing over Nadine
White’s body holding a bloody knife.” I heard the words come out of my
mouth and knew it didn’t sound good.
“We need to get her out of here.” Queenie’s brows lifted underneath her
purple headband. “Or they’ll arrest her on the spot.”
“Where we going to take her?” Dottie asked.
“We can take her to my place,” I suggested. “I don’t have a car, so
someone else is going to have to drive us.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the officers next to the
Keurig had walked into the library office.
“That’s right.” Dottie smacked the air with her hand. “How was the big
date? I seen you two leaving Happy Trails.”
“We can talk about that later.” Betts had left Abby’s side. “We need to
get her out now.”
Queenie already had Abby on her feet and Dottie had grabbed Abby’s
coat along with her purse. I helped Abby put her arm in the sleeve of her
coat.
 “My phone.” She pointed to the phone next to the computer on the
reference desk and Dottie grabbed it on our way out towards the door.
“Mae, where do you think you’re taking her?” Hank’s voice came from
behind us. We all stopped and slowly turned around. “Abby, you can’t
leave. I need to question you.”
“Question her?”
“Hank?” Violet walked over to us. I didn’t like how she said his name
with her sweet, small, accented tone. “I’d love to talk to you.” She ran a
fingernail down his arm with a little wink.
“Hold on, Violet.” He looked back at me. “Abby needs to stay here right
now.”
Violet started to scribble away on that pad of hers. I wanted to grab it
and rip it apart.
“Abby is in no state of mind to be here and unless you want to arrest her
she’s going home with me. You can come by there if you need to question
her.” I gave Violet a good hard stare. “You know exactly where I live since
you picked me up for our date there earlier.”
“Date?” Violet questioned with a dumbfounded look.
“Yeah, honey. Your nest isn’t the only one he’s been buzzing around.”
Queenie grabbed Abby by the elbow and walked her out of the library.
“Mae,” Hank hurried to my side. My pace had quickened after I heard
Queenie’s words. “I need to question her.” He pulled me to the side when
we made it outside. “You and I both know what we saw.”
“I’m not saying we didn’t see her standing over the body with the
knife.” I wanted to be clear to what I saw. “But she didn’t do it.”
“Mae,” he said with an exhausted sigh, running his hand through his
hair. “You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s cut and dry. Even you said earlier
that Abby was devastated her idol was a fraud.”
“I didn’t say those exact words.” I’d forgotten about me telling him
about that and now I wished I’d just kept my big mouth shut.
“That’s what you meant and you know it. I can’t just forget what
happened between them. Plus we saw Nadine walking into the library with
that basket of stuff to make an apology, according to you.” He had the
memory of a steel trap.
“According to Valerie, her agent.” I snapped my fingers. “By the way,
where’s she at? She might’ve set this whole thing up, making Abby look
like the killer. Valerie and Nadine had an argument earlier at the
campground.”
Hank’s chest expanded as he took a silent deep breath. I knew he knew I
was right. There could be more than just one person not happy with Nadine.
“Listen, I’m going to let you take her out of here, but you have to go
straight to the department before you take her to your place. I want her
fingerprinted and her nails checked and to see if there are any marks of a
struggle or anything on her body that has to do with Nadine White.” He
stopped talking when the doors slid open and Colonel was pushing the
church cart back out of the library with a sheet covering Nadine’s body.
Betts already had Dottie, Abby, and Queenie loaded up in her mini-van.
“Got it?” He asked.
“Fine.” I over exaggerated the word to prove my point that I wasn’t
happy about it.
“And I’m sorry our date ended like this.” He leaned in as though he was
about to give me a goodnight kiss.
“Yeah, yeah.” I took a few steps backwards, meeting his eyes and seeing
his confusion. “See ya.”
CHAPTER 10

“W as Hank about to give you a kiss back there?” Betts asked

me while Agnes Swift took Abby back to the room
where they were going to fingerprint her and look her
over really good to see if she’d had any markings on her.
“Let’s just say that there was a lot of chemistry between us before he
went and accused Abby of killing Nadine White.” I huffed, crossing my
arms across my chest while we waited in the police department.
“Mae, he’s doing his job. This shouldn’t have anything to do with what
the two of you might feel for each other.” Betts was always the voice of
reason.
“Is there a history with Violet Rhinehammer?” I asked, taking the heat
off the amazing date that Hank and I had before we decided to stop by the
library.
“I think they dated a little on and off, maybe a few months were
serious.” Betts made it seem like it was no big deal. “Her mom is in our
prison group. She talks about Violet on the bus rides over and she tells me
how Violet is so wrapped up in making a career for herself that Violet has
no time for a social life.”
“Her career is being a reporter for the newspaper?” I laughed, thinking
it wasn’t much of a career aspiration.
“I think she sees it more as an opportunity to gain some experience with
research and following crime leads. That’s where they put her. In the crime
and search and rescue division since we seem to have a lot of that around
Normal lately.” Betts folded her hands in her lap. “I’m just not sure what’s
happening around here lately.”
 “With growth, like the economy and the boom in the camping business,
there’s bound to be more crimes.” It was just an observation I had made.
“I’m telling you that I just don’t think Abby killed Nadine White.”
The door to the department flew open, Valerie Young on the other side.
She ran over to the desk of the officer closest to her, demanding to talk to
someone about Nadine White.
When she turned around and saw us, she didn’t wait for the officer’s
answer. She darted towards us.
“Mae, where’s Nadine? What’s going on?” She asked, out of breath.
“Why don’t you have a seat,” I said and patted the chair next to me.
“I don’t want to sit. I got a call from the paparazzi asking me about
Nadine’s murder. I went back to the camper and she wasn’t there. The car
wasn’t there. The only thing I knew to do was to come here after Nadine
didn’t answer her phone.” Valerie’s eyes darted around the station.
“It’s true. Nadine’s body was found tonight.” Betts took over the
situation, which was probably for the best since she had some experience in
dealing with deceased people’s family members.
It was part of the pastor’s wife thing she did.
“What?” Valerie fell into the chair. I watched her body language like the
TV sleuths did. “Where’s the hospital?”
“She’s dead, Valerie.” Betts was as matter of fact as you could get.
“She’s been murdered and that’s why we are here.”
Valerie fell to the floor. One of the officers hurried over and helped her
to her feet while Betts and I tried to do the best we could.
“We’ll take her back to get checked out by the doctor.” The officer
maneuvered Valerie’s limp body out of the room and back down the
hallway. The same hallway where they’d taken Abby.
“How much longer?” Dottie looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get my
hair in my curlers before too long or they won’t have enough time to set
right before I have to be at work in the morning.”
“Like we know how much time.” Queenie stood up, pushing her arms
over her head before she did a forward bend, planting her palms on the
department floor. She curled back up and did a few body twists to each side
before she walked over to the cork board. “Hey, y’all.” She ripped a piece
of paper from the thumb tack. “The Ice Capades are coming to town. We’ve
got to go.”
“Coming to Normal?” Dottie asked.
 “Nope. Lexington. But we can all go.” She walked over and handed the
paper to Dottie. Dottie passed it down the line and back to Queenie who
folded the paper in half and stuck it down in her bra. “I’ve been dying to see
them. It’s like a holiday tradition.”
“I think we need to see what’s going on with Abby before we make any
plans.” I stood up when Abby turned the corner with Agnes.
“Here you go.” Agnes patted Abby. “I told you your friends were here,”
she said, her jaws sagged. She was the cutest eighty-year-old I’d ever seen.
She had short gray hair and wore a pair of black polyester pants with a
long-sleeved Normal Police Department shirt. “How did your date go?” She
winked at me.
“Date.” Abby’s shoulders slumped. “Mae, I’m so sorry this ruined your
date. Leave. Go finish your date.”
“Honey, you’re more important than a silly date.” I left out the fact
Hank was back at the crime scene and that’s another reason we ended it. I
knew she wasn’t in her right mind to even put that together in her head. It
was important that she knew she was supported, even if the odds were
stacked against her.
I nodded for Agnes to have a private conference to the side while the
other gals got Abby’s coat back on her.
“Thank you for being so nice to her.” I wanted to let Agnes know how
much she was appreciated.
“She’s in shock. She needs to go to sleep.” Agnes glanced back at Abby
over my shoulder. “I told Hank that the doctor didn’t find nothing on her. I
don’t think she did it.”
“Did she say anything to you about it?” I asked Agnes. She’d always
been so forthcoming in the other investigations even though Hank hated it.
“Not a word came out of her mouth. The doctor asked her all sorts of
questions. He said he’d give her a prescription to sleep, so if you need it,
give me a call and I’ll get it to you. But right now, if she gets some sleep,
her memory might just come right back in the morning.” Agnes gave a
sympathetic smile. “Hank asked if you were here.”
“Thanks, Agnes.” I didn’t want to get into all that. “I think it’s best we
get Abby back to my place.”
There was dead silence in the minivan on the way home. The cleaning
supplies in the back of Betts’s minivan rattled as she drove the curvy road
back to Happy Trails. The compacted snow groaned under the tires as the
snow continued to fall in big flakes, faster than the windshield wipers could
clear.
“I’m taking you to my house for the night.” I ran my hand down Abby’s
hair and helped her out of the van once we got there.
“Do you need help?” Dottie asked.
“No. I’m just going to put her to bed. I’ll call y’all in the morning.
We’ve got a lot to discuss,” I said before I shut the door behind us.
Fifi jumped and yipped for Abby to give her some affection. Abby
smiled and spoke to Fifi. It was the first sign of life still left in her.
“I’m going to go lay down if you don’t mind.” Abby’s voice was soft.
“I think that’s a great idea.” I agreed with her. “I’ll take Fifi out to do
her business and check on you when I come back in. You know where
everything is so help yourself.” I opened the refrigerator and took out a
bottle of water. “Put this by the bedside in case you need a drink later.”
She took the water and disappeared into the bedroom of my RV. Fifi
danced around at the door waiting for me to open it. She darted down the
steps. I followed her. A thick silence filled the space around me. An eerie
feeling blanketed me.
I looked up in the sky for reassurance that all was well, but the big
snowflakes hid a lot of the stars and moonlight that made me feel calm. I
glanced across the lake at the camper Nadine and Valerie had rented. The
twinkling lights swayed from the night breeze. I wondered about Nadine’s
personal life.
Did she have any family or friends that were going to miss her over
Christmas while she was here? Did she plan to go somewhere for
Christmas? What on earth was her story.
“Hey, girl.” Fifi brought me out of my thoughts as she bounced up in
the air wanting me to pick her up. “Let’s go for a little walk.”
My keys were still in my pocket and taking a night stroll up to the office
to get a look at Nadine’s contract sounded like a pretty good idea. There
was no way I was going to fall asleep. There was too much adrenaline
pumping inside of me from all the questions I had about Nadine.
Dottie’s camper was dark. I bet she smoked a cigarette, put her pink
sponge curlers in her hair, and headed straight to bed. The warmth of the
office felt good on my chilly cheeks when I opened the door. Fifi ran over
to her little bed after I put her down.
 The files on my desk were the packets from the renters staying in the
campground right now. I kept them on my desk from the time they checked
in until they checked out for easy access. I was glad I didn’t have to go
searching the storage unit where we kept all the files after they checked out.
The office was too small for any sort of storage cabinets.
The office was plenty big enough for our needs. There were two desks –
mine and Dottie’s – with two chairs in front of each, where the renters sat to
sign their rental agreements when they checked in. Oh, and there was a
coffee station and Fifi’s bed on the floor between our desks.
I sat down and opened Nadine’s file with her rental agreement. There
was one contact she’d put down for an emergency and it was someone by
the name of Dawn Gentry. I quickly wrote the name and phone number
down. I knew it was something Hank would want to know.
I picked up the phone and hesitated before I dialed Dawn’s number. I
was torn about whether to let Hank call her or to call her myself. Per the
agreement, I had full permission to reach out to Dawn.
“Hello?” A very sleepy voice answered.
“Is Dawn Gentry there?” I asked.
“This better be good for you waking me up. I better’ve won a million
dollars.” She was as sassy as Nadine. No wonder they were friends like
Nadine stated on the contract.
“I’m sorry, but do you know Nadine White?” I asked.
“You mean Nadine Dembrowski?” She asked. “Nadine White is her pen
name.”
“Oh.” I looked at the name she’d registered under and she’d written
White. “Yes, if that’s her real name.” I scribbled it down. “She’s the author
of Cozy Romance in Christmas.”
“Yeah, what about her?” Dawn sounded a little more awake.
“I’m Mae West from Happy Trails Campground where Nadine White…
Dembrowski,” I corrected myself, “rented a camper from me for the
winter.”
“Is she in jail?” Dawn didn’t sound amused.
“Jail? Um. . .No.” Odd, I thought. “She listed you as her emergency
contact and I’m sorry to tell you that Nadine has been murdered.”
“What?” Dawn was fully awake. “Nadine Dembrowski? Are you sure? I
mean, I knew it was a crazy idea when she told me she was going to stay in
some camper in Kentucky while she tried to write some sort of cookbook,
but I didn’t think it was dead crazy.”
“Unfortunately, it’s true. Valerie Young is staying with her and she’s
going to identify the body for the local sheriff’s department, but since
Nadine had listed you as her emergency contact, I thought you might be
able to get in touch with her family.” I could feel the tension over the phone
line as Dawn processed everything I was telling her.
“God, I knew she and Valerie were having that big contract dispute and
I told her not to kill Valerie. I never figured it’d be the other way around.”
Her words nearly stopped my heart.
“Valerie?” I asked a bit stunned.
“Yeah. You did say Valerie Young, right?” she asked. I could hear some
fidgeting on the other end of the phone. “What town are you in? What
airport?”
“I did say Valerie Young. Normal, Kentucky. Bluegrass Airport.” I
rattled off the answers. “Back to Valerie, did you say they are arguing over
a contract?”
“Yes. Nadine told me that she was going to sign a contract without an
agent, which means she was letting Valerie go. You know, in the publishing
world today, authors don’t really need a middleman anymore. Nadine knew
that. Now she wanted to write the books she’s always wanted to write. Not
use a ghost writer to help her.”
I was so glad I had called Dawn. She was a wealth of information and
shed a lot of light on another suspect.
Valerie Young.
CHAPTER 11

“F ifi, do you think that fight we heard between Valerie and

Nadine earlier was about the contract?” I snuggled her tighter
on our way back to the camper and recalled the loud argument
we’d heard when we’d walked past their camper earlier.
The night clouds had thickened under the heavy snowfall, making the
campground dark and silent. The bare trees howled in the wind that’d swept
down from the Daniel Boone National Park and rushed across the
campground.
“If you think about it,” I talked to Fifi like she was my co-sleuth.
“Nadine is probably Valerie’s big client. Which makes me want to look her
up to see who else she represents.” I was starting to come up with ideas,
though my stomach tugged at me, telling me to just let Hank do his job.
That wasn’t going to be possible if he thought Abby Fawn - sweet Abby
Fawn, of all people - could kill someone. I couldn’t let that thought cross
my mind.
“If Nadine decided to go in a different direction in her career and not
keep Valerie as her agent, wouldn’t that hurt Valerie’s income?” I wasn’t
sure how this whole agent and writer thing worked, but I was good at
getting to the bottom of things. Getting to the bottom of Valerie Young’s life
was now a priority.
“Psst.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart’s pace picked up. My palms
started to sweat even though my fingers were chilled to the bone. Someone
was here. I gulped and tried not to move. Was Valerie here to finish me off?
“Pssssst.”
 “I’ve got a gun,” I said with a trembling voice. “I’m not scared to use
it.”
“For heaven’s sake, you don’t have a gun.” Mary Elizabeth’s voice
broke through the cold silence. “Act like you’ve got some sense, May-bell-
ine.”
“Mary Elizabeth,” I sighed with relief. “Where are you?” I asked and
looked around in the dark.
“Right over here.” She stepped out from behind a camper. Her
silhouette was barely visible in the darkness.
“What on earth are you doing out here?” I asked.
“I saw the lights on at the office and I couldn’t sleep with a killer on the
loose. I mean, have you seen all those scary movies about camping and
killers?” she asked.
“I have not. There’s not a killer on the loose.” At least I didn’t think
there was until now. “Come on. Come back to my RV and get warm.”
“May-bell-line, I think we’ve reached a new level in our mother and
daughter relationship.” No amount of darkness would dull those bright
white teeth behind that big ol’ smile of hers.
Even though she was dressed for the Antarctic in her full-length fur coat
and fur hat, the offer I made her even surprised me.
“What were you doing in the office at this time of the night?” She asked
and took Fifi from me, wrapping her up in the fur coat. Fifi licked her face.
I wondered if Fifi had that good person or bad person instinct I heard
dogs had. Because she really liked Mary Elizabeth.
“When we get back to the RV, you need to keep your voice down.” We
hurried down through the campground. “My friend, Abby.”
“The librarian?” She asked.
“Yes. In fact, I found her standing over Nadine’s body with the knife
dangling from her hand.” It sounded so bad.
“Oh, no. Why did she kill her? And why are you harboring a killer?”
Mary Elizabeth had already tried and convicted Abby without knowing the
facts and that was exactly what I was afraid Hank was doing. “You found
her? What about your date with hunky?”
“We were coming back from the restaurant when I noticed the library
light was still on, which was weird.” I pulled my keys out of my coat
pocket. “We stopped and went through the unlocked door.” Why was the
door unlocked? There were so many questions I had for Abby. “Why do
you think she did it?”
“The library light was on. The librarian didn’t hide the fact that Nadine
White was a fraud in her eyes in front of everyone and she was standing
over the body with what I’m assuming is the murder weapon.” Mary
Elizabeth made it sound like Hank had a ironclad case already without
interviewing anyone.
“That does sound bad.” I blinked a few times before I turned to the door
to unlock it. “But I know Abby and she didn’t do it. Besides,” I glanced at
her behind me. “I found out some information about Valerie Young that
would give her a clear motive to kill Nadine.”
“Do tell.” Mary Elizabeth might’ve been a full-blown southern woman,
but she loved a good gossip session, which, in my opinion, was also part of
being southern whether she wanted to admit it or not.
I gave her the finger to the mouth gesture when we got inside the RV. I
took the opportunity to go check on Abby while Mary Elizabeth shut the
door and took all the animal off of her, including Fifi.
Abby was sound asleep, and I was glad to see it. She was so much in
shock that I was afraid her mind wouldn’t quiet down enough for her to
sleep. She was lightly snoring and lying on top of the covers. I took a quilt
folded up on the dresser and gently placed it over her. There wasn’t
anything better than sleeping with a homemade quilt, especially during the
winter.
“I hope you don’t mind that I put on some coffee.” Mary Elizabeth was
already preparing our mugs. “Remember how we use to find each other
standing over the coffeepot in the middle of the night when you’d come
home from school?”
“Yes. At school I was able to stay up as late as I wanted to, but when I
came back to your house for a break, you made me go to bed by ten p.m.” It
was funny how she thought the memory was endearing while I thought it
was torture.
“It was only because I knew your brain needed rest and that beauty
sleep is a real thing.” She tapped around the edges of her eyes. “So is good
Botox.” She laughed.
“Never in a million years would I ever have thought you’d admit to
Botox.” I got a closer look at her. “It looks good.”
 “My house?” She poured the coffee into the mugs. “You said your
house. It was your house too.”
“I’m not going to get into all that. We are adults, so let’s see where this
new relationship will bring us.” I grabbed one of the mugs and opened up
the junk drawer to get the notebook I’d once used to write down clues in a
different murder that’d taken place on one of the hiking trails around Happy
Trails.
“In order to do that, I want to know why you skipped town as soon as
the clock turned on your eighteenth birthday.” She wasn’t going to let it go.
“Let’s make a deal.” I knew it was going to be a deal with the devil
inside of me, but I didn’t want to talk about this right now. “Let me help
Abby out. I need to focus all my attention on her. Then before you leave,
we will sit down and talk.”
“On one condition.” Her voice was stern, the way I remembered it when
we’d fight, and I could tell it was non-negotiable.
“What’s that?” I reminded myself that I was no longer a child in the
foster care system.
“You let me help you find out who really killed Nadine White.” She
lifted the cup of coffee to her lips and stared at me through the steam
curling around her nose.
“What makes you an expert?” I pulled out the chair from the table and
sat down, dragging the notebook in front of me.
“I watch those shows.” She sat down in the other chair. “I always solve
the mystery before Quincy does.”
“Quincy? The medical examiner show?” My brows furrowed.
“What’s wrong with Quincy?” She asked with an attitude.
“Nothing.” I opened the notebook to a blank page. “That was a long
time ago and technology has come a long way.”
“There’s something about good, old fashioned sleuthing. Let me prove
it.” She was sure of herself.
“Fine.” I clicked the pen and wrote Nadine White’s name at the top of a
blank page.
“What’s that?” She leaned on the table to see what I was writing.
“Clues? I like this. Jessica Fletcher keeps all the clues in her head.” She
tapped her temple.
“I like to see mine. It’s kinda like a puzzle.” I found myself getting
excited as I told her how I’d written down clues in the past and it actually
helped Hank figure out who the real killer was. “Just like with those cases, I
have that same gut feeling that Abby didn’t do it.”
“What about Valerie Young? You mentioned her earlier?” She asked and
took sips of her coffee.
I told her about how Fifi and I overheard the arguing from their camper.
“Though I couldn’t distinguish Nadine’s voice because it was muffled,
it was clearly Valerie yelling.” I made bullet points under Valerie’s name
and wrote down key points about the argument I’d overheard. “I was at the
office because everyone who rents from me has to fill out a next of kin form
in case they get hurt on a trail or something. Nadine White listed Dawn
Gentry, her best friend. Get this.” I wrote Dembrowski next to White.
“Nadine’s real last name isn’t White. Her real name is Nadine
Dembrowski.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. A lot of authors use pen names.” Mary
Elizabeth sounded sure of herself.
“Dawn told me Nadine was going to cut out the middleman in
negotiating her deals, which means she’s getting rid of Valerie as her
agent.” I wrote down Dawn’s name and some of the key points she told me
about what Nadine had told her.
“This gives Valerie a clear motive. The average agent gets fifteen
percent of the author’s royalties.” Mary Elizabeth pulled out her cell phone
and started to punch away on it. “And it’s for life. Unless the author takes
the agent to court to break the contract, but that rarely happens.”
“How on earth do you know all this?” I asked.
“Real Housewives.” She nodded. “All those girls get book contracts and
they always complain about their agents getting so much money.”
I was taken back at how much she knew.
“According to Nadine White’s contract with her publisher for Cozy
Romance in Christmas, she received a three million dollar advance. She
turned the phone around and showed me a website.
“Is that fake news?” I had to ask because it wasn’t a three million dollar
book.
“No. This is a site called Publisher’s Marketplace. They post all the
deals made in the publishing world with agents.” She punched away.
“What’s fifteen percent of three million?’
“Valerie Young would make that much?” My jaw dropped. “No wonder
she was yelling and screaming at Nadine. I wonder if Nadine had told her
she was cutting her out. When Nadine left to take Abby the basket, it would
have been the perfect time for Valerie to set up Abby. After all, like you
said, everyone heard Abby after she found out Nadine White had a ghost
writer.”
“Perfect motive. Money. That’s what Columbo always said.” Mary
Elizabeth’s right brow rose, her lips puckered. “MeTV is my second
favorite channel.”
She yammered on about the channel while I pretended to listen. Instead,
I wrote down all the reasons why Valerie Young should be looked at as a
suspect.
I drew a long line across the page and wrote ten p.m. about a quarter of
the way down with a vertical line.
“What’s that?” Mary Elizabeth asked.
“A timeline.” I pointed to the time. “Hank and I stopped at the library at
ten p.m. That’s when we found Abby standing over Nadine’s body.”
Underneath the timeline, I drew another one with Nadine’s name, another
one with Abby’s name, and a third one with Valerie’s name. “We need to
snoop around and figure out where these three people were during the hours
leading up to when we found them.”
“I get it.” She snapped her fingers. “If there’s a gap and no one can
account for where they were, then we just might have a killer.”
“Let’s hope and pray Abby has a tight alibi.” I gnawed at my lip as I
tried to think back to when I’d talked to Abby earlier in the day to recall if
she’d said anything about what she was doing that night.
The knock on the door made me jump, Mary Elizabeth gasp, and Fifi
bark.
“Who could that be at this hour?” Mary Elizabeth’s question caused me
to look at the clock. It was two a.m.
“I bet it’s Hank.” I got up and opened the door, fully expecting to see
him standing there since it was probably about time he’d clear the crime
scene. He was pretty quick and thorough. “Can I help you?”
I asked the woman standing at the camper door, shivering.
“I’m Dawn Gentry, Nadine’s best friend.” Her teeth clattered. “The sign
on the office said to come here if it was after hours.”
“Yeah, yeah. Come in.” I held the door open for her. I had totally
forgotten I was on call tonight and not Dottie. Good thing because that
meant Dottie had to open the office and I still needed to get some sort of
sleep. Vice versa when she was on call. “Let me get you a cup of coffee.”
Dawn Gentry stood about five foot six. She tugged the knit cap off her
black, pixie cut hair and vigorously rubbed her hands together. She looked
like she was in her late thirties, which was where I’d place Nadine White.
She had on a pair of black skinny jeans, Doc Martin black boots, and a
black leather jacket with lots of silver buckles on it.
“That’d be great.” She blew into her hands. “Riding a motorcycle in this
crazy weather is nearly impossible.”
Fifi didn’t jump around and on Dawn like she did every other visitor
that came to the door. It struck me as odd.
“How did you get here so fast?” I questioned her.
“Nadine called me earlier to tell me about the fight she’d had with
Valerie. I knew I had to get here as fast as I could, so I left Chicago early
this morning.” Her shaking hands took the coffee. She held it in her hands
for a few seconds as though she were warming them up. She took a drink.
Fifi ran back to her bed and curled up.
Mary Elizabeth’s mouth was gaped open and I was in shock Dawn was
standing here.
“I just can’t believe Nadine is dead. I mean, I’ve got to see it for
myself.” She sat in my chair without an invitation to do so. She looked
around. “Can I crash here?”
“No.”
“Yea.”
Mary Elizabeth and I chimed in at the same time.
“Yes.” I gave Mary Elizabeth a stern look. “Of course, you can stay
here. But I have to warn you that one of my best friends is staying here
too.”
“No biggie.” Dawn shrugged. “I’ve shared plenty of times before.”
“She’s actually the one the police believe killed Nadine.” My words met
a wide-eyed Dawn. “But I really don’t think she did it.”
“I thought Valerie Young. . .” Dawn looked down at my notebook in
front of her. “What’s this?”
“My daughter is good at solving crimes. Like Monk.” I was beginning
to think that Mary Elizabeth watched entirely too much TV, especially
amateur sleuth shows.
 “Daughter?” Dawn looked between me and Mary Elizabeth as though
she were trying to see a resemblance.
I pinched a grin, holding back the urge to yell foster mother, but there
was no sense in it. I’d never see Dawn again after Nadine’s murderer was
brought to justice and right now I wanted peace over being right.
“Anyways, it’s getting late and we need to get some sleep if we are
going to prove that Abby didn’t kill Nadine.” I grabbed my notebook and
closed it. No one, not even Hank, was allowed to look at my notebook.
Besides, I didn’t know Dawn very well and I didn’t trust her fully. At this
point, everyone was a suspect.
“You’ll call me first thing in the morning?” Mary Elizabeth asked,
making me remember our little deal. She put on her furs.
“Yes. First thing.” I guided her to the door.
“You think you’re going to be okay with a stranger?” She whispered
and gave a side glance to Dawn who was peeling off her clothes down to
her skivvies. “She’s odd.”
“I’ll be fine.” I didn’t tell her that I’d seen way worse during my ten
years in New York City.
“Okay. Now call me.” Mary Elizabeth slipped out of the door and into
the dark night.
“You can sleep on the sofa bed.” I quickly pulled the pillows off and
opened it, unfolding the twin mattress hidden inside. “I’ll take a captain’s
chair.” I gathered my cell phone and took the notebook up to the front of the
RV where the passenger seat would recline back enough for me to rest my
eyes for a few hours.
Once I heard Dawn snoring away, I reached over and grabbed my cell
phone. Swiping up, I touched the screen to turn on my flashlight. I opened
the notebook to Nadine’s investigation and drew a line across the page
under Valerie’s timeline.
“Dawn Gentry,” I wrote, wondering exactly where she’d been when
Nadine was murdered because if she left Chicago early this morning, which
was only a little over four hours from here, where’d she been the rest of the
time?
CHAPTER 12

“M ae. Mae.”
Faintly, I heard my name being called. The shaking
made me open my eyes.
“Who’s that girl sleeping on your couch?” Abby was sitting in the
driver’s seat of the RV.
It took me a minute to remember what’d happened the night before.
“Abby,” I gasped and sat straight up. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m in shock. I only remember finding Nadine on the floor of the office
with a knife stuck in her neck.” She blinked back the wall of tears on her
lids. “I don’t even remember driving here.”
“You didn’t.” I looked at my phone. It was seven a.m. I’d only gotten
about three hours of sleep, but suddenly found myself wide awake. “The
girls from The Laundry Club hurried to the library once they’d heard what
was going on and Betts brought us back here.”
“Who killed her? Did Hank say?” She asked, as innocent as a newborn
baby.
“Honey.” I reached over and touched her. “Hank thinks it was you.”
“Me?” She started to sob.
“But I know you didn’t do it,” I whispered and looked over my shoulder
at Dawn.
She was sprawled out on the twin sofa bed. One leg dangling onto the
floor while the other was hiked up on the back of it. Her arms over her
head. She’d slept in her black lacy underwear and bra. It was weird.
“I didn’t,” Abby insisted. “Why would they think that?”
“You did call her a fraud in front of everyone at the library yesterday
and you were holding the knife when we found you.”
 She blinked a few times and stared out the windshield as if she were
trying to think back into her mind.
“Abby, I need to ask you.” I braced myself for either a meltdown or her
going off on me. “Did you kill Nadine White?”
“No,” she gasped. The lines between her brows deepened. “I just told
you I didn’t do it.”
“Then someone has gone to great lengths to make everyone think you
did.” I glanced back when heard the sheets on the twin sofa bed shift. Dawn
had rolled over to the side, her hiney facing out. “After Nadine dropped off
your basket of goodies, what happened?”
“Basket of goodies?” Abby had a confused look on her face. “I’m not
sure what you’re talking about.”
“Valerie said Nadine was putting together a basket of signed books for
you and the library to apologize and make peace with you. When Hank and
I drove through downtown on our way to the Red Barn Restaurant, we saw
Nadine walking up the steps of the library with a basket in her hands.” I
tried to recall any details of the basket, but all I could see in my mind was
her walking up and I thought about how it was the last time she’d be outside
alive.
I shook the thought out of my head. Images like that weren’t going to
help anyone, especially Abby.
“What time was it?” she asked.
“It was a little after six.” I knew the time because Hank had been right
on time, but Mary Elizabeth had held us up a bit. “Hank picked me up right
at six and we were stalled a little here, so it was probably between six
fifteen and six thirty.”
“I closed the library a little before six, so I wasn’t there.” Abby was
certain. “I was so tired and had all my work done. The library closes at six
anyways. When no one was there, I knew they didn’t have time to get in
and get out, so I closed up early and went home.” As she talked I reached
for the notebook and flipped to the timeline. “What is that?” She leaned
over the middle console and looked at the paper with stark fright on her
face. “You really think I killed her?”
“I don’t, but Hank sure does. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you.” I
pointed to the timelines. “Here is when we found Nadine. It was around
ten.” I pointed to the lines on the timeline. “We saw her a little after six p.m.
She had to have been killed between six and ten, but Colonel will be able to
pinpoint a more exact time.”
Abby continued to stare at me blankly.
“All I need from you to help clear your name is for you to tell Hank
exactly where you were and who you were with.” I shrugged as though it
were that simple. “You do have an alibi, right?”
“I live alone,” she stated flatly.
“Yes, but you and Ty have been seeing each other, right?” I asked.
“A little here and there, but not last night.” She shook her head and
looked down at her fingers. The black ink from the fingerprinting was still
visible. She let out a long sigh. “I forgot they fingerprinted me last night.”
She closed her eyes. Her nose crunched up before it flared out with a big
inhale. “My goodness. I remember.”
“What do you remember?” I asked.
“I remember getting fingerprinted.” She didn’t tell me anything I didn’t
already know.
“Then let’s start from the beginning.” I clicked the pen and pointed to
her timeline with the tip. I wrote five fifty p.m. on her timeline. “Is it fair to
say you left the library ten minutes early?”
“Yes. I guess.” Guessing wasn’t good enough, but I just went with it and
wrote down that she’d left the library at that time.
“It was at least twenty minutes before Hank and I saw Nadine going up
the steps. It was almost dark, and I remember there were some lights on.
Did you remember turning the lights off?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Mae. I have a ritual every night. That includes turning
off all the computers and all the lights and making sure all the books are
shelved.” She was getting frustrated. “It’s pretty automatic to me now.”
“I’m just trying to help. You need to keep a level head. I’m your friend,
but when they come at you for murder, you’re going to have to be tougher
than this.” I had to be stern with her. She had to know what she was up
against. “These are basic questions that they are going to ask you and if you
waiver a bit, they will use it against you.”
“I can’t recall if I turned them off. I can say that I do it every night, but
like I said it’s automatic for me.” The worry lines on her forehead
deepened. “I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help me.”
“No biggie.” I jerked my head around when I heard a knock at the door.
“Hold on. I bet it’s Mary Elizabeth.”
 Fifi yapped when I climbed over the console into the living area of the
RV. Dawn didn’t budge. I wanted to cover her and her undergarments up,
but didn’t want to wake her.
“Good morning.” I swung the door open to find Hank Sharp standing
there in his official black overcoat and fancy black shoes he wore on his
work days. “Hank.”
“Mae,” he greeted me formally. “Can I speak to Abby Fawn?”
“Sure.” I offered him a slight smile while I ran my hand down my bed
head full of curls.
“I’m sorry if I woke you.” He stepped inside when I got out of the way
of the door. “What’s going on here?”
His eyes were bulging out of his head and staring at Dawn’s derriere. I
grabbed the blanket and threw it over her.
“What? It’s hot!” Dawn was obviously not a morning person. She sat
straight up. Her woman parts jiggled in her lacy bra as she rubbed her eyes,
and the blanket fell around her waist. “Oh. Company.” She pulled the
blanket up to her chin, a slight grin on her face. “Who are you?”
“Who are you?” He asked her back.
“We can do formal introduction when you’re dressed.” I picked her
clothes up off of my RV floor and threw them to her. I turned Hank around
to face the kitchen sink. “The bathroom is that way.” I pointed towards the
bathroom to get Dawn scooting a little faster.
“Hi, Hank.” Abby climbed over the console. “I guess you’re here for
me.”
“I’m sorry, Abby.” He looked like he was in as much pain as I was that
he had to be here for this. “I’m going to need you to come to the station
with me. We have to question you.”
“Hank, she didn’t do it.” I started to plead with him. “Just let me talk to
her today and we can come down later.”
“You killed my best friend?” Dawn appeared out of nowhere fully
dressed.
“Who are you?” Hank asked a clothed Dawn.
“I’m Dawn Gentry. I’m Nadine Debrowski’s best friend.” She sucked in
a deep breath. “I thought for sure Valerie killed Nadine. What? Are you
some crazy fan?”
“Wait a second.” I stepped in. “The only thing Abby did wrong was find
Nadine and pull the knife out of her neck.”
 “I did?” Abby didn’t make matters any better. “Gosh, I did!” She
gasped. “I was going to go to the diner to see Ty and I noticed the lights
were still on at the library.” Her eyes grew as she began to remember. “The
door was unlocked. I thought maybe I was so upset from the day’s events
that I’d forgotten to close up. I looked around the library and nothing was
out of place, so I headed back to the office where the switches are for all the
lights and that’s when I found Nadine’s body on the floor of my office.”
“Anything you say right now can be used against you.” Hank had
already taken out his notebook and begun scribbling on it.
“I ran over to her and saw that she was bleeding. I yanked the knife out
of her neck.” Abby’s jaw dropped. She blinked rapidly. “I heard
something.” She looked down at the ground. Her eyes darted back and
forth. “I heard something behind me and then some footsteps.”
“What did you hear?” I asked wondering if it was a clue that someone
else was in the library. “Someone was in there. The killer.”
“Okay. I have to stop this,” Hank interrupted.
“But she’s remembering for the first time.” I tried to stop him.
“Abby, can you please come with me?” He asked her nicely. “I don’t
want to cuff you.”
“Are you arresting her?” I asked.
“You better arrest her.” Dawn stuck her hands on her thin hips. “Or I’ll
get someone who will and bring this murderer to justice.”
“I’m not a murderer!” Abby yelled and began to sob. “I didn’t kill her,”
her voice trailed off.
“Let’s just go down to the station and sort out some particulars,” Hank
suggested. But he and I both knew he was going to charge her with
Nadine’s death.
“Okay.” Abby conceded.
I stomped around Hank, grabbed Abby’s coat, and took her cell phone
off the charger, giving them to her.
“I’ll call a lawyer.” I helped her get her arm through the sleeve. “Don’t
say a word and I mean it. If you have to bite your tongue while they
interrogate you, do it. Don’t say a word,” I warned her again.
“Okay.” She nodded and took a deep swallow.
Hank gave Dawn another good, hard look before he followed Abby out
of the RV.
 “Hank,” I called after him and stood on the step, shivering. “You know
deep down she didn’t do this.”
“Mae, the evidence speaks for itself.” He was always by the book. “I’m
sorry.”
My breath and the cold air mixed together in puffs of smoke as I took
several deep breaths in and out of my nose as I watched them drive off.
Fifi was dancing around my feet to get out of the RV to do her morning
business.
“Let me get my coat.” I took a few steps in and grabbed my coat off the
hook and my phone off the counter.
Fifi darted out and I shut the door behind us.
Scrolling through my contacts, I had to find the one person I knew
could help us. Ava Grandy.
“Mae West.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “I didn’t think I’d be
hearing from you again. Especially in this year.”
“Ava, I need your help.” I wished I didn’t have to call her. After my ex-
husband destroyed her family, I was sure she didn’t want anything to do
with me. “A friend of mine is in jail. She’s being accused of a murder she
didn’t commit. She needs you. I need you.”
There were a few moments of silence.
“Fine,” she finally answered, sending some relief to my soul. “Normal
Police Station?”
“Yes. Thank you, thank you,” was all I could say.
“I’ll be there this morning.” She had to drive down to Normal from
Lexington, where she lived. “Tell her not to say a word.”
“Don’t worry. I did.” I was glad I thought to tell Abby that before she
left because she was so honest she’d just spill her guts without thinking how
any of it sounded to any cop. Even worse, to Hank Sharp, who was always
assessing what everyone said.
“Mae, did she do it? Really?”
“No. I think she was set up, but the evidence is really good against her.
Me and Hank found her standing over the body with the murder weapon.” It
looked as bad as it sounded.
“Don’t tell me this is that famous author?” She asked. I was silent.
“Good grief. It’s all over the news. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
CHAPTER 13

“W hat are we going to do now?” Dawn was sitting at my

small kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. She was
waiting for me to get dressed.
“I’m going to call Hank to see if they are finished with Nadine’s
camper, so I can get you over there to stay while you are here.” I pulled my
curly hair back into a low ponytail. There was no time to fool with it today.
I had to get in touch with the girls from The Laundry Club and call an
emergency meeting. “Then, I have to work.”
After Hank had taken Abby to the station with him, other officers had
showed up at the campground to go through Nadine’s camper. The car
wasn’t there, and I wondered if Valerie had skipped town. The police were
still over there.
“What is your plan?” I asked her, making sure she knew I wasn’t going
to be stuck with her. There was something odd about her and my gut tugged
when I went to tell her something but stopped. That was a sign for me to
just let this thing play out with her. My gut was never wrong. Plus, Fifi was
still standoffish with her.
“I’m going to go to the morgue. First thing.” She patted her shin to try
to get Fifi to come to her, but gave up after a couple of tries.
“You’re going to drive that motorcycle around?” I asked.
“It’s all I got.” She shrugged. “I might call an Uber or something.”
“Let me see if I can get you a ride into town.” Even though I didn’t trust
her, it wasn’t in my nature to let her drive on the dangerous roads. It was
slick out there. “I can always get you a ride back.”
“Thanks. I noticed everything is pretty close together, so I can walk
around. No biggie.” She sent my inner alarm off.
 When I called her, she sounded asleep. It was also dark out. When did
she see downtown in the light? There was something that didn’t feel right
about this girl.
“Bobby Ray, can I ask you a favor?” I called him since I knew he’d be
driving into downtown where the morgue was located, along with all the
other businesses. “I need you to drop someone off at the morgue on your
way to work.”
Bobby Ray told me that Mary Elizabeth had kept him up half the night
gabbing on and on about the murder and how she was going to help me
solve it. Then he agreed to take Dawn. The best news was that Mary
Elizabeth was still sound asleep, which meant the faster I got out of the
campground, the better.
It was perfect timing too. Bobby Ray was leaving right then. Once he
and Dawn were off, I gave Fifi some kibble along with some treats to hold
her over for a few hours.
Quickly, I sent a text to the girls at The Laundry Club, telling them to
meet me as soon as possible to discuss Abby’s situation. With my notebook
in hand, I was out the door in no time.
Dottie texted back to let her know what was going on when we found
something out since she had to work at the Happy Trails office this
morning. Everyone was going to need time to get ready and it would take
even some more time to get to the laundromat driving in the snow.
We were going to need something to wake us up besides coffee and that
meant a good sweet treat from The Cookie Crumble Bakery. It was exactly
what we needed to get our sleuthing caps on and get our little investigation
underway.
“Mae, good morning,” Christine Watson, owner of the Cookie Crumble
Bakery, greeted me as soon as I walked into the door. Her bubbly
personality was infectious. It was her calling to bake donuts and all the
other fun pastries because she put people in happy moods first thing in the
morning when they came in to get their morning treat. “Did you try those
candy cane donuts I sent over this morning?”
“I didn’t.” I eyeballed the delish looking pastry that was festive to look
at.
“Here. Try a sample.” Christine pointed to a silver platter of samples on
top of one of the bakery counters.
 The little toothpicks stuck in them were a mix of red, and green, and
white, all the colors of Christmas. It was the small touches that made
everything in all of Normal’s shops feel so special.
“Gosh. This is amazing.” I had to refrain from grabbing all the samples.
“You are so good.”
“I think it’s because I use as many local ingredients as I can from
farmers in the area.” There was a look of satisfaction on her face. She was
so humble and that was one of her most endearing qualities. “I get all my
eggs and dairy from the dairy farm off Route 44.” She continued to tell me
other places where she got her ingredients, but my taste buds were so
caught up in the mix of peppermint and sweet glaze, my mind just couldn’t
process her words.
“I’d love to have a few to take over to the gals at The Laundry Club this
morning.” I walked down the glass counter. My mouth watered at the
amazing creations Christine made. “And I’d love it if I could get you to
make me enough for the Christmas Dinner at the Campground. About one
hundred in total.”
She didn’t make just any donuts. She used her artistic ability to create
different designs. She wasn’t afraid to stack different textures on top of each
other.
“I’ll take a couple of those s’mores too.” The drizzled chocolate over
crumbled graham crackers and marshmallows on top of a glazed donut was
calling my name and my thighs. I couldn’t tell if she was processing my
request for her to cater the donuts for the dinner. “The donuts would be a
great dessert for the Christmas dinner.”
“I’d love to make them for free, if you can supply all the dairy needed.”
She snapped a glove from the box and put it on her hand. “You can tell
Kelli Sergeant how many you want me to make and she’ll get all the
ingredients ready for you.”
“Kelly Sergeant?” I questioned.
Even though I’d been living in Normal for a few months now, I still
didn’t know everyone who called Normal home. I pretty much stuck to the
campground and my girlfriends at the Laundry Club. I knew there were a
lot of shops and stores out of the downtown area that I’d yet to explore, and
the Milkery Dairy Farm was one of them.
“Yes. She’s the owner of the Milkery.” Christine referred to it by its
nickname. “There’s a card in one of the holders over there next to the cash
register.”
I walked over there and looked at all the business cards Christine let
locals put there for marketing.
“The Milkery Dairy Farm,” I said with a smile and picked up the white
card with big black blotches all over it that were supposed to represent cow
spots. It was cute.
“I’m sorry to hear about the famous author staying at the campground.
It’s a shame too. I was looking forward to getting to know her better.”
Christine had a Cookie Crumble Bakery to-go box in one hand and a gloved
hand putting my goodies in it with the other.
“You knew her?” I asked, thinking it was strange she mentioned getting
to know her better.
“Yesterday, someone from her publishing team came in and got a couple
of maple cream long johns. They said she was going to love them, and I
gave her my card. She also asked if I did deliveries.” She flipped the sides
of the cardboard down on the box and peeled off a Cookie Crumble Bakery
logo sticker to seal it. “Since I have my sister deliver your donuts each
morning, I didn’t see a problem making a special delivery to her. Especially
if she liked them and told her readers about them.” She removed the glove
from her hand and tapped her temple. “It’s all about the marketing.”
“Don’t I know. Abby Fawn. . .” I was going to say that Abby was
instrumental in getting Happy Trails Campground as popular as it’d become
with all her marketing, but I wondered when Valerie Young had come in
here when I didn’t see her leave Nadine’s side until after their blow up.
According to my timeline, that was later in the day, before my six p.m. date
with Hank. “The person who came in here.” I held my hand above my head.
“Was she about this tall, lanky, with dishwater brown hair? Sorta greasy?”
“No.” Christine shook her head and handed me the box over the bakery
counter. “She had the cutest black pixie cut.”
“What time was this?” I asked knowing it had to be Dawn.
“Around noonish. I know that because I was getting ready to take some
of the older donuts out of the case. I distribute them to the homeless shelter,
the police station, and the fire department so they don’t go to waste.” She
smiled, causing the freckles across her nose to spread along her cheeks. “I
do that at lunchtime, so I can put out freshly baked pastries and pies out for
the lunch crowd. That’s when I sell the most pies and cakes. You know,”
she flip flopped her hand in the air, “customers like to have them for dessert
after supper.”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t fully listening to her. I took the notebook out of my
purse to write this down under Dawn’s timeline. “Tell me again what she
said.”
I scribbled as Christine recalled her interaction with Dawn. It had to be
Dawn. She had described her to a tee, including the motorcycle.
“I even told her I’d deliver them since she was driving that motorcycle.”
She laughed. “Who ever thought of driving a motorcycle in the snow? I told
her she could go to Grassel’s Garage to see if Joel had a car she could rent.”
“What did she say?” I asked.
“She said she didn’t plan on being in town long and left.” Christine’s
interaction with Dawn had me on high alert. Why didn’t she tell me? What
was Dawn Gentry hiding?
After I paid Christine for the donuts, I decided to walk down to The
Laundry Club. There was no sense in trying to find a cleared parking spot
since I already had one and the Laundry Club was only a short walk down
Main Street.
The snow didn’t seem to bother the tourists. I’d never known people to
love hiking so much that they’d strap on snow shoes along with their hiking
gear to find the perfect trails in this sort of weather. They were lucky the
rangers hadn’t closed down the park since the snowfall hadn’t let up since
yesterday morning.
The lampposts along Main Street had garland wrapped around them and
the loveliest poinsettias in hanging baskets added the perfect pop of color
against the snow. Each hanging basket sported the logo of the Sweet Smell
Flower Shop, a perfect way to advertise. I waved at Gert Hobson, the owner
of The Trails Coffee Shop, when I noticed she was in the display window
adding the finishing touches to the coffee mug Christmas tree she’d cleverly
crafted. It was so cute.
The Trails Coffee Shop was another local shop I had an agreement with
for Happy Trails Campground. Gert supplied the coffee that was the perfect
accompaniment to Christine’s donuts. It was a good way to promote their
business and when I passed, I noticed a couple of my hikers inside enjoying
a steaming cup of something Gert had to offer.
The Smelly Dog Groomer had their grooming tables all lined up. I had
to get Fifi in there for her Christmas haircut and nails. Ethel Biddle tapped
on the window to get my attention. Rosco, Fifi’s boyfriend and father of her
pups, was sitting next to her. Ethel gave me the telephone sign up to her ear
to tell me to call her. She’d been driving me crazy about setting up a play
date for the lovebirds. . .er . . .love dogs. I nodded and smiled, heading right
past Cute-icles. I tried not to make eye contact with Helen Ryle, who was
yammering away at a client sitting in the stylist’s chair, snipping off hair as
fast as she talked.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough. Helen pointed to her own orange
hair, her bejeweled smock glistening more than the Christmas ornaments
she had dangling from the ceiling all over the salon. That woman had more
glitter on those ornaments than her nail techs were putting on their clients’
Christmas nails. Glitter and big hair had never gone out of style in Normal.
Downtown was very interesting. Each shop had had its own outdoor
courtyard. Today each shop owner had a Christmas tree decorated to match
their store’s theme, but during the warmer months, each shop had neat little
activities on a daily basis. It was fun to walk around Main Street when you
needed something to do.
I glanced across the street at the Tough Nickel Thrift Shop and Deter’s
Feed-N-Seed. Both looked busy. I was glad the snow didn’t stop the tourists
from coming. But I wondered if the news about Nadine White, once it got
out, would change that.
“Where’ve you been?” Queenie tapped her watch after I pushed through
the door at the Laundry Club. She tapped the glass globe in front of her. It
was one of those electric globes that sent little lightning bolts to the surface
of the glass when you touched it. She was so odd. She liked to scare patrons
of the laundromat by acting like she could tell their futures. Her neon green
headband and matching neon green bodysuit didn’t help matters.
“What on earth do you have on?” I shook my head as I walked past her
to take the donuts back to the table with the half-finished Christmas puzzle
Betts was working on.
“I like to wear my Jazzercise one piece as long johns and I don’t look
too bad for an old brood.” She slid her hands over the sides of her body and
did a little shimmy, following along behind me. “So, I can afford to eat one
of those donuts in the Cookie Crumble Bakery box you got there.”
“I’m glad I stopped by because Christine gave me some new
information.” I sat the box down and took the notebook out of my bag.
 “I stopped by to see Abby on my way in. Lester is going to see her this
morning too.” Betts picked one of the candy cane donuts and Queenie took
one of the s’mores. “Hank said she wasn’t talking.”
“Good. I’ve got Ava Grandy coming to see her this morning. Do you
know Colonel Holz?” I asked Betts since she knew everyone in town.
“Yes. He’s a member of the congregation,” she said under a muffled
mouthful of donut. “If you came to church every once in a while, you’d
know him too.” She couldn’t let that one go without a little dig. “I’m
guessing you want to go talk to him about the case.”
“Yeah. I’ve got a few questions about the autopsy.” I was starting to
second guess if the knife was the only murder weapon.
“What about it? It seems pretty clear she died from the neck wound,”
Queenie said.
“By the looks of it, but I’m wondering if she were poisoned by a
donut.” My words made the two of them look at their half-eaten sweet
treats and then at each other.
Both shrugged and kept eating.
I opened the notebook to the timeline and notes I’d made on the case
and told them about Dawn Gentry coming into town fairly quickly after I
called her as the Nadine’s next of kin. They were more interested in
Nadine’s real last name than my overnight guest. But when I mentioned
she’d been in town longer than she’d disclosed to me and how she’d gotten
donuts around noon, that got their attention.
“What’s her name?” Betts took out her phone and typed it in as I rattled
it off. “She lives in Chicago and she’s single. She’s a bartender.”
“How do you know all that?” I asked.
“You really need to get on Facebook.” She handed me her phone. “You
can learn a lot about someone on there.”
I scrolled through Dawn’s Facebook while they finished eating and the
coffeepot Betts brewed finished percolating. There were a few photos of
Dawn and Nadine together. There were a couple of comments under a photo
from one of Nadine’s book signings.
“I’m thrilled to see you made up,” I read out loud. “This was just a
couple of months ago at the release party of Cozy Romance in Christmas. I
wonder what this was about.”
I clicked on the person who made the comment and hit the message
button.
 “What are you doing?” Betts grabbed her phone back.
“I was sending this person a message. I want to know what he is talking
about.” I reached for her phone again.
“Get your own Facebook.” Betts’s eyes lowered. “I’m not letting you
use mine to investigate. It’s the church’s account. Besides, Lester thinks we
need to let the police handle it.”
“If that was the case, Hank would already have Abby in the electric
chair for killing Nadine.” I knew something was up with Dawn. There had
to be a motive.
“What can we do to help?” Queenie asked.
“I’m going to go right over there and join Facebook. If I send you a
screenshot of Dawn’s profile photo you can take the list of all the people
from Nadine’s library talk and see if they recognize Dawn.” I knew it was a
long shot, and it’d take time, but it sure would help me out. “You did say
that everyone at the library bought Tupperware from Abby, right?”
“They did, and I can stop by to see Abby. Kill two birds with one stone.
See how she’s doing and ask her where the list is.” Queenie stood up. She
did some sort of stretch and trotted off towards the computer Betts kept for
the customers of The Laundry Club to use. “I’ll get you started on
Facebook. I’ll make one for Happy Trails too.”
I wanted to protest both, but I let her.
“Now, back to Colonel.” I turned to Betts. “How quick do you think you
could get me to see him?”
“I guess we could go now. I know he works first thing in the morning.”
She took another donut and handed me one.
“Perfect,” I said biting into the donut, talking about it and the fact that
Betts could get me to see the Colonel ASAP.
CHAPTER 14

“T his is all sorts of creepy,” I said to Betts as we took the freight

elevator that just so happened to be big enough for a church
cart to carry a dead body to the freezing cold basement of the
only emergency clinic in Normal.
“The morgue is in the basement, so yeah. It’s creepy.” Betts didn’t seem
to be as uncomfortable as I was as I fidgeted in my skin. “Here we are.”
The doors opened onto a long hallway with concrete flooring, making it
even more eerie. The sound of the elevator ding echoed off the walls,
creating goosebumps all over my arms.
“You coming or not?” Betts had noticed my hesitation when I didn’t get
off the elevator behind her. She held the box of leftover donuts in her hands,
which I found odd.
The sound of our footsteps was the only sound around us as we made
our way down to the end of the hall. There was a big silver button on the
wall that we had to push to open the steel doors.
“Colonel? It’s Betts.” We stood in the entrance of what appeared to be
an office.
Colonel’s face appeared in the small round window in another set of
double steel doors. He smiled when he made eye contact with Betts.
“Betts, to what do I owe the pleasure?” He peeled the long yellow
gloves that reached to his elbows off before he reached out to pat her on the
arm.
“This is my friend Mae West.” She introduced me.
“Ah, the famous Mae West. Owner of Happy Trails Campground.” He
bowed. “Part-time sleuth.” He lifted his brows and gave me the side-eye.
“So you’ve heard about me?” I asked with a smile.
 “I’ve been warned that you might stop by. It wasn’t with this case, but a
previous one. Now, what are you snooping around about?” The corners of
his mouth turned up.
“Since you asked, you know that it appears as if Nadine White, um,
Dembrowski’s cause of death was a stab wound to the neck.” Here was my
conspiracy theory. “I’m wondering if that was a secondary wound and
maybe poison killed her.”
“Since I’ve just started to work on the victim, I can tell you that I’ve
only gotten to the stab wound.” He grabbed a chart off of his desk and
pulled the glasses down off of his bald head. “Without saying anything to
hurt Hank Sharp’s investigation, and honoring my commitment to Betts and
her friendship, I will tell you that the blood around the stab wound doesn’t
correspond with when the rigor mortis set in, which I’m placing at around 8
p.m.”
“So, you can confirm that something else killed her?” I asked.
“I’m not confirming anything until I talk to Hank first.” His stomach
grumbled. His eyes shifted to the box Betts held.
“Here.” I took the box. “We brought you some donuts.”
“Betts,” he winked. “You know my weakness.”
“I’ve never stopped by without bringing you a sweet treat.” Betts had
known all along the Colonel loved donuts and I loved that she had used
them to get what we wanted.
Colonel took the box and laid the file on the desk. He patted the file.
“I’m going to grab my coffee. It might be a few minutes.” He gave me a
sly smile. One that told me he wasn’t giving me permission to look in the
file he’d left behind, but he didn’t try to hide the file either.
Once he was through the door, Betts grabbed the file.
“Where’s your cell?” She asked me in a hurried voice. “You need to
take pictures of this quickly.”
“You are awful, and I love it!” I was excited to have Betts on my side
with this one. She was just as invested in getting Abby out of jail and
bringing the real killer to justice as I was.
“Are you done?” He’s coming back.
“Yes.” I flipped the file closed with one hand and put my phone back in
my pocket with the other. “I noticed you didn’t get your hands dirty.”
“That’s for you to do. I just said I knew Colonel.” Betts wasn’t dumb.
She knew exactly how to keep her squeaky clean image as the preacher’s
wife.
“Now. Where are those donuts?” Colonel didn’t give us a second
glance. His eyes were focused on the Cookie Crumble Bakery box. “You
know, Christine is a whiz at this.” He took one of the s’more donuts out of
the box and rotated it, looking at it from all angles. “There’s something to
be said about using fresh ingredients. Did you know she buys as many local
ingredients as she can from local farmers and the farmer’s market?”
“I can tell a store-bought chicken egg in a minute.” I smiled, lying
through my teeth. “That’s why I love this town so much. We support each
other. That’s what we’re doing with Abby Fawn.” I gestured between me
and Abby. “I truly don’t think she did it and if what you said about the
blood from the neck . . .”
“What did you say?” Hank Sharp stood behind us. His green eyes had a
hint of wonder in them.
“You were right.” Colonel pushed the box across the desk with his free
hand. “She even brought me some good donuts.”
“Mae.” The sound of my name coming out of Hank’s mouth was filled
with more disappointment than romance like before he kissed me the other
night. “Betts, I’m shocked to see you here.”
“I’m just here to say hello to Colonel and thank him for his generous
offering during last Sunday’s collection.” Betts wasn’t fooling anyone, even
though she’d fully convinced herself she had.
“Mmmhhhh.” Hank took one of the donuts from the box. “Mae, can I
see you in the hall?”
“Umm. . .okay.” I walked past him with my chin held high. Once we
were outside and the door was shut behind us, I told him what I thought,
“This is a free country Hank Sharp. You and no one can’t tell me that I can’t
come visit the morgue or the coroner. It’s my tax dollars and my vote that
put him in this building and I can darn well go anywhere I please.”
“You’re right.” He nodded and took a bite of the donut.
“I’m what?” I asked. My jaw dropped, but my head said that something
wasn’t right. There was no way Hank Sharp just told me I was right.
“I said, you’re right. You do have a right to be here and check out what
your tax dollars go towards, but.” Here it came. “ You don’t have the right
to snoop into an official investigation.”
“You’d think that after three other crimes,” I jabbed my finger in the air,
“Make that three other murders, that you’d get used to me trying to help
you figure this out.”
“What is it that makes you so drawn to murder?” He asked a very good
question that I should explore. Maybe with a therapist or something.
That thought aside, I retorted, “Because I love this town and I want to
make sure the whole world gets to know how we care for each other. We
support each other and that’s why we have such amazing shops and
wonderful people that want the tourists to come explore.” I pointed to his
donut. “You want to know why Christine’s donuts taste so good?”
“Sugar?” He asked and stuffed the rest of it in his mouth.
“No. The fact that she uses fresh ingredients from local farms. That’s
what it is. Real love is baked into all that.” I circled my finger around his
lips before I used the pad of my finger to swipe off the little bit of chocolate
that’d dripped down on his chin.
“How about supper tonight?” The corner of Hank’s lip curled up.
“You’re so cute when you get all huffy and puffy mad. Like an old wet
hen.”
“Hank Sharp, I don’t like to be compared to an old wet hen.” My
shoulders drooped as a big sigh left my body. “Supper is good. I need to
eat.”
“And. . .” He hesitated as though he were deciding whether or not to tell
me something. “I’m not sure why, but people love to talk to you. If you do
hear anything about the case, I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“Are you asking me to snoop?” I asked. “Because you know that Abby
Fawn didn’t do this.”
“Ava Grady said you sent her down here.” He turned all serious again.
“From the phone call I got from Colonel this morning, the initial autopsy
report says there was a primary cause of death and the stab wound was
secondary.”
“Like the killer was making sure they’d gotten the job done.” The
thought that someone had such hatred towards someone else sent chills all
over my body.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve got a theory.” Hank took a couple of steps
towards the door.
“What is your theory?” I asked.
He turned shy of the door and glanced at me over his shoulder.
“That, you don’t need to know. I’m the detective, you’re the ears I need
in the community and around the campground.” He made the line very
clear. “Nobody in the campground wants to talk to me.”
I followed behind him as he headed back into the room. Betts and
Colonel were discussing some sort of theological issue I had no knowledge
of but stopped when we were all present.
“Are you ready?” Colonel asked Hank and picked up Nadine’s file.
“Yep.” Hank gave a hard nod. “Mae, I’ll see you tonight.”
“Mae,” Betts gushed after there was plenty of time for Colonel and
Hank to leave the room and head back into the morgue to discuss whatever
it was Colonel had discovered. “You’ve got a boyfriend. And you said it
was just a date.”
“It was a date,” I reminded her. “But a dead body interrupted what
could’ve been a really good night. First one I would have had in a long
time.”
“It sounds like it didn’t interrupt anything.” Betts curled her arm in the
crook of mine as we made our way back to the elevator.
This time, I wasn’t nervous because we were going up and getting out
of there.
“Now what?” She asked, dropping me back off at the Cookie Crumble
Bakery where I’d left my car.
“I’m going to get a Facebook account and check out what this guy
meant about Dawn’s photo with Nadine.” I didn’t want to get on social
media, but it was time. Especially if I wanted to figure out just who Dawn
was and how to get her on the suspect list.
“I’ll go and see Abby. Make sure everything is okay. I’ll see if she
remembers anything else.” Betts waved me off.
I hurried to my car, dodging more big flakes of snow. There were a lot
of snow squalls, where the snow would stop for a brief time before it fell
again, but in very large quantities. It was something that wasn’t unusual for
this area, which made me take it extra slow on the way back to the
campground.
By the time I made it back, it was lunchtime and I could smell the chili
Dottie had cooked in the large kettle pot on the outside fire pit. I’d initially
had it built for the nightly cookouts the campers enjoyed so much during
the warmer weather.
Around suppertime, each camper that wanted to participate would build
up their outdoor firepit and get it going with something tasty, making
enough for everyone to come around and have some. By the time you made
it around to each camper, you’d had a full meal. That turned into me
making the main meal over the big fire pit and something the entire town
turned out for.
We had desserts out the ying-yang along with any sort of drink,
including cocktails, you could imagine. The meats, vegetables and dairy
were fresh from the farm, which reminded me of the Cookie Crumble
Bakery and Dawn Gentry.
Dottie was sitting at her desk with her feet propped up, looking through
one of them trashy celebrity magazines.
“Looky here.” She flipped the pages taut and folded the magazine in
half. She tapped the article she wanted me to read. “It’s the account of that
photographer who had a fight with Nadine White. I bet he killed her.”
“Let me see that.” I hurried over to her, shedding my coat as I went.
“According to this, Nadine White got a restraining order against this
photographer. Her photos brought him tons of money, making her his cash
cow.”
“And he could have killed her to get revenge.” I grabbed my notebook
out of my purse and made another timeline below Dawn’s. “Does it say
what his name is?” I sat down at my desk.
“Mmmhmmm…” Dottie pulled her eye readers off the top of her head
and put them on. She lifted her chin and drew her eyes down her nose.
“Some feller by the name of Reed Fowler.”
“Reed Fowler,” I repeated and wrote his name down along the line.
“Now I have three suspects other than Abby.”
Things were looking a little better and I couldn’t wait to tell Hank about
it tonight.
“Who?” Dottie dragged her feet off the desk and took her readers off.
“I’ve got Valerie Young because Nadine White was going to take her
income away by firing her as her agent.” I quickly told Dottie how I’d
overheard Valerie and Nadine yelling when Fifi and I were walking home.
“Money can be so bad.” Dottie tsked. “It brings out the evil in people.”
“Then there’s Dawn Gentry.” I’d completely forgotten I’d not told
Dottie about the name listed as Nadine’s contact person on the rental
contract. “What do you think about that?” I asked after I told Dottie all the
sketchy stuff Dawn had done since she’d been in town. “I’m going to open
a Facebook account, so I can dig deeper into that photograph.”
 I shook the mouse hooked up to the computer and brought the blank
screen to life.
Dottie looked over my shoulder with her readers back on the edge of her
nose.
“Put your email there.” She pointed out. “Right there is a password.”
“Dottie,” I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “Do you want to
do this?”
“I want to make one for Happy Trails, but you didn’t want to do that.”
She was good at reminding me of things I’d been opposed to once the
campground started to take off. “I told you that millennials have got this
spirit to camp, glamp, and hike. They are begging for a place like Happy
Trails.”
“Fine.” I pushed my chair back. “Have at it.”
“Now you’re talking about killing two birds with one stone. We get
business, while you can use it to snoop around.” She was able to talk and
get the Happy Trails Facebook page up in no time.
We talked about Abby and how we needed to figure out if she had an
alibi, which made me wonder if she had been able to remember anything
for either Ava or Betts. Neither of them had called me, and I didn’t want to
bug them, so I’d keep trying to find new suspects. I was pretty proud of
myself so far. Three would put a little bit of doubt in Hank’s head.
“Also, I went to see Colonel Holz.” I took out my phone. “He said
Nadine’s stab wound was secondary.”
I scrolled through the photos of the autopsy report that I’d illegally
taken.
“Where’d you get those?” Dottie was caught off guard with the photos.
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” I teased and decided it was best for
her not to know. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Abby didn’t kill
her. It was something else, but he wouldn’t tell me what.”
“Let me see that.” She reached for the phone. Her eyes squinted behind
the readers as she used the tips of her fingers to make the photos bigger and
smaller. Drawing them together and then apart. “It looks like she had been
poisoned.”
“I knew it!” I grabbed the notebook. “I think Dawn Gentry poisoned the
donuts and gave one to Nadine.”
“Even if she did poison her, how did she get poison?” Dottie asked,
looking up over the top of her glasses at me.
 “I don’t know. But it’s a good theory anyways. Good enough for me to
tell Hank and he can do his detectiving to find out.” I recorded the
poisoning theory in my notebook.
“Is detectiving a word?” Dottie smiled and went back to typing on the
computer. “I’ll use the pretty lake photo from the tiki summer party we
had.” She was getting into building the Facebook page.
“Can I look around and let you finish that up in a minute?” I asked.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Got a date?” She snickered. “One
without a dead body?” She laughed louder.
“Yes. Yes, I do. It’s a do-over date. And without a dead body.” I flipped
the notebook closed and looked over her shoulder at the screen. “Look up
Dawn Gentry,” I told her. “On her page, you’ll find a photo of her and
Nadine.”
I watched her scroll down.
“There. Stop. Back,” I instructed after she scrolled right on past the
photo.
“It’s recent too.” She pointed to the date on the status, which was two
weeks ago. “Here’s the comment.” She used the pointer of the mouse to
point to the photo of the guy who’d left it. She clicked on it and brought us
to his Facebook page. “Mae,” she gasped. “Reed Fowler.”
CHAPTER 15

“G ood girl.” Dawn was sitting cross-legged on the couch when

I walked back into the RV. She was having Fifi do tricks for
treats for Mary Elizabeth, who was sitting next to her. Fifi
had been trained to do many tricks before I had her, and she was good at it.
That was one thing that made her a champion. . . until I ruined it by letting
Rosco around her.
“Still here,” I mumbled the observation, noticing that Fifi had warmed
up to Dawn. But when Dawn looked at me, her eyes were puffy and red.
“Me or her?” Mary Elizabeth asked.
“Are you okay?” I took a good look at Dawn before I went into the rage
about how I knew she was friends with Reed Fowler, the paparazzi that’d
followed Dawn to Normal.
“She didn’t kill Nadine.” Mary Elizabeth chirped up, all while rubbing
the back of Dawn’s back, comforting her.
“No. I’m not okay. My best friend is dead. Remember?” She shifted,
pushing her legs out in front of her and curling Fifi in her arms. As though
she had just processed with Mary Elizabeth had said, she retorted, “Did you
just say I didn’t kill Nadine? Of course, I didn’t kill her. I’m just not doing
well with this. No one will help me. I’ve called the police and I called that
detective. No one will tell me anything. I need to go see her.”
“We’ve talked.” Mary Elizabeth pushed Dawn’s legs together. “Honey,
southern ladies don’t sit with their legs spread as wide as Texas.”
“You’re giving her lessons in manners?” I looked at Mary Elizabeth in
disbelief. “Listen, I know that you lied to me.” I tugged my coat off and
hung it up. I took my notebook out of my purse and sat down at the table.
“You acted as though you were in Chicago when I called you this morning.
Then you told me that you were on your way. You showed up fast. Then I
found out you’d gone to the Cookie Crumble Bakery and got donuts.”
“I never once told you I was in Chicago. How did you know I live in
Chicago?” Dawn asked me with a scowl on her face.
“Her boyfriend probably told her.” Mary Elizabeth shrugged. I glared at
her.
“Who is your boyfriend?” Dawn had a demanding tone in her voice.
“Detective Hunky Hank.” Mary Elizabeth winked.
Dawn’s brows rose.
“My friend Abby Fawn is sitting in jail right now because she’s
suspected of killing your friend. If you think for one second that it sounds
perfectly normal that you lied to me about being in town and now that we
know Nadine wasn’t killed by that knife and it was pois. . .” My lips
snapped together.
“Spit it out.” Mary Elizabeth eased to the edge of the couch. “What
about the knife and something else?”
“You were going to say poison, weren’t you?” Dawn sat up next to
Mary Elizabeth, both of their beady eyes snapping at me.
“Did you poison the donut you gave Nadine? Did you kill her because
you two didn’t speak for a long time?” I questioned her like I’d seen on TV.
My voice was stern. I wanted to smack my hand down on the kitchen table
for effect, but I refrained since Fifi was already shaking from me yelling.
“This is nuts. Get a hold of yourself.” Mary Elizabeth stood up and
tugged the hem of her Christmas cardigan sweater down over the waist of
her black slacks. The bells that were sewn on the collar around Rudolph’s
neck on her sweater jingled and his nose lit up.
Fifi growled and then barked at it.
“Tell her where you were.” Mary Elizabeth drew her pointer finger from
Dawn to me to get her to do it. “Go on.”
“Fine. Nadine called me to come here for the holiday and help her bake.
I’m a pastry chef in Chicago. Though you already probably know that.” She
rolled her eyes as the sarcasm dripped from her mouth. “We’d gotten in an
argument years ago when she decided to take a pen name. I told her not to,
but she insisted she didn’t want people to know she wrote all the dirty
talking stuff.” She uncurled her arms and clasped her hands in her lap.
Mary Elizabeth pushed Dawn’s knees together. Heaven help poor Mary
Elizabeth, she was trying to keep manners alive and well while she was still
kicking.
“Nadine came to Chicago to see me. We had so much fun reconnecting.
She’d forgiven me after all these years and said that she did regret not
keeping Dembrowski as her author name. Then she said that she was going
to do this cookbook and fire Valerie. She also said that Valerie insisted she
come with her here. I told her it wasn’t a good idea if she was going to fire
her, but she insisted she owed it to Valerie to tell her in person.”
So far, everything I’d uncovered was coming together, but I still heard a
few inconsistencies and wrote a few things down in my notebook.
“Tell her where you were last night at the time of Nadine’s death.” Mary
Elizabeth tapped Dawn on the shoulder.
“I’m getting there.” Dawn sat up even straighter. “Nadine made some
sort of deal with Ty Randal to use his kitchen at night to test the recipes for
her new cookbook.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “She met with
him the day she got into town. The same day Reed Fowler showed up.”
“She also met with Hank to talk about security.” I recalled the event
well.
“Yes. She was upset about that because she gave Hank a piece of paper
with the restraining order against Reed.” Quickly I remembered the piece of
paper Nadine White had scribbled on at the diner and handed to Hank. I’d
been so focused on her flirting with him and the written words from her
steamy romance novel along with the fear she might test her words out on
him, I’d forgotten to ask him what was on the paper.
“A restraining order,” I said with a sigh of relief. “That still doesn’t
clear you of killing her. You’re jealous of her.”
“Far from it. I don’t hide behind my creations and I told her not to hide
behind her talent, but she couldn’t see far past her ego that I think that’s
what got her in trouble.” She drummed her fingertips together.
“Go on.” Mary Elizabeth encouraged her. “Tell her your alibi so we can
put this behind us and get the real killer.”
“Nadine, Ty, and I worked on a few of Nadine’s ideas yesterday
afternoon. Her recipes are really good. Ty even told her he’d let her serve
some to his customers during her stay here, so she could get some feedback.
She even took me by surprise.” She smiled at the memory of her and her
friend. “She got a phone call from Valerie.”
This got my attention.
 “Valerie had fixed up a basket of goodies to give to your local librarian,
which I’m assuming is your friend, Abby. Because I met her.” She
swallowed so hard, I could see her throat move up and down. She licked her
lips.
“Yes. You met her here.” I shrugged.
“No. I saw her when Nadine took the basket to the library. But I don’t
think she saw my face.” The lines between Dawn’s eyes deepened. “Ty and
I found a chemistry between us that lead to a passionate kiss. Abby let
herself in the diner and saw us kissing.”
You could’ve knocked my teeth out and I wouldn’t’ve felt it, her words
so caught me off guard and numbed me.
“Yeah. I think she was a little shocked and he was upset. I tried to tell
him it was no big deal and that we weren’t anything, but he said something
about this town and small talk and Abby.” She blinked several times. “I
think he even mentioned you.”
“Are you telling me you were with Ty Randal all night long and he
didn’t try to go find Abby?” I questioned. No wonder Abby was out of her
mind and shocked all night.
“Yes, but not like you’re thinking. We started drinking after Abby
wouldn’t talk to him. So I stayed there to make sure he was okay until we
practically passed out from being so tired. When I got your call, I woke up
in one of the diner’s booths. He’d left me a note on the table.” She pointed
to her jacket. “It’s in the pocket.”
I hurried over to her jacket and took the note she’d referred to out of the
pocket.
It was Ty’s scribble. I recognized it. He said he was going to go look for
Abby. He was sorry for any problems he’d caused. It was just like him to
apologize for nothing he’d done. Deep down I blamed Dawn. Though. .
.there were two sides to every story and Ty shouldn’t have kissed Dawn.
“Ty is your alibi.” I had mixed emotions about this. I was glad she
hadn’t killed her best friend, but I was sad on numerous levels for
Abby.Now I had only two suspects. “You’re going to need to tell Hank all
of this. He’s coming here for supper tonight.”
I told her about Hank coming over so she could figure out a place to
stay. I was going to make it easy on her and let her stay with Valerie in
Nadine’s camper since the police had cleared it, although I hadn’t seen
Valerie since the police station.
 “What do you know about Valerie’s job?” I asked. I wanted to know all
the particulars to learn why Valerie Young would have a great motive to
have killed Nadine.
“She’s the agent. She is the one who negotiates all of Nadine’s book
contracts with the publisher. All the deals she made for Nadine, she got
fifteen percent of each deal.” Dawn rubbed her fingers and thumbs together
in the money sign gesture.
“For the life of the book?” I asked.
Dawn’s chin slowly lifted up and then down.
“How long is the life of a book?” I asked.
“Forever.” Dawn’s word had some force behind it. “Even if Nadine
fired her, Valerie will still make fifteen percent of all the deals she’s made
so far. Nadine said that sales do drop off after a period of time, but. . .”
Dawn stopped.
I had a niggling feeling she was keeping something to herself.
“What? What were you going to say?” I had to get it out of her.
“I hate to even say it out loud and I’m not going to say that it will
happen with Nadine, but you see it with stars all the time.” Dawn gnawed
on the inside of the cheek. “Sometimes stars become more famous in death
than they were living, which would mean Nadine’s work so far would go up
in value.”
“You have to go tell Hank all of this now.” It made so much sense why
Valerie would kill Nadine.
“I’ll take her down to see him.” Mary Elizabeth walked over to get her
fur coat and matching hat. “Come on, honey. We need to get this over
with.”
Reluctantly, Dawn stood up.
“This town is really going to hate me now. I probably broke up a good
relationship.” Dawn put her jacket on.
“No one is going to hate you.” Mary Elizabeth looked ridiculous in that
fur, but she loved it.
The pairing of Dawn and Mary Elizabeth struck me as odd, but it kept
them both out of my hair.
“You can even stay with me tonight.” Mary Elizabeth winked at me on
her way out.
After they left, I went back over my notebook and notes, crossing Dawn
off my list, but not Reed or Valerie.
 I jerked the door open when I heard a knock.
“What did you forget?” I asked and found Hank standing there holding
a brown bag of Chinese food.
“You forgot me, didn’t you?” He looked hurt.
“Not at all.” I opened the RV door wide to let him in. “Mary Elizabeth
and Dawn Gentry just left. They’re going to the station to give her
statement.”
“Yeah. I know about that.” He picked up Fifi, who was yapping at him.
“Let’s take her for a walk before we eat so we can have some time to talk.”
I wanted to run to the bathroom to get a look in the mirror but there was
no sense in doing that. He’d already seen me and if I was going to put on all
that snow garb, it wouldn’t make a difference anyways.
“Fifi,” I called her name and held up her coat. She bounced over with a
wagging tail and yipped until I got the coat on her.
“Ty came to see Abby at the station. She was pretty upset,” Hank told
me pretty much the same thing Dawn had said.
It turned out to be a nice winter night for a stroll. The snow had stopped,
and the stars were out. Along with the moon, they shined so bright they lit
our way.
“I know Ty and I aren’t the best of friends, but I do kinda feel for the
guy.” Hank reached over. His gloved hand took my gloved hand as we
walked through the campground with Fifi darting in and out of the snow
piles in front of us. “I got you from him,” he teased.
“Stop it. He’s more suited for Abby. I just don’t know what happened
with Dawn and him.” It was so out of character for Ty. “It gives him and
Dawn an alibi.”
“And Abby too.” He pulled me to him. “I figured I’d tell you that and
you’d wrap your arms around me, giving me another one of those kisses.”
“You are ruthless.” I shoved him away. When our arms extended, our
fingers locked together harder and I tugged him back. “Tell me how she’s
got an alibi?”
“Well, since you already bribed Colonel into telling you the stab was the
secondary wound that happened after Nadine’s heart had already stopped,
Abby has an alibi for up until she found Nadine. One being the time frame
she was at the diner in shock. She then ran over to the library and that’s
when she found Nadine. By then, Nadine had been dead an hour.”
 “That’s when Abby was at Queenie’s Jazzercise class.” I dropped his
hands and clapped my hands together in delight. I turned to Hank. “You’re
right! I could just kiss you, but. . .” I reached down and grabbed two
handfuls of snow, making the biggest snow ball and throwing at him.
He ran after me with Fifi yipping on our heels. He tackled me to the
ground. Both of us were giggling like we were teenagers.
“You sure are something else, Mae West.” Hank’s voice created an echo
in the night sky as both of us fell on our backs into the fluffy snow.
“This is great snow for snow angels.” I swiped my arms and legs open
and closed in the deep snow to make one.
Even if I’d not figured out who’d killed Nadine White, the weight of
worrying about clearing Abby was lifted off of me.
“Let’s go. I’m starving.” Hank and I stood up in front of our snow
angels. “Aww. Cute.”
“They are cute.” I smiled and made a mental picture in my head of the
two snow angels that looked like they were holding hands, so I wouldn’t
forget this time. It was adorable. And when Hank heard all my theories
about Nadine’s killer, he might regret he’d asked me to keep my nose and
ear to the ground.
“Something on your mind?” He looked at me out of the corner of his
eye as we were walking back to the RV. “Do I dare ask if it’s about Nadine
White?”
“Since you dare, I shall tell you,” I teased hoping to cut through the
tension I was feeling about it. “I think Valerie Young has a strong motive
since she was Nadine’s agent. It’s been no secret that everyone who had
come in direct contact with Nadine said that she was going to fire Valerie.”
He was so good at listening this time without interrupting me. Or he just
tuned me out. I was going with the idea he was listening, so I continued to
tell him my theory and how Dawn had told me about the fifteen percent for
life.
“It’s true.” I agreed one-hundred percent with the idea stars sometime
become more popular in death. “Michael Jackson. Prince,” I rattled off a
couple of my all-time favorite stars. “Their album sales went through the
roof. The same could be true for Nadine White. If Valerie knew Nadine was
going to fire her, Valerie had to be thinking about her income. What better
way to make it go up then rely on the fact that Nadine White’s work would
go up in value, making her income continue. Or at least giving her a jolt of
income that could sustain her until she landed another big client.”
“You make a very good point and I agree.” Those words coming out of
his mouth made my heart soar. We were connecting on so many levels that I
truly believed my stars had aligned and my soul mate was actually right
here in front of me. In Normal, Kentucky of all places. “If we could only
find her.”
“What?” I took my coat off once we were inside and took his from him,
hanging them on the hook to dry.
He took off Fifi’s leash and handed her a treat. She grabbed it and ran to
her little bed near the front of the RV and began gnawing on it.
It was like Hank and I had a rhythm. He opened the Chinese bags and
took out the containers while I grabbed a couple of plates.
“She came to the station to talk to me after she heard about Nadine.” He
put air quotes around heard as if he didn’t believe her. He took a bottle of
wine out of one of the bags and grabbed two coffee mugs since I didn’t
have wine glasses. He poured some in each and set them down on the table.
“She said she was going to go back to the camper after we cleared it. I’ve
called the phone number she gave me, and the phone has been
disconnected. We’ve had a ranger camped out in the park behind the
camper to watch for any movement.”
“And?” I asked. We passed the containers between us, sharing them and
putting some on our plates.
“She’s not been back. Have you noticed anything?”
“No. I was waiting to go over and give my condolences while figuring
out how long she’d be staying, not to mention snoop a little.” Now I wasn’t
going to wait to just let myself in and look around. “But I’m sure y’all
combed the place.”
“We took some fingerprints. That’s about it. We found a few prints that
weren’t Abby’s at the scene and I’m hoping to see if any of them match. We
sent them off and should have those back in a day or so.” He picked at the
beef and broccoli with his fork until he found a bite.
“What about Reed Fowler?” I asked.
“What about him? We had him arrested.” Hank didn’t see it as big of a
deal as me.
“When?” I asked.
 “The day you saw me and Nadine at the diner. That was him taking
photos of her.” The images of his and Nadine’s fingers touching played in
my head as she handed him that paper, which I knew was now the
restraining order. “That’s when she told me about the restraining order she
had against him. Apparently, if anyone got wind about what she was
working on while she was here, there was a huge reward from one of those
slimy magazines.”
“Yeah. I knew that. But I think he might be a good suspect to look at
too. Because he has the monetary motive like Valerie. Plus,” I put my finger
up when Hank went to say something, so I could finish my thought, “he had
to be mad that she took out a restraining order against him and had him
thrown in jail.”
“I’d say he would be a good suspect, but he’s still in jail. His hearing to
post bond was postponed due to the judge not being able to get to the
courthouse in this weather.” Hank’s words deflated me.
I sure thought my sleuthing skills were getting better and better.
“Okay, then. . .” I sighed deeply and reached over to the kitchen counter
from my chair to grab the notebook. “I’ve got to cross him off my list.”
That only left me with one person. Valerie Young.
Not only did she have the perfect motive, she’d disappeared. Looked
guilty to me.
CHAPTER 16

T he next morning, I woke up with the early alarm to get ready for the
early shift at the office since it was my turn to open. There was a
text on my cell phone from Ava Grady.
Ava: All taken care for you. Got Abby in the right frame of mind. She
remembered where and what happened. Obviously, didn’t kill the author.
You owe me $400. I dropped her off at your friend Queenie’s house. You
can find her there.
I gulped back the amount. It was worth it since she got Abby off.
Instead of thinking anymore about paying Ava, I went ahead and Venmo’d
the amount to her. It was a form of payment sort of like PayPal. I put the
phone back on the nightside table.
“Are you ready to get up?” I put my hand on Fifi, who was sleeping on
the pillow next to me. She was all curled up in a tight ball with her little
eyes open. “I feel the same way.” I pulled the quilt up to my chin. “Just a
few more minutes.”
A knock at the door ruined that thought. It made Fifi jump up with a yip
or two.
“Do you think it’s Hank?” The excitement of the possibility it was him
made me jump out of bed and dart to the door. I picked up Fifi first. If I
didn’t do that, she’d dart out the door and that wasn’t going to happen,
especially since I didn’t have on the right clothes to chase her in the snow.
“Hi. I’m Laura.” The young woman I’d invited to come to the library to
meet Nadine White was standing at my door. “I heard the news about
Nadine White and I just had to come here. I went to the office, but the note
said to come here.” She shivered as she stood on the bottom step.
 “Come in.” I opened the door for her. Fifi shivered after she stuck her
little black nose out the door. She ran back into the bedroom where I’m sure
she was snuggled up again on the pillow. “I just got up, but I’ll make us
some coffee.”
If I remembered correctly in my morning brain fog, Laura was drinking
coffee at the diner when I’d met her.
“Thank you,” she gratefully sighed. “I’ve not slept all night.”
“I heard Nadine was going to mentor you.” Valerie had mentioned that
in hopes it’d make Nadine look a little nicer. I worked around the kitchen
getting the coffee grounds in the maker and turning the button on for the
coffee maker to brew. Within seconds, the RV smelled like the yummy
aroma that started to wake up my senses.
“Yeah. I even dropped off my manuscript to her and I’ve been trying to
get in touch with Valerie Young about it, but she won’t call me back.” Laura
fumbled with the buttons on her wool coat. “I just went by the camper to
stay there until she came out, but the car isn’t there and she’s not there
either.”
“Valerie hasn’t been back in a day or so.” I was really starting to think
she was the one who did kill Nadine. “Did you hear Valerie and Nadine
argue or fight when you dropped off your book?”
“No, but Nadine did tell me that she and Valerie were parting ways. She
said that Valerie was so mad at her for it. They were going to meet for
supper at that The Red Barn and discuss it before Nadine took some sort of
I’m sorry package to Abby, which by the way,” Laura lifted her hands to her
chest, “I’m so happy to hear she’s no longer a suspect. Abby is one of the
reasons I love going to the library. I can sit in there for hours and she’s so
kind. She’s always bringing me coffee.”
“Speaking of coffee.” I grabbed two mugs from the hooks off the wall
where they hung and poured me and Laura a nice big cup. “Cheers.”
“Here’s to finding out who killed Nadine.” Her voice trailed off with
deep sadness. “Or at least finding Valerie so I can get my book back.”
“No doubt. Is it the only copy you have?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m very old school. I even use a typewriter.” She laughed with
the mug up to her mouth. The steam of the hot coffee parted down the
middle as her breath hit it. “I knew better than to give her the only copy, but
it’s Nadine White. She offered, and I jumped at it.”
 “At least you know she was interested.” I shrugged thinking how awful
Laura must’ve felt to get so close to a famous author looking at her work.
“Plus, I’m sure it’s hard to put all your heart into it and have someone
critique it.”
“Yes. That’s the hardest part of trying to fulfill my passion to write.
Getting thick enough skin to let someone tear it apart.” She took a sip. “But,
then it only makes you a better writer. If you’re open to the criticism.”
“That would be hard,” I said and sipped more coffee.
We talked about her dreams and how she’d decided to become a writer.
It was fascinating watching her talk. The passion she had for it poured out
of her. She spoke about the written word and all the books that’d changed
her life. It was nice to be reassured there were still passionate people in the
world.
“You’re going to make it. You are very determined.” I couldn’t help but
notice her focus and drive.
“Thank you for the coffee.” She pointed to my notebook on the counter.
“Can I write my phone number in case Valerie comes back or you find my
manuscript in the camper?”
“Yes. No problem.” I opened the notebook to the back and ripped out a
page for her to write down her number. “I’ll talk to Detective Sharp to see if
it’s okay that I go in there, even though they’ve cleared it.”
I referred to Hank as the detective because it felt funny to even think
along the lines of a boyfriend. Even at my age, was he a boyfriend? A
companion? After last night and the few kisses, I’d like to think it was more
than companionship. It was something that I needed to let unfold naturally
and not push it. He was someone I really wanted to date and see where this
thing would go, not run him off.
“That’d be great.” She scribbled down her number and grabbed her
coat.
Fifi ran down the hallway back into the room. She scratched on the
door.
“I’ll follow you out.” I put my feet into my snow boots before wrapping
up in my coat and snapping Fifi’s leash on her collar. “Fifi needs to go out.”
I couldn’t help but look across the lake at the camper Nadine had rented.
The outside Christmas lights were on, but the car wasn’t there and the
camper was completely dark. I found that most campers who rented from
me always kept a light on. They felt safer, at least that’s what they’d said.
 Fifi didn’t take long to do her business. Within a half hour of Laura
leaving, I’d gotten my shower and was dressed for the day. It was going to
be cold and I knew I wanted to check out Reed on Facebook and see how I
could find him. He and Valerie were two people I still believed had great
motive to kill Nadine.
Nadine had a restraining order against Reed. She was a big pay day to
anyone who could reveal what she was working on. If they only knew it
was a cookbook. Then there was Valerie. She had the biggest motive
between the two. Her entire income was based on her being Nadine’s agent.
If Nadine didn’t keep her as her agent, Valerie’s income would drop, though
she’d still have a steady flow from the past book deals she’d made for
Nadine. Plus the assumption of Nadine’s worth going up after death, like
Dawn had suggested, was a real thing. At least, real enough to have killed
her for it.
I flipped open the notebook where I’d written all of it down. Everything
Laura had told me about Nadine’s thoughts on Valerie were spot on with
why now I knew it was more important than ever to find Valerie Young.
CHAPTER 17

I was happy to see the snow had really stopped. Not that I didn’t love it,
but I was looking forward to spending the time with old and new
friends at the monthly themed party Christmas Dinner at the
Campground on Christmas Day, which was just a few days away.
It would be a much-needed break from all the hullabaloo of the murder.
Hopefully, Hank would get the word out nationally that they were on the
lookout for Valerie Young. Last night before he left, he did say they’d called
in the FBI to get her on the most wanted list, which meant that any
sleuthing from this point on was just merely for my curious side.
Which was in full bloom, since I found myself going over to the camper
Nadine had rented after I’d gone to the office, checked the voicemails, and
answered a few emails while I waited for more coffee to brew to keep me
warm on my walk down there.
The camper was one of the cutest little things I’d ever seen, and I hoped
Nadine had found some joy in staying there while she was here. She
certainly wasn’t messy. Her suitcase was still on the bed with it open. I
looked through it and noticed she’d brought items that were comfy like
leggings, a few big sweaters, and some fuzzy socks. It looked like a writer
ready to hunker down outfit to me. If there were such a thing.
The items in the bathroom were what I’d expected to see from a famous
person. Only the best haircare products and perfumes that I’d gotten
accustomed to when I was married to Paul West. Those items were long in
my past and the Dollar Tree was my cosmetics counter since I had a limited
income. Even seeing Nadine’s things didn’t tug at my heartstrings or make
me long for those items. It was just stuff. What I felt inside and had gained
from Normal was a true family, friends, community, and a sense of
belonging.
All of this nostalgia made me think of Mary Elizabeth. At some point, I
was going to have to live up to my promise and sit down with her to discuss
whatever it was she wanted to discuss about our relationship.
After going through the camper one more time, I figured no one was
going to come back. As I began to pick up the items to take up to the office,
I looked under things to try to find Laura’s manuscript. Wouldn’t that be a
great Christmas gift I could give her.
“Yoo-hoo!” Mary Elizabeth’s voice called out from the front of the
camper. “I seen you come in here, May-bell-ine.”
I truly wished she’d just call me Mae.
“Back here,” I called back and swallowed my emotions. “Why don’t
you come back here and help me get Nadine’s things together for Dawn.”
I didn’t have to repeat myself. She was back there before I could pick
up anything else to put in the suitcase.
“How did the date go?” She smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “Darlin’,
he’s cuter than a litter of puppies,” she gushed.
I couldn’t help but smile. Mary Elizabeth always had a way with words
and with how she saw the world. When I was living with her, it just got on
my nerves. Now I actually liked hearing them again. That’s why I decided
to tell her about the date and how we’d made snow angels.
“I know it seems so childish, but Paul was so much older than me when
we briefly dated.” I put the makeup items in Nadine’s bag. “I wasn’t truly
enjoying just living. Paul threw me into the social scene and all the fine
things that money could buy.”
As I talked about my life with Paul and how I’d finally realized money
wasn’t what was important to me anymore, the more I saw she was truly
listening. Not interrupting or even giving her advice. She was actually not
butting in but listening to what I was saying.
“I guess I better stop rambling and get back to the office.” I closed the
suitcase and looked at Mary Elizabeth. Her silence was deafening. There
were some tears rolling down her face. “Are you okay?”
“This.” She held her hands open towards me. “You. You have turned out
to be a joy. I know it was hard for you to come live with me. You had your
own mama, but I felt so sorry for you. I wanted to try to give you a different
life than you knew before so the pain you were feeling from your old life
was not at bad.”
It was my turn to truly listen to her. I’d never let her do that. I sat on the
edge of the bed in front of her and let her talk.
“I love your curls.” She reached out and touched my hair. “I wanted you
to be so happy and I knew those little rich girls could be so mean. I only
wanted you to fit in and have a life where no one felt sorry for you because
you were orphaned. I wanted them to see the true beautiful you and for you
not hide behind your curls. That’s why I got your hair straightened. That’s
why I made you take so many classes.” She wiped the tears from her face.
“I see now that you found your way. Without me, you found your way.”
She sat down next to me. There we were sitting on a camper bed next to
each other in silence. An act so simple, though we found it so hard to do
years ago without fighting one another, when we truly wanted best for each
other.
“Mary Elizabeth, I’m so grateful you gave me a home. It wasn’t your
job to fix me. I was and will always be so sad about my family. But I wasn’t
mature enough to see the life that you were trying to give me. I was a
teenager that thought you were trying to take my mom’s place. Trying to
undo everything they’d ever taught me.” I pointed to my chest. “But I know
that she gave me the best of her and you gave me the best of you, making
me who I am in here.”
“I do love you, Mae,” she said the words I longed to hear for the ten
years I’d been gone.
“I love you too,” I gulped back my pride, “Mom.”
Her tears turned to sobs as she grabbed me in one of her big southern
mama hugs that she tried to give me when I was younger. It felt right giving
her the title she had tried so hard to get. For the first time, I truly felt like
my own mom would want me to give Mary Elizabeth that title from her as
her gift from heaven.
There were no other words said between us as we sat on that bed for
what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes.
“Now, we got that out of the way.” She stood up and brushed off her
sweater like she was just sweeping it all away. It was her way of brushing it
under the rug and moving on. This conversation would never be spoken of
again, we both knew that. “We need to head to the office with this stuff and
work on our investigation.”
 “About that. . .” I showed her out of the camper and sent a quick text to
Henry that he could clean the camper and get it ready for the next renter.
On our trek through the snow on our way back to the office, I told her
about Reed being in jail for breaking the restraining order and how Valerie
had skipped town, making the FBI’s list of most wanted for the murder of
Nadine White. I also told her about Laura’s manuscript and how I’d been
trying to find it in the camper.
Mary Elizabeth poured herself a cup of coffee and refilled my cup once
we were back in the office, out of the cold.
“I bet Valerie has it and is going to publish it herself.” Mary Elizabeth
made a light bulb go off in my head.
“What did you say?” I asked. A text chirped from my pocket.
“I said that Valerie probably took it and will publish it for herself.”
“You!” I jumped for joy.
“What? That screamin’ of yours would scare the beard off Jesus!” She
looked shocked.
“I think you just solved the last piece of the puzzle.” I couldn’t be any
happier in this moment.
“Me?” She drew back.
“What if Valerie Young was Nadine White’s ghost writer?” When the
words came out of my mouth, I knew I was right. I grabbed Nadine’s renter
file and my purse. “I need you to watch the office while I go somewhere.”
CHAPTER 18

I tried calling Hank on my way to the Bluegrass Airport in Lexington

since I knew I couldn’t text him while I was driving. I had to tell him
that I remembered Valerie mentioning something about a meeting with
the publisher in a couple of days. That meant it was today. It also reminded
me how much Valerie was trying to change Nadine’s mind about the
cookbook concept and was trying to get her to do another romance with the
ghost writer. She was so determined that I just knew that Valerie was the
ghost writer. And that was why Nadine had to get rid of her.
Not the fact she was the agent, she was the writer and Nadine was not
going to have her name on those books anymore. She wanted a clean break
and the only way out was doing what was in her heart. A cookbook.
It all made sense in my head and when I started to fumble my words on
Hank’s answering machine, I just gave up.
“Forget it. Call me. I’m driving to Lexington to see if I’m right and the
meeting is happening.” I threw the phone down in the seat and drove the
curvy roads.
I was happy to see the county road was cleared and that I even passed a
few salt trucks with plows. County roads were the first ones maintained
during snow emergencies. Sometimes it took forever to get somewhere
when one of the salt trucks got in front of you, but today I was grateful for
the clear path that was leading me exactly where I needed to be.
I parked in short-term parking and hurried inside. I knew if Valerie and
the publisher were meeting, they had to meet outside of the secured part
since Valerie didn’t have a plane ticket to get inside the security, unless
she’d recently bought one. I let all those things float out of my mind
because I trusted that Hank had done his job and put traces on the rental car
and flagged Valerie’s name, alerting him or the FBI if she’d tried to get a
plane ticket. At least, that’s what the sleuths on TV did. From my
experience, they weren’t too terribly different.
As if divine intervention had crossed my path, in the distance on a
couch near the baggage claim sat Valerie Young and a man in a suit.
“Valerie,” I had walked up behind her. She turned her head and then
adjusted her body to turn slightly behind herself.
“Mae.” Nervously, she looked between me and the man. “Dan, this is
Mae West. A friend of mine.” Her words were so convincing, for a second,
I thought I was wrong. “Mae, this is Dan. He’s Nadine’s editor. We were
just discussing how we are going to approach Nadine’s last book she was
working on.”
The man stood up and shook my hand. His grip was so hard, it nearly
took me to my knees. He gave me a good hard stare that frightened me.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I jerked my hand back before he
stopped the blood flow and my hand fell off my arm.
Valerie gave Dan her polite smile and excused herself. The horn above
the carousel in the baggage claim sounded and the belt started to move,
sending luggage from a flight down and around, making a screeching noise.
“Why did you kill her? Are you her ghost writer?” I asked, though the
sound was so loud I had to be louder.
“Keep your voice down.” She glared at me. Her jaw tensed. “I had to do
what I had to do.”
“You are a murderer and I’m calling Hank to let him know I found
you.” I reached around my pocket for my phone and realized I’d thrown it
on the seat in my car after I’d left Hank a message.
Valerie reached out and grabbed me by my arm, digging her nails into
me. I winced from the pain.
“You’re not going to call anyone. You are going to go over there with
me and get this deal done so I can have one last book published. Then, if
you are a good girl, I might just be kind and kill you fast. If you aren’t the
good girl like your foster mom wishes you were, then your death will be
slow and painful.” Her words sent chills all over me. She didn’t leave any
room for negotiation for my life. Either way she was going to kill me.
I did what she said and walked back over to Dan with her death grip
now on the flappy part of my upper arm. She pinched it so hard, I was in
pain. While she made her deal with Dan, it would give me time to figure out
what I needed to do to alert the security officer just feet away from me that I
was taken hostage by a crazy lady. My heart was beating. My palms were
sweating. My mouth was dry. It seemed like we were sitting there forever,
and my brain had gone to mush. I couldn’t think past beyond the pain of her
stepping on my toe.
“That settles it.” She had the toe of her shoe on my boot, pressing down,
letting me know that she was well aware I was still there and that we had a
deal. “I’ll write the next book with the sweet town setting and all the family
and relationships as Nadine White’s last novel. I’m glad we agreed to a
final settlement of a one million dollars advance.” She had the contract
they’d just negotiated in her hands.
“Not before we write up the ending.” Hank Sharp had walked up behind
the couch and put a heavy hand on Valerie Young’s shoulder, causing her to
wince out in pain. “Thank you, Dan.”
I jumped to my feet. Dan opened his shirt to show where there was a
wire taped to him.
“I thought you were going to blow my cover,” Dan gasped for air. “I
was dying sitting there. Valerie Young can be a mean person.”
“Are you really the editor?” I was so confused by what was going on.
“Yes. The FBI contacted the publishing house and we sent over all the
contracts. Valerie Young was a ghost writer for her and that’s when they
told me to keep this meeting. They didn’t give me a choice not to be wired
up.” Dan finished off telling me about Nadine and how she’d come to the
publishing house.
Dan told us that Valerie had once been a great writer, but turned crazy
after they broke her publishing contract and became an agent. She saw
Nadine as fresh talent and knew she could enhance it. That’s when Nadine
talked Valerie into co-writing using her as a ghost writer. All these years
Nadine had felt stuck in a writing relationship she didn’t find true to her
heart.
“That was close.” I was so happy to have Hank walk me back to my car.
“When I saw you walk into the airport, my heart sank. I wasn’t about to
let anything happen to you now that I found you.” Hank brushed my curls
out of my face. His hand rested on my cheek. “It was then that I realized
that you stole my heart the first time I saw you with the lake scum all in
your hair.”
 “That awful day.” I had just moved to the campground and the lake was
nasty. I was standing on the rickety pier with Henry trying to figure out
what I needed to do to get the lake looking good so I could sell the darn
campground. The pier gave way and both of us fell into the lake just as
Hank and his then partner were driving up to question me about Paul’s
escape from jail. I had nasty moss and scum stuck in my hair and I was
drenched from head to toe.
“You were so natural in that moment. So vulnerable even though you
gave me heck and hated the campground.” He moved his other hand to the
other side of my cheek, cradling my face. “Don’t scare me like this again.”
“I called to tell you where I was going.” I stared into his big green eyes
and could feel my heart warm.
“If you don’t hear from me, don’t do it.” He warned me, sealing it with
a kiss.
“You mean, you’re going to keep using me in your investigations?” I
smiled.
CHAPTER 19

I flipped on the radio station on my way back to Normal. Christmas

tunes were playing, and I was singing along to Here Comes Santa
Claus just as the snow started to tumble out of the sky. It was going to
be a wonderful Christmas now that Nadine White’s killer had been taken
into custody.
I’d checked my phone messages before I’d hit the road. The text that’d
come through earlier that I didn’t read was from Christine at the Cookie
Crumble Bakery. She said she was ready to start on the candy cane donuts
for the Christmas Dinner at the Campground that was in a couple of days.
Today Dottie had planned to get all the decorations and paperware for
the dinner before she had to come to work. With Mary Elizabeth at the
office, I gave her a quick call to make sure she was okay and to let her
know that I was going to run by the Milkery to get the ingredients Christine
needed before I came back to finish my day at the office. I also gave her a
brief rundown of what had happened at the airport.
I knew by the time I ran my errand, news about what had taken place at
the airport would be all over Normal and I’d be fielding calls left and right.
Since the snow plows had put down salt, the big falling flakes were
melting on impact, making it the perfect time for me to visit the Milkery.
There were large silos around the property with the dairy’s name printed on
each of them. The cows were all huddled together on one side of the
Kentucky post fence up the drive and the other side looked to be enclosed
chicken houses where the free-range chickens lived.
“What on earth are you doing out here?” I heard someone call out to me
when I got out of my car.
“Laura,” I was happy to see her. “What are you doing here?”
 “I live here.” She held a metal pail with chicken eggs stacked to the top.
“My aunt and uncle own the farm and I work it.”
“That’s so cool. I’ve never been here.” I looked around and tried to
picture just how colorful it was during the warmer months. Currently, the
trees that surrounded the farm were bare and the white snow covered
everything. “I’m here to get some ingredients for Christine over at the
Cookie Crumble Bakery to make her candy cane donuts for my Christmas
Dinner at the Campground.” I smiled. “Say, you and your aunt and uncle
should come.”
“I’ll see. They take Christmas around here pretty seriously.” She nodded
towards the farm house sitting off into the distance. “Come on, I’ll show
you around.” She set the basket of eggs on the picnic table along the way.
“Christine called and said someone would be by to get enough ingredients
for over one-hundred donuts, but she didn’t say it was you. Those eggs are
part of your order.”
“Wow. It fascinates me how this place works and how our community
really supports each other.” It was such a great feeling to have at this time
of the year and it really enhanced the season of giving.
“I’m pretty fortunate that my aunt and uncle really believe in my
writing. You know it’s hard to be a writer.” She didn’t tell me anything I
hadn’t figured out over the past few days.
“Speaking of writers.” I had to tell her about Valerie. “They’ve Valerie
in custody for killing Nadine.”
“Really?” She asked with big eyes right before we took off our boots to
head into the farm house. “What happened?”
I told her all about how Mary Elizabeth had given me the idea that
Valerie was the ghost writer and how I vaguely remembered her saying the
publisher or someone from the publishing house was going to be meeting
them at the airport.
“He was wired? She confessed?” Laura seemed to be a little stunned.
“That’s so wild.”
We had some chit-chat about the process Valerie would go through with
murder charges while she showed me the house and her typewriter where
she did her work.
“I did break down and ask for a laptop for Christmas to write on.” She’d
finally given in to technology.
 “Good for you.” I looked around the office. The view from the window
was amazing. Off in the distance were the mountains of the Daniel Boone
National Park. Somewhere in there was Happy Trails Campground. “This is
really an inspiring view to write to,” I said louder than normal after Laura
had excused herself to go to the bathroom.
I leaned on the desk to see what was below the window and my foot
knocked over a trash can full of papers.
I bent down to pick them up and noticed the red ink all over them.
“There is way too much dialog in this. You’ll never get to be a writer if
you don’t start adding descriptions,” I read out loud.
I put that paper down and picked up a fistful. All of them had red
writing on them and nothing good to say. Each comment was worse than
the other. The last page I picked up had a longer paragraph.
“You cannot be a writer at this time. I will not be able to mentor you
until you get some writing classes under your belt. You are going to waste
your time and mine until you figure out the structure of sentences and the
proper usage of verbs, pronouns, and emotions. Your characters have the
emotions of a white Saltine cracker. And you didn’t bring me along with the
plot. Each chapter has to have something to do with the romance. Your
lovers go for pages without a kiss. Good luck, you’re going to need it.
Nadine,” my voiced trailed. I blinked several times to make sure I was
actually seeing what I was seeing.
“What did you say?” Laura came back into the room. Her eyes focused
on my hands where I was holding the manuscript she told me that Nadine
had and she hadn’t gotten back. “You weren’t supposed to find that.”
“I thought you said. . .” Images of the eggs, donuts, the thought of
poison appeared in my head. “You have access to the ingredients.”
“Oh, now you’re going to figure it out?” She let out a spurt of evil
laughs. “I really should’ve tried my hand at crime fiction, because in real
life, I’ve definitely pulled it off.”
“You?” I asked confused as to why.
“Yeah, me. I don’t know how I lucked out with Valerie showing up and
stabbing Nadine in the neck after she was already dead from the poison I
had put in her special milk she had asked for to bake with.” She unhooked
the belt from around her waistband and snapped the straps together, making
me jump. “It was perfect, really. Nadine whatever her name is deserved to
die. She was so jealous of my talent that she wrote those terrible words, so I
wouldn’t take away her readers.”
Now I knew Laura was delusional and it looked like she would have no
problem killing me with that belt. I put my hands up to my neck as she
walked closer and closer to me.
“She gave me the manuscript with all the writing on it. She knew I
couldn’t send it off to publishers like that. I am going to have to retype it
all, but without her around, it just makes the door wide open for me to claim
my destiny.” She inhaled with a big smile on her face. A look of satisfaction
in her eyes. “She gave it to me that afternoon then asked me if I could
supply her with the special milk. Oh yeah. I did. I even delivered the milk
to her at the Normal Diner and waited. I didn’t realize she was going to go
to the library, but it was perfect because I followed her there and when she
was in the office I watched as the poison took her last breath. It was so
satisfying.”
She stopped when she got a foot closer to me.
“Do you want me to tell you how she convulsed, falling into the chair,
and I stood over her spouting off her lies about my book?” She grinned,
bringing the belt level with my neck. “I’d been there a little, while making
sure I would see her take her last breath. Then, I heard the front doors of the
library open and hid behind the office desk. “Nadine’s back was to the door
as she sat there dead in the chair. I heard Valerie call her name and before I
knew it, Nadine’s body had dropped to the ground. Her face pointed at me
while her eyes were open with a knife sticking straight out of her neck.”
As the faint sounds of sirens swirled in the air outside, my head told me
help was on the way, letting me take a few deep breaths to regain my
senses. When Laura turned her head toward the sirens, I jumped on her,
tackling her to the ground.
She grabbed a fistful of my hair, sending my head back. She karate
chopped my neck, making me gag and stumble to my knees. She lunged,
wrapping her fingers around my neck and squeezing as tight as she could.
There was pressure on my esophagus. My lungs gasped for air, but a
raspy wheeze escaped me. I tugged on both of her wrists to try to pry her
hands off of me. Her mouth was open. Her teeth were clenched. Her eyes
looked dead. She was a killer.
“Let her go!” Hank yelled. My eyes caught sight of him standing behind
her with his gun pointed at her.
 “Shoooooooot,” I tried to say in a last-ditch effort to save myself.
A shot rang out. Ringing in my ears forced my eyes closed. Laura’s
hands fell away from my neck as she fell to the ground, grasping her leg.
Before I could even recover a full breath, Hank had her on the ground with
her hands cuffed behind her back.
CHAPTER 20

“M erry Christmas!” Mary Elizabeth entered the recreation

center in her full-length fur coat and matching hat. Her
hands were full of presents.
“Merry Christmas,” I hurried over and greeted her, Bobby Ray right
behind me. He grabbed the presents and I grabbed her, giving her a big
southern hug. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” Hank Sharp came over and hugged her too. He
looked so handsome in the ugly Christmas sweater that was on the flyer put
up around town.
“My goodness.” Mary Elizabeth pulled back. Her eyes drew up and
down his body. “Even in that ugly sweater, you’re finer than a frog hair split
six ways.” She licked her lips.
“Stop it right now.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re early. We are getting all
the tablecloths on the tables and the food will be delivered any minute.
“I brought a friend.” As she said that, Dawn Gentry walked in. Of
course her Christmas sweater had a Santa in a biker outfit on it. “I’ve got
news. We’ve got news.” Mary Elizabeth nudged Dawn. “Tell her.”
“As you know, Kelli Sergeant and her husband put the Milkery Dairy
Farm up for sale since they think their niece has ruined them.” She smiled
so big that I already knew what was coming. “Since I’m a chef and Mary
Elizabeth is looking to move closer to her children…” obviously she was
referring to me and Bobby Ray.
“We’ve decided to buy it and partner up!” Mary Elizabeth was worse
than Bobby Ray. She couldn’t wait for Dawn to tell it and he couldn’t wait
to open his presents.
 He was already through three of the ones Mary Elizabeth had brought
him.
“Really?” I bounced with excitement. “That’s wonderful news!”
I never in a million years thought I would say that I was happy to be
living near my foster mother again. Especially after her no-nonsense talk
had led me to pin the murder on Valerie. According to the final autopsy
report, and what clued Hank in, was the timing of the stab wound and how
the poisonous mushroom Boletus had been found in her system. It just so
happened that Ty and Dawn didn’t try the recipe that called for special milk.
That’s how they weren’t poisoned. When Hank interviewed Dawn, she told
him about the local writer who had dropped off the milk, but it didn’t click
until he’d gotten a call from Colonel Holz while taking Valerie Young back
to the station.
It was Valerie who told him Laura’s name. He put two and two together.
That type of mushroom was found in the Daniel Boone National Park,
which lead him to believe it was Laura who had poisoned the milk she gave
to Nadine out of anger over the bad review Dawn said Nadine had told her
about.
When he called me at the office and Mary Elizabeth told him I was
running out to the Milkery to pick up the ingredients for the candy cane
donuts, he knew he had little time to get out there before I put two and two
together.
“Hey, are you okay?” Hank walked up behind me and wrapped his arms
around me, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“I’m more than okay.” I twisted around. Despite the noise from the
caterers setting up the Christmas dinner that’d come from Normal Diner
and from Christine setting up the dessert station, I got lost in Hank’s eyes.
“I’m happier than I ever thought I could be.”
I took his hand in mine and turned back around. Everything and
everyone that I loved was in this room. It was one of the best Christmases
I’d had in a long time.
Dottie was holding Fifi as she, Queenie, Betts, and Abby were huddled
in a corner. Ty and Abby had made up. There definitely wasn’t any
chemistry between him and Dawn that I could see.
Then it happened. The Laundry Club circle opened just as I let go of
Hank’s hand and joined my friends. Only I wasn’t the only stranger they let
into their group. Dawn Gentry was the newest member of the Laundry
Club.

Want more of Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies?

The next book in the series, MOTORHOMES, MAPS, & MURDER, is
available to purchase or read in Kindle Unlimited. CLICK HERE! And read
on for a sneak peek.
 Chapter One of Book Five
Motorhomes, Maps, & Murder

“Why didn’t they teach us about this in school?” I asked Queenie French,
who was standing over the conference table in the Normal Public Library,
about the history of the Battle of Camp Wildcat.
She didn’t stop looking over the map of the Daniel Boone National Park
where the Battle of Camp Wildcat had taken place during the Civil War.
“They oughta since it happened right here in our state.” She shook her
head and a strand of short blonde hair escaped from a bobby pin. She
pointed to Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail near the Happy Trails
Campground, the campground I owned and called home.
“That there trail played a big part.” She pulled the bobby pin from her
hair and pried it apart with her teeth and fingertips before she snugged the
wayward hair to her head. “Colonel Theophilus T. Garrard stood right there
commanding the thousands of men in his troop.” She reached down and
unzipped her fanny pack, taking out a few more bobby pins and sticking
them all over her head.
“You put on this reenactment every year during the spring?” I
questioned the accuracy of the event since the real battle took place the
morning of October 21, 1861.
At least that’s what I’d read in the Normal Gazette, the local newspaper,
in the section where they’d been featuring the reenactment to help spread
the word.
“Mmmhmm,” her lips pressed together as she stood up straight, pushing
the orange headband up on her forehead a little more. “During the spring
was when they got word of the invasion. It took all summer to gather the
troops and get them in position. Our first few reenactments were in October
on the actual battle day, but the weather gets so wonky here that every year
it was either raining or snowing, making it hard for everyone to sit outside
all day.” She laughed. “You should’ve seen old Henry the last year we had
it in October.” She was talking about my handyman at Happy Trails. “It was
cold as all get out. He nearly froze to a popsicle while he laid there the four
hours. He was the first one dead.”
“What?” I’d never been to a reenactment, much less participated in one.
All of this seemed really fascinating to me.
 “What do you mean, what?” Her eyes lowered, giving me the look.
“You mean to tell me you ain’t ever seen a reenactment before?”
“I have in the movie Sweet Home Alabama with Reece Witherspoon,” I
shrugged and tucked a piece of my long curly hair behind my ear.
“You’re in for a treat.” A young woman I recognized as the cashier from
Tough Nickel Thrift Shop strolled into the conference room. She had a map
in her hands and laid it on top of the one I was looking at.
“Then you seen enough of a reenactment to know that the people from
both sides who are shot have to lay there until the battle is over. It’s a real
reenactment with guns and everything, Mae.” She said my name like I
should’ve known better.
“This is why I said it should’ve been taught in school,” I said, turning
my attention back to the script that Queenie had given to all the actors. I
used the term actor very loosely, meaning me. “I figured you’d been gone
from Kentucky too long to play a good role like a nurse, so I have you
watering the horses for the soldiers near their camp site.” She handed me an
apron that’d seen better days. “You’ll put this overtop your uniform.”
“Reporting that there’s no signs of typhoid fever, smallpox, measles,
diarrhea, pneumonia, or malaria,” said the young woman as she saluted
Queenie.
Queenie beamed.
“You’re the best nurse in the war,” Queenie said as the two embraced.
“I’m Mae West.” I properly introduced myself. “I’ve seen you at the
Tough Nickel Thrift Store.”
“Yes. I have seen you come in a time or two.” She smiled at me, waves
of short, light brown hair framing her face. She had side swept bangs that
showed off her pretty blue eyes. “I’m Julip Kaye Knox.”
“She’s not just a clerk at the thrift store, she’s on the board of the
Historical Society. She knows the ins and outs of every map,” Queenie
bragged. She definitely liked Julip. “I couldn’t put on this reenactment
without her knowledge of the layout of this battle.”
“You would’ve done just fine.” Julip patted Queenie on the back.
“Excuse me while I go grab some more maps.”
Queenie wasted no time getting back to my duties as horse wrangler.
“Here.” Queenie picked up a large sealed plastic bag and shoved it
against my chest. “It’s your outfit. In addition to the apron.” She motioned
to my shoulder where I’d flung the apron. “Now, don’t you lose any part of
it. These are real, true to life uniforms. Replicas really. But you’ll find the
real ones in the Daniel Boone National Park museum located in their
offices.”
“I’ll be sure to check that out.” I took the bag from my chest and held
up it in the air when I noticed Hank Sharp beyond the hangers. He strolled
into the room like he owned it.
Our eyes met. He smiled and it traveled all the way up his green eyes.
“Good afternoon,” he said and bent down to give me a kiss.
“Hi.” I crinkled my nose and lifted my hand up to rub over his black
hair. “It looks like you got a haircut for your part.”
“Queenie insisted I had to if I was going to be a soldier.” He pulled
away from me, straightened his body, clicked his heels, and saluted
Queenie.
“Now if you two think that y’all are going to play kissy face during the
reenactment, you’re wrong. You’re on opposite sides of the battle.” She
wiggled her finger between us. “But I do like seeing the two of you happy.”
“I like making her happy.” Hank winked.
“It’s not hard to do.” I felt like a giddy teenager.
It was a very new relationship, me and Hank. Just a few months. We
didn’t see each other every day, but usually did most days. And when we
did, it was at my RV at Happy Trails. I’d yet to see his place, although I
knew from his granny, Agnes Swift, that he lived on his parents’ property in
a trailer on the south side of town, even though his parents had retired and
moved to Florida.
“Geez,” Queenie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll be right back.
I have to go get your bayonet and uniform. Not everyone can handle a
bayonet.” She wagged her finger over her shoulder at Hank on her way out
of the conference room.
I’d been in Normal for about ten months and never thought I’d find
love, especially at a campground in Kentucky.
Not that I didn’t love the campground. I had grown to love it. I’d grown
up in Kentucky, but as soon as the clock struck midnight on my eighteenth
birthday, I was on a Greyhound bus to New York City where I worked my
way through flight attendant school.
That’s when my life took a turn that changed everything. I’d met an
older, wealthy, investment man on one of my flights, who hired me as his
personal flight attendant. We fell in love, got married, and lived a life of
luxury that always seemed too good to be true. Turned out it was.
Like Queenie always says, if it seems too good to be true, it is.
If only I’d known her back then. After a few years of marriage, Paul
West had taken all his clients, including several in Normal, to the cleaners.
This put him in jail and uprooted me from my life of luxury and into a
rundown campground that he’d put in my name, which is why Happy Trails
was the only thing the government didn’t seize.
“Are you going over your lines?” Hank rubbed his hand down my back
and looked down at the script in my hand.
“You mean my one line,” I looked at the paper and continued, “Look,
the troops are coming.”
“You better put a little more oomph into it or Queenie will be mad.” His
southern drawl was like music to my ears and sent my heart soaring.
In the back of my head, I knew it was the honeymoon stage, but I was
willing to see it through.
“Detective Sharp,” he answered his ringing cell phone in his
professional cop voice. “Mmmhmm,” he hummed and stepped away from
me for some privacy.
“He’s gonna look so good in this,” Queenie said as she walked back into
the conference room and put her finger up to her mouth when she noticed
Hank was on the phone. “Won’t he?” she whispered and pulled up the
plastic over the old uniform so I could see it better.
“He will.” I laughed at the thought of seeing him in the old civil war
uniform, pretending to stab and shoot someone with the bayonet. “That
thing looks sharp.”
“Oh, it is. I only let special people have one of these. It could poke
someone’s eye out.” She gave a good hard nod. “I let him and Preacher
Hager use them.”
Preacher Hager was married to one of my and Queenie’s best friends,
Betts Hager.
“If you can’t trust a cop and preacher, who can you trust?” I joked.
“Listen, I’ve got to go.” Hank had walked back over to us. His face was
stern, and his soft green eyes had turned back into stone like they did when
he was on a case. He kissed my forehead while putting his phone back in
the pocket of his black suit pants. “I’ll call you later.”
 “What about the uniform?” Queenie called after him before he hurried
out the door.
“I’ll get it before the reenactment,” he assured her as he called over his
shoulder.
“I guess I can give it to you.” She held the uniform bag in one hand and
the bayonet in the other.
“No, thank you.” If she thought I was going to be responsible for his
uniform and bayonet and get in trouble if something happened to it, she had
another thing coming. “I’ll have enough of a hard time keeping up with
mine.”
“Mae West,” she tsked. “Don’t you be going and making me regret
putting you in the reenactment. There’s been citizens who grew up here
that’ve applied for parts and I didn’t let them participate.” She looked at me
from underneath her brows. “You get what I’m saying?”
“I’m honored.” I wasn’t about to let the sixty year old widow down -
she’d seen enough trouble in her life. “But I don’t want that thing in my
possession.” I pointed to the bayonet.
The doors of the conference room opened, and all the reenactment
actors filed in, ready to get all of their equipment for tomorrow morning’s
big performance.
“One line!” Queenie used her hands to gesture like there was an
airplane runway in front of her. “Give me your name and I’ll check it off.”
Julip came back in with a bunch of maps. Queenie ended up having me
check off each person’s name on the list as she handed them their uniform
and Julip gave them a map and a script.
During my ten months in Normal, I’d made it my mission to undo all
the wrong Paul West had done now that he couldn’t do it since he’d been
murdered. Another story for another time. But it felt good that I could stand
here and help hand out the important uniforms that this community was
built upon.
“Did you see Lester Hager come in here?” Queenie bit her lip and
looked back towards the door after the last actor has left. There was one
outfit with a bayonet left, and Preacher Hager’s name was the only one not
marked off the list.
“I didn’t.” Julip shrugged.
“I didn’t see him either. Or Betts.” My brows furrowed, realizing it was
odd that Betts hadn’t shown up, even though she didn’t have a part. She
usually attended all community events, being a successful businesswoman
and the preacher’s wife and all.
“I parked by the Laundry Club if you’d like me to take it to Betts,” I
suggested since I’d figured Betts was there doing the books for the
laundromat since it was close to tax season, something she’d been
complaining about.
“She’s not there.” Abby Fawn, the librarian, was picking up little
Styrofoam cups and stray napkins from around the room. “She called. She
and Lester have all them bible-thumping women from the church at the jail,
trying to get them prisoners some religion.” She threw the trash away and
walked over to get the sealed plastic bag and bayonet.
“Alrighty. I guess I’ll give it to him in the morning at the reenactment.
Something that I never do, but since it’s Lester, I’ll make an exception.”
Queenie hung the uniform on the back of one the of the conference chairs
and leaned the bayonet up against the table.
She removed all the bobby pins from around her head and ran her
fingers through her short hair, fluffing up the top. She put the bobby pins in
her fanny pack and adjusted it around her waist while she glanced over the
list of actors.
“I think the reenactment committee did a real good job of coordinating
everything. This went much smoother than last year,” Julip mentioned
while Abby nodded in agreement. “I’m sure everything will go perfectly
tomorrow.”
Abby took her phone out and started typing away. She was so good at
social media and used that phone to spread the word about everything going
on in Normal.
“I hear we’re expecting a few thousand people. The biggest turnout
we’ve ever had.” Queenie nudged me. “This is why we have it during the
spring. It honors the time and commitment both sides put into the battle.
Plus, the weather is nice, which means a great turnout and more donations
to the Camp Wildcat Preservation Foundation, who can use the money to
teach more youth about our great state.
“Hashtag great state, hashtag Kentucky, hashtag Camp Wildcat
reenactment, hashtag tomorrow, hashtag nine a.m.,” Abby talked out loud
as she typed her latest tweet to attract more tourists to our little hiking tow.
“Need a place to stay in hashtag Normal? Hashtag Happy Trails
Campground.”
 “Thanks for the shout out,” I said to Abby.
Abby had been instrumental in my decision to stay and get the
campground back up and running. Between my ability to talk with people
and invest in our community and Abby’s great marketing and social media
skills, Normal’s economy was thriving.
Minus the hiccups of a few murders, but that was all behind us now.
I was just hoping and praying that everything went as smoothly
tomorrow at the reenactment as Queenie expected. If history repeated itself
like it had over the last few months, there was going to be a hiccup.

MOTORHOMES, MAPS, & MURDER is now available and on KINDLE

UNLIMITED.
RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS

RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS FROM MAE WEST AND WOMEN

OF
NORMAL, KENTUCKY and THE HAPPY TRAILS CAMPGROUND
RV HACK #1 AND #2

RV Hack #1
Some campers don’t like to put holes on the walls inside of their RV and
campers, but we love the luxury of having curtains hanging on the windows
to offer that at home feel, not to mention privacy.
The sticky command hooks are the perfect item you need! All you have
to do is
Need a temporary curtain to create separation in your RV, don’t want to
drill holes into the frame, or simply want a super easy way to hang curtains.
Use command hooks to hold up your curtain rod! Command hooks, or
something similar has the perfect spacing for a small rod. And they peel
right off when you don’t want curtains anymore!
They are also great to hang Christmas lights and decorations for a
festive fun holiday!

RV/Camping Hack #2

Camping and RV’ing is a lot of fun. But that fun turns quickly south when
there’s too many pesky flies to shoo away!
Did you know that you can use Pin Sol to keep them away? Yes!
Dilute it with water to create a 50/50 solution and wipe down your
counters, tables, and awnings with it. You’ll love the enjoyment this little
hack gives you freedom from the pesky bugs.
EGG IN A BASKET

INGREDIENTS
1 slice of bread
1 egg
2 pieces bacon or ham

DIRECTIONS
Brown meat in a skillet.
Tear a hole out of the middle of the bread slice (approx. 1 1/2 in
diameter).
Place the bread slice on top of the strips of meat.
Carefully break the egg into the hole in the bread.
Cook until the egg is the desired firmness.
BAG KABOBS

INGREDIENTS
beef or chicken
1 bell peppers
mushrooms
1 onion
10 small potatoes
1 zucchini squash
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 lemon or lime
McCormick's Salt-free Chicken seasoning
powdered butter flavoring
2 Tbsp soy sauce
lemon pepper seasonings
dill

DIRECTIONS

Boil potatoes for approximately 4-5 minutes depending on size.

They should still be firm and crisp, not mushy. They will finish cooking on
the grill. Let potatoes cool completely before putting in foil bag. Chop bell
peppers, onion and zucchini squash into large pieces.

Put chopped vegetables, whole potatoes and whole mushrooms into a large
foil bag, olive oil, lemon or lime juice, soy sauce, butter flavoring, lemon
pepper seasonings, and dill.

Cut meat into large stew size pieces.

Put meat in a separate foil bag with 1/4 cup of olive oil, garlic, chicken
seasonings, butter flavoring and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.

When using more than one kind of meat, put in separate bags. Place the foil
bags into larger 2 gallon zip lock bags to store while traveling.

To cook, remove foil bags from plastic zip lock bags and grill for 8-10
minutes, turning after 5-6 minutes.

Let sit before opening bags.

APPLES ON A STICK

Apple pie anytime is amazing. But apple pie on a stick…that’s just taking it
to a whole new level! This is a fun and tasty treat any camper is sure to
enjoy.

INGREDIENTS
1 c sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
4 cooking apples
4 dowel or roasting sticks

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Push the stick or dowel through the top of the apple to the bottom until the
apple is secure.

Roast the apple 2 to 3 inches above the bed of hot coals and turn frequently.
As the apple cooks, the skin starts to brown and the juice dribbles out.

When the skin is loose, remove the apple from the coals but leave it on the
stick. Peel the skin off the apple, being careful not to burn yourself because
the apple is very hot.
CANDY CANE DONUTS

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Ingredients
Donuts
1 1/4 cups moist-style devil's food cake mix (a little less than half a box)
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup (about 2 large) egg whites or fat-free liquid egg substitute
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
Glaze 
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. unsweetened vanilla almond milk, light vanilla soymilk, or
fat-free dairy milk
2 - 3 drops peppermint extract
Dash salt
1 full-sized candy cane (or 3 minis), crushed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 6-cavity standard donut pan with
nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine all donut ingredients. Add 1/4 cup water, and mix
until completely smooth and uniform. Evenly distribute batter into the rings
of the donut pan, and smooth out the tops. (See HG Tip below.)
Bake until a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out mostly clean, about
12 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a cooling rack over a baking sheet.

Let donuts cool completely, about 10 minutes in the pan and 15 minutes on
the cooling rack.

In a medium bowl, combine glaze ingredients except candy cane, and whisk

until smooth and uniform.

One at a time, dunk the tops of the donuts into the glaze, coating the top
halves. Return to the cooling rack, and sprinkle evenly with crushed candy
cane.

Allow glaze to set, about 10 minutes. (Glaze will run off; that's why you've
got the rack over that baking sheet.)
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 CONTENTS

Preview
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20

Sneak Peek
RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS
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 Motorhomes, Maps, & Murder

Across the bluegrass field that was the makeshift parking lot, I could see the
barrel where the men had gathered earlier in the day and used it as a table
for the beer cans.
“I don’t see them.” I drove the car up as close as I could to the
battlefield. There were some props still there and if I knew Queenie, I’m
sure she had someone scheduled to come pick it all up.
“What’s over there by the trail?” Abby looked up from her phone and
pointed.
“Gosh,” I groaned when I saw it was soldiers in their uniforms. “I bet
they are passed out from drinking. More likely, when they pretended they
were dead and dragged off the battlefield, they took advantage of the
sleeping time.” I sighed and put the car in park. “Queenie is going to be so
mad.”
“What are you doing?” Abby asked when I turned the car off and
opened my door.
“I’m going to go get them.” I got out of the car.
“Just let them sleep it off.” Abby got out on her side.
“I told Queenie I would get them and I’m going to follow through.” If
there’s one thing I learned since the whole money scandal from my dead ex-
husband, it was following through with your word.
“Fine.” Abby shoved the phone in her pocket, and we walked across the
battlefield. “Next year, she needs to lay down stricter rules about drinking
until after the reenactment.”
The four people were all lined up in a row. Three men and a woman. I
recognized the Bass boy, Darnell, and Burt Buggy. I didn’t know the other
man or the woman, but I remembered her carrying one of the Union flags
during the battle.
“Abby,” I gulped as my gaze held for a moment on each of the men’s
chests. “None of them are breathing.”
“What?” She asked with a slight nervous laugh.
“I’m serious. No one is breathing.” I bent down next to the woman and
put my hand on her neck. “Call the ambulance. I think she has a pulse.”
Cherry Adair, Tina DeSalvo, & Delilah Marvelle!
Y’all, we had so much fun! Here you go.
Xoxoxox
T.
 GET FREE BOOKS

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Join all the fun on her Reader Group on Facebook.
CHAPTER 1

“W hy didn’t they teach us about this in school?” I asked

Queenie French, who was standing over the conference
table in the Normal Public Library, about the history of
the Battle of Camp Wildcat.
She didn’t stop looking over the map of the Daniel Boone National Park
where the Battle of Camp Wildcat had taken place during the Civil War.
“They oughta since it happened right here in our state.” She shook her
head and a strand of short blonde hair escaped from a bobby pin. She
pointed to Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail near the Happy Trails
Campground, the campground I owned and called home.
“That there trail played a big part.” She pulled the bobby pin from her
hair and pried it apart with her teeth and fingertips before she snugged the
wayward hair to her head. “Colonel Theophilus T. Garrard stood right there
commanding the thousands of men in his troop.” She reached down and
unzipped her fanny pack, taking out a few more bobby pins and sticking
them all over her head.
“You put on this reenactment every year during the spring?” I
questioned the accuracy of the event since the real battle took place the
morning of October 21, 1861.
At least that’s what I’d read in the Normal Gazette, the local newspaper,
in the section where they’d been featuring the reenactment to help spread
the word.
“Mmmhmm,” her lips pressed together as she stood up straight, pushing
the orange headband up on her forehead a little more. “During the spring
was when they got word of the invasion. It took all summer to gather the
troops and get them in position. Our first few reenactments were in October
on the actual battle day, but the weather gets so wonky here that every year
it was either raining or snowing, making it hard for everyone to sit outside
all day.” She laughed. “You should’ve seen old Henry the last year we had
it in October.” She was talking about my handyman at Happy Trails. “It was
cold as all get out. He nearly froze to a popsicle while he laid there the four
hours. He was the first one dead.”
“What?” I’d never been to a reenactment, much less participated in one.
All of this seemed really fascinating to me.
“What do you mean, what?” Her eyes lowered, giving me the look.
“You mean to tell me you ain’t ever seen a reenactment before?”
“I have in the movie Sweet Home Alabama with Reece Witherspoon,” I
shrugged and tucked a piece of my long curly hair behind my ear.
“You’re in for a treat.” A young woman I recognized as the cashier from
Tough Nickel Thrift Shop strolled into the conference room. She had a map
in her hands and laid it on top of the one I was looking at.
“Then you seen enough of a reenactment to know that the people from
both sides who are shot have to lay there until the battle is over. It’s a real
reenactment with guns and everything, Mae.” She said my name like I
should’ve known better.
“This is why I said it should’ve been taught in school,” I said, turning
my attention back to the script that Queenie had given to all the actors. I
used the term actor very loosely, meaning me. “I figured you’d been gone
from Kentucky too long to play a good role like a nurse, so I have you
watering the horses for the soldiers near their camp site.” She handed me an
apron that’d seen better days. “You’ll put this overtop your uniform.”
“Reporting that there’s no signs of typhoid fever, smallpox, measles,
diarrhea, pneumonia, or malaria,” said the young woman as she saluted
Queenie.
Queenie beamed.
“You’re the best nurse in the war,” Queenie said as the two embraced.
“I’m Mae West.” I properly introduced myself. “I’ve seen you at the
Tough Nickel Thrift Store.”
“Yes. I have seen you come in a time or two.” She smiled at me, waves
of short, light brown hair framing her face. She had side swept bangs that
showed off her pretty blue eyes. “I’m Julip Kaye Knox.”
“She’s not just a clerk at the thrift store, she’s on the board of the
Historical Society. She knows the ins and outs of every map,” Queenie
bragged. She definitely liked Julip. “I couldn’t put on this reenactment
without her knowledge of the layout of this battle.”
“You would’ve done just fine.” Julip patted Queenie on the back.
“Excuse me while I go grab some more maps.”
Queenie wasted no time getting back to my duties as horse wrangler.
“Here.” Queenie picked up a large sealed plastic bag and shoved it
against my chest. “It’s your outfit. In addition to the apron.” She motioned
to my shoulder where I’d flung the apron. “Now, don’t you lose any part of
it. These are real, true to life uniforms. Replicas really. But you’ll find the
real ones in the Daniel Boone National Park museum located in their
offices.”
“I’ll be sure to check that out.” I took the bag from my chest and held
up it in the air when I noticed Hank Sharp beyond the hangers. He strolled
into the room like he owned it.
Our eyes met. He smiled and it traveled all the way up his green eyes.
“Good afternoon,” he said and bent down to give me a kiss.
“Hi.” I crinkled my nose and lifted my hand up to rub over his black
hair. “It looks like you got a haircut for your part.”
“Queenie insisted I had to if I was going to be a soldier.” He pulled
away from me, straightened his body, clicked his heels, and saluted
Queenie.
“Now if you two think that y’all are going to play kissy face during the
reenactment, you’re wrong. You’re on opposite sides of the battle.” She
wiggled her finger between us. “But I do like seeing the two of you happy.”
“I like making her happy.” Hank winked.
“It’s not hard to do.” I felt like a giddy teenager.
It was a very new relationship, me and Hank. Just a few months. We
didn’t see each other every day, but usually did most days. And when we
did, it was at my RV at Happy Trails. I’d yet to see his place, although I
knew from his granny, Agnes Swift, that he lived on his parents’ property in
a trailer on the south side of town, even though his parents had retired and
moved to Florida.
“Geez,” Queenie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll be right back.
I have to go get your bayonet and uniform. Not everyone can handle a
bayonet.” She wagged her finger over her shoulder at Hank on her way out
of the conference room.
 I’d been in Normal for about ten months and never thought I’d find
love, especially at a campground in Kentucky.
Not that I didn’t love the campground. I had grown to love it. I’d grown
up in Kentucky, but as soon as the clock struck midnight on my eighteenth
birthday, I was on a Greyhound bus to New York City where I worked my
way through flight attendant school.
That’s when my life took a turn that changed everything. I’d met an
older, wealthy, investment man on one of my flights, who hired me as his
personal flight attendant. We fell in love, got married, and lived a life of
luxury that always seemed too good to be true. Turned out it was.
Like Queenie always says, if it seems too good to be true, it is.
If only I’d known her back then. After a few years of marriage, Paul
West had taken all his clients, including several in Normal, to the cleaners.
This put him in jail and uprooted me from my life of luxury and into a
rundown campground that he’d put in my name, which is why Happy Trails
was the only thing the government didn’t seize.
“Are you going over your lines?” Hank rubbed his hand down my back
and looked down at the script in my hand.
“You mean my one line,” I looked at the paper and continued, “Look,
the troops are coming.”
“You better put a little more oomph into it or Queenie will be mad.” His
southern drawl was like music to my ears and sent my heart soaring.
In the back of my head, I knew it was the honeymoon stage, but I was
willing to see it through.
“Detective Sharp,” he answered his ringing cell phone in his
professional cop voice. “Mmmhmm,” he hummed and stepped away from
me for some privacy.
“He’s gonna look so good in this,” Queenie said as she walked back into
the conference room and put her finger up to her mouth when she noticed
Hank was on the phone. “Won’t he?” she whispered and pulled up the
plastic over the old uniform so I could see it better.
“He will.” I laughed at the thought of seeing him in the old civil war
uniform, pretending to stab and shoot someone with the bayonet. “That
thing looks sharp.”
“Oh, it is. I only let special people have one of these. It could poke
someone’s eye out.” She gave a good hard nod. “I let him and Preacher
Hager use them.”
 Preacher Hager was married to one of my and Queenie’s best friends,
Betts Hager.
“If you can’t trust a cop and preacher, who can you trust?” I joked.
“Listen, I’ve got to go.” Hank had walked back over to us. His face was
stern, and his soft green eyes had turned back into stone like they did when
he was on a case. He kissed my forehead while putting his phone back in
the pocket of his black suit pants. “I’ll call you later.”
“What about the uniform?” Queenie called after him before he hurried
out the door.
“I’ll get it before the reenactment,” he assured her as he called over his
shoulder.
“I guess I can give it to you.” She held the uniform bag in one hand and
the bayonet in the other.
“No, thank you.” If she thought I was going to be responsible for his
uniform and bayonet and get in trouble if something happened to it, she had
another thing coming. “I’ll have enough of a hard time keeping up with
mine.”
“Mae West,” she tsked. “Don’t you be going and making me regret
putting you in the reenactment. There’s been citizens who grew up here
that’ve applied for parts and I didn’t let them participate.” She looked at me
from underneath her brows. “You get what I’m saying?”
“I’m honored.” I wasn’t about to let the sixty year old widow down -
she’d seen enough trouble in her life. “But I don’t want that thing in my
possession.” I pointed to the bayonet.
The doors of the conference room opened, and all the reenactment
actors filed in, ready to get all of their equipment for tomorrow morning’s
big performance.
“One line!” Queenie used her hands to gesture like there was an
airplane runway in front of her. “Give me your name and I’ll check it off.”
Julip came back in with a bunch of maps. Queenie ended up having me
check off each person’s name on the list as she handed them their uniform
and Julip gave them a map and a script.
During my ten months in Normal, I’d made it my mission to undo all
the wrong Paul West had done now that he couldn’t do it since he’d been
murdered. Another story for another time. But it felt good that I could stand
here and help hand out the important uniforms that this community was
built upon.
 “Did you see Lester Hager come in here?” Queenie bit her lip and
looked back towards the door after the last actor has left. There was one
outfit with a bayonet left, and Preacher Hager’s name was the only one not
marked off the list.
“I didn’t.” Julip shrugged.
“I didn’t see him either. Or Betts.” My brows furrowed, realizing it was
odd that Betts hadn’t shown up, even though she didn’t have a part. She
usually attended all community events, being a successful businesswoman
and the preacher’s wife and all.
“I parked by the Laundry Club if you’d like me to take it to Betts,” I
suggested since I’d figured Betts was there doing the books for the
laundromat since it was close to tax season, something she’d been
complaining about.
“She’s not there.” Abby Fawn, the librarian, was picking up little
Styrofoam cups and stray napkins from around the room. “She called. She
and Lester have all them bible-thumping women from the church at the jail,
trying to get them prisoners some religion.” She threw the trash away and
walked over to get the sealed plastic bag and bayonet.
“Alrighty. I guess I’ll give it to him in the morning at the reenactment.
Something that I never do, but since it’s Lester, I’ll make an exception.”
Queenie hung the uniform on the back of one the of the conference chairs
and leaned the bayonet up against the table.
She removed all the bobby pins from around her head and ran her
fingers through her short hair, fluffing up the top. She put the bobby pins in
her fanny pack and adjusted it around her waist while she glanced over the
list of actors.
“I think the reenactment committee did a real good job of coordinating
everything. This went much smoother than last year,” Julip mentioned
while Abby nodded in agreement. “I’m sure everything will go perfectly
tomorrow.”
Abby took her phone out and started typing away. She was so good at
social media and used that phone to spread the word about everything going
on in Normal.
“I hear we’re expecting a few thousand people. The biggest turnout
we’ve ever had.” Queenie nudged me. “This is why we have it during the
spring. It honors the time and commitment both sides put into the battle.
Plus, the weather is nice, which means a great turnout and more donations
to the Camp Wildcat Preservation Foundation, who can use the money to
teach more youth about our great state.
“Hashtag great state, hashtag Kentucky, hashtag Camp Wildcat
reenactment, hashtag tomorrow, hashtag nine a.m.,” Abby talked out loud
as she typed her latest tweet to attract more tourists to our little hiking tow.
“Need a place to stay in hashtag Normal? Hashtag Happy Trails
Campground.”
“Thanks for the shout out,” I said to Abby.
Abby had been instrumental in my decision to stay and get the
campground back up and running. Between my ability to talk with people
and invest in our community and Abby’s great marketing and social media
skills, Normal’s economy was thriving.
Minus the hiccups of a few murders, but that was all behind us now.
I was just hoping and praying that everything went as smoothly
tomorrow at the reenactment as Queenie expected. If history repeated itself
like it had over the last few months, there was going to be a hiccup.
CHAPTER 2

T here were signs posted all on light posts and in yards around
Normal about The Battle of Camp Wildcat reenactment and the
after party at Happy Trails Campground. Everyone was welcome.
And it would double as the themed monthly party I hosted every month at
the campground. The monthly party was Abby’s idea, to help bring life
back into the campground when I took over. It was my way of giving back
to Normal, for everything the town and its people had done for me.
The party was a way to get campers to stay around the campground and
meet other like-minded folks who liked to camp. Local shops donated to the
party, advertising their products and bringing the campers to their shops,
which helped build the economy.
This month I figured it might as well have a history theme to go along
with the reenactment. Since Queenie didn’t need me anymore at the library,
I headed back to the campground to make sure Dottie Swaggert, my
campground manager, and Henry Bryan, the campground handyman, had
started to set up the event stations in and around the campground.
That was what I was hoping for when I pulled up to find Dottie and
several small business owners gathered around a campfire having a
conversation or some sort of meeting. Going by the look on Joel Grassel’s
face and the deep lines around his eyes, it was an intense conversation.
I parked in a vacant spot near the office, which was located at the front
of the campground, instead of going on down to my RV. The group turned
when they heard my door slam and watched me as I walked up.
“It looks like something is wrong.” I decided to cut to the chase.
“Mae, this is my brother, Darnell.” Joel’s hands were in the pockets of
his greasy overalls. The wrinkles on his forehead multiplied.
 “Hi, Darnell.” I gave him a smile and a nod when I noticed he was
sitting in the same position as Joel, but rocking back and forth on his heels.
“Are you a mechanic too?” I asked, wondering if he worked at Grassel’s
gas station along with Joel and my foster brother, Bobby Ray Bonds.
“No, ma’am,” he shook his head. “I’m an HVAC man.”
“What’s going on?” I asked and went around the circle, looking at
Dottie, Henry, and Alvin Deters.
“We are in a pickle here.” Alvin Deters, owner of Deters Feed-N-Seed,
rubbed his hands together. His shoulders lifted and fell a few times as he
took in deep breaths. It appeared as though he was gathering up courage to
say something. “Greaser Gadie has escaped from prison.” He tugged his
jeans up a little more as he tucked in his plaid shirt and adjusted his big
metal belt buckle.
“Who?” I looked over at Dottie. The skin around her eyes was pulled so
tight from where she’d put in her pink curlers, it looked like she had cat
eyes.
Dottie dragged her cigarette up to her mouth and took a long drag,
exhaling a stream of smoke. The implacable expression on her face was
unnerving.
“Greaser Gadie.” The smoke came out in puffs with each symbol of
Greaser’s name. “He was convicted a little over two years ago of killing
them two hikers near here in Normal. It was bad.” She felt around the back
of her head and unclipped one of the pink sponge curlers.
She wedged the cigarette in the corner of her lips and used two hands to
twist the loose strand of her red hair back into the roller.
“Really bad.” Alvin’s expression stilled and grew serious. He crossed
his arms over his chest.
“When did he escape?” I asked and gnawed the edge of my lip as I
made the connection to Hank. I imagine the phone call he’d gotten at the
library was about the prison break.
That was how we’d met. Paul, my dead ex-husband, had escaped from
prison. Hank Sharp came to Happy Trails to see if I’d had a visit from Paul
after he’d escaped. I insisted I hadn’t, but when Paul’s murdered body
floated to the top of the lake that was in the middle of my campground, it
didn’t look good for me. It gave Hank Sharp all sorts of motive to pin Paul’s
murder on me. We had had what you’d call a turbulent start to our
relationship. Now he couldn’t resist me.
 My eyes scanned across everyone’s shoulders until they rested on the
lake where Paul’s body had appeared.
“I’m sure they’ll catch him,” I assured them. “Hank was called away
and I bet they are hot on this Greaser guy’s heels.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Darnell’s voice trembled. He ran his shaking hand
over his military tight haircut, the exact same cut at Joel’s.
“Are you kidding?” I tried to smile to ease the seriousness of the
situation. “Why would he stay around Normal and risk getting caught? I’m
sure he’s long gone by now.”
“Not if he lives up to his promise.” Henry, my handyman, said somberly
as he patted Darnell on the back.
Darnell gave Henry a sad look. Henry squinted his big nose, opening his
mouth just enough to expose the space where he was missing his two front
teeth.
“Promise?” Clearly, there was something I was missing. After all, it’d
happened before I even lived in Normal.
“Mmmhmm.” Dottie took one last puff before she threw the butt of the
cigarette on the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of her shoe.
“Yep.” Alvin stood up from the big rock he was sitting on. He adjusted
the big belt buckle on his blue jeans before tucking his plaid shirt deeper
into his waistband. “When the judge read the death sentence verdict,
Greaser looked at each jury member for what felt like an hour.”
“It was only about five seconds,” Joel chimed in.
“I said felt like,” Alvin snapped back. “Anyways, if you’d let me finish
the story. Or you can.” There was a hint of anger in Alvin’s voice.
“No, you go on. I was merely a spectator. But I saw the look in his
eyes.” Joel let out a deep sigh.
“What look?” I was all sorts of confused trying to get to the bottom of
what was going on.
“Greaser looked me dead in the eye,” Darnell said, taking his hands out
of his pocket and pointed to his eyes with his pointer and middle finger in a
dramatic gesture. “He said, ‘I’m remembering your face so when I escape, I
can come back to town and kill you before I disappear.’”
I wasn’t sure if it was his intense stare or his words or both, but chills
crawled up and down my body, making the hair on my head feel like it’s
standing up. All the rational thoughts I’d had a few seconds ago about
Greaser leaving town went in all sorts of wonky directions.
 “Honestly, he was just saying that to put fear in you.” I tried to make
them feel better by brushing off this crazy notion. “I bet you’ve even
changed in those two years.”
“Nope. He still looks the same.” Dottie at least took a moment to give
Darnell a good onceover before she confirmed, “Yep, still looks the same.”
“I’m sure he is long gone by now.” I nodded.
“I don’t know.” Alvin crossed his arms over his chest. “I was on the jury
too. Greaser looked and sounded serious.”
“Think about it. If you escaped from jail, wouldn’t you be thinking
about getting as far away as you could?” It seemed like a perfectly logical
question. “He’d be stupid not to.”
“Paul West was a very smart man, took all our money.” Alvin did a
good job reminding of what my dead ex-husband had done. “He came right
back here to see you before someone offed him.”
It was a very logical response to my logical question that left me
speechless.
“I guess you ain’t got nothin’ to say to that?” Dottie asked in a very
condescending voice. “Look at Darnell and Alvin.” She pointed to them.
“They’re as scared as a cat in a dog pound and by rights they should be.”
“Mmmhmm, that’s right.” Darnell, Henry, and Joel all said in unison.
“Listen, I got a good idea.” Dottie’s ideas weren’t always the greatest.
“Why don’t you call your man and see which way is up so we can get on
with our lives.”
“What do you mean our lives?” I asked. “I didn’t do anything to
Greaser.”
“But you might be in his way right now.” Alvin moved close enough to
me to give me an elbow. “He might be in them woods right over there.” My
eyes followed his nod. “He might be taking aim right now at me, miss, and
take you out.”
“Oh, stop it.” I smacked his arm. I looked back at the woods. “You think
so?”
“See, even Mae West ain’t so sure now.” Dottie’s drawn on brows rose
plum up to the middle of her forehead.
“There’s nothing I can do right now,” I assured them and took my phone
out of my back pocket. “Hank hasn’t texted or called. I’m not going to
bother him.”
 “We can’t even begin to put up the decorations and the work stations for
the big party here if we don’t get some assurance that Greaser has left town,
either by gunfire or on his own.” Henry’s big wide smile that showed off his
front two teeth missing was nowhere to be found.
It was probably the first time I’d seen him without that big smile
underneath his wide nose, giving me an unsettled feeling.
He was taking a stand and all the others were behind him with their
arms crossed, backing him up.
“Fine.” I huffed and marched over to the lake to get a little privacy in
case Hank did answer.
The thought of Greaser being around here really had affected me more
than I thought it would. My fingers shook as I tried to scroll through my
phone to find Hank’s number.
“You okay?” Hank answered immediately with more of a demand in his
voice.
“I’m fine, but a few citizens are a little unnerved…” my voice faded
when I heard his sigh drop on the other end.
“Mae,” when he said my name like that, I knew he meant business. I
hated to admit it, but I wasn’t good at taking orders. “I really need you to
stay out of this one. The other cases were local and crimes of passion. This
one is different.”
“So you’re telling me this Greaser guy is on the loose and he really
might make good on his promise to kill the jurors?” I asked.
“He’s a very dangerous man. He was wanted in four other states for
murder and was being transferred to Texas to stand trial for a murder there.
He’d requested to see the preacher.”
“Oh, no! Is Lester okay? What about Betts?” I gulped, tears filling my
eyes. “Abby said it was their day to go to the prison.”
“They are fine. He knocked down Lester and the prison guard with the
guard’s own Billy club and took it with him.” Hank sounded so frustrated.
“I really shouldn’t tell you this, but I’d say, Greaser is headed straight out of
town.”
“What am I supposed to tell Alvin and Darnell? They are on pins and
needles and scared to death, like a cat in a dog pound.” I glanced over my
shoulder back to the group. All eyes on me. I gave a slight wave.
“You sound like Dottie.” Hank stopped talking and I let the silence
linger to give him a minute to think. “You need to tell them we have some
good leads and everyone in Normal is safe. In fact, tell them we will be
putting officers in front of their houses to make sure they have no unwanted
visitors.”
“Oh, Hank. That’s good. I’m so glad you’ve done that.” I was relieved
to be able to reassure them a little. “That’ll make them feel so much better.”
“And don’t you worry.” The tone of his voice changed. “I’ll make sure
you’re safe tonight.”
“You better.” It was his way of telling me he’d be at my house - um,
camper - when he got off work.
“And Mae,” Hank’s voice changed back to that detective tone. “Not a
word about nothing I just told you. Just tell them we’ve got them a detail
until this is all taken care of, which won’t be long.”
CHAPTER 3

“I don’t know, Mae.” Dottie Swagger shook her red, curly hair side
to side after she took out the last curler. She leaned back in her
chair inside the office we shared at Happy Trails. “I’m telling
you, Queenie needs to cancel the reenactment until Greaser is found and
Normal is safe again.”
“Normal is safe.” I pushed my long curly brown hair behind my
shoulders and looked up from the paperwork of campers coming into town
today. “Didn’t you hear what I said Hank told me?”
There were many things you could say about Hank Sharp. One was how
he didn’t have the best southern gentleman manners that I had so
desperately thought I wanted in a man, but he did have that protection
factor. No matter how unsafe a situation, Hank was always there to protect.
It didn’t matter if it was as trivial as a swim in the lake or a walk along the
trail, he was a protector. This time he was determined to protect me and
Normal from this Greaser guy.
“I heard.” Dottie still wasn’t satisfied.
“We need to check on Betts.” I looked out the window at the fifth wheel
coming up the drive.
“What’s wrong with Betts?” Dottie’s chair screeched when she sat up.
“Nothing.” I shook my head, forgetting that I wasn’t supposed to say
anything. “It looks like a new camper is here.”
“You think I’m gonna let you get away with not telling me what Hank
Sharp really told you, you’ve got another thing coming.” Dottie jabbed the
top of the desk with her finger. “I’ve known you for long enough to know
you’re keeping something from me. And if it has to do with one of our
Laundry Club gals, you better confess.”
 There were a few huffs and puffs before I took a deep breath and prayed
Hank wouldn’t kill me.
“The only reason I’m telling you this is because the Laundry Club took
me in right from the start when I came to Normal. Y’all pitched in and
helped me get this campground up and running. Y’all have become my best
friends and I just can’t forget that.” The sound of the big dually truck that’d
pulled up with the fifth wheel turned off. Quickly, I told her, “Greaser asked
for one of the church people to come see him. Lester went in and did that
whole ministering gig he does. When he got up to leave, Greaser knock him
and the prison guard down with the guard’s Billy club. That’s how he
escaped.”
“Git your things.” Dottie jumped up. “We’ve got to go to the Laundry
Club.”
“Afternoon,” A couple who looked to be in their early 60s walked
through the office door. “I’m Frank and this is my wife, Barbara.”
Barbara pinched a grin that made her eyes squint.
“We have rented a lot for a couple of weeks.” He looked happy to be
here, but she clearly was not.
“Yes.” Dottie grabbed the file with their name on it and practically
threw it at him. “Here’s your paperwork, we’ve got to go. We’ll be back
later to get it from you.” She grabbed him by the arm and shuffled him out
of the office, shutting the door behind him. “Well?” She jerked around and
looked at me. “What in the blue blazes are you waiting for?”
“I don’t think that’s a very good way to handle a tenant.” I might be
wrong since I was still a little new to the campground owner stuff, but I sure
wouldn’t’ve wanted to be treated that way.
“Don’t you worry about it.” Dottie grabbed one of the baskets off the
wire shelf near the coffee pot. “I’ll give him a detergent basket, free of
charge. Old people love free stuff.”
Dottie hurried out the door, hooting and hollering to the guests about
their free basket while I took the time to shut down the computers and close
down the office.
The Laundry Club was the laundromat located in downtown Normal.
When I first drove into Normal in my small RV, I desperately needed to
clean some clothes. At the time, the washer and dryer at the campground
were broken, along with everything else. Since then, I had them up and
working, but the Laundry Club was where I continued to go.
 It was there that I’d met Betts Hager, Abby Fawn, and Queenie French.
It wasn’t like any other laundromat you’d ever seen. Or at least any
laundromat I’d ever seen, although I hadn’t spent a lot of time in
laundromats before coming to Normal.
Betts was the owner and she made it a home away from home for the
customers who did their laundry there. She had a family room type setting
on one side with a few couches situated around a television. There was a
section for games and puzzles. But my two favorite spots were the coffee
bar and the book club spot where we held our monthly book club meetings
that Abby Fawn spearheaded.
When we opened the front door of the Laundry Club, the smell of
freshly brewed coffee curled around me and gave me a big hug of comfort.
Dottie rushed over to the coffeepot where Abby had already started to
line up the coffee mugs that had our initials on them. I wasn’t too far behind
her.
“While we wait for it to finish brewing,” Abby said and smacked
Dottie’s hand away when she tried to get a cup “tell me what’s going on.”
She stood over the pot like a guard until it beeped.
“I’m not real sure about the details, but I’m assuming you heard Greaser
escaped from jail.” I watched Abby go down the mugs and fill them up. She
handed each one of us our cup. “He had been getting religion from Lester
when it happened. Somehow, Greaser got the guard’s Billy club after he
knocked down Lester and the guard.”
“Lester is in the hospital?” Abby headed over to the couch and sat
down, pulling her feet up under her.
I followed her and sat down.
“We aren’t sure what’s going on!” Dottie was still at the coffee bar,
doctoring up her creamer- and sugar-filled mug with coffee. She yelled loud
enough to be heard over the washers and dryers going in the laundromat.
“Betts hasn’t answered my calls or texts.”
Dottie pulled her phone out of her pocketbook and scrolled through it
on her way to the sitting area, spilling a little coffee on her way over.
“Nothin’.” She sighed and sat down.
“Maybe we should just go over there and check on him.” It was a
suggestion and I’m sure Betts would appreciate it. “I was told Betts and
Lester are fine,” I said without disclosing what Hank told me, though they
could read between the lines. “They probably are a bit shaken up and need
some space.”
“I’m sure the police are all out in force looking for Greaser.” Abby
jerked her head, her ponytail swinging to the side. “I’ll message Betts and
see if I get a response, unless Hank has told you something.”
She was fishing for some intimate police insider information. I shook
my head and took a sip of the coffee.
“We’ll give her ten minutes to respond. Enough time to drink our
coffee.” Abby scrolled through her phone with one hand and used the other
to drink her coffee.

“D O YOU REMEMBER WHAT G REASER SAID TO THE JURORS ? I T WAS AWFUL .”

Abby looked up from her phone at Dottie. “I wrote a piece in the Normal
Gazette about it.” Abby face clouded with uneasiness. “I sure wouldn’t
want to be in their shoes.”
She shifted in her seat.
“I think Greaser is long gone by now. I know if I was him, I’d get out
faster than a speeding bullet.” Dottie gave a hard nod.
I was glad to hear that Dottie had actually listened to my theory about
Greaser leaving town that I’d told her, Darnell, Alvin, and Henry at the
campground. It did make a lot of sense.
“That doesn’t mean we all shouldn’t be looking over our shoulders,”
Dottie finished her thought and slowly glanced around.
All three of us jumped when the bell over the front door dinged as it
opened.
“I guess we are more on edge than we figured.” Abby waved at Dawn
Gentry, the newest member of our little Laundry Club, and Mary Elizabeth
Moberly, my foster-slash-adoptive mom.
Adopted not by choice. And I had held a long grudge against her for
trying to make me into some southern belle by sending me to etiquette
classes and making me participate in local beauty pageants. Deep inside, I
was grateful she took me in her home as a teenager after my entire family
had been killed in a house fire because teenagers could be a little
persnickety.
I was too young then to realize what I had and that’s when I high-tailed
it to New York City. I had to get away, but the manners and all that stuff she
tried to beat into my head had come in handy when I was a socialite. The
grace and charm that came with learning to be a debutante had also come in
handy when I had to sweet talk most of the town folks here in Normal as I
was trying to show them I was nothing like my dead ex-husband.
“A meeting? Without us?” Mary Elizabeth drew her hand up to her
collar bone and fiddled with the strand of pearls that lay perfectly on the
neckline of her Lily Pulitzer dress. She had an overnight bag in her hand
that exactly matched the pattern on her dress. The Bonnet Blue dress to be
exact, one of Mary Elizabeth’s favorite prints from Lily Pulitzer.
“Yeah.” Dawn wore her normal motorcycle look with black skinny
jeans, black leather jacket, and a black knit cap pulled down over her black
pixie cut hair.
Dawn wasn’t much about social graces and I wasn’t sure how she and
Mary Elizabeth had become business partners at the Milkery, the local dairy
farm.
“We were walking back from dropping off some cream and milk to
Christine Watson at the Cookie Crumble and noticed all of you in here.”
Her five foot six inch, thin frame slid down into a chair. She pulled her legs
up, crossing them.
Mary Elizabeth zipped open the bag and made the opening wide enough
to let us look in while she swept it in front of us. “We had our first bed and
breakfast customer.”
“That’s great.” I was truly happy for them. They’d been working hard
on turning the working dairy farm into a bed and breakfast.
They’d converted the empty farmhouse on the back end of the property
into a really cool remodeled bed and breakfast for tourists who weren’t into
camping like the ones who came to my campground. Mary Elizabeth was so
good at southern hospitality that when she decided to stay in Normal after
she came to see me, she had to do something to keep her occupied. That’s
when the Milkery went up for sale and Abby’s marketing ideas came into
play, ending with a bed and breakfast.
“I’m sure you were the epitome of grace and charm.” A smile crossed
my face when I saw the pride on hers. “Are they here for the reenactment?”
“No. Just passing through. It’s a shame because clothes were left
behind.” Mary Elizabeth shook the bag, which was apparently filled with
clothes.
 “I told her just to stick them in a box and I’d write lost and found on the
side, but she insisted that we clean and mail them.” Dawn rolled her eyes
and picked at the soles of her Doc Martens boots. “They aren’t the best of
clothes either.”
“Not that it would mean anything to you, but there’s a serial killer on
the loose.” Abby changed the subject.
She got back up off the couch and gestured for them to sit while she ran
over to the coffee bar and got them each a hot cup of joe.
“Serial killer?” Mary Elizabeth gasped, as the smooth, Botoxed lines
between her eyes gave and creased as big as the Mississippi River.
I didn’t dare point it out or she’d be off to the doctor as soon as she left,
getting more injections.
“Tell me,” Dawn said eagerly and rubbed her hands together. “I love a
good mystery.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” I didn’t want them to scare Mary Elizabeth,
but by her wide- eyed look, she was already a smidgen frightened. “A
prisoner escaped. Hank is right on it.”
It sounded good coming out of my mouth, but the shaky tone in my
voice said more than my words.
“Greaser Gadie hurt Preacher Hager.” Dottie scooted to the edge of her
seat. “Has Betts texted you back?” she asked Abby.
Abby gave a slow head shake after she looked at her phone.
“I think we need to go to Betts’s house.” Dottie put both hands around
her mug.
“I think we need to stay right here.” Mary Elizabeth was always the
voice of reason when it came to doing the right thing after an event like a
death or an accident. “Betts has her hands full. When she’s got time, she’ll
call you back. In the meantime, Dawn and I will go back to the Milkery and
bake some goodies for them.”
“That sounds like a very good idea.” Abby nervously looked at her
phone. Her face pinched with worry.
Mary Elizabeth and Dawn were gone in no time, leaving us there to
finish our conversation about Betts.
“Mary Elizabeth left the bag here.” Abby pushed the bag with her foot
to move it out of the way of the couch.
“I’ll clean the clothes for her.” I stood up and took the mugs from Abby
and Dottie. “I think Mary Elizabeth is right. We need to carry on with our
everyday life and be here when Betts calls. If something was really wrong
with Lester, we would’ve heard by now.”
My phone chirped with a text while I was walking over to the coffee bar
to clean our mugs and put them back. I slipped the phone out of my pocket.
It was Hank. He was on his way to the campground.
I didn’t tell the girls it was him because he didn’t say anything more
than that, but I was hopeful he had some good news since he was stopping
by. Usually, when he was knee deep in an investigation, stopping by to see
me was the last thing on his list and that meant he’d stop by late at night.
If I did find out from him that Greaser had been caught, I’d let the girls
know, but as of now, I didn’t know anything new.
“Let’s go, Dottie.” I quickly cleaned out our mugs and put them back in
the right spot on the coffee bar so Betts didn’t have to worry about the
Laundry Club.
CHAPTER 4

I t felt so good to see the winter months had given way to the budding
trees and the tip-tops of the Kentucky Bluegrass peeking out of the
limestone soil. And that meant that Happy Trails Campground was
booked.
Spring and fall were the campground’s two big seasons, though I was
extremely happy with all the winter activities we’d planned that had
brought in tourists that wouldn’t usually think of camping during the off
season. But right now spring was here and so were the full campsites.
I pulled up in front of Dottie’s camper, which was the first one on the
right after the office, and we got out of the car.
“It’s so nice to see us busy again.” I put my hand over my eyebrows to
shield my eyes from the sun and look at all the campers walking around
with coffee mugs in their hands and visiting with other campers that I’m
sure they didn’t know until today.
That’s the one great thing about being a camper. The community. It was
as welcome as any small town and just as cozy.
“I’ll get all the contracts to the campers and you give them an hour or so
to fill them out.” Dottie was raring to go since today was considered the
beginning of the week.
Fridays were a popular day to get to a campsite in order to have all
weekend to camp and hike and enjoy nature. Friday was always our busiest
day and today was busier than normal since some of the RVers and campers
were here for tomorrow’s reenactment.
“Why don’t you go on and visit with Hank while they fill everything
out.” Dottie had noticed Hank’s car was already pulled into my parking pad
next to my RV.
 “You’re a good friend.” I patted her. “Tell them I’ll be by in an hour to
pick up the contracts and get anything they need,” I said to her before I got
back in my car.
She waved me off. I drove slow around the lake, the opposite side of
where my RV and lot were located. I wanted to see if the new aeration
system I had put in last year, which was really a fancy fountain that kept the
water moving so the lake scum wouldn’t lay on top of the water, was on and
working.
The main road in Happy Trails Campground went around the lake
before it ended up back at the front. There were several small roads off the
main one, but they were just ways to get to the different camping pads.
Each pad had its own concrete parking space along with hookups. I
provided all the hookups including sewage, but a lot of campgrounds didn’t
do that. As a camper, you had to really do your homework on a campground
before you got there because trust me when I say that the big blue poop bag
wasn’t fun to deal with if you had to haul it two or three miles down the
road.
Each camper site had a nice brick firepit in the grassy area where we
encouraged nightly supper get togethers when the weather permitted. Every
camper who participated cooked an item that was meant to be shared with
all the campers. Then we’d take our plates and walk around the
campground filling our plates with delicious foods before gathering around
the big fire near the Recreation Center at the top of the lake behind the
office.
The Recreation Center was stocked with every family-friendly board
game you could possibly imagine along with badminton, corn hole, bean
bag toss, hula hoops, and other games. Inside were pool tables, old style
video games, a snack bar, and a table for doing puzzles.
Next to the lake was a Tiki Bar and a little stage where we had Blue
Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys, a local band, perform during our
monthly parties, like the one tomorrow after the reenactment.
The Daniel Boone National Park surrounded the campground. The
beginnings of several marked trails were scattered around the edge of the
campground. They were why campers really came to Happy Trails. It was
the marvelous hiking, caves, and nature the national park provided that they
loved.
 The camper I lived in was actually a small RV that was also drivable.
When I drove it into Happy Trails the first time, I thought I was just going
to sell the campground, ditch the old RV, and get my old set of wheels back,
which was a Maserati.
After I fell in love with Normal and its residents and knew I was going
to make it my home, I had decided to remodel the RV.
I’d used every bit of space possible. I took down all the walls and made
it an open concept plan with the kitchen and family room in one big room. I
put up shiplap walls painted white. I’d gotten a cute café table with two
chairs and a small leather couch from the Tough Nickel. The camper was
the perfect size for one person. I had the floors redone with a prefabricated
gray wood. The kitchen cabinets and all the storage cabinets were white. I’d
transformed my little camper into a charming country farmhouse.
I’d strung twinkle lights everywhere I could. The bathroom had been
updated with a tile shower and upgraded toilet. Then I had my bedroom in
the back. I’d opted to buy a new mattress, with some wooden pallets
painted pink and nailed together as a headboard. I’d gotten a dresser with
four drawers from the Tough Nickel that went perfect with my distressed
look. The twinkle lights added a bit of romance, along with the fuzzy rugs
and milk glass vases that were currently filled with different floral
arrangements from the Sweet Smell Flower Shop, the local florist.
I loved it here and I wanted to make sure the families who came to
Happy Trails felt like they were home. I kept that in mind when I
remodeled Happy Trails into what it was today.
The younger generations loved to hike and camp. If they didn’t have a
camper, they could rent one of our little bungalows of various sizes. Those
were all booked too.
“Hi there,” I greeted Hank as I walked into the camper.
My heart flip-flopped when I saw him on the couch with Fifi, my
French poodle.
“Hi, baby,” my voice rose an octave when Fifi jumped off of Hank’s lap
and greeted me, her little pom-pom tail wiggling back and forth. “That’s
mama’s girl.” I made smooshy faces and kissy noises.
“I wish I had four legs.” Hank joked and put his arms out.
“Maybe if you greeted me at the door with a wagging tail, I’d treat you
the same.” I winked at him and picked up Fifi. “But I guess I can give you a
kiss too.”
 I bent down with Fifi in my arms to give him a kiss, but she had another
plan as she licked between us, making us giggle.
“I hope you’re hungry. I brought some Chinese takeout because I’m
starving and only have a little time before I need to get back to work.” Hank
stood up and walked over to the kitchenette.
“What’s going on with the escaped prisoner,” I asked.
I put Fifi down and grabbed her bowl, putting a scoop of her fancy,
pricey dog kibble in it.
“We haven’t found him yet. There’s so much wooded area to cover. He
could be hiding anywhere.” He pulled two little containers out of the brown
sack before spooning a little bit of each on two plates. “We are using
Darnell’s hunting dog. The dog picked up Greaser’s scent, but so far
nothing’s turned up.”
“Where did he pick up the scent?” I asked and filled two glasses with
water, placing them on the little café table that was just the perfect size for
the inside of my RV.
“I can’t tell you specifics since it’s an ongoing investigation, but I can
tell you that I’m sure you’re fine here.” Hank looked at me under his brows,
setting the plates across from each other before he sat down in one of the
two chairs.
“You can’t leave me hanging. I have a curious side that needs to be
scratched,” I warned and sat down.
The smell of Chinese beef and broccoli made my stomach growl and
my taste buds water.
“I told you earlier that you didn’t need to worry yourself with this.” He
looked up from his plate and rested his forearms on the edge of the table.
“But I do want you to keep your gun close by.”
“My gun? You just said you thought I’d be fine.” That certainly got my
attention. “I’ve never even taken the gun out of the box.”
When Hank and I officially started dating a couple of months ago, he
had me take the conceal and carry class he taught at the local police station.
“That means you’re not really sure where he is,” I mumbled, trying to
swallow the food that was now lodged in my throat.
I set my fork down. I’d suddenly lost my appetite.
“It means that if I can’t be here, I want you to protect yourself. That’s
why I had you take the conceal and carry class.” He didn’t stop eating.
“You just never know who’s out there in the woods. The national park is a
big place.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.” I picked up the glass of water and
gulped it down. “You’ve never said to keep the gun close before.”
“Just do it, Mae.” A loud sigh escaped him.
“No.” I didn’t like the tone in his voice. “But I want to know why you
think I need to protect myself.”
“Because,” he said with frustration. He paused. “Because the dogs
picked up his scent on Forest Service Road 736 in the national park. It’s on
the other side of town, but I’m sure he’s still in there, trying to find a way
out.”
A flicker of fear coursed through my veins, giving me goosebumps. It
was spring. The sun still set pretty early in the evening and it was pitch
black before eight p.m. If someone was walking around, I’d never see them.
“Do you think I need to inform my campers about it?” I asked in a very
calm voice.
“I think you need to tell them to be alert and to report anything or
anyone suspicious.” There was a look in his eyes that told me he was
worried. “I’ve got officers at all the jurors’ houses just in case Greaser does
decide to follow through on his threats.”
“What about the reenactment? Are you going to be able to come?” I
asked, knowing that Queenie was relying on him.
“No.” He snapped his fingers. “Which reminds me.” He leaned to the
side in his chair and took out his cell phone. “I’ve got to tell Queenie.”
He put his cell phone on the table and looked at me.
“Oh, no. . .” I wagged my fork in front of me before I dug it back down
into my food. “I’m not telling her.”
“Please,” he begged. “She’ll take it better from you.”
“Are you serious?” I asked while trying not to look into his memorizing
green eyes that made my mind go blank then swirl with incomplete
thoughts. “Fine.” I put my fork down and grabbed my phone when he
picked his back up.
I wrote a short and sweet text to her saying Hank was so busy trying to
catch Greaser and working so hard to keep our town safe and it was all
hands on deck to make sure Greaser was long gone or caught and that he
didn’t show up at the reenactment.
 “We are going to need officers at the reenactment site for tomorrow,” he
had called someone and told whoever he was talking to on the other side of
the phone. “They did?” He questioned. “Okay, I’ll make my way out to the
Milkery in a few.”
He slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Milkery?” My heart fell into my toes. “Is he at the Milkery?” I asked in
a panic, scared something had happened to Mary Elizabeth or Dawn.
“No.” Hank was trying his hardest to stay calm. “The dogs picked up
his trail there. I hate to leave, but I’ve got to get out there.”
“I’m going too.” I stood up, knocking the chair backwards against the
back of the small RV’s driver’s seat. “I’ve got to see Mary Elizabeth and
Dawn.”
I picked the chair up and put it back.
“You stay here. They are fine.” He tried to assure me, but he didn’t
know me very well if he thought I was going to be a good little girlfriend
and stay where he told me to when Mary Elizabeth could be in trouble.
“I’m not staying here and you can’t make me.” I ran around the camper,
making sure Fifi had everything she needed while I was gone. “You can
deal with it or not. I don’t care.”
“Mae, I told you they are fine. I’ll call you when I get there.” He put his
hand out to stop me from grabbing my purse and car keys.
“Listen, I think you’re great and all, but Mary Elizabeth took me in
when I didn’t have a family. I’m going to be there for her when she needs
me and if this crazy killer guy is there, I’m going with my gun.” I jerked
away from his grip and headed back to the bedroom where I reached under
the bed, pulling out the small pink metal case with the Ruger handgun in it.
“Mae,” he said my name with a clenched jaw. “Please don’t make me
worry about you.”
“Don’t make me choose.” I held the gun case close to my chest. “It’d be
so much better if you let me help you. I’m good at this.” I was referring to
my snooping around and how I’d helped him a few times before.
I opened one of the kitchen drawers with my free hand and took out the
notebook I’d used to keep various clues I’d come across on past cases
where my amateur sleuthing had come in handy. Granted, those had been
murder cases and this was a prison escape, but an investigation was an
investigation.
 I dropped the notebook on the café table between our two plates of
Chinese food.
“This is different. This is a serial killer.” Hank’s words had an edge to
them. “I’ll let you go see Mary Elizabeth and Dawn. Only because I want
you to try to get them to stay here, but I’m not letting you try to find this
guy.”
“Fine.” It was all I’d asked. I knew if he thought I wasn’t going to poke
around in his investigation, he’d surely give in to me going to see if Mary
Elizabeth and Dawn were okay.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed the small container off the kitchen counter and a
fork on his way out the door.
CHAPTER 5

T he large silos around the Milkery had the dairy’s name printed on
each of them. Even as dusk started to set in, you could see them
from miles away. The cows were walking together as they made
their way up to the barn where it was about time to feed them before
nightfall.
I noticed the free-range chickens were gathered in the coop on the other
side of the Kentucky Post fence as I drove up the long, blacktopped drive.
Blacktopping was something Mary Elizabeth had insisted upon when she
and Dawn first bought the place even though it was very expensive to do,
especially with as long as a driveway as they had.
She said a customer’s first impression was of the utmost importance and
gravel didn’t give off a good first impression. Leave it to Mary Elizabeth
and her southern roots to know what looked good and what didn’t. She was
right. It added a much more businesslike and sophisticated feel to the dairy
farm.
The steel building where the offices were located was all lit up, even the
flood lights were on. Those were only used during a middle of the night
emergency with the animals, which did happen since we did have foxes and
coyotes in the area that loved to snack on the chickens.
The air had a bit of a chill as night was falling and a breeze settled into
the holler where the Milkery was located.
It was typical for an early spring night in the state of Kentucky to feel a
little crisp. The buds on the oak trees that surrounded the property showed
the first signs of new life and would soon sprout into the brightest green
leaves. The limestone-rich soil had already given the Kentucky Bluegrass a
hint of blue and it was highlighted by the burnt orange sky from the sun
about the set behind the Milkery.
Hank had already jumped out of his car and darted into the offices.
When Mary Elizabeth came out the door, I knew he’d told her I was on my
way.
“Are you okay?” I busted out of the car and hurried over to her, noticing
that her normally glossy brown and perfectly styled hair was somewhat
disheveled. “I heard the hunting dogs caught scent of the escaped prisoner
off one of the service roads. I think you need to pack an overnight bag and
come stay with me and Fifi. Dawn, too.”
My mouth was like a motorboat. It just kept talking and going faster as
the words fell from my mouth. A sure sign I was a bit nervous.
“I’m fine.” She patted my arm with confidence, but the smudge of black
mascara underneath her eyes told me she was worried. Mary Elizabeth only
sweated when she worried. Many times she’d looked this way when I didn’t
come in at curfew. And her pants were wrinkled. Mary Elizabeth would’ve
never gone out of the house with her pants wrinkled. I didn’t care if she was
just walking to the mailbox. Never. And I mean ever.
“I have the new security system and you know I pack,” she referred to
her conceal and carry permit. “I’ll shoot him dead if he comes near me.”
Security system. Well, stinker, I thought and drowned out how she was
going to go after Greaser if he got anywhere near her. She reminded me that
I’d yet to get the security cameras at Happy Trails fixed. Something my
insurance agent told me that I had to have with my policy. I made a mental
note to get that done as soon as possible.
I looked over my shoulder towards the chicken coops when I heard the
sound of a howling dog echoing off the caverns of the national park. “I
think you need to come stay with me.”
I was sure she hadn’t shot a gun since her class.
“I won’t hear of it. I want you to come in and take a look at the bed and
breakfast. I’ve got a fresh pot of coffee on.” She curled her hand into the
crook of my arm and twisted us around. “You won’t believe all the changes
Dawn and I have made. I’m pretty proud of them.”
Both of us looked uneasily out into the national park beyond the
boundaries of the Milkery as the dog’s howl appeared to be getting closer.
“What about some cinnamon rolls to go with that coffee?” I tried to
lighten the mood and get our minds off the dog.
 “Why, you sure know I got some.” She patted my hand as we walked
along the front of the office building towards the back half of the property
where the renovated barn house was located. “You just come along with me
and I’ll get you something good for your belly.”
“Are you trying to keep me out of the Milkery offices?” I asked, even
though I’d already made up my mind to get some coffee. The cinnamon
rolls were a bonus, but I still couldn’t help but notice her persistence. “Did
Hank put you up to this?”
“Oh, dear. You know me all too well.” She patted and rubbed my arm, a
sure sign she was trying to keep her hands busy and not muss with her hair
like she did when she was nervous.
“No wonder he ran in there ahead of me.” I glanced back and noticed a
flurry of movement in front of the building as Mary Elizabeth dragged me
along the side towards the barn house.
Hank was in the middle of the group as some cops with maps in their
hands were pointing and talking. A cop with a dog wearing a reflective vest
on a leash walked up to them shaking his head.
“He knows how insistent you are.” Mary Elizabeth hurried in front of
me. “Let him do his job and you come have a cup of coffee and a snack.”
“One night?” I asked again, hoping she’d just say yes. “Stay with me
one night. It would make me feel better.”
“No, I’m fine as a fiddle.” There was no sense in fussing about with her.
She’d made up her mind. “Besides, I’ve got Dawn. She’s a tough nut you
know.”
“Where is she anyways?” I asked, reaching around her to grab the
handle of the front door of the bed and breakfast. “Is she here?” I asked,
swooping the door open for her.
“She’s in the kitchen making a breakfast casserole for Betts and Lester.”
She led the way into the house. “Since you are here, you can take it with
you and take to Betts in the morning. We’ve got some planting we need to
do in the garden and they sure aren’t going to plant themselves.”
The smell of cinnamon and honey filled the inside of the Milkery Bed
and Breakfast, giving me a little peace deep in my soul. When I was
growing up, Mary Elizabeth was always cooking in our house. She was a
great cook and a great baker especially. From the smell of things, she was
teaching Dawn.
 The thought of Greaser hanging around this house made me so nervous.
But I had to trust Hank and do exactly what he wanted me to do.
“Something smells so good.” I walked into the kitchen.
Dawn was standing at the counter, rolling out dough. She had on a pair
of red footy pajamas. She looked so stylish in them with her black pixie cut
hair, something only she could pull off.
“Hey there.” Dawn looked over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m making
some cinnamon rolls now. I figured Betts and Lester could use something
sweet too.”
“Mae will take the casserole with her since we have to get up early.”
Mary Elizabeth walked over to the oven and opened the door.
The breakfast casserole had a light brown top to it.
“It’ll be another five minutes before it needs to come out,” she said to
Dawn.
“Mary Elizabeth is teaching me how to cook.” Dawn had a big grin on
her face while she cut the dough into strips. “And bake. I guess I’m going to
need to know all that when we have more than one guest staying here.”
I grabbed a coffee cup from the mug tree and filled it with some of the
freshly brewed coffee. Mary Elizabeth took some frozen cinnamon rolls
from the freezer and quickly nuked them. My mouth watered when she
grabbed a bowl of her homemade buttercream icing from the refrigerator
and iced the warm cinnamon rolls.
“I hope mine turn out that good.” Dawn nodded towards the sweet treat
Mary Elizabeth had put on the table.
They were the perfect ratio of dough to cinnamon filling. Dawn gave
them a good onceover before she went back to counter, put more of the
cinnamon mixture on her dough, and rolled it into the shape of one big
cinnamon roll before she cut it into many smaller rolls.
“I bet they will if they are anything like Mary Elizabeth’s.” My mouth
watered at the mere sight of them, not to mention the smell.
Mary Elizabeth had already sat down at the table next to me.
“Can you believe the dog picked up Greaser’s scent?” Dawn grabbed
two oven gloves and put them on her hands before she took the casserole
out, placing it on the cooling rack. “It’s crazy.”
She put the baking sheet of cinnamon rolls in the oven, turning down
the temperature after she shut the oven door. She set the manual apple timer
that was sitting on top of the stove to the desired time it took to make the
cinnamon rolls perfect. The timer looked just like the one Mary Elizabeth
had when I was living with her.
“I can’t believe he’s around here. But it would make sense if he’s
heading out of town, which is what he should be doing.” I motioned for
Dawn to sit down and join us.
Dawn made herself a cup of coffee and moseyed over.
“If you think about it, the Milkery is north of the prison, so he probably
headed off on foot headed north somewhere.” It was the most logical
explanation as to why his smell would be around here. “I told Mary
Elizabeth that y’all can come stay with me, but she declined.”
“We are fine.” Dawn karate chopped the air. “I’ll take him down and
beat him with that Billy club.”
The three of us laughed but stopped when we heard the front door shut.
All of our jaws dropped, our eyes shifted between each other, visibly
shaken with each sound of the heavy footsteps.
“Hank,” I let out a long deep sigh. “You scared us.”
“Not me.” Dawn did another chop.
“You should never leave that door open,” he scolded us. “ But I have
some good news.” Hank pointed to the coffee maker. Mary Elizabeth
nodded, and he made a cup. “The dogs lost his scent on the road, so I’m
guessing someone picked him up, maybe a trucker, and he’s headed far out
of town. We put out an alert for all trucks to be stopped all over Kentucky
and the FBI has already stepped in.”
“What does that mean?” I asked and used the toe of my shoe to pull out
the chair next to me for him to sit down.
“They will take over from here or work alongside Normal’s sheriff
department and the Daniel Boone National Park Forest Rangers.” Hank
took a sip of his coffee.
It seemed so long ago that he’d cut his hours back as a Ranger. He’d
gone to school for that, but loved the investigation aspect so much that he
went back to the sherrif’s department to become a detective.
“Then we are all safe.” Mary Elizabeth pushed herself up to stand and
moseyed over to the cinnamon rolls.
A gust of warm cinnamon and sugar floated over to us when she opened
the oven door.
“Those smell so good.” I smiled. “I’m more than happy to take those to
Betts.”
 “You can have one and tell me if it tastes the same.” Dawn winked.
Hank reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of paper from the
inside pocket.
“I hope you don’t mind that I used the printer in your office to make
some copies of the flyer the FBI put out with Greaser’s face on it.” He took
out the piece of paper and laid it on the table.
“That’s him?” I asked, picking up the piece of paper, noticing he looked
just like every other person on the street. Nothing special like big moles,
facial tattoos, long hair, bald - no unique marks.
“That’s him.” Hank leaned back and curled his hand around the handle
of the mug, bringing it up to his lips. “In case he does come back, I want
you to put these flyers up all over the campground.”
“Sure. I’ll have Dottie make them in the morning.” I laid the piece of
paper back on the table.
Mary Elizabeth sat down and slid it over to her side of the table. Her
face turned white as a ghost.
Slowly, she lifted her chin, her eyes big. She swallowed as though
something was stuck in her throat.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“This is the escaped prisoner?” She lifted her hand to her pearl
necklace.
“And serial killer,” Hank added.
“Are you okay?” I asked her again.
“I. . .um. . .Dawn?” She called Dawn over from the counter where she
was using a spatula to place each cinnamon roll on a fancy milk glass
platter. “This is Greaser.” She held the piece of paper up so Dawn could see
it.
“No.” Dawn laughed, but quickly stopped when she saw our faces.
“That’s our first guest.”
“Guest?” Hank asked.
“Oh, gosh.” Mary Elizabeth’s hand moved from the pearls to covering
her mouth. “He stayed here last night.”
“What?” The shock took over. “How on earth did you let him stay here?
What were you thinking? You’ve got to shut this place down. No more!” I
jumped up, pacing back and forth. “You don’t know what kind of riffraff
you’ll get staying here. You are too old to deal with this and I can’t take it.”
 “Calm down,” Hank spoke to me in a soft and rational tone, putting his
hand out for me to sit back down. My chest shook as my breaths got deeper
and deeper.
“She could be dead now.” I pointed to Mary Elizabeth.
“She’s not. Just sit down.” Hank’s sheriff side had taken over. “Dawn,
can you please come sit down and tell me about Greaser being here.”
“Sure.” She ran her hands down the tea towel and sat down across from
Hank, next to Mary Elizabeth. “We were in the garden doing some hoeing
when he came up from nowhere.”
“You should’ve known then.” I couldn’t keep my mouth shut even
though Hank continued to give me the wonky eye.
“He asked if there were any rooms available for the night.” Dawn
looked over at Mary Elizabeth for confirmation. “We told him there were
and that he was our first customer.”
“Excuse me.” Mary Elizabeth stood up and walked into the bathroom
off located just off the kitchen.
“This will bother her,” I said and ran my finger around the rim of the
mug to keep from shaking.
“We thought it was weird he had no car or luggage, but he said that a
friend had dropped him off.” Dawn gnawed on the edge of her lip, then
rubbed them together. “He ate supper with us. He wasn’t wearing anything
that looked like prison clothes.”
“What did he have on?” Hank reached into his inside coat pocket and
pulled out the little notebook for his case notes. He snapped the pen and
started to write.
“Jeans. A gray V-neck sweater. Loafers.” She put her finger in the air. “I
remember the loafers because most of the people who’ve come to the
Milkery to buy products usually have on boots or tennis shoes. Hiking-
friendly footwear.” She shrugged. “When he said he had been dropped off, I
figured he was in town on business and needed a place to stay for the
night.”
“How did he pay?” Hank asked.
“Cash. He pulled out a wad of cash from the front pocket of the jeans.
No wallet,” her voice trailed off as though she was watching a movie of him
in her head. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“My stomach is a mess.” Mary Elizabeth came out of the bathroom. “I
can’t believe I didn’t see past his act.”
 “What do you mean?” Hank asked Mary Elizabeth.
“He was a nice guy. He didn’t have a ring on his finger, and he spoke
with intelligence.” She reached over and patted Dawn on the back. “I
encouraged Dawn to get his personal information because he was so
charming, and she could use a charmer.” She grimaced and said, “She likes
those biker types. Tattoos and all.”
Dawn and I looked at each other. We both knew what it was like to be
mothered by Mary Elizabeth.
If it weren’t for this being a serious conversation, I might’ve said
something about Mary Elizabeth always trying to play matchmaker.
Another thing that drove me crazy as a teenager. She loved having boys
over for supper as potential dates for me. Embarrassing.
“It’s fine.” Dawn put her hand on Mary Elizabeth’s and patted her back.
“He didn’t have much to say about his past. I even invited him to the
reenactment, but he said he was heading out of town.”
“What time did he show up and what time did he leave?” Hank asked.
There was no expression on his face. His green eyes were intense.
“He showed up around three in the afternoon?” Dawn said with more of
a question. “We were out in the garden for a few hours. Since he was our
first customer, we told him to pick any room. He was gone by the time we
got up this morning.”
“Where is the room?” He asked, leaning on this left leg as he reached
around to pull his phone out of his back pocket.
“I’ll show you.” Dawn stood up and walked out of the kitchen with
Hank following along.
He was on the phone with the sheriff’s department, telling them to come
to investigate the house. I stayed behind to soothe a very upset Mary
Elizabeth.
“I can’t believe this.” She wrung her hands as she paced back and forth.
“I’m usually a good judge of character.”
“You had no idea.” I didn’t know what to say to comfort her. “At least
he didn’t hurt you.”
“He was such a nice young man.” Mary Elizabeth looked at the table
with a blank stare. “He sat where Hank was sitting. He enjoyed the
meatloaf.”
“You heard Hank. The scent stopped at the road. He probably hitched
another ride, like he said, and he’s long gone.” I wanted both of us to
believe the words coming out of my mouth, but I was scared.
CHAPTER 6

B efore I left the Milkery, Hank had every single officer from
Normal at the bed and breakfast. They checked every nook and
cranny in and around the farmhouse.
“This is an open investigation which means the bed and breakfast and
the Milkery will remain closed until further notice,” Hank told Mary
Elizabeth and Dawn
“Have you lost your mind?” Mary Elizabeth looked at me with an open
mouth. “I think he’s lost his mind.” She turned to Dawn when she didn’t get
a response from me. “He thinks we can just up and close a thriving
business. Closing the bed and breakfast is fine, but what about all the cow’s
milk? The eggs? They will spoil, and local restaurants pay for our fresh
products.”
I thought Hank was going to have to take Mary Elizabeth down to jail
because she was giving him the business about how she wasn’t going to
close the Milkery. And he thought I was bad.
I left it up to Dawn to be the sane one. I reiterated my offer for them to
come stay with me for the night or as long as they needed to, but they
declined.
There wasn’t much more for me to do there, so I gathered up the
casserole and the cinnamon rolls and headed back to Happy Trails, leaving
Hank to calm Mary Elizabeth down.
I kept my eyes peeled on the windy roads all the way back to the
campground for any signs of a person walking along. The further away
from the Milkery I got, the safer I felt, and I was so happy to hear the gravel
spit up from underneath the wheels of my car as I entered the campground.
 There were a few campers sitting out in by their firepits. Soon the
flames would be the only light around.
Henry was putting the finishing touches on the Tiki Hut for the party
tomorrow. I loved how he had put an old tent around it to make it look like
a civil war camp.
Dottie was sitting outside of her camper with a cigarette dangling from
her mouth and the pink sponge curlers in her hair, a nighttime ritual.
I stopped my car in front of her camper and rolled down the window.
“What’cha doing?” She asked through a puff of smoke. “Why don’t cha
get out and visit?”
“I’ve got to let Fifi out, but we’ll walk up here.” I drove off in the
direction of my camper and parked on the concrete pad.
The weather was perfect for an early spring night. These first few
months of the year were hard to figure out weather-wise. Freezing in the
morning, hot during the afternoon, and chilly at night. Tonight was a little
more on the warm side, which was perfect for strolling around the
campground and making sure all the tourists were okay.
I grabbed the flyer of Greaser that Hank had asked me to make copies
of from the passenger seat. If I didn’t grab it now, I’d forget or leave it in
the car.
I looked down at what appeared to be a fairly normal person, my gut
tied knots at the thought of telling my guests to be on the lookout for this
guy.
Fifi was dancing at the door when I opened it. She scurried down the
few metal steps of the RV and hurried over to the grassy area to do her
business. The little white puff ball of fur on the tip of her tail wiggled in
delight. She was good about staying around the camper, so I left her outside
while I grabbed her leash.
The sight of her leash made her jump up and down with delight. She
loved going for walks. She didn’t know that she didn’t need a leash while
we were at the campground, but I always used it anyway.
She was a designer poodle with a very fancy pedigree background.
Before she came to live with me, she’d been formally trained. She was a
show dog and was to continue the family line with the perfect mate.
Leave it to me to ruin that. I’d been babysitting Fifi for Tammy, her
former owner. Like I said, she loved running around the campground. I
didn’t worry about the filthy mess and matted clumps of mud she had in her
pristine white fur, figuring I’d give her a bath before she went home. That I
could control. What I couldn’t control was Rosco, the brown and white pug,
taking advantage of Fifi and the rest was history. Poor little Fifi had become
pregnant with what I coined a pugoodle. You know, a mash up of Pug and
Poodle. Well, Tammy didn’t think that was at all amusing, especially since
she’d put so much money into Fifi. Tammy said she didn’t want anything to
do with Fifi, so she came home with me.
Fifi had her sweet babies and Hank gave one to his mother. And here we
were today. Fifi was a confused, previously rich campground dog. One
minute she acted all pedigreed and the next minute, not so much.
“Good evening, Mr. Bassett,” I greeted the man who’d driven into the
campground earlier today. “I want to apologize for not being able to show
you around this afternoon when you got here.”
“It’s no problem.” His lips barely moved underneath his full mustache.
“Dottie gave us everything we need. My wife, Barbara, and I have been to
many campgrounds in our motor-home. We’ve been traveling around the
United States. We were happy to see you really do provide all the hookups.
Some campgrounds say that but leave out the part where they charge you an
arm and leg to use them.”
“We stand by our word. I can’t believe other campgrounds do that.” My
words only encouraged him to tell me more about their cross country
adventures.
“Now we are making our way up the east coast to see some family
members. I’m a bit of a Civil War buff, so I planned this leg of our journey
around the reenactment tomorrow.” He rocked back on the heels of his
Timberland boots.
“We are happy to have you.” I put Fifi’s leash under the toe of my shoe.
It was hard to unfold the piece of paper Hank had given me and hold the
leash at the same time. “I wanted to let you know to be on the lookout for
this guy.”
He took the paper from me and adjusted it in the beam of the street light
to get a better look. It was in between daylight and dusk, making it hard to
see perfectly. It was a beautiful back drop for the Daniel Boone National
Park that surrounded Happy Trials.
The burnt oranges and light pinks cast a blue tint on the forest and
mountains, giving them a warm glow that filled your spirit and couldn’t
help but remind you why people loved it here so much.
 “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about and he’s long gone from
Normal by now.” I didn’t like how long it took for Mr. Bassett to study the
picture. I couldn’t read his body language and I really wanted to know what
he was thinking. “Besides, the last time the dogs picked up Greaser’s scent,
he was heading out of town.” I shrugged and said with confidence, “I’m
sure he hitched a ride and is long gone.”
“Interesting.” He sucked in a deep breath and handed me the paper
back. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
I folded it back up and stuck it in my back pocket in exchange for my
ringing phone.
“If you’ll excuse me.” I hit the green answer button when I saw it was
Betts calling. “If you need anything,” I said to Mr. Bassett, “my camper is
right over there, and you can always call Henry.”
We gave each other one of those goodbye nods as I put the phone to my
ear.
“Are you okay? All the girls and I have been worried sick about you
and Lester,” I said with a bit of worry in my voice and with eagerness to
hear what Betts had to say.
“We are fine. A little shaken, but fine.” Her voice sounded unsteady and
not fine, despite what she was telling me and wanting me to believe.
I walked around the lake in case I ran into some more campers. I wanted
to tell them about Greaser instead of just posting a few flyers around the
campground like Hank wanted me to.
“Lester is a little more upset than me because he’d been praying with
Greaser when Greaser took complete advantage of him. The poor guard, she
almost broke her hand trying to get her Billy club back from him.” She told
me the horrific details while I continued to walk the campground with Fifi
trotting alongside of me.
I was happy to hear Betts and Lester were okay and glad to see Henry
had gotten the twinkle lights strung from post to post around the lake. The
pedal boats were tied to the small dock and ready for the campers to use.
The Tiki Hut had red, white, and blue lights and American flags dripping
off the roof.
The party was going to be a success and now that Greaser was long
gone, I knew we were going to have a good time.
“The guard was a she?” I asked, making sure I had heard right. I had
assumed the guard was a man.
 “It was Blanche Davis.” Betts acted as if I should know her. “Gosh,
sometimes I forget that you’re not from here. Blanche is the daughter of a
longtime member of the church. Blanche doesn’t get to church much
because she’s always working. She likes to sit in on the sessions we do with
the prisoners. She says she feels like she’s in church. Lester tells her that
she’s already doing God’s work in the prison by being a good example.”
“Lester finds the good in everyone, doesn’t he?” I didn’t know him all
that well. We’d only interacted a few times, but he was well-liked in the
community and I had only ever heard great things about him.
“He does. He’s even forgiven Greaser for escaping, but he is beating
himself up about it. I told him that it wasn’t his fault Blanche didn’t have
her holster on.” That caught my attention.
“She didn’t have her gun?” My jaw dropped.
Fifi began to bark and tug, extending the leash as far as it would go. I
reeled her in and unclipped her, letting her run over to the performance
stage near the Recreation Center. Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys
were setting up. Ethel was Rosco’s mama and he was with her.
Rosco and Fifi kissed and sniffed each other. I was fine with it now that
Fifi was spayed and unable to get pregnant. Tammy would have had a fit if
she saw Fifi interacting with what she’d call a dog from the wrong side of
the tracks.
“Lester said she never wore a gun when they did one on one time with
the prisoners because he wanted them to talk freely. When I go in and do
one on ones, the guards always have their guns on. I feel safer, but I don’t
have to worry about that now.” She let out a big sigh of relief.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The FBI put a stop to anyone coming in and out of the prison until they
find Greaser. But like Lester said, Greaser has long left now.” She sounded
confident.
“Did he say something to Lester?” I asked.
“Lester didn’t say much to me, but I overheard him telling Hank that
Greaser had said, and I quote, ‘Preacher, you don’t have to worry about me.
I’m gonna be going a long ways away from here and you tell the cops
that.’” Her voice changed, making me think it was how Greaser talked.
“Unbelievable.” I shook my head.
I decided to walk up to the office and run off a couple copies of
Greaser’s mugshot and make good on my promise to Hank. If the flyers
weren’t up, it’d be the first thing he’d notice when he came to see me.
“What’s unbelievable?” Dottie asked. She was sitting in one of the
plastic chairs near the office door, pushed back, teetering on the hind legs of
the chair.
“Is that Dottie?” Betts asked.
“It is. I’m at the office.” I pushed the back of the chair down to all fours
before I walked into the office. Dottie grumbled under her voice.
“Can you tell her and the rest of the Laundry Club that I’m fine? I got
all their texts, but we’ve been in and out and so busy talking to the sheriff’s
department and other officials I don’t know that I’ve barely had time to go
to the bathroom.” She sounded a little more like herself, which settled my
nerves a little.
“I have a breakfast casserole and some of Mary Elizabeth’s cinnamon
rolls that Dawn made for you and Lester.” I snuggled the phone between
my ear and shoulder while I opened the top of the copier and slipped the
piece of paper out of my pocket to make a few copies. “I told her I’d drop
them off to you in the morning.”
“I’ve got to go to the Laundry Club to do taxes before the deadline, so
do you want to meet me there?” she asked.
“I’d love to. I’m so glad everyone is okay,” I told her before we said our
goodbyes.
I stared at Greaser’s mugshot.
“But where are you?” I asked the photo.
I had an eerie feeling in my gut that we had not seen the last of him.
CHAPTER 7

“S o Lester isn’t going to play his role in the reenactment?”

Queenie asked, with a snide tone at the other end of the phone
call.
I was thankful Lester and Betts were okay, but Queenie wasn’t as
forgiving about Lester not being a soldier.
“Who am I going to get that’s responsible enough to use a bayonet?”
she questioned me like I knew of someone.
“I’m going to drop the casserole off to her.” I hadn’t thought the text
message I’d sent the girls at the Laundry Club this morning would spur a
call from Queenie.
“You don’t get it, Mae. This is a big deal. If we don’t do the
reenactment exactly the way it was and it is written in the script, we can get
some of the state funding taken away. I have to send in a video. It’s not
some willy-nilly thrown together little play.” Queenie rambled on about
how she’d worked her hiney off to get all this funding and since Lester
wasn’t hurt, he should be able to keep his word.
No amount of reasoning with Queenie was going to help. She was
stressed out and until this was all over, she wouldn’t be her normal self.
“I’ve got to go. I’ve got to make a few calls to see who can stand in.
Don’t you be late!” The line went silent.
While Fifi went out to do her morning business, I put some kibble in her
bowl and freshened up her water. I would be gone a few hours until after
the reenactment this afternoon. She wasn’t used to being home so much by
herself. I added a few treats to her food dish.
I filled my coffee mug with the freshly brewed pot I’d made and
grabbed the plastic bag with clothes Queenie had given me for the
reenactment.
I checked my phone one more time to see if Hank had texted me with
any updates on Greaser, but he hadn’t.
Fifi danced around the car in anticipation of me putting her in there as I
packed all the things I needed to take with us, including the breakfast
casserole and the cinnamon rolls.
“You be a good girl. I’ll miss you, ” I said to Fifi as I brought her back
into the camper. I surprised myself sometimes with the baby talk I did to
her. That was something I never thought I’d ever do. Well, I also never
thought I would ever live in a camper, much less own a campground.
The day was shaping up to be pretty nice for a reenactment. The
weather between winter and spring was hard to predict in Kentucky. One
day it could be raining, and the next day two inches of snow could fall.
Today the sun was starting to fade away the morning dew and cast a bright
light on our little part of the world.
Downtown Normal was the cutest place. Cozy shops lined both sides of
street. The street was one way each side and was divided by a grassy
median with a small amphitheater and covered shelter. Several picnic tables
scattered around the tall trees.
There was no doubt in my mind that there’d be tourists enjoying their
lunch on the picnic tables today. The community theater would be starting
up soon. During warmer weather tourists would flock to Normal since we
were located smack-dab in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Parents loved to bring their children here during their spring break.
Hikers loved to come and enjoy the spring foliage that would soon be
taking place.
I noticed the buds on the trees when I pulled into a spot in front of the
Laundry Club. Soon all the shop owners would be working in their side
yards.
Each shop was a renovated, cottage home-style building with a fenced
side yard. Deter’s Feed-N-Seed used his side yard to make a mini-campsite
to display all the cool items he sold just for those hikers and campers who
came to town.
The Trails Coffee Shop had little tables set up in their side yard so
tourists could sit outside and enjoy their coffee while taking in the
breathtaking views of the park.
 “Good morning,” I trilled when I used my backside to push open the
door of the Laundry Club.
My arms were stacked with the casserole and cinnamon rolls, plus I had
my coffee mug in my hand. I knew Betts would have some fresh coffee
brewed. Although I probably didn’t have time to have one, since Queenie
was such a mess, I did wish Betts would invite me to have a cinnamon roll
with her.
“In here!” I followed Betts’s voice and found her in the office. She got
out of the office chair and hurried over to grab the food out of my arms. “I
have to say that I’m thrilled your foster mom has come to live here.” She
licked her lips.
“Yeah. I guess I’m getting used to it too.” It was funny how once you’re
a grown up you can see why someone like Mary Elizabeth wanted me to
take all those fancy lessons. She only wanted what was best for me and I
could see that now. “Plus, she does make a great homemade cinnamon roll
that goes great with coffee.”
“Then we must have some.” Betts winked, getting the underlying tone
in my voice.
I followed her back out into the laundromat and over to the coffee
station where she set down the casserole and cinnamon rolls.
“I’ve already got my coffee,” I said and held up the mug I’d brought
from home.
The Laundry Club was empty this morning. Betts had the morning news
on the TV and the ticker on the bottom of the screen was a scrolling news
alert about Greaser’s escape.
“I guess they still haven’t found him.” I gestured up to the TV when
Betts came over with her cup of coffee and two small plates with a
cinnamon roll on each.
“Lester thinks that Hank is right about Greaser getting out of town.” She
shook her head. “We just can’t believe it. I should’ve known when he asked
to see Lester that something was up.” She adjusted herself on the couch,
pulling her leg up underneath her. “Prisoners never ask to see us. But you
know Lester.” She pulled the mug up to her lips and took a sip. She
continued, “Trying to save the world.”
“He’s a good one,” I said.
Gosh, I sure hoped she was right about Greaser.
 “I can’t believe they can’t find him.” She took a bit of the cinnamon roll
and a gurgle of happiness came from her throat as she mmhmm’d. “There’s
only one way into Normal and one way out.” She was referring to the curvy
country road that led to our little town.
“Hank said the dogs stopped tracking Greaser’s scent at the road, which
makes me think he was picked up by someone.” I didn’t want to put too
much thought into it because I was afraid that I’d tell her what I really
thought, that he was hiding in the woods somewhere.
“You’d think if they stopped every truck and car going out of Normal,
like he said they were, they’d found him by now.” She was right. “Do you
think someone helped him?”
“I don’t know.” My thoughts exactly. “Let’s just be happy that you and
Lester are safe and leave all the hunting down to Hank.” I took a bite of the
cinnamon roll.
While Betts and I finished eating our cinnamon rolls, we continued to
watch the news. Both of us cheered when they interviewed Queenie about
the reenactment. She was standing at the entrance of one of the trails where
Colonel Theophilus T. Garrard had led his troops to the battlefield site.
She told the history of the battle and why they decided to have the
reenactment at this time of the year instead of on the October date of the
actual battle.
“I had no idea they started to get ready for the battle so many months
before.” Betts shrugged and got up to get another cinnamon roll.
“I was looking over the maps Queenie laid out on the conference tables
at the library yesterday and I said that I can’t believe as a kid who went to
school in Kentucky that I never learned about these battles.” I scooted to the
edge of my seat. “Speaking of the reenactment.” I took the last sip of my
coffee. “Do you need a ride? I’m heading over there now.”
“I’m not going to be able to go. When Queenie first said they were
going to do it this month, I knew it would be hard with taxes due. Plus,
Lester is having a hard time getting the taxes done for the church, so I’m
going to have to try and help out over there.” A long, exhausted sigh
escaped her. “Besides, I’m still a little shaky from Lester’s ordeal.” She
held out her hand. It was a tad bit trembly. “I know I wasn’t in there, but I
could be a widow right now if Greaser . . .” Her voice cracked and trailed
off.
 “Don’t think like that.” I stood up and put my arm around her.
“Everyone is fine. Greaser has left town and the reenactment is going to
happen. Why don’t you get as much of the paperwork for the Laundry Club
done as you can and come watch a little of the battle.” I squeezed her
shoulder before I removed my arm. “I bet you didn’t know that I’m pretty
good with numbers, so why don’t you let me take a look at the church’s
taxes tomorrow.”
“Oh, I couldn’t do that. I mean, you already helped me out so much
with the cleaning jobs and . . .” she stopped talking when Hank began his
news conference update.
There wasn’t much news to report. There was no change. The police
were in place, and the FBI was setting up more checkpoints and had their
people positioned around Normal. He assured everyone the reenactment
was a go and that officers would be on duty there. He looked so handsome.
His green eyes flickered as the camera swept across his face, the sun hitting
him perfectly. It was a darn shame how men didn’t have to use makeup or a
filter to get a great photo with perfect lighting.
“You know.” Betts clasped her hands together. “I will take you up on
that offer. I’m going to get some paperwork done and I’ll be at the
reenactment. I bet I can even get Lester do his soldier duty.” She rose up on
her toes, clicked her heels, and saluted me, which had both of us laughing.
“We have to move on. Greaser is gone and he didn’t hurt us.”
“That’s the Betts I know and love.” A huge smile crossed my face. It
was a big relief to see my friend coming back to life. “You tell Lester that
I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning.”
“You’re such a gem. I have no idea what Normal would’ve ever done
without you.” Betts gave me another hug.
“Hey, you two!” The bell over the door of the Laundry Club dinged,
signaling Abby’s arrival. She was carrying some rolled up papers under her
arm. “I saw you in here and thought you were probably getting ready to go
to the reenactment.”
“I am. Betts will meet us there. And you are just in time for a cinnamon
roll.” I walked over to the coffee station and put a cinnamon roll on a
napkin. “Here you go.” I exchanged the pastry for the rolled up documents
in Abby’s arms. “Do we need to get these to Queenie ASAP?” I asked when
I noticed they were maps.
 “No. Hank.” She took a bit of the yummy goodness, the cream cheese
icing dripping down onto her bottom lip. She licked it off.
“Hank?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She did the gimme gesture and took one of the maps from me.
“This is a map of the part of the Daniel Boone National Park where they
last tracked Greaser.” She looked over at Betts with big eyes. “Sorry. I
should be more sensitive.”
“I’m fine.” She waved off Abby’s thoughts. “We are all concerned about
it. It just happened to be Lester who was used as a pawn for him to escape.”
“Pawn?” Abby asked, a concerned look in her eyes.
“I really think he asked for Lester on purpose to come to help in his
escape. It’s not a big secret that Lester doesn’t like armed guards in with
him when he witnesses to the prisoners. It was the perfect storm for what
Greaser was planning.” She made a lot of sense that I’d not thought of.
“Hank wanted to get the original maps of the park from the library since
they allow the prisoners to come to the library and use our resources.” Abby
threw that out there like it was a topic of everyday conversation.
“Really? Like how Jeffery Damore escaped from the library in Aspen.”
It was a known fact how he, a serial killer, had jumped from the third floor
window of the Aspen, Colorado. library and lived in the mountains until
they finally found him. “I wonder if Greaser had thought of that?”
“Not sure, but I do think he looked at these maps and got a sense of
where he needed to head so he could get out of town fast.” She uncurled the
map on the puzzle table and used the box of the unfinished puzzle to hold
down the edges. “Here is the prison.” Abby put her finger on the map.
It wasn’t a map with cute streets, houses, and trees. It was a map that I
didn’t understand, a topographic map. There were dark areas and light areas
that looked like pencil markings, but clearly they meant something because
Abby could read it.
“Here is Happy Trails.” She pointed to a light area with little dark
offshoots. “These are the trails leading away from the campground into the
National Park. Over here is where they lost Greaser’s scent.” She jabbed the
paper. “By the Milkery. He would have never been able to get over there
that quickly if he hadn’t known the land.”
“That’s crazy.” I shook my head. “Do you keep records of who looks at
these maps?”
 “Not really. I’m mean,” her face reddened and her voice softened. “We
should. But this is Normal, not some big city.”
“But we are next to a prison.” Betts said, surprising us with her little
jab. “I’m sorry.” She could probably tell by the looks on our faces that she
caught us off guard. “If it didn’t happen to Lester, I probably would’ve said
the same thing, but it did happen to Lester.”
“That’s usually the way it goes.” Abby reached across the table and
patted Betts’s hand. “We don’t care about things that we should care about
until they happen to us. Like the maps. From now on, I’m going to make
sure that everyone who pulls them from the archives signs a log.”
“Thank you.” Betts and Abby exchanged soft smiles.
My phone chirped with a text, interrupting the tender moment between
friends.
“It’s Queenie. She wants to know where we are and there’s several
exclamation points and a devil emoji.” I turned the phone around to show
them. “We’ve got to go before one of Hank’s men has to detain her.”
“She’s over the top this year.” Abby gave Betts a quick hug and then I
did the same.
“We will see you there.” I waved her off and held the front door for
Abby, gesturing to where I parked the car.
“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Betts, but don’t you think it’s
weird they haven’t found Greaser at one of the checkpoints?” Abby asked
the question that’d been swirling around in my head.
“More than weird. I mean, he could be hiding in the trunk of car, but I
think one of the police dogs would’ve sniffed him out.” I shrugged.
“Or someone didn’t leave with him and he’s somewhere in Normal.”
Abby glanced over at me. She gnawed on her cheek, her eyes dull with fear.
CHAPTER 8

I had never been to a reenactment before and was excited to see all the
spectators when I pulled up and parked in the parking lot next to the
battlefield.
Normally the grassy field was filled with small tents for serious campers
who only needed the basics to hike the Daniel Boone National Park. But
today it was like I’d stepped back in time, to 1861 in fact. There were
teepee type dingy white tents, horses, and people walking around in period
clothing that I’d only ever seen in the bags Queenie had handed out
yesterday at the library.
Old kettle pots were boiling above tented wood and open flames. There
were dogs running around with no leashes, but you could see they were
sticking close to their owners. Some soldiers with bayonets were hanging
around an old barrel that was really a newly made beer cooler. They were
drinking and having a good laugh. I recognized Darnell and Burt as two of
the men.
“There you are.” Queenie jerked my arm, nearly making me drop my
horse caretaker uniform. “I’m about to kill them.” She nodded towards the
drinking group. “They think this is all a joke. I swear. I should’ve never
given them the roles they wanted. I ought to kick myself in my behind for
letting them.”
“I think it’s all in good fun. You need to relax. They showed up.” My
hand swept in front of us to show her how her hard work had come to life.
“Look at this place. You’ve done a great job. It’s time for you to enjoy and
relax. Let everyone do their job.”
“I’ll relax once I get this uniform on that Bass boy.” She shook the bag
and held a bayonet.
 “Who?” I asked, though I knew I wouldn’t know who she was talking
about.
“You know. The Bass boy.” She tapped her head. “My head is all
jumbled. I can’t remember his name, but it’s Ronald Bass’s boy. He’s on the
Rifle and Archery Club at the high school.”
“Is his dad the Principal?” I asked.
“Yes. I said Ronald Bass’s boy,” Queenie spat like I knew him or
something. She jumped around. “That’s him over there. You go get your
outfit on, right now.”
She scurried off to the thin boy about fifteen feet away, his back to me. I
stood there as she jerked off his baseball cap and tucked it in the fanny pack
under her Jazzercise sweatshirt, replacing it with a soldier’s cap.
The poor guy reluctantly took the items before Queenie shoved him off
to take his post.
“Kids.” Queenie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms after she came
back over. “I swear they don’t have brain cells.”
“I thought you were picky about who handled the bayonets.” I called
her out on the firm stance she had taken earlier in the week.
“I’m in a pickle and since he’s the captain of the Rifle and Archery Club
and available, I figured he was the best option I had.” She jerked her head
toward the men around the barrel who were now toasting each other with
their beer cans. “I swear, they think they can just live it up because Greaser
is out of town, but they’ve got another thing coming to them.” She darted
off towards them.
I grabbed a fist full of Jazzercise sweatshirt and tugged her back.
“Wait. They’ve been drinking and you don’t want them to get mad at
you, even though you’re right.” I knew I had to make it seem like it was her
idea to send me over to calm them down. “So, I think you know I should
probably go over and say something.”
“I was just going to ask you to do that.” She circled her shoulders back
and lifted her chin. “You go tell them to behave and that we are starting in
twenty minutes, so they need to take their positions.”
I nodded and started to walk away to let them know to keep it down.
“And change your clothes!” She screamed at my back.
I held up the bag and waved it in the air without turning around to look
at her.
 Cars were pulling in, and some of the tourists and local folks had
already claimed spots near the edges of the battlefield. A few people had set
up some chairs and were already enjoying the early afternoon sunshine.
The weather was going to be perfect, just like Queenie had wanted and
one of the reasons she’d moved the reenactment from fall to early spring,
although she was telling the crowd it was due to the first meeting Colonel
Theophilus T. Garrard had had about the Battle at Camp Wildcat .
In any case, the crowd was starting to gather around and they were
ready for the reenactment, with not a bit of worry about Greaser being on
the run.
“Hey, guys.” I moseyed up to the group of men. “We’re about to start,
so can you please take your places so Queenie doesn’t start a real battle.”
“Sounds good, Mae.” Darnell said. “You know, you’re right about
Greaser probably being out of town. Now I can rest easy.” He used the back
of his hand to knock the guy next to him in the chest. “This is Burt Buggy.
He was on the jury too.”
“Me and my wife, Louise.” He pointed over to one of the kettles boiling
over an open flame. “She’s a nurse in the reenactment. We almost didn’t
come in fear of Greaser, but we got us some police escorts.”
The dressed officers were standing on the edge of the battle line, right in
front of the crowd.
“I’m sure it’s all good.” I pinched a smile and was happy to see some of
them had started to walk away from the beer barrel.
“She should know. She dates Hank Sharp.” Darnell gave a good hard
nod. “We are going to live it up at her campground tonight!”
“Cheers!” The two men clanked together their beer cans before
chugging down what was left and following that with long belches that
made my nose and lip curl in disgust.
The bugler stood in the middle of the makeshift battlefield and gave a
revelry bugle call, which was our signal to take our places. My stomach
grumbled when I walked past spectators with bags of freshly popped kettle
corn from one of the vendor booths. The cinnamon roll was great, but not
keeping me full, making me look forward to the after party at the
campground.
“You better get that apron on before Queenie high-tails it over here.”
Julip Knox stood near the makeshift horses stable where I was going to
“tend” to the soldiers’ horses, only there weren’t any horses there.
 “Hey, there,” I greeted her with a smile, happy to see that I wouldn’t be
standing alone for the thirty minutes it took to do the actual reenactment.
“I’m glad to see you.” I reached into my bag and pulled out the apron she
was talking about. “I had to wait to the last minute to put it on.” I held it up
to my nose and cringed when I got big whiff of the musty smelling cloth.
“They could do a better job cleaning them.” Julip laughed. “I’m lucky
that I get to wear some of the authentic nurse things I collected at the thrift
shop.”
“Yeah.” I doubled the apron string around my waist and knotted it. “I
bet you get the pick of the litter when things come in.”
“I do. I’m just glad that Mr. Deters lets me have that as a perk.” She
shrugged.
“Where on earth did Queenie get all of these props?” I looked around at
the cannons, the bourbon barrels, and multiple white tents.
“The high school has a great theater department and they let her use
what they have. They store them in the basement of the school.” Julip
pointed to the makeshift horse stall behind us. “Your stall is new this year.
The drama teacher said they’d make one and then come up with a new play
to use it in.”
I was going to comment but then a boom of a cannon exploded into the
air, giving me a jolt.
“Here we go.” Julip vigorously rubbed her hands together with
excitement.
I turned around to watch as the six cannons on our side of the battlefield
went off one by one, obviously not with real ammunition. There were ten
men on horses with swords in their hands and a line of men and a couple of
little boys marching behind another man carrying the Union flag. Each of
them had some sort of gun, even the young ones, which looked odd, but
back then they were considered old enough to fight.
The cannon fire exploded from the other side and a plume of smoke
hovered over each cannon long after the boom. A couple of men from our
side of the battlefield fell as though they had been struck. I watched as Julip
ran into action, rushing over to an injured soldier’s side, cradling his head in
her lap, and pretending to cry. She was really playing the part as the horses
and men with swords danced around her as the other side’s men on horses
charged.
 Julip didn’t even look up as the sword fight went on around her. She
simply took items from her knapsack and tended to the man’s wounds. She
finally gave up, laying his head gently on the ground and leaving his lifeless
body.
“So now what for him?” I asked about the man just lying there.
“Someone will come cart him off.” Just as she said that, a man came out
of nowhere, hoisted the lifeless soldier up by this armpits and dragged him
off the battlefield.
I was happy to see a man on a horse trotting over. The man leapt from
the horse and handed me the reins. I did what Queenie had written down in
my notebook to do. I took the horse’s reins and gave him a carrot from my
apron.
There was a steady stream of men and their horses for the entire thirty
minutes. The reenactment was planned down to the second. Julip did her
job, running to the injured soldiers, and she did the exact same thing every
time. I was starting to see the pattern of the Battle at Camp Wildcat. After
the first round of cannons from both sides went off, they did it again, giving
each side time to have men die. Then the men with the swords charged each
other in the middle, knocking out more men.
“Charge!” A group from the other side came flooding over to our side.
Some had swords while others had guns. Right away, I noticed Lester
Hager was one of the men. I was glad to see that he had shown up. I bet
Queenie was pleased too.
Bodies were dropping left and right. Julip was picking up her game. She
was beginning to linger a little longer with each injured soldier while I had
nothing to do because most of the horses had already been taken off the
field because their men had gotten killed or injured.
“Surrender!” shouted many voices from my group of soldiers. Some of
them were “shot” or “stabbed” while others ran off into the woods. The way
it was playing out seemed very real and I could picture how it’d happened
back in the day.
“I said surrender!” I heard Darnell scream before he fell to the ground in
what could’ve been considered an Oscar-worthy performance. His arms
flailed, his legs shook to keep him from falling down, and his fake blood
pack squirted all over the place, finally sending him to the ground in a pile
of body parts.
 “Wow,” I gasped, giving him a slow nod for his amazing performance
and watched as Julip threw her hands up in the air as the soldier who
pretended to kill Darnell jabbed the bayonet at her.
She giggled and put her hands down when the soldier ran away towards
the battle.
The crowd must’ve enjoyed the reenactment as well because they
cheered with delight. The more the crowd cheered, the more aggressive the
other side’s soldiers charged my poor soldiers with gunfire, sword fighting,
and regular fist fighting before they finally took what was left of my side as
prisoners of war. Even poor Julip.
I was supposed to surrender too, but I quickly took the clothes off that
were on top of my regular clothes and hurried to the sidelines with the
onlookers to grab me some of that kettle corn before it was gone.
After the smoke cleared and the pretend prisoners of war had been taken
into custody, the bugler gave the final toot. He played Auld Lang Syne as
the winning side, which was the north, held up their beaten up flag. The
crowd roared with hollers and claps.
Queenie took her spot in front of the crowd and held a microphone. The
crowd erupted into another round of applause for her. She beamed with
pride. No one dare leave their posts.
The dead were lined up along the tree line. The horses were tied up to
trees, and the prisoners of war, including Julip, had their hands up in the air
with a soldier behind each of them. It was actually kinda cool and I really
enjoyed it.
Too bad Hank couldn’t’ve been there. Though I’m sure he’d seen plenty
before.
“Mae, we got us a problem.” Dottie ran up to me, out of breath.
“Someone stole the Bassetts’ motorhome.”
“What?” A few kernels of kettle corn dropped from my mouth.
“Gone,” her lips opened wide as she slowly articulated the word.
“Stolen.”
CHAPTER 9

“D o they know?” I asked Dottie as we stood in the empty

camper lot where Frank and Barbara Bassett had parked
their big motorhome.
“Yes. How do you think I know?” The lines between her eyes were
deeply creased. “They came back from the reenactment and their
motorhome was gone.”
Gravel spitting up under tires grabbed my attention. I turned and looked
over my right shoulder, lifting my hand and shielding the sun from my eyes
to see it was Hank’s big black car.
He got out and looked between me and Dottie, peeling his sunglasses
off his face. There was a deep set worry in his green eyes that told me
something wasn’t right.
“What?” I asked.
“Are the Bassetts in the office?” he asked Dottie directly.
“They are and they are a mess.” She shook her head, pinching her lips
together. “I’ve never had this happen. Ever.”
“First time for everything. This is why we keep good insurance.” I made
a side note to try to see a little more of the sunny side of a situation that
looked all too bleak.
“Mae, this is very serious,” Hank told me like I wasn’t taking it that
way. I was, but I also had a tendency to try to see the glass half full. If I’d
not done that all my life, I’d be stuck somewhere other than here.
“Sorry,” I said instead of going head to head with him. “What can I
do?”
“I’ll need to see the video footage of your security cameras.” His words
stuck me like one of the swords the reenactment soldiers were using. “You
did get those up and running, didn’t you?”
He must’ve seen the look on my face.
I licked my lips and gnawed on the edge of the bottom one.
“Mae,” he signed and ran his hand over his hair. “That was one of the
first things that needed to be fixed when you started fixing things up.”
“It’s one of the things you told me to get to fixed after Paul floated up to
the top of the lake.” My eyes gazed over at the pier where my dead ex had
appeared after his prison break. “It wasn’t a priority with me.”
“Then how do you figure I find who stole the motorhome?” He asked in
a sarcastic way.
“I don’t know.” I shot back. “Maybe some good old-fashioned detective
work like they did before there was all this technology to do it for you.”
His eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched. His chest lifted.
“I’m sorry.” I hurried after him after he started to walk back to his car.
“I didn’t like how you scolded me.”
He held up his hand for me to stop, his back to me.
“Hank, we are all on edge here. No one wanted their motorhome to be
stolen. We’ll find it.”
“You’re always optimistic.” He turned around. His expression was
serious. “Life isn’t always. . .” His hands gestured in the air as he searched
for the right word.
“Unicorns and rainbows?” I suggested.
“What?” He blinked a couple of times. “Fluffy. I was going to say
fluffy.”
“I prefer unicorns and rainbows,” I joked, with no response from him.
“Fine.” I shuffled the toe of my shoe on the gravel. “What can I do to
help?”
“For starters,” He pointed to the front of the campground, “I can’t have
anyone coming in or out of here until we check all the gravel marks for
footprints, tires, and any debris.”
“That’s impossible.” Was he crazy? “I’m about to host the big
reenactment after party.”
“You’re not now. This is an official investigation.” He grabbed his
phone out of the inside of this jacket pocket. When he did, a folded up piece
of paper fell out.
I picked it up and noticed it was a map. I opened it and looked at it
while he called in for more backup, making it very clear this was going to
be a long afternoon and would probably go into the night.
The map was of some of the Daniel Boone National Park trails that
surrounded the campground. There were lines drawn with red ink that led
straight to Happy Trails.
“What is this?” I asked when he got off the phone.
“Follow me.” He grabbed some police tape from the trunk of his car and
walked along the road going towards the front of the campground. “As you
can see it’s a map of some of the hiking trails that dump into the
campground. We’ve not found Greaser at any of the checkpoints, which
makes us believe he’s still here.”
“But I thought you said someone probably picked him up.” My mind
started to get all jumbled up as my heart sped up.
“Probably isn’t a for sure. We have to look at all angles. Those red lines
are trails he could’ve taken from the prison to here.” He fisted his hand,
leaving his thumb out, jabbing it over his shoulder. “And stealing a
motorhome would be something right up his alley to get out of town.”
“You don’t. . .” My jaw dropped. “Greaser stole. . .” My voice trailed
off again while my mind tried to catch up to my mouth. “You think Greaser
stole the motorhome?” I gulped.
“It’s a possibility.” Hank put his hand out in front of him as a car was
driving up, having them stop. “Here.” He peeled the edge of the police tape
from the roll and handed it to me. “You walk that way and circle it around
the storage units. I’m going to circle it around the office until my men get
out here to do it properly. I’ve got to stop the traffic.”
I did what he said without even thinking about how I could get around
this or where we were going to have the after party. It was already set up
and we’d worked so hard on it.
By the time I’d gotten around the storage buildings, a line of cars had
been stopped at campground’s entrance. Hank was walking car to car,
letting them know the party was cancelled.
“What is going on here?” Queenie was running alongside the cars,
waving her Jazzercise headband in the air. Her face was as red as her hair.
“Someone better explain something to me fast!” she screamed.
Everyone was starting to get out of their cars. There was a domino
effect of car doors slamming as people started to get out.
Dottie was in the office with the Frank and Barbara. And it was exactly
where I wanted to be, especially once I heard Queenie calling my name.
 “Mae West! Mae! You better have me another place!” she hollered as
she tried to dance around Hank.
He had his hands out to his sides trying to reason with her. Her nose was
curled and her lips going a mile a minute, no doubt giving him a good
tongue lashing.
“What’s going on?” Abby Fawn had walked up to the police line where
I was tying it off.
“A motorhome was stolen. Hank thinks Greaser stole it.” The reality hit
me as the words came out of my mouth. The thought of him being in my
campground sent goosebumps all over me. “Now we can’t have the party
here and Queenie is going to kill me.”
“Easy.” Abby pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hashtag reenactment
party moved to hashtag town median.”
“Genius!” I grabbed her by the arms. “You keep doing all that social
media and see if the radio station will pick it up. I’ll get everything in my
RV and get it down there.”
“Is Hank going to let you out?” she shrugged.
“No.” My heart sank when I remembered he said no one driving in or
out. “But you have a car right there. And they all have cars.” My finger
drew down the line of cars. “There’s at least fifteen. Everybody can take
something. We just have to get Hank to agree.”
Abby stood there and did all the social media and called the radio
station while I walked over to Queenie and Hank, where I pitched Abby’s
idea about moving the party to the median downtown.
“It’s perfect. The twinkle lights are still up from Christmas. It’s a
gorgeous afternoon. The food is all ready to go and everyone can take a tray
or two with them. The band can set up in the amphitheater.” I rocked on the
heels of my shoes and clasped my hands in front of me. “It’s a better option
than no party.”
“What if people don’t use social media and show up here?” Queenie
was full of piss and vinegar.
“I can position one of my men at the entrance of the campground to
divert them back to town. It’s only a few minutes’ drive.” Hank was on
board. “It’s your only option, Queenie.”
“Fine. But you owe me.” She jabbed her long, bony finger into my chest
before she twirled around and hurried back to her car in a huff.
 Hank and I made several trips from the recreation center kitchen, where
the food had been dropped off by area businesses, to the cars. Everyone was
more than happy to do what needed to be done to get the food to the median
downtown.
The police officers and sheriff’s department had shown up while we
were transferring the food. Hank quickly gave all of them the lowdown
while I helped everyone back up and head to town.
Hank and I went into the office where Dottie was sitting with Frank and
Barbara, who were rightfully so very upset.
“Mr. and Mrs. Bassett, I’m Detective Hank Sharp, and I’ll be working
on getting your motorhome back safe and sound.” Hank shook both of their
hands.
“I don’t want it back if a serial killer has stolen it.” Barbara eased up on
the edge of the chair and nudged her husband. “Isn’t that right, Frank?”
“I just want my stuff out of it.” The bags under Frank’s eyes were dark.
“I’m sure you have insurance, right?” Frank looked at me.
“We do. I’ll call him right now.” I headed over to my desk and thumbed
through the old paper wheel address book looking for the phone number of
Ken Heidelman, owner of Heidelman Insurance Agency.
Hank had pulled up a chair next to Frank and continued to ask them
questions.
“Have you seen anyone unusual hanging around your motorhome?” he
asked them.
“Unusual?” Barbara laughed. “Most of the people we find in these
campgrounds are sort of unusual, if you know what I mean.” She shifted
uncomfortably in her chair and looked at Dottie from underneath her brows.
“What does that mean?” Dottie spoke up quickly, not letting anything
get by her.
“I’m just saying that. . .” Frank put his hand on his wife’s knee to stop
her.
“My wife isn’t a fan of the RV life. I had to buy the big motorhome in
order for her to feel like it’s a home.” His hand gesture didn’t work for long.
Barbara smacked it away.
“Don’t silence me, Frank. I told you not to leave the keys in the
console,” she warned with a sharp tongue.
Who on earth leaves their keys where they are visible, I wondered?
Then I questioned whether or not I could use that bit of information with
the insurance company.
“He is having some sort of later in life crisis, because we aren’t young.
And he wants to travel all over the states and do these silly little
reenactments. If you seen one, you’ve seen them all.” The sarcasm in her
tone brought me out of my thoughts.
“Barbara , dear.” Frank once again tried to silence her.
“He’s right. I didn’t want to leave the comfort of my home, so he had
the motorhome turned into a replica of our family room, including my
electronics where I play computer games and keep up with my friends on
social media.” She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a long, deep
sigh. “I told you this sort of thing happens at these sort of places.”
“What sort of places?” Dottie was getting hot under the collar.
“Mae,” Hank said my name with a head tilt towards the door. His way
of telling me to get Dottie out of the building.
Ken hadn’t answered the couple of times I’d dialed him, so I hung up
the phone and gestured for Dottie to follow me while I grabbed Fifi from
her dog bed.
“What? Mae, you heard her.” Dottie wasn’t budging. I walked over to
her desk, giving her a stern look. “Fine, but that woman talks enough for
four sets of teeth,” she spat and jumped up from her chair, grabbing her
cigarette holder pouch.
She didn’t bother trying to be nice on the way out, slamming the door
behind us.
“You can’t tell me that you’re happy with what she said in there.” Dottie
snapped open the top of the pouch and took out a cigarette. She stuck the
stick in the corner of her lip as she fumbled to get her lighter out of the little
pocket of her cigarette pouch.
I put Fifi on the ground to let her do her business while Dottie and I
discussed the stolen RV situation.
“Dottie, we are a business and we have to just ignore people like that.”
There was no movement on her face that let me know she was
understanding what I was saying. She was too focused on getting the lighter
to work, taking her three tries. “They have no idea how amazing living in a
campground really is. Look at me. I had no clue either. Remember?”
Dottie shifted her weight to one side. One arm hugged her lower belly
while the other arm held up the cigarette as she continued to smoke like a
choo-choo train. She glared at me through the smoke.
 “Seriously?” I fanned the smoke out of my face. “You’ve got to stop
smoking. It’s not only killing you, but it’s killing me.”
The door of the office opened, and Hank stuck his head out.
“The office phone was ringing. I answered it and it’s Ken Heidelman.”
He nodded for me to come back in.
Dottie threw the cigarette on the ground and started to snuff it out with
the toe of her shoe.
“Not you, Dottie.” He put his hand out. “Just Mae.”
“You made me waste a good cigarette.” She bent down and grabbed it,
trying to salvage what was left of it.
I shook my head as I walked into the door. I turned around and said to
her, “Do you mind taking Fifi back to my camper?”
“Nope.” She looked past me and glared at Hank. “I need some good
refreshing air.”
We ignored her snide comment and walked inside the office.
“Do you have the make and model of the motorhome?” I asked Hank
when I saw that Barbara Bassett was being consoled by her husband.
“I do.” He flipped through his little notebook on my way over to the
desk where the receiver of the phone was lying on its side.
“Hello, Ken,” I greeted him on the other end of the line.
“I see from my caller ID you called several times,” Ken said.
“Yes. I’ve got a claim to make on a stolen motorhome. It’s currently in
the hands of the sheriff’s department, but I wanted to know what the steps
were to get a claim started.” I knew he was going to need a police report
and more, I just wasn’t sure what the more was.
I knew for sure I would get dinged big time for not having security
cameras. I grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and wrote down the
things he was telling me.
“I need your vehicle identification number as well as your motorhome
insurance company name and policy number. Do you have a list of items in
your motorhome?” I asked Frank.
“In the motorhome.” Barbara snarled. “But it got stolen and if you had
cameras that were working, then we could see that serial killer stealing it.”
“Dear.” Frank patted her again. She jerked away.
“Do you know offhand what type of coverage you have?” I asked Frank
directly. He looked confused. “Comprehensive? Personal contents
coverage? Sound system coverage? Emergency travel?” I listed some out
for him as he shrugged. “You know what, your insurance agent will know.”
I quickly wrote down Happy Trails’ email address and fax machine
number so he could give those to his insurance agent and slid the paper
across my desk.
“Thank you. I’ll let them know.” I hung up the phone. “Ken said not to
worry. It’ll all be replaced and he’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Barbara jumped up. “I’m not staying here another minute.
Either he comes today or we sue you!”
“That’s not going to help anyone. There is a protocol for these things
and we have to proceed step by step” Hank spoke up, trying to get Barbara
to settle down. “We have a very nice bed and breakfast just outside of town
that I’m sure Mae doesn’t mind paying for. You’ll be very happy there.”
“That sounds good.” Frank nodded and continued to try and pat his
wife, who jerked every time his hand even got close until she finally
smacked him away. “I know this isn’t what we’d planned. I’m sure it’s not
what Mae planned,” he was trying to assure his wife. “Things happen.
When you agreed to get a motorhome, we knew this was a possibility.” He
continued to talk to her because she’d settled down and seemed to be
listening to him through her fake sniffles, “As long as you are safe, I’m
happy. We will go to the reenactment party and let Mae get us some things
we will need while we stay here. She can get everything to the bed and
breakfast while we enjoy the rest of the day.”
That wasn’t what I was thinking at all, but apparently Frank had decided
what I was going to do after they left. I took my own advice that I gave
Dottie and sat there with a smile on my face, agreeing to whatever Frank
had to say to keep Barbara calm.
“Sound good?” he asked as she let him rub her back.
She sniffled, blinking her eyes as her chin lifted up and down several
times with puckered lips like a baby about to cry.
“Perfect.” Hank looked over at me with relief on his face. “I’m going to
go down to the reenactment party to talk to a few of the campground guests
to see if they might’ve seen something out of the ordinary today. Why don’t
you follow me down there?”
After I made sure I had Frank’s cell phone to get in touch with him,
Hank, along with Frank and Barbara, were on their way.
 “Well?” Dottie popped her head back into the office door. “Am I
allowed back in my own office?”
“Yes. But I’m afraid we are going to be in a bit of a pickle.” I looked
down at the notes I’d taken during my quick phone conversation with Ken.
“Since I didn’t get the cameras fixed, this is going to cost me a lot of money
and I’m worried the campground is going to be in trouble.”
“What do you mean?” The look in Dottie’s eyes wasn’t one I had seen
since I originally moved to Happy Trails and planned to sell the place,
leaving her without a job.
“Ken said that the claim on the Bassett’s motorhome would nearly triple
the premium for our policy and I don’t have that kind of cash in the
campground checking account.” I clicked away on the keyboard of the
computer to bring up the bank account. “It looks like I’ll have to close the
campground, claim bankruptcy, and sell it.”
I tried to look at Dottie past the tears filling my eyes.
“That settles it.” Dottie grabbed my keys off the desk. She tossed them,
sending my flamingo keychain towards me. “We’ve got to find the
motorhome before they can make a claim.”
My brain was having a hard time registering what she was saying.
“Get off your hump. We’ve got a serial killer to track down,” she
scurried out the door. “After we make an appearance at the reenactment
after party.”
It was official. Dottie Swaggert had lost her mind and I liked it.
CHAPTER 10

D ottie rambled on the entire way over to the reenactment party

about all the different places we could look for the motorhome.
She was right about one thing: the motorhome wasn’t going to get
out of Normal because the police checkpoints were still up. That also meant
that Greaser was still in town, which didn’t make me feel any better.
“What’s the plan?” Dottie asked from the passenger seat of my car with
a glint of wonder in her eye.
“I’m not sure if I have a plan. You’re the one who came up with the
grand idea of tracking down Greaser.” I pulled into a spot near the Laundry
Club and parked.
“I came up with the idea, so now you need to come up with the plan.
Geesh, Mae, I can’t do everything.” She opened her door and got out,
leaving me no room to protest her silly comment. “I’ll think on it while we
grab some food.”
It was enough of a plan for her to head on over and talk to people still
dressed in their reenactment outfits while she fed her face.
“Just the person I wanted to see,” I greeted Dawn Gentry when I saw
her walking up. “Where’s Mary Elizabeth?”
“She’s back at the Milkery getting some of the garden items labeled.”
Dawn had a corn dog in one hand and a chocolate-dipped banana on a stick
in the other. “You have to try one of these.” She held the banana out. “We
sell these at the Milkery now. Organic and so fresh.”
“I think I want one for the chocolate.” I laughed and quickly stopped
when I noticed Queenie marching over with a scowl on her face. “Oh,
gosh.” I grabbed the chocolaty treat from Dawn and chowed down on it.
“Mae,” Dawn squealed.
 “Mae West, where is your outfit?” Queenie huffed and puffed up like a
proud rooster. “This is turning out to be a disaster.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked through a mouthful of mushed up
banana. “Everyone is enjoying themselves.” I gestured with the empty stick
the treat used to be on.
“Not this.” She stomped.
That’s when I noticed Dawn moseying away. Traitor, I thought.
“Some of the actors aren’t here and I can’t give my thank you speech
without them. I swear if they are drunk, I’ll. . .I’ll. . .” she stuttered, “I don’t
know what I’ll do.”
“Listen, would you feel better if I drove back out there and got them?”
It was a good time to not only drive around to see if I could find the stolen
motorhome, but also to help out Queenie by bringing the probably drunk
actors back to the after party, making her a little happier.
“You’d do that for me?” she cried out with a look of gratitude on her
face.
“Of course I would.” I rubbed my hand up and down her arm for
comfort. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Maybe a jiffy was stretching it because I did plan on taking my time to
look for the motorhome along the way.
“Thank you, Mae,” she sighed with relief.
“Thank you for what?” Abby walked up just in time to hear the tail end
of my conversation with Queenie.
“Just in time for you to take a ride with me to the battlefield.” I tucked
my arm in Abby’s elbow and guided her out of the median, across the
street, and down the sidewalk towards the Laundry Club where I’d parked
my car.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
On our way down the sidewalk, I told her about the motorhome getting
stolen and how I had to get Frank and Barbara set up at the Milkery.
“I need a favor.” I started up the car when we got in. “Do you know
Julip Knox’s phone number?”
“I do.” Exactly what I wanted to hear from Abby.
“I need to talk to her about possible places someone would hide
something in the national park. Something like a motorhome.” I couldn’t
help but think Julip might be of some help on where Greaser might be
hiding a huge motorhome. “There can’t be too many places to hide such a
big vehicle.”
It only made sense. Even if Greaser wasn’t the one who stole it,
somebody did and they had to be hiding it somewhere.
I headed back out of town, toward the battlefield, while Abby was on
the phone with Julip.
“I’m not sure, but I can grab some maps I have at home and take a
look,” Julip said through the speaker of Abby’s phone.
“Do you know of any hiding places off the top of your head?” I asked,
hoping we could just drive by some on the way to the battlefield.
“Well, there’s the Kissing Point, but kids go there to party. Their parents
don’t know about it, but I do because I know this place like the back of my
hand.” That gave me at least one place to check out.
“The Kissing Point?” I questioned. It sounded like a place I would have
liked when I was a teenager.
“I haven’t been there in a long time.” Abby smiled. “Good times. I
know exactly where it’s at.”
“Thank you, Julip. Please let me know of any other places,” I said
before she and Abby hung up. “We can go there after we pick up the drunk
soldiers.” I turned the car into the entrance of the battleground field.
Across the bluegrass field that was the makeshift parking lot, I could see
the barrel where the men had gathered earlier in the day, using it as a table
for the beer cans.
“I don’t see them.” I drove the car up as close as I could to the
battlefield. There were some props still there and if I knew Queenie, I’m
sure she had someone scheduled to come pick it all up.
“What’s over there by the trail?” Abby looked up from her phone and
pointed.
“Gosh,” I groaned when I saw that it was soldiers in their uniforms. “I
bet they are passed out drunk. When they pretended they were dead and
dragged off the battlefield, they took advantage of the sleeping time.” I
sighed and put the car in park. “Queenie is going to be so mad.”
“What are you doing?” Abby asked when I turned the car off and
opened my door.
“I’m going to go get them.” I got out of the car.
“Just let them sleep it off.” Abby got out on her side.
 “I told Queenie I would get them and I’m going to follow through.” If
there’s one thing I learned since the whole money scandal from my dead ex-
husband, it was follow through with your word.
“Fine.” Abby shoved the phone in her pocket and we walked across the
battlefield. “Next year, she needs to lay down stricter rules about not
drinking until after the reenactment.”
The four people were all lined up in a row. I recognized the Bass boy,
Darnell, and Burt Buggy. There was a woman that I didn’t know, but I
remembered seeing her carrying one of the Union flags during the battle.
“Abby,” I gulped as my gaze held for a moment on each of their chests.
“None of them are breathing.”
“What?” She asked with a slightly nervous laugh.
“I’m serious. No one is breathing.” I bent down next to the woman and
put my hand on her neck. “Call the ambulance. I think she has a pulse.”
“Are you kidding me?” Abby was in bit of a shock. “Darnell, you
drunk. Get up.” She haphazardly kicked the bottom of his shoe, causing his
neck to fall to the side.
“Abby, I need you to call the ambulance,” I told her again and looked
the woman over.
“Mae,” Abby’s voice got louder as she drew out the last letter of my
name. “He’s been stabbed!”
“What?” I jumped up to my feet and hurried over to Darnell. There was
blood all over his neck.
“And Burt!” She screamed so loud it echoed off the trees. She pulled
her phone out of her pocket, fumbling it a few times between each hand
until she got a steady grip on it.
When I heard her say we needed an ambulance to the person on the
other end of the line, I took a couple of deep breaths to get my head in the
right place and called Hank.
“They are dead!” I screamed in the phone. So much for a calm head.
“Hank!” I began to cry as the words left my mouth. “Darnell, Burt Buggy,
and the Bass boy are dead, but the woman. . .” I was hyperventilating from
talking too fast. “The woman still has a pulse. Darnell, Burt, and the woman
have all been stabbed. The Bass boy, I don’t see anything on him.”
“Mae, where are you?” Hanks asked just as calmly as could be.
“I’m at the battlefield picking up. . .” My voice trailed off and I jerked
my head towards the woman when she gurgled. “Oh gosh, hurry. I don’t
know how long the woman is going to last.”
I threw the phone back in my pocket and ran back over to her. I ripped
the bandana off her head and used it to apply pressure on the stab wound in
her neck.
It felt like hours later when I heard the sound of sirens in the distance,
but in reality, I knew it was only a few minutes. Abby was kneeling by the
top of the woman’s head, encouraging the woman to hold on, telling her
help was on the way.
Abby and I didn’t look up when we heard several car doors slamming.
We continued to talk to the woman until the paramedics asked us to move.
It wasn’t long before Hank and a slew of cop cars peeled into the
battlefield.
“Hank.” My heart dropped when I saw his gentle eyes find me. The
worried look on his face melted when he saw that I was really okay.
I ran over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, sobbing.
“Shhhh,” his breath was hot against my ear. “It’s going to be okay,” he
assured me and I truly believed him.
“Why don’t you and Abby go sit in my car?” He pulled away from me
and used his hand to push back my hair.
“No.” I shook my head swallowing hard. “I’ll go sit with Abby and you
come get us when you need us.”
I knew from past experience that he would take a quick look around the
scene and tell his men what they needed to do before he decided it was time
for him to question me and Abby about all the particulars. Why we were
here? How did we find them? Positions? Did we move them? All the
questions.
Abby and I sat in silence, watching the team of officers. They were like
ants going from one victim to the other. At one point, they all seemed to
have stopped, like the leaves on a tree before a tornado was about to rip
through. Then a tornado did rip through.
“That’s Greaser.” One of the officers said about the Bass boy.
“Greaser?” Abby and I said together in disbelief and looked at each
other.
“That’s not Greaser!” I screamed over at Hank.
All the men in uniforms glanced over at me, then looked at Hank. He
waved me over.
“What do you mean this isn’t Greaser?” Hank asked me.
 “That’s the Bass boy. You know, the boy who is on the archery club at
the high school,” I said it as confidently as Queenie had told me. “Ronald’s
boy. The principal of the high school,” I rambled on like I really knew what
I was talking about.
I could see the confusion written on all of the officers’ faces.
“Excuse us.” Hank grabbed me by the elbow. While pulling me away
from the scene, he said to the men, “Go ahead and process.”
That was apparently some sort of code to move the bodies because I
saw Colonel Holz, the coroner, push his church cart over to Darnell Grassel.
“Mae, that’s Greaser. The escaped prisoner,” Hank told me just as stern.
“Why do you think it’s Ronald Bass’s son?”
“Well,” I paused, leaning a little past Hank’s shoulder to look at the man
again. “I swear it’s the same guy that came up to Queenie. Or did Queenie
grab him when he was walking by?” I wasn’t sure of how those particulars
went, but I did know that Queenie told me. . . My jaw dropped. “Hank,” I
gripped his forearm. “Queenie was mad because Lester couldn’t come and
do his part, so she’d called Ronald Bass to see if his son could handle doing
the bayonet because he was responsible as the captain of the archery club at
the school. He said yes and when that guy,” I pointed over at the dead guy,
“walked near me and Queenie, I guess she assumed it was the Bass boy and
she gave him. . .”
My words stopped when I suddenly realized exactly what had happened
here.
“Darnell and Burt,” I gasped. “They were on the jury! Greaser
recognized them and he made good on his promise.”
Panic started from my toes and ended in a swirly head of dizziness,
bringing me to my knees. Hank wrapped me up in his arms and picked me
up. He carried me over to his car and sat me down in the passenger seat.
“Here.” He reached across me and grabbed the bottle of water from the
middle console. “You sit right here and drink this.”
I did exactly what he said and watched as the Colonel took each man to
a waiting ambulance, assessing them and writing notes on a clipboard
before he let the ambulance drive off.
The woman had been gone a while and I couldn’t help but wonder if she
too were on the jury or was just an innocent bystander.
“Please, please, please, let her live.” I took the moment I had alone to
say a prayer because I knew what was going to happen next.
 All the Laundry Club girls would be dying to know what happened,
what really happened, on the battlefield today.
CHAPTER 11

A fter I’d sat in Hank’s car for a little while and after Abby had
answered all the questions Hank had for us, he let us leave. He
said it was going to be a long night since it was now a murder
investigation. He’d also mentioned something about someone on the
outside helping Greaser escape.
He never once told me if he thought Greaser had been murdered or how
he’d died. I decided to believe that maybe the woman realized that he was
really stabbing people and she ended up being the hero of the day.
“Wouldn’t that be something?” Abby liked my theory.
“Tell me where the Kissing Point is again.” Even though Greaser had
been identified, I still believed he had stolen the motorhome, plus there
might be some evidence in it for Hank if somebody did in fact help him
escape.
But not going bankrupt was my real motivation for finding that
motorhome.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go looking now.” Abby’s knee bounced
up and down. “I’d just really like to get back so I can go home.”
“I need to find the motorhome,” I told her and pulled the car off to the
side of the road. “I don’t have video cameras at the campground. If I don’t
find that motorhome, I’ll have to file bankruptcy because my insurance will
go up and I can’t afford that right now.”
It was humiliating having to tell her that, and my soul felt defeated. It
was hard for me to accept any sort of failure, but she needed to know
exactly the reason for my drive to find it.
“I thought the campground was doing great.” Abby looked at me for an
explanation.
 “It’s doing well. I have been pouring any extra money into continuing to
build it up. I figured I’d have some time before something disastrous
happened.” I gnawed on the edge of my lip. “Obviously, I was wrong.”
It was true. I had used any extra money from the camper rentals, lot
rentals, and prepaid future guests to continually make improvements to the
campground. It wasn’t cheap getting more laundry machines, fixing up the
recreation building, keeping the lake clean with the new aeration system,
updating the campers to today’s standards, etc.
“Mae, you’ve got to be kidding me? All the social media work I’ve
been doing for free is going to go down the tubes?” Abby gave me a blank
look.
“Not necessarily. I’m sure someone will buy the campground.” A week
didn’t go by without someone contacting me to buy the place and take it off
my hands.
“Yeah, people who want to make Normal a mini-Gatlinburg,” she
groaned, melting her body into the seat. “We don’t need all that traffic.” She
was talking about the tourist city in Tennessee that used to be a hiking trail
through the Great Smoky Mountains that was now littered with places like
Ripley’s Believe It or Not, The Cheesecake Factory, pancake houses, and
outlet malls. “Go on.” She pointed back to the road.
“Thank you,” I said with a grateful heart. “We might not find it there,
but I’m going to try really hard to find it.”
“What does it look like?” she asked, taking out her phone.
“It’s base color is cream. There are several brown and orange stripes
along the side. It’s a motorhome, so there’s a driving part up front and a
sleeping part on top with windows.” I did my best to describe it from
memory.
“Hashtag motorhome stolen in hashtag Normal,” Abby recited
everything I had described, adding a hashtag before every word and only
stopping when she gestured that I needed to turn. “Is there a reward?” she
asked.
“I’ve not thought about it.” It did seem like a good idea.
“How much money do you have?” she asked, pointing for me to turn
down a narrow gravel road.
“It doesn’t matter.” I slammed the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden
halt.
Both of us stared out the front windshield at the big cream motorhome.
 “Is that it?” Abby asked, looking for confirmation.
“Yes.” I jerked the gear shift into park and opened the door.
“Oh, no.” Abby sat straight up. “This time we are calling Hank first.”
“No, we aren’t.” I slammed the door.
“Yes, we are!” Abby jumped out of the car and fumbled with her phone.
“Greaser might have an accomplice that could be in there. Dying today
wasn’t on my To Do list.”
“It’s fine.” I waved her to follow me.
“It’s not fine.” She kicked an empty beer can. “Do you think Greaser
drank all this beer by himself?”
There were six cases of empty beer cans thrown all over the ground in
front of the motorhome.
“I’m going in.” I have no idea where my confidence came from, but
adrenaline was pumping through my veins, making me make decisions that
probably weren’t in my best interest. Before I even thought about what I
was doing, I curled my hand around the motorhome door handle and
opened the door.
“Hello? Police. I’ve got a gun!” I yelled into the motorhome. A big lie,
but they didn’t know that. “Is anyone in here?” I peeked inside and saw legs
on the floor, coming out from under the kitchen table.
“Well?” Abby was as close to me as she could be without being
piggyback.
“I see feet,” I whispered and watched to see if there was any movement.
“I hope they aren’t dead.”
“Let me see,” Abby shoved me out of the way and walked right up the
steps into the motorhome. “Davey Bass! Is that you?” I heard her say once
she was inside. “Your mama and daddy would be ashamed.”
From her tone, I knew it wasn’t a dangerous situation, so I went inside,
delighted to see there didn’t appear to be any damage, although I hadn’t
seen what it looked like before. I did see the computer area Barbara had
talked about and it looked just fine.
“Davey Bass, you get up from there!” Abby continued to yell at the boy.
He groaned and rolled a few times, expelling a smell that should never
come from a human.
“Are you drunk?” Abby continued to badger the poor kid. “How did
you get this motorhome?”
 “Stole it,” he grumbled and belched before mumbling a few more
words.
“You stole it?” Abby asked him. “You better sit up right now.”
We took a few steps back as his body began to wiggle about. When he
finally did come from out underneath the kitchen table, he looked an awful
mess. His hair was sticking up all over the place. There was what appeared
to be vomit on the high school letter jacket with his name and archery
badges.
“Did you interact with Greaser?” Abby asked, trying to understand how
the Bass boy got in the motorhome with Greaser.
“Who?” His head swayed side to side, his eyes closed.
“Who did you get this motorhome from?” She asked again.
Once again, he said, “Stole it from campground.”
I bent down. My toes curled from the stink rolling off of the kid.
“Hi, I’m the owner of the campground and I need to know if you and
Greaser stole this motorhome.” I tried to talk to him as calmly and clear as I
could, but Abby was talking over me about how his parents were good,
churchgoing people who were going to be very disappointed.
“My parents were going to battle. . .” he rolled his finger in the air.
“Friends. Joy ride.” He smiled. His head did circles before his eyes bolted
open. “I’m going to puke.” He shoved me out of the way. He made it to the
door of the motorhome just in time to hang out the door and vomit.
“Kick him out!” I called to Abby as I made my way to the cab of the
motorhome where the keys were dangling from the ignition.
“What?” Abby’s face contorted. “I’m not going to do that,” she
protested. “I’m going to call his mama and daddy right now. They can come
get him.”
“Fine, do that. Then drive my car back to the campground.” I turned the
motorhome on. “I’m taking this baby back to where it belongs and not
going bankrupt.”
“Mae West, you’ve lost your ever loving mind. Don’t you want to file a
report that it was stolen?” she asked a very good question that I did not have
the time to consider. “That’s what Hank would want you to do.”
“I’ll worry about that and what Hank would want me to do later.” I put
the car in drive. “I’m going now. I’ll see you after you do whatever you
need to do with that kid.”
 Abby grunted a few groans and muttered something under her breath as
she realized I was going to leave with or without her. She gave me one
more disappointed look before she left the motorhome and took Davey with
her.
CHAPTER 12

T he motorhome needed a front end alignment, or maybe I was going

a little faster than a motorhome should, but I was on a mission to
return Frank and Barbara’s home on wheels before any sort of
insurance claim was filed and Happy Trails was taken away from me.
I reached over for my cell when I realized I’d left it and my purse in my
car back at Kissing Point with Abby and the drunk Bass boy. She was right
in that I probably should’ve called Hank, but it wasn’t in my nature to
change tracks to do the right thing when I was on a mission, especially a
mission to save my livelihood. Besides, the campground wasn’t far and
while Frank and Barbara were checking out their place to make sure it was
okay, which it appeared to be, I would call Hank then. After I called Ken,
my insurance man, that is.
“What on earth?” The flashing red and white lights from a Daniel
Boone National Park’s forest ranger truck caught my eye in the rearview
mirror. “Great,” I groaned and veered to the side with a tiny bit of hope he
wasn’t pulling me over. “This is the last thing I need.”
That hope crashed and burned when he pulled up behind me.
“Get out of the motorhome with your hands up!” The ranger was
screaming over his loud speaker from inside of his truck.
“What?” I twisted around and to look through the motorhome and out
the window in the back. “What did he say?” I asked myself as though I was
going to answer and shifted my gaze to the side mirror attached to the
driver’s side door.
“Get out of the car with your hands up!” This time he’d opened his door
and his head was sticking out of the truck between the opened door and the
roof. “I said…”
 I wasn’t sure what he said after that. All I knew was that he had his gun
sticking straight towards the motorhome and I knew I should’ve listened to
Abby about calling Hank.
“I’m out!” I yelled with my hands raised above my head. “I know I was
speeding, but I need to get this motorhome. . .” I tried to explain.
I couldn’t even get out the rest of my sentence.
“Stop talking!” He yelled from the truck. “Is anyone else in the
vehicle?”
“No.” I shook my head and started to lower my arms.
“Keep your arms up in the air!” he yelled, making me jerk my arms up.
“Okay. Fine!” I yelled, but he didn’t seem to care. He kept his gun on
me while he talked into his phone. He was too far back for me to hear what
he was saying, but I did hear the sirens. “Thank goodness,” I sighed,
knowing Hank was on the way.
When several other ranger trucks pulled up, I became increasingly
worried. Hank’s big black car was nowhere to be seen.
“Lay on the ground!” one of them ordered me with his gun trained on
me. “Lay on the ground with your nose touching the pavement now!”
I gulped and did exactly what he said.
I grimaced as four of them swooped in on me, grabbing my wrists and
flinging my hands behind my back. In nanoseconds, they hoisted me up by
the cuffs and dragged me to one of their trucks while reading me my rights.
“You are under arrest for stealing this motorhome. . .” was all I heard.
“I can explain,” I continued to say over and over.
“Save it!” screamed one ranger.
“I’m Hank Sharp’s girlfriend,” I said, right before he shoved me in the
back of one of the Jeeps.
He hesitated when he heard that.
“I’m Hank’s girlfriend and I own the Happy Trails Campground where
the motorhome was stolen from…” I started to say, but he slammed the
door shut on my explanation.
He got in the front seat and picked up a clipboard. He wrote a few
things down and then peered into the rearview mirror.
“Hank Sharp doesn’t have a girlfriend.” His shoulders jiggled as he
laughed.
“Yes, he does.” What did he mean by that? “Did he tell you that?” I was
now more concerned about Hank not telling anyone about me. “We’re
together. You’ll see.”
I huffed and sat back into the seat. Once they took me to the station, I
knew I could prove this guy wrong.
He threw the police Jeep in gear, did a U-Turn in the middle of the road,
and headed back towards the station, which was on the other side of town. I
wasn’t sure what I was madder about, the fact this guy thought I stole the
motorhome or the fact that Hank hadn’t told anyone about us.
Granted, Hank was now full time at the sheriff’s department in Normal
and his life as a ranger was over. So maybe these guys didn’t know. But
their offices were in the same building. On the other hand, some of the
rangers did just hang around the Daniel Boone National Park offices.
No matter, I was still devastated that Hank hadn’t ever mentioned me.
Ever.
“Don’t try any funny business,” he warned when he opened the back
door of the Jeep once we’d pulled into the Normal Police Station.
“Don’t worry.” I swung my legs out and let him guide the rest of me out
of the Jeep with his grip on my cuffs.
“Mae, is that you?” Agnes Swift asked through the sliding glass
window of the police station. Her saggy jowls frowned.
“Hi, Agnes,” I snorted and shrugged. “I think I’m in a little bit of
trouble or at least this guy thinks I am.”
The ranger didn’t even look at me. He stood at the window and filled
out some paperwork before even acknowledging Hank’s Granny.
“She needs to be placed in the tank until she can be questioned about
the motorhome she stole. We’ve already read her her rights, so she should
call her lawyer.” He handed the paperwork to Agnes through the window
opening.
“She doesn’t need a lawyer.” Agnes shoved her pen in her short gray
hair and jumped off her stool that was butted up to the window.
The door between the entrance of the station and the inside of the
station flung open. Agnes might’ve been in her eighties, but she was full of
spunk and spice that made me jealous.
“Bring her in here and get those off her.” She waved me and the ranger
in.
“Ma’am, this is official business and you need to realize this is the
woman who helped Greaser escape.” He was dead serious.
 “Greaser is dead,” Agnes said with a flat voice. “She didn’t steal no
motorhome, the Bass boy did. He’s in the drunk tank. Someone has already
brought him in.”
“Abby?” I asked and looked around. She wasn’t there, but I saw Julip
sitting in one of the chairs along the back wall where they sit you before
they interview you. She was leaning over the empty chair next to her
talking to someone in a police uniform two seats away.
“Your little librarian friend.” Agnes nodded. She smacked the ranger’s
hand. “Get them off her.”
“I’m gonna need some reassurance from Hank.” His tone was a bit
shaky, like he wasn’t sure if he should be disrespecting Agnes.
I had to give him credit because she wasn’t backing down.
“Fine.” She grabbed the keys from his belt, snapping them off. “I’ll do
it.”
“Ma’am, give me back my keys!” He raised his hands in the air, letting
go of me.
While he and Agnes did a little dance, with my hands still cuffed behind
my back, I headed over to the empty chair between Julip and the other
person, who I thought was a woman, but I wasn’t sure.
“What on earth have you done?” Julip asked.
“Not a thing. I found that motorhome at the Kissing Point. It’s all
because of you telling me people hide out there that I won’t go bankrupt. I
owe you.” I went on to tell her how I’d gotten stopped by the police since
they’d set up road blocks all over the national park and how they thought I
was helping out Greaser. “You know, the serial killer.”
“I don’t know him, but I’m here because they’re interviewing everyone
involved with the reenactment.” She tapped her feet on the ground
nervously. “I’ve never been in a police station before. That’s Blanche
Davis,” she whispered and gestured to the person next to me.
A woman.
“Who is that?” I whispered.
“She’s the security guard that the serial killer knocked down.” Julip’s
brows wiggled.
“I thought she was a cop with her uniform.” I leaned back and glanced
at Blanche with my peripheral vision. I wanted to jerk my head around and
look at her, but I figured that would be impolite. I wanted to see her bruised
up hand from trying to get the Billy club back from Greaser.
 She didn’t have a single feminine way about her whatsoever. Her hair
was almost as short as a buzz cut.
“Afternoon,” said Blanche with pinched lips and a solid head nod when
she me looking at her.
I guess I wasn’t as smooth as I thought I was.
“Hi there,” I said with a sweet smile. “I hear you’re the guard Greaser
knocked down,” my mouth blurted out, my eyes looking down at her hands.
I’m not sure if it was because she had beefy hands or if enough time had
passed, but she sure didn’t appear to have any bruises or scratches on her
hands. Well, at least I couldn’t see any from where I was sitting.
“Mmmhmm, I guess I’ll never live that down.” She rolled her eyes.
“But I’m glad he’s dead,” she said in a low voice, looking over me at Julip
and then around the room. “Of course, I can’t say that too loud.”
I wiggled in my seat hoping I’d be getting these cuffs off soon since the
park ranger was walking over with keys in his hand and Agnes on his heels.
“You are going to stay here in her custody until all of this gets
straightened out. You understand?” he asked with furrowed brows.
I nodded, keeping my mouth shut for once so I wouldn’t get myself into
any more trouble than he already thought I was in.
I scooted up on the edge of the chair, giving him space to unlock the
cuffs. Once my hands were free, I rotated my fists and rubbed out the
indentations the metal had left in my skin. My arms ached from being up in
the air while they searched the motorhome to make sure there were no more
criminals in there. Now I wished I had been going to Jazzercise with
Queenie. My arms probably wouldn’t be aching as much.
“Mae don’t be going and stealing anything in here,” Agnes snickered
and turned around. “I’ll let Hank know you’re here.”
“Hank Sharp?” Julip asked.
“Yes. He’s my boyfriend.” I smiled with pride and looked over at
Blanche to see if she’d heard my conversation, but she was too busy
fiddling with her cell phone.
“Really?” There was a look of surprise on Julip’s face. “I had no idea he
had a girlfriend.”
“Seriously?” I questioned and made a mental note that Hank and I
needed to be seen a lot more in public. “We’ve been dating a few months
now.”
 “Strange he never mentioned it when he comes into the thrift store.”
Julip shrugged her shoulders.
“Julip Knox.” One of the officers I recognized from the crime scene at
the battlefield called her name. “Follow me, please.”
“It was good seeing you again.” Julip gave me a half smile and stood
up. “Good luck with that.” She pointed to my wrists before she disappeared
down the hall where they took people to be interviewed.
A place I know all too well.
“Mae.” Hank turned the corner of that same hall and came into the main
room. “What on earth is going on?” He was accompanied by a cute little
beagle dog.
“You tell me,” I stood up, demanding answers. “We’ve been dating for a
few months, but you never talk about me or even acknowledge that you’ve
got a girlfriend?”
“What?” By the look on his face, I could tell I’d taken him by surprise.
“You heard me. The ranger who cuffed me, way too hard by the way,
said you didn’t have a girlfriend. Then.” I flung my hand up and pointed to
the hallway. “Julip Knox had no idea either because he’s never mentioned it
when he comes into the thrift store,” I said, mocking her tone.
“Follow me to my office,” he said in a calm matter, fully aware all the
eyes of the other officers were on us. “Would you like a coffee?” he asked,
opening the door of his office and putting the dog in there.
“I’d love one.” I watched him as he walked over to the coffee station
and poured two cups of coffee. He even doctored mine up the way I like it.
I followed him to the office right by the coffee.
“How would you know how I like my coffee if we weren’t dating?” I
asked very loudly so everyone could hear. he closed to the door to his office
and set the coffees on his desk.
“What on earth is wrong with you?” he asked in a very calm voice. “I’m
trying to run an investigation here. We’ve got a few dead bodies that I can
trace back to Greaser, but I have no idea who killed him.” He paced back
and forth, running his hand through his hair as though he forgot I was there
and was trying to talk out everything in his head. “Then we have Flora Jean
in the hospital in a coma. Who knows when she’s going to wake up and tell
us what happened. Then I have the FBI breathing down my neck.” He
pointed to the sleeping dog. “And now I think I’m a dog owner, which I
don’t want to be.”
 He stopped pacing. His chin lifted and he looked at me.
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head and reached out for me to take his hand.
“I know you didn’t need to hear all that.” He squeezed my hand and let it
go.
“Dog owner?” I looked at the sweet pup.
“Yeah. That’s Darnell’s hunting dog. He’s the one with the good sniffer
we used to track Greaser. No one in the family wants the dog, and I just
couldn’t put him in a shelter.” His eyes softened.
“You are a good man.” That melted my heart. “I hope he and Fifi get
along.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about right now. I’m worried about
Greaser’s steps and how he got back into Normal.”
“You have no idea who killed Greaser?” I asked, picking up my coffee
from the desk. “Flora Jean is in a coma?”
“She should be okay, but they put her in a coma to get the deep stab
wound in her chest sewn up.” He pointed to where she must’ve been hit.
“She’s lucky you got there when you did because she would have been dead
in a few minutes if you hadn’t.”
“I’m so glad I went there for Queenie.” I took a drink of my coffee.
“Did you hear I found the motorhome? Well, Julip did. Sorta.”
I should’ve thanked her when I saw her in the waiting room, but I
forgot. Oh, well. I’d be sure to stop by the Tough Nickel to thank her.
“I heard they arrested you for stealing it, but I’ve got someone on it.
You know, you should’ve called me like Abby told you to do.” He sat down
at his desk and gave me a good stern look like a disappointed parent.
“She’s a tattletale.” I winked at him to lighten the mood, but he didn’t
smile and continued to tap the end of his pen on the desk. “I’m sorry. I am,
but if I hadn’t found it, I’d be bankrupt, and you can’t be mad at me for
that.”
“No, but I did question Queenie about Greaser and how he got the
bayonet. She was insistent that she didn’t know he was Greaser.” He opened
a file on his desk and flipped through some papers.
“I know. I was there.” A movie of Greaser walking up to us played in
my head as I recalled the details. “Queenie was waiting for Davey Bass to
show up. He was going to take Lester’s spot in the reenactment, but Lester
ended up showing up, which made Queenie really happy.”
 “The story,” he reminded me to get back on track since I was really
good at making a long story longer.
“Honestly, Queenie shoved the uniform and equipment into Greaser’s
arms. He was reluctant at first.” I recalled his hesitation. I hadn’t seen his
face, but I remembered his body language. “I think when he realized she
didn’t know who he was that he decided to go with it.”
Hank sighed. His eyes gazed over my head as though he were looking
in the air for the answers.
“Were all the victims jurors?” I asked. “Did he make good on his
promise? How did he know they were all going to be in the same place?”
“Mae!” Hank smacked the table. “Yes. He knew that Darnell and Buggy
were jurors, but how did he know about the reenactment? How did he know
where to go? Why did he go to the Milkery and backtrack into Normal
when he could’ve just left town? The Milkery is on the edge of town. He
would have been free.”
“Someone helped him,” I suggested, with a little intrepidation in my
voice.
“You’re dang right somebody did. How else can you explain how his
scent stopped at the road and the dogs never picked it up?” Hank got up and
started doing that pacing again.
“You do that a lot.” I wiggled my finger at him.
“What?” he asked and continued to pace.
“Walk back and forth.”
“Yeah. Helps me think and work things out in my head.” He bent down
and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll have an officer take you home.”
“What about the motorhome?” I asked. I wasn’t going to leave without
getting that sucker back to Frank and Barbara.
“Donald Bass already gave me his insurance information to pay for any
damage to the motorhome. He’s keeping his boy in the drunk tank until he
sobers up and isn’t sure when he’s going to get him out. He said the boy
needs to learn a lesson.” He laughed. “Not that the Normal jail is great for
that since there’s no one in there but him. You know my granny. She’s
giving that kid all sorts of food to help him sober up. The motorhome is
back at Happy Trails. The Bassetts should be happy.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I was grateful he had taken a break from a murder investigation to make
sure the motorhome was back safe and sound.
 “I love your granny.” I did love her, and I loved how he loved her.
“She’s pretty fond of you.” He took my hand and lifted me up, pulling
me into his arms. “Which reminds me, she wants to have you over for
supper tonight.”
“Perfect.” We kissed, making me forget about how he’d not bragged on
us dating and reminding me how I loved his strong, protective personality. I
guess he would tell everyone about us on his own time. “Time?”
“Make it around 6. And you can bring Fifi.” He looked over at the
Chester. “They need to meet.”
“Why is Blanche out there?” I asked, wanting to know why she was
here since the prison break seemed so long ago, even though it hadn’t even
been forty-eight hours.
“Blanche who?”
“The prison security guard who Greaser knocked down.” Did I really
have to remind him?
“I moved that investigation over to another officer to finish up the
paperwork now that Greaser is dead.” He opened the office door. “I’m sure
she’s here to give a final statement.” He led me out of the office.
Julip Knox was rounding the corner of the hallway as I was walking out
the office door. Our eyes caught.
“Do you want me to take the dog?” I asked.
“Chester. His name is Chester.” He smiled like it was hard for him to
say the name without giggling. “He’s fine. He’s a good boy and maybe I’ll
let the Bass boy play with him.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.” I gave Hank one more quick kiss and walked
over to Julip. “Are you going anywhere near the campground?” I asked.
“I live a little past there. Well, actually, a little past the battleground.
Why?” she asked.
“I need a lift home.”
“I can take you,” she offered, and I accepted.
“Everything good?” Agnes asked on my way out.
“It’s all perfect. What can I bring tonight?” I asked.
“Not a thing. I’m feeding you.” She gave me a quick hug.
The police station was still in a flurry when we left. There was still
some good sunlight, making me think I should probably stop by the
reenactment after party, but I was so exhausted and I really didn’t want to
be bothered with anyone. Not even at the campground.
 “You know what, can you just drop me off at the Normal Baptist
Church instead?” I asked Julip when we got into her Subaru station wagon.
Odd car for such a young girl, I thought.
“You need a little religion?” she asked with a jovial tone.
“No. I’m actually doing the taxes for Betts Hager. We’re friends and her
husband is the preacher.” I swung the seatbelt around me and clipped it.
“I know who they are.” She started the car. “I’m from here. All my life.
I’ll never get out of this town.”
“Good. We need good residents like you. Especially since you are a
historian and know all about these maps.” I wondered if Hank had thought
about using her to help trace Greaser’s steps.
I quickly texted him to suggest that while she talked about the maps
with obvious passion, but he didn’t get back to me by the time she pulled up
in front of the church.
“Are you sure you don’t need a ride home?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine.” I opened the door. I really wasn’t sure, but if I knew
Normal like I did, there was always someone around that I could bum a ride
off of.
The old school bus the church used to transport the Bible thumpers to
the prison for their ministering was parked in the church parking lot. Lester
was coming off the bus with a bag in each hand. He stopped and looked at
us.
“Thanks again,” I said to Julip. “And thanks for talking to me during the
reenactment.”
“My pleasure.” She pulled off and I watched as she drove away.
CHAPTER 13

“Y ou need help?” I asked Lester when I noticed he’d already

gone back into the bus and brought out two more bags.
“I’m just doing busy work.” He lifted the two bags in the
air. “Why were you with the Knox girl?”
The question hit me as odd.
“Long story short, she was at the police station and I needed a lift.” I
left out the part about Greaser since it was a touchy subject with him and
Betts. “Good news, I found the stolen motorhome. Kids took it for a
joyride.”
Somewhere under his smile I wondered if he had been rebellious when
he was a child.
“These are the bags we use when we go to the prison to minister.” The
ice between us seemed to have melted.
It’s not that we didn’t like each other, we simply didn’t know each other.
He and Betts were so kind to me when I moved to Normal. All the kindness
was funneled through Betts and I’d yet to thank him.
“You know.” I shrugged. “I’ve never really had the chance to thank you
for all you and Betts did for me when I first moved to Normal.”
“You know how you can thank me?” He asked with a raised brow.
There was a hesitation when I didn’t answer. “Come to church. That’d make
Betts very happy.”
I’m not sure if it was the sun or if it was the glistening glow of God
around him, but Lester was glowing. He had strawberry blond hair and fair
skin. He was tall and slender. Around his mid-thirties. From what I
remember Dottie telling me, he was a little older than Betts, but not by
much.
 “I can help.” I followed him up the steps on the bus and helped him
carry out the rest of the bags, ignoring his statement about me and church.
“Betts said you might be stopping by to help out with the taxes, but I
told her I could do it. I’m not upset about the prison break anymore now
that Greaser is dead.” He grabbed a couple of bags in each hand and headed
towards the church office, which was located on the side of the church.
“Speaking of the reenactment,” I grabbed a few bags and followed him.
“I’m glad you came. Queenie was worried that you weren’t coming.”
“Betts told her that, but I keep my word. The good Lord willing.” He
held the door open for me with the heel of his shoe. “You can just drop
those on the floor anywhere.”
“Betts is a good wife just trying to look out for you.” We made one
more trip out to the parking lot to get the rest of the bags. “What is in
these?”
“Bibles and this week’s lesson. Which reminds me that I need to put in
next week’s lesson.” A long sigh escaped him. The stress showed in the
deep set wrinkles around his eyes.
“Do you want me to do that for you?” I asked.
“No. I’ll do it. Thank you for coming. Do you need a ride home?” he
asked.
“I’m going to take a quick look at your taxes. Like you, I gave Betts my
word and I’m going to keep it.” I wasn’t going to let the stress of a little
unaccounted for money weigh on him when I couldn’t help but think in the
back of his head that he worried if he’d done his job in the reenactment,
Greaser wouldn’t’ve put on that uniform and got the bayonet that was
meant for Lester.
“Really, Mae, I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.” His face relaxed as
he looked out the window at the last bit of sun for the afternoon. “You
know, sitting here and looking out over the mountains of the park with the
sun starting to set, I realize what’s really important. I’m happy to be here in
light of what happened with the prisoner.”
I noticed he didn’t call him by name.
“He could’ve killed me. I’m not scared to die, but I’m scared to leave
Betts.” His Adam’s apple moved up and down his throat. “I’m going to do
everything in my power to make sure she’s got a wonderful life.” He
nodded. “I think it took what happened for me to appreciate what the good
Lord has given me here on earth. Sometimes even a man of God can take
things for granted.”
“So you’re saying that God put you in that situation to learn a lesson?” I
was all sorts of confused.
“I don’t know, but I think God affords us second chances.” He turned
away from the window to look at the bags. “I told the prison that my last
week to minister to them would be next week. I think I need a little time
away.”
“That sounds good.” There was a folder on the desk that had the year
and Taxes printed on it. “Why don’t you head over to the Laundry Club and
see your wife? I’ll take a quick look at the taxes and see if I can come up
with anything.”
“Are you sure?” I was happy to see that he was going to let me take a
crack at them. Not that I was the greatest, but another pair of eyes couldn’t
hurt.
“Positive.” I knew Betts would be so happy to see him since she’d been
so worried.
“Okay, but look at the collections first. I didn’t see anything in the bills
or payments, but I did see some discrepancies in the collections. I sure hope
there isn’t a deacon taking money.” The lines between his eyes pinched.
“I’ll do it.” I walked around the desk. “Have a good time.”
“I’ll be back to lock up. I try to keep the sanctuary open for anyone who
needs to spend some time with the big man.” He waved and disappeared out
of the office.
Over the course of the next couple of hours, I separated all the
documents in the tax file into piles. Each category had its own pile:
expenses; collected checks from the tithes; records of the trips the Bible
thumpers took; and collected cash from the tithes. There were detailed
records of people’s tithing and there was definitely a pattern.
Most of the big donors paid the same each month, and I recognized
most of their names. There was one month that I noticed Carol Wise, a
Bible thumper and local peach pie baker, didn’t make her tithe a few weeks
in a row. It was odd because when I went back through the previous year’s
tax documents and quickly thumbed through the weekly records, she hadn’t
missed a week.
What had changed?
There was only one way I knew to find that out and that was to ask her.
 My phone chirped while I was putting away the documents. It was clear
that I needed to solve the mystery around Carol’s tithe and the afternoon
had faded into dusk. Not only did I have to get back to Fifi, but I wanted to
stop by the Milkery and check on Mary Elizabeth.
It was odd to me she hadn’t made it to the reenactment or the after party.
I heard footsteps coming down the hall just as I was closing the file. I
thought it was Lester, but when the footsteps stopped at the office door and
then walked away, I looked up.
Shivers melted down my spine, making me shake. Although Greaser
was dead, the thought of someone out there who might’ve killed him, other
than Flora Jean, was still heavy on my mind.
The outside door clicked shut. I hurried out of the office and down the
hall to look out into the parking lot to see if I could see who it was.
The shadow had melted into the pavement and around the corner going
towards the church itself.
“You’re so nosy,” I said to myself and ran after the shadow to see
exactly who wanted to see if anyone was in the office.
Was it one of the deacons that Lester had said may be taking money?
Did they think someone wasn’t in the office and we have a clear case of
theft? I’d learned over the past year during several investigations that I put
my nose into that things weren’t always as they appeared.
The door to the sanctuary was slowing closing. I hurried up the concrete
steps of the church and pulled the door open. The lights were dim. There
were ten large concrete pillars on each side. Between each pillar was a
typical stained glass window of bible stories. The rows of pews were about
twenty deep and there was one person sitting in the front row. They had
their hands folded in their lap as they sat on the edge of the pew, their head
bowed, facing the altar.
I made my way up to the front. Both of us jumped when they opened
their eyes.
“You scared me to death. Are you following me?” Blanche was as
surprised to see me as I was to see her.
“No.” I shook my head and eased down next to her. “I was working on
the taxes in the church office and I saw you come in. I just wanted to make
sure you didn’t need something.”
“Are you working here? I’ve never seen you at church.” She was using
her good observation skills as a prison guard to assess me, and I could feel
it.
“I’m doing a favor for the preacher. His wife is one of my best friends.”
There was no way I was going to tell her that some of her church’s money
was missing. She had a visible look of concern on her face. “I’m not very
good at religious stuff, but I do have a good ear that can listen if you need to
talk.”
“I’m fine. Just making things right with me and the big man.” Her eyes
rolled upwards. “Not that I have done anything wrong. I’m sure you know
since you date that cop and all that it was my fault Greaser escaped.”
“Hank doesn’t tell me much.” I lied to make her feel better. “It’s not
your fault. Greaser had already decided he was going to get out of there one
way or another.”
“Why do you say that?” She leaned back and knitted her thick fingers
together behind her head. “Did the cops find out something they aren’t
telling the prison?”
“No. I. . . I don’t know why I said that.” I said it because Greaser had
caught a ride and someone had helped him. If that person was still around, I
sure didn’t want to alarm the community. “I was trying to make you feel
better.”
“You can make me feel better by bringing back Darnell and Burt. I’m
not even sure what’s going on with poor Flora Jean.” Her voice cracked.
“It’s my fault Greaser escaped and made good on his promise.” She looked
down at her hands and fiddled her thumbs together while the rest were still
clasped. “That’s why I’m here.”
“I’m sorry Lester isn’t here to pray with you or give you words of
comfort, but he did say something to me that I’m sure made him feel a little
better and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind my telling you.” I actually reached
out and touched her knee with my hand. “He said what happened at the
prison made him realize what he’s been taking for granted, just going
through the motions of daily life.”
So I might’ve added a few words. She seemed to need them.
“He said the prison break made him realize how good he has it with
Betts. That’s she’s his wife and she deserves to have everything he can give
her. The little stuff doesn’t matter. I’m so glad he’s taking time off from the
prison ministry to spend quality time with his wife.” My eyes searched her
manly face. “Maybe you can find some good in this and turn it around to
make a positive change in your life.”
 “He said that?” She asked in a very soft voice as if what he said brought
her some comfort.
“He did. In fact, he wasn’t going to let me help out in the office.” I was
careful not to say anything about the taxes. “But after he told me that, he
decided to go spend some time with Betts.”
“He’s a good man.” She smiled.
“You know, I really don’t know him that well, but his wife is wonderful
and everybody in town speaks highly of him.” I hoped my words really did
comfort her. I know it made me feel good that I could help her in some way.
“Thank you.” She used her hands to push on her knees and push herself
up to standing. “That’s some good information you gave me.”
“Great.” I stood up and put my arms out. “We hug around here.”
I embraced her. Although she was stiff at first, she ended up giving me a
hug back.
“That’s one thing Betts told me when I first moved here. I wasn’t a big
hugger either, but sometimes we just need one.” I was feeling really pleased
with myself, though she didn’t look as entertained as I did when the
Laundry Club gals told me we hug around here.
“Thanks,” she muttered. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I watched her saunter down the middle aisle of the church and she
turned around.
“Thanks, Mae. Really. Do you mind if we keep this between me and
you?” she asked with a smile.
“Of course.” I really wanted to tell her that she needed to smile more
often because it brought out her feminine side, but I kept that to myself just
like I would keep our conversation to myself.
I was getting good at not telling everybody everything I knew. Just like
with Hank and the investigation, I hadn’t told her about the money missing
from the church. It appeared I just might be a good secret keeper. I turned
back around and decided to sit there for a few more minutes. It was so
peaceful and felt really nice. And I did need to say a quick thank you prayer
about finding that motorhome.
I turned around, resting my arm on the back of the pew, when I heard
the door of the church open and in walked Julip. We stared at each other for
a second until both of us gave a friendly smile.
“Julip, what are you doing here?” I asked and stood up.
“Is the church open?” she asked.
 “Of course it is. It seems like everyone has a little something to say to
the big guy in the sky today.” I tried to make light of it.
“Yeah. Is the preacher here?” she asked.
“He isn’t. Lester’s gone to be with Betts. But I think we can consider
each other friends now that we were in battle together.” I joked, but she
didn’t budge, apparently not finding it as funny as I thought I was. “I can
listen.”
I scooted over and patted the pew cushion next to me.
“Nah. I like it when the preacher prays with me.” She shook her head
and turned around.
“While you’re here,” I said, stopping her, “do you think you could give
me a lift back to the campground?”
“Sure. I’m going to head on back to my cabin anyways.” She smiled,
making me feel a little better.
Walking out of the church, I said one last prayer under my breath.
“This Greaser situation has really put a heavy burden on the people in
Normal. Please help bring closure.”
I’m not gonna say I didn’t try to get information out of Julip about what
was heavy on her mind because I did. Only she didn’t budge. She said she
was fine and wanted to put the reenactment behind her and hoped the
society wouldn’t have it next year.
“I’m glad to see the police tape is all gone.” I noticed as we drove up
the gravel drive to the campground.
“I’m glad you got the motorhome back,” she said as I directed her to go
around the left side of the lake. I wanted to see if the Bassetts’ home on
wheels was back on the concrete pad.
“You and me both. Now they think Greaser had an accomplice. I hadn’t
considered that when I came across the motorhome. The accomplice
could’ve been in there and killed me.” I let out a long sigh, knowing I’d
probably said too much, but she didn’t appear to be affected by it. Maybe
she hadn’t heard me. “That’s the motorhome there.” I pointed to it, quickly
changing the subject. “I’m so glad it’s there and they haven’t left. Though I
do fault them for keeping the keys in the console.”
“That’s just asking for trouble.” she agreed.
“That’s my yellow RV right there.” I gestured once she drove around
the lake to the right side of the campground.
 “All of these are so cute. I’m sorry I’ve never come to one of your
monthly parties.” She drove past all the vintage campers I’d cleaned up.
“You should come to next month’s.” I encouraged her. “If I didn’t have
to get to Hank’s granny’s for supper, I’d give you a tour of them. This
campground is why I had to find the motorhome and was so happy that
Greaser hadn’t stolen it.”
She pulled up and stopped in front of my RV. I was happy to see my car
was there and made a mental note to call Abby and make sure she was
okay.
“I should’ve been setting aside money for a bigger insurance policy and
some savings, but instead I renovated all the vintage campers.” I was very
proud of what I had accomplished.
They were all cute vintage campers with all the modern conveniences
you could think of. Henry, my handyman, and I replaced all of the flooring
and even remodeled a few of the kitchens. All the campers had modern
countertops, and some had the southern flare. Each one was designed
perfectly, whether modern or southern. Abby had gone through each one
and taken detailed photos for our website so renters could pick out their
favorite style.
Even the bungalows had had makeovers, and they were very popular
with families.
The campground had turned out to be a wonderful investment, but the
stolen motorhome had been a big wakeup call.
“I’ll come by another time. Have a wonderful supper.” There was stress
in her eyes. I could tell she was still uneasy, but time would help her work
through it. I only wished I could help her.
Maybe inviting her to the Laundry Club would help, but I’d have to ask
the others first.
“Let me know if you ever need me to return the favor.” I waved
goodbye and watched her drive out of the campground.
“May-bell-ine, where have you been?” I didn’t have to turn around to
know it was Bobby Ray Bonds, my foster brother who lived in one of the
renovated campers. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Bobby Ray had literally been looking all over for me since he gave me
the money for a one way Greyhound bus ticket to New York City the
minute I turned eighteen. I was forever grateful to him for that and when
he’d seen the article in the National Parks Magazine featuring me and how I
turned Normal’s economy around by revitalizing the campground, he came
to Normal to find me.
Although he had never said he was there to cash in on the favor I owed
him, Bobby Ray didn’t have a job, a car, or as we say in the south, a pot to
piss in when he found me, and I knew I had to make good with him. I gave
him a place to live and got him a job down at Grassel’s Garage. Joel Grassel
was in need of a good mechanic and that was Bobby Ray’s specialty. It was
a perfect fit.
“I heard you found Joel’s brother. Is that right?” Bobby asked. He
tugged off his hat, letting his curly blond hair fall down around his ears,
giving me a fit of jealousy.
Any girl would want Bobby Ray’s hair.
Fifi was yipping and jumping, looking out the window from the couch
inside my RV.
“You heard right.” I walked up to the door of my RV and unlocked the
door.
Fifi bolted out and ran straight to Bobby Ray. Her little poodle tail was
wagging so fast, it looked like a helicopter propeller gearing up for high
speed.
“Joel is beside himself. He said something about Greaser making good
on his promise and all.” He bent down and picked up Fifi. Talking around
all the kisses she was trying to give him on his mouth, he said, “The only
thing I could make out was when he asked if I could work the service
station all by myself. That’s why I’m here, May-bell-ine.”
“Mae, Bobby. I go by Mae now.” I had no idea why I bothered
correcting him. No matter how much I did, he never called me by Mae. It
was always by my birth name Maybelline, my three syllable name he
always stretched out into six.
Fifi wiggled around in his arms and he put her back down on the
ground. She scurried over to the grass and did her business while we
finished up ours.
“I’m not gonna be around here much, so you keep an eye out for
trouble.” He nodded.
“I understand. I know where to find you if I need you.” I reached out to
him and rubbed his arm. “Have you talked to Mary Elizabeth? I don’t know
if you heard about Greaser staying there or not. I can’t seem to figure out if
she’s really not bothered by it or is just putting on a brave face.”
 “Knowing her, she’s just fine.” He put his hat back on his head and
tugged the bill way down over his eyes. “I’m just glad she’s okay and that
Greaser didn’t hurt her.”
“I guess that’s because she wasn’t a juror.” That was the only way I
could wrap my head around the fact that she and Dawn were okay.
“You call me if you need something,” assuring me he’d do whatever I
needed him to do. “I almost forgot.” Bobby Ray smacked his hands
together. “Tomorrow Mary Elizabeth wants to have a lunch picnic
downtown. Can you make it? I told her I would check.”
“I don’t see why not.” I smiled and we said our goodbyes.
Once I got Fifi to come back inside, I changed into a pair of skinny
jeans and a light long-sleeved sweater. It was the time of the year when it
was warm during the day, but very cool at night. I wasn’t sure if Agnes kept
her house warm or cold. Usually with elderly people, there was no middle
temperature in their homes. So I was well prepared for where Agnes set her
thermometer.
Fifi was so excited to be going for a ride. Once we were in the car, I
pulled out my phone to call Abby before I started to drive.
“Hey, Abs, it’s me, Mae,” I spoke into her voicemail. “I’m not sure if
you’re mad because I left you there with the drunk kid, but you won’t
believe what happened after I took the motorhome. Anyways, meet me at
the Laundry Club in the morning if you can. I’m going to stop by there
before I head over to help out with the church’s taxes.” I pinched my lips
together. “Did I tell you I was helping Betts out?”
Oh, gosh. I sure hope I didn’t say something I wasn’t supposed to. So
much for thinking I could keep any secret.
“Okay, well. I’m going to Hank’s granny’s for supper. Can you believe
it?” I gushed. “Call me back or I’ll just see you at the Laundry Club in the
morning.”
I hung up the phone and quickly dialed Mary Elizabeth.
“Hi.” I was happy to hear her voice on the other end of the phone. “I
was sad I didn’t get to see you today.”
“I’ve been so busy since with those people whose RV was stolen that
I’ve gotten myself dizzy.” Mary Elizabeth’s southern drawl was sweet
music to my ears. “That Barbara needs to know that good manners never go
out of style and she could use a few.”
 “I don’t even want to know.” I looked past my left shoulder towards
their motorhome and noticed there were no lights on. “Are they still there?”
“Still here? She refuses to leave until the two weeks they rented the
campsite for are up. She insists that I make everything from scratch and if I
don’t, she says she’s gonna sue you for the campground.” Those were
words I didn’t want to hear.
“Are you kidding?” I asked, stunned. “I risked my life to get their
motorhome back and this is the thanks they give me?”
“Risk? Wasn’t the kid drunk? That’s what I heard,” Mary Elizabeth let
me know the gossip had already started to circulate.
“He was, but I risked my life going in before I knew that. Oh well,
maybe I can come talk some sense into them.” I sighed and noticed the
digital clock on the car radio. “Listen, I’ve got to drive over to Hank’s
granny’s for supper. Any chance you can meet at the Laundry Club in the
morning? You and Dawn?”
“I’ll make time. But more importantly, are we gonna have a wedding?”
she asked as her voice took an upbeat tone. “You’re having supper with the
family and everything.”
“No, Mary Elizabeth. It’s just supper.” I looked down at my left hand.
“We aren’t anywhere near getting engaged.”
Were we?
CHAPTER 14

“T his is Hank when he was a wee little turkey.” Agnes joked

about how much trouble Hank used to get into when he was a
little boy as she pointed to all the photos of him. She had one
hand on Precious, the little six-month-old pugoodle that was one of Fifi’s
babies.
Agnes’s house was exactly as I pictured it to be. It definitely had not
been remodeled since the day she’d bought it, which I imagined was forty
years ago or more. Agnes had on a pink cardigan that matched the pink
rosettes on the wallpaper and the faded pink carpet and her gray pants that
were the same shade as her gray hair. A curio cabinet in the corner held too
many of those Precious Moment figurines to count. She must’ve collected
clocks because the mantle was lined with them and there were many
hanging on the walls.
Fifi didn’t pay any attention to her baby. She only wanted to be with
Chester. They’d been sniffing each other and chasing each other around the
house for the hour I had been there. Thankfully we didn’t have to worry
about them making babies since both of them were fixed.
“Granny, Mae doesn’t want to see all those old pictures.” Hank came
into the family room carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea on it.
“A tray?” I was impressed with his hospitality. It was definitely
something Mary Elizabeth would do.
“Are you kidding? That boy only has manners when it matters and that
tray don’t matter to him, but it matters to me.” Agnes pointed to herself.
“Look at this one.”
She went back to explaining each photo and her memory of it. I glanced
over at Hank. Both us of smiled at each other as she continued to brag on
him.
“It’s cute,” I told him after he protested and she went into the kitchen to
check on the meatloaf in the oven. “She’s proud of you.”
“I’m not used to having a girl here. I really should be at the office
working on finishing up the Greaser case.” He went back to serious
detective mode that I wish he would set aside for a few hours.
I knew that was asking too much. Hank Sharp wasn’t going to change
for me or anyone else for that matter. Not even Agnes.
“I thought you said it was pretty much a closed case.” Or did he tell me
something different? My mind was so jumbled I wasn’t sure what he had
said or not. I continued to through flip the pages of the photo album.
“As far as Greaser being dead, yes. But I swear he had an accomplice.
He had on a wig.”
I jerked up.
“Yeah. A wig. There was a hand drawn map sewed into the inside of it.
How did he get the wig? And was the map already sewn in?” Hank stood up
and did that pacing thing. “Did he get the wig from the person who picked
him up?” He put his hands in his pockets and looked out the bay window
that overlooked the street. “The map doesn’t even make sense.”
“Maybe I can help. Well, not me, but Julip Knox. She’s the big map girl
in town and I bet she can read the map for you.”
“I talked to her today when she was at the station. I forgot she was a
cartographer,” he said.
“I thought she was the store clerk for Buck at the Thrifty Nickel.” I was
all sorts of confused.
“She is, but she went to school for cartography and when they couldn’t
use her skills after the shutdown of the national parks, she went to work for
Buck.” He snapped his fingers. “That’s a great idea, Mae.”
He walked over to the coat tree and got his thin jacket.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going to find her and show her the map.” He was as serious as
could be.
“No, you’re not.” I put the photo album on the couch and got up to stop
him. “Agnes has gone through the trouble of making us a meatloaf. We are
going to eat it. Do you understand me?” I jerked the jacket out of his hands.
“Mae West, this is the side I really liked about you when we first met.”
He tugged me into him and gave me a kiss exactly like our first kiss.
 It was passionate and longing. It was when I first realized I was smitten
with him and this just reinforced that I was right.
“You can’t have dessert before supper,” Agnes warned with a laugh
when she walked back into the room, catching us in the act. She was now
wearing a cute apron around her waist with little apples along the scalloped
edges.
We jumped apart like two high school kids getting caught necking. My
face reddened and to avoid looking at Agnes, I hurried over to Fifi to make
sure she was okay, even though there was no reason for me to think that she
wasn’t.
The cuckoo bird popped its head out of the door of the clock and let out
a few chirps. That would get on my nerves.
“Is the meatloaf ready?” Hank asked in a voice I knew too well.
It was his hurry up and let’s get this over with so he could move on to
bigger and better things voice. He’d done this several times when he’d
come see me at the campground before he had to go to work. And when I
wanted to go hiking and he’d walk a million times faster than me to get it
over with faster.
“Yes, it is because the cuckoo said it was time.” Agnes looked over at
the clock with a big smile on her face. “Now go wash up and meet me in
the dining room.” Agnes rubbed her hands down the apron.
Agnes’s meatloaf was no ordinary meatloaf. There was something
different about it and it was very tasty. It wasn’t like Mary Elizabeth’s. Hers
had a little grease around the edges, and there was no sign of grease on this
one.
“What kind of meat do you use?” I asked Agnes, praying she didn’t say
venison.
“It’s good isn’t it.” Hank had already gotten a second helping along with
a heaping pile of mashed potatoes and corn mixed in.
“It is very good.” I parted another piece of the slice of meat with my
fork and looked at it to see if I could figure out what was in it.
“It’s a secret family recipe.” Agnes winked and continued to eat without
giving me a single hint about the ingredients.
We chitchatted about my family and how much Mary Elizabeth and I
had really been trying to repair our relationship.
“I guess you’re looking forward to meeting Bev.” Agnes got up from
the table and took her plate over to the sink.
 “Who’s Bev?” I asked and looked over at Hank, giving him a little
shrug.
“My mom.” Hank had no expression on his face. “She and my dad are
moving back.” He leaned back and pushed his plate to the side.
“They are?” My jaw dropped. “When did this happen?”
Hank and I had talked about his parents a handful of times, but only
about memories he had around Normal. He said they’d lived in Florida the
last ten years, after he graduated high school, and that was it.
“It’s been in the works for a better part of a year.” Agnes moseyed over
and picked up Hank’s plate. The sideway glance she gave him didn’t go
unnoticed. “Granny, I got my plate.”
“Nonsense.” She shooed his hand away when he tried to take his plate
back from her. “Don’t you know by now that I know you better than you
know you? I can see you have ants in your pants and want to get
somewhere, only you’re trying to be nice in front of Mae.”
Agnes sure didn’t miss a beat and I loved that about her.
“Mae is so dang nice that she’s pretended not to notice.” Agnes put
Hank’s plate down and came back to get mine.
“Seriously, the least I can do is help.” I pushed back from the table to
get up.
“No. You two go on and get out of here. Do whatever it is on your mind.
Or is it that map?” she asked.
“Granny, you know we don’t talk official business outside of the
office.” Hank was very adamant about that.
“Do you think Greaser’s accomplice has bugged my house?” She
cackled, making me smile. “Does he think he can just tell me what I can
and can’t say in my own home?” she asked me. “He’s a paranoid one.”
“Not so much paranoid as knowing just how nosy people are around
here.” He used his napkin to wipe off his mouth before he set it on the table
and got up. “You never know who’s listening.”
“Chester,” Agnes said to the dog that was eyeballing Agnes’s feet at the
sink, as though he were waiting for scarps. “Don’t be going and telling no
tales about Greaser having an accomplice who gave him a wig with a map
sewn in it. You hear me?”
“I get it.” Hank walked over and hugged his granny.
It was a tender moment that made my heart long for the grandparent
figure I never had. By the time I’d gotten into Mary Elizabeth’s family, her
people were already dead, leaving just me, her, and Bobby Ray.
Speaking of Bobby Ray. I wondered how he was doing holding down
the fort at Grassel’s Gas Station since Darnell’s death. One of the things I
wanted to talk to the Laundry Club girls about was the food chain.
It was customary to bake or cook your best food when someone died
and take it to the family so they didn’t have to worry about cooking. I had
never been one to do this, but since I started hanging around the Laundry
Club, I had sort of adopted their ways.
It was usually Betts who had us help the Bible thumpers but she’d yet to
send out a text, so I wondered if her mind was too cluttered to worry about
it. This was one more thing I could take off her plate.
“Where are you?” Hank waved his hand in front of my face on our way
over to see Julip.
Chester and Fifi were in the back, both looking out the window in the
dark night as if they could see. I couldn’t see a thing, and I knew they
couldn’t either.
The stars looked like twinkle lights in the sky and I’d still not gotten
used to how gorgeous it was here at night. After you live in a big city like
New York City, where all the city lights make the stars disappear, you forget
the peace and calm a starry night sky can give your soul.
“I was thinking about Joel and how he was doing.” I glanced over,
barely making out Hank’s profile in the light from the dashboard.
“He’s only holding up because Greaser is dead. He’s insistent that it was
Darnell who killed him. I guess it gives him some vindication.” He turned
down old country roads that I never knew existed in Normal.
“You are certain he didn’t?” I asked as I saw a few lights in the distance.
“We have some video footage from Queenie, but she didn’t use a
professional and they cut off the end of the battle.” Hank smirked. “Queenie
is off the charts mad about that too. Luckily, we have footage of Greaser
killing Darnell and Burt.”
This was new information, and it made me so sad to think about Hank
watching it.
“The weird thing is that the look on Greaser’s face was shock when he
noticed it was Darnell. It was like he wasn’t expecting to see him. This
doesn’t line up with what he said to Darnell at his sentencing.”
The closer we drove towards the lights, I could see a faint shadow of a
house coming into view.
 “I’m sorry you had to see that.” I reached over and patted his leg. “I
can’t imagine watching, knowing you’re seeing a person’s last breath.”
“Part of the job,” he paused for a few seconds. “The weird thing is that
after Greaser stabbed Darnell with the bayonet, he started to look around
the battleground like he was looking for more people. Like he realized this
might be where he could make good on his promise before he disappeared.
The phone died and didn’t get all of the reenactment, so I didn’t see who
sent the final blow to Greaser’s head.”
“You mean it was like he had just realized these people were part of the
jury?” I asked a very disturbing question about what Greaser could’ve been
thinking, not even questioning how he finally had been killed. A blow to the
head.
“Yeah. Exactly.” The lights of the car made a spotlight on the cutest log
cabin. “It was like a light bulb went off in his head. We know from you and
Queenie that he didn’t go up to Queenie and ask her for the uniform. You
both said she just handed it to him, thinking he was the Bass kid.”
“You can’t possibly think. . .” I couldn’t wrap my head around what I
was about to say because it seemed like something from a movie. “You
think he just stumbled upon the reenactment, Queenie assumed he was
Lester’s fill-in, and then he went along with it. But when he saw Darnell, he
realized it was Darnell and killed him. And then he went on a mission to see
if he could find other members of the jury?”
“Yes, Mae.” He stopped the car a little ways from the front of the cabin
like he wanted to finish the conversation before we went inside Julip’s
home to talk to her about the map. “I think that’s exactly what happened.
Darnell was on same side of the battle as Greaser. I could see it in Greaser’s
face that he was shocked to see Darnell. I watched as he went from soldier
to soldier, letting everyone live except Darnell, Burt, and Flora Jean.”
“We know he stayed at the Milkery the night before, but where was he
the rest of the time?” It was a good question.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. Greaser might’ve killed the two
men and Flora Jean is in a coma, but I know he didn’t do this alone now
that I found that map in the wig. If I can find his accomplice, I’ll bring
murder charges against him.” His words lingered between us as he finished
the drive up to the cabin.
“What is she doing?” I asked when I noticed Julip was putting what
appeared to be a suitcase in the back of her wagon.
 “Let’s find out.” He cut the engine and got out, grabbing the bag that
was on the floorboard between us.
I turned the key on just enough and reached over to put down the
windows for the dogs.
“Poor you, Chester.” I reached around the seat to pet him and Fifi on the
head. “He’s a man. He doesn’t think of rolling down the windows for you
yet.”
There were things I was going to have to go over with Hank as a new
dog owner.
Chester must’ve really enjoyed what I did because he stuck his nose out
the window and howled so loud that both Hank and Julip turned around.
Fifi wasn’t going to let Chester outdo her. Her high-pitched yip carried
from one side of the car to the other, as she ran across the back seat and
stuck her nose through the small crack in the window.
Chester had planted his paws on the arm of the passenger side door. He
sniffed, he howled, he sniffed more, and he howled louder.
“Sorry about that,” Hank apologized to Julip. “You going on a trip?”
“Yes. I’m out of here until you figure out who killed that crazy serial
killer.” She threw the suitcase in the back with one big hoist. “Mae and I
talked about it.”
“You did?” He glanced back at me.
“We didn’t really talk about it.” I looked at her.
“At the church and on the way back to your place.” She wasn’t going to
let it die and I really wished she would. “You said there was an accomplice.
I live alone.” Her voice got louder as Chester’s howl did the same. It was
like they were in competition. She looked Hank in the eye. “I’m not staying
here all by myself until you find the other person.”
“I’m sorry you don’t feel safe in your home, but I assure you everyone
in Normal is safe.” His jaw clenched. “We’ve not gotten any leads on an
accomplice. I like to make sure all the I’s are dotted and all the T’s are
crossed. Which leads me to why we are here.” Hank unzipped the bag and
took out a plastic baggy that had EVIDENCE printed in bold black letters
on the it. “We found this in Greaser’s possession.”
“A wig?” Julip looked down at the bag and up at Hank. “What does that
have to do with me?”
“Nothing, but I want to ask you about what was sewn into the wig.” He
put the plastic bag back into his bag and pulled out another evidence bag
with the map in it. “This map.”
“Just because I’m a cartographer doesn’t make me an accomplice,”
Julip was acting paranoid.
“Of course we don’t think you are.” I watched as Hank patted her back
to calm her.
It was apparent her nerves and fear of Greaser’s accomplice were
getting to her.
“I want to know if you can tell me if you know where this leads. We’ve
gone over and over it at the station and compared it to the maps we use for
rescue and recovery in the park, but this just doesn’t make sense.” He
handed her the bag.
She flattened it out on her palm and took a quick look.
“It’s hand drawn.” She didn’t tell us any enlightening new information.
She held it back out to him.
“Yes, but do you know where this is?” He asked the same question only
a little differently. “Can you take another look? Maybe inside?”
She looked at it again, then looked over at Chester. He’d not given up
the howl.
“Can you please make him stop? I can’t concentrate.” Julip was
completely unnerved. She seemed so unlike the woman I’d talked with in
the car, but I didn’t really know her very well.
“Mae,” Hank said my name like I was the one to Chester’s howling. My
eyes narrowed. “Please.”
“It was good seeing you, Julip. Let me know if you want to stay at the
campground.” I offered before I gave Hank a mean stare and headed back to
his car. “Look what you did,” I told Chester as I reached across the seat to
turn the car on and put the windows back up. “Now we can’t have fresh air
because of your big mouth.”
That didn’t stop him. He barked and howled so much that the windows
steamed.
“Well?” I asked Hank when he returned to the car after ten minutes.
“Any luck?”
“She said she didn’t recognize it. She mentioned a couple of the trails
where there is a fork, so he had to know those trails intersected. She said
that prisoners went to the library and were able to do research. Maybe
Greaser was planning his escape, looking up different maps and creating his
own.” He put the bag back on the floorboard and turned to look at Chester.
 Chester’s nose was wet up against the window and his tail was sticking
straight out. His front legs were stiff, and the toenails of his front paws dug
into the arm of the passenger window.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think that dog was treeing someone.” Hank
started the car and drove us out of there. “I asked her about her nurse duties
on the field when she ran over to Darnell. She got a little defensive and said
that everyone had fake blood and she just thought he was playing his part
well.”
I sat there in silence and thought back to that moment when I too
watched Darnell take the fall. I clearly remember thinking just how good it
looked when he pretended he was hit, then it knocked me in the head.
“He was about to kill Julip,” I said with a whisper. “She’s really lucky
he didn’t.”
“What?” Hank asked.
“I watched Darnell get killed.” I gulped, trying to swallow the lump that
had found its way into my throat as the realization that I saw an actual
murder take place dawned on me. “I thought to myself how good of an
actor he was, but he wasn’t acting.” My voice trembled as the words left my
mouth. “Greaser. He jabbed his gun towards Julip, and she put her hands
up. Then it was like he just let her go.”
“She wasn’t a juror.” Hank’s words weren’t what haunted me.
It was the look on Julip’s face and her giggle that sent goosebumps up
my legs.
CHAPTER 15

I tossed and turned the entire night. Every little stick breaking outside,
probably from some sort of wildlife, and every blowing leaf caught
my attention. An unusual nighttime breeze seemed to have picked up
overnight. I heard some cans rattling and the windchimes that some of the
campers used to fancy up the outside of their homes on wheels jingling all
night long.
It didn’t bother Fifi a bit. She was worn out from playing with Chester
for another hour after Hank had brought me home after our little visit with
Julip.
Last night, instead of going to get my car from Agnes’s house, I told
Hank to just take us home and Dottie could drive me to get my car on our
way to the Laundry Club in the morning. Of course that was after I’d
checked with Dottie to make sure she was okay with it. Some days she was
more particular than others, but she agreed.
No amount of Hank’s reassurance made me feel better about the idea
there was someone out there that’d helped Greaser. From how Hank was
talking, it sure did seem like it was someone in the community and that was
even more disturbing.
What Julip said to him about the library and how the prisoners were
able to go there for research was stuck in my head. Why hadn’t Abby ever
mentioned it? She had many chances to bring it up, like when we discussed
how Betts and the Bible thumpers never missed a chance to get over to the
prison to minister. Abby helping them out at the library was no different.
Both were educating them in one way or another.
Instead of lying in bed tossing and turning more, I went ahead and made
a pot of coffee. While I waited for Fifi to wake up and the morning sun to
rise, I pulled out the notebook I’d used for investigating other murders in
Normal from the junk drawer and sat down at the café table.
Not that I was really doing any sort of investigating, but if I wrote down
the things Hank had told me, maybe I could help him come up with
reasonable answers about Greaser and who had killed him.
We knew that Greaser killed Darnell Grassel and Burt Buggy. He also
tried to kill Flora Jean, who was still in a coma. I flipped the notebook open
and wrote Greaser’s name in the middle with a circle around it. Then I
made lines coming out from it in the shape of the sun.
I printed Darnell on one line, Burt on another, and then Flora on
another.
“If only you would wake up.” I put a star next to Flora’s name, knowing
that Hank really needed her to be his star witness, to wake up and tell him
what happened.
I wrote down the timeline of the morning of the reenactment and filled
in when I saw Greaser get the outfit from Queenie and when Julip was
giggling. I had a weird feeling in my gut that Julip knew more than she was
saying.
I wrote her name on a line and quickly made bullet points about her
behavior. I wrote that she wasn’t as friendly when we went to her house.
She didn’t appear to want to look at the map. She got defensive when Hank
even mentioned it. She was scared. She said she was scared there was an
accomplice, but was she really?
If she was scared, why hadn’t she packed up and left hours before after
dropping me off?
“Where were you all morning before and after the reenactment?” I
looked at her name and questioned her whereabouts.
A car horn beeped. I jumped up when I realized I’d been sitting there
daydreaming about the events that’d happened and dawn had flown by. The
sun was up.
I threw my notebook in my bag and quickly took Fifi out to potty.
“Are you comin’ or not?” Dottie had rolled down her window, her hair
still up in her pink sponge curlers. “I’ve got things to do.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I pointed to Fifi. “I’ll get her inside.” I patted my leg
when I noticed Fifi was wasting time and running around to smell all the
scents of all the creatures that came out at night. “Let’s eat!” I hollered,
knowing it would get her in the RV.
 She darted up the steps. Once we were inside, I gave her a scoop of
kibble and freshened up her water.
“I’ll be back soon,” I assured her and gave her a pat on the head. She
was accustomed to a life of lying around and being pampered when I got
her. A good romp with other dogs, like she had with Chester last night,
wore her out for days, so I didn’t feel too bad leaving her today since I
knew she’d sleep and recover.
“How was supper?” Dottie was wasting no time getting to the meat of
my dinner date. “I’m guessing you’re in with the fam.”
“Do you know Hank’s parents?” I asked and clicked my seat belt on.
“They are moving back, and Hank really never talks about them.”
“I’ve seen them a time or two at the diner, but rarely since they’ve not
lived here in so long.” She zoomed out of the campground.
“Seriously, fifteen miles per hour,” I reminded her of the speed limit.
“I’ve got some bad news.” Was this her way of telling me it was okay
that she was speeding? “The Bassetts are suing for mental reasons or
something weird.”
“Suing who? For what?” I took a good look at Dottie’s hair to make
sure her curlers weren’t wound too tight because she wasn’t making a lick
of sense.
“You. They are suing you.” Her hands gripped the wheel, her body
stiffened.
“Me?” I gasped, a shiver of panic coursing through my veins. “Why
me? I got them their motorhome back and it was all in one piece. I don’t
have anything.”
“I got the papers this morning. They are suing you for the deed to
Happy Trails.” One of her hands let go of the wheel as she reached into the
console between the seats for her cigarette pouch. “They said it’s mental
damage or some malarkey and they can’t go back into the motorhome.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. They’ve been catered to by Mary
Elizabeth this entire time and I got them their motorhome back. Who gave
you the paperwork?” I asked.
“Their lawyer. Fancy one too.” She tapped the cigarette case on the side
of the steering wheel, jiggling one of the cigarettes out just enough for her
to put it up to her lip and pull it the rest of the way out. “I told him you
didn’t have much and how could they do that?” She flung her head to the
side. “Papers in the back seat.”
 “What did he say?” I asked and reached over the seat to get them.
“He said they talked to someone and heard you was rich once. He said
he was gonna get your accounts and see if you’re hiding money. I told him
he was crazy.” She shook her head. “If I were you, I’d give that woman
lawyer a call.”
“You mean Ava Cox?” Saying her name brought back bad memories.
“If you think she can get you out of this.” Dottie pulled up to my car in
front of Agnes’s house. “I’ll see you at the Laundry Club.”
I got out of the car with the papers from the Bassetts’ lawyer stuck up
under my armpit and dug deep into my bag, looking for my wallet where
I’d stashed Ava Cox’s business card. It was a number I hadn’t wanted to
program into my phone. Past history and all.
There was so much junk in the bag that I had to take my notebook out
and set it on top of the car. I pulled each side of the bag apart and looked in
while jiggling it around to move the contents inside.
Just as I was giving up and grabbed my keys, the wind picked up and
blew the notebook off the car, sending into the street.
I jerked around and took a step towards it when a car came to a
screeching halt.
“Mae!” Hank jumped out of the car with a frightened look on his face.
“You’ve got to start paying attention to what you’re doing.” He scolded me
before picking up the notebook.
“You’ve got to stop going so fast.” I put my hand on the notebook to
take it and he pulled it away, holding it up in the air so I couldn’t grab it.
“Besides, I’m preoccupied.”
“What is this?” he asked since the notebook had conveniently opened to
the page where I’d started to make notes about Greaser. “Are you doing
some sort of investigation?”
“I’m being sued.” I didn’t care about Greaser right now. All I cared
about was getting hold of Ava. I handed him the papers from underneath my
armpit and took my notebook back. “The Bassetts feel like they’ve been
emotionally scarred by their motorhome being stolen. Someone told them I
used to be married to a kazillionaire or something and they think I have
cash stashed.”
“Do you?” He looked up at me from the stack of papers. “I mean, when
I first met you, you did have money stored in a sock.”
 “No. If I had any extra money, I’d be spending it on a manicure and a
new dye job on my hair instead of having Dottie go down to Grassel’s gas
station to get me some L’Oréal.”
That was the one thing I did miss about having money. The ability to
look good without trying. I would come out of a salon and look like a
million dollars. Here? Not so much. I was lucky to get makeup on most
days. Heck, even get my teeth brushed. Mary Elizabeth would fall over and
die if she knew this information.
He handed the papers back to me.
“We will figure it out.” He was trying to put a positive spin on things,
but it didn’t help. “Now, what’s with the notebook?”
“Last night I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned. I got to thinking about
Julip and how strange she was acting.” I began to tell him about the
reenactment, but didn’t get far.
His phone rang and he answered it.
“I’ll be right there. Don’t start without me.” He tucked the phone back
in his pocket. “I’ve got to go. Flora Jean opened her eyes.”
CHAPTER 16

“W hat did she say?” Betts dragged a foot underneath her as

she grabbed one of Mary Elizabeth’s cinnamon rolls.
“I have no idea. He just said she opened her eyes.” I
gave everyone a Styrofoam cup and went around to fill them up with
freshly brewed coffee. “Would you like a top off?” I asked one of the
customers who was at the puzzle table working on a few pieces while their
laundry was finishing up in the dryer. They’d already gotten a cup, but I had
enough to give him a little more before I made a fresh pot. “He told
whoever called him not to do anything until he got there,” I said over my
shoulder on my way over to top off the customer’s coffee.
“It’ll be very interesting to hear what Greaser said to her.” Poor
Queenie. She looked all worn out. Even her pink Jazzercise leotard had a
faded look to it. The white sweatband around her forehead had balled up
fuzzies on it. She was definitely looking like a wilted grapevine.
“If he said anything.” Abby walked over to the TV area when she saw
Hank giving a press conference from in front of the hospital on the early
morning news. She picked up the remote off the coffee table and sat down
at the edge of the couch while turning the volume up.
Betts, Queenie, Dottie, Mary Elizabeth, Dawn, and I walked over with
our coffee and listened as Hank gave the update about Flora Jean. It
sounded like she didn’t remember what happened. A doctor answered some
questions from the media, but she said this wasn’t uncommon and usually
they did eventually get some memory back. She couldn’t say how long it
would take Flora Jean to get her memory or even that she would, only that
she was going to live. The stab wound had been repaired, no major organs
were injured, and she expected Flora Jean to make a full recovery.
 “That’s all good news.” Betts put her hands together like she was
offering a prayer of thanks before she went back over to the book club area
where we’d been gathered before Hank had come on the news.
Mary Elizabeth went to the bathroom and Dawn walked over to the
coffee bar to refill her cup.
Dottie, Queenie, and I waited until Hank finished the conference.
Hank wrapped up the news conference by asking the public to come
forward if they recalled seeing anyone on the side of the road the morning
Greaser left the Milkery or the day before when he escaped. Hank described
the clothing that Mary Elizabeth and Dawn had mentioned.
“Mary Elizabeth, where did that bag of clothes go that you brought in
here to be washed?” I asked her when she came out of the bathroom.”
I’d completely forgotten about it, and she obviously had too.
“I forgot all about those.” Her jaw dropped. She pointed to the couch. “I
remember setting it down over there.” She walked over and looked around.
“Betts, did you see a little duffle bag with some clothes in it over here?”
“No.” Betts shook her head. “Someone probably took it. It’s not unusual
for items to be taken from the laundromat if no one is in here to watch them
since we are open twenty-four hours. I even had to post a sign.”
Like rubberneckers, all of us turned to look at the door where she did in
fact have a sign about not leaving your belongings and how the Laundry
Club wasn’t responsible for them if you did.
The phone rang and Betts went into the office to answer it.
“It sure was a nice bag too.” Mary Elizabeth’s brows knitted. “One of
Lily’s,” she referred to Lily Pulitzer as if they were on a first name basis.
“A special yearly bag she puts out. I liked it too. Had a very colorful floral
pattern. Oh, well.” Her shoulders lifted to her ears and back down. “Do any
of y’all know this Flora?”
“I do. She comes to the evening Jazzercise Strike class. She’s in good
shape.” Queenie wasn’t her usual upbeat self. “I bet she survived because
she has good muscle memory.”
“Would it be rude if I took her these cinnamon rolls?” Mary Elizabeth
asked.
“I’ll take them to her if you want me to. I was going to stop by.” It
wasn’t like I knew her, but I wanted to see how she was doing for myself.
Not that it was my business. I still had a feeling Julip wasn’t being so
forthcoming with information.
 Did Julip hear something Greaser said to these people? Or did he say
something different to her that made her giggle?
“That’d be great because I’ve got to get our picnic stuff together still.”
Mary Elizabeth grinned. “Both of my babies and me.”
I planted my palm on my forehead.
“I completely forgot,” I groaned at how bad I had gotten about
remembering things.
All of us took a seat in the book club area. Even Betts joined us after her
phone call.
“I wanted everyone to come not only because I missed you all and we
wanted to make sure Betts is okay.” I started the conversation.
“And Lester too.” Queenie made sure to chime in.
“And Lester.” I agreed. “I wanted to see if we could do a food chain.”
“Oh, shoot!” Betts smacked her leg. “I’m in charge of those for the
church and I completely forgot.”
“It’s fine, honey.” Mary Elizabeth leaned over and patted Betts’s leg.
“We’ve been under a lot of stress lately. But I thought Carol Wise was in
charge of the church food chain.”
“She is. . .was.” Betts’s brows pinched. “She’s not been coming to
church, so I guess I better do it.”
Abby walked back over to the coffee station when the coffee pot had
beeped it was finished brewing.
“That’s why I wanted to tell everyone while we were together. Betts
shouldn’t have to be in charge with everything she’s got going on. I think
we can pull together and do it.” I opened my bag and pulled out my
notebook. I ripped a piece of paper out of it and handed it to Queenie. “Can
you be in charge of writing everyone’s name down?”
This gave me a good excuse to go see Carol Wise and ask her to do it,
knowing we’d already done it. It was just an opening. Then maybe she’d
tell me about her lack of tithe and why she’d not been to church. If I could
prove that’s the discrepancy in the church’s taxes, that’d be one thing I
could take off of Betts and Lester’s plate.
“I’ve got to get out of here.” Dottie was the first to write down what she
was going to cook. “It’s my day to work at the office.”
“You better pull them curlers out of your hair.” Queenie reached up to
take one out and Dottie smacked her hand away.
 “Get off me, crazy.” Dottie took a couple of side steps away from
Queenie.
“Aww, Dottie, don’t be mad.” Queenie teased as Dottie opened the door
to leave. “You know I love you.”
Dottie didn’t look back, she simply lifted her hand and gave her a not so
friendly gesture while the rest of us laughed.
I got up and walked over to the coffee station to talk to Abby, leaving
my notebook on the chair along with my bag while everyone discussed
what dishes they were taking to what family. I didn’t want everyone to hear
me ask her about the prisoners and the library.
“Last night I went to see Julip with Hank and she mentioned the
prisoners get to come to the library. Is that true?” I asked and slowly stirred
more cream into the fresh cup of coffee.
“They do. It’s a federal program. They leave all the books out and it
drives me crazy.” She brought her cup up to her mouth.
“They found a hand drawn map on Greaser. The map didn’t make sense,
and I wondered if the prisoners have access to the map section.” I leaned up
against the coffee stand.
“They have access just like you and I do. A lot of them are getting their
law degree. It seems to be a common thing.” She blew on the steaming cup
before she took another sip. “Did Greaser steal the map?”
Her face went white.
“No. I don’t think so. It looks very elementary. I think someone on the
outside helped him because he had drawn two trails that had some sort of
fork in them.” I really had no idea what I was talking about.
“Fork?” Abby’s brows rose.
“I guess a fork in the trail or something. I don’t know. Why didn’t you
mention Greaser was at the library?” I wanted to know why she hadn’t said
anything about it.
“I didn’t know any of them. I don’t get a list and don’t talk to them. The
guard brought them in and stood at the door. We close the library early
twice a month for them.” Abby shrugged and took another drink. “It was a
good time for me to go into the office and get some librarian stuff done.
Flora Jean usually helped them with anything they needed.”
“Did you say Flora Jean?” I nearly dropped my cup.
“Yes. She volunteers sometimes at the library. ” Abby acted as if it were
no big deal.
 “Do you think Greaser recognized her?” I asked.
“I don’t even know if Greaser was there, Mae.” She seemed a little fed
up with my questioning her.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Hank knew this little bit of information.
“Was Blanche the guard that came with them?” I asked.
Something made me wonder if Blanche had a thing going with Greaser
because it did seem odd that she didn’t have a gun when he escaped, not
that I didn’t believe Lester when he told Hank he didn’t like the guards to
have guns.
It wasn’t uncommon for a guard to have a relationship with a prisoner.
According to some TV shows.
“Umm. . .” Abby was hesitant.
“Heavy set, almost shaved head, can’t really tell if she’s a . . .”
“Man or a woman?” Abby said in a slow southern drawl in the nicest
way possible.
“Yes. That’s her.” I noted and gnawed on my lip.
“What?” Abby asked.
“She’s the guard that was in the room with Lester when Greaser
escaped. And if he had help from the outside…” I didn’t have to say much
more than that.
“You know. I can find out who checked out the maps. They aren’t just
laying there for anybody to use since some of them are pretty valuable and
on loan from the Civil War Historical Society.” Her words were like hearing
from a beautiful song bird.
“That’d be great. In the meantime, I’m being sued by the motorhome
people,” I told her.
“You’re what?” Mary Elizabeth’s head nearly popped off her shoulders.
“They what?”
“They are suing me.” I walked over and took the papers I’d stuck in my
notebook after my little encounter with Hank and handed them to her.
“Well, my stars.” She drew a hand up to her pearls around her neck. Her
fingernails fiddled with the little balls. “I can’t believe it,” she gasped. “I
thought telling them about you working your way up after what Paul West
did to you and getting this town back on its economic feet would charm
them and they would forgive you for not having cameras. I even showed
them the National Park Magazine where you were featured.” Tears sat on
the edge of her highly mascara eyelids.
 “Look what you did,” Dawn snarled. “Poor Mae.” Dawn stood up. “I
told her that she made a mistake as soon as she showed them the
magazine.”
“Now she’s in a pickle and she needs to call that Cox lady.” Queenie
shook her head in disgust.
“Ava Cox?” Betts’s eyes grew. “Are you desperate?”
“In other news,” the news anchor cut away from the hospital
conference, “We are going straight out to Happy Trails Campground where
Violet Rhinehammer is going to update us on some breaking news. Violet?”
“Yeah, Brenda.” The camera turned to a chipper young woman with
blonde hair neatly parted to the side and layered in loose curls, perfect
white teeth, and a big smile standing in front of the campground’s office.
Violet was knocking on the office door. Dottie swung it open, hair still
up in her pink curlers and with an unlit cigarette tucked in the corner of her
mouth.
“What is this?” Dottie looked into the camera.
“I’m Violet Rhinehammer with Channel 2 and we wanted to talk to you
about the lawsuit that’s been filed against this campground and ask you a
few questions about your security.” Violet stuck the microphone in Dottie’s
face and turned to the camera, giving it her million dollar smile.
“Git that thing out of my face.” Dottie pushed the microphone back and
lifted her shirt up. The camera scanned down, and Dottie exposed a gun
snugged in the elastic waistband of her pants. “This here is my security.”
The sound was muffled before the camera spun around and showed
Violet Rhinehammer running back to the Channel 2 van.
I melted down into the chair knowing exactly what a deflated balloon
felt like. Awful.
“This can’t be happening.” I put my hands over my face. “Again.”
“It’s not.” Abby sat down in the chair next to me. “We will fight this.
Just like last time. I’ll do a lot of social media. Hank will help you keep the
media away.”
“It’s not the same as last time. Last time the media only wanted to know
about Paul. He showed up dead, but Hank was involved then, making it so
much easier for the media not to get in.” The sinking feeling turned in my
stomach.
“They can’t just come on your property.” Betts walked over and
grabbed the remote control, clicking the TV off. “It’s private property. You
still own it.”
“If I were you, I’d drive their motorhome to the end of your entrance
and leave it there.” Dawn didn’t throw any punches. She had been an action
gal since the day I met her. “They can’t sue you because of mental distress.
They were fine at the bed and breakfast. They had a really good time during
our movie night.”
“You can be a character witness for Mae.” Abby’s face lit up. “We know
you. We can all be character witnesses. I was with you when you ran into
that motorhome not knowing if Greaser’s accomplice was in there or not.”
“You guys are so great.” I was able to get a little more air into my lungs.
They had made me feel better. “I think I still need to call Ava Cox, though.”
“You definitely need her to look at the case and see if they have a legal
leg to stand on.” Betts made a great suggestion.
“I’ll give her a call on my way over to take Flora Jean the cinnamon
rolls.” I really wasn’t in the mood to go to the hospital and feed my
curiosity about Julip, but it was one of the things that was stuck on replay in
my head.
If I didn’t at least scratch the idea, it would sit there and fester. It was
one of the traits that I swear I picked up from Mary Elizabeth. I wouldn’t
call it nosy. I’d call it curious, even though Hank didn’t see it that way.
“Before you go, can I talk to you in my office?” Betts asked me.
The other ladies were busy writing down on the piece of paper what
food they were going to take to the families, including Flora, so it made me
feel a little better to pretend that was the reason I was going to the hospital
to see her. That is, if I could get through the security. If I knew Hank, he
had that place lined with officers. Especially if Greaser had an accomplice
and he hadn’t finished the job and still wanted Flora Jean dead.
“Sure.” I followed her into her office.
“Can you close the door?” she asked and sat down at her desk.
“Are you okay?” I asked once the door handle clicked shut.
“I’m fine.” She pinched a smile that told me she really wasn’t fine. If
she really wanted to tell me, she would. “Lester told me how you talked to
him and he came over here. I wanted to thank you.”
“No problem. He’s really great.”
She let out a long sigh and then took a big breath.
“We haven’t had the best relationship over the past few months and
after Greaser escaped, it opened our eyes to what we really have. We have a
community that loves us. A wonderful church family and this amazing
town.” The words leaving her mouth washed over me like icy cold water,
shocking me.
“I had no idea.” I blinked with bafflement. “I guess I never figured a
preacher would have marriage problems.”
“Everyone has problems, regardless of occupation.” Betts tried to frame
it in a good way, but still. “He’d been sleeping at the church for a couple of
weeks. Then this whole thing with the taxes threw us in a tizzy. Did you get
a chance to look at the books?”
“I did. And I did find something very odd, although I’m not sure if it
accounts for a big loss. Do you know how much money you’re missing
because he didn’t tell me that?” I didn’t even have a dollar amount to look
for. I’d only scanned down the list of tithes so far and that’s when I noticed
Carol Wise hadn’t made a contribution in a few weeks.
“It’s about ten thousand dollars,” her voice cracked.
My jaw dropped.
“I know. It’s a lot. Carol is older and she started working for him and
that’s when all this started to happen.” Betts looked like she was in pain just
saying the words.
“I noticed she gave on a regular basis and that she’d stopped giving. I
looked back into the tithes and sorted the checks from the cash. She always
gave cash. Is that right?” I asked.
“Yes. Lester told me she’d stopped tithing and I asked her about it when
I saw her at the Tough Nickel. She told me it wasn’t my business why she
stopped,” Betts said.
“How long ago was this?” I asked. “I haven’t finished looking through
all the paperwork. I was going to go over there this morning after I drop off
the cinnamon rolls.”
“She came to work for us about six months ago and stopped weekly
tithing about two months ago.”
“Does she still come to church?” I wondered. Not that it would make a
difference.
“She hasn’t been to Sunday service in about two weeks. She also didn’t
make it to the last prison ministry.”
“She was part of the ministry?” I asked. “I mean, what if she took the
money to help Greaser?”
“Huh?” Betts’s head jerked back, and she looked at me funny.
 “Nothing.” I didn’t need to go there. Betts had too much on her plate
already to find out that I was looking into the investigation. Greaser had
already done enough to her and Lester. “Is there anything I can do for you
and Lester?”
“No. I’m so thankful you talked to him because when he came in here
yesterday, he seemed like the old Lester I know and fell in love with.”
There was a genuine look of relief on her face.
“I know!” I snapped my fingers. “Why don’t you two take a vacation?
I’m sure there’s some sort of substitute preacher that can fill in for Lester
and I can run the Laundry Club.”
“That’s a really good idea.” Betts’s faltering smile turned into a great
big smile. “The Preacher Association does have people who travel to other
churches for that very purpose and we sure could use some alone time.”
“Perfect. I expect you to talk to Lester and have something planned by
the end of the week.” I was so happy to make her feel better or just give her
some hope even if Lester didn’t follow through.
When I first came to Normal, Betts had given me a couple of jobs with
her cleaning business when I needed to make some extra money to help fix
up Happy Trails. I owed her so much and giving my time to hang around
the Laundry Club was nothing. Plus, Dottie loved running the campground
alone. If we still had a campground to run, that is.
Carol Wise had been on my go see radar, but now she was on my must
see list.
Mary Elizabeth reminded me to be at the picnic for lunch and I assured
her I’d be there before I left the Laundry Club. I was tempted to eat the
cinnamon rolls on my drive to the hospital.
It was about forty minutes away from Normal. It was located outside of
the Daniel Boone National Park in a bigger town, and the drive over gave
me time to think about what I was going to say to Flora Jean.
The phone rang and it was Hank.
“Hey there.” I answered with a big smile on my face.
“They took me off the case,” he said with a flat tone.
“What?” I asked with a hint of nervous laughter. “What case?”
“Greaser’s. They said it was over when Flora Jean told them Greaser
told her he stayed back to make good on his promise.” He sounded deflated.
“What else did she say?” I was so shocked.
 “I don’t know. They questioned her without me there, and I told them I
wanted to talk to her. They let me go in and when she got upset with my
questioning, they told me to leave. That’s when I got the call from the chief
saying I was off the case. The case is closed.” He sounded madder than
upset.
“Who killed Greaser? Did she say?” I slowed down a little, wondering
if I should just turn around and go give Carol the cinnamon rolls.
“She said that she killed Greaser but that can’t be right. She claimed she
used the butt end of Burt’s gun, but in the video, she wasn’t near Burt. I
don’t think she had enough time to get Burt’s gun and hit Greaser after he
stabbed her.”
“What did the video show?” I asked.
“The video cut off just as he was lunging towards her so we don’t know
what happened. I’m not saying she’s lying, but she got very upset when I
continued to ask her some very hard questions.” He paused. “I think she’s
covering something up, Mae. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m not sure I can
let this go.”
“They took you off the case. Closed the case. You have to let it go.” I
continued to drive towards the hospital.
“No. I can dig without them knowing.” This wasn’t the By the Book
Hank I knew, and I loved it!
“Great! I can help you because I think Julip is hiding something.”
“No. You’re not helping me. And that’s that.” He didn’t leave any room
for me to protest, but I would help him anyway. He would see that he
needed me.
I was for sure taking these cinnamon rolls to Flora Jean and figuring out
what she was hiding.
CHAPTER 17

T he hospital was buzzing with news media vans, and the FBI was
holding a new conference. When I saw the Channel 2 news van, I
wondered if Violet Rhinehammer was there. I didn’t bother looking
for her. While the press was occupied with the news update, I was going to
slip right on in.
“Can I help you?” The older woman had a nice smile on her face. Her
eyes twinkled. She wore pink hospital scrubs that had Volunteer
embroidered on the left side. She sat on a stool behind a desk that was chest
high.
“I’m here from . . .” I gulped and prepared myself to lie. “Normal
Baptist Church and we have a very important parishioner here. We made
these delicious cinnamon rolls for her.”
“It is so wonderful that you women of the Lord do this.” Her checks
balled as her smile grew. “What’s her name?”
“Flora Jean.” I searched my mind for her last name and realized I had
no idea what it was.
“Oh, yes.” The older lady shook her head. “I heard about that. That is
what this whole mess out there is about. I’ve been instructed not to let
anyone know her condition or her room number because people take
advantage and will go in there to ask her all sorts of things. You can’t trust
those media people.”
“No, ma’am, you sure can’t.” I gave a sympathetic look. “Flora Jean is
such a big part of our parish.”
“I thought you said it was a Baptist church?” she asked me, her head
turned like a puppy dog when you said the word treat. “You said parish.
Isn’t that Catholic?”
 When she leaned a little more to the side as though she were trying to
hear me, I noticed the small hearing device in her ear.
“I said she’s been a good partner in our church family,” I spoke a little
louder, covering up my mistake. “She spends her days going to that prison
and spreading the good word.”
I started to lay it on so thick that I really thought I was going to get
struck down by lightning.
“Her daughter was just visiting. I’m sure she’s tired,” the woman
seemed to be talking herself into not giving me Flora Jean’s room number.
“What if I gave you a cinnamon roll?” I winked at her and opened the
box. “Since you’re not going to let me give them to Flora.”
She leaned over the little desk and eyeballed the sugary treats. She
licked her lips.
“I think I will have one.” She grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbled
something down. “I didn’t tell you anything.” She slid the piece of paper
across the counter of the desk and grinned. “If they ask if I told you
anything, I can confidently say no.”
“You’re the best.” I let her pick out the cinnamon roll she wanted, and it
was a good gooey one.
“Bless you for the work that your church does.” She had to give me one
last comment that gave a jab to my heart.
Flora Jean was on the fourth floor and when I got into the elevator, I
looked up and offered a silent prayer for forgiveness.
“I mean, really, it’s for the greater good,” I said and then clamped my
mouth shut when the elevator doors opened up into the lobby of the fourth
floor.
I looked at the numbers on the wall to determine whether I had to go
right or left. It looked as if it didn’t matter because Flora Jean’s room
number was smack dab in the middle. So I decided to go left.
I made sure to keep my head down and not make eye contact with
anyone. I didn’t want to be forced to lie if I didn’t have to. I followed the
numbers on the doors until I made it to her room.
The door to Flora Jean’s room was cracked open. When I peeked inside,
she appeared to be asleep and alone. No daughter, so I went on in and
shuffled my feet a little to make some noise. The last thing I wanted her to
do was to see a stranger and start yelling or something.
 She looked over at me. Her eyes had dark circles under them. There was
some bruising.
“Who are you?” she asked in a groggy voice.
“I’m May-bell-ine from church.” I decided not to say Mae West just in
case she knew my name from the past year or even from the most recent
news report. “I’m here to bring you some cinnamon rolls from the girls at
church. You know them. They’ve got a list going to feed everyone and their
family that’s been affected by these awful events. And I’m the one who
found you at the battlefield.”
“I owe you a lot.” She groaned when she tried to use her fists to push
herself up on the bed. “I can never repay you for saving my life.”
“I’m not asking you to repay me.” Hmm, I wondered if it would be
awful of me to cash in on that and ask her to tell me everything about
Greaser. “I just want you to know that me and my friends are thankful
you’re alive. Can I help you?” I asked when I noticed she was still
struggling to push herself up in the bed.
“Thank you.” She let me put my hands under her armpits and give her a
good yank up. “Did Preacher Lester send you?” she asked with a curious
look on her face.
“His wife, Betts, and I are good friends. She asked me to stop by.” I
pulled the covers up, fluffing them around her.
“She did?” She questioned as if she were surprised. “I just thought. . .”
She tugged her lips closed and turned her head to look out the window.
“Thank you for the food. So many people have brought things.”
I walked over and noticed all the flowers, cards, and food that’d already
been dropped off.
“Is there anything I can do for you while I’m here?” I asked, figuring
she wasn’t going to tell me anything.
“I’m tired.” Her voice was weak.
“My friend Abby told me to tell you that she can’t wait for you to come
back to the library.” I thought I’d throw that out. Anything to get her to talk.
“I love the library.” She smiled. There were dark circles under her eyes.
The machines beeped in the background.
“Did you take your daughter there when she was younger?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. Her love for books blossomed after the divorce.” She laughed
as though she were having a pleasant memory.
“Has she come to see you?” I asked.
 “She was just here. She’s insistent that I stay with her until. . .” she
stopped talking.
“Listen, I’m going to be honest with you. I am friends with Betts. I
don’t go to your church, but we are making food for all the families affected
by this.” I held up my finger. “That’s not a lie.”
She released a big sigh as if she was bothered by me.
“Please, just hear me out. I’m not a detective or anything, but I’m dating
Hank Sharp, the detective on the Greaser case, and he’s been put on leave
for wanting to continue to investigate even though Greaser is dead.” I
curled my hand around the rail next to her bed and sat down in the chair.
“You don’t have to say anything. For the safety of our community, we are
just making sure that Greaser doesn’t have an accomplice who could go
after more jury members out of revenge.”
“I wasn’t a juror.” She looked at me. There was fear in her eyes.
“I know, but he clearly hurt you for a reason then let you live.” I could
tell by her fidgeting she was hiding a secret.
“I met him at the library.” She looked down at her hands. “He was
actually really nice. When he noticed it was me in the outfit, he told me that
I needed to keep my mouth shut about helping him with the maps. If he
found out I said anything, he’d come back to finish the job.” Tears filled her
eyes. “That’s when he stabbed me. If it weren’t for you. . .” She lifted her
hand and wiped her face.
“Did you tell Hank this?” I asked her.
“No, because when I woke up, nobody told me Greaser was dead. My
daughter is the one who told me. Greaser is dead and that’s what matters.”
She rolled away from me.
“Did you kill him?” I asked.
“No. I didn’t have the strength.” Her jaw clenched. “I’m not sure if my
pants that I wore are over there.” She lifted her chin in the air towards the
hospital room closet. “If you look in the pocket of my pants, what’s in there
will lead you to who was helping him.”
I hurried over to closet and rummaged through her bloody clothes. I
searched the pockets and finally found a folded up piece of paper.
“Why do you think someone was helping him?” I asked her and noticed
it was a map.
“I want you to know that I thought I was helping him research
geography. I didn’t realize he was planning an escape.” She sniffed and her
eyes welled with tears. “He had other maps at the library that I didn’t help
him with. After my daughter told me Greaser was dead, I thought about the
research he was doing on geography and remembered the map that fell from
his clothes on the battlefield that I reached for and picked up with the last
bit of energy that I had. It was like my memories came flooding back. I
knew I didn’t help him with those maps, and I was the only one at the
library helping the prisoners because it gave Abby time to apply for new
grants and do office work.”
“Do you care if I tell Hank all of this?” I asked and looked down at the
map. I couldn’t understand a bit of it. It was too bad Julip had left town or I
would have taken it to her. “I’m not sure if anything will be done since the
FBI insists that the case is closed, but it’s still good information.”
“Of course you can.” She looked past me when the nurse came in with a
small clear plastic cup with a few pills in them. “I was planning on giving
the map to the police, but now that you told me the case is closed, I just
want to put this behind me.”
The nurse handed Flora Jean the cup. Flora’s hand was shaky, and I
could see on her face that she was exhausted.
“I’ll keep you posted.” I hugged her goodbye after she took the pills.
“Thank you for saving me.” The sincerity was not only in her tone but
written all over her face.
I hurried out of the hospital, replaying everything in my head that Flora
Jean had told me so when I did call Hank on the way back, I would
remember it all.
“Mae West!” The shrill voice called out to me when I walked through
the sliding doors at the hospital entrance. “Violet Rhinehammer, Channel 2
news and the new editor in chief of the National Parks Magazine.”
My heart stopped along with my feet and I could feel the shock on my
face as I watched her chipper little self running towards me with a
microphone extended toward me and a cameraman following closely
behind.
“Would you like to give a statement to our Channel 2 viewers about the
lawsuit filed against you at the Normal County Courthouse this morning
where the defendants want the deed to Happy Trails Campground? Your
home that you’ve really gone to great efforts to make a very well known
vacation destination to people who want to visit the Daniel Boone National
Forest,” she talked so fast. I was watching her mouth, but her words ran
together.
I wanted to punch her in her perfect little mouth and knock out those
bright white teeth.
“Did you say you were the editor in chief of the National Parks
Magazine?” I asked since the most recent editor had succumbed to an
untimely demise.
In fact, I found her and then had to use my own sleuthing skills to help
solve the murder. Hank forgot all that when I told him I could help.
“Ava Cox is my lawyer and she’ll be producing a statement later this
afternoon.” I caught myself in a lie before I even realized exactly what I
was saying.
Violet had replaced the notebook stuck up under her armpit with the
microphone.
“Ava Cox? Isn’t she the wife of Grandy Cox? Your husband’s partner
who killed himself after your husband stole the Coxes’ entire life savings?
Her son is the one who. . .” Clearly Violet had done her due diligence.
“Thank you for thinking of me. I’m so appreciative.” As vivid as if she
were standing right next to me, I could see the pride on Mary Elizabeth’s
face. She’d be happy all the money she put towards etiquette classes had
just come in handy.
“When you can feel it right here,” the teacher used to say and jam her
finger in her chest to make a point of how crucial it was. “You will kill them
with kindness, and I mean the bless your heart kindness where you are
smiling while serving them a shit sandwich.”
All the girls in manners class had gasped at the appalling language the
teacher had used because in the previous lesson, she had told us that cursing
wasn’t a sign of good manners. When a southern girl cursed, it made her
southern roots go down on the socialite chain, taking years to climb back
up.
“Manners has nothing to do with money,” she’d say. “It has to do with
social grace and dignity.”
I came from nothing and when I left out on my own, that’s when my
taught manners and etiquette came in handy and wow, did I see how right
she was now.
Because if not for that, right now Violet would be submitting a tape of
me going nuts right there in front of the hospital to Dr. Phil or one of those
other daytime television shows.
“You heard it right here, folks. Mae West has hired lawyer Ava Cox to
represent her in the lawsuit Bassett versus West.” She flung her pretty
blonde hair behind her shoulder.
The camera panned from me to her, but not before she did the posture
that was the first lesson taught in etiquette class. Shoulders back, boobs up.
“This is Violet Rhinehammer, reporting live for Channel 2.”
Obviously, she went to etiquette class.
CHAPTER 18

“H ank, it’s Mae.” This was not the time to be getting his
voicemail. “I’ve got something very important to tell you. I
talked to Flora Jean. You aren’t going to believe what she
told me. Call me back.”
I wasn’t sure if he was so upset that he was letting go of this case and
had turned his phone off., but I knew once he heard me say that Flora Jean
told me something, I’d be the first number he’d dialed.
Bobby Ray texted just as I was hanging up the phone to remind me
about the picnic Mary Elizabeth had made for us.
I looked over at the map in the passenger seat. I really wanted to go on
this trail, but I wasn’t entirely sure where it was. I had an inkling, but when
you’re going hiking in the Daniel Boone National Park, you needed much
more than an inkling. Every year someone died on the trails in the park due
to getting lost or not knowing how to read the maps provided by the park.
I was a tough woman, but I knew my limits. Right now, I didn’t want to
be the next statistic who didn’t leave the park alive. Besides, Fifi needed
me.
There was no sense in pulling over and replying to Bobby Ray’s text. I
might’s well head back into town and wait for Hank to call me back. It
would be nice to visit with Mary Elizabeth and Bobby Ray, but I was still a
little sore about her talking me up to the Bassetts. Didn’t they know she was
a proud southern mama, that no matter what type of bragging they did on
their children, adopted or not, you had to cut it in half to get to the real
truth?
The phone rang. Instead of taking my eyes off the road to see who it
was, I knew it had to be Hank.
 “Hey, you won’t believe. . .” I started to go on about Flora Jean and the
map Greaser had dropped but was rudely interrupted by Ava Cox.
“Have you lost your mind? Well, having your mind in the first place
was questionable, but what little you’ve got left, I’m certain you’ve lost it.”
Ava Cox sounded as unhappy to hear my voice as much as I was happy to
hear hers. “I spit out my coffee at the BBQ when I saw you on TV telling
the world that I was representing you in a lawsuit.”
“I’m guessing you’re calling because you’re happy to hear it?” I
squeaked out the words with a little bit of trepidation, hoping I wouldn’t
have to beg her to take my case.
“Mae, the last time we talked, we made our peace and I helped you out,
but that was it. The end of our relationship.” She had mentioned something
like that now that I thought about it. “Where did those words get mixed up
between now and then?”
“Did you really mean them? I thought you were kidding.” I laughed.
“Fine. Last time.” Ava tried to sound matter of fact, but I knew she
couldn’t resist a good lawsuit. “Meet me at the Normal Diner in an hour.”
The phone clicked and went dead without me confirming. There was no
way I could go to the picnic and leave in an hour.
The sidewalks downtown were filled with tourists. It was lunchtime and
the warmth of the sun made it feel like a spring day that didn’t have a
murder looming over Normal or a lawsuit looming over me.
The shops had all their side yards open. It was nice to see Alvin Deters
had his annual mini campsite display set up next to his shop, Deter’s Feed-
N-Seed, where the tourists could try out the latest and greatest camping
equipment. The s’more station was always a hit and if I had had some extra
time, I would’ve stopped and made myself one.
Normal Diner looked busy. If I wanted to get a good seat and not sit at
the counter when I met with Ava Cox in an hour, I would probably have to
get there a half hour early, leaving me with just a half hour to kill. Or to be
killed, when I told Mary Elizabeth that I couldn’t make it.
“Surely, you understand,” I said to her on the phone after I’d parked the
car in the only open parking space in front of the Laundry Club. “I’ve got to
meet with my lawyer about how we’re going to beat this lawsuit. After all,”
I pulled the door of the laundromat open and walked inside. “It was you that
told her I was rich.”
 “I didn’t tell her you were rich. I was simply telling her that you were
raised with good manners and had taken etiquette classes. That’s how you
bagged the most hated investment man in the country. It was simply
talking.” Mary Elizabeth’s downfall was talking too much and, in this case,
that’s what she’d done. “You have to come to the picnic. The bed and
breakfast is still closed, and I have the time now to have lunch with my
precious babies.”
“I simply can’t come to the picnic, but I promise we will all get together
soon.” It was an open-ended promise that seemed to make her happy and
that’s how we left it.
The laundromat was actually filled with tourists. All the machines were
spinning around, the TV was loud, and all the chairs were taken. I glanced
around and didn’t see any of the gals, so I headed into the office where I
found Betts.
“You are swamped,” I said to the top of her head while she was bent
over a stack of papers and typing away on a desk calculator. “By the looks
of that tape, you’ve been calculating for a while.”
The white calculator tape cascaded down the desk and into a heap on
the floor next to the desk.
“I’m almost done.” She looked up, dark bags under her eyes. “I swear
every year I say that I’m going to get better at keeping the taxes.”
“You really need to print it out and put it somewhere to remind yourself
on a daily basis.” I teased and looked down at the papers. “I have a meeting
with Ava Cox in about an hour, but after that I plan on going to see Carol to
figure out if she did make any sort of contribution to the church that’s gone
missing. Then I’ll be going over to the church to finish up.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to go see Carol. Lester said she called
and wants to see him.” Betts sighed.
“She does?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s going to go see her today.” She blew her bangs out of her
eyes. “He said that if she comes clean, he’ll let her pay the church back and
not file charges.”
“That’s awfully nice of him.” I guess he must see the good in all the
people as a man of the cloth. Something I clearly didn’t do.
“He said people make mistakes.” Betts smiled. “That’s one thing I do
love about him. He sees the good when I say hang her.” She laughed. “He
said that we need a vacation. Get away.”
 “I told you that you should.” Though I didn’t say it, by the looks of
things, she did need to get away. “I’m more than happy to open the Laundry
Club. All the girls can chip in.”
“You have a lawsuit on your hands. There’s no way you can even think
about helping out around here. Besides,” she said and stopped typing on the
calculator, “you could probably use a vacation of your own. I’ve already
asked too much of you.”
“Nah. You and Lester need a vacation. Maybe start that family you’ve
always wanted.” It was a shame that their marriage seemed to come after
Lester’s job.
“Changing diapers is the last thing I want to think about right now. I
could use a cup of coffee.” When she stood up, she kicked the Lily Pulitzer
bag that Mary Elizabeth had brought in the day after Greaser showed up at
the Milkery.
“There’s that bag.” I bent down to pick it up. “Mary Elizabeth has been
going crazy looking for this since it has Greaser’s clothes in it. Hank really
wants them.”
“Greaser’s clothes?” Betts’s awkwardly cleared her throat.
“Yeah. I guess with all that was going on with Lester, we forgot to tell
you that Greaser stayed at the Milkery after he escaped.” Or did we tell her,
and she just forgot? I tried to recall when we were all here after the big
escape. “Anyways, he left the clothes he had on at the Milkery, and she had
no idea he was the escaped prisoner, so she brought them here in her Lily
Pulitzer bag to clean them just in case he came back for them. Good
southern manners and all.” I pointed and laughed, wiggling my brows.
“Regardless,” I unzipped it to look inside, “Hank really wants the clothes so
he can test for fibers that may lead him to whoever might’ve helped
Greaser.”
“Helped him?” She looked confused.
“Hank thinks he had an accomplice, but I guess it really doesn’t matter
now that he’s been taken off the case and the FBI has all but closed it.” I
looked in. “That’s weird.”
“What?” She asked.
“There’s nothing in here. Mary Elizabeth said she put his clothes in
here.” I twisted around and looked on the floor in case there was a pile of
clothes on the ground. “Did you take them out?”
 “I just put the bag in here. I had no idea who it belonged too.” Her eyes
grew big when she looked at the bag in my hand. “I’ve got to get back to
these taxes.” She sat back down, frazzled.
“Do you want me to get you a cup of coffee?” I reminded her.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Lester and I do need to get this behind us and the whole Greaser thing
has gotten Lester all seeing life a little differently. He’s right.” She picked
up the stack of papers in front of her. “We probably do need a vacation.”
She waved the papers in front of her. “Where are my manners? You didn’t
come here to hear my problems. Aren’t you wasting time?”
Normally, I’d say yes because that’s what we Laundry Club gals did
when we had some time to spare.
“Ava Cox and I are going to grab lunch while we talk about the
lawsuit.” I rolled my eyes and stuck my hands into the front pocket of my
jeans. “Oh!” I pulled out the map Flora Jean had given me along with the
map I’d had from earlier. “I went to see Flora Jean. She gave me this map
on the down low. I want to give it to Hank because Flora Jean said Greaser
let her live and then he dropped this.”
“Let me see.” Betts jumped up from the chair and took both maps from
my hand. “I thought you said Hank was off the case.”
“He is, but I still think there’s someone out there that helped Greaser
and they should be brought to justice.” I looked over her shoulder as she
looked at the maps. “I can’t make any sense of it, but I’m giving it to Hank
anyways. And before I forget, Flora Jean asked for Lester to stop by the
hospital to see her.”
Betts twisted her head left and then right, then left again as if she were
looking at it from all angles.
“Wait.” She put a map in each hand and then moved one over the other.
“Look.”
She did it again.
“What?” I asked, not really understanding what she was trying to show
me.
“It’s like a puzzle. This map is made of some sort of parchment paper to
overlay on this map. If someone were to find just one, they couldn’t read
the map. They need both maps to see the real map.” She waved them
overtop each other again. “They go together. Isn’t that the battleground?”
she asked and pointed to the combined map. “It looks like the battleground
and then a trail going through a section of the Sheltowee Trace. That is
Rock River. There’s a trail from the road that winds up the ridge and back
down to Denny Branch.” Her jaw dropped. “Mae, didn’t you say that the
dog lost its scent on Forest Service Road?”
“You know what,” I gasped as my mind rewound back to the
conversation Hank and I had had about Chester losing the scent. “He did.”
I gulped. The missing pieces of the puzzle were coming together in my
mind.
“What?” Betts hollered at me when I turned around and rushed out the
office door. “What is going on?” She screamed after me. “Mae! Stop!”
“I can’t! I have to see Hank!” I hollered and ran out of the Laundry
Club, nearly knocking over Carol Wise on my way out as she was walking
in.
“Carol?” I heard Betts question the older woman, but I had no time to
stick around to find out if Carol was there to confess to taking the church’s
money.
CHAPTER 19

“Y ou have to look at this.” I shoved the maps in Hank’s face

when I showed up at his trailer unannounced.
While he looked at them, I couldn’t help but look
around. He had never invited me here. I only knew of it because Agnes told
me he lived on his parents' property in a trailer. A modest trailer at that. One
that was in desperate need of cleaning.
There were no curtains on the windows, and empty coffee cups and a
few empty beer bottles were on a coffee table that was wobbly to the touch.
There was a couch with a blanket thrown on it like it was his bed. And the
clothes. Piles of clothes were strewn all over the place.
“You live here?” I questioned, looking out the window at what appeared
to be a small farm house in the distance.
Chester was asleep in the grass with his belly up to the sun. He didn’t
want to be in here and neither did I. No wonder Hank had never invited me
here.
“Yeah.” That was all Hank said as he continued to concentrate on the
maps. “You said Flora Jean gave this one to you?”
“Yes.” I told him everything she’d told me about how she’d helped
Greaser do some research and when he dropped this map after so graciously
letting her live, she knew it wasn’t the map he’d worked on in the library,
which was the one that Hank had found on his body. “We really should turn
this over to the FBI.”
It was a suggestion that earned me a grumble and a disgruntled look.
“This is my case and I’m going to solve it.” Hank folded the maps
together and grabbed a button- down shirt, buttoning it up over his white tee
and then tucking it into his jeans. “I’m not sure where the trail leads, but
I’m going to find out.”
He reached over to the table and picked up his gun, pushing it down into
the waist of his jeans.
“I’m going too.” I followed behind him, happy to follow him out of the
trailer. Chester jumped up and ran over between us.
“Oh, no, you’re not.” He turned around, my nose to his chest. “The
accomplice could be there, and I can’t let you get hurt.”
“What about you?” I asked. “You need someone there.”
“I’ve got someone.” He patted his gun. “Why don’t you take Chester to
your house and I’ll be over after I check this out.”
“That’s not very exciting.” I looked down at the dog wagging his tail.
“You’re not an officer. You can’t go.” Hank wasn’t backing down.
“You’re not on the case.” I threw it back in his face.
“It’s my case to solve. You don’t understand.” He pulled me to him and
kissed me on the forehead before turning me toward my car. “I’ll be fine. I
won’t do anything that gets me hurt. I’m only going to check it out. I don’t
want to lose my badge.”
“Okay, fine.” I knew the last part he said was true. His job meant
everything to him and he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it. “You be
careful,” I called after him as he sped off in his car. “Let’s go, Chester.”
Before I could even leave Hank’s parents’ property, my phone was
ringing. I stopped at the end of the driveway and answered it when I saw
that it was Dottie.
“You aren’t going to believe this” was exactly how what she said before
I even said hello. “The Bassetts’ RV, stolen again.”
“What?” My jaw dropped and Chester bolted over the back seat into the
front to see what I was yelling about.
I gently pushed him over to the passenger side and put down the
window to distract him so I could talk to Dottie.
“The Bassetts’ RV was stolen,” she said at a much slower pace.
“I heard you the first time. I just don’t even know. . .” I blinked with
bafflement.
“And Ava Cox is here. She said you ghosted her on a meeting.” Dottie
was full of great news.
“Oh, gosh.” I smacked my forehead. “I totally forgot about her after
Betts and I figured out the maps.”
 “The maps? You figured them out?” Dottie asked.
“Dottie, did you call the police?” I asked.
“Yes. They are putting out an APB and setting up checkpoints in and
out of the park like before. You aren’t in their mobile home, are you?” she
asked.
“Are you joking?” I didn’t find any humor in her question.
“Well, you were the last time.” She had a great point.
“No.” I swung the steering wheel to the right and headed straight
towards Julip Knox’s house. “I bet it’s more kids. You know, a copycat kind
of thing.”
If anyone knew of more hiding places for teenagers to party, it’d be
Julip. Maybe she hadn’t left town yet. It was worth a shot.
“You could be right. The Bassetts came to talk to Ava in the
campground office when the zoom of the RV speeding by caught our
attention. That’s how we knew it was stolen again.” Dottie’s words didn’t
seem real.
“This day can’t get any worse. I’ll be there soon.” I hung up the phone
and headed to Julip’s cabin.
For a split second, I thought about calling Hank to let him know what
had happened and where I was going, but there was no way he’d stray from
the hunt he was on. There was a look in his eye that told me he wouldn’t
stop looking for Greaser’s accomplice no matter what.
From the beginning, I knew Hank loved his job. It was one of the things
that turned me away from liking him and toward Ty Randal. But Hank’s
tough exterior was just a cover for the good heart that I admired most about
him.
I was sure there was a copycat in the stolen RV, and it wouldn’t hurt to
check with Julip to see if she had more hiding places up her sleeve before I
headed back to the Happy Trails to face the music yet again.
“Look there, Chester,” I said to him, even though his head was stuck out
the window and his ears were pinned back, his tail wagging and a deep
howl escaping him like he’d done the other night when we were there.
“She’s still here. But not for long.” I noticed the trunk of her car was open
as if she were still packing. “You stay here,” I warned the dog.
He howled and groaned, hopping around the seats with his eyes on me.
“Crazy dog,” I whispered, noticing that the bag in the trunk of her car
looked familiar.
 I glanced over my shoulder when I heard voices and noticed Julip
talking to someone next to a car that was pulled up to the far side of her
cabin. She jerked her head up and stared at me.
An image of the bags Lester used for the prison ministry popped into
my head. I swung my head around to look in her trunk again, then looked
over at Chester. He was gnashing his teeth and growling.
“What are you doing here?” Julip asked and started to walk over.
The person in the other car got out and it was Blanche Davis, the
security guard from the prison.
“I. . .” My lips smacked together. I swallowed hard. Something wasn’t
right here. I looked between the two women and back at the bag.
“Can you get that dog to shut up?” Blanche asked through her gritted
teeth. “Or I’ll shut him up for you,” she warned.
“He’s a hunting dog and he acted like this the other day when Hank and
I stopped by.” I started to put more of the missing pieces of the puzzle
together. “Greaser was here. Chester smelled him.”
“What are you talking about?” Julip laughed, but Blanche did not.
“She’s a busybody. I heard she was a busybody.” Blanche nudged Julip
and pulled the hem of her shirt up, exposing the Billy club that Greaser had
supposedly taken from her the day of his prison break.
The screech of tires and the sound of gravel hitting metal caught our
attention. All of us looked towards the road where the Bassetts’ RV was
barreling up to the cabin.
“Lester?” I gasped when I saw the tall, lanky preacher in the driver’s
seat of the stolen recreational vehicle.
Before I could wrap my head around what I was seeing, Blanche had
already taken hold of my arm. I winced from her nubby fingernails digging
into my skin.
“What’s she doing here?” Lester looked at Julip and Blanche.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him back but met with a quick jerk
from Blanche to shut me up.
“This is getting to be too much.” Julip shook like a leaf. “Greaser and I
didn’t want this. We just wanted to live a quiet life.”
“That’s not working out for you, now is it?” Blanche pushed me in the
direction of the trunk.
As I tried to catch myself from falling, my hand hooked one of the bags.
I dropped it on the ground and money tumbled out of it.
 The church’s money, I thought, and looked up at Lester. I couldn’t
describe the shock I was feeling. It reached from the tip of my toes to the
hairs on my head.
“You’re never going to understand.” Lester’s tone was calm, like he was
giving one of his Sunday sermons. “It’s hard being a preacher. Always got
to be good. Always listening to people’s problems. Who listens to mine?”
“I do, honey.” Blanche put a reassuring hand on his back and a heavy
foot on top of my foot, not letting me move. “What are we going to do with
her?” She dragged the Billy club out of her waistband and knocked it in her
open palm a few times.
Making her point very clear.
Lester and Blanche were having an affair, but what did that have to do
with Greaser and Julip?
“You and Greaser?” I looked over at Julip to get some answers before
Blanche took her shot and knocked me out.
“Cuff her until I can think a little clearer.” Lester instructed Blanche and
pointed to me.
She had the strength of an ox as she twirled me around and had me
cuffed before I could even think about trying to get free.
“We were in love. They weren’t going to let him out. Like ever!” Julip
yelled at me. “These two couldn’t keep their hands off of each other in the
prison and Greaser caught them.”
“Shut up!” Lester screamed at Julip over Chester’s barking
“No! I’m going to tell her everything!” Julip yelled back at him. “Shut
up!” she screamed towards Chester as she reached down to grab the money
off the ground. “This is my money. Greaser and I deserve it.”
“You deserve nothing.” Lester reached over to Julip and tried to jerk the
handle of the bag from her. “He wasn’t supposed to kill anyone. He was
going to escape and use the maps to find you.”
“The maps lead to here?” I looked around with a little hope that maybe,
just maybe, Hank was hot on the trail and would find me. Alive would be
good, but if I were dead, that’d be fine too. Just as long as someone found
me.
“Of course. He didn’t know where I lived, so we made the maps. Two.
Just in case we got caught.” Julip shook her head. “That stupid
reenactment.”
 “That’s where your boyfriend messed up.” Blanche yanked the cuffs
good to make sure they were tight.
“Ouch!” I yelled. Chester continued to howl even louder. “Ouch!” I
screamed as loud as I could. The louder I was, the more Chester howled.
Maybe Hank was out there and would hear us.
“You didn’t have to kill him!” Julip screamed at Lester and yanked the
bag out of his hands.
“I did. He was going around killing people. I had to stop him.” Lester
started to pace back and forth. “I agreed to give him ten thousand dollars to
keep his mouth shut about me and Blanche and to help stage his escape. I
never said I’d go along with him killing people.”
“He didn’t know the reenactment was that day.” Julip’s anger was
starting to turn more emotional. Tears streamed down her face. “He saw
those people’s faces again. The ones who convicted him. And he went
crazy.”
“He killed two innocent people.” Lester ran a hand through his hair.
“Now what do we do?” Blanche asked him.
“Julip is going to take the money and the RV.” He looked over at me.
“We are going to have to get rid of her.”
“How are you going to do that?” I asked.
Blanche swung her arm and gave me a swift backhand, knocking me
down, and everything went black.
CHAPTER 20

“J ulip was the only one who had checked out the maps from the
library.” Abby leaned over the hospital bed with a grin on her
face.
“Now you tell me,” I barely got the words out and looked
around the hospital room, trying to remember what had happened. My mind
was foggy on the details, but the big goose egg on my head was a painful
reminder.
I heard sighs of relief from the Laundry Club women surrounding my
bed and the beeping of the heart monitor that was hooked up to my chest
with those little electrode stickers.
“We were so worried about you.” Mary Elizabeth was sitting next to me
with my hand in hers. “If Hank hadn’t gotten there when he did, I’m not
sure you’d still be alive.”
“Hank?” I asked and looked around, not seeing him.
“Yes.” Dottie shoved Abby out of the way. “But really it was Chester.
He saved your life. And Ava Cox.”
“Chester?” My memory was so foggy, but I tried really hard to
remember what happened. “Ava?”
“Yeah, Chester.” I followed Hank’s voice to the end of my bed where he
stood holding Chester. “If it weren’t for his howling, I would have never
found my way out of the woods and been able to watch what happened. I
recorded all of it on my cell phone.”
“Even the part where Blanche knocked you halfway to Mars.” Dottie
looked down the hospital bed at Hank and snarled.
“What matters is that he saved you.” Queenie patted my toe from the
other side of the bed.
 “And Ava, she told the Bassetts everything you’ve been through and
how you don’t have a pot to. . .” Dottie’s colorful language was interrupted
by Hank clearing his throat. “They dropped the lawsuit.”
“Now that she’s awake, I need to get her statement.” Hank looked
around at all the gals. “Why don’t y’all wait outside and after we talk, I’ll
let you back in.”
Hank’s suggestion was met with a few grumbles and mumbles.
“It’s police business.” He herded them out, handing Chester to Mary
Elizabeth and shutting the door behind them. “You.” He turned back to me
with a shaking finger. “You scared me.”
He leaned over my head and brushed a strand of my thick curly hair
away from my face. He bent down and kissed my lips. He pulled back,
inches from my face.
“This is why I told you to take Chester to the campground. I can’t ever
risk you getting hurt. Do you understand?” His breath was hot against my
lips.
“I understand.” I smiled and let him give me another soft kiss.
“Is this what you call a police interview?” Betts stood near the door of
the hospital room.
“Betts.” I started to sob when I saw her face.
Everything came back to me and my heart ached for Betts. Hank moved
out of the way when he noticed Betts was coming towards me.
“Don’t.” She hurried over to my side and bent down, hugging me.
“Don’t you know we hug around here,” she said through her own tears.
I lifted a weak arm and put it around her.
“Two arms,” she instructed me, not letting go.
“If it weren’t for Betts calling me while I was in the woods trying to
figure out where I was, I’m not sure if I would have believed what was
happening at the cabin,” Hank started to tell me what I’d stumbled upon.
“Carol Wise came to see me at the Laundry Club,” Betts said.
I nodded, vaguely remembering literally running into her on my way
out.
“She told me about Lester’s affair with Blanche. Apparently, it extended
to the church office. She stopped tithing because she said she couldn’t give
to a church that had Lester as its preacher.” There was pain on Betts’s face
as she told me the sordid tale of Lester and Blanche. “Flora Jean and Carol
Wise are best friends. Carol told Flora about it. That’s what Flora Jean
wanted to see Lester about when she told you to have him come see her.
They were going to tell me about the affair. Then you recognized Mary
Elizabeth’s bag. The clothes in the bag were Lester’s and when you told me
the clothes in it were Greaser’s, I knew it was Lester that had let Greaser
go. I confronted Lester about it, and he took off. Said something about
needing a vacation.”
“That’s when he showed up at the campground to confront you.” Hank
jumped in to fill in more blanks. “He stole the Bassetts’ RV to round out his
grand plan of getting out of town.”
“So Carol didn’t take the church’s money?” I asked, trying to sort out
the details.
“No. Greaser was blackmailing Lester and Blanche. Greaser wouldn’t
tell about their affair if Lester helped him escape and gave him ten thousand
dollars so he and Julip could run off together. Lester took the cash out of the
church tithe over a few months, and he and Blanche let Greaser escape
using the maps Julip had made for him.” Hank continued to tell me how it
all played out. “Greaser just so happened to come upon the reenactment and
Queenie thought he was someone else. That’s when he saw jurors there and
decided to make them pay like he said he would.”
“That’s what Lester saw and killed him for it.” I recalled Lester saying
he’d killed Greaser.
“But the tape of the reenactment ran out before we saw Lester do it.”
Hank reached over and put his hand on Betts’s back.
Betts buried her head in her hands as she cried.
“That’s why I’d seen Julip and Blanche at the church. They were all
trying to get things sorted out.” It was all very clear what had happened
right under my nose.
“Betts called me while I was in the woods trying to read the darn map
and told me everything. It was Chester’s howl that led me to the trail where
you were.” Hank’s big green eyes softened. “When I saw you go down, I
went nuts. My heart fell.”
“I’m fine.” I glanced over at Betts and put my hand out for her to take.
“How is Lester?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care.” She took my hand and squeezed it.
“You don’t care?” I asked, not buying her words. She and I both looked
at Hank.
 Hank patted my leg. “I was going to get a statement from you, but I
think I’m going to let you two talk and I’ll be back.”
It was cute how he could tell she and I needed a little girl time.
Betts and I sat in silence for a few more seconds after Hank had left the
room.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Betts broke the silence. “If I could take back
all the pain he caused, I would.”
“You don’t have to explain to me.” I offered her a smile through my
bruised and busted lip I could feel had swollen to three times its size. “You
forget, my dead ex-husband also messed over a lot of people.”
“Yeah,” she smiled back.
“You know.” I shrugged. “I’m going to need some time to heal this big
lip.” I pointed to my lip and groaned a little as the pain radiated across my
face. “Why don’t we blow this joint and have a spa day?”
“Who’s having a spa day?” Queenie asked. Dottie and Abby weren’t too
far behind her.
“Oh! I’d love to have a spa day.” Abby’s face lit up and she nudged
Dottie.
“What?” Dottie groaned. Abby gave her a hard look. “Fine. We can
have a spa day at the Laundry Club. I’ll get a few of the Happy Trails spa
packages for us.”
“Are you sure?” Betts looked around at all of us.
“We are the Laundry Club and we stick together through thick or thin.”
I pushed myself up into bed and ripped the heart monitor probes off my
chest. “I’m fine and can’t think of a better way to spend my first day out of
here than with my friends.”
Abby hurried over to get my clothes from the hospital closet while
Queenie helped me out of the bed.
“I’ll meet y’all directly.” Dottie walked right into Hank on her way out
and his way back in.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” he asked, a concerned look on
his face.
“We need girl time.” Betts put her hand on his arm and squeezed.
There was an unexplainable moment between them and it showed on
Hank’s face that he knew Betts needed me as much as I needed her.
“Then let me help you.” He came over and gave me and Queenie a
hand, helping me walk to the bathroom where Abby had put my clothes.
 When I came back out, all the girls from the Laundry Club were gone.
“Where are they?” I asked him. “Did you run them off?”
“Nope. I just wanted a little time alone with you and I told them I’d
bring you in my car.” He put his arm around me. “Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.” I smiled and put my arm around his waist.
“No. I mean are you ready for the next level of our relationship?” He
asked. “The part where you meet my parents?”
“So does that make us official?” I questioned. There was a flicker of
excitement in my heart.
“More than you know.” He opened the door with his free hand to lead
me out of the hospital room.
Side by side, we walked out of the hospital.
Side by side. Something I knew I could get used to.

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 Chapter One of Book Six
Canyons, Caravans, & Cadavers

“Welcome!” Mayor Courtney Mackenzie wore a t-shirt with the logo of

Normal, Kentucky, and a pair of capri-length khakis, appropriate attire for
the warm spring night we were having in our tourist town embedded deep
in the Daniel Boone National Park. “I’d like to welcome everyone to the
Happy Trails Campground on behalf of Mae West. We are here to honor her
with a key to the city for her hard work over the past year to boost Normal’s
economy.”
My chin dropped to my chest, causing my long, curly brown hair to fall
over my shoulders and shield my red face from all the eyes on me.
“ “I know that we usually have these at our Tuesday Chamber of
Commerce meetings, but I wanted to host this ceremony here at the
campground since not all of our local town folk have had a chance to visit
Happy Trails since it was renovated.” The Mayor was doing a great job
talking up the campground that I’d spent a lot of time – and money – fixing
up and modernizing in the short time I’d owned it. “Mae has opened up a
few campers for your viewing pleasure and to show you that Happy Trails
isn’t just a campground anymore, but a glampground.” The Mayor laughed
at her own joke. “Get it? Glamour and campground mashed up .” She
shrugged and moved side to side before continuing. “Mae has taken your
basic mini-campers and RVs and transformed them into a very glamorous
experience, whether or not you like hiking and camping.”
Hank Sharp put his arm around my shoulder, resting it on the back of
the chair. He leaned over and whispered, “You should be enjoying this.”
I lifted my chin and looked at him. He smiled. His beautiful bright teeth
were perfect and so were his green eyes. I couldn’t stop smiling back at
him. He curled his hand around my arm, tightening his arm around me and
squeezing me to him. His lips met my temple with a soft kiss that made this
day even more perfect than it already was.
“Mae West!” The Mayor had finished her speech.
The crowd of locals that’d come to the campground to see me receive
the key to the city were clapping from the rows of folding chairs behind me.
When I stood up, I turned around and waved to them.
 I took in the lake behind us and all the campers and the manicured lots
the campers sat on that were situated around the lake. The fountain in the
middle of the lake spilled over in a magnificent water feature as it aerated
the lake. The Tiki Hut next to it was open for business to the campers. This
is where campers could pick up some food from Normal’s local restaurants.
“Mae, if you would join me and Principal Bass from Normal High
School up on stage, we’d like to present you with your key now.” The
Mayor waved me up.
On my way up to the stage, I glanced over at Mary Elizabeth Doyle, my
adopted mother. She was tapping her index fingers on the corners of her
mouth, which was her way of telling me to smile.
“Shoulders back,” she mouthed, still trying to get me to use all the
techniques I was taught in etiquette school over twelve years ago.
“Mae West!” The Mayor put her hands out towards me like I was a
prize on the Price Is Right show. “Mae,” she said my name again when I
stood next to her. “Principal Bass is here not only to help me honor you
with a key to the city, but to also invite you to teach a six week class to
economics students about the economies of small towns and how small
businesses can bring so much to small rural towns like Normal.”
“I’m so honored.” I looked back and forth between them. “But I don’t
have a teaching degree.”
“That’s okay.” Principal Donald Bass stepped up to the microphone and
handed me a diploma. It was something they gave to all the people who
received the key to the city, even though I didn’t graduate from there. “As
Principal of Normal High School, we are giving you an honorary diploma.
We are truly grateful for your knowledge and business sense that you’ve
brought to our town. It gives our children encouragement today that will
help bring change to Normal tomorrow.”
I stood there in shock and it must’ve shown on my face because Mary
Elizabeth got my attention by clearing her throat. I looked at her and she
used her hand to gesture to me to shut my gaping mouth.
“On behalf of the citizens of Normal, I’d like to honor you with the key
to the city.” The Mayor handed me a wooden plaque with a small gold key
fastened to it. A small gold plate was inscribed with my name, the data, and
the name of our town.
I faced the crowd and smiled as I looked out at all the applauding
people that I had come to know and love since coming to Normal. There
were a few faces I didn’t recognize, but based on where they were sitting
they had to be teachers from the high school. I was grateful they had come
out to the campground to see me receive this honor.
“Thank you,” I spoke into the microphone once the applause had died
down. “There are so many people I’d like to thank. This wouldn’t have
been possible if Normal’s shop owners hadn’t taken a chance on me and
donated goods to the campground for me to promote their shops.” I named
off the key people who took a chance on me when they had absolutely no
reason to trust me.
In fact, they had all had a reason to want to run me out of town when I
drove my rundown RV across the town limits. Today I could look in the
eyes of all the people who didn’t want to trust me and stand proud of what I
had accomplished.
Of course, this ceremony wasn’t as quite as simple as I’ve made it out to
be. Mayor Mackenzie had agreed to hold the ceremony at the campground
and not the courthouse under one condition. This was how she got elected,
by wheeling and dealing and playing nice.
“We’d also like to take a moment to honor another wonderful citizen in
Normal who has also had a great impact on our community. If it weren’t for
her, our little town would’ve taken an economic hit if the world had thought
Normal was unsafe.” The Mayor wasted no time knocking me out of the
limelight when my fifteen seconds of fame were over.
Although, I have to say those fifteen seconds were glorious and that I
was really looking forward to six weeks to whip the minds of these little
hooligans into shape. I zeroed in on Principal Bass’s son, Davey. Davey and
I had a little history together. At the beginning of spring, Davey and his
friends stole an RV from guests at my campground and did a little partying
in it at Kissing Point, a remote area in the national park where kids went to
do what kids like to do.
The judge had ordered Davey to do community service and all of his
work was at the campground. Now I’d be able to keep an eye on him at
school.
I’d made it a mission to not make his life so easy because his little
joyride had nearly caused me to lose my campground and go bankrupt.
“Violet Rhinehammer is not only the new Editor in Chief at the Normal
Gazette, she has been awarded the National Park Magazine Reporter of the
Year Award with her coverage of the prison break that put Normal in the
national spotlight.” Mayor Mackenzie smiled at Violet.
Yep. In order for the ceremony to be held here at the campground, I had
to agree to share the limelight with Violet Rhinehammer, a big pain in my
you know what. At least I wasn’t likely to see her after today unless she was
doing a segment on Channel 2, where she was a regular contributor.
“As the principal of Normal High School, we’d like to honor you by
giving you an honorary degree in journalism and extend an offer for you to
mentor our young adults on the NHS Telegram for six weeks.” He was
talking about Normal High School’s student-run newspaper.
“I’m just so shocked.” Violet flipped her long blonde hair to the side,
letting it cascade down one shoulder in dripping curls. Her perfectly lined
red lips exposed gleaming teeth that exuded charm. Her bright eyes
twinkled as she bounced with giddiness.
Although I wasn’t paying much attention to her, I thought it sounded
like she got more applause than I did.
“Did he just tell her she’s going to work at the school too?” I leaned
over and asked Mayor Mackenzie, gripping my key to the city and diploma
so tight that my hands started to hurt.
“Yes.” Mayor confirmed with a nod and then shushed me like I was ten.
I jerked around and put a smile on my face while they gave their closing
remarks.
“Be sure that you stay for the reception. Just like Mae always does, the
local restaurants and business have graciously donated not only their
products, but their time to come out and support our two wonderful
citizens.” Mayor stepped back and gave us one last round of applause.
As soon as everyone stopped clapping, I high-tailed it down the steps of
the stage, passing Ethel Biddle on the way down.
“I hope you don’t mind” was how Ethel started her conversation with
me, “I took Rosco down to your RV and your door was unlocked.”
“You opened my door?” I questioned.
“Mmmhhh,” she ho-hummed, seeing nothing wrong with her actions.
“Rosco wanted to visit with the mother of his children. So I let him go right
on in.”
Rosco was Ethel’s dog. He and Fifi, my former prize-winning poodle,
had done the unthinkable and Fifi had gotten pregnant, stripping her of her
award-winning heritage.
 At the time it seemed like one of the worst things that could have ever
happened, but in the end and like most things, it all turned out fine. Fifi
came to live with me and Roscoe and Fifi became parents to the cutest
babies. Soon after I made sure that wouldn’t happen again and had Fifi
spayed.
“If you’ll excuse me, my public awaits.” She picked at her neck skin.
“Me, me, me, me.” The pitch in her voice moved up an octave with each
me. “Me, me, me.”
I moved out of the way of the banjo player and fiddle player to make
room for them on the stage. Ethel wasn’t just the owner of Smelly Dog
Grooming, the only pet groomer in Normal, she was also the lead singer of
Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys.
They were actually pretty good and everyone who stayed at the
campground loved them, so it had been a no brainer to book them for the
monthly themed party I had at the campground. Since we were celebrating
my – I mean, my and Violet’s – honor, I had decided to hold the monthly
party today.
“Congratulations, May-bell-ine.” My foster brother turned adopted
brother Bobby Ray Bonds gave me a good smack on the back with his free
hand while the other gripped a beer can. “Can you believe it? From the
foster care to the key to the city. You sure have done well for yourself.”
“Thank you, Bobby Ray.” I noticed his thinning hair covered by a
ballcap and that he was still wearing his greasy mechanic overalls. “Just
getting off work?” I asked.
There were small clusters of folks gathered around, eating and drinking.
In the background I could hear the band plucking on their instruments to get
in tune.
“Yep. I didn’t have time to change.” He gestured down to the far side of
the lake where I had small bungalows for rent for those that didn’t like to
stay in campers. “I went home to change, but someone was parked in my
spot. I figured it was a guest, but come to find out it’s that archery feller
from the school.” Bobby looked down at me from underneath his brows,
looking for an explanation as to why the high school economics teacher,
who was also the coach of the Rifle and Archery Club, wasn’t living at
home with his wife.
“Bobby Ray, you lived with Mary Elizabeth too long.” I tsked, referring
to how nosey and gossipy Mary Elizabeth was.
 “He didn’t live with me long enough.” Mary Elizabeth came out of
nowhere. “You did mighty fine up there with your speech, but you’ve got to
remember, tits up and shoulders back,” doing the motions as she said it.
“Thank you for coming,” I reached over and hugged her, ignoring her
critiques. “I’m going to get me some food.” My stomach grumbled from the
delicious smells coming from the campfires in the stone firepits that I
provided at each lot. “Want some?”
“I’m so hungry my belly thinks my throat’s been cut out.” She
snickered, nudging me.
On our way around the campground, I made a quick pit stop at my little
RV and let out Fifi and Rosco. Both darted out with their noses up in the air
as if they were running to the smell of food. They were on a mission.
Even though today was a day of celebration, I kept the rules of the
monthly theme party the same. If you were staying at the campground and
wanted to participate, I asked you to make some sort of food to share with
the group. Each person got a plate and walked around the campground,
taking a little from each campfire stove to fill a plate.
Along the way, they got to know their fellow campers so they wouldn’t
know just me and Dottie Swaggert, the campground manager.
“Campfire chili.” My mouth watered just saying what the first camper
had made. “Do you want some?” I asked Mary Elizabeth as I took a bowl
for myself.
She was too busy talking to the campers and bragging on how I was her
adopted daughter, so I left her behind and started making my way around
the campground. When I got to the bungalows, I noticed Coach Scott
Goodman and a few of the students in his club were having target practice
with foam targets for their arrows. His Normal High School Archery and
Rifle Club track suit showed he was proud of his job as a coach.
Coach Goodman stood about six foot one inch tall with a nice head of
blond hair that had a wee-bit of a wave to it. By the way he filled out the
track suit, I could tell he took care of himself.
“Hi, Coach. Do you want some chili?” I asked him, holding out the
bowl for him to take. I noticed that he was wearing his wedding band.
“Nah. I’m not hungry. Just enjoying the kids. But I might have to get
some of that later.” He nodded and eyed my bowl. “I guess we will be
working together for a few weeks. Congratulations.” He folded his
muscular arms across his chest and stood with his legs spread in a stance.
 “I’m excited. I’ve got a few ideas. Maybe I can run those by you later.”
I watched as one of kids drew her bow back. She used a steady hand and
carefully looked down the arrow at the target.
When she let go, the arrow whizzed through the air with ease, hitting
dead set in the center of the target.
“She’s one of the best.” He shook his head. “Got a good chance for a
scholarship.”
“Is that right?” A deep voice came up from behind us. “Ken, Ken
Patterson.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “My son is Sam
Patterson. He’s the one who should be getting scholarships.”
“Mr. Patterson, I’m not going to talk with you about Sam’s future
outside of school. I’m more than happy to talk to you with Alena Russell
present, but not here,” Scott said sternly, very clear about where he stood.
“You’ve not heard the last of me, Goodman,” Ken warned him before
stalking off.
“I can never escape the classroom.” Scott sighed, staring Ken down as
he walked away. “Some parents think their kids deserve the world when
they don’t.” He leaned in a little closer. “Between me and you, I’m not
planning on being around here long enough to care what happens to Sam.”
“Mae! Skillet brownies!” Mary Elizabeth bounced on her toes in delight
and pointed to another camper’s delicious treat over their firepit.
Vigorously, she waved me over.
“I guess you must love brownies.” Scott smiled, trying to put on a good
front, but I knew it was a cover for something deeper going on in his life.
I knew. I’d done that for a long time myself.
“If you need anything while your renting the camper, let me know.” I
pointed to the small white travel trailer that I’d converted a single camper.
I made it cozy by upgrading the kitchen and installing gas heaters in
each room for really cold nights. The living room had a large leather couch,
a reading chair, a fireplace, and a TV from the 1980s. This particular trailer
also had both an indoor and outdoor shower, beautiful antique decor, and
heavy vintage flannel blankets and bear skins for staying super cozy. From
the looks of it, Scott Goodman felt right at home.
“And for future reference,” I pointed to the car pad that went with
Bobby Ray’s bungalow, “that’s for the bungalow. You can park on the other
side of the camper.”
 “Oh, I know. That dude made me well aware of where he parked his
heap of junk and chewed me a new one.” The nice side of him suddenly
disappeared.
“That’s my brother and he works hard. It’s his parking spot. Thanks for
listening.” I didn’t need to say much more. As nice as I thought Scott might
be, there did seem to be a dark side to him that I didn’t plan to get to know.
“I’m going to get my brownie now.”
“Looking forward to hearing your ideas,” he said before he went back to
the students.
“Who was that?” Mary Elizabeth asked.
“He’s the economics teacher I’m going to be working with.” I left it at
that, deciding that I wouldn’t make any snap judgements about my new
renter.
Mary Elizabeth and I stepped aside as a red convertible Mustang came
around the lake going faster than the fifteen miles per hour posted speed
limit.
“Slow down! There’s kids around here!” Mary Elizabeth yelled and
lifted her fist in the air. “Who is that?”
“I have no idea. Must be a local.” I shrugged, happy to see nobody was
hurt on the Mustang’s way out of the campground.
I spent the rest of the evening thanking people for coming who then
congratulated me on the key to the city.
As much as I didn’t want the evening to end, it was still a work night for
everyone and I was planning to go to the school tomorrow to plan my six
weeks of teaching.
“Are you sure you don’t mind watching the campground for six weeks
straight?” I asked Dottie as we were stacking the folding chairs after the
party had died down. The smell of BBQ drifted in the air and past my nose,
making my stomach growl.
The sun had set long ago and the moon was high in the night sky, but
there were a few campfires still glowing in the darkness. I eyeballed the one
with the BBQ and decided to grab a plate and take some down to Scott
since I’d not seen him since I stopped by there to tell him about the parking
spot.
“What on earth do you think I did all those years before you came?”
Dottie asked with a snarky tone.
 “I like to think you need me.” I winked. “But you’re right. I’d never be
able to run this place without you.”
Dottie Swaggert was the manager of Happy Trails when I came around
to claim the campground that had been put in my name. Illegally. It was the
only thing the government didn’t seize when they threw my ex dead –
specifically, murdered – husband Paul West in jail for running a Ponzi
scheme.
It wasn’t Dottie’s fault Happy Trails was all run down when I got here.
Paul hadn’t paid any attention to the place. But things work out in
mysterious ways. I never could have imagined living in a camper, never
mind running a campground. It’s truly been a blessing.
“I do need you.” Dottie was a softie at heart. She didn’t look at me
when she said it since she was too busy fooling with the top snap on her
cigarette case. “Listen, you tell them kids that they can’t expect things to
just be handed to them. They need to work for it.” She pointed her pointer
and middle finger at me with the cigarette in between.
“I’ll leave that up to their parents.” I wasn’t about to go on over and tell
kids how they needed to be. I wasn’t a parent and had no idea how to be
one. “I’m going to get Scott a plate of food to help break the ice.”
“Break the ice?” she asked. Her face glowed from the light on her
lighter.
“Bobby Ray had a fit when he came home and found Scott’s car parked
in his spot. I had to tell Scott and he was fine, but I felt some tension.” Or
maybe it was the tension of that father who confronted Scott, but I kept that
thought to myself. “I don’t want anything to be weird between the real
teacher and me while I’m teaching them about how I got the campground
up and running.”
“That’s what you’re going to teach them?” She asked as a puff of smoke
barreled out of her mouth. “Heck, I can teach them that.”
“No. I thought I’d teach them how I created a business plan to bring the
campground back to life and how I went around to all of Normal’s shop
owners to help them too.” It sounded so simple when I said it out loud.
“Gosh,” I said, gnawing the edge of my lip. “I hope I’ve got enough to fill
six full weeks.”
“Sounds to me like you’ve got enough for a day. You need some
plannin’.” Her brows lifted.
 “That’s why I’m going to see Scott.” I gestured toward his travel trailer.
Fifi made a couple of yipping noises when she saw me from a distance and
ran my way, with her tail up in the air, wagging. “I’ll see you in the morning
before I go to the school.”
“Sounds good.” She snuffed her cigarette out on the bottom of her shoe.
“Don’t worry about a thing. Not even Fifi. I’ll be sure she’s all taken care
of.”
“You’re the best, but don’t give her any hot fries.” I wagged a finger at
her as I started to walk away and make my way around the lake.
Dottie loved those hot fries from the vending machine. I’d caught her
giving some to Fifi several times and the crazy pooch loved them.
“I’m serious, if Principal Bass doesn’t do something about Goodman…”
I overheard from a woman sitting around the public campfire near the pier
on the lake with a group of women. She had on a Normal High School
sweatshirt. “My husband is going to have to take matters into his own
hands.”
“Goodman has no idea what Ken is capable of.” Another woman held
up a beer can and the group of woman held theirs up and gave a cheers.
“I hope they don’t treat me like that,” I said to Fifi and walked over to
the Dutch oven where guests of Happy Trails were still enjoying the
aftermath of the party. “Smells good.” I leaned over the pot and took a nice
long whiff.
“Help yourself.” One of the men handed me a plate. “We really are
enjoying ourselves.”
“I’m so glad. I hope you take the time to head into town after one of
your hikes and visit all the shops.” I took a bun from the card table and
added some BBQ along with a scoop of coleslaw to top it off.
“If my wife has any say in the matter, we will,” he joked, followed by a
round of the other men agreeing with them. Fifi took her turn running
around the group of men and sucking up all the dropped food up like a
vacuum. “Let us know if you need anything.” I wanted to make sure every
guest knew we were always there for them. It was little touches like this
that made the campground feel like a cozy home away from home. “Good
night!” I called over my shoulder.
As my eyes glanced around the lake, I noticed the group of women still
sitting around the public campfire with their beers. The back of one of the
sweatshirts read PATTERSON’S MOM.
 I rolled my eyes, remembering those parents from high school.
“Squeaky wheel gets the oil,” my mom used to say when I’d come
home crying about something someone got that I didn’t. Things like the
lead in the choir or the school play. Granted, it was elementary school, but
she was right.
“Scott? You awake?” I knocked on the door of the little travel camper,
feeling pretty confident he was since on the lights inside the camper were
on. “It’s Mae West. I brought you something to eat and wanted to discuss
the plan for my six weeks in your class,” I said to the closed door.
Fifi stood next to me, wagging her little tail and looking up at the door
too.
I put my ear up to the door and heard the record player. This was
another vintage touch I’d added to the camper. I bought a record player and
a wide variety of records so every camper would be able to find something
they liked. According to the surveys from campers who had stayed in this
camper, the record player was a big hit.
“Scott?” I knocked a little harder so he would hear me over the music.
The door opened slightly, and Fifi pushed her way in.
“Fifi, no!” I scolded her and watched her little fluffy white body run in,
pushing the door open more. “Fifi, come back!”
The music was much louder with the door open and the sound clashed
with Fifi’s loud and piercing bark.
I took a step inside.
“Scott!” I screamed. All the muscles in my body relaxed, the plate fell,
and food splattered all over the body of Coach Scott Goodman and the
arrow in his back.

CANYONS, CARAVANS, & CADAVERS is now available and on

KINDLE UNLIMITED.
RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS FROM MAE WEST AND OTHER
WOMENFROM NORMAL, KENTUCKY, and HAPPY TRAILS
CAMPGROUND

Camping Cleaning HACK #1

Store silica gel packs with your cookware.

Save those little silica gel packs and store them with your cookware to help
prevent rust. All it takes is one rusty pan for no one to eat anything you
cook. In a campground, especially at Happy Trails Campground, everyone
loves to share their food! Don’t get caught with rusty pots!!!

RV HACK #2
Hand sanitizer works as fire starter.

All campers and RVers have plenty of hand sanitizer on hand! Use hand
sanitizer to start a germ-free fire in a pinch! No joke! Just squirt it on the
kindling and watch it start an amazing fire!

RV HACK #3

Hang your clothes up with bread tags.

You know those bread tags, not the twisty ties, the hard plastic ones. Start
stockpiling them. They make great clothespins for your clothes line when
you are RV’ing and camping. Just hang your shirt, put one of the bread tags
to hold it in place on the clothes line and voila!

NO MESS CAMPFIRE OMELETS

Ingredients

1 quart-sized freezer bag

2 eggs
 1/2  cup  of whatever you like to put in your omelet: sausage,  bacon,
onions, mushrooms, peppers, etc.
1/4 cup of cheese, any kind.
Instructions

1. Crack eggs into the quart-sized freezer bad.

2. Add fillings and cheese.
3. Seal bag and shake to scramble the eggs and mix the omelet.
4. Cook in gently boiling water for 14-15 minutes.

MARY ELIZABETH DOYLE’S EASY CINNAMON ROLLS

MILKERY BED AND BREAKFAST

PREHEAT YOUR OVER TO 200 DEGREES BEFORE YOU START.

Ingredients

For the yeast:

1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup melted butter
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons quick-rise yeast
Directions for yeast:

1. Combine the warm milk together with the melted butter, sugar
and yeast in a large bowl.
2. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

For the rolls:

1 large egg, whisked
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking oil spray
Directions:

1. Add the whisked egg to the milk mixture.

 2. Add 3 1/2 cups flour and salt and mix until a soft dough forms.
It will be a sticky dough.
3. Put the dough on a floured surface.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic.
5. Lightly coat a large bowl with cooking oil spray.
6. Put the dough in the bowl and turn it in the bowl to coat with the
cooking spray.
7. Cover bowl with damp towel.
8. Turn off your oven and put the bowl into the warm oven for 30
minutes.
9. The dough should have risen so punch dough down.
10. Cover for another 30 minutes. The dough will rise to double the
size.
11. Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface, into a rectangle.
12. Brush the melted butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with
brown sugar and cinnamon mix. (see below for the cinnamon
mix)
13. Beginning at one long side of your dough, roll up dough tightly.
14. Pinch down the side to seal it.
15. Cut dough roll into 12 bigger rolls or into 15 smaller ones.
16. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and arrange the cut rolls on it.
17. Cover the dish with the damp towel for 30 minutes and allow the
uncooked cinnamon rolls to double in size.
18. Preheat oven again to 350°F.
19. Put the rolls in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
20. While they are baking, make your icing.
21. After the cinnamon rolls are done, slightly brown, let them
slightly cool before icing them.

For Cinnamon filling:

1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter melted
For the icing:
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature ( I set this out when I start
making the recipe and it’s good by the time I need to make the icing.)
2 tablespoon melted butter
 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

For the icing:

1. Prepare icing while rolls are baking.

2. Mix together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla, until smooth
and creamy.
3. Mix in the powdered sugar until there are no lumps.
4. Drizzle icing over the warm cinnamon rolls

Enjoy!

CAMPFIRE BANANA BOATS

Ingredients

4 small bananas
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

Directions:

1. Leaving skin on, cut the banana down the middle without cutting
through the bottom of the skin.

1. Open the banana like a taco and add some chocolate chips and
miniature marshmallows.

1. Wrap the stuffed banana in foil.

1. Sit the foiled banana on a grate over the open campfire.

1. Check the banana in five minutes and continue to check until the
marshmallows and chocolate chips have melted to desired taste.
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 CONTENTS

Preview
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17

Sneak Peek
Recipes and Hacks
CAMPFIRE BREAKFAST HAMBURGER
SKILLET BACON CINNAMON ROLLS
CAMPFIRE MEATBALLS
HACK #1
HACK #2
HACK #3
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PREVIEW

Canyons, Caravans, & Cadavers

“Scott? You awake?” I knocked on the door of the little traveler camper,
feeling pretty confident he was since the light inside of the camper were on.
“It’s Mae West. I brought you something to eat and wanted to discuss my
plan for the six weeks in your class,” I said to the closed door.
Fifi stood next to me, wagging her little tail and looking up at the door
too.
I put my ear up to the door and I could hear the record player. It was
another touch I added to the vintage camper. I’d gotten a record player and
bought a selection of music genres to add to the collection, so each camper
had their taste represented. The record player was always a hit on the
surveys from the past guests that stayed in the camper.
“Scott?” I knocked a little harder, so he’d hear me over the music.
The door slightly cracked, Fifi pushed her way in.
“Fifi, no!” I scolded her and watched her little fluffy white body run in,
knocking the door open more. “Fifi, come back!”
The music was much louder after the door opened and was no longer a
shield. Fifi’s bark was loud and piercing.
I took a step inside.
“Scott!” I screamed. All the muscles in my body relaxed, the plate of
food dropped and splattered all over body of Coach Scott Goodman and the
arrow stuck in his back.
 GET FREE BOOKS

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CHAPTER 1

“W elcome!” Mayor Courtney Mackenzie wore a t-shirt with

the logo of Normal, Kentucky, and a pair of capri-length
khakis, appropriate attire for the warm spring night we
were having in our tourist town embedded deep in the Daniel Boone
National Park. “I’d like to welcome everyone to the Happy Trails
Campground on behalf of Mae West. We are here to honor her with a key to
the city for her hard work over the past year to boost Normal’s economy.”
My chin dropped to my chest, causing my long, curly brown hair to fall
over my shoulders and shield my red face from all the eyes on me.
“I know that we usually have these at our Tuesday Chamber of
Commerce meetings, but I wanted to host this ceremony here at the
campground since not all of our local town folk have had a chance to visit
Happy Trails since it was renovated.” The Mayor was doing a great job
talking up the campground that I’d spent a lot of time – and money – fixing
up and modernizing in the short time I’d owned it. “Mae has opened up a
few campers for your viewing pleasure and to show you that Happy Trails
isn’t just a campground anymore, but a glampground.” The Mayor laughed
at her own joke. “Get it? Glamour and campground mashed up.” She
shrugged and moved side to side before continuing. “Mae has taken your
basic mini-campers and RVs and transformed them into a very glamorous
experience, whether or not you like hiking and camping.”
Hank Sharp put his arm around my shoulder, resting it on the back of
the chair. He leaned over and whispered, “You should be enjoying this.”
I lifted my chin and looked at him. He smiled. His beautiful bright teeth
were perfect and so were his green eyes. I couldn’t stop smiling back at
him. He curled his hand around my arm, tightening his arm around me and
squeezing me to him. His lips met my temple with a soft kiss that made this
day even more perfect than it already was.
“Mae West!” The Mayor had finished her speech.
The crowd of locals that’d come to the campground to see me receive
the key to the city were clapping from the rows of folding chairs behind me.
When I stood up, I turned around and waved to them.
I took in the lake behind us and all the campers and the manicured lots
the campers sat on that were situated around the lake. The fountain in the
middle of the lake spilled over in a magnificent water feature as it aerated
the lake. The Tiki Hut next to it was open for business to the campers. This
is where campers could pick up some food from Normal’s local restaurants.
“Mae, if you would join me and Principal Bass from Normal High
School up on stage, we’d like to present you with your key now.” The
Mayor waved me up.
On my way up to the stage, I glanced over at Mary Elizabeth Moberly,
my adopted mother. She was tapping her index fingers on the corners of her
mouth, which was her way of telling me to smile.
“Shoulders back,” she mouthed, still trying to get me to use all the
techniques I was taught in etiquette school over twelve years ago.
“Mae West!” The Mayor put her hands out towards me like I was a
prize on the Price Is Right show. “Mae,” she said my name again when I
stood next to her. “Principal Bass is here not only to help me honor you
with a key to the city, but to also invite you to teach a six week class to
economics students about the economies of small towns and how small
businesses can bring so much to small rural towns like Normal.”
“I’m so honored.” I looked back and forth between them. “But I don’t
have a teaching degree.”
“That’s okay.” Principal Donald Bass stepped up to the microphone and
handed me a diploma. It was something they gave to all the people who
received the key to the city, even though I didn’t graduate from there. “As
Principal of Normal High School, we are giving you an honorary diploma.
We are truly grateful for your knowledge and business sense that you’ve
brought to our town. It gives our children encouragement today that will
help bring change to Normal tomorrow.”
I stood there in shock and it must’ve shown on my face because Mary
Elizabeth got my attention by clearing her throat. I looked at her and she
used her hand to gesture to me to shut my gaping mouth.
 “On behalf of the citizens of Normal, I’d like to honor you with the key
to the city.” The Mayor handed me a wooden plaque with a small gold key
fastened to it. A small gold plate was inscribed with my name, the date, and
the name of our town.
I faced the crowd and smiled as I looked out at all the applauding
people that I had come to know and love since coming to Normal. There
were a few faces I didn’t recognize, but based on where they were sitting
they had to be teachers from the high school. I was grateful they had come
out to the campground to see me receive this honor.
“Thank you,” I spoke into the microphone once the applause had died
down. “There are so many people I’d like to thank. This wouldn’t have
been possible if Normal’s shop owners hadn’t taken a chance on me and
donated goods to the campground for me to promote their shops.” I named
off the key people who took a chance on me when they had absolutely no
reason to trust me.
In fact, they had all had a reason to want to run me out of town when I
drove my rundown RV across the town limits. Today I could look in the
eyes of all the people who didn’t want to trust me and stand proud of what I
had accomplished.
Of course, this ceremony wasn’t as quite as simple as I’ve made it out to
be. Mayor Mackenzie had agreed to hold the ceremony at the campground
and not the courthouse under one condition. This was how she got elected,
by wheeling and dealing and playing nice.
“We’d also like to take a moment to honor another wonderful citizen in
Normal who has also had a great impact on our community. If it weren’t for
her, our little town would’ve taken an economic hit if the world had thought
Normal was unsafe.” The Mayor wasted no time knocking me out of the
limelight when my fifteen seconds of fame were over.
Although, I have to say those fifteen seconds were glorious and that I
was really looking forward to six weeks to whip the minds of these little
hooligans into shape. I zeroed in on Principal Bass’s son, Davey. Davey and
I had a little history together. At the beginning of spring, Davey and his
friends stole an RV from guests at my campground and did a little partying
in it at Kissing Point, a remote area in the national park where kids went to
do what kids like to do.
The judge had ordered Davey to do community service and all of his
work was at the campground. Now I’d be able to keep an eye on him at
school.
I’d made it a mission to not make his life so easy because his little
joyride had nearly caused me to lose my campground and go bankrupt.
“Violet Rhinehammer is not only the new Editor in Chief at the Normal
Gazette, she has been awarded the National Park Magazine Reporter of the
Year Award with her coverage of the prison break that put Normal in the
national spotlight.” Mayor Mackenzie smiled at Violet.
Yep. In order for the ceremony to be held here at the campground, I had
to agree to share the limelight with Violet Rhinehammer, a big pain in my
you know what. At least I wasn’t likely to see her after today unless she was
doing a segment on Channel 2, where she was a regular contributor.
“As the principal of Normal High School, we’d like to honor you by
giving you an honorary degree in journalism and extend an offer for you to
mentor our young adults on the NHS Telegram for six weeks.” He was
talking about Normal High School’s student-run newspaper.
“I’m just so shocked.” Violet flipped her long blonde hair to the side,
letting it cascade down one shoulder in dripping curls. Her perfectly lined
red lips exposed gleaming teeth that exuded charm. Her bright eyes
twinkled as she bounced with giddiness.
Although I wasn’t paying much attention to her, I thought it sounded
like she got more applause than I did.
“Did he just tell her she’s going to work at the school too?” I leaned
over and asked Mayor Mackenzie, gripping my key to the city and diploma
so tight that my hands started to hurt.
“Yes.” Mayor confirmed with a nod and then shushed me like I was ten.
I jerked around and put a smile on my face while they gave their closing
remarks.
“Be sure that you stay for the reception. Just like Mae always does, the
local restaurants and business have graciously donated not only their
products, but their time to come out and support our two wonderful
citizens.” Mayor stepped back and gave us one last round of applause.
As soon as everyone stopped clapping, I high-tailed it down the steps of
the stage, passing Ethel Biddle on the way down.
“I hope you don’t mind” was how Ethel started her conversation with
me, “I took Rosco down to your RV and your door was unlocked.”
“You opened my door?” I questioned.
 “Mmmhhh,” she ho-hummed, seeing nothing wrong with her actions.
“Rosco wanted to visit with the mother of his children. So I let him go right
on in.”
Rosco was Ethel’s dog. He and Fifi, my former prize-winning poodle,
had done the unthinkable and Fifi had gotten pregnant, stripping her of her
award-winning heritage.
At the time it seemed like one of the worst things that could have ever
happened, but in the end and like most things, it all turned out fine. Fifi
came to live with me and Roscoe and Fifi became parents to the cutest
babies. Soon after I made sure that wouldn’t happen again and had Fifi
spayed.
“If you’ll excuse me, my public awaits.” She picked at her neck skin.
“Me, me, me, me.” The pitch in her voice moved up an octave with each
me. “Me, me, me.”
I moved out of the way of the banjo player and fiddle player to make
room for them on the stage. Ethel wasn’t just the owner of Smelly Dog
Grooming, the only pet groomer in Normal, she was also the lead singer of
Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys.
They were actually pretty good and everyone who stayed at the
campground loved them, so it had been a no brainer to book them for the
monthly themed party I had at the campground. Since we were celebrating
my – I mean, my and Violet’s – honor, I had decided to hold the monthly
party today.
“Congratulations, May-bell-ine.” My foster brother turned adopted
brother Bobby Ray Bonds gave me a good smack on the back with his free
hand while the other gripped a beer can. “Can you believe it? From the
foster care to the key to the city. You sure have done well for yourself.”
“Thank you, Bobby Ray.” I noticed his thinning hair covered by a
ballcap and that he was still wearing his greasy mechanic overalls. “Just
getting off work?” I asked.
There were small clusters of folks gathered around, eating and drinking.
In the background I could hear the band plucking on their instruments to get
in tune.
“Yep. I didn’t have time to change.” He gestured down to the far side of
the lake where I had small bungalows for rent for those that didn’t like to
stay in campers. “I went home to change, but someone was parked in my
spot. I figured it was a guest, but come to find out it’s that archery feller
from the school.” Bobby looked down at me from underneath his brows,
looking for an explanation as to why the high school economics teacher,
who was also the coach of the Rifle and Archery Club, wasn’t living at
home with his wife.
“Bobby Ray, you lived with Mary Elizabeth too long.” I tsked, referring
to how nosey and gossipy Mary Elizabeth was.
“He didn’t live with me long enough.” Mary Elizabeth came out of
nowhere. “You did mighty fine up there with your speech, but you’ve got to
remember, tits up and shoulders back,” doing the motions as she said it.
“Thank you for coming,” I reached over and hugged her, ignoring her
critiques. “I’m going to get me some food.” My stomach grumbled from the
delicious smells coming from the campfires in the stone firepits that I
provided at each lot. “Want some?”
“I’m so hungry my belly thinks my throat’s been cut out.” She
snickered, nudging me.
On our way around the campground, I made a quick pit stop at my little
RV and let out Fifi and Rosco. Both darted out with their noses up in the air
as if they were running to the smell of food. They were on a mission.
Even though today was a day of celebration, I kept the rules of the
monthly theme party the same. If you were staying at the campground and
wanted to participate, I asked you to make some sort of food to share with
the group. Each person got a plate and walked around the campground,
taking a little from each campfire stove to fill a plate.
Along the way, they got to know their fellow campers so they wouldn’t
know just me and Dottie Swaggert, the campground manager.
“Campfire chili.” My mouth watered just saying what the first camper
had made. “Do you want some?” I asked Mary Elizabeth as I took a bowl
for myself.
She was too busy talking to the campers and bragging on how I was her
adopted daughter, so I left her behind and started making my way around
the campground. When I got to the bungalows, I noticed Coach Scott
Goodman and a few of the students in his club were having target practice
with foam targets for their arrows. His Normal High School Archery and
Rifle Club track suit showed he was proud of his job as a coach.
Coach Goodman stood about six foot one inch tall with a nice head of
blond hair that had a wee-bit of a wave to it. By the way he filled out the
track suit, I could tell he took care of himself.
 “Hi, Coach. Do you want some chili?” I asked him, holding out the
bowl for him to take. I noticed that he was wearing his wedding band.
“Nah. I’m not hungry. Just enjoying the kids. But I might have to get
some of that later.” He nodded and eyed my bowl. “I guess we will be
working together for a few weeks. Congratulations.” He folded his
muscular arms across his chest and stood with his legs spread in a stance.
“I’m excited. I’ve got a few ideas. Maybe I can run those by you later.”
I watched as one of kids drew her bow back. She used a steady hand and
carefully looked down the arrow at the target.
When she let go, the arrow whizzed through the air with ease, hitting
dead set in the center of the target.
“She’s one of the best.” He shook his head. “Got a good chance for a
scholarship.”
“Is that right?” A deep voice came up from behind us. “Ken, Ken
Patterson.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “My son is Sam
Patterson. He’s the one who should be getting scholarships.”
“Mr. Patterson, I’m not going to talk with you about Sam’s future
outside of school. I’m more than happy to talk to you with Alena Russell
present, but not here,” Scott said sternly, very clear about where he stood.
“You’ve not heard the last of me, Goodman,” Ken warned him before
stalking off.
“I can never escape the classroom.” Scott sighed, staring Ken down as
he walked away. “Some parents think their kids deserve the world when
they don’t.” He leaned in a little closer. “Between me and you, I’m not
planning on being around here long enough to care what happens to Sam.”
“Mae! Skillet brownies!” Mary Elizabeth bounced on her toes in delight
and pointed to another camper’s delicious treat over their firepit.
Vigorously, she waved me over.
“I guess you must love brownies.” Scott smiled, trying to put on a good
front, but I knew it was a cover for something deeper going on in his life.
I knew. I’d done that for a long time myself.
“If you need anything while your renting the camper, let me know.” I
pointed to the small white travel trailer that I’d converted into a single
camper.
I made it cozy by upgrading the kitchen and installing gas heaters in
each room for really cold nights. The living room had a large leather couch,
a reading chair, a fireplace, and a TV from the 1980s. This particular trailer
also had both an indoor and outdoor shower, beautiful antique decor, and
heavy vintage flannel blankets and bear skins for staying super cozy. From
the looks of it, Scott Goodman felt right at home.
“And for future reference,” I pointed to the car pad that went with
Bobby Ray’s bungalow, “that’s for the bungalow. You can park on the other
side of the camper.”
“Oh, I know. That dude made me well aware of where he parked his
heap of junk and chewed me a new one.” The nice side of him suddenly
disappeared.
“That’s my brother and he works hard. It’s his parking spot. Thanks for
listening.” I didn’t need to say much more. As nice as I thought Scott might
be, there did seem to be a dark side to him that I didn’t plan to get to know.
“I’m going to get my brownie now.”
“Looking forward to hearing your ideas,” he said before he went back to
the students.
“Who was that?” Mary Elizabeth asked.
“He’s the economics teacher I’m going to be working with.” I left it at
that, deciding that I wouldn’t make any snap judgements about my new
renter.
Mary Elizabeth and I stepped aside as a red convertible Mustang came
around the lake going faster than the fifteen miles per hour posted speed
limit.
“Slow down! There’s kids around here!” Mary Elizabeth yelled and
lifted her fist in the air. “Who is that?”
“I have no idea. Must be a local.” I shrugged, happy to see nobody was
hurt on the Mustang’s way out of the campground.
I spent the rest of the evening thanking people for coming who then
congratulated me on the key to the city.
As much as I didn’t want the evening to end, it was still a work night for
everyone and I was planning to go to the school tomorrow to plan my six
weeks of teaching.
“Are you sure you don’t mind watching the campground for six weeks
straight?” I asked Dottie as we were stacking the folding chairs after the
party had died down. The smell of BBQ drifted in the air and past my nose,
making my stomach growl.
The sun had set long ago and the moon was high in the night sky, but
there were a few campfires still glowing in the darkness. I eyeballed the one
with the BBQ and decided to grab a plate and take some down to Scott
since I’d not seen him since I stopped by there to tell him about the parking
spot.
“What on earth do you think I did all those years before you came?”
Dottie asked with a snarky tone.
“I like to think you need me.” I winked. “But you’re right. I’d never be
able to run this place without you.”
Dottie Swaggert was the manager of Happy Trails when I came around
to claim the campground that had been put in my name. Illegally. It was the
only thing the government didn’t seize when they threw my ex dead –
specifically, murdered – husband Paul West in jail for running a Ponzi
scheme.
It wasn’t Dottie’s fault Happy Trails was all run down when I got here.
Paul hadn’t paid any attention to the place. But things work out in
mysterious ways. I never could have imagined living in a camper, never
mind running a campground. It’s truly been a blessing.
“I do need you.” Dottie was a softie at heart. She didn’t look at me
when she said it since she was too busy fooling with the top snap on her
cigarette case. “Listen, you tell them kids that they can’t expect things to
just be handed to them. They need to work for it.” She pointed her pointer
and middle finger at me with the cigarette in between.
“I’ll leave that up to their parents.” I wasn’t about to go on over and tell
kids how they needed to be. I wasn’t a parent and had no idea how to be
one. “I’m going to get Scott a plate of food to help break the ice.”
“Break the ice?” she asked. Her face glowed from the light on her
lighter.
“Bobby Ray had a fit when he came home and found Scott’s car parked
in his spot. I had to tell Scott and he was fine, but I felt some tension.” Or
maybe it was the tension of that father who confronted Scott, but I kept that
thought to myself. “I don’t want anything to be weird between the real
teacher and me while I’m teaching them about how I got the campground
up and running.”
“That’s what you’re going to teach them?” She asked as a puff of smoke
barreled out of her mouth. “Heck, I can teach them that.”
“No. I thought I’d teach them how I created a business plan to bring the
campground back to life and how I went around to all of Normal’s shop
owners to help them too.” It sounded so simple when I said it out loud.
“Gosh,” I said, gnawing the edge of my lip. “I hope I’ve got enough to fill
six full weeks.”
“Sounds to me like you’ve got enough for a day. You need some
plannin’.” Her brows lifted.
“That’s why I’m going to see Scott.” I gestured toward his travel trailer.
Fifi made a couple of yipping noises when she saw me from a distance and
ran my way, with her tail up in the air, wagging. “I’ll see you in the morning
before I go to the school.”
“Sounds good.” She snuffed her cigarette out on the bottom of her shoe.
“Don’t worry about a thing. Not even Fifi. I’ll be sure she’s all taken care
of.”
“You’re the best, but don’t give her any hot fries.” I wagged a finger at
her as I started to walk away and make my way around the lake.
Dottie loved those hot fries from the vending machine. I’d caught her
giving some to Fifi several times and the crazy pooch loved them.
“I’m serious, if Principal Bass doesn’t do something about Goodman…”
I overheard from a woman sitting around the public campfire near the pier
on the lake with a group of women. She had on a Normal High School
sweatshirt. “My husband is going to have to take matters into his own
hands.”
“Goodman has no idea what Ken is capable of.” Another woman held
up a beer can and the group of woman held theirs up and gave a cheers.
“I hope they don’t treat me like that,” I said to Fifi and walked over to
the Dutch oven where guests of Happy Trails were still enjoying the
aftermath of the party. “Smells good.” I leaned over the pot and took a nice
long whiff.
“Help yourself.” One of the men handed me a plate. “We really are
enjoying ourselves.”
“I’m so glad. I hope you take the time to head into town after one of
your hikes and visit all the shops.” I took a bun from the card table and
added some BBQ along with a scoop of coleslaw to top it off.
“If my wife has any say in the matter, we will,” he joked, followed by a
round of the other men agreeing with them. Fifi took her turn running
around the group of men and sucking up all the dropped food up like a
vacuum. “Let us know if you need anything.” I wanted to make sure every
guest knew we were always there for them. It was little touches like this
that made the campground feel like a cozy home away from home. “Good
night!” I called over my shoulder.
As my eyes glanced around the lake, I noticed the group of women still
sitting around the public campfire with their beers. The back of one of the
sweatshirts read PATTERSON’S MOM.
I rolled my eyes, remembering those parents from high school.
“Squeaky wheel gets the oil,” my mom used to say when I’d come
home crying about something someone got that I didn’t. Things like the
lead in the choir or the school play. Granted, it was elementary school, but
she was right.
“Scott? You awake?” I knocked on the door of the little travel camper,
feeling pretty confident he was since on the lights inside the camper were
on. “It’s Mae West. I brought you something to eat and wanted to discuss
the plan for my six weeks in your class,” I said to the closed door.
Fifi stood next to me, wagging her little tail and looking up at the door
too.
I put my ear up to the door and heard the record player. This was
another vintage touch I’d added to the camper. I bought a record player and
a wide variety of records so every camper would be able to find something
they liked. According to the surveys from campers who had stayed in this
camper, the record player was a big hit.
“Scott?” I knocked a little harder so he would hear me over the music.
The door opened slightly, and Fifi pushed her way in.
“Fifi, no!” I scolded her and watched her little fluffy white body run in,
pushing the door open more. “Fifi, come back!”
The music was much louder with the door open and the sound clashed
with Fifi’s loud and piercing bark.
I took a step inside.
“Scott!” I screamed. All the muscles in my body relaxed, the plate fell,
and food splattered all over the body of Coach Scott Goodman and the
arrow in his back.
CHAPTER 2

“T he murder weapon is an Easton Full Length Aluminum

Arrow,” Hank told the officer next to him who was writing
down what Hank said about Scott Goodman. Hank was bent
down over top of the body, wearing blue latex gloves and using a pointer to
move things around on Scott’s person.
“How do you know that?” I probably should’ve been more focused on
the dead body in my camper, but I was impressed with Hank’s knowledge. I
wedged myself between him and the other officer. Fifi was snuggled in the
crook of my arm.
“I’m reading the arrow.” He looked up glanced over his shoulder at me.
“Mae, you should be outside.”
“Why? I’m fine. I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies now. With you.” I
shrugged. “This one isn’t so bad. Not a lot of blood like the last ones.”
“What do we have here?” Colonel Holz had pushed his way into the
tiny camper, making us all stand up with all of our shoulders folding
forward, something Mary Elizabeth would have a heart attack over.
Colonel was a short stocky man in his early seventies. He had short gray
hair that required a combover, wire-rimmed glasses, and a little belly. He
wore khakis and a light blue button down under his white coroner’s coat
that had his name embroidered on the chest pocket.
“Archery and Rifle Club coach from the high school. He’s been renting
from Mae for,” Hank glanced back at me, “how long?”
“Two weeks.” See, I knew he needed me here. I squeezed my way into
the corner of the trailer where the record player had been playing and
noticed Scott’s choice of music was the 80s. Fifi wiggled a little. I held her
closer to my chest.
 “What’s that?” Colonel looked at the chili all over the floor. By the way
his nose curled, he must’ve thought it was something that could’ve come
out of Scott’s body.
“It’s chili. I dropped the bowl when I found Scott.” I blushed. “Muscle
control went completely out the window.” My hands flailed around before I
gained control of them and stuck them in the front pockets of my jeans.
“His license says he’s forty-five and lives over on Race Run Trail
Road.” Hank and Colonel looked back at me.
“Fine.” I knew they wanted the dirt. “He’s married. I’m not sure why
he’s here. I haven’t gotten that much information from him yet. He gets up
around six a.m. He leaves for what I assume is work around seven-thirty-ish
and is back by around five p.m. unless they have practice, which is on
Monday and Wednesday. Then he’s usually driving back into the
campground around 8 p.m.”
So what if I watched everything everyone did around here. It was my
campground and I had to make sure everything was good.
“Have you talked to his wife yet?” Colonel asked Hank.
“How’s it going in here?” A woman that I’d seen once before popped
her head into the camper. “Hank.” She greeted him with a big smile and did
that whole French thing where they kiss both of each other’s cheeks.
She didn’t bother acknowledging me.
“Hi, I’m Mae.” I took a step forward to make sure she knew I was there
because the last time I’d seen her at a crime scene, I thought she was the
coroner and that she had flirted with Hank.
Since then, I’d found out she was the assistant county coroner and
mostly worked at the morgue. Still, she worked directly with Hank on some
cases and I knew that look she gave him when she greeted him.
“Nice to meet you.” Her eyes went from me to Fifi and back to me as
she unclipped the flashlight from her utility belt and shined it in the corners
of the camper. Her hair was long and black to just below her shoulder. It
was parted on the side and had a nice wave to it that looked natural. She
wore a fitted black suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. I could tell
because the collar was standing up and stiff. Her heels were sensible and
not too high, but high enough to make her look like she had longer legs than
she really did.
“You called in the murder?” She asked me without even giving me her
name. Not a very southern attitude.
 She stepped aside to let the cop finish taking photos of Scott.
Fifi squirmed when the camper door opened, and an officer walked in. I
let her down and she made it out the door just in time before it shut on her.
“Are you French?” I asked and put my hands back into my pockets
when I realized I was doing that nervous flailing with them when I talked.
I watched the officer use scissors to cut Scott’s shirt up the middle,
exposing the wound. I looked away when I saw a little more blood trickle
down his side as the cop bent down and touched the skin to get another
photo.
Ahem, Hank cleared his throat. A sure sign to tell me he wasn’t happy
with my attitude.
“I did call in the murder, but I thought you worked with the bodies at
the morgue, not at the crime scene.” I was just trying to find out what she
really did.
“I work with the crime lab and estimate time of death based on what the
body tells me.” She clicked off the flashlight and bent down to look at the
body with Colonel. “Shot with a Genesis Bow. Interesting.” Her brows rose.
“What does that mean?” Hank had bent down next to them and they
were studying the arrow in the poor man’s back.
“The Genesis Bow is the only bow approved by the NASP.” Colonel
stood up and the others followed. “It appears he was facing this way.” He
pointed to the front of the trailer. “The killer was pretty close.” He looked
back towards the bedroom. The little camper was so tiny that there was a
clear view of the bed and it looked like it had been slept in.
The Colonel started to write on his clipboard. I scooted a little closer to
get a better look at what he was writing. Next to the body outline on the
paper, he wrote “NASP” by the arrow.
“The NASP is National Archery in the Schools Program and it’s the
only association approved for the schools, Normal High School being one
of them. We know because his granddaughter and my niece are both on the
middle school archery team,” said the still nameless assistant coroner. She
opened her crossbody bag and plucked a pair of gloves from it.
Without saying a word to anyone, she bent down and pulled the arrow
from Scott’s back. It was like she and Hank had some ESP thing going on.
He had an evidence bag waiting for her.
“If we take Scott out of here with the arrow in his back, the little crowd
gathered outside will all pass out.” She slipped off her gloves. “Natalie
Willowby.” She put her hand out towards me. “I might be asking you about
some timelines. I’ll get your information from the police report.” She turned
to Hank. “Can I see you for a second?”
“Sure.” He nodded and put his hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I gave him a blank stare. The jealousy coursed through me
and I hated it. My phone buzzed, saving me from saying something that
wasn’t appropriate. It was Abby Fawn texting me, asking me what was
going on.
“We will finish up here and I’ll stop by your place to ask you a few
questions.” It was his standard way of telling me to get out of way so they
could finish up.
“Okay.” I nodded and waited for him to kiss me, but he didn’t. He
walked off to meet Holly in the corner. “Gonna go check on my friends.” I
waved the phone in the air, like he even cared.
Holly was a little modest when she said a small crowd - it was more like
a large mob. All the guests from the campground had gathered in the side
yard between Scott’s rental and Bobby Ray’s bungalow. Bobby had lit his
firepit and they were all hanging around talking.
The local residents that’d come for the ceremony were gathered closest
to the lake in a cluster, including the Patterson kid’s parents.
My heart sank when I saw Ken Patterson down a beer while looking
toward the crime scene. He didn’t seem to have any emotion on his face
whatsoever.
Then there was my group of friends from the Laundry Club.
“Over here! Mae!” Queenie French jumped, at least a foot in the air,
using her arms to pump her up and landing on her feet with a hand clap. It
had to be a Jazzercise move for sure. She was an instructor and no matter
how she moved around, there was a dance feel to all of it. “Over here!” she
screamed again, adjusting the neon green headband around her short blonde
hair.
My head jerked as a light flashed right into my eyes, leaving me blinded
for a few seconds.
“What’s going on in there?” I recognized Violet Rhinehammer’s chipper
voice.
It was exactly how she sounded when she got a great scoop.
“I heard the coach was offed by an angry parent.” She had all sorts of
theories. A camera hung around her neck and she had a notepad and pen
waiting to write down what I was saying to her. “What about his wife? Does
she know? I did put a call into her. She didn’t seem to know yet, but still.”
“You what?” I blinked away the light spots the best I could and looked
at her.
She still looked gorgeous with a black light spot taking up half of her
face.
“Are you telling me and my paid newspaper subscribers that Scott
Goodman isn’t the victim?” A snide smile curled up on her lips. Her
perfectly white teeth glowed in the darkness of the night like Queenie’s
neon outfit.
“I have no comment.” I took a few steps towards my friends.
“Did you find him?” Violet asked, following me on my heels.
“Go away,” Dottie shooed Violet. “I’m telling you to get off our
property.”
The office phone hooked on Dottie’s back pocket rang. Both of us
stopped and stared at each other.
“Happy Trails Campground, are you ready to book your fun vacation to
the Daniel Boone National Park?” Her chipper voice made my insides
cringe since I knew what was about to go down. “You have a reservation for
next week?”
There were a lot of uhhuhs, mmms, umkays, while she listened to the
guest that I’m sure had already heard about the murder of Scott Goodman
and was canceling their reservation. News travels fast on social media and
most of our guests were younger and quite media savvy during hiking
season. We also got a lot of older RV lovers who traveled the states in their
retirement years who weren’t as familiar with social media.
Violet took a step closer to Dottie, writing something on her notepad.
“I assure you the campground is safe and you’ll. . .” Dottie pulled the
phone from her ear. She pushed a button and shoved the phone in her back
pocket just as the phone rang again.
When she answered, she didn’t try too hard to convince whoever was on
the other side of the line to keep their reservation. She simply said, “We
didn’t want you at our campground anyways.” She looked at Violet. “What
are you lookin’ at?”
“You.” Violet dropped the notepad. “And the good scoop that our key to
the city recipient has just lost some business because of the murder that’s
taken place.”
 The phone rang again. Dottie pushed the off button to silence the calls
coming in, but it didn’t help. It was call after call of campers cancelling
their reservations. We had to quickly get the word out that Happy Trails was
safe.
Wasn’t it?
CHAPTER 3

V iolet drew the notepad up and wrote, “In an ironic turn of events,
Mae West, recipient of the Key to the City for her economic
contribution, finds herself in an economic spiral as Coach Scott
Goodman was found dead in one of the rented campers at her Happy Trails
Campground.”
“Fake news!” Queenie adjusted the fanny pack around her waist. “You
don’t know what all those calls are about.”
The door of the camper opened. Colonel held one end of the church cart
with Scott’s body on it, hidden by a sheet. He walked backwards down the
one step from the camper. Natalie held the other end and carefully stepped
down the one step.
They both gave a little jerk, knocking the steel arms of the gurney down
and clicking into into locked position with wheels down.
“If you report anything that’s not true, you’ll be getting a call from my
lawyer.” It was time I stepped in and said something to Violet.
“Fine. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Violet twirled around on the balls of
her feet, her hair swinging around as she sashayed over to Colonel Holz and
Natalie.
“That girl’s got some nerve.” Dottie snarled, a cigarette bouncing with
each word. “It’s clear what we have to do.”
“What’s that?” I wondered what Dottie had up her sleeve because I was
all ears.
“We’ve got to find Scott’s killer and fast.” Dottie snapped the top of her
old cigarette case.
“It shouldn’t take too long.” I lifted my head towards Ken Patterson. “I
think he killed Scott.”
 “Why would you say that?” Abby Fawn, the Normal Library’s head
librarian, jerked her head to look at me. Her brown ponytail swung around
and hit her in the eye. She lifted her hand and wiped the sting away. “He
and the coach are tight.”
“Umm, I don’t think so,” I corrected her. “I heard him threaten Scott
with my own ears. He told Scott that he hadn’t heard the last of him.”
“Hey.” Betts Hager shoved her way in between us. “What did I miss?”
“Ken hasn’t heard the last of Scott. But Scott is dead.” Abby said,
getting it all wrong.
“No.” I shook my head. “Ken told Scott that.”
“Told Scott what?” Hank had come up without me even noticing.
“Nothing.” I didn’t want to correct anyone right now because everyone
was confused and now they all turned their attention to the hearse as
Colonel and Natalie put the front end of the church cart up to the bumper.
When Colonel gave it a good push from the other end, the legs of the
gurney unlocked and folded underneath.
“It looks like we have a murder on our hands.” Betts vigorously rubbed
her hands together. “I’ll hurry over to the Laundry Club and get on a pot of
coffee.”
“I’ll grab the notebook and meet y’all there,” I said with excitement.
“I’ll drive.” Dottie put her finger in the air.
“What is going on?” Hank stood there in the same plaid shorts and gray
shirt he had on from the party with a confused look on his face.
“I’m going with my friends.” I pointed towards them as they were
walking away. “You did say you’d stop by later after the scene was cleaned
up. Right?”
“Yes, but I clearly heard Betts say we have another murder on our
hands.” Hank didn’t miss a thing. He had ears like an elephant. “What
exactly did that mean?”
“It meant nothing.” I played it off knowing what was going to come
next.
“Mae, I’ve told you a million times not to get involved or stick your
nose into things,” he warned, looking down his nose at me.
“Do you really expect me to sit around here and not stick my nose into a
murder that’s happened to one of my campers? Clearly, I have an invested
interest. Not only for the safety of the other campers.” I looked over his
shoulder at all the campers drinking over at Bobby’s.
 “They look like they’re in danger,” Hanks noted sarcastically. “I’m
telling you and you need tell your friends to stay out of this.”
“Umkay.” I ho-hummed and rocked back on my heels. “I’ll see you
later. Come on Fifi,” I called for her.
“I’m not kidding.” Hank called after me when I started to walk away.
“I’m not kidding!” He yelled for good measure.
“You aren’t going to listen to him, are you?” Dottie asked. She sat in the
front passenger seat of my car.
I had to drive since she didn’t have a lot of gas and she claimed she
needed to conserve her money if the campground was going to go under,
putting more panic than fear in my gut.
“Dottie, I’m in an odd position.” I gripped the wheel of the old car that
I’d purchased from Grassel’s Garage when I moved to Normal because I
couldn’t drive the camper everywhere. “I obviously have to save the
campground from any bad publicity, but my boyfriend happens to be the
lead investigator.”
“I’d tell you to throw some southern charm at him, but that’s something
you didn’t learn from all the schooling Mary Elizabeth put you through.”
Dottie was being mean, and I knew it was because she was stressed. “Until
he puts a ring on that finger of yours, you better worry about what’s keeping
you livin’. The campground.” She huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.
The silence between us on the short ride into downtown Normal was
deafening. Dottie was rarely a loss for words, and the worry lines around
her eyes that merged with her smoking lines had deepened.
“Okay.” I had to break the silence before we went into the laundromat. I
pulled into a parking space right in the front of the building. “You’re right. I
do have to live and Hank doesn’t pay my bills, but what if we come up with
a compromise?”
“What are you yammering about?” Dottie drew back.
“What if we just look around and give Hank the clues we find out.” It
sounded like a good plan. “That way, I won’t directly be upsetting him. If
we all find out something, we can tell him. You and I both know that gossip
spreads around here quicker than a controlled burn and that we’ll hear
something before he does.” I picked up my phone from the cup holder. “Did
you see how fast word got around that there was a murder in Normal at the
campground?”
 “You might be onto something.” Dottie was thinking on what I’d
suggested. There was a far off look in her eyes. “Maybe we should reach
out on social media like the FBI does. Like a tip line.”
“That’s not a bad idea!” I smacked my hands together. “Abby can help
us with that since she runs the Happy Trails Facebook page.”
Both of us got out of the car happy, having found a solution to our
problem.
The Laundry Club was the name of the laundromat located in
downtown Normal. Betts Hager, my friend, owned it. She also had a side
hustle of cleaning houses. That side job had started to kick up to full time
since she was down an entire income now that she was getting a divorce
from Lester, the ex-preacher of the Normal Baptist Church.
The Laundry Club was the first shop I’d stopped at when I drove into
town. I was looking for a place to clean my laundry since the facility at the
campground didn’t work, one of the many things that wasn’t working when
I took over.
It was a day that changed my life. I remember walking in and seeing
Queenie sitting at a table with one of those electric glass balls that shoots
lightning to the tips of your finger at the touch. She was pretending to be
some sort of psychic to freak me out even though she’d just bought the darn
thing from the Tough Nickel Thrift Shop across the street.
Anyways, it was different from any other laundromat that I’d ever seen.
There was a sitting area with a TV, a jigsaw puzzle area, a reading nook
complete with comfy chairs and a book library, and a coffee bar, which was
where I found my friends.
“It’s not snooping. We are just talking about it.” Betts had lined up all of
our coffee mugs and went down the line with the freshly brewed coffee,
filling them to the rim.
“Yeah. We’re gossiping.” Abby said it as though it made it sound any
better.
“Just a few gals, talking about yet another murder.” Queenie lifted her
cup in the air with a nod of her head before she took a sip.
“I’m not. It’s a murder and it happened at the campground where I
work.” Dottie didn’t hold any punches. She sat cross legged on the floor
with her plastic bag of pink hair curlers, a nightly ritual. “I swear, whenever
there’s a murder in this town, our guests cancel and then it takes up a couple
weeks to pick back up. I have to make a living. Besides, Mae and I have
come up with a solution.”
I sat down on the couch and noticed everyone was looking at me.
“Y’all know this puts me in a weird position with Hank.” They all
agreed. “I think we should go about it by keeping our eyes and ears open
and collecting clues. We can give Hank the clues we get to help him with
the investigation. We’ll be like his personal tip line.”
“And we would like Abby to put something on our social media
accounts that encourages people who might’ve seen something or know
something about the case to call us.” Dottie took a strand of her red hair,
tightly wrapping it around the pink sponge before clipping it into place.
She’d sleep in these and have a head full of curls.
“I can do that!” Abby blurted out.
“As much as I don’t like keeping things from Hank, I’m not trying to
solve the case, I’m just going to offer a few suggestions about who it could
be.” I reiterated what I’d said, probably to make me feel better about our
plan. I took a notebook and pen out of my bag. “He’s going to come over
and ask me all sorts of questions. I might’s well write them down.”
“Sounds perfectly normal to me.” Betts sat on the couch next to Abby.
She tucked a piece of her brown wavy hair around behind her ear and
brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Start from the beginning where Scott
threatened whoever you said.”
“I didn’t say that.” I stood up, giving Betts the notebook so she could
write notes while I paced back and forth. It helped me think better.
“Just start from the beginning, when Scott moved in.” Abby curled her
leg up under her. She leaned on the arm of the couch, pushing herself a little
forward.
“A couple of weeks ago he showed up at the campground. I didn’t think
anything of it since I’d heard from Davey Bass that the Archery and Rifle
Club was looking for a new place to practice to get ready for the state
competition. He said the nature sounds helped them learn how to tune out
all the noise inside of a gym when they are competing.” I gestured to Betts
to write all that down.
“Oh, okay.” Her head bobbed up and down a few times before she
started writing.
“When he asked me about a rental, I assumed it was for a family
member coming into town. I told him about the Milkery Bed and Breakfast,
but he said he needed something more long term.” I left out the fact that he
seemed really upset and looked like he’d not slept in days. “That’s when he
told me it was for him.”
“I cleaned for him and Adrienne once.” Betts nodded and took a sip of
her coffee. “I was in the bedroom cleaning their tub in their en suite when I
heard him come in and slam the door. He was yelling something about the
military and testing. Something about failing grades and how she was
giving those kids a free pass.”
“Is Adrienne a teacher?” I asked, taking the notebook from her. I made a
few bullet points under his name and wrote military, testing, and failing
grades next to three of them.
“Yes. She’s the choir teacher. And from what I heard, she puts on really
great concerts.” The voice came from the door of the Laundry Club. “He
also hit her.”
We all turned and looked over our shoulders. No one commented on
what Violet said about Scott hitting his wife. Was I the only one who heard
it?
“I’m looking forward to having the school newspaper write about the
upcoming concert.” Violet Rhinehammer’s heels clicked on the tile floor on
her way over to us. “May I?” She pointed to the coffee pot.
“No,” Abby jumped up. “We are closed.”
“We?” Violet laughed. “I thought it was a twenty-four-hour
laundromat?”
“Do you have anything to launder? I don’t see anything,” Betts chimed
in. “It’s not a place to loiter.”
“Fine.” Violet peeled off the sweater over top her camisole, trotted over
to one of the machines, and tossed the sweater in.
“Stop!” I yelled over at her. “Put your clothes back on.”
It was bad enough that she was gorgeous, but the matching body was
something I didn’t really want to look at while she washed her sweater.
“Mae,” Dottie groaned through gritted teeth. “She’s an enemy.
Remember how much she made Happy Trails look bad in the news?”
“It’s all business.” Violet tried to pat down the static electricity in her
hair after she pulled the sweater over her head.
It was the little things that made me happy and if she looked ridiculous
for only a second, it was worth it.
 “Plus, I have the ability to immediately tell the world the murder had
nothing to do with Happy Trails and I want a great story for the Normal
Gazette that might get recognized…”
“Yeah, we know. Your mama always bragged on you on our way to the
prison.” Betts rolled her eyes.
“Listen,” Violet pointed directly to me and then slid her finger to Betts.
“You two have no right to throw stones.”
My eyes narrowed as I stared at her. The nerve of her bringing up our
misfortune.
“You certainly aren’t any better than I am. We are all just trying to make
it around here.” She put her hands on her hips. “I think we can all agree that
we all want to see Normal thrive. You give me what I want, I give you what
you want.”
“We can offer you coffee.” I pointed to the coffee station. “Along with
insider information on the murder since I date Hank. As well as what I
heard and saw at the campground today.”
“Yeah, Mae knows Ken did it.” Queenie had no idea what she’d just
said.
“Ken Patterson did it?” An evil grin curled along Violet’s face.
“No.” With my mouth gaped open, I gave Queenie a good hard look.
“Sorry,” Queenie’s brows pinched with worry. “I was just saying she
doesn’t have anything we need.”
“Ken isn’t a suspect, just to be clear.” There was no way I wanted her to
think Hank told me that. I’d not even told Hank. “I just know there was
some tension between the two of them.”
Why couldn’t I just shut up?
“Listen, I have access to databases, and I know a lot of people on the
inside. Like I said, I can help you as much as you can help me.” She looked
me square in the eyes. “I won’t report anything about Ken or the tension
between him and Scott as long as you promise me that you’ll think on
working with me.”
She must have taken my silence as confirmation.
“Great.” She waved her fingers in the air. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Meet
me at Cute-icles at 9 a.m. I’ve got to get my nails done.”
“That girl has no shame.” Dottie gave Violet an eyeful as she left. “You
ain’t gonna tell her nothin’, Mae. Right?”
 “I don’t know. Do you think she’s got some information that’ll help
solve Scott’s murder?” I looked over at Abby. She was always the voice of
reason because she understood people and how gossip worked around
Normal and wasn’t in the middle of the gossip like Dottie and Queenie.
“It’s true that the press has a lot of contacts. As far as databases go, I’m
not sure what she’s talking about.” Abby didn’t shed any light on the matter.
I gave Betts back the notebook.
“Write that I need to get a list of the kids in the Archery and Rifle Club
and that I need to go see Ken Patterson. He definitely had something
against Scott and I need to see if anyone saw him going in and out of
Scott’s place, starting with questioning the kids that were there for target
practice.” I think that sounded like a good start.
“I don’t think you can question kids,” Queenie pointed out. “At least not
without their parents present. And if Ken Patterson did it, he certainly isn’t
going to come right out and tell you.”
“No, but as a teacher of a six-week long economics course, I just might
have the opportunity to talk to them.” I glanced around and met all of their
smiling faces with my own grin. “Also put on there to go see his wife.”
“Sounds good.” Betts rubbed her hands together before sticking the
notebook out in front of her. “The Laundry Club is on the case.”
One by one, we all put a hand on top of each other’s until there was a
big pile of hands in solidarity.
CHAPTER 4

“A ny more cancellations?” I asked Dottie.

She was sitting at her desk, typing on the computer, with
a pen in her mouth. She briefly stopped to pat Fifi on the
head and give her a treat. One of the reasons Fifi loves her so much. She
went back to typing.
“Violet Rhinehammer fell for your lie and printed a big article in
today’s Normal Gazette and online. In fact, all the news stations in
Kentucky picked it up.” Dottie took one hand off her computer and pushed
the copy of the Gazette towards me. “We have had a couple more
cancellations, and I think that she had something to do with it. You look
nice, by the way.”
“I’m glad you noticed. I got into the storage unit and found it packed
away in all the stuff Stanley sent here. I wanted to make a good impression
when I go to the school this morning to plan my class.” I was wearing a
pink pant suit with a black and white polka-dot shirt underneath. I fondly
remember buying it at Barney’s back in the day when I didn’t have to worry
about guests cancelling their vacations or about money at all, as a matter of
fact.
Paul’s – my now-dead, convicted criminal, ex-husband’s - lawyer had
sent all my belongings to the campground before I even knew I was coming
here. There were storage units on site, used mostly by the campers who
rented yearly spots and only came every once in a while.
I sat down in the chair in front of Dottie’s desk. Fifi ran over and stood
up on her hind legs with her front paws on my legs. I picked her up and
scooted over to make room for her in the chair before I settled in to read
Violet’s article.
 “It’s believed the killer took advantage of the crowd at the
campground’s party to blend in and murder the beloved coach,” I read out
loud. “She sure can spin a theory.”
“Did you see where it goes on to say the coach had many enemies?”
Dottie’s right brow rose and she glanced up and over the top of the
computer monitor. I nodded, finishing up the article. “I looked online and
the Gazette is running it as their feature. It’s been shared on social media
over three-hundred times.”
“Did you get on our Facebook?” I asked, wondering if Abby had posted
the status we’d talked about.
“Ummmhmmmm,” Dottie sounded funny. “We have over one-thousand
comments on Abby’s post.”
“One-thousand leads?” I jumped up, causing Fifi to jump down and yip
at me with excitement. I jogged around the desk and pointed to her
computer. “I didn’t think we had that many people at the party! Pull it up.”
“We didn’t.” She clicked away on the keyboard. When our Facebook
page came up, she pushed her chair back and let me look at the screen.
“An all-expenses paid vacation for one week at Happy Trail for the best
tip that leads to the killer?!” My jaw dropped, “When I said give them
something, I didn’t mean nothin’ like that. I was thinking a gift card for a
free coffee or something!”
Dottie laughed.
“I can’t believe these.” I used her computer mouse to scroll down and
look at the comments. “A rogue bear did it. You’re joking, right?” Yes,
there had been over two-thousand shares, but most of the comments weren’t
serious.
I clicked on the shares and saw how many news media outlets had
shared it.
“It all can’t be bad with this many news outlets sharing it. At least we
are getting the word out.” I shrugged. “I’ve got to go. Meeting Violet at
Cute-icles before I head to the school.” I wiggled my nubby fingernails in
the air. “Are you sure you’re okay until I get back?”
“Yep. Fifi and I will be just fine.” The sound of the treat jar lid coming
off made Fifi scurry over to Dottie. “Here you go, baby girl.”
Fifi stood up on her hind legs and did a little dance. Dottie flipped her a
treat. Fifi caught it in her mouth and ran over to her bed with it.
 The sun was already high in the sky for a spring day. That meant it
would be warmer than normal, which would bring out the hikers. This
would be great for all of Normal’s shops and hopefully people would have
an itch to camp too. If RVers and anybody else who liked the outdoors was
on social media, I hoped they’d see Violet’s article and Abby’s post and
deciding it was safe to stay at Happy Trails. Yep, this was a big logical leap,
but it made me happy.
“Good morning,” I answered my phone on my way out of the
campground when I saw it was Hank.
“Good morning? I’m fielding all sorts of calls from whackos that have
never even been to Normal or even the Daniel Boone National Park, telling
me they know who killed Scott Goodman because they want a free vacation
at Happy Trails Campground. Whose bright idea was it to say that?” Hank
was definitely not happy with our social media post.
He rambled on and on about how this makes the officers work overtime
because they have to follow up on all leads, including the rogue bear one.
“Are you going to let me speak?” I asked, trying to interrupt him.
“What?” His tone was sharp and already assessing. “You’ve got some
sort of deal with Violet Rhinehammer of all people?”
I hesitated.
“Good grief. Tell me you don’t.”
I hesitated again.
“Mae, what have you done?” He asked. “You know what. I don’t want
to know. Just remember to be at my parents’ house tonight at five. They eat
early.”
I hesitated.
“You forgot.” He laughed. “You forgot, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t forget, it just slipped my mind. I’ve. . .” I didn’t want to make
excuses. “I’ll be there. I hope you have a good day.”
“Are you going to the school to see when you start teaching your
class?” He was trying hard to change the subject and I knew it.
“I am. I’m excited.” True, I was more excited to snoop and find out
what was going on at the school that might help me find Scott’s murderer,
but I was excited about teaching too. “I have on my pink power suit.”
“Oh. My mom will love that.” He was trying to butter me up now.
“Mae, I’m sorry. I know that you aren’t doing anything any other business
would do under the circumstances. I just ask that you think about me before
you do things like that.”
“Okay,” I said.
I wasn’t giving in. He didn’t realize that every thought and every
decision I made had him and his job in mind. We had only told each other
”I love you” a couple of times, but I was falling hard for him and only had
his best interest in mind. But I also had to look out for my well-being and if
he didn’t realize that, then we had a problem. One I would discuss with him
later because I’d pulled up to Cute-icles and Violet was already in there,
judging by her car parked in front.
The beauty parlor, like the rest of the shops in downtown Normal, was
an old house. In front of the shop was an old-fashioned wooden sign with
the shop’s name and a spotlight positioned below it. The pale yellow house
had cute gingerbread lattice work along the top. which made it very cozy
and welcoming.
“Hello?” I called when I stepped into the shop. “Hello?”
I looked around and saw a family room on the right and a dining room
on the left. I jerked back around and looked out the door to make sure I
wasn’t in someone’s home because it sure looked as if I was.
“Back here for Cute-icles!” Someone yelled. “In the back!”
I walked down the small hallway and the closer I got, the familiar smell
of hair products and the sound of chatter drifted towards me.
“Hi,” I greeted the four women in the eat-in kitchen.
I recognized them as Helen Pyle, the owner of Cute-icles; Violet
Rhinehammer; Coke Ogden; and Lib Tuttle. I knew Helen and Violet, but
had only seen the other two around town.
“Girls! Girls! Am I alive? Am I dreaming?” Helen Pyle drew her hand
up her chest, resting it against the colorful gem-beaded shirt I was sure
she’d bedazzled. She stood behind a client in a salon chair. “Is this Mae
West standing in front of me?” She put her arm out, gripping a pair of
scissors. “Coke Ogden, pinch me now.”
Coke took advantage of the opportunity, reaching out from under her
black apron to give Helen a good pinch.
“Ouch!” Helen danced around, flailing her arms all around.
“Careful with those scissors.” Lib Tuttle was in the next chair over, her
hair tucked up under a plastic cap. She held up a Southern Living Magazine
as a shield. “You’re gonna poke someone’s eyes out.”
 “I didn’t mean for you to literally pinch me,” Helen said to Coke and
stuck the scissors up in the orange, bouffant hairdo she still sported even
though it was way past its time. “Mae, what are you doing here? I’ve been
dyeing – get it, like dyeing hair - to get my hands on that head of hair of
yours since you drove that rundown RV into Normal.”
“Don’t be going and getting your panties in a wad.” Violet sat at the
kitchen table with her hands emerged in a watery mixture in two soup
bowls. “She’s here to see me. She needs a manicure more than getting her
hair done. Is Sally Ann Dean coming in this morning?”
“Let me see.” Helen walked over and grabbed my hands. “Mmmhmm,
yep.” She eyeballed them with a disgusted look on her face. “Sally Ann is
the only one who can save these, honey.”
“I clean houses and run a campground. I don’t have time to worry about
keeping my nails painted.” I jerked my hands back and tried to let the insult
run off me, but she didn’t stop.
“It’s more than a paintin’ you’re gonna need. You need a soaking and a
treatment.” She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt and looked at the big
jeweled watch on her wrist. “You go sit down at the kitchen table next to
Violet and dip your hands in those bowls. By the time Sally Ann gets in,
your dried up cuticles will be soft enough to have something done to them.”
“Did I hear you say that you clean houses?” Coke Ogden put her leg out
from the chair and nearly tripped me on my way over to the kitchen table.
“I work for my friend, Betts Hager, when she’s in a pinch. Do you know
her?” Everyone knew Betts.
“Know her, huh.” Coke snarled. “I’m a member of the Normal Baptist
Church and we just can’t get over the scandal.”
“Betts had nothing to do with that,” I reminded her. I remembered what
it was like to be an innocent bystander of the Ponzi scheme my dead ex-
husband had created. “She’s got an excellent cleaning service. Have you
tried her?”
Betts really needed more business now that she was on her own. A hair
salon filled with older women who didn’t look like they cleaned much
seemed like a good place to find Betts new clients.
“I’m interested. I own the motel on the North side of town, right as you
come in off Fawn Road,” Coke went on to give directions to it.
“Motel? You call that four room building on the side of the road a
motel?” Helen laughed and continued to cut Lib Tuttle’s hair.
 “It used to be a train station for a railroad that ran right through Normal
years ago.” Lib looked back at Helen as though she were confirming Coke’s
claim. “It’s really neat.”
“I had no idea there was a place out there,” I said and walked past the
two salon chairs in order to get to the other side of the kitchen.
“No one does, but Coke saw Violet’s article and thinks she can get it up
and running.” Violet waved the scissors in the air. The TV hanging on the
wall was on the Price Is Right and turned up so loud.
“I can if she can.” Coke snapped her fingers towards me. “Get to
cutting.”
“An old train station, huh?” It sounded interesting. I sat down across
from Violet and looked at her fingers in the bowls. I stuck mine in there
with hers. She smiled across the table at me.
“You’re just in time.” Violet wiggled her perfectly waxed brows. “We
were just talking about Adrienne Goodman. She gets her hair done by
Helen.”
“Everyone in Normal gets their hair done by me now that you’re here.”
Helen boasted on how Violet brought in new customers with her ever
growing fame.
“Helen noticed a lot of bruises on Adrienne, in line with the rumors.”
Violet had mentioned last night that she’d heard Adrienne had been abused
by Scott, but nobody said anything. “That would give her a great motive to
kill her husband.”
“Are you doing one of those expo-says on it?” Lib put down the
Southern Living Magazine. “I heard that he was having an affair over in
Copper Ridge.”
“Copper Ridge?” I asked.
“It’s about fifty miles outside of the Daniel Boone National Park going
towards Louisville.” Lib nodded. “I hear he’s been seen over there a few
times.”
“You heard it was an affair?” I wanted to make sure I’d heard her right
over the Price Is Right announcer.
“Why else would he be going over there?” she retorted quickly.
“Yep. I bet he was, and Adrienne had the good sense to kill him. Good
for her.” Coke nodded, Helen grabbed her head.
“Stay still or I’m gonna give you a man’s haircut and it ain’t barber
day.” Helen huffed and moved Coke’s head into position.
 Coke, Lib, and Helen continued to gossip about the murder, and I took
the opportunity to talk to Violet.
“Why did you want me to meet you here? We can’t talk here. Is this
Helen’s house? ” I asked, looking around.
There were kitchen appliances. The coffee pot was brewing, and the
dishwasher was on a cycle.
“Yeah. She and her husband, Walter.” She looked over her shoulder to
see if she could talk before she leaned over the table. “He’s the night
security guard over at the school. He said that there has been a handful of
times he’s seen parents coming and going after archery and rifle
tournaments. Long after. If you know what I mean.”
“I don’t.” I shook my head.
“Why would parents be going to see Scott after hours? Why haven’t
they gone home for the night?” Her head twisted sideways like Fifi’s did
when she was trying to figure out what I was saying to her.
“I don’t know. All sorts of things. Maybe turning in equipment, getting
a schedule, checking rankings,” I rattled off a few things.
“Those aren’t things to argue about.” She leaned back as though she’d
gotten some big break in the case.
“Did Walter tell you who the parents were?” I asked.
“Oh, Walter didn’t tell me.” She shook her head. “Helen did.”
I glanced over at the women.
“They have Adrienne already pegged as the killer,” I reminded her.
“They’ll have another suspect tomorrow. That’s why we are coming to
get our hair done tomorrow morning.” Violet smiled. “There’s a lot of truth
in gossip.”
Over the next hour, Sally Ann came in and not only made my cuticles
raw, but painted my nails with sparkly purple polish after she spent thirty
minutes trying to get me to get fake nails. I didn’t say anything about the
polish, figuring I’d just take it off later.
Violet and I didn’t really have a chance to make a plan.. She did ask me
what I thought about the article in the Gazette about the campground and
reminded me that she was holding up to our end of the bargain, which
meant anything I found out at school today was to be shared with her.
Although she never said I had to share everything…
The school was just a couple of blocks from downtown. The parking lot
was full, so I pulled into a visitor’s parking space since I was still just
visiting.
“It’s Mae West. I’m here about the economics class,” I said into the
microphone before the front desk buzzed the door open. “That’s good
security,” I muttered when they let me in even though they had no clue why
I was really there. They just thought I was the substitute.
I glanced up at the security camera above the door and wondered if
Hank had had talked to the school yet. If Walter Pyle’s claim had any merit,
wouldn’t it be on the security footage?
“You’re late.” The secretary was standing by the office door waiting for
me. “The first bell rings at seven-forty and the last bell rings at two-forty.
You get the one hour for lunch. You have one planning hour” She slapped a
lesson plan book in my hands.
“I’m starting today?” I asked, a tad bit confused.
“That’s what I said this morning when I called you.” She inspected me a
little closer. “You’re not the sub, are you?”
“No.” I slowly shook my head. “I’m Mae West. I was given the key to
the city by Principal Bass and Mayor Mackenzie.”
“I thought you were starting after. . .” She glanced at the wall calendar.
“Shoot. I’ve got my dates crossed. Come on in.” She took the lesson plan
book from me and waved me in. “It’s a bit of a mess around here today. I’m
sure you can imagine.” She stooped and gave me another look-see. “Wait.
You’re the Mae West, owner of that campground where Coach Goodman
was killed.”
“I’d like to be thought of as the Mae West that received the key to the
city for helping Normal’s economy grow,” I offered her as a suggestion, but
she decided to run with her own.
“Tell me, did you see the killer?” She asked. “I know you’re not
supposed to tell since you are dating the lead investigator. Who, by the way,
is a fox.”
“Yeah. I don’t know any details other than he was killed by that arrow
from the school.” I shrugged.
“Arrow from the school?” A man came out of a back room of the office.
“Dr. Tillman.”
“School physician?” I asked.
“No, no.” he laughed. It was cute how he blushed. His red cheeks
matched his strawberry blond hair. He had on a pair of light green khakis, a
light blue button down, and a brown jacket. Very stylish and young. “I have
my doctorate in education.”
“Dr. Tillman is going to be leaving us soon.” The secretary frowned.
“We are going to miss his spunk.”
“Thank you, Gracie. You can call me Mathew. She does too,” He said
with a twinkle to his smile and pointed to Gracie. “Did I hear you say that
there was an arrow involved?”
Gracie gasped.
“They didn’t mention anything like that on the news.” I realized that
this was probably something Hank wouldn’t want the public to know.
“Did I say arrow?” A nervous laugh came out of me. “When I found
him . . .”
“You found him?” Gracie gasped even louder this time, throwing her
hand over her mouth.
“Is Principal Bass here?” I looked around, trying to avoid anything I
wasn’t supposed to say. “I’ve got some paperwork to fill out.”
“Principal Bass is in a meeting with a parent. Can I help you?” A
woman in an A-line skirt with a cherry print and a red blouse walked
around the corner.
“This is Mae West. She found the Coach with an arrow in him that
killed him.” Gracie talked so fast, I wondered if she ever got tongue-tied.
“You did?” The woman put her hand to her chest. “I’m so sorry. I’m
here to listen if you need someone.” She pulled a card off the secretary’s
desk and handed it to me.
“Alena Russel, school counselor,” I read. The hairs on my arm stood up
when I recognized her name. She was the one I overheard Scott Goodman
mention to Ken Patterson. “I didn’t really say all that.” I pointed to Gracie
and gave her a puzzling look. “Not sure where she got it. I would like to
talk to you.” I slipped the card in my bag.
“You said it.” Gracie looked at Mathew for confirmation, while Alena
told me to come by anytime. “Didn’t she say it?”
“I wasn’t listening.” He sneaked a glance my way. “Anyways, did I
overhear you say that you got a key to the city?”
This was a clear opportunity to get far away from Gracie Willey, who
was the school secretary according to the nameplate on the desk.
“Thank you,” I gushed when we rounded the corner and entered the
teacher’s lounge.
 “No problem. Being the new kid is hard and you have insider
information that Gracie will be talking about all day” He walked over to the
coffee pot. “Nice nails. I’m in my planning hour. Would you like a cup of
coffee?”
“I’d love one.” I curled my fingers in a fist, slightly embarrassed. “Are
you from here? Normal, I mean.”
“No. I’m from a little town in Tennessee. I came to Kentucky to go to
college and fell in love with the state and all the hiking.” Now I knew why
he was in such great shape. “I never left. I continued my education and now
I’m heading to Western Kentucky to take a superintendent of schools
position.”
“Wow, that’s great.” I took the cup from him.
“There’s sugar and cream on the table.” He pointed. “What did you do
to get the key to the city?”
As I talked to him about how I turned around the campground, I felt like
he took a vested interest in what I had to say. It was nice.
The bell rang, startling both of us.
“Oops, gotta go. I’m still the performing arts teacher.” He laughed and
grabbed an armful of papers on his way out. “I’ll see you later, Mae,” he
called over his shoulder as he left through a different door, spilling out into
a sea of students.
“There you are,” Donald Bass hurried into the teacher’s lounge. “As
you can imagine, everything is crazy here.”
“So I hear. Would it be better for me to come back another day?” I
asked.
“The sub didn’t show up for Coach. I guess they are scared of getting
killed or something. I’m in bit of a pickle. Do you think you can just start
today?” He asked in a wobbly voice as though he were preparing himself
for me to say no. “I’ve got all Scott’s lesson plans here. He was very
organized.”
“Sure. Why not?” There was a rattle in my gut that told me I’d probably
jumped the gun.
“Great!” He clapped his hands. “Gracie has the lesson plans. I’m sure
you’ll be just fine. Six weeks, right?” He stuck his head out the door.
“Gracie! Lesson plans,” he barked, not really listening to my answer to his
question.
 “Yeah.” I guess I was going to jump right into the frying pan of teaching
when I really just wanted to snoop around a little.
“Here you go.” Gracie, who I’m sure was close by eavesdropping,
suddenly appeared “Right here. Archery practice after school.”
I gave them a what the heck look.
“Cancel it.” Donald looked at Gracie. She nodded and rushed out. “You
okay?”
I quickly opened up the lesson plan book. A piece of paper fell out.
Donald bent down and picked it up, handing it to me.
“I’ll be just fine.” I looked up from the paper with the student roster of
the Archery and Rifle Club on it, with a smile on my face. “Just fine.”
CHAPTER 5

“Y ou did what?” Hank’s expression wasn’t what I thought it

would be to be when I gave him a copy of the Archery and
Rifle Club roster.
“I started teaching a little earlier than expected since the substitute for
Coach Goodman’s position didn’t show.” There was so much excitement
stirring inside of me that I couldn’t get it out fast enough. “You can imagine
my surprise when the team roster magically fell out of his lesson plan book
and landed at my feet.”
“Mae…” There was a tension in his calm voice as though he was trying
to keep from blowing up. “I’ve got this already and there’s no need for you
to worry about Scott’s murder. It’s a formal investigation and I’ve got a lot
of officers working the case.”
He cut the engine of his car and slightly adjusted his body towards
mine. He reached over and pushed a strand of my curly hair behind my
shoulder. His green eyes searched my face. I sure hoped he saw the
disappointment I was feeling.
“Remember what happened last time?” He looked at me like he was
waiting for my face to tell him he was right. But I didn’t. My right brow
cocked.
“Of course I remember it. I solved it.” I knew he was referring to the
last murder we’d had in Normal.
“You were knocked unconscious.” Did he have to remind me?
“Remember the big goose egg on your head?”
The red front door of his parents’ house swung open. A woman in her
mid-thirties ran out of the house with her arms wide open.
“Hanky panky!” She screamed. “There’s my Hanky panky!”
 Before my mind could process that, another woman that I’d say was in
her sixties hurried out the door followed by a man that looked like a much
older Hank. My heart pounded. My palms started to sweat.
“Hank?” The woman’s mouth turned down as she knocked on the
window of his car. “Aren’t you getting out?”
She bent down and looked over at me and then back to him.
“We’ll have to discuss this later.” Hank was talking about my snooping.
His jaw was tense and there was stress on his face that I’d never even seen
before. Not even in an investigation.
When Hank opened his door, I opened mine. He was greeted with a
flurry of kisses and hugs from the woman. Her blonde hair was pulled up
into a ponytail. She had on a pair of black Capri pants, a body hugging
black V-neck long sleeved shirt, and a pair of black flats. There was no
denying she was beautiful.
All I could think about was how today, of all days, my curls had a mind
of their own. I could hear Bobby Ray Bond, my foster brother now. ”It
looks like you’ve got struts all over your head,” he would say. He’d laugh
and explain to me what car struts were because he was a genius mechanic. I
never found funny, especially as a teenage girl.
“Hanky panky,” the woman crinkled her nose to him. “Aren’t you going
to introduce me?” She curled her arm around his elbow and tugged him as
tight against him as her shirt.
“Ellis, this is Mae West.” He barely got my name out before she fell into
an all-out squeal that pierced my ears and made Chester, Hank’s new dog,
howl from inside Hank’s camper. “As in the,” she emphasized, “Mae
West?”
“Ummm. . .” was all I could think of at the moment. Just like the
movies, and in slow motion, she dropped Hank’s arm and jogged around his
car. Her ponytail twirled like a propeller to get her to me fast. I took a step
back.
“You know, I’ve met Mae West’s real family.” Ellis stood a little taller
than me and was much prettier close up, which didn’t make me feel any
better. “It’s when mama and daddy took me to my first hair commercial
read. They owned the company. It was fabby.”
“I do remember that.” The older woman, who I knew had to be Hank’s
mom, walked over to him and gave him a hug. “Hi, baby boy.”
 “You’re Hank’s sister?” I looked at Ellis. There was a lot I didn’t know
about Hank Sharp and this was one of them.
“Yes.” She gave me the side eye with a slight smile. “Are you trying to
be as funny as Mae West is in some of her movies?” She gave me a slight
shove. “My favorite Mae West line is,” Ellis started to wiggle her hips and
she changed her voice, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is
enough.” She smiled with pride.
“I. . .” I wasn’t a huge Mae West fan and wasn’t sure how to tell her
that.
“West is Mae’s married name,” blurted Hank.
“She’s married?” Hank’s mom gasped and looked at me like I had the
plague.
“Was, to a felon who was murdered!” The tiny voice of Agnes Swift
came from the front door of the house. She stood by Hank’s dad and she
had a big smile on her little wrinkly face the size of the Daniel Boone
National Park.
“Felon? Murdered?” Ellis was pleased as the words trickled out of her
mouth and her eyes sparkled. “This sounds like a wonderful movie plot.
Have you talked to a producer about it? If you haven’t,” she now had her
fingers curled around my elbow, leading me towards the house, “I know a
few that I can tell them about your story. I mean, come on.” Her jaw
dropped. “Who better to play Mae West than me?”
I glanced around my shoulder and looked at Hank. He gave a slight
shrug and walked behind us.
“Welcome to the family,” Agnes Sharp said with a sarcastic tone when I
walked past her. She had a curious grin on her face.
“You wanted to get to know them,” Hank whispered in my ear once we
made it into the house.
The house was a modest farm house. Nothing fancy. A family room
with a wood-burning stove, a small kitchen with a round table, a bathroom
off of the kitchen, and a long hallway with doors along each side, I assumed
leading to the bedrooms.
“You’re divorced?” his mom asked before I was even asked to sit down.
“And an orphan.” Agnes Swift sure didn’t seem like she was on my
side.
“Granny,” Hank gasped. He gave her a pointed stare.
“Orphan?” Hank’s mom’s eyes grew wide.
 I realized the little digs Agnes was giving Hank’s mother weren’t to put
me down, but to irk her. There was tension in the room and I could tell they
weren’t close.
“I love Mae,” Agnes saddled up to me and sat down on the couch,
patting the space next to me. “We’ve had a lot of fun.” She winked.
A lot of fun as in she gave me information that would help me solve
cases having to do with Happy Trails and my livelihood., not because I
enjoyed running around looking for a killer and putting my life in danger. I
really liked her, but I was not happy she was using me in this little pawn
game.
She patted my leg.
“I’m glad someone does,” Ellis muttered, making this entire situation
clear as a sunny day.
“Ouch,” I gasped, my hand immediately rubbing out the pinch Agnes
just gave me.
“Mae just got the key to the city.” Agnes saggy jowls lifted a smidgen
when she smiled at me.
“How sweet.” Ellis’s head tilted to the side like she was looking at me
as if I was a child. “I got a Best Supporting Actress Emmy.”
“When you were in that PBS kids show.” Agnes snorted. “Years ago.”
“You know what, Mom,” Hank’s mom jumped up from her chair.
“You’ve always loved Hank more than Ellis. We all know,” she spat and
gestured around the room.
“That’s not true.” Agnes popped her eighty-year old self up. “You spent
all your money following her around the country, getting her an acting job
here and there. You left Hank here for me to raise. Then when you,” Agnes
pointed her crooked finger at Hank’s dad, “decided to retire, you didn’t
even let Hank live in the house. He had to stay in that yucky camper out
there.”
“Whoa,” Hank put out his arms to stop this family information dump.
“I’m fine. And I don’t blame Mom and Dad for helping out Ellis.”
“Helping out? They paid for everything for her. Down to those
extensions in her hair. I know they are expensive because Helen down at
Cute-icles told me!” Agnes had worked herself up to yelling.
“Granny,” Ellis panted with a frown, giving Agnes blinking eyes until
she ran out of the room.
 “Okay.” Hank ran his hand through his hair. “Let’s go.” He pointed to
Agnes and me, snapping his fingers before gesturing to the door. “I’m not
doing this anymore.”
“Hanky,” his mom scurried over and put her hand on his chest. “Won’t
you stay and let Mae take Agnes home?”
“Unbelievable.” His jaw dropped, and he slowly shook his head. “Come
on, Granny. Mae.”
“More than happy to leave.” Agnes grabbed her pocketbook and hung it
on the crook of her arm, sashaying out the door.
“It was nice to meet you.” There was a tightening in my chest telling me
this wasn’t the right thing to do, even though his mom’s feelings about me
were very clear.
“Mae,” the way Hank said my name meant business. He held the door.
Agnes had already made it halfway to the car when I walked out, leaving
Hank’s parents inside.
The insides of the car rattled when Hank had gotten in and slammed the
door. I’d seen Hank Sharp mad plenty of times, but this time there were
beads of sweat across his forehead and a flush had crept across his cheeks.
“I’m sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’m not.” Agnes put her pocketbook in her lap and wrapped her arms
around it.
“Enough, Granny.” He looked in the rearview mirror at her. “I
should’ve known better.”
The silence from his parents’ house to Agnes’s house made my mind
numb. I couldn’t process anything that’d just happened. The only thing that
was perfectly clear was the lack of parenting they’d given Hank. Given my
situation, no wonder we got along so well. We were made for each other.
When Hank got out of the car to open the door for Agnes like a good
southern gentleman, I turned around in my seat.
“I’m not sure what happened back there, but I’ve got some questions
about Scott Goodman’s case, I’ll bring you something good from Cookie
Crumble Bakery if you. . .” I clamped my mouth shut when Hank had
opened the door for her.
“See you in the morning,” she winked and got out of the car.
My racing heart fueled by Hank’s family slowed down as a blanket of
calm swept over me as I watched Hank help his Granny into her house,
giving her a hug and kiss at the door.
 “I’m sorry about all that. I should’ve just. . .” he started to apologize as
soon as he got into the car.
I put my hand up to his lips and leaned over, kissing him on the lips.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” I ran my hand down the
back of his head and looked into his eyes. “There’s no sense in retelling the
past. Not that my parents didn’t love me. They died, but I understand what
it’s like to sorta be left without parents. Like you said, I’m an orphan.” I
smiled and continued to talk, although Hank tried to speak. “I see that
Agnes raised you.”
“She did and I guess I should be darn proud of that, but my parents
putting Ellis’s acting career above my basic needs didn’t sit well with
Granny.” In my heart, I felt like he was using his Granny to cover up his
feelings. “She only said things that I’ve said to her and have been unable to
say to them.”
“Well, I’m sorry. Maybe we should meet outside of their house from
now on.” I smiled, getting one in return. “I do have a question.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” He put his car in gear and pulled off the curb,
heading towards the campground.
“Did you hear that Scott Goodman beat his wife?” I asked.
“Mae.” There was a sudden lightness to him. My question wasn’t about
his family and I could see the relief on his face. “Where on earth did you
hear that?”
The entire way back to the campground, I used his vulnerability about
his family situation and the fact that he was willing to talk about the case
instead of warn me to stay away like he’d done just over an hour ago to tell
him about the case and all the things I’d learned over the course of the day.
CHAPTER 6

“W hat a night,” I grumbled to Fifi while she did her business

the next morning.
The mornings were still a bit chilly. The dark sky was
filled with stars. In an hour, they’d be long gone with the sun overhead. But
for now, I gripped the edges of the quilt I’d grabbed off the couch while I
let Fifi out the door to do her business and curled it around my neck to ward
off the goosebumps.
I glanced over at the travel camper Scott Goodman had rented from me
and noticed that the police tape was gone and so were the police Hank had
stationed there over the past forty-eight hours. For the investigation, this
meant it was no longer off limits and they’d already gotten everything they
needed. For me, it meant I had to clean up the place and see if I could rent it
again.
“Come on, girl.” The back of the quilt floated behind me with each step
I took closer to the camper.
Fifi scampered from camper to camper, getting a good sniff at the tires
and surrounding grassy areas. Some of the guests who drove their campers
or RVs had dogs and Fifi made sure she got to know each one.
The camper door was unlocked. I ran my hand up the wall of the travel
camper and flipped on the switch. The inside of the camper was exactly as
I’d fixed it up. The only things missing from the last time I’d been here
were the rug on the floor and Scott’s body.
Upon closer inspection of where Scott had fallen, I did not see the stain
I expected to find. “No blood.” I walked around to see what how much
cleaning I needed to do and how long it would take, it didn’t look like it
required more than my standard, thorough cleaning. The camper did need
new sheets, since the sheets were missing. If I had to guess, I’d say they
were taken as evidence. I remember the look on Hank’s face when Colonel
Holz said the killer was probably standing in the bedroom.
Had the coach been having an affair? Was that why he was living here?
What about his wife? Did she kill him?
Scott’s duffle bag with the school’s logo was in the bedroom with his
clothes still in it. I grabbed it. I stopped on my way out when I felt a light
breeze on my neck. I turned around and noticed the window was slightly
open and the rubber lining holding the screen in was popped out of the
corner.
Fifi ran in, grabbing my attention. She scurried under the bed.
“Hey, girl.” I smiled at her heinie sticking up in the air while the rest of
her was under the bed. “I wish I had your energy.” I looked at the window
one more time. “I’ll tell Henry to fix it.”
Fifi and I headed back out into the early morning after I locked the door.
Fifi darted ahead of me. The sky was a little brighter on the other side of the
mountains of the park. There was a light blue tint that would soon turn to a
light pink as the sun greeted our little place in the Daniel Boone National
Park. This was a sight that never got old.
“Drop it,” I told Fifi, who was standing at the top of the steps leading up
into our RV. She had a little stick in her mouth. “You know you can’t eat
sticks.”
She dropped it, eagerly wagging her tail since she knew it was breakfast
time. The stick fell, making a clicking noise on the steel steps and grabbing
my attention.
“Go on in.” I opened the door and took the two steps down to look at
what she’d dropped. It wasn’t a stick - it was an ink pen. “Lypsnk.” I held it
up a little closer to make sure I read it right. “Lypsnk. What on earth is
that?” I wondered and headed back up the steps into the camper.
I put the ink pen in the counter, gave Fifi a scoop of her kibble, and
grabbed a cup of coffee to take back to the bathroom with me while I
showered.
I was quickly running out of morning and I had a lot to do before school
started. I wanted to stop by and see if Agnes knew any information and I
also was supposed to meet Violet at Cute-icles.
I decided on a more casual outfit than the pant suit. I wanted to mingle
with the students and pick their brains. I was hoping they’d be more open
with me if I wore an outfit that was younger looking, but still appropriate
for teaching. I opted for khaki pants, a light blue sweater, and a pair of
brown flats. With a fist full of hair, I pulled it all back at the nape of my
neck. I didn’t need that getting in the way.
“You be a good girl,” I told Fifi. “Dottie will be here to get you when
the sun is up.” I glanced out the window. “It won’t be long.” I bent down,
giving her a little rub on her curly head, and laughed when I realized we did
have the same hair. “They say a dog and their owner start looking alike.”
Fifi danced around as though she knew what I was saying.
The lesson plan book and my notebook were on the café table, I
grabbed them along with the ink pen Fifi found and threw them in the old
attaché case I’d pulled out of my storage bin. It must’ve been Paul’s and
Stanley had put it in my stuff by mistake. Regardless, I needed it now.
I started the car and pushed the Bluetooth phone feature.
“Call Hank,” I told the voice activated feature.
“Good morning,” he answered the phone. “I’m sorry again about last
night.”
“In the past,” I said, letting him off the hook. It was how I had learned
to live my life. If I’d continued to carry around the baggage of my past, I’d
be even more tired at the end of the day than I already was. “I noticed when
I let Fifi out that the camper has been released.”
“Yeah. I meant to tell you that last night, but with everything going on, I
forgot.” He sounded like he hadn’t gotten any sleep either. “We took the bed
sheets and the rug.”
“Did you notice the rubber around the screen in the bedroom window
was pulled out of the frame just a little?” I asked.
“What did I tell you about leaving the investigation to me?” He was
back on his tantrum about me not getting in the middle and how he just
couldn’t bear it if I was to get hurt.
“I just noticed it, that’s all.” I decided to keep my mouth shut about it.
“Anyways, did you want to come over tonight?”
“Let me see what’s going on with work and I’ll get back to you. Are
you headed to school?” he asked.
“I am.” I wasn’t headed there right now, but would be after a few stops.
He didn’t need to know my entire schedule. “What time do you go in?” I
asked to know if the coast was clear this morning to make good on my
donut run promise and go see what Agnes knew.
 “I have a meeting at the coroner’s office in about an hour and after that
I’ll be going to the station.” The all too familiar sound of kibble getting put
into a dog’s bowl came from his end.
“You feeding Chester?” I smiled at how Hank had become a responsible
dog owner.
“You don’t miss anything, do you?” He laughed.
If he only knew. . . then he’d for sure use me on cases when I offered it
to him.
“Just checking in,” I said.
The Cookie Crumble Bakery sign flashed OPEN. My mouth watered.
I pulled the van into an empty spot. There was no better place to take
donuts than a police station. It was perfect treat to sweeten them up and
distract them if I did get a chance to see Agnes and what she might know.
“Good morning,” Christine Watson greeted me with from behind the
bakery’s counter.
The freckles on her face scrunched together on her plump cheeks as her
eyes squinted from the smile on her face. Her brown hair was pulled back in
its usual ponytail.
“You got here just in time.” She walked down the long, glass case with
rows and rows of different kinds of donuts and stopped at a full rack of
sweet treats she’d not taken off the pans.
“It smells so good in here.” I sucked in a deep breath of cinnamon,
chocolate, lots of sugar, and a little hint of coffee that was dripping from the
coffeemaker, filling the pot.
“You can try my new spring lemon drop cookie.” She had plucked a
piece of white parchment paper from the box. She pulled one of the pans
from the cooling rack and looked around. “This one has the most icing.”
She used the paper to take the cookie off the pan and pushed it back on
the cooling rack.
The bell over the door rang.
“Good morning,” Christine called out and quickly glanced at the door.
She handed me the cookie over the counter.
My teeth sank into the buttery cookie with a hint of citrus, bringing all
of my taste buds to life.
“I’ll take a dozen,” I sighed.
“Told you you were going to love it.” She moved down the counter to
help the other customer, letting me stand there enjoying this moment with
my eyes closed.
“Mae West? Is that you?”
My eyes flew open and my head twisted to find Ellis and Natalie
standing next to me.
“Ellis.” I gave a good ol’ Baptist nod. “Natalie.”
“You two know each other?” Ellis’s chipper voice was like fingernails
on a chalkboard. “Fun.” She clapped her hands together. “We are old pals.”
“I’m going to grab my donut so I can get to a meeting with Hank.”
Natalie tapped the glass display with her fingernail. Her long, perfectly
manicured nail. “Nice purple.” Her eyes focused on my fingernails before
she moved down the donut display, leaving me and Ellis alone.
“I have no idea what she sees in Hanky Panky, but she’s had what I’d
call a burning desire for that boy since he hit puberty.” Ellis rolled her eyes.
Was she trying to get my goat or was she simply letting me know that
she approved of Natalie over me?
“I’m sorry about last night. Agnes and I’ve never seen eye to eye on
things.” She didn’t call Agnes Granny, which I found a little strange.
”Personally, I think she’s jealous that she and Mama have never been
friends like me and Mama are and she’s taking it out on me. You know, that
mother and daughter relationship?” She stuck her finger in the air. “Wait.
You don’t know that. Orphan, right?”
“Why don’t you go pick out your donut?” I suggested to Ellis.
“Heavens, no!” She waved off my suggestion. “There’s no way I’m
putting that in my body. I have to stay in shape. My agents get me gigs all
over that I may have to jump on a plane at any given moment to get to.”
“Here you go, Mae,” Christine called me over to the register.
“I’ll see ya.” Ellis scrunched up her nose in a dismissing way.
Natalie and I passed each other on her way out the door, neither of us
looking at the other.
“Don’t mind her and Hank.” I overheard Ellis say, but not the rest due to
the chatter of new customers coming in the door. When I turned around, I
noticed it was a group of kids with high school letter jackets on. On one
sleeve of each jacket was bars with a bow and arrow.
“These are so good.” I handed Christine the cash. “Be sure you add
them to the Happy Trails consignment.”
“Don’t worry. I will.” The Cookie Crumble Bakery was one of the
shops that donated something to the guests at the campground in order to
get them to stop by the shop. “Congrats on the key. I’m sorry about the you
know what overshadowing your day.”
“It’s no big deal.” I looked at the high school girl next to me. She had
straight brown hair parted down the side like most of the girls in the school.
“Are you on the archery team?”
“On the team?” One of the boys with her laughed. “Dude, she is the
team.”
“And only one of a couple getting out of this town on a full
scholarship,” another boy said.
“Nothing is guaranteed.” The young girl said.
The way she said it, I wasn’t sure if she was being modest or if there
was something more to it.
“I’m sorry to hear about your coach.” I watched her point to the sprinkle
donut when Christine walked over to us.
“Yeah. Shame.” She shrugged and didn’t sound so upset.
“I guess you were close, since you’re the best on the team. I’m sure you
spent a lot of time together.” I made the observation.
“Something like that.” She handed Christine the exact change over the
counter. “See you tomorrow, Christine.”
“Have a good day, Beth.” Christine walked back down the line.
“How did the coach get along with the team?” I asked, trying to figure
her out.
“You know what, lady? I’ve gotta go. If you want to find out what kinda
team we’ve got, I think our record stands for itself.” She took a bite of her
donut. “If anyone should take credit for the success of our team, it’s our
parents for showing us how to use a bow and rifle at a young age by taking
us hunting. Not some guy. . .” She stopped talking after the group of other
kids came up to us. “I’ve got to go to school. It’s an early day.”
“Early day?” I questioned.
“Yeah. A few times during the spring, we start school an hour early, that
way we can help out our parents with the tourist season.” She shrugged.
They all pushed out the door. I trailed behind, wondering what on earth
she was going to say about Scott Goodman’s character before the others
interrupted us. She definitely wasn’t going to say anything in front of them.
At least, it appeared that way.
I stood on the sidewalk and watched them all walk away, towards the
school.
 “Lambert,” I read the name on the back of her letter jacket. “Beth
Lambert,” I said her name to remember it so I could look her up in the
school database now that I had access.
CHAPTER 7

T here was no time to go see Agnes Swift or the gals at the Laundry
Club. I had to get to school and be in the classroom before the bell
rang. Though it was only a couple of blocks from downtown, I still
had to hoof it across the one way streets around the grassy median and cut
through Smelly Dog Grooming before I could get to a sidewalk that’d take
me straight to the school.
The parking lot was packed. Idling cars were lined up along the front of
the school as parents waited for the school resource officer to flag them on
so they could drop their kids off at the door.
“Morning,” I was greeted by a man in a one piece gray work outfit.
Janitor was stitched on the front pocket. He was standing in the parking lot
when I crossed.
“Good morning.” I smiled and passed him by. “It’s going to be a great
day.”
“If you say so.” He snickered.
With a few honks and beeps and students hollering for each other in the
background, I finally made it to the front door, where I still had to be
buzzed in.
“Hi, Gracie,” I greeted the school secretary. “Am I going to have to be
buzzed in every morning?” I asked, though I guess I could’ve entered
through the student entrance.
“You probably shouldn’t’ve stopped to get donuts.” She eyed the donut
bag. “See the Janitor about a key.”
The opening of the bag was crumbled up in my fist. I shoved it in my
bag with Coach Scott Goodman’s planner that Principal Bass had given me.
And more importantly, the team roster.
 “I have a confession.” I smiled, thinking I was going to be witty. “I had
no idea until I saw Beth Lambert at the bakery that school started early
today.”
“I’m not a priest,” Gracie said flatly.
“I’m sorry, huh?” She had me all confused.
“You said you had a confession and I’m sick and tired of everyone
telling me their little secrets.” She huffed off. leaving me standing there.
“What was that about?” Mathew Tillman walked out of the teacher’s
lounge with a couple other teachers. Each of them had a Styrofoam cup in
their hand.
“I made a joke, but I don’t think she took it that way.” I was so happy to
see at least one happy face.
The sound of squealing tires caused both of us to turn around and look
outside. Puffs of black smoke came from the tires of a red Ford Mustang
zooming out of the school’s parking lot.
“Whoa.” My jaw dropped as I looked out the front office window. “The
poor janitor almost got hit.”
“Carl. Nah. He’s a tough guy. Here.” Mathew gave me the coffee cup.
“Teaching a bunch of high school students is tough, but the parents are
worse. You’re going to need a lot of coffee.”
“Great,” I groaned and took the coffee. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He gave a student a high five when the young man
walked into the office. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“No.” I patted the bag. “I’ve only got the planner.”
“Sam. Mrs. West.” Mathew introduced me to the young man that was
now sitting behind the counter.
“Miss West.” I guess I should probably change my name since I was
divorced, but that required too much effort.
“I’m sorry. Miss West.” Mathew put his hands together. “Forgive me.”
He bowed. “Sam, can you take Miss West to Coach Goodman’s class?”
“Sure, Dr. Tillman. Let me hang up my jacket.” He peeled off his letter
jacket, hanging it up on the coat tree near the desk. The name on his letter
jacket read Patterson.
My eyes grew and I silently gasped, almost squeezing the Styrofoam
cup in half.
“Good luck, Miss West.” Mathew made a fist and gave me the go get
‘em.
 The excitement of having Sam Patterson to myself was stronger than the
fear I felt about teaching.
“I’ve never seen you sub around here before.” Sam lead the way down
the hall, weaving in and out of students, most of them holding fancy coffee
drinks.
“I’m not a sub.” I shifted my shoulders left and right to get through the
crowd. “I mean, I am. I’m teaching a six week course about economics in
Normal.”
“You’re the campground lady. Move it, Beth.” He put his arm out to
scoot Beth Lambert out of the way of the classroom door.
“You wish I’d put the moves on you, Patterson.” She joked and stopped
laughing when she saw who he was with. “Ma’am.” She nudged the boy
next to her to move.
“Davey,” I grumbled.
“Mae,” he gasped. “What are you doing here?”
Kids, I groaned as I remembered how a few kids, including Davey Bass,
had stolen an RV from Happy Trails a few months ago.
“What’s up, people?” Another male student walked up, giving everyone
a high five. “Looks like we all get A’s. A dead teacher means lot of stress
and automatic A’s.”
“Shut up!” Beth shoved the kid at the shoulder. When he fell into me,
Beth’s eyes grew wide. “Sorry, Ma’am.”
“Guys, be cool.” Sam put his hands out. “This is Miss West.”
“I’m the sub.” I patted my bag and walked into the room. “Sam,” I
called after him before he left. “Can I ask you a few questions about the
coach?”
“It’s shocking,” Sam’s voice cracked.
The bell rang and the students shuffled in.
“I know, but do you know why anyone would want to kill him?” I
asked, trying to speak over the conversations the teenagers were having.
“Why would I know that?” He shrugged, his face had a smirk on it.
“He’s the one who was mean to everyone.”
He turned to walk out the door and I called after him, but the students
were shuffling around and getting into their seats and he didn’t hear me.
I put the coffee cup on the desk and hurried out of the classroom,
shutting the door behind me.
 “Did he do something to you?” I asked, remembering overhearing his
mom tell the others at the campground that if Principal Bass didn’t do
something about the coach, her husband would be taking matters into his
own hands. “To make your parents mad?”
“Did he?” Sam laughed. “You do know why we are here an hour early,
right?”
“Why don’t you tell me,” I suggested, ignoring the bell that signaled the
start of class.
“We are here because most of our families have some sort of business
related to tourism. It’s spring, the beginning of our busiest season. If I can’t
go home early and help my parents clean out a couple of the rental cabins or
weed the flower beds or whatever they need me to do, then we won’t have a
top cabin rental review. That’s how we keep food on the table.” He paused.
“My parents want me to get out of Normal.”
I could relate to everything this kid was telling me.
“You, you stayed and somehow made it. But me, what’s there for me? I
don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t want to work just for the
tourist season, but I also can’t afford to go to college without a
scholarship.” He looked down at his feet. “I don’t get the best grades. I
especially don’t get good grades in this class and missed out on a
scholarship because Coach wouldn’t let a few grades slide so my GPA
would go up a tiny bit.”
“Are you telling me that you or your parents asked him to give you
some leeway?” I asked.
“You know if you’ve been around here long that this community helps
each other out. He didn’t want to help no one for nothing.” Sam shook his
head. “But you wouldn’t understand.”
“I understand more than you know.” I glanced down the hallway when I
heard the janitor come around the corner pushing his cart full of cleaning
supplies.
“Yeah, well, I’ve got to get back to the office. I’m the aide this hour and
I’m sure Mrs. Willey has something for me to do.” Sam hurried back
towards the office.
“You taking over for Scott?” The wheels on the cart stopped squeaking
as the janitor brought it to a halt.
“I am.” I clasped my hands together in front of me. “Gracie told me that
you could get me a key to the front door so I don’t have to have her buzz
me in each morning.” I dragged my finger between the two of us. “Between
you and me, I think she’s sick of me already.”
“Between you and me,” he leaned in, “There’s a lot of between me and
yous, him and hers, her and hims, if you know what I mean.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You will.” He started to push the cart down the hall. “Stop by my
closet during your lunch break and I’ll give you a key.”
The sound of yelling from the behind the closed door of the classroom
cut my thoughts off. I wanted to ask him what he was talking about and if it
had anything to do with Scott, but the unruly classroom needed my
attention more.
“Good morning!” I hollered over their voices, walking back into the
room. “I’m Miss West, your substitute teacher.” I sat down on the edge of
the desk and waited a few long seconds until they all returned to their seats.
“I remember sitting in your seat not too many years ago.” Over ten to be
exact. “I couldn’t wait until I turned eighteen and could get out of
Kentucky. That’s just what I did.”
I told the story about how at midnight on my eighteenth birthday, I had
hopped on a Greyhound bus to New York City. All of them listened intently
and I knew I had their ear.
“Little did I realize, I would one day be back in Kentucky, running a
campground, of all places,” I groaned to meet their laughter, “and helping to
bring Normal’s economy back to life.”
I decided to walk around and stretch my legs. I tried to get a look at all
of the kids, but the full wall of windows and the sunshine day distracted me
and made me miss gabbing with Dottie while we complained about the
campground.
“I’m not telling you that you can’t move out of Normal, but while
you’re here, you can make an impact on your community.” I looked at Beth.
“Some of you may be getting scholarships.”
“Don’t look at her. The Coach caught her cheating on her ACT exam.”
One kid snickered.
“Shut up, JB!” Beth jumped up and shoved him, knocking him sideways
in his chair. “I’m retaking it on Saturday. That scholarship is mine.”
“Okay, settle down.” I hurried over and pointed to her chair. I couldn’t
help but notice that the red Mustang from this morning had pulled up to the
side of the school where my classroom was located. “Now that you know
some more about me, why don’t we talk about you? What does your family
do in Normal?”
While each student told me what their family did, almost all related to
tourism, I walked over to the window to get a better look. The janitor had
walked out of the school and over to the car. The same car that’d practically
hit him this morning.
I’d turned around to acknowledge the next student’s story. When I
looked back out the window to check out the little meeting outside, the car
was gone and so was the janitor.
The hour flew by and before I knew it the bell had rung for the students
to switch class. According to the planner, it was time for my planning
period.
“Can I help you?” I asked Beth Lambert.
She stood at my desk with her backpack flung over one shoulder and
looked as if she needed something.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“I just want everyone to come up with a couple ideas about how they
can help our community. Just like I wrote up there on the board.” I was
beginning to see why she hadn’t passed her tests. Not that I was judging
her, but she’d clearly not listened.
“I got that,” she said with a smirk and sarcastic tone that ran through me
like hot water on a brutally cold day. “I’m talking about for your planning
period. I’m the student aide.”
“Oh, gosh.” I looked down and flipped through the notebook to see if
Scott had written that down. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“I’m guessing you have no idea about a lot of things.” She dropped her
shoulder, and the backpack landed with a thud on the old tile floor. “Like
what that loser said about my test scores.”
“I don’t think we need to call anyone a loser.” I felt the need to correct
her as her teacher and it was just plain good manners. “But I was a little
curious.”
I had to be careful how I phrased questions about her and tie them in
with what Sam had told me.
“From what I’ve been hearing, Coach Goodman took a lot of pride in
his athletes’ grades and a lot of the Archery and Rifle Club seniors aren’t
getting scholarships because of grades.” I walked around the desk and sat
on the edge of it, giving her my full attention.
 “What you said today made me feel better about my circumstances. I
mean, I know my parents are disappointed that I cheated, but. . .” she
stopped when the door opened and Mathew had popped his head in.
“I’m sorry.” He put a hand inside the door and started to back out.
“Come on in.” I waved him in. “I’m talking to Beth about her test
scores and I’m sure you’ve got some great advice to give her seeing you’re
the doctor and all.”
“Sure.” He smiled and opened the door.
“That’s okay. I’ve got some homework to do if you don’t need me
today.” Beth grabbed her backpack and flung it over her shoulder, taking a
step back to steady herself. “I’ll be in the library if you need me.”
“Okay.” I didn’t want to push the topic with her. She reminded me of
myself when I was her age. I didn’t want anyone knowing anything about
me and if I did, I’d go to them in confidence like she did me. “Hold on a
sec,” I told Mathew.
I followed her out the classroom door and into the empty hall.
“I’m sorry if I said something to Dr. Tillman that you didn’t want me
to.” I put my hand on her arm. “I understand and actually see myself in you
when I was your age. I probably should’ve just kept things between us.”
“It’s fine.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just. . .”
“You don’t have to explain.” I gave her arm a squeeze and dropped my
hand. “I have an open door policy. You can stop by anytime if you need
me.”
“Thanks. I just might take you up on it.” It was nice to see her tense jaw
relax into a smile.
I waited until Beth had walked around the corner of the hallway before I
went back into the classroom.
“I hope I didn’t disturb something.” Mathew was sitting in one of the
kids’ desk.
I laughed out loud.
“What?” He asked.
“You look hilarious stuffed in that desk.”
“Think about how our basketball players feel. In fact, I need to look into
this exact thing when I take my new job as superintendent.” He pointed to
the lesson plan book. “Did Scott have it all filled out?”
“He did, but I’m kinda doing my own thing since I was going to do that
for six weeks anyway.” I smiled. “Me. A teacher,” I laughed.
 “Can I see his lesson plans? I’d like what an economics lesson plan
looks like so I can see if my new school district is up to snuff.” He groaned
as he maneuvered his way out of the desk.
I glanced up at the digital clock on the wall.
“Can we do that another time? I’ve got to get down to the janitor’s
closet to get a key to the front door. If I get on Gracie’s bad side she’ll
gossip about me.” I grabbed the planner and my bag.
“Oh, no. She’s already drawn you into her web of gossip?” He asked in
a mysterious voice.
“No, but I’ve been warned about it. I just want to do my six weeks and
go back to my little campground.” The irony of my words made me giggle
on the inside. I truly never thought I’d say that.
“I was just stopping in to see if you need anything, but clearly you are
in control.” He walked to the door. “The students are already coming to you
for advice. That took me years.”
“It’s a girl thing,” I said, not knowing if that was true or not, but it
seemed to make him feel better.
After he left, I did a quick erase of the chalk board so the next class
wouldn’t see my assignment before they got the full story behind it. With
my bag in my hand, I headed down the hallway to the janitor’s closet.
“Knock, knock,” I said in a jovial voice, pushing open the slightly ajar
door a little more. “It’s me. Mae West. I’m here to get the key to the front
door that we talked about.”
The door caught on something and didn’t open any further. The light
was on and when I pushed a little harder, the cart that was blocking it
moved enough for me to pop my head in.
To be fair, it was much larger than a closet. There was steel shelving on
each side of the room and a large open area in the middle, enough to put
three of his janitor carts. I walked down the row and turned the corner to
find a washing tub, hanging mops, brooms, and various other cleaning tools
that were much too large to put on a shelf.
“There you are,” I said when I noticed there was a desk. The chair was
turned away from it, facing a gray door that had a photo of a woman on a
beach. The door was cracked.
I took another step closer and my shoe grazed an ink pen. I bent over
and picked it up to put back on his desk.
 “Lypsnk.” I laughed and wiggled it in the air. “I just saw one of these at.
. .” I stopped talking when I noticed he wasn’t turning around. “Am I
interrupting something?” I asked.
Just then, one of Kentuckey’s big spring winds whistled outside,
pushing the door open and knocking me into the janitor’s chair, swiveling it
around.
“Oh, no!” A blood curdling scream escaped me as my eyes settled on
the arrow sticking out of his chest.
CHAPTER 8

P rincipal Bass cleared out all the students in a fire drill type setting,
making sure the hallway in front of the Janitor’s closet was blocked
off. Even though the body of Orlando Banks, the janitor, couldn’t be
seen, we all knew it was in there.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mathew Tillman asked me while I waited
for Hank to get there.
“I’m fine.” I shook my head. Little did Mathew know that this wasn’t
my first dead body rodeo. It was starting to become a regular occurrence
and I wasn’t too happy about it. “I just don’t understand. First Scott and
now Orlando.” I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
“Both with school arrows. Which makes me wonder if it’s one of the
crazy parents around here,” said Mathew. There was a certain disdain in his
tone that I completely understood.
“You know, I think you might be right.” I didn’t want to speak too loud
since Principal Bass and Gracie were walking the hall to make sure no one
was going to walk down it. “I overheard one parent talking about how Scott
better straighten up or her husband. . .”
“Sounds like the Patterson.” Mathew already knew before I even had to
tell him.
“You know about that?” I asked.
“Everyone does. Scott talked many times about how the parents wanted
him to change their kid’s grades and he didn’t back down.” He looked down
the hall as if to see if the coast was clear. “One time Principal Bass wanted
him to change some kids’ grades in order for the school to get some grants
or something like that.”
“He told you that?” I gasped.
 “Scott didn’t, but Orlando did.” He looked back at the janitor’s closet.
“Orlando told me that he could practically walk around here tooting a horn
and no one really saw him. He said that he was such a fixture here that
people talked freely when he was around. His janitor’s uniform was like a
cloak of invisibility. He claimed he’d heard it all. From affairs to cheating
to anything else you can imagine.
I blinked a few times and wondered if my hunch about the Pattersons
was right and they’d gotten mad at Scott over a scholarship or grades. That
would be a good motive to be mad at someone, but to kill them?
“I’m assuming Scott’s funeral will be a military one.” I reached around
and rubbed my back. Sitting up against the concrete wall didn’t feel so
good.
“Military?” Mathew looked at me funny.
“I’d heard Scott was in the military?” At least Betts had thought so
since she’d overheard Adrienne and Scott fighting about it when she
cleaned for them.
“Not that I know of. I guess he could’ve been in some sort of guard, but
not that I know of,” he said.
“Mae,” I heard Hank call my name as soon as he laid eyes on me. “Are
you okay?”
“She’s fine.” Mathew stood up and he reached out his hand to help me
up. “I keep asking if she’s okay and she keeps saying fine.”
“Who are you?” Hank didn’t jump right into his usual line of
questioning. There was a different, more protective tone to his voice.
He did motion for the other officers to go into the janitor’s closet to
assess the scene while he stayed with me.
“Hank, this is Mathew Tillman, Dr. Tillman. He’s the . . .” I paused.
“I’m sorry. I’m so new I have no idea what you teach.”
“I’m the performing arts teacher here at Normal High.” Mathew put his
hand out. “You must be the police.”
“Detective Hank Sharp.” Hank reached around and pulled the black
wallet out of his pants pocket and flashed his badge. It felt like he was
peeing around me like I was his territory. Very odd. “Mae’s boyfriend.”
“Nice to meet you.” It didn’t seem to faze Mathew when Hank told him
that. “I was just telling Mae that I can’t help but wonder if Orlando
overheard something he shouldn’t’ve. Because he did say he heard a lot of
things while cleaning.”
 “If you don’t mind stepping right over there. Someone is going to be
taking your statement.” Hank snapped his finger and pointed to Mathew.
“I don’t really have a statement to give. I haven’t even seen the body.”
Mathew fidgeted a little, appearing to be uncomfortable. “You aren’t going
to have me look at the body, are you?”
And by the way he was acting, I could tell why he was a performing arts
teacher. Very dramatic.
“No, I’m not, but you somehow made it from your room to staying here
with Mae. That’s what they will ask you about.” Hank nodded to the officer.
The officer came over and tried to take Mathew to the side.
“I only heard her yelling, so I came running. That’s all.” Mathew was
now sweating along his brow. “This is all making me a little. . .” he gulped.
“Lightheaded.”
“I’ll get you a drink.” The officer took Mathew a little more forcibly by
the arm over to where they had water bottles.
“He’s a strange one.” Hank had no problem telling me that right off the
bat.
“He’s harmless. He’s been super nice, checking on me and making sure
everything is all good. He is leaving the school and from the rumblings in
the teacher’s lounge, they’re really going to miss him around here.” I
looked over at Mathew and he appeared to have settled down and gotten
some color back into his face.
“He seemed pretty chummy with you.” Hank hadn’t even mentioned
poor Orlando.
“Hank, are you getting jealous?” I teased.
“Stop it. So tell me what happened.” Hank’s detective voice came back,
and I knew that play time was over.
“Orlando told me to come get a key to the front door of the school
during my planning period. When I did, that’s when I found him dead.” It
was pretty simple. “The door to the outside was cracked open and. . .”
“Sir, you want to take a look before Colonel Holz takes him.” The
officer popped his head out of the door.
“Holz is already here?” Hank questioned.
“Yeah. The Principal wants it all cleared out before the parents start
freaking out and coming here to get their kids. Holz pulled up to the back of
the building so he didn’t have to cart the body out the front door of the
school in view of the kids.”
 “Is it all clear?” Hank asked.
“Yeah.” The officer shrugged. “Nothing. Not a fingerprint or anything
else. It’s spotless. Strange really. But I think the shot came from inside of
the building. Maybe the killer went out the back door. But there’s no prints
or nothing.”
“Why don’t you head on down to the station,” Hank suggested.
I did what Hank said. Maybe if Natalie was there instead of the coroner,
I would’ve hung around a bit, but this gave me a chance to apologize to
Agnes for not bringing her donuts this morning.

The police station was a little bit outside downtown in the business district.
The white courthouse was the tallest building and right in the middle. The
police station was attached to the

courthouse.
“These are a little late.” Agnes opened the bag with the Cookie Crumble
donuts from this morning. “And a little stale.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea school was on early arrival and dismal for
spring. Whoever heard of such a thing?” I asked and leaned on the
windowsill using my elbow. “I was going to come here on my lunch break,
but then I went to get my key from the janitor and found him dead and
Hank hauled me down here.”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye.
“Orlando Banks.” Agnes’s head shifted slowly side to side as she
looked around her. “Plus, Ellis has been on Hank’s nerves.” Agnes took one
of the donuts from the sack and took a bite. “She’s all over him about
getting a new place to live. Not to mention that Natalie.”
“Natalie?” I jerked my head up. “What about her?”
“She and Ellis are friends. Now that Ellis is back living under Mommy
and Daddy’s roof and spending any money they have left, she’s inviting
Natalie over and they hung out at Hank’s all night. If that boy don’t get
eight hours sleep, he’s cranky. Add on top of that this murder that is clearly
related to Scott Goodman’s case and that makes for a Cranky Hanky.” She
joked, but I found nothing funny about the first part of it. “Lighten up. I’ve
got some news about Adrienne Goodman.”
“Scott’s wife?” I asked.
 “Yes. Hank brought her in for questioning yesterday. She did have
bruising on her and told Hank they been going to counseling with Alena
Russell, the school’s counselor.” She wrote something on a piece of paper.
“Hank said that it feels like Adrienne is keeping something from him, but
he doesn’t know what. I keep telling him it’s his you know what.” Her eyes
dipped to the ground.
“His. You know what?” I questioned.
“He’s a man. If she was beaten by her husband, she clearly don’t trust
men. I keep telling him to get a woman detective, but he won’t listen,” she
mumbled.
Woman? Detective? For some reason that sounded very appealing to
me.
“I’m a woman,” I blurted out.
“That you are.” Hank rounded the corner and laughed. “I should know
because you’re my girlfriend.”
“You seem happier.” I glanced at him and then at Agnes.
“Mmmhmm,” Agnes’s chin lifted up and she looked down her nose at
him. “What gives, kiddo?”
“I was thinking about what you said about needing a woman detective.
And I think I’ll send in Natalie. I gave her a call, so she should be in here
soon.” Hank gave me a kiss. “Send her back to my office,” he told Agnes.
“Why Natalie?” I questioned.
“We need someone to go to the school and she can do that and talk to
Adrienne about the death.” He made it sound like he’d figured it all out.
“I’m already in the school. Why not me?” I could feel my gut pinching
my innards, making me start to fume and get mad.
“Yeah, Hank.” Agnes backed me up. “Not only do all the teachers like
her, they trust her.”
“Granny.” he shot a look to Agnes.
“I’m with Mae.” Agnes shifted on her stool. “She’s already on the
inside. It’s a no brainer.”
“Of course you’re on Mae’s side because you’ll go against anything that
has to do with Mom.” He shook his head. Natalie walked into the room like
a high dollar filly. “This is not the time to discuss this.”
He gestured for me and Agnes to stay put while he walked over to greet
Natalie. They exchanged a few words. She glanced over his shoulder and
gave me a good hard look before she said a few more words and turned
around to leave.
“Fine. I’ll let you keep your ears and eyes open. But I’m telling the
resource officers and Principal Bass you’re snooping around so they know
to keep an eye on you,” he said.
“That’s stupid.” Agnes snorted. “What if one of them blabs and
whoever is doing all this people hunting gets word?”
“Parents are all over that school. And if the resource officer or Principal
Bass slip up, then we may find another murder on our hands.” I have no
idea where I pulled that out of, but I liked it.
“Okay. But at any sign of danger, you pull out. Understand?” Hank’s
voice had the concern of the beloved boyfriend and I could tell he was
worried.
“I promise.” I put up my scout’s honor gesture before wrapping my
arms around his neck, giving him a big hug.
“I’m going to let you get out of here before I question you because
we’ve got a lot of evidence to process at the school. In the meantime,
school is shut down the rest of today and tomorrow, giving us the weekend
to get the kids to see the school’s counselor and parent concerns answered.”
It felt good that he was including me and telling me the plan. “Now go
write in that little notebook of yours. Why don’t you come over to my place
tonight to discuss the case? Bring Fifi.”
“Perfect.” I looked at Agnes. Both of us gave a little squeal.
CHAPTER 9

“W e have two bodies now.” I sat at the table in the office

corner of the Laundry Club where customers could fax,
make copies, work on a computer, and do anything else
their jobs required. A lot of people on vacation with their children would
stop in and ask if there was any sort of Staples or Kinkos nearby where they
could send a fax.
It was a shame that people couldn’t just camp or hike or just relax on
vacation without having to work.
“Where are Mary Elizabeth and Dawn?” Betts asked from the door of
her office.
Mary Elizabeth, my foster turned adopted mother, and Dawn, her
business partner, ran The Milkery, a bed and breakfast just outside Normal’s
city limits.
“They are swamped with work. It’s time for them to harvest some of the
garden and the flowers in the greenhouse are going nuts. They put a help
wanted ad in the newspaper.” Saying newspaper reminded me of Violet and
how I hadn’t yet caught up with her today. She would for sure be tracking
me down to see if I had any clues. “Once they hire some help, it’ll free up
some time for them.”
“Back to the victims.” Abby put us back on track.
“Both of them work at the high school. There was a red Mustang at the
school this morning that took off speeding and I saw the same car in the
back of the school during first period. Both times the janitor was near it.” I
wrote red Mustang under Orlando’s name.
“Red Mustang?” Dottie asked. “There was a red Mustang at your
ceremony at Happy Trails.”
 “You’re right!” I smacked my hand on the table, making everyone jump.
“I forgot all about that. And it was coming from the camper where Scott
Goodman was staying.”
“So the killer had to have known Scott and Orlando and they drove the
red Mustang.” Abby reached across the table and took the notebook,
drawing an arrow between the two victims’ name and writing “red
Mustang” above it. “If we find out who owns the red Mustang, we find the
killer.”
I wondered how I was going to do that. Maybe this was something I
needed to tell Hank.
“Then we have Adrienne Goodman.” I pointed to the notebook for
Abby to write this down. “She has bruises. Agnes confirmed that for me.
She also had a fight with him about his rank. But according to Mathew,
Scott wasn’t in the military.”
“Who’s Mathew?” Dottie asked.
“He’s a teacher at school. I really need to see Alena Russel, the school
counselor.” I looked at Abby as she was writing all of our clues down.
“According to Agnes, Adrienne and Scott were seeing her for counseling
and meeting after school hours with Ken Patterson, who I heard with my
own ears threaten Scott.”
“Why aren’t they going after the Patterson guy?” Queenie asked.
“I don’t know, but I met his son and I think I can get more out of him
tomorrow at school.” I made a quick mental note to go to the front office
during Sam’s office aide time.
“What about this Beth Lambert?” Abby circled Beth’s name that I’d
written on the paper.
“She is the best player on their club team. Shoo in for scholarships if
she had grades to get into the colleges, but she can’t seem to get high
enough scores on her ACT. Get this.” I leaned over the table. “She had
someone take the ACT as her but got caught. She’s retaking it this
weekend.”
“Gosh, I’m glad I don’t have kids.” Betts shook her head. Abby agreed.
“Well, it seems like not only Scott Goodman wasn’t very well liked by
the parents, but he knew something and so did Orlando Banks.”
“Is that all for now?” Abby asked and looked up from the notebook.
“I think so.” I put my hands in my back pockets and pulled out the ink
pen. “Wait!”
 I held the Lypsnk pen up in the air.
“Have y’all ever heard of Lypsnk?” I asked.
“It’s a bar, I think.” Abby grabbed her phone. “Hashtag Lypsnk.”
“Yeah. One of those karaoke ones I think.” Dottie grinned. “I use to
love to go sing at them places.”
“You mean you liked to screech.” Queenie put her fingers in her ears.
“You dragged me to a few of them.”
“It’s not just any karaoke bar, it’s this new age one.” Abby turned her
phone around. “Looks fun. How was it?”
“I didn’t go, but I think Scott and Orlando went there because I found a
Lypsnk pen under the bed at the camper Scott had rented and another on the
floor of Orlando’s janitor closet.”
“So. Pens are handed out everywhere. Especially in a school.” Betts
made a good point. “Lester used to drop off hundreds of pens to different
places,” her voice trailed off.
It’d been a long time since she’d mentioned Lester in a friendly sorta
way.
“Have you been to see him?” Dottie had no couth. She was always
wanting to know what was going on.
I walked over to the notebook and took it from Abby. I wrote down
Lypsnk and a note to maybe stop in there to see if anyone knew or
recognized Scott or Orlando.
“No.” Betts shook her head. “I heard some of the Bible thumpers had
seen him.” She giggled.
“You knew we used to call you Bible thumpers?” I asked since the rest
of us Laundry Club gals tried not to call Betts’s do-good prison ministry
group our loving name in front of her.
“Of course I did.” She laughed. “You guys aren’t very quiet or discreet.”
“That’s why I need your social.” Queenie sat at the desk with the
computer.
“Why do you need Betts’s social?” I asked, looking up from my
notebook where I’d been writing down all the clues I’d come across so far.
“Because if you’re going to apply to get a detective’s license, we are all
going to do it,” she said.
“This is going to be a lot of fun.” Abby tiptoed over to us. “I can be
very sneaky.”
 “I’ve got good listening skills.” Dottie left out that she had a big mouth
too.
“I’ve got the moves.” Queenie made jazz hands that I was sure she used
with her students in her Jazzercise classes.
“This is ridiculous,” I told them and looked around. “Y’all aren’t
serious.”
“As serious as a bad case of the gout.” Dottie was looking over
Queenie’s shoulder. “five hundred, twenty two,” she rattled off what I
assumed was her social security number.
“But Hank didn’t say all of us. He just said for me to look into it.” I was
trying to stop whatever it was that Queenie was doing.
Betts walked over and with her cleaning binder in her hand.
“Why aren’t y’all listening to me?” I asked.
“We are. But if you think about it, we’ve all helped out with solving the
crimes that have been happening around here.” Betts hugged her cleaning
binder to her chest. “You take on extra jobs to get more money all the time.”
“Yeah, but you need the help. Take Coke for instance. She’s going to
call you about the old train station she’s fixing up as a motel. That’ll keep
you busy.” I really hoped Coke would call Betts now that I said it out loud.
“And you have the library.” I pointed to Abby. “You’ve got your hands full
with your Jazzercise classes. And you.” I pointed to Dottie. “I can’t run a
campground without my manager.”
“We do have our other jobs to think about.” Dottie, of all people, was
going to be the rational one. “I’m not sure what we’d do at Happy Trails.”
“I do have a lot of new cleaning clients now that I’ve been advertising,”
said Betts.
“I don’t have a lot of help at the library.” Abby was finally seeing
clearly too.
“Then we need to come up with a solution because if you think that I’m
going to let you get hurt,” Dottie had gotten serious. “Then you’ve got
another thing comin’. I know you’ve got Mary Elizabeth here and all, but
I’ve taken you on as not only a good friend, but as a daughter of sorts. We
five,” she twirled her finger around all us, “are as tight as bark on a tree and
we stick together.”
“I think we can all work together and get different clues if we keep our
eyes and ears peeled,” I suggested. “Just like we did before. We’ll keep our
clues in the notebook and we can come together and put different scenarios
together.”
“Guys.” Queenie looked up from the computer screen. “In Kentucky,
you need a degree from the police academy, and I don’t think they can
handle my moves.” She laughed.
“I don’t got no time to go to no academy when I can use my smarts.”
Dottie tapped her temple.
“We don’t need a degree or detective license to help Mae keep the
campground running and the economy healthy.” Abby pulled out her phone.
“Hashtag discount. Hashtag Happy Trails. Hashtag campers.”
“Wait.” I tried to stop Abby before she sent it. “Did you say discount?”
“Too late. Send.” She shook her phone at me and put it back in her
pocket.
“That sounds like a plan.” Betts smiled. “And now that you have four
others helping, it appears you still have time to clean for me. Starting with
Alena Russel.” Betts opened her binder and flipped a few pages. “I’ve got
her on the schedule for tonight.”
After all the hooting and hollering settled down, the reality of it was that
I had to still help out Hank, which really was helping me out since we had
had so many cancellations. I had to prove there was no danger at the
campground and that it was a safe place to stay.
“Tonight?” I didn’t want to turn it down, but I also didn’t want to miss
out on the opportunity to go see Hank at his place and show Ellis that I am
his girlfriend no matter how much she flaunts Natalie around.
“I only clean her office once a week. Afterhours.” She patted herself.
“I’ve got the keys somewhere.”
“You have keys to the school?” I asked.
“No. Alena Russel has an office over in Swamp Canal.” She walked
into her office and came back out with a big ring with several keys on it.
“Do you think she sees couples at the school?”
Without her even saying it, we all knew what Betts was up to and we all
knew what Alena might have in her files. Especially regarding the marriage
of Scott and Adrienne Goodman.
CHAPTER 10

A bby was going to check military records she had access to using
the library’s database, Queenie was going to go check on Lypsnk
and what that was all about, Betts was going to call Alena for a
cleaning gig so we could get into her office, and I was on my way to see
Adrienne Goodman. Later me and the Laundry Club gals were going to
reconvene by the campfire at Happy Trails since we had so much leftover
food after the party was interrupted by a murder.
It was a perfect time for me to stop by Scott Goodman’s house and give
my condolences to his wife. At least, that’s the way I was going to play it.
“Can I help you?” The woman at the door was young. She glanced right
and then left as if she were looking for something or someone.
“Are you Adrienne Goodman?” I asked, thinking I could see a bruise
mark on her left cheek when she’d looked around. But the screen on the
door made it hard to get a good look.
He must’ve done a number on her because the makeup was so heavy.
She nodded.
Adrienne Goodman was much shorter than I’d pictured her. She had a
short blonde bob, parted on the side. She wore a Normal High School
Archery sweatshirt and a pair of yoga pants.
“I’m Mae West.” That I should be honest dawned on me all of a sudden.
“Your husband rented a camper from me.”
“You’re the one who found him.” Her eyes drew up and down my body.
“I did. I’m so sorry.” I felt the need to apologize right off the bat.
“Were you having an affair with him?” she asked me.
“Oh, no.” I shook my head profusely. “I’m dating someone,” I
immediately responded. “Hank Sharp. Detective Hank Sharp.”
 She looked around again before she shoved open the screen door.
“Come in.” She hurried me inside. “I’ve already told Detective Sharp
everything they need to know. So I’m assuming you’re a detective?”
“No. Actually. I’m just the Happy Trails owner.” Coming out of my
mouth it did seem really silly that I was here. Snooping.
“Then what are you doing here?” she shut the main door behind us and
locked it.
“I was given an honorary degree in economics from the city and I’m
doing a six week teaching class in your husband’s economics class. I
actually took over as substitute today. I wanted to drop by and give my
condolences.” I stepped in a little more to the front family room and noticed
there were moving boxes all over the place.
There were empty bookcases, the end tables were cleared, and there was
nothing on the mantle.
“That’s kind of you. I hope you don’t mind the mess.” She gave a faint
smile. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked and had me follow
her to the kitchen. She had a kettle on the stove and a mug on the counter
with a tea bag string draped over the side of it.
“A Diet Coke would be good.” I really needed something to settle my
stomach.
“Sure. They’re out in the refrigerator.” She pointed to the door. “It’s in
the garage. Help yourself.”
In the kitchen there were moving boxes filled with dishes on the floor.
“Thanks.” I walked over and opened the door.
“You know,” she said to my back as I was going out the door. “You’re
the only person from the school who’s been by here.”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Mae?” I heard her call my name, but my eyes were too busy focusing
on the red Mustang convertible I’d seen leaving my campground, squealing
out of the parking lot of the school, and sitting at the back of the school just
under an hour before Orlando Banks was murdered. “Mae?”
“Your car.” I turned around, rubbing my hands down my pocket to grab
my phone. “I’ve seen it before.”
“I do drive it.” She laughed and walked out into the garage.
“Yes. But I saw it leaving my campground before Scott died. Yesterday
morning you were talking to. . .” I gulped and took a few steps back when
she took a couple towards me. “Stay right there.” I jerked my phone out.
“I’ve got Hank on speed dial.”
“I was getting your Diet Coke.” She flung the door of the refrigerator
open and stuck her head inside, pulling out a can. “Didn’t you want one?”
“Yes. But did you come by the campground the other day?” I asked.
“I came to the campground a lot.” She handed me the can and I
followed her back inside.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket because Adrienne didn’t seem
to think anything of me seeing her car.
“He was my husband. We were trying to work things out.” She
shrugged and poured the hot water from the kettle over the tea bag in her
mug. “Just because we needed space didn’t mean we weren’t trying.”
“Were you at the school this morning?” I asked.
“Yeah. You saw that?” she frowned and brought her mug over to the
table. “Sit down. I like the company even though I know you’re here
because you think I killed Scott.”
“I’m that obvious?” I asked.
“At first, no.” The steam from her cup curled up into the air. “But your
questions tell me yes.”
“Honestly, I stuck my nose into it because after word got out about his
death at my campground, we have had so many cancellations. It’s not that I
don’t trust Hank to get the job done, but they take their time and if I want to
stay in business, time isn’t on my side.” The fizzy noise came out of the can
when I popped the tab open. “Why did you speed away from the school this
morning? And why did you come back?”
“Gosh. You see everything. Maybe you should be the detective.” She
circled her finger around her mug.
“Listen. I know you don’t know me, but I can see all the makeup piled
on your cheek. I know Scott knocked you around and I’m sure if there was
a reason for you to kill him, it would be that, but if not, I’m trying to figure
this out and any help you have would be great.” I paused to give her a
moment to digest what I was saying to her.
“Scott had a way of sticking his nose into other people’s business. He
always claimed he was doing it for the good of society.” She scoffed. “I
went to the campground to tell him to come home, but he couldn’t stop
talking about that darn Patterson kid.”
 “I overheard them fighting.” I wanted her to trust me, so I gave her little
bits of information to encourage her to tell me more.
“It wasn’t the first time. Their son isn’t the best at anything. He’s a good
kid, don’t get me wrong, but all of these parents think their children are the
best. They live in illusion dream world and Scott told the Pattersons that
their son wasn’t going to get a passing grade during parent and teacher
conference. The dad went nuts. I told Detective Sharp about it too.” She
rolled her wedding band around on her finger. “That’s the type of person
who killed my husband.”
“The bruise?” I asked.
“I accused him of cheating again when he said he wasn’t ready to come
home. We’d had a great session with the counselor, and I had time to think
about it. When I went to the campground, all he did was talk about the
students and how he wanted to go back and get his rank one.”
“Again?” I asked and realized the bruise had only gotten bigger as we’d
sat there.
“Scott Goodman wasn’t the most faithful husband and we moved here
to get away from it all.” She lifted her hand to her face. “This was the first
time he hit me in a few months.”
“What happened a few months ago?” I asked.
“He was passed over for a job.” She shook her head.
“At the school?” I asked, figuring it’d be easy to find out which one.
“No. In Swamp Canal where we’re from.” She said the name of the
town where Alena had her private practice. “We go to counseling there too,
so no one around here would know.”
“Did you say rank one?” I asked going back to her previous statement.
“I didn’t know Scott was in the military.”
“Oh, gosh, he’s not.” She laughed. “That’s what you get when you’re a
teacher and want to move up. It comes with a pay increase and since...” She
stopped and looked down, placing her hand on her belly.
“Are you?” I didn’t have to ask if she was pregnant because when she
looked up at me with big tears in her eyes, I knew.
“That’s why all the boxes are here.” She had a far off look in her eyes as
the tears rolled down her face. “I can’t raise a baby alone now that Scott’s
not here.”
“I’m sorry. I really am.” Her story was a tragic one all the way around.
It broke my heart to look at her face and know he’d hit her when she was
pregnant. It made me wonder if the world was a better place without Scott
Goodman in it.
“It’s fine. Nothing new around these parts.” She patted her stomach.
“Just another statistic. Beaten woman, goes back to husband again and
again, stuck because he knocked her up. But now he’s dead. Looks like I’ll
be living in a double wide the rest of my life.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” I winked and she laughed when she
realized I lived in my RV. “I’ve got to get going, but can I ask you another
question?”
“If you’re looking for an alibi, I left the campground and headed
straight to Alena’s house for a shoulder to cry on. Detective Sharp already
checked it out.” She leaned back in her chair.
“No. It has to do with Orlando Banks. I saw you with him a couple of
times at the school,” I said.
The tensing of her jaw didn’t go unnoticed.
“Orlando knew something, but I don’t know what. Scott kept mumbling
about it at the campground when he was fussing about the Patterson kid.
After Scott was killed, I figured I had to help, so I went to the school to talk
to Orlando. This morning he told me to come back with five hundred
dollars and he’d give me some information. I went back with two hundred
and fifty because I pawned our old TV. He laughed and said that I was short
on cash and told me to go sell my car.” She gnawed on the edge of her lip.
“I don’t have anything else to sell. But he wouldn’t tell me what he knew.”
“Did you tell Hank this after Scott was killed?” I asked.
“No. I wanted to know for myself what he knew.” She eyeballed me.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
“No.” I confirmed. “I’m from Kentucky, but not here.”
“Well, around here, you don’t tell the cops nothing. As you can see, two
people are dead now and there’s something bigger going on than an angry
parent.” Her words confirmed exactly how I’d felt earlier.
An angry and protective parent might have a good motive to harm
someone, but to kill them?
CHAPTER 11

“H ow much further?” I asked Hank, who was at least ten steps

in front of me. Fifi and Chester, Hank’s dog, had long ago
ran ahead of us on the trail.
“It’s just a little more.” Hank didn’t bother turning around to see if I was
okay. “You’re going to love it, trust me.”
“Trust me,” I groaned. “I’ve heard those words before.”
This trail started on his parents’ property that just on the outskirts of the
part of the Daniel Boone National Park that the government owned. He’d
talked about his trail all winter long and how he made it as a kid. He talked
about the most spectacular view in all of Normal. Now that it was spring, he
wanted to show me. If I had to pinpoint why he wanted to go tonight, it was
that the cases were on his mind and he wanted to walk and think. It was
how he processed things. It was fine. A good hike with the dogs was good
for the soul.
The sticks underneath my footsteps started to echo. I knew we were
getting closer to a clearing when that happened. It was part of learning how
to survive in a wooded climate. Sound was very important. The trickling of
water was off in the distance and as I made the bend around the trail, I saw
that I was right.
I stood there with my mouth wide open. Not only were we at the end of
the trail, we were at the edge of the most beautiful rock formation
overlooking a big canyon with a waterfall that was surrounded by lush
Kentucky ferns, moss, and limestone. There were a few sprigs of spring on
the trees, just enough to make them green. I could only imagine how
gorgeous it was in full bloom.
 “I told you.” Hank turned around with a huge smile on his face. The
setting sun hit him just right, showing off the five o-clock shadow that’d
crept up around his jaw line. He put the small cooler on the ground next to
his feet and stuck his arms out to the side. He lifted his face up to the sky
and inhaled so deeply I could see his back rise. “Take it in, Mae. That fresh
air smell.”
Fifi and Chester were still running around the end of the trail trying to
sniff every creature that had crossed its path.
“It’s amazing.” I took a few steps up to him and barely looked over the
ledge, getting a sinking feeling in my stomach. “I’ll look from back here.”
I had never been a big fan of heights.
“How about a beer?” He sat down, his legs hanging over the edge,
making me nervous.
“Why not have that back here?” I asked and took one of the bottles from
him.
“Do I have anything to worry about with that teacher?” Hank asked.
“When the officer interviewed him, he said that Mathew seemed intrigued
by you and that most of his statement was about checking on you.”
“Absolutely not.” It was a ridiculous question, but oddly flattering.
“He’s a nice person. But I’m no way interested and if I gave him that
impression, I’ll be sure to fix that tomorrow.”
“Now that we got that out of the way.” He took a big swig of beer.
“What did you find out this afternoon? I’m sure you went to the Laundry
Club and told the gals everything.”
“I went to see Adrienne.” I took a drink and watched as the sun made its
last appearance for the night behind a few of the park’s mountains. “Did
you know she was pregnant?”
“Yes. It’s part of her alibi. I thought maybe she killed him because of his
abuse, but she didn’t.” He put the beer down and leaned back on the palms
of his hands, still facing the canyon.
“She has a red Mustang too. I’ve seen that car three different times.” I
told him about the school incidents, and he didn’t seem to know about
those. I also told him about Orlando sorta blackmailing her into giving him
money in exchange for information.
“I’ll have to check on that, not that I think she killed Orlando but, you
know, all the Is and Ts.” He was very thorough, a good thing given his job,
but I preferred the shorthand version myself. “We did find a wad of cash on
him, but I have to check the evidence sheet to see how much because I can’t
recall the exact amount off the top of my head.”
“She said she’d been to pawn shops to get that money, so I’m guessing
you can check their security footage to see if she was there at Scott’s
estimated time of death.” I was surprising myself by how much I sounded
like one of those TV investigators. “What did you find out about the
Pattersons?”
“I looked into the boy first. He wasn’t even at the campground when
Scott was murdered. He and another student, Beth something...”
I interrupted him.
“Beth Lambert?” I asked, knowing that she too was on my list to talk to
again.
“Yeah. Those two kids are supposed to be the best and neither do well in
school. Apparently, they’re transferring to another school for the rest of the
school year.” This was news to me. “They were taking some sort of
entrance exam.”
“They are? They were?” I tried to remember what all Beth had told me
and then I remember she got cut off when we were in the class. “They don’t
have to with Scott dead.”
Fifi and Chester finally joined us. Fifi curled up in my crisscrossed legs
while Chester went to sit by Hank near the edge, also unaffected by the
drop into the canyon.
“Huh?” He bent his elbows and twisted around to look at me.
“Rumor has it, if a teacher dies during the school year, the students in
the class get an automatic A.” As bizarre as it sounded, you never knew
about Kentucky education laws. They were all over the place.
“I don’t think that’s true.” He had a smug look on his face. “But I
stopped by to see the Pattersons and they are the ones who told me that. I
also stopped by to see the Lambert family, but they weren’t home.” He
pushed off the palms of his hands and brushed them together. “I’ll stop by
there tomorrow.” He picked up his bottle and took a drink. “In the
meantime, do you think you could snoop around about Orlando? I’m not
finding anything about him. He’s not married. No cell phone. I’ve got the
phone records from school being subpoenaed, but I have no idea if any of
the calls on there will be from him. His apartment has a couch, bed, and TV.
That’s it.”
 That’s not it. I ran my hand along my pants, feeling the Lypsnk pen still
tucked in the back pocket.
“Yeah. I’ll snoop around.”
Only it wasn’t going to be only at school but he didn’t need to know
that.
We spent a few more minutes there talking about nothing, really. I
didn’t want to ask about his parents because when I’d done that earlier, he’d
mumbled something and it put him in an instant bad mood. Plus, I had no
need to ask about Ellis. Those conversations left me thinking about Natalie
and I really had no patience to hear about her. Now that I knew Hank was a
little on edge about Mathew, I knew he had no interest in Natalie or he
wouldn’t have asked me if he should be worried.
By the time we made it back to Hank’s trailer, the sun had set, and I
knew the Laundry Club gals were probably already at the campground,
ready for our fireside chat.
Dottie, Queenie, Abby, and Betts were sitting around the main firepit
nearest the lake that was pretty much always lit. It was like an eternal
campfire because I realized when one was going, people gathered. Having a
place to gather built community, and I wanted to make Happy Trails a
community for people who were tourists or lived in town.
In Scott Goodman’s case, he needed a place to live.
I beeped and waved as I drove past them to let them know I would join
them soon. Fifi was worn out from the hike and trying to keep up with
Chester. Competitive like her mama. She was happy to have some fresh
kibble along with a stuffed toy and her cozy bed to settle in before I even
finished changing out of my clothes and into sweats.
“Any news from anyone?” I sat down next to Abby with the notebook
and got right to the point.
“Scott Goodman was definitely not in the military.” Abby started us off.
“Yes. I know.” I used the glow of the fire to see what I was writing in
the notebook under Scott’s name in the victim column we’d already made.
“I stopped by and saw his wife.”
“You did?” Betts gasped. “What did she say?”
“Let’s go around and see what everyone found out before I get into
that.” There was so much to say that I didn’t want to miss anything now that
Hank had truly given me full investigation privileges.
 “I got all his belongings together and I can get those to Adrienne.”
Dottie had stayed behind and worked in the Happy Trails office for me.
“Thank you. That’d be great.” Just another thing off my plate of to-dos.
“I went to Lypsnk and I really think we should go there.” Queenie
jumped up from her chair and did a grapevine move in front of us. “Y’all
sing and I dance. Plus, you won’t believe how they serve drinks.”
“Did you find out anything about Scott or Orlando?” I asked the most
important question.
“They did know Orlando Banks because he’s a nightly regular. But
didn’t recognize Scott Goodman’s photo that I had from the school Archery
and Rifle Club calendar I’d bought for a fundraiser last year.” She sat back
down.
“Betts?” I asked. “Anything about Alena?”
“Yes. She’d like me to clean tomorrow during the memorial service
they’re having in the cafeteria.” She wiggled her brows. “I’m assuming
you’re going to the memorial? There’s a luncheon the day after. I’m on the
Bible thumpers telephone list still.”
The Bible thumpers were a group of women from the Normal Baptist
Church who were involved in a lot of different things in and around
Normal. Cooking food for families in a time of need was one of their tasks.
Betts was on the telephone chain. Apparently, she’d gotten a call to make
something.
“No. I’m going to go with you to Alena’s and I’ll definitely be going to
the reception.” I gave a hard nod and continued to write down everything
they were saying because I didn’t want to miss a thing.
My stomach growled thinking about the good homemade food.
“Adrienne is pregnant and moving back home to Swamp Canal. She and
Scott were in counseling. He was going to start working on his Rank One
license as a teacher. That’s what you overhead them talking about.” I
pointed to Betts. “She didn’t say why they were arguing, but she did say
that he’d cheated on her once before and that’s why they moved here. To
get a fresh start.”
“Just because the scenery changes doesn’t mean he’d change. Scenery
here is a lot more attractive than Swamp Canal.” Dottie pulled a cigarette
from her pouch and put it in her mouth. “Why was he here?” She flicked
the metal roller on the lighter. Her face glowed as she puffed the cigarette to
life.
 “They were trying to work out their problems. Apparently, he was
obsessed with kids getting good grades and the crazy parents they have who
want the teachers to fudge all the test scores so their kids will get
scholarships.” It truly boggled my mind how these parents’ moral
compasses were all out of whack. “When she came here during the party
after my key to the city ceremony, she was going to ask him move back in,
but he was so mad about the Pattersons that they got into another fight.
That’s when he hit her.”
“He sure didn’t seem the type.” Dottie put her chin in the air and formed
an O with her lips, pushing out smoke circles into the night air.
“She’s moving home so her parents can help with the baby.” I continued
to write down everything in the notebook. “Hank told me that they are
baffled about the two cases. There was no forced entry into the janitor
closet and no fingerprints. It’s like the person knew to clean up everything
or knew exactly where to stand and do the job without being discovered.”
“Sounds like an inside job to me. What about the parents? They are
always in and out of that school.” Abby made a good observation.
“I can check the school log in the morning to see if any of the archery
parents came, but Hank said that he already talked to the Pattersons. During
the time of the murder, Sam Patterson, the son, and Beth Lambert were
taking a test to transfer to a different school. Beth was in my class and Sam
was the office aide when Orlando was killed, so they both have alibis, even
though both have reason to kill Scott. But Orlando?”
The more I talked, the more the idea that Orlando was killed over
something he knew made sense.
“Orlando knew a lot of things and Adrienne said she went to see him
about something he knew about her husband’s death. He told her to bring
him five hundred dollars for information the first time she showed up at
school. When she came back in the afternoon, she only had two-hundred
and fifty dollars, he told her it wasn’t enough and to come back when she
had the rest.”
“Awful man!” Queenie snarled.
“It’s still no reason for someone to kill him.” Betts always saw a
different side to everything.
“Hank did say Orlando lived a very basic life. He had very few things in
his place.” I added to the conversation.
 “Then what was he going to do with the money he was blackmailing
Adrienne for?” Abby asked.
“Obviously, Orlando didn’t spend much time at home. We do know that
he was at school for most of the day and his night was spent at Lypsnk, then
maybe we need to look deeper into Lypsnk to see if he’d met someone there
or something.” Queenie suggested and looked at her watch. “It seems to be
that right now is a great time to go.”
“Anyone got a little Gloria Gaynor in them?” Dottie snuffed out her
cigarette. “A little I Will Survive just might be what we all need.”
CHAPTER 12

L ypsnk was nothing like I thought it would be. Neither was Swamp
Canal. They were both much bigger than I expected.
Swamp Canal actually had a few buildings with some height. I
wouldn’t call them skyscrapers, but several tall buildings dotted the skyline.
It was a nice sized city with several independent restaurants, but mostly the
chain ones found in every city. Lypsnk was one of many bars. A mural of
vibrantly colored lips and microphones had been painted on the outside
brick wall. There was a man sitting on a stool outside of the blacked out
glass doors checking IDs for the over twenty-one bar.
“Welcome to the Swamp Canal crawl.” He used the flashlight to look at
my license. “Mae West, really?” He shined the light between me and my ID
a few times. “You don’t look like Mae West, but you do look over twenty-
one.”
“It is me and my name is Mae West.” I jerked the license back, unsure if
he had just insulted me by saying I was old.
“Go on in.” He waved all us in.
The hallway was painted black, but the same mural on the outside of the
building had been painted on the inside but with iridescent paint, making it
stand out and glow. There were purple lights everywhere and flashing all
around. The howl of what sounded like a sick cat got louder and louder as
we got to the main section of the bar where someone was on the stage,
trying to belt out some song I didn’t even recognize.
“Booth, bar, or room, ladies?” the young woman dressed in a red cat
suit and cat ears stood at the end of the hallway. Her face was painted white
and there were diamond jewels around her eyes and down her nose where
the painted on cat whiskers started.
 “What’s the difference?” I asked, trying to get a better idea where we
could not only talk, but make a plan to see who we needed to talk to about
Orlando and his actions here.
“The booth is out there in the open. Drinks are served by various
waitresses, and you have to pay attention to the screen to see when it’s your
turn to sing. The bar, well, just sit at the bar. And the rooms are private, and
you get to practice your singing as well as have a private waitress.”
“We’ll take the room,” Abby said and pushed her way to the front,
making the decision for us.
“It’ll be fifty dollars.” She pointed to the sign. “We take cash only.”
“Ante up, ladies.” I turned around and stuck my hand out as we all dug
into our purses to get the money we needed.
After we gave her the cash, we followed her across the main floor and
down another hallway where she opened a door with a couch that ran along
the entire wall.
“You’ll be attended to shortly.” She shut the door behind her.
“This is nuts.” I went over and stepped up on the mini stage with the
microphone and TV behind me. There was a little sound system with
directions on which buttons to push to order up a song to perform to the
private group.
“Good evening, ladies.” The TV popped on and there was a man talking
to us. “I’m Bo. What drink can I start you off with tonight?”
“I’ll have a Diet Coke,” Abby waved at him.
“I’ll have a water.” Betts seemed a little uneasy as she sat down on the
couch with her purse hugged against her.
“Heck, I’ll have me four fingers of bourbon on the rocks.” Dottie lifted
four fingers in the air.
“My kinda gal.” He winked and smiled.
“I’ll have whatever you’ve got on tap.” Not that I wanted to drink, but
maybe a little sip would do me good if I was going to have to sing.
“Coming right up!” He danced on screen to the music playing through
the TV before he disappeared again.
“Who’s up first?” Dottie was already on her feet.
“You look like you are.” I plucked the microphone off the stand and
gave her the book that was labeled songs. “You tell me the song number and
I’ll be the DJ.”
Dottie took the book and started to thumb through it.
 “This would be a lot of fun for a private party.” Betts got up off the
couch and seemed to be letting loose a little. “I’ve never been to something
like this and it’s nice and private. Not everyone staring at you.”
I couldn’t help but think what she said had deeper meaning. It was hard
to go through something so public like she’d just done with Lester and not
feel like everyone in town was either judging you or keeping a close eye on
you to see what your next move was.
“Then you can sing next.” I wiggled my shoulders and shook my hips.
“I’ll do number thirty one.” Dottie put the book down and flipped the
button on the microphone on. “Testing, one, two.” Her lips were practically
touching the thing.
I punched in the number and YMCA by the Village People popped up
on the screen.
“We can all sing!” Dottie was so good about getting everyone involved.
All of us started to dance around in our own private room like we’d do
at the Laundry Club since no one was watching, at least we didn’t think
they were, and we each took a turn with the microphone singing part of the
song.
We all fell on the couch in a giggle fit as part of the ceiling opened up
above us. We jumped off the couch to avoid whatever it was coming out of
the ceiling.
“Ladies, your drinks have arrived.” The man came back on the TV and
this round tray on a cable slowly came down from the ceiling with our
drinks on it. “Are there any appetizers I can get you?”
We tiptoed back over to the couch and looked at the tray.
“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” Abby couldn’t resist. She
snapped a photo and immediately started hash tagging every word,
throwing it up on social media.
All of us stood there looking down.
“Ladies?” He trilled through the TV. “This is much better than the
YMCA,” he teased.
“Wait! You saw that?” Betts jerked around.
“Not just me, ladies. The entire bar!” He winked and the TV switched to
a view of the main bar where there was a wall of TVs that were numbered
with the private room numbers. Our performance was on auto play.
“I’m gonna need something strong than a water.” Betts snapped her
fingers and we all laughed.
 “Listen, Bo. We need to see someone in here.” I knew we wouldn’t get
anywhere with our questions about Orlando unless we talked to somebody
in person.
“Sure thing, doll.” The screen went blank.
While we waited for someone to come to our private room, we laughed
about the performance and enjoyed sipping our drinks.
“Bo said you’d like to see someone. Is there anything wrong, ladies?”
The woman from the hallway that showed us to our room had come into the
private room.
“Yeah.” Queenie grabbed her phone. Abby grabbed the notebook. “We
are wondering if you ever saw this guy?”
“Orlando. Yeah. He’s usually here, but not tonight.” Her brows
furrowed like she just realized he’d not shown up. “Actually, that really odd
since he’s in the big contest.”
“What contest?” I asked, nudging Abby to write it down.
“The big karaoke contest where he can win five thousand dollars.” Her
voice rose as she said the dollar amount. “He’s even been taking voice
lessons.”
“Maybe that’s why he needed the money from Adrienne.” Abby
shrugged and wrote it down. “It’s worth noting.”
“Can we get a list of people who entered the contest?” Betts asked.
“One of them could be tied to the school or maybe the two murders are
unrelated.”
“Murders?” The woman asked in a shaky voice. “Orlando murdered
someone?”
“No, sugar, he was murdered,” Dottie’s words made the poor girl’s face
go white as a ghost, almost making it glow like the rest of the white stuff in
the building.
“Are you the cops or something?” she asked. “Because I can get a
manager if I need to.”
“We are good friends of Orlando’s and we’re trying to bring his killer to
justice.” Queenie lifted a fist in solidarity.
“Do you mind answering a few questions for us?” I asked.
“Not at all.” She eased down on the couch, still looking like she was in
shock. “I’m not sure if I can help, but he was a really nice guy.”
“Was he ever here with anyone?” I asked and motioned for Abby to
write that down in the notebook.
 “He had various private rooms so I’m not sure, but there were a few
people. A woman came on several occasions. There was a guy last week.
And maybe another guy a few times. But mainly he was in the main bar,
working on his songs.” She blinked a few times.
“She came here earlier, but no one knew Orlando.” I pointed to
Queenie.
“The day staff is different than the night staff.” She told us, “Orlando
came at night. Almost every night,” she repeated herself from earlier,
making me believe she was having a hard time processing the news of his
death.
“Was this guy one of them?” Queenie showed her the photo on her
phone of Scott Goodman.
“He was here last week. I remember because Orlando tried to get him to
sing and they actually got into a fight. That guy has a temper.” Her words
connected the two of them outside of school. “Orlando said the guy was a
bully.”
“What did he mean by that?” I asked, wanting her to elaborate.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything else. Our bouncer kicked the
dude out.” She looked down at her fingers. “Do they have any idea why
someone killed him?”
“No, but the video screens.” I pointed back towards the TV. “Do they
keep the footage? Maybe show the others with him?”
“No. Everything here is live, and everything is paid for in cash. So
there’s no tracing who comes in and out of here. But we have a ton of
regulars, like Orlando is… was.” She stood up. “I have to get back to work.
Please, let me know if I can help in any other way. I’m not sure how, but he
was a really nice guy.”
“Thanks.” Our mood suddenly took a dive south, taking the song right
out of us.
CHAPTER 13

“Y ou agreed to be the eyes and ears of the school.” Hank threw

it back in my face that I wasn’t going to the memorial
service. “That means go to everything the school is having,
including the memorial service for not one, but two employees.”
“Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?” I asked Hank while keeping an eye on
the GPS directions on my phone. I was on my way to meet Betts after a
good night’s sleep.
“Mae, nine out of ten times a killer returns to the scene of the crime in
one way or another. They want to blend in and see if anyone is saying
anything. They try to find out if anyone is onto them or maybe get a thrill
out of being right there in the public view, but you aren’t there to listen and
look like you said you would.” Now there was no doubt in my mind that he
was mad.
“It’s not like I’m doing something that doesn’t have to do with the
case.” I turned down a street that was one block over from Lypsnk, the
place we were the night before. “I just pulled into the parking lot of the
counseling office of Alena Russel in Swamp Canal.”
“Why are you there? Do you have an appointment?” he asked. “Isn’t
she at the school?”
“She is at the school for the memorial. She asked Betts to clean her
office today. Apparently, she splits her time between her personal and
school clients.” I noticed Betts’s cleaning van was already there.
“You’re going to clean?” He asked flatly.
“No. I’m going to snoop and see what she has in her files about Scott
Goodman. Adrienne Goodman seemed to think something more than angry
parents was going on with Scott. I told you what she said about them going
to counseling and I just want to know if he said something during the
counseling sessions that confirms Orlando knew something.”
There was a long pause. Long enough for me to turn the car off, grab
my bag with my notebook in it, and get out of the car.
“That’s illegal, and if you find something, it won’t be able to be used in
court.” Such a pessimist.
“No. But you’ll be able to get a subpoena.” I opted to take Betts’s bright
side approach. “Besides, I’m going to the reception tomorrow for them.”
There was a memorial today at the school with counselors, that’s why
Alena was there all day, but tomorrow they were having a lunch reception
where the Normal Baptist church bible thumpers bring all their homemade
casseroles.
“You’re the best, Mae.” That made him happy. “Let me know what you
find in the office.”
“Even if it’s illegal?” I asked.
“Not if you tell me I need a subpoena.” I liked how he thought. “Call
me when you leave.”
We said our goodbyes and I walked into the building, opting out of the
elevator to take the stairs to the second floor. Betts was waiting for me
outside of the office door that had Alena’s name on it. She had a bucket
with cleaning supplies and a vacuum.
“You look like a cat burglar.” She looked me up and down.
“Black on black makes me feel the part.” I drew my hands down
myself, as if I were modeling. “I don’t plan on getting dusty like you.”
“It’s pretty easy to clean here.” She unlocked the door, pushing it open.
“I’ll let you snoop. But you’ve got to empty the trash cans and take the
garbage out to the dumpster. I’ll do the rest.” She dangled the keys in front
of me, pointing to one specifically. “I’m going to unlock the room where
the files are located just in case there’s a trash can in there.”
Instead of telling me directly to go in there and look, she did it on the
sly, which protected her if Alena or anybody else caught me.
“Deal.” I grabbed the box of Hefty garbage bags out of her bucket and
ripped one off the perforated seams before I walked around the office to
find all the trash cans.
Betts had turned on the music, grabbed her feather duster, and got down
to it while I found my way around the office, noting where the files were
and getting all the trash cans emptied so I could get to snooping.
 There wasn’t much trash in my garbage bag, and I’d emptied all the
cans. It was odd. I imagine Alena had used the computer more than paper.
The only room left was the files room where Alena’s printer, shredder, fax,
coffee maker, and mini-frig were located.
“You saucy girl.” I couldn’t help but look in the frig where there was an
open bottle of wine and a half eaten block of cheese.
Her files were in a long credenza. When I opened the drawer, they were
filed in alphabetical order by last name.
“G, g, g, Goodman.” My fingers dragged down the file tabs.
“Goodman.” I smiled when I saw the name neatly typed. I jerked the file
out and took a seat on the floor in front of the credenza.
I flipped through the file, finding all the typical paperwork necessary to
file insurance claim with the insurance company, employment history,
personal things like why they are seeking treatment. When I read through it,
there was nothing new from what Adrienne had mentioned. She was having
a hard time with his affair and his temper. He was having a hard time trying
to prove to her he wasn’t going to cheat again. It seemed like he wanted
more in his life than just being a teacher and coach, but nothing specific
was written down. I read into it the fact Adrienne had told me he wanted to
further his education.
“Is that it?” I went through the files one more time. My eyes scanned
the pages. Nothing. I looked around the room and noticed there were some
cords on the floor that were plugged into the power outlet, but there was
nothing on the other end.
“Laptop,” I wondered out loud as I realized that I had not seen an office,
which made me think she used this room as an office and probably kept
client notes on a laptop she took with her.
I returned the file back into its place in the credenza, turned the lights
out, shut the door behind me and locked it.
“You don’t look satisfied.” Betts looked up. She was on her knees,
running a rag along the baseboard in the waiting room. She had the faux
leather chairs, magazine rack, and standing lamps pulled out into the middle
of the room.
“Nothing.” I dropped the bag of trash and scratched my head. “I think
she must keep everything on her laptop.”
“Did you empty all the trash cans?” She crawled over and lifted up the
limp black plastic bag.
 “Yep. Unless I missed an entire floor.”
“Usually there’s a lot more than this. But I’m generally here late on a
weekend.” She crawled back over to finish the baseboards around the room.
“I’ll be finished in about ten minutes if you want to throw that in the
dumpster behind the building with her suite number on it.”
“Sounds good.” I picked up the bag and flung it over my shoulder
before I headed out the door.
I decided to take the elevator this time since I had some time to kill and
it took longer to take the elevator than run down the stairs. There were a
few dumpsters lined up next to each other in the back of the building.
Alena’s was the second one. There was a sliding door on the front and a big
black plastic flap on top where the dump truck would lift its the mechanical
arms to pick up the dumpsters, flinging them back to empty.
I slid the door open and an open bag fell out. Shredded pieces of paper
tumbled all over the pavement.
“Crap on a cracker,” I groaned and threw my garbage bag in.
The bag that fell out was full of shredded paper, which I assumed
wasn’t unusual in a doctor’s office due to the HIPPA laws and the
requirement to keep patient information secure. As I was shoving the paper
back in the bad, I noticed some of the pieces were looked like a page for a
planner dated yesterday. There was something blacked out. I held it up to
the sun but could only see the indents of what appeared to be an ink pen.
Like some sort of puzzle, I tried to gather all the pieces, putting this one
particular piece in my pocket and threw the rest back in the bag.
“You’re going with me.” I tied a quick knot in the top of the bag and
headed back to the front of the building where Betts was already waiting for
me with her bucket of cleaning supplies and vacuum.
“Did you not find the dumpster?” She gave me an odd look and handed
me a Lypsnk ink pen. “Found it in the waiting room underneath the chair.”
“I did and more.” I dragged the bag around my shoulder and wondered
why there was a Lypsnk pen in her office. “Shredded papers.”
“She’s always got a bunch of shredded papers.” It didn’t seem to
surprise Betts.
“Did she always rip the daily page out of her planner and mark things
out?” I pulled the torn up planner sheet from my pocket and showed her.
That surprised her.
 “I’m worried.” I licked my lips. “Every person that’s been killed has
had a Lypsnk pen at the crime scene.”
“What are you thinking?” She slightly turned her head and looked at me
out of the corner of her eyes.
“Do you think Alena is next?” I gulped. I held the pen in the air. “Like a
calling card?”
CHAPTER 14

“H ank,” I gasped into the Bluetooth of my car phone when he

answered. “There was a Lypsnk pen at Alena’s office.”
“What does that mean?” He asked.
“I think it’s the killer’s calling card. Think about it.” I pushed the pedal
down so my car would go faster. “I found one underneath the bed in the
camper where Scott died. There was one on the ground in the janitor’s
closet where Orlando died, and now there’s one in the school counselor’s
private office.”
“She’s at the memorial. I’ll get there right now.” There was some
shuffling in the back ground, and I heard some keys rattle. “You meeting
me there?”
“On my way.” I pushed the button to hang up the phone and concentrate
on the road. Was there really a serial killer at the school? Was it over grades
or scholarships?
It all seemed so far-fetched and yet it didn’t. Was the killer going to
each administrator in the school? Did Orlando tell the killer what he knew,
and the killer is going to shoot them one by one?
There were two things I knew for sure. The killer had access to the
school’s archery equipment, and they were linked to Lypsnk. Who were the
woman and man the hostess there referred to?
“Call Queenie,” I spoke into the Bluetooth and kept my hands on the
wheel. The closer I got to Normal, the more they sweat.
“Hey, this is Queenie and I’m at Jazzercise getting my groove on and
you should be too!” She did a little hooting and hollering over the
background club thumping music. “Come on down to the Normal Baptist
Church! Follow the sound of the tunes and you’ll find me! Tata!”
 “Queenie, it’s Mae. Can you please do me a favor after you get out of
Jazzercise? I need you to go to Lypsnk to see if you can find that waitress
that knew Orlando. We really need descriptions of the woman and man that
she’d seen with him on a couple of occasions.” I talked so fast, I felt like I
was running out of breath and time. “Also, if you can take that yearbook
you found and whatever online photos you have of the staff at Normal High
School and show her Alena Russell’s photo, the school counselor. Thanks!
You’re the best.”
I didn’t know what it was inside me, but there was a feeling of urgency
that I couldn’t put my finger on.
There were flashing lights in the parking lot of the school, and mourners
there to pay their respects for Orlando and Scott were filling out the side of
the school instead of the front where the parking lot was located.
When I scanned the lot, I noticed Hank was standing over a car with a
big white tarp over it. I slammed on the brake and threw the gear into park.
The sun beat down on me and the wind whipped through my hair as I ran
across the lot.
“Hank, Hank,” I gasped and froze when he looked up at me, giving me
one long blink. You know, the kind where the eyes were closed a second too
long and it indicated something wasn’t right. “No,” I whispered, my
shoulders slumped when my theory about Alena Russell came true.
“Mae! Mae West! We had an agreement.” I could hear Violet
Rhinehammer screaming my name in the distance. Without looking to
confirm, I was sure she was being held behind the police line. I didn’t turn
around either. “Mae!”
“Right through the heart.” He jabbed his finger in his chest and glanced
over my shoulder at the screaming lunatic. “I’ve got to get this case
solved.” He looked down at me and ran his hand through his hair.
Both of us turned when we heard a car approaching. It was Colonel
Holz and Natalie. Both had on business suits and looked very put together,
unlike me in my cat burglar suit.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later?” He asked without really asking
before he gave me a kiss on the cheek and took off towards the coroner’s
car.
I sauntered back to my car and glanced one last time over my shoulder
at the car with the tarp over it. My heart sank. Not only for Alena Russell,
Orlando Banks, and Scott Goodman, but for Hank. He looked a little
defeated.
I didn’t like that.
There was only one thing I could do. Ramp up the sleuthing. And
calling the Laundry Club in for an emergency meeting was exactly what we
needed.
And food. We definitely needed food. Good, greasy Normal Diner food
to be exact. When I drove the couple blocks over to the Main Street, there
was a spot in front of Normal Diner. I’d just texted all the gals and told
Dottie to leave the campground with a sign on the door with our phone
numbers and Henry’s, the campground handyman, in case someone needed
something, before I went into the diner.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Ty Randal greeted me with that big beautiful
smile of his.
If you looked up southern gentleman in the Webster’s Dictionary, Mr.
Webster would have a photo of Ty Randal. Not only did his southern drawl
mesmerize you, his blue eyes hypnotize you, and those shaggy blond curls
of his beg you to run your fingers through his hair, the kindness in his heart
that shined across his face and lit up a room made you want to be around
him.
When I moved to Normal, I thought I wanted all those qualities in a
man and had even dated Ty for a brief moment, but it was bad boy Hank
and his hard ways that made my gears turn.
“I figured you were too big to come to our little hole in the wall now
that you got the key to the city.” He ran the wet rag along the countertops.
“Never too fancy for some good homecooked meals.” I winked and sat
down on one of the bar stools. My phone chirped a few messages, one after
the other, with confirmation that everyone would be at the laundromat
within the next twenty minutes. “I’m gonna need five of your greasiest
burgers and fries.”
“The Laundry Club gals?” He winked at me.
“You know it.” I swiveled in the seat.
“Violet Rhinehammer has been in here looking for you.” He had a look
that said he wanted me to elaborate.
“Yeah. I agreed to give her some clues about the cases if I found any out
if she’d help with the bad publicity the campground has been getting from
Scott’s murder. But I’ve not had time to catch up with her.” And I didn’t
plan to, just yet.
“You’ve not changed.” He grinned. “I like it.” There was a time or two
that he’d actually helped me with a couple of sticky situations when we’d
dated. To say that Ty Randal knew me was an understatement, he really
knew and understood me. He was the first guy in Normal to do so and that’s
what made our friendship so special.
“Say, what’s going on with you and Abby?” I asked, changing the
subject. After all, it was me who suggested the two started to date.
“Aww, just taking my time.” He pushed through the swinging door
between the diner and the kitchen. “Last time I jumped in a relationship, my
heart got broken.”
“Brutal. You deserve better,” I said, knowing he was talking about me.
“I’ll have your food up in a few.” He put his head in the pass through
window and stared at me. I could still see a little hurt in his eyes from what
I’d done to him, but it would’ve never lasted. That I knew.
I opened my bag and pulled out the notebook. I had time to write down
what I’d found in Alena’s office and now with her dead, there were clues
that were tied to all three murders that I wanted to write down. Not that I
was going to forget them, but when I looked at them on paper, maybe I’d
see something my brain wasn’t putting together yet.
Underneath the Victim category, I wrote Alena’s name along with arrow
through the heart, school counselor, counselor to Adrienne and Scoot
Goodman, and tried to shred the page from her planner that had something
marked out.
I took the paper from my pocket and smoothed it out on the counter.
Holding it up to the sun that was coming in through the wall of windows, I
tried to see if I could see what was written underneath the scribble.
“Mae West.” Ellis Sharp stood in front of me, making a shadow on the
paper. “You know, you could probably get a lot of acting gigs with that
name alone. If you put a little relaxer on those curls, you’d be really pretty.”
“I’m sorry you don’t think I am up to standards for women today, but I
don’t feel the need to conform to what your industry says I need to look
like.” I wasn’t a big fan of my hair and sometimes I did straighten it, but it
was exactly like my mother’s hair. That I was proud of.
“Two coffees.” She told Ty when he came out from the kitchen to take
our order. “Ty Randal, I don’t see a ring on that finger, yet?” She winked at
him.
“That’s because Mae West broke my heart.” He put his hands up to his
chest. “By dumping me for your brother.”
She sat down on the stool with her jaw wide open. I couldn’t tell if she
was acting or for real.
“Mae, Mae, Mae,” she tsked. “Why don’t you go back to Ty and let
Natalie have Hank? They are meant for each other. Both work crazy shifts.
Both love that wild side of life. You can be right here looking into the big
blue eyes and don’t get me started on his hair.”
“She made her choice. Now she has to lay in the bed she unmade,” Ty
joked, putting two mugs of coffee in front of us. “I know Mae likes cream
and sugar. What about you?”
“A little bit of honey,” she licked her lips, making me half sick.
“Yeah, yeah.” He walked down the counter and slung the plastic bear
bottle of honey down the counter. “Ellis Sharp, you were always a
troublemaker. When you leaving?”
“That’s exactly what I want to know,” I muttered when I picked up the
coffee mug.
“I’m not sure when. Mom and Dad had this crazy notion to move back.
I’m a little worried they aren’t going to help me anymore with my career.
Now that Hank seems to be serious with little miss Hollywood over here,
Mom thinks she’s gonna be planning a wedding.” She wagged her finger.
“Hanky is not getting any of my money for a wedding the bride is supposed
to pay for. But from my understanding, you don’t have a dime to your
name.” She twirled the stool around, her knees touching my leg.
“Rest assured, Hank and I’ve never talked about marriage or a wedding.
Your mom is using that as an excuse to get you off their payroll and shame
you for letting them pay your way.” I had about had it with her privileged
attitude. “And if Hank did ask me to marry him, I’d have to think long and
hard about it because I’m not sure I would want you for a sister-in-law.”
Ty’s blue eyes went from the shape of a pond to as big as the deep blue
sea.
“My, my. You do have a little southern sass to you.” She used her
tiptoes to twirl herself back to facing the counter where she rested her
elbows on the edge, her coffee in her fingertips.
“Why do you want him to date Natalie so bad?” I asked.
 “She knows someone in the industry that might be able to get me an
agent that does big gigs. I don’t want to stay on my parents’ payroll. But I
have no choice,” she griped.
“You do have a choice. Make your own money by getting a job,” I told
her, fed up with her diva ways. “You have no idea what your parents have
done for you.” I hadn’t intended to give her a lecture, but it just poured right
on out of me. “My entire family was killed in a horrific house fire. I lost
everyone and everything in just under an hour. I was placed in state custody
because I had no one. Then I went to various foster homes until Mary
Elizabeth Moberly wanted me. I was fourteen years old. Fourteen,” I said
through gritted teeth, glaring at her. “A fourteen year old needs her mom
just like a thirty year old and not take her for granted.”
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say, but Ty had brought the to go
bags filled with the burgers and fries over to me. I took them from him,
blinking back tears.
“Don’t bother with her.” Ty hugged me. That familiar smell of his still
sent my heart aflutter, though I knew my heart was in love with Hank.
“She’s always been a pill.”
“Charge her double for my coffee.” I smiled and walked out of the
diner.
The sun was beating down. The closer to the summer months we got,
the longer and warmer the days would be. It was strange not seeing the
sidewalks packed with tourists with backpacks and hiking gear on. Normal
had practically become a ghost town. This wasn’t good.
I didn’t even have to look to the left when I crossed the street to make it
to the grassy median where it was usually packed with tourists laying in the
grass, enjoying a cup of coffee or a favorite iced latte from The Trails
Coffee Shop, or even look to the right when I crossed the street to where the
Laundry Club was located.
The gals were already sitting at the table in the puzzle area of the
laundromat. I was glad to see they’d gotten my text about clearing off the
puzzles because I had a bigger puzzle for us to work on after we ate and
about the run in I’d had with Hank’s sister.
“You have to take her with a grain of salt.” Dottie bit down into her
burger. The mayonnaise dripped down her chin. She used the back of her
hand to rub it off.
“Still, I want my boyfriend’s family to like me.” I handed her a napkin.
 “We’ve got plenty of time to worry about her. We’ve got very little time
to get these murders solved.” Abby had a worried look on her face. She was
eating with one hand and scrolling through her phone with the other. “The
posts about the murders are being shared across all social media platforms.
From what I’ve heard at the library, tourists have cancelled reservations for
hiking, kayaking, canoeing, and rafting.”
“Where did you hear that from?” Betts asked, squirting a ketchup
packet on her fries.
“Violet came in looking for you.” Abby pointed to me. “She said you
two were working on something together.”
“Yeah, well, she wants me to work on the murders with her, but I’m
not.” I didn’t go into detail about our little agreement because her story
obviously hadn’t worked since there was even more cancelling going on.
“Betts gave us a quick rundown on what you two found at Alena’s
office.” Abby put her phone down and took the notebook from the middle
of the table, flipping it open.
“I heard on the scanner what happened to Alena as I was listening to
your text message. I didn’t get over to Lypsnk yet.” Queenie shoved the
burger in her mouth. “I’m starving after that Strike class,” she said with a
mouthful of food.
“It’s okay. I pointed out to Hank that I thought there was a connection at
Lypsnk, so I’m sure he’s got officers checking it out.” I still wanted to know
how they were connected.
After we finished our food, I cleared the table and dumped the contents
of the garbage bag of shredded paper in the middle.
“This is going to be our puzzle for the next day or so.” We all stood
over the paper. Some pieces were smaller than others and some didn’t
appear to have been shredded all the way.
“What on earth are we looking for?” Queenie asked, unzipping her
fanny pouch and slipping on a pair of readers. She held up a piece of the
shredded paper. “I can’t see a thing on here.”
“Here.” Dottie ripped the glasses right off Queenie’s face and put them
on herself. “It says something about insurance.”
“We are looking for anything that looks like it would go with this.” I
pulled the piece of paper out and smoothed it out on the table. “Alena had
an appointment the day Orlando Banks was killed. It’s been scribbled out.
Not just crossed out but scribbled out like she didn’t want anyone to see it.
Plus, she ripped it out of her planner. Where is her planner? Do counselors
usually rip things out of their planner?”
“It does seem odd.” Queenie had played tug a war with Dottie to get her
glasses back.
“We need to go through all this paper and see if any of it lines up with
this.” I put the somewhat intact piece in the middle like we did the cover of
a puzzle we worked on at the Laundry Club, acting as if it were just a
puzzle.
Over next few hours, we had coffee and talked about pretty much
nothing, just passing the time as the five of us went through each piece of
paper in the garbage bag that’d fallen out of Alena’s work dumpster.
“Nothing.” I flung the last piece of paper on the table.
“Do you think Hank got her planner from her car?” Betts asked.
“I don’t know.” I glanced over at Dottie. She was on a phone call taking
the fifth cancellation since we’d been here. “But I’m going to go broke and
have to sell the campground and go work at the greenhouse for Mary
Elizabeth if we don’t find the killer.”
CHAPTER 15

T he day flew by with no word from Hank about Alena or what he’d
found out about her ties to the case. The Laundry Club girls and I
were so tired that we went our separate ways and decided to get
back together after the reception at the school for the now three murdered
employees.
I decided on wearing a long, black dress I’d picked up from the Tough
Nickel Thrift Shop when I’d moved to Normal and didn’t have much to
wear since most of the items Stanley had shipped to me were cocktail
dresses, fancy shoes, and things I’d never wear hiking or wear to run a
campground in.
Speaking of Stanley, I let Fifi out to potty one last time and decided to
give Stanley a call. Stanley was my dead ex-husband’s attorney and he was
well connected.
“Hi, Stanley. It’s Mae West,” I spoke into the answering machine. “I’m
not in trouble so you can take a deep breath. But I know that you know a lot
of high profile people. I was wondering if you knew of any Hollywood
agents or agents living in New York that might take a look at a gal I know. I
know you don’t owe me, and I owe you, but one last favor from your
favorite pro-bono client? Please?” I hung up the phone hoping he’d get
back to me.
Not that I wanted to help out Ellis. I wanted to help out Hank. And I
didn’t like the fact that Natalie was actually bribing Ellis. That’s some sort
of illegal, I was sure of it. If not morally illegal.
The school’s parking lot was full, and I had to park in the overflow lot
they used for sporting events.
 “Hey, Miss West.” Beth Lambert was getting out of her car. “Can you
believe they didn’t cancel the ACT this morning?”
I slung my bag around my shoulder. I had the notebook and the piece of
Alena’s planner, two things I wasn’t going to let out of my sight.
“I guess since it’s a national thing.” I had no idea how it worked. I only
understood the testing to be universal across the states. “I think they only
cancel it when the weather doesn’t permit the administrator to be there.”
“Yeah, well, if they don’t catch this killer, all the administrators will be
dead.” She shook her head and flung her backpack over her shoulder.
“You know, we didn’t get to finish our conversation the other day. You
were saying something about Mr. Goodman and your grades.” It was a
perfect time to bring it up since we had a little bit of a walk.
“Like every other athlete, we want to continue to play in college, but it’s
so expensive. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t try to cheat on the ACT,
but they got caught before they took the test in my name. So technically,
they can’t pin that on me. But they crossed off the names on the students
who were supposed to be there and mine was the only one not crossed off.
So everyone knew, by process of elimination, that it was my fault.”
She walked fast. I tried to go slow so we had more time to talk.
“I heard you were changing schools.” I threw it out there. “You and Sam
Patterson.”
“Something stupid my parents want me to do. Sam’s parents too. It’s not
a secret that the state schools have to fill a quota of in state students. They
pick from all over and my chances of getting a scholarship for that as well
as walk onto a team might lead to a sports scholarship.” She waved to a
couple of other students. “Plus it helps out the school’s average and funding
based on how many kids get accepted to college. So my parents think it’s a
good idea.”
“How do you feel about leaving your friends?” I asked, thinking it
would be tough.
“As long as I get to pull the bow, I’m all good.” She did a little hop
before she jogged over to more kids that were walking in a side door of the
school.
It felt like her parents knew what they were talking about and if she
wasn’t that great at testing or even in school, if it was her only option, I
guess it was a good decision. I didn’t remember it being so complicated
when I was in high school. But did any of this have to do with the murders?
 I had to put that in the back of my head and get through the reception
before I could even think about where me and the Laundry Club gals would
go from here on the investigation, if we went anywhere.
The office door was open when I walked in the front door. There were
some noises coming from the teacher’s lounge. I went in there to see who
was in there. When I peeked in, I saw Gracie and a few of the other women
teachers comforting each other. I’d overheard one of them say they were
heading to the police station after the reception to give their fingerprints to
the police. Hank, I’m sure, was having all the teachers come down to give
fingerprints to eliminate them as suspects. It only seemed natural.
It was a private moment and I didn’t feel right watching. I looked down
the hall at the office Alena Russell used for the students. I found my legs
walking me back there without listening to my brain telling me to stop. I put
my hand on the handle and twisted it open.
There was fingerprint powder on a few things. I’m sure this was where
Hank had spent most of his night since I’d not heard from him. And by the
look on his face yesterday, he wasn’t going to stop for food or rest until he
found out who the killer was.
“There you are.” Violet Rhinehammer was standing at the office door
with her camera around her neck. “I feel like you’re ignoring me. As a
matter of fact, I know you are. We had a deal.”
“I know, but I’ve been so busy with trying to take over as the fulltime
substitute that. . .”
“Cut the bull.” She saw right through me. “Where’s the piece of the
planner?”
“How did you know about that?” I questioned.
“All it takes is a twenty dollar bill and one hour of Jazzercise to get
Queenie to talk.” She did a little Strike move like she was punching the air.
“Twenty dollars is a rip off for a class. But the information was valuable.”
“You are ruthless.” My jaw dropped.
“I’m a reporter. I do what I’ve got to do to get the scoop. If that means
do a Jazzercise class for a little conversation, so be it.” She walked in.
“Now, partner, where is that piece of paper?”
“Here.” I took it out of my bag and gave it to her. “I’m at a loss. Maybe
you can figure it out.”
“Easy.” She looked at it and handed it back to me. “Is it from one of
those planners?” She pointed to the shelf where there were several bound
planners.
“I don’t know. I just walked in.” I followed her lead and started pulling
them from the shelf. “I guess with all the fingerprint powder, they are done.
Besides, there’s no police tape up.” She looked around as if she were
making sure. “You know, like the police tape I was standing behind
yesterday when you were ignoring me.”
“Can we please let that go? I admit. I’m at a loss. I have no solid clues
other than the Lypsnk pens.” I ended up telling her my theory about the
pens being the killer’s calling card. I was happy that she didn’t seem to
think it was a silly theory.
“What do we have here?” She bent down and looked at one of the
planner more closely. “We are missing a page. And the paper looks exactly
the same.” She held the planner up to me.
I put the piece of paper on top and compared it. It was one of those
planners with a daily layout on one side and a notes section on the other
side. More of a business planner than a personal one. Which would make
sense due to her job.
“Look, there’s some indents where she scribbled out before she ripped it
out.” I pointed to the next day in the planner.
“Let me see it.” Violet picked up the planner and held the next day page
with the indents up to the light. “You can see a name was there.”
“Oh gosh,” I gasped. “You can.”
“Time to do some investigative work.” She walked over to the desk and
laid the planner open to that page. “Do you have a pencil in that bag?”
“No. Just pens.” I hurried around the office to look for a pencil. “Surely,
there’s a pencil in here. It’s a school office.”
Violet jerked open the top drawer.
“Got one.” She flipped the page over and lightly stroked the pencil over
the area exposing more indents, making a name appear. “Mathew. It looks
like Mathew.”
“Mathew Tillman?” I questioned. “I wonder if he had an appointment.”
“What’s his name and who is he?” Violet opened the notebook and used
the pencil to write.
“Mathew Tillman,” I started to say.
“Did you want me?” Mathew asked, leaning on the door.
He made me and Violet jump.
“You okay?” he laughed.
 “Mathew Tillman?” Violet pointed to him. “What did you want to see
Alena Russell for? It’s in her planner.” She left out the part that it wasn’t
really in the planner, but in a bag of shredded paper.
“She was the school counselor and I was meeting with her about how
we were going to switch the student files to the new teacher taking my
place before I left, but she cancelled on me at the last minute.” He didn’t
hesitate to answer the question. “Why?”
“I found. . .” I started to talk but Violet rudely interrupted again.
“We are doing a piece in the paper about the murders and just looking in
her planner to see who she had appointments with and try to figure out a
pattern for her.” Violet smiled and tapped me on the shoulder with the
pencil eraser. “I’ll see you after the reception. Don’t leave without talking to
me.”
“Fine,” I said sternly and waited until she was out of the room to walk
out with Mathew. “She also got a key to the city and will be taking over the
school’s newspaper for six weeks.”
“Thank goodness I’m not in charge of that. I couldn’t handle someone
so pushy.” He put his hand on the small of my back, making me walk a
little faster to get it off on our way down to the cafeteria.
“I guess you’re leaving soon?” I asked since he’d mentioned the job and
meeting with Alena.
“I was, but now they asked me to stay until the end of the year due to all
the changes in staff.” Without him saying the murders, I knew what he was
talking about. He pointed up front to a couple of chairs in the packed
cafeteria. “Do you want to sit up there?”
“I’m fine right here for now. You go ahead. I don’t want to sit, but I’ll
sit with you and the rest of the teachers at the reception part.” It looked like
they were going to say a few words before it was time to eat.
I noticed a few of the Bible thumpers behind the tables that were set up
for the food, Betts included. We made eye contact but didn’t say anything.
All of us seemed to be at a loss for words. There was a sadness in the air
with all the whispers and sniffles. As I looked around, I continued to repeat
what Hank had told me about the killer returning to the scene of the crime
and having a feeling of getting away with it.
I took a good hard look around. If the killer was here, they had a good
game face on because everyone looked very somber.
 I went over and stood in the long line in front of three tripod stands with
three framed photos of the deceased. It looked like the photos were taken
from the yearbook. There was enough space on the matte around the photo
to sign it. Each person in the line went from frame to frame to sign.
The lady in front of me passed me back the pen.
“Thank you,” I said very softly because it looked like the preacher was
going to say something to the crowd and I quickly signed the three frames.
“My pen?” The woman held her hand out. “I let you borrow my pen
because there’s not one up here.”
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t realize it was hers and that I was still holding it.
When I handed it back to her, I noticed it was from Lypsnk.
“It’s a shame,” she said and took her pen, putting it back in her bag.
“Shame?” I gulped.
“The three deaths.” She sighed.
“They are about to start. I saved you a seat.” Mathew touched my arm
and I jerked around.
“Are you okay? You seem jumpy.”
“I’m fine.” I noticed the lady was gone. “I’ve got to go to the
bathroom.” I continued to look around him for the woman. “I’ll be right
back,” I told him and shoved past him when I saw her walk out the back of
the cafeteria.
I left him standing there and hurried down the makeshift aisle they’d
made with the chairs and tables from the usual cafeteria layout where the
kids would sit and eat during the school day. The hallway was empty, and
the woman wasn’t around, but the piece of paper on the office door was
swinging like the wind from the door to the outside had shut. Then the door
clicked.
My mind reeled. The woman had left. Was she the killer? Was she the
woman that the hostess had mentioned who had been at the karaoke bar
with Orlando?
The sound of a car door slamming caught my attention before the black
car pulled out of the spot and zoomed out of the parking lot. I ran as fast as
I could to get to the overflow parking lot without falling down because I
was trying to keep my attention focused on the black car and where it was
going.
Luckily, downtown Normal and the couple blocks where the school was
located had a lot of one way streets and there weren’t too many turns once I
got into my car. I was able to catch up with the black car.
I kept a safe distance and followed the car out of the downtown area.
“Call Queenie,” I told the Bluetooth and hung up when her voicemail
answered. I went down the line of my Laundry Club gals, calling them, but
none of them answered. I even tried Hank. No one. No one was available
and I was glad I wasn’t in real trouble.
“Call Violet.” I was desperate.
“Where are you? I’m walking all over this stupid school and getting all
sorts of bad memories,” she spat.
“Listen, long story short, I’m headed to Lypsnk. There was a woman at
the reception I didn’t know, and I used her pen to write my name on the
frame.” I wasn’t sure that’s where the black car was headed, but we were
definitely heading out of town towards Swamp Canal, leaving me to believe
we were going to Lypsnk where her pen was from.
“I’m on my way.” The phone went silent.
CHAPTER 16

“H
them.
ey you!” I screamed from the open window in my car when
the woman beat me to the front door of Lypsnk.
She turned around, lowered her eyes and then opened

“You stay,” I put my finger up and said even though I knew she couldn’t
hear me. She didn’t bother waiting. She shook her head and walked inside
of the building.
I threw the car in park and didn’t even care that I wasn’t parked in a real
spot. The music from the Lypsnk could be heard from outside.
“Who on earth goes to karaoke during the day?” I questioned when
opening up the front door.
The bouncer was different and sitting inside on the black stool. He
barely even looked at me before he waved me in.
It didn’t seem to be as dark this time and surprisingly, there was a lot of
people here.
“Booth, bar, or private room,” a young women in a cute pig costume
stood at the hostess stand. The woman I was following was thumbing
through her phone and stood next to her.
“You!” I yelled over the music. “I need to talk to you.”
She looked at me like I had two heads before she started tapping on her
phone.
“Did you follow me here?” she asked all innocent.
“I did. When I borrowed your pen I couldn’t help but notice it was from
Lypsnk.” I watched her chin draw upwards, shoulders back as she took a
firm stance. “Did you know that all three of those victims had a pen from
here? How did you know them?”
 “I told you the other night how Orlando came in here all the time.” As
she talked, I realized she was the young woman in the cat costume the night
before. “I was only giving my condolences.”
Her phone buzzed and she fiddled with it a little more.
“You said you saw Orlando here with a woman and a man a few times.
Can you describe them?” I asked. “Excuse me,” I interrupted her oh so
important texting.
The other hostess looked at her and they gave each other a shrug.
“I’ll give you five minutes.” The woman held her hand up in the air.
“Follow me.”
“Are you a manager here?” I asked.
“No. My fiancé and I own it. He’s only here on the weekends. He’s a
very busy guy, so I run it. I’m generally here at night because it’s busier at
night and during the day my staff consists of mothers that want to be home
at night with their families.”
I followed her around the bar and through a door marked Employees
Only. We passed a bathroom and a break room before we reaching a door
marked Office. At the end of the hall was another door that was marked
with a red exit sign.
“This is a really neat business. It’s a lot of fun.” I thought I’d be nice to
try to get as much as I could out of her in the five minutes.
“I went to Chicago with a few friends.” She wiggled her finger. “We
went to a karaoke bar a lot like this one. I came back, quit my job, got a few
investors, and opened it.”
She sat down behind a modern glass desk. There was a glass frame
photo on the desk along with a Mac computer. Very streamlined and clean.
“Please sit.” She gestured to one of the two acrylic white chairs in front
of the desk. “Five minutes starts now.” She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt
and looked at her watch.
“Did you overhear Orlando call the woman or man by name?” I asked.
“The woman was the dead woman,” she hesitated. “I didn’t know it was
her until I saw her photo today.”
“Alena?” I gasped.
“She came in a few times with him. I think they were dating or
something.” Her words started to put pieces of the murder puzzle together
in my head.
 “Why do you think that? Were they kissing? Hugging?” My mind
started to form yet another theory.
“I never did see any affection, but when the other guy that died came in
to talk to Orlando, he said that when he told the administration about the
affair, Orlando would get fired or something.” She was confirming
everything I’d been formulating.
“Oh, gosh.” I sighed and took out my phone.
“I’ve got to go.” She stood up. “Wait.” She walked around her desk
while I was getting up. “Do you think that the coach was blackmailing
Orlando and Alena over something?” she asked. “I did overhear something
about how Alena wanted the coach to fudge some sort of test.”
“But who killed Alena?” I asked myself out loud. “If Alena killed both
men, who killed her?” I tried to make sense of this theory.
Until my thoughts were interrupted when the door to the office opened
and Mathew Tillman pushed Violet through with a gun to her back.
“Fancy seeing you here.” He shoved Violet towards me.
“What are you doing, Matt?” the woman asked in a harsh tone. “I stuck
to the story."
“She stuck her nose in the story along with that one.” He wiggled the
gun between me and Violet.
“What’s going on here?” I put my hands up in the air. “Mathew?”
“You’re Callie Triplehorn, the double threat.” Violet’s jaw dropped.
“You won state a few years ago. I remember them reporting on you. You
were the best archery and rifleman, woman, that had ever come out of
Normal.” Violet let out a gasp, her eyes grew. “You killed them.”
“What is going on?” I was so confused.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on here.” The woman jerked the gun away
from Mathew and pointed it at me.
“Callie, give me that.” Mathew put his hand out.
“Tie your little girlfriend up.” Callie didn’t take her eyes off of me.
“There’s zip ties in the top drawer of the cabinets.”
“I’m not really sure what’s going on here.” I looked between the two of
them, still confused.
“Let me tell you,” Violet said and kept her hands in the air. “Little Miss
Bow and Arrow is the sharp shooter who killed Scott Goodman, Orlando
Banks, and Alena Russel.”
 “Shut up!” Callie screamed. “I can’t think. This wasn’t how this was
supposed go down, Mathew. Get the zip ties and bind their wrists so we can
discuss this. You’re the one who messed this up.”
“I’ll go get some duct tape.” She gave Mathew the gun back. “Zip ties,”
she barked at him before she left.
“What’s going on?” I asked with big doe eyes. “I thought we had a
connection.” I tried to play upon the fact we’d gotten close at school.
“We had a connection because you were snooping, and I had to keep
you close.” He walked over to the cabinet and got out the long, clear zip
ties. “From the first day you walked into the school office, I knew you were
trouble.” He jerked Violet around. “Then you.”
“Whatever. I’m a good reporter and when I hacked into Scott’s cell
phone,” she looked over at me and continued, “remotely, I might add, I
found all the back and forth emails he had with the state board.”
“You’ll be the first one I shoot,” he told Violet, yanking the zip tie so
tight, she yelped.
“Whatever! You liar! You don’t even have a teaching degree!” she
yelled. Too bad the singing coming from the karaoke lounge was so bad and
awful, you couldn’t hear anything above it. “You won’t shoot me. Have you
ever shot a gun?”
He threw her to the ground.
“You don’t have your degree? Masters? Doctorate?” I tried some
southern charm, pretending that I was hurt and concerned. “But your
superintendent job. . . requires a doctorate,” I muttered when I realized I
was in a mess of trouble here.
Mathew didn’t answer me. He gave me a long stare before he jerking
me around and grabbing my wrists.
“He doesn’t have any degrees and let students cheat on their ACT when
he was the administrator. The school had received a lot of funding due to
the great scores on the standardized tests, making it one of the best schools
in the state. He used that as a stepping stone to pretend he’d gotten his
doctorate in order to get the superintendent job,” she spat.
“I’m warning you.” He was a lot gentler on me when he started to put
the zip tie around my wrists.
“Or what? Whether you kill me or not, the world will find out somehow
that you are a fraud. Scott Goodman couldn’t be fooled. When the test
scores on the ACT started to go down after Scott was appointed to
administer them and the school stopped getting all the top notch funding,
Scott knew something had happened. After all, it wasn’t like the students
weren’t getting the same instruction as the previous ones. When he
questioned the students and the state education board in Frankfort, he put
two and two together.” She grimaced when she moved.
“And you let Callie kill them?” I looked up at Mathew after he’d
finished making sure the zip ties on my wrist were tight, but not circulation
cutting off tight. “What about Alena and Orlando?”
“Orlando knew everything happening in that school and he needed
money to join this karaoke contest. He was blackmailing you. Am I right?”
she asked with a snide look on her face. “I told you I’m a good reporter and
I didn’t get a key to the city for looking pretty.”
“You won’t look pretty after I get done with you.” Mathew jumped
down in her face, got nose to nose with her. “In fact, they won’t recognize
you when they find your lifeless and cold body.”
“You’re the one who marked out your name on Alena’s planner and
when that wasn’t good enough, you tried to use her shredder to shred it.”
Violet was doing a great job of investigating, but it was sad to see all her
work probably wouldn’t go any further than these four walls.
While she continued to bate Mathew, I tried to come up with a plan to
get us out of here, but nothing was popping into my jumbled mind. It was
like someone had taken the junk drawer in my kitchen and dumped it into
my brain.
“She confronted you about Scott and Orlando, didn’t she? She and
Orlando were dating, and he told her everything. You knew you had to get
rid of her and him. But guess what? Scott left a long trail for everyone to
see, so if you kill me and Mae, they’ll still figure it out.”
“We’ve got to get out of here. The cops are here. That one cop.” Callie
rushed into the door with a big roll of silver duct tape.
That one cop? Did she mean Hank? My cop?
The roll made a screeching noise as she pulled a long strip and then
ripped it off. She put it over top of Violet’s mouth first.
“That should shut her up.” Mathew laughed and grabbed Violet by the
arm, jerking her up to her feet. “You take her out the back door. My car is
parked there, and we can head out to one of the canyons in the Daniel
Boone Park.”
 “Finally.” Callie groaned and took pleasure in taking Violet out of the
room.
“Mae, I never meant for this to happen, but you’ve got to understand
why I have to get rid of you.” Mathew must’ve been trying to make himself
feel better, but it wasn’t doing me any good.
“You don’t,” I begged. “I’ll never tell anyone. You can just move to the
new school and no one will ever find out.”
“I can’t risk that with the other parents.” He knelt down and looked me
in the eyes. “I’ve already got Beth and Sam on board to switch schools, do
well on their tests, and get the scholarships they deserve. Not only will I
bring new funding to the new school as the new superintendent, but I will
be a hero in everyone’s eyes. I’ll be bringing the school system back to
life.”
“I guess I don’t understand why you killed Scott Goodman.” I really
was trying to buy some time in hopes to come up with a plan or for him to
find some sort of empathy. Or if Hank were to snoop around the karaoke
bar, maybe he’d find me.
“He had it out for me. He was so passionate about the stupid classroom,
he didn’t care about the school’s archery and rifle team winning. He didn’t
care if we didn’t get the state funding for good test scores. He’d say they
needed to really learn and make a difference in the world and not get things
handed to them. Then he snooped, found out that I’d lied on all my
applications for the superintendent job, and threatened me. Just like you.
You snooped and I’m sorry.” He wasn’t really sorry, or he’d let me go.
“I don’t care about those kids,” I blurted. “I hated school and I was only
there for the stupid key to the city. You let me go and I’ll never see you or
talk about you again. Ever.”
“Matt, come on,” Callie said through gritted teeth after she popped her
head into the door. “Put the duct tape on her mouth now and get her out of
here. I’m not sure how long they are going to be able to hold those cops
off.”
“Sorry, Mae.” He jerked me up by the elbow and put me on my feet.
“We’ve got to get out of here.”
“But,” I started to say, but he ripped a piece of the duct tape off the roll
and smoothed it over my mouth, making me unable to yell for Hank once
we were in the hallway, but he wouldn’t’ve heard me anyways.
 The music was so loud, and the walls were thumping. It was a perfect
place to kill someone.
The door to the outside was the gateway to the outside world and if I
was going to escape, it had to be then. So I had two choices. I could either
listen and go with them, hoping they wouldn’t kill me once they got me and
Violet to the canyon, or I could try and run, risking to get shot and killed.
Thinking the second choice was a better option, I took a deep breath as
soon as we walked under the exit sign. I released that deep breath, then
sprang into motion like a sprung bear trap, kicking Mathew as hard as I
could in his testicles. Doubled over, he reeled away, holding his stomach.
I took off running like an unleashed hellhound. My goal was to stay out
of the morgue drawer, and this was my only option.
“Stop her!” I heard Mathew call out to Callie. She was bent over the
trunk of her car, where I bet she’d put Violet.
I just kept running with my hands behind my back and my face up to the
sun, praying they weren’t going to shoot me.
I rounded the corner to find a caravan of police cars lined up in the front
of the building. Even though they couldn’t hear me, I still tried to scream.
The sound of a deep moan caught the attention of an officer.
“Hey!” He punched the guys next to him and they came running.
“They are around the corner. Callie and Mathew!” I tried to move past
the pain of them ripping the duct tape off my mouth and the fact my
shoulders felt like they were coming out of their sockets, but Violet was in
danger. “They have Violet in the trunk of their car. They are going to kill
her. Throw her in a canyon.”
One of the officers took a knife from his utility belt and ran it across the
zip ties like a hot knife through butter.
About that time, squealing tires peeled around the corner from the back
of the building, nearly knocking down the officers running towards them.
What seemed like a flash, the officers were in their vehicles, sirens
blaring and chasing after Callie and Mathew.
CHAPTER 17

“I
spotlight.
t was a bonafide showdown. The cops were chasing so close
behind, I could see the flashing lights through the holes in the
back of the trunk.” Violet had finally gotten her day in the

All the big time network morning shows had picked up the alert about
the reporter who found out too much and was about to get knocked off,
barely escaping with her life. I was hardly mentioned, which was fine by
me. It was exactly what she wanted, and I was happy to be out of the
spotlight for once.
“Look at her.” Dottie sat on the couch of the Laundry Club with a donut
from the Cookie Crumble in one hand, a hot cup of coffee in the other, and
a cigarette tucked behind her ear. “Violet Rhinehammer thinks she’s some
movie star.”
“Mmmhmm. . .” Queenie’s right brow drew up. “We’ll never hear the
end of this.”
“Never hear the end of what?” Hank Sharp walked through the front
door of the Laundry Club, the bell overhead dinging his arrival.
“You’re just in time to listen to Violet Rhinehammer’s big television
interview.” I couldn’t help but smile and be happy for her.
New York City was behind her as she told her story. Her eyes were
bright, and her smile sparkled. I knew exactly where she was. I’d walked by
it many times when I lived in New York. It was good to see she was getting
her dream come true. If only for a few minutes, anyways.
“She’s gonna have to sign too.” Dottie had taken an ink pen from her
bosom and Hank hesitated, giving it a good look. “What? It’s a pen and a
place to stick it. You want the can ham camper or not?”
 “Can ham?” I asked, knowing she was referring to the nickname for the
little travel trailer camper Scott Goodman had stayed in.
“Yep. I did it.” Hank took the pen, sat down on the edge of the couch
and signed the paperwork Dottie had sitting on the coffee table.
“Did what?” I asked. I had totally missed something between him and
Dottie.
“I left my parents’ property. I listened to Granny and decided it was
high time that I lived for myself, so I’m renting the camper at Happy
Trials.” He smiled really big. “Isn’t that great, honey?”
“Great,” I choked out between my closed tooth smile.
“We’ll see each other all the time. It’ll be like we live together, but not.”
He was all sorts of serious. “This way I can keep an eye on your snooping
ways. Keep you out of trouble.”
“Trouble? You told me to snoop. I almost got killed because of you.” I
teased and motioned for Dottie to scoot down a little so there was enough
room for me to sit down next to Hank.
“You don’t seem too happy about me moving into the campground.” I
guess he could read my face.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy, but I owned the campground and if
something happened between us, like a breakup or something, then it
wouldn’t be good. It was a step that I wasn’t sure I was ready to take.
“Mae?” He leaned back to take in my full view. “Are you upset?”
“No. I think it’s great.” I put my arms around him and hugged him,
resting my chin on his shoulders. I gave him one last squeeze and pulled
away.
“It is gonna be great. Chester and Fifi can play. We can have supper
together at night. . .” Hank rambled on about all the good things that he saw
happening in our future.
The future.
Something I’d never prescribed too and something that was unfamiliar
to me. I guess it was time that I took a leap of faith and listened to my heart,
not my head.
“Yeah. It’s gonna be great.” I looked up at Violet Rhinehammer and
suddenly wished I were back in New York City.

Want more of Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies?

 The next book in the series, HITCHES, HIDEOUTS, & HOMICIDE is
available to purchase or read in Kindle Unlimited. CLICK HERE! And read
on for a sneak peek.
SNEAK PEEK

Chapter One of Book Seven

Hitches, Hideouts, & Homicides

Why is it that my big mouth always gets me in a little bit of a pickle? Sitting
in the passenger seat of Betts Hager’s cleaning van at five a.m. was
definitely not how I intended to spend my morning. Leave it to my big
mouth.
The cleaning supplies and tools rattled in the back of Betts’s van, not
giving me a moment of silence to close my eyes for a little more sleep. The
van hugged the side of the asphalt along the curvy road on our way through
the Daniel Boone National Park in Normal, Kentucky, to the north side of
town off Fawn Road where the Old Train Station Motel was located.
“You know we wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t opened your
big mouth down at Cute-icles.” Betts reminded me of the conversation I’d
had with Coke Ogden while I was getting my manicure at Cute-icles, the
only salon in Normal.
“She said she needed a cleaning service.” I groaned. “At the time, you
were looking for more work, and I referred my friend. How was I to know
she meant the old train station?”
Recently, Coke had bought the rundown place and had renovated it into
a motel.
“I appreciate you telling her about me, but you don’t know Coke Ogden
yet. She can be a pill.” Betts was right. “Besides, I only clean houses. Not
motels.”
I was still new to the area, like almost two years now, and I did know
most of the citizens. Just not Coke. It wasn’t like Normal was a big city, like
New York City, where I’d moved from.
“Just drop me off, and I’ll do the cleaning.” I wasn’t in the mood to hear
Betts fussing at me all day. “Or you can just think of it as a mansion.” It
sounded like a good reasoning tactic.
“Ten rooms? Ten bathrooms? Ten toilets?” Betts questioned. “There’s
no way you can get that many rooms ready in time for tomorrow night’s big
hoedown. And the rest of the motel. I’m not mad. I’m just saying you
could’ve been sleeping in if it weren’t for Coke.”
There was a tone in Betts’s voice that made me push myself up in the
seat and glance over at her. “What’s the deal with you and Coke?” I reached
over and grabbed my coffee thermos full of liquid life and took a sip.
Followed up by a gulp.
“She’s just so gossipy, and I’m still a little raw from you know what.”
Betts shrugged, hands gripping the steering wheel as she stared straight
ahead.
Betts had just gone through a terrible divorce that we didn’t talk about
much. At the time, she was left with one income and devastated. That was
why I suggested Coke use Betts’s cleaning service. Only I thought it was
going to be that week not a few months later.
“Don’t give her anything to gossip about.” It seemed like a good
suggestion on my part. “We will keep our heads down, clean, and get out.”
“That all sounds good, but you don’t know Coke.” Betts turned off
Fawn Road. To the right was the entrance of the only motel in Normal. “If
you don’t watch it, she’ll be gunning for your customers.” Betts looked over
and raised a brow.
My heart jumped. I never thought a motel in Normal would take away
the tourists that rent my renovated mini campers and bungalows at the
Happy Trails Campground.
My campground.
“We just have to make sure Abby Fawn does more of her social media
marketing for me.” I winked over the steam coming out of the mouth of the
thermos. “Fawn Road.” I laughed. “Abby Fawn.”
Abby Fawn was a good friend and the librarian of Normal County
Library. She was a whiz at social media and had been instrumental in
helping put Normal back on the map for one of the best tourist towns in
Kentucky.
 “Her family actually owned a lot of this land before their big
bankruptcy,” Betts told me.
I knew nothing about that. “What?” I asked and took another drink of
hot coffee from the thermos.
“I guess you don’t know all the history of Normal since you didn’t grow
up here.” Betts pulled the van up to the front of the old train station and
parked.
The massive concrete station was beautiful, framed by the dramatic
backdrop of the mountains of the national park. I would say Coke Ogden
had a hit on her hands. From what I remember reading about when I first
moved here, there was a set of beginning trails on the back of her property
that were some of the hardest trails and climbs of the area. Those were the
most appealing to tourists who came to Normal for the hiking.
Right in the middle of the structure was a domed, circular open
courtyard area with six massive concrete pillars holding up a dramatic
patina metal roof with a rooster weather vane. The one-level covered
structure jutted equally out on both sides of the dome with five doors on
each side with those same big concrete pillars standing tall and ornate.
“Those must be the rooms.” Betts pointed toward some doors with brass
numbers on them. “I’m glad I brought the brass cleaner because those really
need to be shined up.” She let out a long sigh. “It’s going to be a long day.”
Betts and I jumped out. I followed her lead and met her at the back of
the van, where she already had the double doors open. I dragged two
buckets of cleaning supplies to the edge.
“Good morning!” Coke Ogden stood underneath the spotlight that hung
from one of the pillars. “Glad to see you’re here to get an early start.”
I peeked around the back van door and waved to her. Coke was an odd
bird. She looked as though she’d stepped right off the Mary Tyler Moore set
with her colored blond hair parted down the middle and flipped up around
the edges. It was hard not to stare. I just wanted to know how it stayed
perfectly in place. She wore a black headband that kept the shoulder length
hairdo off her face. She had petite bird-like features and a tiny frame to
match. Bermuda shorts swallowed her legs. Her long-sleeved, mint-green
cardigan was buttoned to the top and a matching silk scarf was knotted
around her neck.
“The outside looks great,” I noted of what I could see in the van
headlights when we drove up. I grabbed the bucket with one hand and the
vacuum with the other.
“Thanks.” Coke walked to the back of the van. “Do you need help?”
“I think we have it,” Betts said as she pulled her shoulder-length, wavy
hair in a low ponytail using the black band she took from around her wrist.
We turned around when an old pickup truck pulled in next to us. The
inside light popped on when a man in a cowboy hat opened the door. He
held it open with one booted foot and grabbed a rope hanging on his gun
rack on the back window.
“Howdy.” He looked at us from underneath his hat.
“Jay Russel, this is Mae West and Betts Hager. They’re here to make
sure everything is all tidy before the big day.” The tone in her voice caught
my attention. It seemed like she was giving him more of a warning than a
casual introduction.
“Is that right?” He slid his eyes between me and Betts. “Hmm, I know
Betts.” He gave her the sympathetic smile I noticed a lot of people gave her.
“Down at the church functions and all.”
“Yes,” Betts said in a low voice. “Nice to see you.”
We stood there waiting for Jay to say something more, but he simply
walked away and around the motel.
“Don’t mind him. He’s not really happy with me.” Coke laughed. “This
was his family’s property and had been for sale for years.”
“Yeah.” Betts shook her head. “I remember seeing the broken-down
realtor sign in the front acre.”
“I’m talking twenty years or more.” Coke led the way through the
courtyard of the motel with us following her. “Jay has his business in the
stables. He teaches competition riding. You know, rodeo, barrel roping, and
things of that nature. After I bought the place, I told him he was going to
have find another stable and riding ring because I’m turning the stables into
a wedding venue.”
“Wedding venue. That’d be nice.” Betts stopped in the middle of the
courtyard and looked up, causing me to look up.
The courtyard was open to the sky, exposing the variations of blue in
anticipation of the sunrise that would wake up the tourist town around
seven a.m.
The crescent moon and stars were visible, and the view was
breathtaking.
 “Wow. This is amazing.” I twirled around while I looked up. “It’s like
we are in one of those planetariums.”
Memories of Paul, my con-ex-now-dead husband, had taken me to
Hayden Planetarium in New York City for a romantic dinner under the
stars. He’d actually rented out the entire building just for us. Even though
he was in the middle of conning people out of their retirement, which I
didn’t know about, it was actually very romantic. Even for a crook.
The city lights were too bright to ever see stars or even the moon. I’d
told him so many stories about me growing up in Kentucky and how the
stars were the only light I had needed at night. It was one thing I had missed
about Kentucky. He had been eager to give it back to me.
“I’m very excited about the guests using this area. I’ve got some very
expensive telescopes being installed today just for the guests to enjoy such
magnificent views.” Coke broke the memories in my head and brought me
back to the conversation. “Anyways, I’ve done a pretty good cleaning over
the past few months while the contractors worked on all the structures. I’m
not afraid of getting my hands dirty or anything.”
“Where do you want us to start today?” Betts was done with the chitchat
and ready to get started.
“Move it!” Out of the darkness of the opposite side of the courtyard, a
guy appeared, barreling through us, knocking me off balance. He ran so
fast, the only thing I could see was a round compass bouncing up and down
on the backpack strapped on the person’s back.
Luckily it didn’t hurt when I fell down because I had enough padding
on my backside. There was a second-long glimpse of the guy when he
turned to look at me as if he wanted to see if I was okay. There was a little
trickle of blood from the corner of his left eye.
Betts and Coke stood with their mouths open, watching the man run
past them.
“I told you that if I caught you here again, you’d regret it!” Jay quickly
followed with his shotgun in hand. “You’re mine now!”
He stopped, shouldered the shotgun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The
shot rang out so loud that on instinct I threw my arms over my head in fear
a stray bullet would hit me even though he wasn’t aiming at me.
“What on earth is going on?” Coke screamed. Her voice carried in the
courtyard. “Jay! Stop that right now,” she cried out after Jay had fired off a
few more shots.
 “Don’t you get in the middle of this, Coke,” he warned with a fiery look
in his eyes. “If I don’t stop them right now, you’ll be the one doing it.”
He dropped the gun and looked over at me.
“You alright?” he asked. A pool of blood, not yet congealed, trickled
from his head. He walked over and stuck his hand out to help me up.
“I’m fine.” I pushed my long, curly, brown hair out of my face and
reached out to take his hand.
“You sure don’t look like Mae West or even resemble her.” He used his
other hand to motion around my hair. “You got brown hair, and it’s all wiry
and stuff.”
“I’m not sure if you’re trying to compliment me or insult me, but I
choose to keep my mouth shut while you’ve got that gun in your hand.” My
eyes focused on the gun.
“Call Hank,” Betts told me to call my boyfriend, who just so happens to
be a detective with the Normal Sheriff’s Department.
“Hank Sharp?” Jay used the tip of his gun to push up the edge of his hat.
“I’ve known Hank since he was an itty-bitty boy. He can’t do nothing here.”
We all jerked around at the sound of footsteps coming from the
direction where the other person had run. Surely, the person hadn’t come
back. Jay drew his shotgun back to his shoulder and stared down the barrel.
“Geez, Lee.” Jay put the shotgun down. “You about had a hole put
through you.”
“What on earth is going on?” Lee asked.
I didn’t recognize the older man. He had a long goatee but was bald as
could be on top. He wore a pair of overalls and work boots. “You better get
those glasses checked because you can’t see a thing if you didn’t know it
was me.”
“I recognized you just fine when you walked in here. I just had to scare
off one of them free loaders. You know them kind that come around here
strumming their guitars and smoking that weed.”
I couldn’t help but smile, listening to the other man’s thick accent.
“Enough of this chatty business.” Coke looked nervous and clearly
wanted us off the subject. “Jay, get into the kitchen, and I’ll get you cleaned
up.” She gestured to the blood that had dripped on the marble floor of the
courtyard where Jay was standing. “You two can start by cleaning this mess
up. And you—" Coke pointed to Lee. “You go on down to the stables and
wait for him. In fact, you can help him pack up.”
 Coke jerked Jay by the sleeve and dragged him off to the right side of
the courtyard and into a door with a red caboose on it.
“Ladies,” Lee nodded, turning back to where he’d come from.
Betts and I stood there in silence, both of us still a smidgen stunned at
what took place.
“I’m going to need more coffee,” I joked after I heard a car door slam
and drive off since I figured Lee was heading to the stables like Coke had
told him.
“Caboose Diner. Cute.” Betts shrugged and picked a spray bottle out of
her cleaning bucket.
“That’s all you have to say?” I gave her a wry look. “I mean Jay was
just shooting at someone. He has a gash in his head.”
“I told you to call Hank, and you just stood there, so I’m guessing we let
those two handle it.” She nodded toward the diner where we could see Coke
and Jay having a knock-down drag-out fight of their own.
 RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS
FROM MAE WEST AND WOMEN IN
NORMAL, KENTUCKY and HAPPY TRAILS CAMPGROUND
 CAMPFIRE BREAKFAST HAMBURGER

INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons dry milk powder, which is best when camping
2 teaspoons black pepper
4 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup water
12 sausage patties
12 eggs

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt,
dry milk powder, black pepper and canola oil until well blended.
2. To mix the biscuits, pour dry mix into medium sized bowl and add
1/2 cup of water. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of water 1 Tablespoon
at a time until the biscuit mix is thick batter. Stir in cheddar cheese.
3. Set cast iron pan over medium heat and add oil to coat. Scoop biscuit
mix by the scant 1/4 cup onto pan. Be sure you’re only doing small batches
at a time.
Allow to cook until first side is golden brown and flip once. Cook until
biscuits are fluffy and cooked through.
4. Add sausage to a cold cast iron skillet and then set it over medium
high heat. Cook until sausages are golden brown and cooked through,
flipping once. Remove and set aside.
5. Cook eggs in cast iron skillet until desired doneness. Split biscuits in
half and top with sausage and egg.
*Add ketchup or hot sauce if desired and place other half of biscuit on
top.
 SKILLET BACON CINNAMON ROLLS

INGREDIENTS
A can of Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon rolls
5 slices of cooked bacon
a 12 inch pre- seasoned skillet

DIRECTIONS
1. First, cook your bacon until it’s nicely done with a little bit of soft fat
still remaining.
2. Peel apart each cinnamon bun just enough to lay that piece of bacon
inside then roll it back up again, pinching the dough to seal it up.
3. Place the buns in a well-seasoned skillet with room between them.
4. Place these over the campfire by covering them in tinfoil to ensure
that the heat is kept inside. You will have to watch the bottoms like a hawk.
5. Slather on the icing and enjoy!
 Campfire Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
Grated Parmesan cheese, as desired, for serving

Directions
1. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat or get the campfire started.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, 1/4
cup marinara sauce, egg, and seasonings; mix well. Shape into meatballs,
each about 1 1/4 inches across.
3. Cut pieces of aluminum foil about 18″ x 12″ each. Place equal
amounts of the meatballs in the center of each piece of foil. Top each
meatball with 3-4 tablespoons marinara sauce. Fold the short ends of the
foil together over the center and seal, allowing room for expansion and
circulation. Fold in the open edges, sealing each packet securely.
4. Place the packets on the grill for 20 to 25 minutes, or until no pink
remains in the meat, turning the packets over once during the grilling.
5. Carefully open the tops of the packets to avoid steam burns and
sprinkle with cheese just before serving. Enjoy!
HACK #1

RV HACK #1
  GRIPPY RUBBER MATS

You know the grippy mat we put under area rugs so they don’t slide all over
our floors, you can use them in the RV so things won’t break!
Cut the rubber mats into small squares and put them between dishes,
inside pots and pans to protect the cooking surface while in transit and in
cabinets so things don’t shift or slide around.
Place them under DVD players and electronics, in cabinets, and
underneath small indoor mats and rugs. Cut them the same shape as lamp or
canister bottoms so they don’t slide around on the counters.  They can even
be cut into a small square to use for opening new jars of pickles.  They also
are great for putting under pet beds so they don’t slide off the furniture.

Spring Lemon Drops

2 teaspoons lime juice
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lime juice
 1/4 cup white sugar

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Combine the 2 teaspoons of lime juice with the milk, let stand for 5
minutes.
3.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light
and fluffy.
4.Beat in the egg, then stir in the lime zest and milk mixture.
5.Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda, blend into the
creamed mixture. 6.Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased
cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are
light brown.
8. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before
transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. To make the glaze, stir together the remaining lime juice and sugar.
Brush onto cooled cookies.

COACH’S CAMPFIRE CHILI

Ingredients

1 lb. pork loin

1 lb. spicy Italian sausage
1 onion
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 cup cilantro
1 can black beans
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water

Directions
1. Cut the pork loin into bite-sized pieces. Dice the onion. Chop the
cilantro. Rinse the black beans.
 2. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until
shiny. Add the pork loin and Italian sausage. Season with salt and pepper to
taste. Cook until browned.
3. Add onion, chili powder, cumin, and oregano to the pot. Cook for 5
minutes, stirring
occasionally.
4. Add black beans, water, tomatoes, and half of the cilantro. Season
with salt and stir to
combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Stir and move directly from heat to a lower heat and cook for 4-6
hours.

RV HACK #3
GET LOTS OF VINEGAR

Vinegar can also be adapted into many different homemade RV cleaners

and adaptations. For instance, if you have scratches in the wood on your
dinette or kitchen cabinets, you can fix them quickly by mixing a quarter
cup of vinegar with three-quarters of a cup of olive oil. Rubbing the mixture
over the scratches should mask them well, if not fill them in entirely! It’s
like your very own homemade magic eraser.

Best of all, vinegar is incredibly cheap, and it means you don’t have to
worry about purchasing and storing a ton of different bottles of cleaning
solutions. And if there’s anything as good as (or even better than) saving
time on cleaning your RV, it’s saving money on the project, too!

COACH’S CAMPFIRE PIZZA!

Get that campfire going!

What you’ll need:
Dutch Oven (A cast iron pot with lid is essential for making gourmet
pizza over a campfire.)
Your pizza toppings
The dough – Make the dough at home or camp with three basic
ingredients: flour, water and yeast.
Hack: Use your water bottle as a rolling pin.

When you've got glowing coals:

Directions:

1. Pre-heat your Dutch oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Grease you oven with high-heat oil.
3. Slide your pizza into the Dutch oven.
4. Put the lid on and cover with hot coals.
5. Check every five minutes by carefully opening the lid.
6. If the top is nicely browned, it's done and time to eat!
 RV HACK #2
Badge Holder Clips

You know those clear badges you get from work, the ones that hold your
work ID or the ID when you go to a conference? They have those snap clips
so you can clip it on your belt or the pocket of your shirt. Well…these are
awesome for holding the strings of lights we campers LOVE to hang all
over our RVs and campers!

Plus, they are easy to remove and not permanent! Go ahead! Give them a
try!
HACK #3

Know Your Wood – There are two types of wood when it comes to
maintaining a campfire, softwood, and hardwood. Softwoods, pines or firs
,will light easier but will burn down quickly. This makes softwoods great
for the early stages of a campfire while you’re in the building stage.
Hardwoods, oak, maple, and ash, will not light as quickly but have long
burn times. Making hardwoods great for maintaining a fire without having
to constantly add new wood. So be sure to check out what Softwoods and
Hardwoods look like. Even take photos of them on your phone so when
you’re in the wild looking for the best wood for your campfire, you have
photos to match up.
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 CONTENTS

PREVIEW
GET FREE BOOKS

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20

SNEAK PEEK
RECIPES AND HACKS
PREVIEW

Hitches, Hideouts, & Homicides

“Mae! Someone opened the stall and opened the back barn door,” Coke
hollered over the sound of the rain beating down on the roof. “Help me get
Rosa!”
My first instinct was to protest. I’d never been around horses before,
and the bars between me and the one I was petting was as close as I wanted
to get to the intimidating creatures.
“Come on!” she yelled. “I’ll call Jay.”
I nodded. Maybe she didn’t hear me over the rain earlier.
“He’s not answering.” She put her phone away before she gestured for
me to help shut the back door where Rosa had apparently escaped from.
“Why don’t you go back to the hoedown, find him, and tell him. Rosa will
come to him.”
I nodded instead of trying to yell in the rain.
“Go out this door and just go around.” She gestured me out the barn
door.
What on earth had I gotten myself into was all I could think of when I
headed back out into the stormy weather. No one in her right mind would be
doing this, I thought to myself and noticed my foot had stepped on
something round. I bent down and brought it up to my face.
“What on earth?” My heart sank when I realized it was a compass, like
the one from the backpack of the guy hiding out in the stables. The same
compass I’d seen bouncing on the man's backpack from last night at the
campground.
 I stuck it in my back pocket and turned to head back toward the barn
when I tripped and fell. Only it wasn’t in another mud puddle. I fell right on
top of Jay Russel’s lifeless body.
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CHAPTER 1

W hy is it that my big mouth always gets me in a little bit of a

pickle? Sitting in the passenger seat of Betts Hager’s cleaning
van at five a.m. was definitely not how I intended to spend my
morning. Leave it to my big mouth.
The cleaning supplies and tools rattled in the back of Betts’s van, not
giving me a moment of silence to close my eyes for a little more sleep. The
van hugged the side of the asphalt along the curvy road on our way through
the Daniel Boone National Park in Normal, Kentucky, to the north side of
town off Fawn Road where the Old Train Station Motel was located.
“You know we wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t opened your
big mouth down at Cute-icles.” Betts reminded me of the conversation I’d
had with Coke Ogden while I was getting my manicure at Cute-icles, the
only salon in Normal.
“She said she needed a cleaning service.” I groaned. “At the time, you
were looking for more work, and I referred my friend. How was I to know
she meant the old train station?”
Recently, Coke had bought the rundown place and had renovated it into
a motel.
“I appreciate you telling her about me, but you don’t know Coke Ogden
yet. She can be a pill.” Betts was right. “Besides, I only clean houses. Not
motels.”
I was still new to the area, like almost two years now, and I did know
most of the citizens. Just not Coke. It wasn’t like Normal was a big city, like
New York City, where I’d moved from.
“Just drop me off, and I’ll do the cleaning.” I wasn’t in the mood to hear
Betts fussing at me all day. “Or you can just think of it as a mansion.” It
sounded like a good reasoning tactic.
“Ten rooms? Ten bathrooms? Ten toilets?” Betts questioned. “There’s
no way you can get that many rooms ready in time for tomorrow night’s big
hoedown. And the rest of the motel. I’m not mad. I’m just saying you
could’ve been sleeping in if it weren’t for Coke.”
There was a tone in Betts’s voice that made me push myself up in the
seat and glance over at her. “What’s the deal with you and Coke?” I reached
over and grabbed my coffee thermos full of liquid life and took a sip.
Followed up by a gulp.
“She’s just so gossipy, and I’m still a little raw from you know what.”
Betts shrugged, hands gripping the steering wheel as she stared straight
ahead.
Betts had just gone through a terrible divorce that we didn’t talk about
much. At the time, she was left with one income and devastated. That was
why I suggested Coke use Betts’s cleaning service. Only I thought it was
going to be that week not a few months later.
“Don’t give her anything to gossip about.” It seemed like a good
suggestion on my part. “We will keep our heads down, clean, and get out.”
“That all sounds good, but you don’t know Coke.” Betts turned off
Fawn Road. To the right was the entrance of the only motel in Normal. “If
you don’t watch it, she’ll be gunning for your customers.” Betts looked over
and raised a brow.
My heart jumped. I never thought a motel in Normal would take away
the tourists that rent my renovated mini campers and bungalows at the
Happy Trails Campground.
My campground.
“We just have to make sure Abby Fawn does more of her social media
marketing for me.” I winked over the steam coming out of the mouth of the
thermos. “Fawn Road.” I laughed. “Abby Fawn.”
Abby Fawn was a good friend and the librarian of Normal County
Library. She was a whiz at social media and had been instrumental in
helping put Normal back on the map for one of the best tourist towns in
Kentucky.
“Her family actually owned a lot of this land before their big
bankruptcy,” Betts told me.
I knew nothing about that. “What?” I asked and took another drink of
hot coffee from the thermos.
 “I guess you don’t know all the history of Normal since you didn’t grow
up here.” Betts pulled the van up to the front of the old train station and
parked.
The massive concrete station was beautiful, framed by the dramatic
backdrop of the mountains of the national park. I would say Coke Ogden
had a hit on her hands. From what I remember reading about when I first
moved here, there was a set of beginning trails on the back of her property
that were some of the hardest trails and climbs of the area. Those were the
most appealing to tourists who came to Normal for the hiking.
Right in the middle of the structure was a domed, circular open
courtyard area with six massive concrete pillars holding up a dramatic
patina metal roof with a rooster weather vane. The one-level covered
structure jutted equally out on both sides of the dome with five doors on
each side with those same big concrete pillars standing tall and ornate.
“Those must be the rooms.” Betts pointed toward some doors with brass
numbers on them. “I’m glad I brought the brass cleaner because those really
need to be shined up.” She let out a long sigh. “It’s going to be a long day.”
Betts and I jumped out. I followed her lead and met her at the back of
the van, where she already had the double doors open. I dragged two
buckets of cleaning supplies to the edge.
“Good morning!” Coke Ogden stood underneath the spotlight that hung
from one of the pillars. “Glad to see you’re here to get an early start.”
I peeked around the back van door and waved to her. Coke was an odd
bird. She looked as though she’d stepped right off the Mary Tyler Moore set
with her colored blond hair parted down the middle and flipped up around
the edges. It was hard not to stare. I just wanted to know how it stayed
perfectly in place. She wore a black headband that kept the shoulder length
hairdo off her face. She had petite bird-like features and a tiny frame to
match. Bermuda shorts swallowed her legs. Her long-sleeved, mint-green
cardigan was buttoned to the top and a matching silk scarf was knotted
around her neck.
“The outside looks great,” I noted of what I could see in the van
headlights when we drove up. I grabbed the bucket with one hand and the
vacuum with the other.
“Thanks.” Coke walked to the back of the van. “Do you need help?”
“I think we have it,” Betts said as she pulled her shoulder-length, wavy
hair in a low ponytail using the black band she took from around her wrist.
 We turned around when an old pickup truck pulled in next to us. The
inside light popped on when a man in a cowboy hat opened the door. He
held it open with one booted foot and grabbed a rope hanging on his gun
rack on the back window.
“Howdy.” He looked at us from underneath his hat.
“Jay Russel, this is Mae West and Betts Hager. They’re here to make
sure everything is all tidy before the big day.” The tone in her voice caught
my attention. It seemed like she was giving him more of a warning than a
casual introduction.
“Is that right?” He slid his eyes between me and Betts. “Hmm, I know
Betts.” He gave her the sympathetic smile I noticed a lot of people gave her.
“Down at the church functions and all.”
“Yes,” Betts said in a low voice. “Nice to see you.”
We stood there waiting for Jay to say something more, but he simply
walked away and around the motel.
“Don’t mind him. He’s not really happy with me.” Coke laughed. “This
was his family’s property and had been for sale for years.”
“Yeah.” Betts shook her head. “I remember seeing the broken-down
realtor sign in the front acre.”
“I’m talking twenty years or more.” Coke led the way through the
courtyard of the motel with us following her. “Jay has his business in the
stables. He teaches competition riding. You know, rodeo, barrel roping, and
things of that nature. After I bought the place, I told him he was going to
have find another stable and riding ring because I’m turning the stables into
a wedding venue.”
“Wedding venue. That’d be nice.” Betts stopped in the middle of the
courtyard and looked up, causing me to look up.
The courtyard was open to the sky, exposing the variations of blue in
anticipation of the sunrise that would wake up the tourist town around
seven a.m.
The crescent moon and stars were visible, and the view was
breathtaking.
“Wow. This is amazing.” I twirled around while I looked up. “It’s like
we are in one of those planetariums.”
Memories of Paul, my con-ex-now-dead husband, had taken me to
Hayden Planetarium in New York City for a romantic dinner under the
stars. He’d actually rented out the entire building just for us. Even though
he was in the middle of conning people out of their retirement, which I
didn’t know about, it was actually very romantic. Even for a crook.
The city lights were too bright to ever see stars or even the moon. I’d
told him so many stories about me growing up in Kentucky and how the
stars were the only light I had needed at night. It was one thing I had missed
about Kentucky. He had been eager to give it back to me.
“I’m very excited about the guests using this area. I’ve got some very
expensive telescopes being installed today just for the guests to enjoy such
magnificent views.” Coke broke the memories in my head and brought me
back to the conversation. “Anyways, I’ve done a pretty good cleaning over
the past few months while the contractors worked on all the structures. I’m
not afraid of getting my hands dirty or anything.”
“Where do you want us to start today?” Betts was done with the chitchat
and ready to get started.
“Move it!” Out of the darkness of the opposite side of the courtyard, a
guy appeared, barreling through us, knocking me off balance. He ran so
fast, the only thing I could see was a round compass bouncing up and down
on the backpack strapped on the person’s back.
Luckily it didn’t hurt when I fell down because I had enough padding
on my backside. There was a second-long glimpse of the guy when he
turned to look at me as if he wanted to see if I was okay. There was a little
trickle of blood from the corner of his left eye.
Betts and Coke stood with their mouths open, watching the man run
past them.
“I told you that if I caught you here again, you’d regret it!” Jay quickly
followed with his shotgun in hand. “You’re mine now!”
He stopped, shouldered the shotgun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The
shot rang out so loud that on instinct I threw my arms over my head in fear
a stray bullet would hit me even though he wasn’t aiming at me.
“What on earth is going on?” Coke screamed. Her voice carried in the
courtyard. “Jay! Stop that right now,” she cried out after Jay had fired off a
few more shots.
“Don’t you get in the middle of this, Coke,” he warned with a fiery look
in his eyes. “If I don’t stop them right now, you’ll be the one doing it.”
He dropped the gun and looked over at me.
“You alright?” he asked. A pool of blood, not yet congealed, trickled
from his head. He walked over and stuck his hand out to help me up.
 “I’m fine.” I pushed my long, curly, brown hair out of my face and
reached out to take his hand.
“You sure don’t look like Mae West or even resemble her.” He used his
other hand to motion around my hair. “You got brown hair, and it’s all wiry
and stuff.”
“I’m not sure if you’re trying to compliment me or insult me, but I
choose to keep my mouth shut while you’ve got that gun in your hand.” My
eyes focused on the gun.
“Call Hank,” Betts told me to call my boyfriend, who just so happens to
be a detective with the Normal Sheriff’s Department.
“Hank Sharp?” Jay used the tip of his gun to push up the edge of his hat.
“I’ve known Hank since he was an itty-bitty boy. He can’t do nothing here.”
We all jerked around at the sound of footsteps coming from the
direction where the other person had run. Surely, the person hadn’t come
back. Jay drew his shotgun back to his shoulder and stared down the barrel.
“Geez, Lee.” Jay put the shotgun down. “You about had a hole put
through you.”
“What on earth is going on?” Lee asked.
I didn’t recognize the older man. He had a long goatee but was bald as
could be on top. He wore a pair of overalls and work boots. “You better get
those glasses checked because you can’t see a thing if you didn’t know it
was me.”
“I recognized you just fine when you walked in here. I just had to scare
off one of them free loaders. You know them kind that come around here
strumming their guitars and smoking that weed.”
I couldn’t help but smile, listening to the other man’s thick accent.
“Enough of this chatty business.” Coke looked nervous and clearly
wanted us off the subject. “Jay, get into the kitchen, and I’ll get you cleaned
up.” She gestured to the blood that had dripped on the marble floor of the
courtyard where Jay was standing. “You two can start by cleaning this mess
up. And you—" Coke pointed to Lee. “You go on down to the stables and
wait for him. In fact, you can help him pack up.”
Coke jerked Jay by the sleeve and dragged him off to the right side of
the courtyard and into a door with a red caboose on it.
“Ladies,” Lee nodded, turning back to where he’d come from.
Betts and I stood there in silence, both of us still a smidgen stunned at
what took place.
 “I’m going to need more coffee,” I joked after I heard a car door slam
and drive off since I figured Lee was heading to the stables like Coke had
told him.
“Caboose Diner. Cute.” Betts shrugged and picked a spray bottle out of
her cleaning bucket.
“That’s all you have to say?” I gave her a wry look. “I mean Jay was
just shooting at someone. He has a gash in his head.”
“I told you to call Hank, and you just stood there, so I’m guessing we let
those two handle it.” She nodded toward the diner where we could see Coke
and Jay having a knock-down drag-out fight of their own.
CHAPTER 2

B etts took the rooms on the right side of the courtyard, and I took
the rooms on the left side to clean. The rooms were pretty much
decorated all the same and in a unique fashion. The three globe-
shaped pole lights that had been used in the old train station had been
rebuilt and were now used as the lighting in the rooms.
The rooms were big enough for a queen bed along with a dresser and
desk as well as an en suite sitting room. The tubs were claw footed, and the
sinks were pedestals with hardware to match the era in which the train
station had been used.
After I read the inscribed gold plates with the station history Coke had
made and screwed into the wall, I glanced out one of the two windows out
at the national park. My thoughts had me wondering how safe it was for a
train to go in and out of the mountainous area of the park before I noticed
Jay in the ring, whistling a horse to go in and out of barrels with what
appeared to be a child sitting on top.
I watched in awe as he circled the lasso on the sideline while he gave
directions to the rider. It was fascinating to see such a majestic creature, the
horse, perform such tricks with the single flick of the rider’s heel or a gentle
tug on the reins.
I’d never been around horses. They intimidated me. I was sure I could
probably blame it on Mary Elizabeth always telling me at the local county
fair: “Don’t walk behind that horse. It’ll throw a buck and hit you in the
face.” That image of my face having a hoofprint on it for the rest of my life
was not an image I ever wanted to dwell on. So I made sure I steered clear
of any horse. If that wasn’t enough to put the fear of a horse in me, I had no
idea what was.
 All the rooms on my side of the courtyard appeared to have been
thoroughly cleaned, down to the bed skirt that was tugged with no wrinkles
left to pull out.
Like we told Coke we would do, I ran the dust rag over the baseboards
and the tops of the furniture, ran the vacuum, and re-bleached the entire
bathroom.
Coke had put a mason jar of fresh sunflowers and fillers on each
bedside table, and I made sure to fill them with water before I finished
cleaning. They’d still be nice and perky for the guests arriving later today or
even tomorrow before the hoedown she was hosting for the grand opening.
Betts was finishing up the last room on her side as I put my cleaning
supplies in the back of the van.
“I’m going to go watch Jay work with one of his clients at the stables.” I
peeked my head in the guest room and told Betts, “Yell for me when you’re
ready to go.”
She waved the feather duster at me to go on.
The sun was dipping in and out of the low-lying clouds. Long gone
were the stars and moon. Off in the distance, the clouds were a little darker
and were pushing toward us. I pulled out my cell and checked the weather.
The app showed partly cloudy and lightning bolts with rain drops later in
the day.
There were men unloading bales of hay and bourbon barrels from the
back end of a flatbed. They hauled them into the barn located right behind
the motel where Coke had designated the location for the hoedown. The
barn doors were open, inviting me to take a gander around the place. I kept
out of the way of the workers who were placing all the tables around the
perimeter and putting the empty bourbon barrels in the middle of the barn to
use as bar top tables. The inside of the barn had been brought back to life,
but I could tell the integrity of the place was left.
In back of the barn there was a dance floor and a stage. There were
already microphone stands and big speakers in place. A big American flag
hung from the rafters at the far end of the barn. Red and white buffalo-
checked tablecloths were lain over the long banquet tables. Fold out chairs
were placed on each side of them. There was plenty of seating, which made
me believe Coke was expecting a big crowd.
Each table had a mason jar in the middle, where I was sure Coke was
going to put flowers in them like she’d done in all the rooms. Coke was
sparing no expense, and it made my heart soar to think of the pride she’d
taken in the old train station like I’d done with the run-down campground.
The sound of whistling followed up by some hooting and hollering from
outside the barn caught my attention and put me back in the frame of mind
of why I was back here: to watch Jay in action with that horse.
The stable wasn’t too far from the barn but a good enough distance
away that I couldn’t smell the natural scent of the horses and what they left
in their stalls. When I walked into the barn, there were at least five stables
on each side with a horse sticking its head out of the bars. All their big
brown eyes stared at me, making me a bit uncomfortable.
The doors at the far end of the barn were open, and I could see Jay out
there with the rider I’d seen from the guest room window. Images of a horse
kicking me in the face forced me to rethink my way to the ring where I
wanted to watch Jay give the lesson, so I headed back out of the barn and
walked around instead of going through.
“Can I help you?” Lee asked.
“I don’t think we were formally introduced earlier this morning.” I put
my hand out. He took it, and I gave him a solid handshake. “I’m Mae West.
I own Happy Trails Campground.”
“I recognize you from the newspaper and how you received the key to
the city a few months back.” He looked me over. “What are you doing out
here with Betts?”
“Betts owns a little cleaning side hustle, and I was helping her. Coke
hired her.” I didn’t get into the particulars. It wasn’t necessary. “Is Jay
okay?” I tapped my forehead, referring to Jay’s forehead where the bandage
was.
“He’s a tough old coot.” Lee lifted his chin. “He’ll be fine.”
Jay had moved to the opposite side of us near another horse that was
tied up. The horse nudged Jay, and Jay nudged back in a playful way. He
even took something out of his pocket and let the horse nibble on it. It was a
beautiful spotted horse. Not like the others that were brown.
“Do you know what the problem was this morning?” I asked and put my
foot up on the bottom rung of the fence. I followed Lee’s example and
leaned my elbows on the top rung, leaning in. I wanted to know if the guy
was really causing trouble by staying the night in the barn because Jay went
to a lot of trouble to chase the guy and shoot at him. Though he did say to
Coke that if he didn’t take care of it while he was there, she’d have to.
 “I’m sure you get unwanted hikers at your campground,” he said but
kept his eyes on what was going on in the ring with the horse. “No different
anywhere else in Normal. We get it all the time at my barn.”
I’m sure there were some unwanted campers, but I was of the mindset
that if they needed some shelter for a night or were just passing through and
weren’t bothering anyone, it didn’t bother me. I decided to change the
subject.
“Is that your granddaughter?” I asked about the young rider on the horse
and why Lee was here watching.
“Granddaughter?” He laughed. “Mae West, you sure do ask a lot of
questions.”
“Just being friendly. I have a few minutes to kill and decided to come
back here and take a look at what Jay did for a living.” It was probably my
time to go.
“Nope.” His one-word answer came out of his mouth with force.
“Nope, what?” I asked.
“Not my granddaughter. She’s a potential client.” He nodded toward the
kid who had on a helmet, a short-sleeved brown shirt, a light pair of riding
pants, and brown boots.
“Isn’t that Jay’s client?” I didn’t follow him, but he did have my
curiosity up.
“Jay is going to be out of commission until he can get all his equipment
moved. Parents have spent a lot of money entertaining their kids in summer
fair contests. They can’t wait for Jay to decide what he’s doing and let any
time pass.” He slid his glance toward me and smiled. “That’s not how it
works around here, darling. Besides, Sarah is on track to win a lot of
competitions that come with many rewards for the trainer. Her parents need
to make a move fast and not rely on Jay.”
“Why didn’t he start making plans after Coke had bought the place?” I
wondered and watched Sarah take off her riding helmet when Jay walked
over to her and gave her some instructions. Immediately, I recognized her
from when I’d done a little substitute teaching at the Normal High School.
“You obviously don’t know Coke’s relationship with Jay. They have
never seen eye to eye on things. I wouldn’t doubt if she bought the place
just to stick it to him.” There was a bit of a distasteful tone in his voice that
caught my attention. Almost as if he were jealous of Jay and the talent
Sarah appeared to have. “Coke told him about three weeks ago, and all the
rentals have been taken up by others who want to get in on the summer fairs
like I told you.”
I guess he saw the confusion on my face because he continued,
“Kentucky has a lot of county fairs that have horse competitions. All kinds
of them.” He rotated his wrists but kept his forearms on the wood rung.
“The winner qualifies for national competitions over the rest of the summer
months. But you have to start somewhere. Some parents hire big name
trainers from around the United States. They rent them a stable and pay for
a place to live.”
“That seems a little much.” I snickered but stopped when he looked at
me as serious as could be.
Betts yelled for me. I turned around. She was standing at the side of the
motel, waving me to come back.
“There’s big money in it and scholarships for the kids.” He used his
hands to push off the rails. “I’m guessing you’ve got to be somewhere?”
“Back to the campground.” I smiled and shoved off. “Good luck.”
“Yeah.” He looked down at me. “Nice to meet you, Mae West.”
After I’d walked toward the motel a short distance away from the stable,
I glanced over my shoulder to get one more look at the lesson Jay was
giving. Jay held the reins of the horse he was petting, but Sarah and her
horse were no longer in the ring.
Lee was still there. And by the intense look on Jay’s face as he
approached Lee, I could tell something was brewing between them. When
Lee coughed up a big spit ball and winged it toward Jay’s feet, I knew
something had brewed.
CHAPTER 3

“W
curlers.
hat were they fighting about?” Dottie Swaggert took a
long drag off her cigarette and blew smoke rings in the
air. Her red hair was knotted up in several pink foam

We met up after a long day of work and gathered around one of the
firepits at Happy Trails. “I have no idea. That’s why I was telling you about
it.” I grabbed one of the sticks Henry Bryan, the Happy Trails Campground
handyman, had made for making s’mores and pushed a couple of
marshmallows on it. “Lee told me how Coke and Jay never saw eye to eye.”
I scooted to the edge of the camping chair and extended the stick over the
flame.
“Coke never said a word about it the rest of the day?” Dottie asked.
“Not a word.” Carefully, I twirled the stick around the flames so the
marshmallows wouldn’t catch fire. “Then again, I wasn’t really around her.
After I tidied up the rooms, which were already cleaned, I went to the
stables to watch Jay.”
“Did you overhear anything they were saying?” she asked, taking
another puff and a real interest in what I was telling her.
Not that I really put too much thought into it, but when she’d asked me
about my cleaning gig, I had simply told her the story. Then again, Dottie
loved to gossip.
“We couldn’t hear them. But he didn’t get his head cleaned up from
her.” I took the marshmallows out of the fire and looked at it before putting
it back into the flames to get a little browner. “He slammed the door on his
way out and stomped back to the stables.”
 “You? You didn’t ask any questions?” She asked as if she were
surprised. “As nosy as you are.” She made a good observation of me.
“Dottie, I didn’t go to the stables until after I finished my job.” The
marshmallows looked so good that I didn’t bother making a s’more. I pulled
them off and stuck them in my mouth. “I can’t wait for you to see what
Coke has done with the train station. It’s amazing.” My words were muffled
with a mouthful of deliciousness.
“That’s so weird.” Abby Fawn spoke up from the other side of the
campfire. She was sitting across from me and next to Betts.
“I told Mae it was none of our business.” Betts had an expression of
disapproval. “We were there to do a job and get out.”
“Still, I found it interesting how Lee was quick to tell me about Coke
and Jay’s relationship when I don’t even know him.” I left out how I’d
poked him with questions until he gave in.
I looked around at the Laundry Club gals that had become my best
friends and confidantes over the past year and a half since my life took a
turn, sticking me right back in the middle of Kentucky, a state where I’d ran
from as soon as I’d turned eighteen. Here I was again. Back in the very state
I never wanted to live in. This time, I was happy.
The Laundry Club included me, Betts Hager, Abby Fawn, Queenie
French, and Dottie Swaggert. Dawn Gentry was an honorary member, but
she and Mary Elizabeth, my adoptive mother, were busy with the Milkery.
The Milkery was a working farm with a garden, cows, chickens, goats, and
a couple rooms they rented as a bed and breakfast. Queenie wasn’t here
tonight. She was dancing in the undercroft of the Normal Baptist Church
where she taught Jazzercise.
“You know me by now.” I reached over and grabbed a couple pieces of
chocolate from the TV tray we’d taken out of my RV to put the graham
crackers, bag of marshmallows, and chocolate bars on. “The agreement
between Coke and Jay was weird, and I’m curious.”
“You sure are.” Hank Sharp had snuck up behind me and leaned down
to give me a kiss on my cheek. Chester, his dog, darted in front of me and
hopped in my lap.
I swear Chester thought Hank was the foster dad and I was the real
mom. He always wanted to be with me and Fifi.
“Hey you.” I couldn’t stop the big smile growing on my face. I put
Chester on the ground and stood up. I snapped off two pieces of chocolate
bar and gave Hank half. “You’re home early.”
Hank usually worked a couple twelve hour shifts at the sheriff’s
department during our busy summer months. Tourists flocked to our little
town, especially spring through fall when it was perfect weather to do all
the outdoorsy activities the national park had to offer.
People loved to be in nature during the warmer weather not only for the
awesome hiking trails but for the beautiful foliage Kentucky had to offer. I
loved when a photographer from the National Park Magazine would feature
us. Sometimes when people are around so much beauty, they forget how
lucky they really are.
“I am home early. All the hikers and campers are being good this
season.” He pulled up a chair between me and the Laundry Club gals.
“What did you think about the new motel?”
“Don’t get her started,” Betts warned and eased back into her chair,
taking a swig of sweet tea from a mason jar. “I told her to call you.”
“It was nothing.” I stuck two more marshmallows on the stick even
though I really didn’t want them. It was only because I didn’t want to look
at Hank after I told him what happened. “There was a hiker that’s been
using Coke’s stables for a place to stay while he hiked around the national
park. Jay had already run him off once, and he was just running him off
again.” I put the stick above the flames. “It certainly didn’t warrant a call to
the cops.”
“What if he shot they kid?” Betts just couldn’t stop talking.
“Shot? There were shots?” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see
Hank staring at me.
“Jay was just scaring the kid.” I sucked in a deep breath, hoping that
Betts would just leave it at that. Maybe telling Hank that Jay was shooting
as a scare tactic was a little loose. He sure was aiming for the guy.
“There was a scuffle. Did you see Jay’s face? He was dripping with
blood, and we cleaned it up.” Betts just didn’t get the hint. “Not his head.
The dripping on the floor.”
“We are fine.” I handed the stick to Dottie. The light brown
marshmallows were her favorite. “No harm, no foul.”
“You still should’ve had them fill out a police report in case something
did go wrong or does go wrong again.” Hank was by the book, and that was
where we were a bit different, almost causing me not to date him. “I’ll make
sure I tell them tomorrow night.”
 “Hank, really.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want you sticking your nose
into something they didn’t want to tell you. Running off and tattling to my
boyfriend,” I muttered sarcastically under my breath.
“That’s what you’re worried about?” Hank laughed.
“Don’t laugh. I’ve worked hard to get this community to trust and
embrace me. I don’t need you going and messing that up.” I stood up. “I’ve
got to let Fifi out, and I’m going to bed. I’ve got to open the office in the
morning.”
It was unusual for me to be the last one of the Laundry Club gals to
leave a campfire early, but I was upset with how Hank completely
dismissed my hard work with people who should’ve never trusted me at all
after what Paul had done to them.
I had no idea Paul was the mastermind of a Ponzi scheme and had taken
people for millions of dollars and their retirements until our lawyer had let
me know Paul had put a campground in my name, something the Feds
didn’t seize. I had grand plans of selling the place because the brochure
made it look like a high-end retreat. With that, I’d also gotten a run-down
RV, in my name as well.
Unfortunately, my sweet little sports car’s keys had been seized and
exchanged for a flamingo keyring with a RV key. As always, I had tried to
see the bright side, but a cloud had been following me all the way from
New York City to Kentucky, where I had found the campground in
shambles.
That hadn’t detoured my plans to fix the place up and sell it, only… the
town had hated me and had wanted nothing to do with my business. Paul
had conned them too. His little scheme had spanned several states.
All that was behind me. I had convinced everyone I was like them. I,
too, had been conned right under my nose. After I’d fixed the campground
up, made all the can-ham campers into rentable family getaways along with
the cute modern-day bungalow, I’d really put Normal on the map as a
number one Daniel Boone National Park destination.
I’d made friends, and even my long-lost adoptive family had found me
after I’d been in many national park magazines about me bringing life back
to Normal. It has been wonderful having real friends who I can trust and
who can trust me which made me upset when Hank wanted to say
something tomorrow night to Jay about what happened.
 My little yellow RV parked in one of the camping spots on the right side
of the campground faced the middle where a pond, complete with tiki bar
and a small pier to fish from and get into the paddle boats, bubbled with a
large water feature in the pond’s center, which helped keep algae and other
bacteria down so guests could swim and relax.
The colored twinkly lights around my camper were festive and happy.
There was a little awning in front of it, covering a picnic table and outdoor
rug that just added to the comforts of home.
There was a step up to the door, and when I opened it, Fifi was standing
there, waiting for me. Her little white tail wagged quickly as she twirled
around in circles, getting her excitement out. Fifi was a French poodle that
I’d gotten on accident after I accidently let her get pregnant when watching
her for another friend I’d met in Normal.
The problem: Fifi was a show dog from a royalty bloodline. Rosco was
a white pug that had been running around the campground while his
owner’s band had played a gig for my monthly Happy Trails Campground
social.
A pug and a poodle do not mix. To make matters worse, he was a pug
from the local SPCA without any papers to see if he was purebred. Fifi had
been damaged. That was when my friend dumped her on me to take care of.
On my friend’s behalf, her livelihood was based on these show dogs, and
Fifi was no longer able to contribute to her income.
“Let’s go potty.” My voice rose an octave every time I talked to her like
she was a little baby.
She darted between my legs, jumping out the RV. While she did her
business, I headed to the back where the bathroom was to perform my
nightly ritual. It was hard for me not to look around with pride at all the
work I’d put into rehabbing the RV. In fact, I was quite proud of myself,
thanks to YouTube DIY videos.
The walls were old wood pallets that I’d turned into what appeared to
look like popular shiplap. I’d used every bit of space possible. I’d taken
down all the walls and made it an open concept plan with the kitchen and
family room in one big room. I’d gotten a cute café table with two chairs
from the Tough Nickel, a local thrift store, as well as a small leather couch.
It was perfect for one, me. The floors were redone with a prefabricated grey
wood. The kitchen cabinets and all the storage cabinets were painted white.
I’d transformed the little camper into a country farmhouse, a style I couldn’t
believe I’d embraced since it was far from the style I had in the city.
The bathroom was redone with a tile shower and upgraded toilet. I’d
bought a new mattress, and with some wooden pallets painted pink, nailed
together a headboard. I’d gotten a dresser with four drawers from the Tough
Nickel that went perfectly with my distressed look. I’d strung white twinkle
lights everywhere I could. They added a bit of romance, along with the
fuzzy rugs and milk glass vases full of fresh flowers or wildflowers that
grew right outside the campground tree line that led hikers to the most
spectacular trails and views of the Daniel Boone National Park.
“You are so good,” I said to Fifi when she found me in the bathroom. “I
can just let you out and you come right back.”
She danced and wiggled around.
“I know what you want,” I told her and finished drying my face. “A
treat.”
She darted out of the small bathroom and back toward the kitchen
counter, looking up, then standing on her back legs with her front ones in
the air. How could I not give something so cute a treat or two?
I made sure the RV was locked tight before I peeled back the small
curtain over the kitchen sink window to see if the Laundry Club gals had
left. But really to see if Hank had gone to his camper that he’d recently
signed as a long-term lease. There were no longer flames, only the glow of
the hot coals.
The flash of a reflector caught my attention from across the
campground. It moved at a rapid pace in and around the campers. It was too
big to be fireflies, and the campground around the campsites was so dark.
When the reflector moved into the shadow of one of the few pole lights
that lit up the lake, I noticed it was a person. I watched to see what he… or
she was going to do or were doing. If he was a guest, he knew he could
come to my door, Dottie’s door, or even Henry’s door if he needed
something or had an emergency.
“Hey! Do you need something?” I opened my door when I noticed the
person was close enough to hear me.
The shadow stopped. The silence loomed between us like a heavy mist.
“I’m the owner. Are you staying here?” I asked and stepped out onto the
outdoor carpet under the awning. “Do you need something?”
 “Mae?” Hank called from a few campsites down. “Who are you talking
to?”
The person took off in a dead sprint toward the woods. Fifi darted after
the him.
The next thing I knew, Hank was running past me.
“Stop! Police!” He had his gun drawn, heading off into the woods after
the person. “Fifi, stop!”
CHAPTER 4

“T hat’s it.” Hank stood at the door of the RV, bent over, sucking
in air. He had Fifi under his arm.
“What?” I asked and took Fifi from him after he walked
into the RV. I put her on the floor. She took a few drinks from her water
bowl.
He sat down on the couch. Fifi jumped up on him, her front paws on his
chest and her nose sniffing around his face.
“She must think she’s some sort of police dog,” I joked. By the look on
Hank’s face, he wasn’t amused at my attempt at stand-up comedy.
“You aren’t staying here alone.” His hand looked so large on Fifi’s
small back.
“I’m not alone. I have Fifi.” I opened the mini refrigerator to get him a
bottle of water. He actually looked like he could use a real stiff drink, but I
didn’t want to offer that knowing he’d accept, and I’d have to stay up
another hour or so listening to how it wasn’t safe for me to stay in my own
home. “What makes you think I’m not safe anyways? Just because some
kid took off because you scared him to death by yelling and waving a gun at
him?”
“When an officer of the law tells you to stop, you should stop. It wasn’t
like I was going to hurt him, but he was suspicious catting around here and
all.” Hank picked Fifi up and put her on the floor. Apparently, he’d had
enough of her. He took the bottle of water from me. “It’s a no- trespassing
campground.”
“Maybe he was hiking and passing through.” I left out the fact that I
totally recognized the compass on the backpack from the hiker who’d hid
out in Jay’s stables.
 It wasn’t unusual for college-age kids to come to the national park and
live like nomads for a few days, and this guy didn’t seem any different.
Most of the time, I’d see them gathered at the amphitheater located in the
green space in downtown Normal. They’d be eating and trying to figure out
their next hike. They were harmless.
“Seriously, it’s all fine. If it happens again, then we might have an issue,
but it’s all good.” I tried to keep my voice calm. Not that I was worried
about the hiker, but it was strange that he’d made it all the way across town
from the north to my campground.
“Lock your doors.” He stood up and twisted the handle of the door. “I’m
going to stop by Deter’s tomorrow on the way home from work and get you
a chain lock as well as a dead bolt.”
“If that makes you feel better.” They were just words to come out of my
mouth to make him feel better. I’d leave the protesting for tomorrow when I
was fresh and my mind wasn’t so tired.
Happy Trails had a lot of new campers that showed up today and for the
weekend. The hoedown Coke Ogden was hosting had been published in all
the national parks magazines as well as social media. The National Park
Association had been doing really well at promoting campground events
from all over the United States so if hikers or campers were traveling near
one of the areas, they could decide to plan a stay.
Over the last six months, I’ve seen an increase in young couples and
even young families who have taken to the road as a lifestyle. It only
increased the tourism, and campsite and resort owners have to take the good
with the bad.
Having wandering hikers, like the person tonight, was part of the bad.
They didn’t want to pay to stay in my campers or bungalows, and they
didn’t want to pay to eat. They figured they’d stay undercover in things like
Jay’s stable or even somewhere around my lake. That way they’d have
shelter and a quick bath before dawn or anyone could see them.
It’d had to be the same person. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“Trust me, he was hightailing it fast out of here. You scared him to
death.” I laughed. “He won’t be back.” That seemed to satisfy Hank
somewhat, or so I thought.
He reached the door, where I thought he had turned around to kiss me
goodnight. “How do you know it was a he?” he asked, an inquisitive look
on his face, and stepped back into the RV, shutting the door behind him.
 Boy, was I wrong. “I guess if I tell you that the person I saw running
away this morning from Jay was the same person, you might get really
mad.” I slid my gaze to meet his icy stare.
“I know you don’t want me to go see Jay, but I’ve known him all my
life, and he can’t be going around taking the law into his own hands,” he
said with easy defiance. “What if he’d killed that person? Then he’d be in
jail for murder. Plus, next time it happens, he needs to know to call me or
the department for some reinforcement.”
“That won’t be necessary.” I opened the door to let him know it was
time to go. “Jay’s last day at the stables was today. Coke is turning the
stables into a wedding venue.”
“Really?” Hank’s head turned like a little puppy, perking in curiosity.
“Even more reason to go see him.” He stepped out of the RV and stood
underneath the awning. “It still doesn’t make me feel better that this person
showed up here miles from the train station. Not to mention, the complete
opposite side of town.”
“People hitchhike all the time. You pick them up all the time.” I
reminded him how this community never saw hitchhikers other than just an
innocent person going from point A to point B. New Yorkers never picked
up people with their thumbs out.
“Well, it’s late. We can talk about it tomorrow when I bring your locks
back to install.” He smiled, making my heart melt and my mind mushy. I
forgot everything I was mad at him about. “Then we can head over to the
hoedown.”
It sounded like a perfect plan, but something in my gut told me it
wasn’t.
CHAPTER 5

A ll the work Abby Fawn and Violet Rhinehammer had done to

spread the word to all the camping magazines and social media
had really paid off. Abby was a whiz at using hashtags in social
media while Violet was the local town newscaster celebrity. She’d done her
fair share of reporting for the TV news as well as writing all kinds of
articles for national park magazines and camping magazines.
From the time I woke up until the time I shut down the office computer,
there was one camper after the other renting any availability we had. We
had camping lots for all different sizes of RVs as well as our can-ham
rentals and the bungalows. Every last one had been rented, which was
unusual. All of them had asked about the hoedown and the upcoming party
I hosted at Happy Trails once a month.
“I think we’re gonna have to fix up more kits!” Dottie hollered from the
chair in front of her camper. Fifi and I had closed up for the day and were
headed back to our camper so I could get ready for Hank to take me to the
hoedown. “I gave out the last one to the couple from Detroit!”
We offered our guests different types of packages to purchase. They
were delivered to the guests in baskets with local items. If they needed a
laundry basket, it was filled with special detergent from the Laundry Club
as well as different things needed for laundry like a coin purse to put their
change for the machines, dryer sheets, and clothes pins in case they wanted
to hang dry their clothes.
Fifi ran in front of me, but I decided to walk over and talk to Dottie. Her
curls were long gone, and her red hair lay in soft curls around her head like
a halo. The smoke from her puffing on her cigarette was like a cloud though
Dottie was no angel.
 “I’ll have to get with some of the local shops again and see if there’s
anything new we want to add.” I sat in the seat next to her. “Plus I need to
get the donated items for the campground party coming up.”
Dottie’s camper was the first camper on the right after the office. It was
a perfect place to sit and people watch. There was a great view of the pond
with all the cam-hams around it. On the far side of the pond were the few
bungalows.
The RV sites, where people hooked up their own, were behind the
bungalows in their own little neck of the woods, secluded and surrounded
by trees. They also had their own firepits and all the hookups. There wasn’t
a single thing Happy Trails didn’t offer, unlike some campgrounds.
“How did the hair products go over?” I asked about a specific basket
with some of the products from Cute-icles salon.
It was one of the baskets Dottie had told me that no camper or hiker in
their right mind would like. Too much froufrou stuff. I had begged to differ.
When I first rolled over the county line in the RV from New York City, I
was definitely a pampered and a kept woman though I never saw myself
that way.
It wasn’t until I’d gotten my beautiful nails grimy and greasy and caked
with dirt, being elbow deep in getting Happy Trails back up and running,
that I’d realized I was in desperate need of a manicure and a little self-care.
I never figured myself to be a hiker, camper, or even outdoorsy until I
moved here. I’d called myself a glamper, holed up at the Ritz Carlton and
ordering room service while watching girly movies all day.
When the campground had started to thrive, we didn’t get just hikers
and campers. We had guests celebrating their honeymoons and what bride
didn’t love to be pampered on her special week?
“I hate to admit it, but we need those too.” Dottie’s brow cocked. I
smiled. “Stop being smug.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Innocently I shrugged and
looked down the campground at Fifi. “No!” I screamed to grab her attention
before she jumped right into the lake.
“You’ve ruined that pedigree.” Dottie laughed and snapped open a vinyl
cigarette case, tapping out a cigarette. She stuck it in the corner of her
mouth, letting it dangle.
“Tell me about it.” Fifi was having so much fun, there was no sense in
trying to get her out. She was already dirty, and I was going to be at the
hoedown all night. It was best she get her energy out now. “I meant to ask
you earlier if you’d seen anyone hanging around here today.”
“Hanging around?” She flicked the lighter and sucked in a deep breath,
lighting the cigarette.
“Last night there was this guy I’d seen at the Old Train Station Motel.” I
started to say before she interrupted me.
“You mean the stowaway Jay shot at? The one you were talking about?”
She looked around the campground before she brought her gaze back to me.
“I did heard Jay talking about it today at Grassel’s Garage. He was down
there saying he was going to camp out or something to catch this guy.
Seems this free-loader has been there a few times.” She chuckled. “Can you
imagine old Jay camping on the ground with a shotgun up around his neck?
He’d shoot himself. Crazy old coot.”
“Did you see anyone here last night?” I asked my question again.
It wasn’t unusual for Dottie to take a conversation in a completely
different way and needed to be veered back a few times when we discussed
things that included the campground. She was the campground manager and
had been for years. Long before I’d even come here to live.
Dottie Swaggert knew the ins and outs of every type of camper, RV, or
campervan. She even gave out checklists for every guest we had. She had a
list for everything. Emergency list. Food supply list. Camping list. Camping
hacks list.
Not only was she skilled in the camping world, she was also skilled in
the snooping around, keeping an eye open, and blabbing about it world.
This was one of those times I needed her to keep an eye out.
“Mmmmm.” Her mouth twisted side to side as though she were
thinking about what I’d said.
“When I let Fifi out last night before bed, I noticed a shiny object
moving around the campground. When it got closer, I saw a shadow, and
when I asked if he needed something, Hank come out of nowhere and
scared him.” I eyed Fifi to make sure she was still okay. She and the ducks
were swimming in a perfect line around the lake. Goofy dog. “He took off
and when he ran by, I didn’t see a face, but I recognized the compass pinned
on the backpack. It was the same compass from the guy that Jay had shot
at.”
“How do you know that?”
 “I thought it was odd he’d made it all the way over here from there.” I
shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t him.
“Hank saw him?” She lifted her chin.
“Saw him? He went after him, yelling police and stop and all this crazy
stuff.” I paused when a couple of guests drove past us in their car. We all
waved at each other.
“I just think he’s hiking all day and needs a place to lay his head at
night. What do you think?” I asked and glanced over at the pond when I
heard Fifi barking.
She was swimming around in circles barking at a duck after it had
apparently gone rogue from the group and decided to swim off. Fifi quickly
got the duck back in line.
“I’ve seen all kinds around here, and I don’t pay none of them any
attention, but they should know better than to hide out in someone’s stable
with a sign that clearly reads No Trespassing.” She tilted her chin in the air.
“Especially when the weather is nice at night. I agree that Jay should’ve
shot at the guy. Scare him off.”
“He’s obviously not taking Jay’s threats serious.” I glanced up at Dottie.
“He will if he gets a bullet in his butt.” She chuckled and took another
long draw of her cigarette. “You leaving for the hoedown soon? I’m going
to hitch a ride with Henry.”
“I should probably go get ready. Hank will be here soon to pick me up.
First, I’ve got to get my dog.” I hurried off toward the lake. “I’ll see you at
the hoedown.” I waved to Dottie over my shoulder.
I watched Fifi take part in the duck ritual. Initially, the ducks were
scared of her, but Fifi didn’t mean any harm. I guess they realized she
wasn’t going anywhere, so they might as well let her join in on their fun.
It just wasn’t fun for me. Every time she swam with the ducks, I had to
give her a bath or her white fur would turn dingy, and her skin would get
really dry, making me have to run her to the veterinarian. A bill I tried to
avoid at all cost since any money the campground profited went right back
into it.
“Fifi.” I teetered on the banks of the lake, wildly waving her over. “Fifi!
Come here!”
“You’re going to fall in.” The slow southern voice behind me was one I
instantly knew.
 “Hey, Ty.” When I turned around to greet Ty Randal, I lost my footing,
and in I went.
“Mae, are you okay?” Ty tried to be the polite gentleman he was as he
attempted to contain the big grin creeping over his face. He took a couple of
steps forward and stuck his hand out. “Let me help you.”
Fifi was swimming so quickly toward me the ducks even followed her.
“Let me get this goofy dog.” I groaned and waited for her to swim over.
She thought it was play time. Every time I reached out to get her, she
turned on a dime and swam the other way. Ty Randal was doubled over,
laughing.
“Here.” He reached out again. “She’s not going to come to you.”
“Fine.” I waded through the mud of the banks and took his hand.
“Thank you.”
“I remember the last time you fell in.” His blue eyes glistened under his
blond shaggy curls. He smelled of fried chicken. My stomach rumbled.
“Let’s not talk about that.” I patted my belly. “I’m obviously hungry. Do
you have to smell so good? Just like fried chicken.”
“Coke Ogden had the diner cater the hoedown, and I’m talking
hundreds of fried chickens. I’ve got war wounds from making it all.” He
held out his hand and showed me all the little blisters. “Grease pops up and
gets me every time. You know my dad, he keeps telling me to ‘wear them
gloves’ when I use the fryer, but I like to get my hands on the food and
know it’s perfect.”
“Your food is perfect.” I could taste his good country cooking now.
Ty was even perfect. Too perfect. We’d tried to date when I first moved
to Normal, but he was too nice for me. I know that sounds terrible and
should be something I want, but his attentiveness was a characteristic I sure
didn’t want in a future husband. I liked to have my alone time, and that was
probably why I had no idea my husband was a crook.
“You need a ride over there?” he asked.
“No, Hank is going to be here soon.” I looked back at the camper Hank
had rented and noticed his car wasn’t there, which was odd since he was
supposed to get off an hour before me.
“Are you sure? I just saw him at Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, working on the
break-in.” Ty made me jerk up.
“Break-in?” I asked.
 “Yeah. There was a break-in at Deter’s sometime last night. It has been
closed all day. Cops going in and out of the joint.” Ty’s brows furrowed.
“You hadn’t heard?”
“No. I’ve been so busy checking in guests all day that I didn’t even have
my phone on me at the office.” I gnawed on my lip, wondering if I should
take Ty up on his offer to hitch a ride and meet up with Hank at the
hoedown. “Did they steal anything? The burglar?”
“Yeah. Took some camping equipment. An axe and some picking stuff,
like hoes and shovels.” He bent down when Fifi finally got out of the water.
Her fur was dripping around her, but Ty was so good, he still picked her
up and let her get him wet. “Hey, sweet girl.” He let her kiss him. “You’re
just so full of life.”
She wagged her tail and continued to lick him on his chin as he talked
baby talk to her.
“I can’t believe the Laundry Club gals didn’t drive out here since I saw
them all pressed up against the glass.”
The Laundry Club was really a laundromat that Betts owned and located
across the median on Main Street from Deter’s.
“You should’ve told Abby to come tell me.” I tsked, bringing up Abby’s
name so I could ask him what was going on with the two of them.
They’d seemed hot and heavy a few months back. There’d not been
much talk from Abby about him nor have I seen her hanging out at his
camper at Happy Trails.
Ty and his father, along with his two brothers lived in a camper full
time. His father had run the diner all his life and recently handed it over to
Ty. I got a sneaking suspicion his dad was still a big part of the diner.
“Let me know if you need a ride.” He completely skipped over my
mentioning of Abby and put Fifi back on the ground. “She’s a ball of
energy.”
Both of us laughed, watching Fifi kneeling down in a crawl. She took
turns twisting her body side to side in the grass, drying herself.
“If you think that’s going to stop me from giving you a bath, you’ve got
another thing coming, little girl,” I warned her and patted my leg. “Let’s go
home.”
“I’m leaving in ten minutes if you want a ride,” Ty said.
“I’ll let you know.” I headed back to the RV where I put Fifi in the
shower with me since we were both stinking of pond water.
 I did check my phone before the shower, and Hank had called a couple
of times but didn’t leave a message or text.
“Hey, I saw you called.” I scrubbed the towel on one side of my head
while I called him back.
“Why didn’t you answer?” he asked.
“I left my phone at home this morning, thinking I’d be able to bring Fifi
home for lunch, but we were so busy with guest check-ins that before I
knew it, it was time to close the office. We are swamped.” I looked out the
window to see if he’d made it back to the camper while I was in the shower.
“You aren’t home. Does that mean you’re not going to pick me up because
of the break-in?”
“I figured the gals called you. Queenie was the first one there. She’s got
that scanner on all the time.” There was annoyance in his tone.
There was a sound of a car driving past my RV that made me glance out
the window. It was Henry heading toward the front of the campground.
“They didn’t tell me.” I put a scoop of Fifi’s kibble in her bowl then
walked back to the bedroom where I looked through the small closet with
not a whole lot to choose from. Becoming a minimalist was probably one of
the hardest thing RV living had to offer.
There was a pause where I knew his mind was going through the
options of who told me.
“Ty told me. In fact, he also told me that he’d take me to the hoedown.
I’m assuming you’re going to meet me,” I said.
“You know how it is with my job.”
Of course, I knew it. I was always put on the back burner when it came
to his job, and that was okay in the beginning of our relationship. There was
a sudden realization that this might be a permanent thing… back burner to
his job. I gulped away the thought.
“There was another break-in at the Cookie Crumble too. Apparently,
whoever the thief is, he or she is planning a long camping trip. Which
makes me wonder if it’s the guy we saw last night. Do you have a good
description of him?”
“Not really. How long can a person live on cookies and cupcakes?” I
joked.
“Eggs, bread, milk, Crisco, and sugar, along with a few more things,
were stolen.” He rattled off the basics. “Christine Watson keeps a two
month supply and some in the freezer. The thief literally left her with a
couple weeks as if he knew she’d need some to keep going.”
“A polite thief?” I couldn’t help think this person wasn’t going to do
harm. “Maybe this is the last time he breaks in anywhere else.”
“Who cares,” he said blankly. “I’m still going to find this guy. It’s still a
crime.”
“I never said it wasn’t.” I didn’t like how he was acting on the other end
of the phone. “Just tell me if you’re going to the hoedown or not.”
“Are you mad?” he asked. “I can’t help if my job doesn’t have regular
hours.”
“I’m not mad. I just want to know if I need to go to the hoedown alone
and meet you there.” He was right about his hours, and he couldn’t schedule
when crimes took place, but I had to decide if what he could give to our
relationship was enough for me.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make it at all.” Those were
words I didn’t want to hear. “I promise to make it up to you this week. What
if we go to the Red Barn for supper one night?”
“You don’t have to make anything up.” Even though I truly had to
question what I wanted in a relationship, it wasn’t fair to be mad at him or
upset because he was working. “I’m just happy you’re there to help because
that department would be lost without you.”
Fifi was too busy darting around the RV, rubbing her wet fur all over the
furniture, to even notice I had put food in her bowl. She put a lighter feel to
my feeling down about going to the hoedown alone.
“You’re the best, Mae.” There was some talking in the background, and
I could tell he was hurrying me off the phone. “We’re good?”
“Yeah. We’re good.” We hung up the phone, and I quickly texted Ty to
tell him to wait for me.
I decided on a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt along with a pair of cowboy
boots. I didn’t have time to straighten my crazy hair, so I parted it down the
middle, tying it down in two low ponytails.
“Come in!” I hollered from the bathroom when I heard someone knock
on the door, knowing it was Ty. I headed down the hall.
“Better grab an umbrella. They’re calling for rain,” he said.
“Really? Gosh, I didn’t even have time to have the radio on today.” I
headed back to the bedroom where I kept a few coats and accessories.
“Thanks for the ride. You were right about Hank. He doesn’t even know if
he’s going to make it at all.” I opted for a rain jacket instead of an umbrella.
“I’m excited to see what all Coke has done for the old train station.” He
held the back of the coat while I put one arm in and then the other.
“I was shocked to see how pretty it is. The architecture is unbelievable.”
I grabbed my keys and crossbody purse. “You be a good girl.”
Fifi had found her food and was too busy to even hear me. I checked her
water bowl to make sure it was filled before I headed out the door where Ty
was standing next to the passenger door, holding it open for me like a good
gentleman.
“Do you mind if we stop by Hank’s and let Chester out?” I asked and
glanced down toward Hank’s rental.
“Not at all.” Ty put the car in reverse and turned it around to Hank’s
camper.
“How’s your dad and brothers?” I asked like a polite southern lady
would do.
“He’s good. He’s getting around better and the boys”—he put a flat
palm above his head—“They are going to be taller than me.”
“That’s crazy. They are good boys.” I put up a finger when he stopped
in front of Hank’s camper. “I’ll be right back.”
I dug down into my crossbody to get out the full set of keys from all the
rentals I kept with me. I thumbed through them until I got to Hank’s spare
and unlocked the door. Chester was already there to greet me. He was so
sweet and loved affection.
It was probably a good idea for me to just take him back to my place so
he and Fifi could be company for each other.
“I’m going to walk him up to my place,” I told Ty through his rolled
down window. “Meet me up there.”
The short distance between Hank’s place and mine was enough for
Chester to do his business, stretch his legs, and be ready to hang out with
Fifi.
“Everything all good now?” Ty asked when I got back into his car.
“All good,” I confirmed. “I just hate Chester to be alone if he didn’t
have to be.”
“You’re a good person, Mae.” Ty glanced over at me, his blue eyes
captivating. “I heard you even cleaned the Old Train Station Motel.”
 “I helped Betts tidy up, but really Coke had it all clean. Everything went
dandy except for the whole bloody incident with Jay and that guy hiding out
in the stables.” I looked out the window as we drove past Dottie Swaggert’s
camper. There was a shadow that walked past her front window in her
camper. “That’s strange.”
“It’s not strange that Jay would shoot at someone. I’ve known that old
man all my life,” Ty said.
“It is strange that Dottie is still home. She told me she was riding with
Henry to the hoedown, and I just saw her move past her window.” I melted
back into the seat, looking straight ahead.
“Do you want me to stop so you can see what’s going on?” he asked.
“Nah. She must be getting a ride later.” I reached for my phone in my
crossbody bag to text her but got interrupted by a text coming in from Hank
saying that he was going to meet me at the hoedown after all.
CHAPTER 6

A fter Ty had dropped me off at the entrance of the Old Train

Station Motel so he could find a parking spot, I walked across the
courtyard where Coke had put the red carpet for everyone to
follow to the barn where the hoedown was taking place.
The bluegrass sounds of Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys
came from the barn. Strings of twinkling lights were all over the property,
dangling off trees and the barn. In the distance, the stable lights were on.
There was a black cloud drifting over the area that was sure to bring the rain
that was predicted.
“Welcome,” Coke Ogden greeted me at the sliding doors of the barn.
“I’m so glad you made it. All your friends are over there.” She pointed into
the crowded barn.
“Thanks.” I took off the rain jacket I’d brought and hung it on one of the
pegs in the wall next to the other coats. “I hope the rain holds off.”
“Me too.” She patted me. “If it comes, we’ll all have good music and
food to dance it away.” She winked and waved to another guest.
I couldn’t see through the crowd to where she’d pointed out my friends.
“This is great. Congratulations.” I reached out and squeezed her arm.
“Thank you.” She leaned in and yelled about Ethel Biddle’s squealing
into the microphone. “If I could only get Jay to hurry up and get on out of
here, you and Hank can be my first wedding.” She looked at me serious
like.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Is he here yet?” I asked.
“He didn’t come with you?” she asked.
“No. He’s meeting me here. There was a break-in at Deter's Feed-N-
Seed and the Cookie Crumble Bakery that’s got him working later. You
keep an eye out for anyone suspicious,” I told her and headed in the
direction of where she pointed out the Laundry Club gals.
There were party lights strung along the rafters of the barn that weren’t
there yesterday. The old bourbon barrels were set in place and were used as
bar tops like I’d thought they were going to. Big electrical wire spools were
used as seats, and I found that to be very creative. There were four different
bars set up, one in each corner, and along the right side was the food station
where I noticed Christine Watson talking to Trudy, the waitress from the
Normal Diner. Ellis Sharp, Hank’s sister, was also standing next to them but
didn’t appear to be in the same conversation.
Ellis Sharp stood a little taller than me. Just enough so that certain
clothes looked frumpy on me, but anything she wore looked as though it
was tailored especially for her.
She had one arm positioned across herself with a cocktail dangling from
her hand. Her rosy complexion, which was perfect for her job as a model.
Today she wore a scowl on it that fit her attitude. Her thin shape was
accentuated under the short-sleeved white eyelet dress that grazed her
ankles. The strappy heeled sandals weren’t fit for a hoedown, but neither
was Ellis. Her blond hair was straight and loose. It was a great style for
tossing, which she did with every gesture she made.
I weaved in and out of the crowd, making my way over to them. There
was a man standing up next to the band with a microphone pressed to his
lips. He was belting out things like "swing your partner" and other
instructions on how the dance was supposed to go. He sounded like he was
an auctioneer instead of a caller, the actual name title for the job.
I’d been to many barn dances when I was young, and it didn’t appear as
though anything had changed. There were still knee hoop dresses,
handkerchiefs tied around necks, and men sporting rhinestone button-down
shirts tucked into skin-tight jeans with a huge belt buckle. They all wore
cowboy boots and did a little jig as they swung their partners around.
“Hey there, Mae.” Trudy greeted me along with a hug, followed up by
one from Christine. Ellis greeted me with a forced smile, which made her
eyes squint.
“Hi, Ellis.” I tried to be as nice as I could to the woman, but no matter
what I did, she still never treated me like I was good enough for her brother.
“It looks good.” I glanced along the food table and back to Trudy, a
waitress for the Normal Diner.
 “Ty has you working tonight?” I asked.
“Yeah. I wonder where he is?” She looked across the barn over our
heads.
“He’s parking the car,” I told them. “I rode with him.”
“You rode with your ex-boyfriend?” Ellis’s eyes lit up. “Does Hanky
Panky know?”
“Yes. Hank is meeting me here.” I sucked in a deep breath to help keep
my composure. Her nickname for Hank was annoying, and he hated it, but
she was the type that didn’t care.
“Toodles,” Ellis said and waved her fingers in the air.
Ellis Sharp did whatever she wanted and didn’t care about the
repercussions of it. Including trying to set Hank up with the assistant
coroner, Natalie Willowby, who I didn’t see here.
I really did want Hank’s family to like me. But they were more
interested in Ellis and her famous modeling slash acting career, which
seemed to be stalled as of late.
Hank had lived on his parents' property while they were traipsing all
over the country, paying for Ellis’s career. Recently they all moved back,
making it more challenging for Hank to have any sort of boundaries with
them even though he lived in a trailer instead of their house.
After a few run-ins with them, he’d decided it was time to move out and
temporarily live in a camper at Happy Trails.
“Don’t mind her.” Trudy swung her fuller hips to the side, tossing her
blond ponytail with her hand and doing a catwalk twirl that would have
made Ellis gag. “Darling, I’ve got to get these meatballs circulated,” she
said in her best fake actress voice, picking up the tray.
Christine and I laughed as Trudy did her best to mock Ellis. Out of the
corner of my eye, I could see Jay and Lee enjoying what looked to be a
bourbon near the front of the band. It looked like they’d made up since I’d
seen them having some sort of tiff this morning.
Coke was talking to some of the gals I recognized from Cute-icles, and
the dance floor was filled with line-dancing lovers in big hats, boots, and in
the mood for a few well-timed yee-haws.
“Say, I heard about the break-in. Are you and Mallory okay?” I asked
Christine about her and her sister. I grabbed a couple of meatballs off
Trudy’s tray as she passed us.
 Christine always worked the bakery while Mallory did all the business
and ordering. Mallory was rarely there like Christine.
“I’m fine. Thank goodness for my alarm clock not going off, or I’d have
been there when they broke in.” She gulped and put a hand up to her chest.
“What time was the break-in?” I asked.
“Around six a.m.” She let out a long sigh. “I had a delivery scheduled
for five thirty from the Milkery. Dawn Gentry told me no one was there,
and she did try to call my cell phone. I didn’t hear it. I guess I was
exhausted and needed that rest.”
“Dawn didn’t see anything?” I asked about one of my good friends and
my adoptive mom’s business partner.
“No. That’s how Hank put the timeline together. I literally probably
missed the burglar by fifteen minutes.” Christine’s frown made her freckles
widen across her nose. “Hank said it looked as though they were trying to
gather items they could live off of for some time. It doesn’t make me feel
better that someone is around here trying to live.”
“Do you know if they think it’s the same person who broke into
Deter's?” I asked.
“Why? Do you think so? I mean, you do have the keen sense and all.”
Her eyes grew big.
“I call it woman’s intuition that had a jerk as a husband.” It was my way
of explaining how I’d gotten good at being an amateur sleuth and solving
crimes that’d taken place in Normal since I’d lived here. In reality, it was a
lot of dumb luck and being really good at sticking my nose in situations that
it had no place to be.
“Smile!” Violet Rhinehammer brought her camera up to her face and
pointed it at me and Christine.
We put our heads together and showed off our pearly whites.
“It’ll be in tomorrow’s paper, so be sure to grab your copy.” Violet
sidled up to Christine. “So, do you want to give me the scoop on what
happened this morning at the Cookie Crumble?”
I ran my hand down my low curly ponytails, secretly hoping mine
looked as good as Violet’s long blond ones. Straight blonde ones making
me have hair envy.
I tugged on the knot I’d made with the hem of my plaid shirt, but there
was no way my jeans were going to compare to her cutoff pair. She looked
like she had stepped right off the Dukes of Hazard set. I just gave up and
clasped my hands in front of me.
“I don’t think I can say too much since it’s on ongoing investigation.”
The words out of Christine’s mouth sounded exactly like a scripted version
of what Hank would tell her to tell anyone who asked, other than me, since
she knew Hank was my boyfriend.
Plus, Christine and I were friends. She provided cookies and treats for
some of the baskets I sold at the campground. She even donated cookies
along with cupcakes and donuts to my guests for the morning continental
breakfast I offered, which was served in the recreational building behind the
office.
“You know where to find me.” Violet flipped a card out of the back
pocket of her cutoffs and held it between her two fingers for Christine to
take. “Toodles.” She finger waved and made her way over to another group
to get some photos for her big write-up in the paper.
“Back to our conversation,” Christine turned back to me. “I do think it’s
the same guy. I mean, what are the odds that someone steals all the camping
equipment to camp for a while and isn’t the same person who stole food to
last him a while?”
“Good point.” I grabbed one of the draft beers from the person walking
around handing them out.
Ethel belted out a new song, which was apparently a town favorite.
Every last person but me stopped everything they were doing and headed
straight to the dance floor. Christine abandoned me. I glanced around for
Hank. He’d yet to show up. I noticed Abby Fawn sitting on one of the
stools looking at the dancing crowd. With a big smile on her face, she did a
little wiggle dance in her seat. She had on the same outfit as all the other
girls, but her brown hair was pushed up under a cowboy hat.
“Hey!” She greeted me with a big smile. “You look so great.”
She grabbed her phone off the table and poked at the screen. She
pointed it toward me.
“Let me get a photo.”
I stood up and did the girl pose of one hand on hip with one leg cocked
at the knee, giving the best smile I had.
“Perfect.” She flashed the phone at me to make sure I approved.
“Hashtag Mae West hashtag Happy Trails is having a great time at the
hashtag hoedown in Hashtag Normal, Kentucky.” Proud of herself, she said,
“Now off to social media world to get more tourists.”
Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys had started their set with all
sorts of instruments to back up Ethel’s singing. There was a standup bass,
banjo, jug blower, fiddler, guitar, and harmonica all harmonizing, bringing
more of the younger crowd to the dance floor. No one seemed to see the
flashes of lightning as it traveled across the black sky followed up by
thunder.
One, two, three, four, I started to count between the flash of lightning
and sound of thunder. However many seconds between thunder was the
total miles it’d be until it was right over us. Sounded like a crazy way to
predict weather, but it was true. Just like we followed the Farmers' Almanac
to plant our gardens and local crops.
“I hope they find the person who broke into Deter’s and the bakery.” I
made small talk with her and noticed Dottie Swaggert on the dance floor.
Henry twirled her around before putting his hand on her waist to complete
the steps in the line dance to the song before they started the dance pattern
again. “When did Dottie get here?”
“Long time ago. She and Henry were here before me.” Abby brought
her drink to her lips.
“Are you sure?” I asked, knowing I’d seen Dottie through her window
when Ty and I drove past.
“Yeah. They were talking to Ethel and Henry and even helped set up
their instruments. I hope they catch the burglar too.”
The lights flickered, and there were a few glances around. They went
right back to focusing on their dance moves when the lights didn’t go out
completely.
“Were you at the Laundry Club when the police were at Deter’s?” I
asked. For some reason I just couldn’t let it go that the guy in the stables
and at Happy Trails last night was the same person breaking in.
“Of course, we were all there except you. It was odd because, according
to Alvin, there was no forced entry, and he claimed he put the alarm on
before he left the night before.” She shrugged. “I told the gals that I bet
some poor college kids came down here to hike, decided to stay, and took
enough things to live on for a week or so.”
“You’re probably right.” I looked around again when the lights
flickered, wondering if Coke had gotten a generator backup for the motel
and if it extended to the barn.
“It’s gonna be a gulley washer out there soon.” Abby looked out at the
rain.
A big crack of lightning followed by a loud boom of thunder ripped
through the barn. The lights went out and the band’s speakers went silent as
darkness fell upon us.
“Well, heck,” I heard a voice that sounded a lot like Dottie’s break the
quiet before a flick of her lighter gave off a little gleam of light. “Lighters
up!” she hollered.
Within seconds, the entire barn was lit up in butane lighters like it was a
rock concert. If a party goer didn’t have a lighter, the flashlights on cell
phones were held up.
“I guess we are leaving.” Ty had made his way over to me and Abby.
“Abby.” He nodded and then turned back to me. “Mae, you ready?”
“Yeah.” I gave one look around to see if Hank had gotten there, but I
didn’t see him though I definitely could’ve missed him in the dark.
I gave Abby a quick hug.
“I’ll see you in the morning.” I got off the stool and headed toward the
front of the barn with Ty before a clap and a fork of ligtning shattered the
darkness. The storm was getting closer.
“Wait!” Coke stopped me at the door after I’d gotten my rain coat off
the hook. “You own a campground, and you’ve got to have some
knowledge on these sorts of storms.”
She was right. I’d had plenty of outages where the electrical box had
tripped.
“I’m in no way an electrician, but I can take a look and see if a breaker
has tripped.” I tugged on the tie of my raincoat a little snugger, now wishing
I’d taken an umbrella like Ty had suggested.
“Thank you.” Coke put her hands together and let out a long sigh.
“Folks! Just stay right here. If Mae can get the electricity back on, we’ll
continue the hoedown!”
There were clapping and yee-haws along with whistles that echoed out
of the darkness that put a little giddy-up in my step.
With all the confidence in the world, I headed outside with Coke leading
the way.
Thank goodness she was in front. After another clap of thunder, the dark
sky opened up and rain poured down on us. A horse ran past us so fast it
almost clipped Coke.
A scream came from deep in my gut when the Appaloosa horse scared
me half to death.
“Rosa.” Coke twisted around. Rain droplets fell down her face. The
black from her mascara ran in long lines down her cheek. “I think that was
Rosa!” she screamed over the thunder.
“Who’s Rosa?” I asked loudly to be heard over the rain.
“Jay’s prize horse.” Coke put her hand over her brows to shield the
pelting rain from going into her eyes. “He’d never let her out in this.”
The horse galloped off into the distance into the dark abyss. It was too
dark for me to see if it was the horse Jay had been petting yesterday
morning.
“We have to go to the stables first.” She motioned for me to follow her.
“I’ve got to check on the other horses.”
My steps were heavy from getting stuck in the mud and me trying to
pull them out with each step. It was such a heavy rain. It was hard to see a
foot in front of me. A few more steps ahead, the big light overtop the stable
door was visible. I made my way toward it and really humped it when
another clap of thunder sent my heart racing.
“Don’t you think Jay should be doing this?” I asked and turned back to
look at the barn where the hoedown where the guests waited on my
electrical skills. “I can go back and get him.”
Coke didn’t respond. She heaved as she tried to slide the barn door
open. When I noticed she was having trouble, I put my hands on hers.
“1,2,3,” she counted. “Pull!”
We tugged the door open, tripping over ourselves, landing on our hineys
in a big mud puddle. It would’ve been a laughable moment under different
circumstances, but we were cold and wet. Not a good combination for me.
Crackling music poured out of the stable.
“Jay plays music for Rosa when it’s storming! He must’ve been in here
to turn on the transistor!” She screamed over the screeching music.
A flash of lightning lit up the stables. The radio was sitting on the ledge
of one of the wooden fences. Coke walked over and twisted the switch off.
“He uses the old battery radio in times like this.” Coke was referring to
the electricity being out. “Jay!” she called out and walked down the center
aisle.
 I stood there, enjoying the cover and trying to forget the mud clumped
all over my clothes and in my curly hair, while Coke hurried down the barn.
“Rosa’s stall door is open.” Coke pointed to a stall in the far back.
“There’s light in here.” I noticed a few of the interior fixtures were lit
up.
“There’s a generator for the animals.” As she talked and walked down
the center aisle, the other horses poked their heads out of the bars to see
what was going on.
I walked over to the one closest to me and patted it on the nose. The
horse danced around as though it was uneasy.
“It’s just a storm. It’s okay,” I spoke softly to try and calm down the
creature.
“Mae! Someone opened the stall and opened the back barn door,” Coke
hollered over the sound of the rain beating down on the roof. “Help me get
Rosa!”
My first instinct was to protest. I’d never been around horses before,
and the bars between me and the one I was petting was as close as I wanted
to get to the intimidating creatures.
“Come on!” she yelled. “I’ll call Jay.”
I nodded. Maybe she didn’t hear me over the rain earlier.
“He’s not answering.” She put her phone away before she gestured for
me to help shut the back door where Rosa had apparently escaped from.
“Why don’t you go back to the hoedown, find him, and tell him. Rosa will
come to him.”
I nodded instead of trying to yell in the rain.
“Go out this door and just go around.” She gestured me out the barn
door.
What on earth had I gotten myself into was all I could think of when I
headed back out into the stormy weather. No one in her right mind would be
doing this, I thought to myself and noticed my foot had stepped on
something round. I bent down and brought it up to my face.
“What on earth?” My heart sank when I realized it was a compass, like
the one from the backpack of the guy hiding out in the stables. The same
compass I’d seen bouncing on the man's backpack from last night at the
campground.
I stuck it in my back pocket and turned to head back toward the barn
when I tripped and fell. Only it wasn’t in another mud puddle. I fell right on
top of Jay Russel’s lifeless body.
CHAPTER 7

A fter I’d tripped over Jay’s feet, all the details were a little cloudy
up until Hank showed up. His attention to making sure I was
okay was exactly what I needed to wrap my head around the fact
that Jay Russel was dead.
One of the officers stood next to me and Coke with an umbrella over my
head. Hank had draped one of those quilted blankets he’d found in the horse
stables over my shoulders to help prevent me from shaking from the cold.
In reality I was shaking from my nerves. Coke had waved off the blanket as
she stood there with her eyes focused on Jay.
I watched as Colonel Holz and Hank inspected Jay’s body. Jay’s upper
half of his body was resting on one of the wires of the electric fence. The
half I’d tripped over lay on the grass. I noticed how odd it was that he was
between two wires instead of just the top one.
Casually, so no one would notice, I twisted my body a couple of times,
as though I was falling, to try and figure out just exactly how he’d fallen.
When I couldn’t come up with something quick, I decided to let it go and
leave it to the experts.
The dark clouds had blown to the east, and the rain had moved to a
drizzle and then stopped all together. A few stars started to show in the
black sky, letting all of us know the bad weather had practically left our
region.
The officer took down the umbrella and moved on to something else in
the investigation, leaving me and Coke alone to assess the situation
ourselves.
“What on earth was Jay doing?” I couldn’t move past death by
electrocution.
 “It appears as though he’d come into the barn, let out Rosa for some
reason, and fell on the fence.” Coke had already figured out what happened.
“That’s what made the electricity go out, I bet.” She nodded.
“I didn’t even know there was an electric fence out here.” A wave of
gratefulness that I’d not tripped into an electric fence swept through my
body, sending tears to the edge of my eyelids. “That could’ve been me.” I
gulped back.
“Not unless you shot yourself.” Natalie Willowby walked up to Hank.
She looked between me and Coke.
“Shot?” I questioned.
“It appears as though Jay had fallen on hard times.” I could tell Hank
thought Jay had taken his own life. He lifted up what looked like a journal.
“This was in Rosa’s stable. He wrote all about the stables and having to find
a new place for his clients.” His gazed suddenly focused on Coke. “All
about Rosa.”
Coke looked down at her feet. Was she hiding something? My gut
tugged. It was like I could read his mind. He didn’t think Jay killed himself.
He thought Coke knew something.
“Jay would’ve never done that to himself.” Coke was quick to snap and
bring me out of my thoughts.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I went to take it out, feeling
the pin of the compass.
“I found this before I tripped over him.” I held it out to give to Hank.
Natalie took it. I glared at her. “I swear it’s the same compass the guy Jay
had shot at had on his backpack and the same one I saw last night at the
campground. You know, the one you chased.”
“You chased someone?” Natalie asked as if she had authority to do so.
“He had no business snooping around the campground.” He made no
big deal out of it.
“What about the compass?” I asked. “There was a person here fighting
with him. Jay shot at him. That’s where he got that cut on his head.”
“Alvin Deters has a wall of these things down at the Feed-N-Seed. We’d
have to interview everyone from here to Timbuktu if we went on finding
that compass.” Natalie laughed at me.
I glared at her and decided to look at my phone instead of giving her the
satisfaction of me talking to her.
 The text was from Abby. She wanted to tell me to meet the gals at the
Laundry Club after I was done at the stables. They were going to meet there
after the police were finished interviewing everyone at the hoedown.
Colonel Holz called Natalie over while another officer took Coke back
into the stables to finish interviewing her.
“Do you really think he did this to himself?” I asked Hank. “I mean
what about that Lee guy?”
“Lee Wells?” Hank shook his head. “I doubt it. They’ve been best
friends for years.”
“Do best friends spit on each other’s shoes?” I asked. “I saw them
yesterday. Lee was taking over Jay’s clients.”
“Why would he do that when Coke gave him an extension to stay
through the summer.”
“She did? The last I heard, she told him he had to find a new place so
she could turn the stables into a wedding venue.” It didn’t make sense to
me. “Lee told me he was here to look at a potential client.” I gnawed my
lip. “Maybe Lee had counted on all the new clients and just today Coke
gave Jay the news. The clients stayed with Jay and that made Lee mad.”
“Lee Wells runs a hell of a business.” Hank looked under his brows at
me, overtop of his notebook where he’d taken some notes. “He didn’t need
anything from Jay Russel. Trust me.” Hank put an arm around me and
kissed me on the temple. “It’s cute how your adorable brain works. You
playing detective and all when Colonel has already declared a self-inflicted
wound.”
“But why would he kill himself if Coke had given him a few more
months?” I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“A lot of times these things don’t make sense.” Hank gave me a brisk
rub up and down my arms. “I’ll see you in the morning. Coffee.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled and watched as Colonel and Natalie rolled Jay’s
covered body on the church cart past me. “Coffee.”
Jay Russel didn’t seem the type to run away from life. There was more
to it, and I couldn’t help but wonder what.
CHAPTER 8

E ven though a nice summer breeze came in the window of Henry’s

car driving down through the holler and into the Daniel Boone
National Park, there was still a chill that goose bumped its way
along my arms. I gripped the handle of the door.
“You seem awfully quiet since we left.” Dottie glanced over her
shoulder to the back seat where I was sitting.
“I think it’s odd that Jay would kill himself. Even more so now that I
know Coke Ogden had extended the time he needed to be out of the
stables.” I let out a long sigh.
Henry followed with a long sigh and pressed back into the seat. He had
both hands on the wheel.
“Thank you, Henry, for giving me a ride.” I had no idea where Ty had
gone. “One minute Ty was standing there, and the next he was gone.”
“Now that you bring it up, I don’t think Abby was too happy that you
were with him.” Dottie caught me off guard.
“That’s goofy.” Hank gave Dottie a side glance. He looked at me in the
rearview mirror. Was he checking to see my reaction?
“Why? Abby and Mae are friends. We could’ve given her a ride.” Dottie
shrugged and repositioned herself when we drove into the downtown limits.
The streetscape was so pretty in downtown Normal. The Main Street
was divided by a grassy median, each side of it a one-way street. There
were carriage lights, like most small towns, that were strategically placed
and glowed a cozy ambience no matter the time of day or night.
The grassy median had its own little park with an amphitheater, picnic
benches, a covered space for reunions or get-togethers, and plenty of trees.
It was a perfect place to host celebrations even though Coke was going to
be providing those types of events at the Old Train Station Motel.
The shops were stand-alone charming cottage-style homes with picket
fences around them and a courtyard. They ranged from The Smelly Dog
Groomer to Deters Feed-N-Seed and every store one could think of in a
small town. Each one was locally owned and not some big corporation. It
only added to the charm.
In fact, there was a city ordinance that stated no big box stores. That
included chain restaurants of any kind, including fast food joints. Citizens
and visitors had to drive out of the Daniel Boone National Park to get any
of that. That’s why Mary Elizabeth’s Milkery was popular. Although it was
located on a farm out of the downtown area, people loved the fresh products
she offered.
The Laundry Club was the laundromat located downtown, but it was
much more than just a bunch of washer and dryers. It’d become a place for
my friends and me to hang out while we visited. Betts was the owner and
had made it very cozy and welcoming by adding a coffee station, book club
meetings, puzzles, and TVs. Those perks just weren’t for me and the
Laundry Club gals. They were for anyone using the facilities.
Laundromats were very popular in hiking areas. Some campgrounds
didn’t offer a washer and dryer, but Happy Trails did, which meant that my
guests didn’t have to come to a laundromat to do their laundry. The Laundry
Club was always filled and not even the rain had stopped customers from
filling the joint up.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to come back and get you two?”
Henry asked after he stopped his car in front of the laundromat.
“No.” I shook my head. “One of the gals will bring us home. Thank
you.” I leaned forward and patted his shoulder “You’re the best.”
“Yeah.” He laughed and waved us out.
“Thanks,” Dottie said to Henry.
Queenie French walked up the same time I got out of Henry’s car. She
held the door open and waited for me and Dottie.
“I heard you got a ride from Ty to the hoedown.” She looked at me with
amused wonder. Her short blond hair was matted down to her scalp, a
testament to her fight with the rain. The rain had won.
She was wearing a knee-length square dance skirt where the panels
alternated between a solid blue fabric and one with flowers instead of her
usual silky skin-tight dance leggings and a Jazzercise tank. She had her
signature fanny pack snapped around her waist and a white blouse tucked
under the fanny pack. There was a hot pink scarf tied around her neck and a
pair of white, tap-like shoes on her feet.
“I’m sure you did.” I knew Abby was mad, and she had no reason to be.
It would all be good once I explained Ty had taken me as a favor since I
was going to meet Hank at the hoedown even though that hadn't panned out
exactly as planned. Really, nothing tonight had turned out as planned.
“You were getting it out there on the dance floor.” I smiled and walked
next to her to the couches where Betts already had cups of coffee waiting
for us.
“Not too shabby for sixty years young.” Queenie winked.
“Heck no. You were doing better than anyone younger out there.” My
attention drew to Abby.
She greeted me with a tight thin-lipped smile.
“We are going to get this out in the open right now,” I told her and sat
on a different couch. I picked up a coffee cup and held it in my hands. “He
offered to take me when I told him I was waiting on Hank. Hank couldn’t
come because of the break-in at Deter’s, and Hank told me to get a ride with
Ty and meet him there.”
“See.” Betts was sitting next to Abby. She patted her on the leg. “I told
you there was a good reason.”
Abby blinked a couple of times. I wasn’t sure, but she looked like she
was about to cry.
“Why did he bring you here?” she asked as she tried to hold back the
tears.
“He didn’t. He ghosted.” I pointed to Dottie. “I hitched a ride with
Dottie and Henry. There is nothing between me and Ty. I’m head over heels
crazy about Hank.”
“I understand.” She brushed off my reasoning. “I’m fine.” She looked at
Dottie. “How are you?”
Abby cut off any more conversation about Ty, still leaving me with
unanswered questions. When he said they were different, did he mean he
was different? He sure did make it seem like they were in agreement. By
the way Abby was acting, I knew that wasn’t right.
Ty and I were good enough friends that I felt comfortable with asking
him about it even though Abby and I were much closer. It was a subject that
was still raw with emotions as her shaking hands told me. Plus, it was
between me and Abby, not me, Abby, and all the people in the laundromat.
“This is Violet Rhinehammer reporting live from the grand opening of
the Old Train Station Motel located in the Daniel Boone National Park in
Normal, Kentucky.” Violet was on TV giving a special report from the
regular television schedule. “It appears the body of local horse trainer, Jay
Russel, was not murdered as previously reported. There is an ongoing
investigation according to Detective Hank Sharp.” The camera panned over
to Hank and Natalie.
The door opened, and we all turned to look from the TV to see who it
was. Coke Ogden walked through the door. Her face was blotchy, her nose
was red, and her eyelids were swollen, evidence of her crying.
“This is not a murder investigation. Preliminary reports from the
coroner’s office shows it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound that led to Jay
Russel’s death. We won’t be holding any sort of special press conference at
this time.” Hank gave one good nod to the camera before it panned back to
Violet, but not before I saw Hank’s hand touch Natalie’s arm to gesture her
off camera.
That made my blood boil. I knew it shouldn’t, but when Ellis and
Hank’s parents had come back to town, Ellis tried her hardest to get Hank to
go out with Natalie. Something I didn’t take lightly.
“I don’t care what Hank Sharp or that goody two-shoes coroner Natalie
whatever-her-name- is says.” Coke waved a hand in the air, then rubbed it
under her nose, giving it a big sniff. “Jay Russel didn't kill himself.”
She went around making eye contact with each of us but stopped at me.
“I’m telling you, after the deal we made, he was happy as a pig in slop.”
She pointed at me. Her jaw set. Her eyes froze. “And, Mae West, you’re
just the person I’ve come to see.”
“Me? I didn’t do anything.” I drew back and gulped. “I just met the
man.”
“You know stuff. You know how to get to the bottom of stuff, and I
want to pay you to get to the bottom of this.” She stomped her foot in anger.
“Jay Russel was murdered, and you’re gonna find out who done it.”
Yep. Nothing tonight turned out as planned.
CHAPTER 9

T here were no promises made last night after Coke Ogden had asked
me to help get to the root of Jay’s death. Though I couldn’t say the
evidence she provided wasn’t enough to give me a second thought
to what the coroner had initially determined as the cause of death.
Coke had brought up a good point. Jay loved his horse. Why on earth
would he let her out of the stable when it was about to downpour?
According to Coke, Jay even played music in the stall if there was the
slightest hint of gray clouds lingering because Rosa was scared of storms,
especially lightning.
If he loved Rosa so much, why would he put her in a situation where
she would be frightened and run off? Wouldn’t he give her to someone he
loved? Which made me wonder if he had family or someone he loved?
Then there was the fact that I’d seen him not only get into one but two
arguments. One with the hiker hiding out in the stable and the other an
altercation with Lee after I’d watched a little of Jay’s class. Not that either
of them killed Jay, but both would have reason.
Let’s face it, people kill people over the slightest things nowadays, and
when a person shoots at someone several times like Jay had the hiker, the
hiker might’ve come back for revenge. Then there was the greedy side of
things which would give Lee a good reason to knock Jay off. According to
Hank, Lee had his own little empire in Normal with his own clients, but he
could have all the business if Jay wasn’t around.
All of these questions must’ve been rolling around in my head because I
woke up at four a.m. with Jay on my mind. Fifi was right there with me,
sitting up in our bed, staring at me.
 “You can read my mind.” I picked her up, holding her close and giving
her extra special kisses. “You know exactly what I need. Walk?”
Her eyes popped up, and her back end started to wiggle, forcing her out
of my arms. She darted off the bed and headed straight to the front door of
the RV.
“I’m coming.” I rolled out of bed and tugged on sweatpants over top my
sleep shorts. “Hold on,” I called to Fifi when I heard her nails scraping the
door in anticipation.
Quickly I looked at the outside temperature on my phone and decided to
grab my hoodie on my way out of the room. The coffee pot was already to
brew. I hit the on button and knew it’d be hot and ready for me after a brisk
walk around the lake.
“I’m going to put your leash on because I don’t want you swimming
with the ducks or wake them up.” I snapped the leash on her collar.
The line went taut as she bolted out the door as far as she could, and I
locked the door behind me. Four a.m. was pitch black, and if it weren’t for
the fireflies out and about, the only light would be the bright moon and
stars.
It was a catch-22 in a campground when it came to lighting the place
up. True campers came to Happy Trails to get out of the city lights and
enjoy what nature had to offer. As stunning as camping in the Daniel Boone
National Park was, I still had to consider the safety of the campers and the
campground.
We had lights around the campground that were on a timer until nine
thirty p.m. Most people who camped or hiked around here were already
back at the campsite and winding down from the day around the fires. They
were also early to bed and early to rise.
There was a small pole light on the small dock that led out to the lake. I
insisted we do that since it was around water, and I never knew what people
who drink might be thinking. Late night swims weren’t uncommon around
here. Though we discouraged it, and there were Swim at Your Own Risk
signs that my insurance agent made me put up, people still did it.
The splashing around that was going on now was more than just ducks.
I was going to check it out. Fifi and I walked toward the office, stopping a
couple of times so she could do her business. I deliberately went that way to
get the best view of the pond from where the moon was positioned. I knew
if I walked with my back to the office, the moon would be positioned in the
sky, shining down on the pier of the pond where the splashing was coming
from.
I passed Dottie’s camper, and it was dark. When I passed the office, I
noticed a light was on. In my mind, I replayed shutting down the computer
and leaving for the night. I distinctly remember locking the office door.
As I got closer, I could see through the window. Dottie Swaggert was
sitting in her office chair, her head resting on the desk. The door was
locked. I tapped lightly on it so as not to scare her from her sleep, but that
didn’t work. The sound of a chair crashing on the floor came from inside.
“Dottie, it’s me.” I placed my mouth close to the door and said, “It’s
Mae.”
The footsteps got closer, and the door swung open.
“Dottie.” I gasped when I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and
her red hair not up in the usual pink sponge curlers. “I don’t ever think I’ve
seen you at night without your curlers.”
She stuck her head out of the door and looked both ways before she
reached out and dragged me in.
“Get in here.” She jerked me, making me trip over the threshold and
almost sending me flat on my face.
Fifi didn’t even notice. She trotted right on in and headed straight to
Dottie’s desk, waiting for a treat.
“Someone broke into my RV last night. They took my gun.” There was
a growl in her voice which made me think she was more mad than scared.
My eyes shifted back and forth as I tried to pry open my brain without
the help of coffee. In mid-thought, I jerked up to look at her.
“I saw someone in there last night when Ty and I passed your place on
our way to the hoedown.” I sat down in one of the chairs at her desk and
eased back.
“Why didn’t you tell me when you saw me?” She narrowed her eyes
and studied me.
“I…” I stammered searching for why I didn’t say anything. “I thought it
was odd and figured you were running late. When I saw you on the dance
floor, it completely escaped my mind.” That was no excuse, but it was all I
had. “Did you call Hank?” I asked.
“No. After Henry dropped me off and I noticed the camper had been
broken into, I went to grab my gun just in case someone was still in there.”
Her nostrils flared. “That’s when I noticed it was gone. Bullets and all.”
 “Why didn’t you call Hank?” I asked.
“He had his hands full with Jay. I sat here watching out the window to
catch him when he came home, but he’s not come back yet.” She gave me
information that didn’t sit well with me. “What’s that look on your face?”
“I wonder why he didn’t come home? If Jay wasn’t murdered, there
wouldn’t be a crime scene.” I couldn’t help but think about Natalie
Willowby at the scene when I left. I didn’t like her and how she had been
just a step behind him all night.
Dottie looked out the window, staring intensely.
“There were a lot of people he had to interview at the hoedown, not to
mention the report he’d have to write.” She jerked her head toward me.
“And Glenda. They’d have to tell Glenda.”
“Glenda?” I asked.
“His daughter.” Dottie blinked a few times. “I wonder if she knows.”
“He had a daughter?” I didn’t even think about his family members. She
nodded. “Wife? Other kids?”
“No. He and Paulette only had Glenda.” Dottie let loose a long,
dramatic sigh. “Paulette met her a hippie back in the seventies. Peace, love,
and all that bull malarkey.” She shook a finger at me. “Believe you me,
nearly killed Glenda when her mama ran off like that.”
“Really?” I stood up and walked over to the coffee pot. “What else?”
While Dottie told me more about Jay, Paulette, and Glenda, I made us
some coffee. Immediately, the strong aroma tickled my brain to life.
“Paulette came back one time, and she was nuttier than a fruit cake. She
was saying how she’d been all over the United States and seen things we’d
never believe.” Dottie reached out and took the coffee mug from me. “Said
she was livin’ somewhere in Colorado, but it’s untellin’ where she really
lived.” She lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip. “She wasn’t as pretty
no more. She looked like death eatin’ a cracker.”
The sound of gravel spitting up under tires made us look out the
window just as Hank’s big black car passed.
“We need to call Hank.” I took my coffee and moved closer to the
window, watching the tail lights go around the lake.
“The swimmer.” I gasped. “I completely forgot about the swimmer.”
“What swimmer?” Dottie stood up from her desk and walked over,
looking over my shoulder.
 “I couldn’t sleep, and I think someone was swimming in the lake. That’s
why I took Fifi for a walk.” There didn’t seem to be anything in the pond
now. The top of the pond was like glass and shiny in the moonlight.
Before I could finish my sentence, I noticed Hank’s car had passed his
rental, and he was driving back toward the front of the campground. When
he stopped the car next to the office, Dottie and I looked at each other.
“Dear.” Dottie shoved her free hand in her hair. “I’m a mess.”
“I don’t think he’s going to care.” Both of us shuffled over to the door to
let him in. “Good morning.”
He looked between us.
“What are you two doing up at five a.m?” he asked, his body stiff.
“Actually, I got here an hour ago, and Dottie’s been here all night.” I
held up my mug. “Coffee?”
“I guess I better if I’m going to hear what’s in that head of yours.” He
knew me too well.
“Go on, Dottie.” I encouraged her once Hank was inside and sitting
with a cup of coffee. “Tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Hank asked.
“Someone broke into my camper last night while I was at the hoedown.
And Mae saw them.” She nodded at me.
“I didn’t see the person.” I made sure to correct her. “I saw a shadow
and figured she didn’t go with Henry to the hoedown.”
“I told you I was going with Henry.” Her brows furrowed.
“I know you did, and I saw Henry’s car driving past my RV. When Ty
and I drove by—” I gulped when I heard how my words sounded as though
Ty and I were on a date or something. I glanced at Hank, but he didn’t seem
to care, so I continued, turning my attention to Dottie. “I noticed a light on,
which is strange since you turn them off when you leave. Anyways, I
thought you’d decided not to come or come later. If I was driving my own
car, I would have stopped to see if you needed a ride.”
“Was anything stolen?” Hank asked.
“Yes. My gun.” Her face clouded with uneasiness. She was definitely
covering something up, but I wasn’t sure what.
“When did you get home?” he asked.
“What time did we leave the Laundry Club?” she asked me.
“You went to the Laundry Club after finding Jay?” he questioned.
 “Yes. Me and the girls weren’t tired.” I decided to leave out the fact
about Coke showing up and asking me to help her find out who killed Jay
because Hank truly believed he wasn’t murdered.
“You didn’t call the police?” He took the heat off of me and went back
to Dottie. Her silence was enough for him to know her answer. “You need
to come make a police report.” He took another drink and put the cup on the
desk. “I’m tired. It’s been a long night.”
“Did you find Glenda or Paulette?” Dottie didn’t care if he was tired or
not. She was going to get to the bottom of that gossip.
“We got in touch with Glenda. She said that she thinks she can find her
mom, but it might take a week or so.” He walked over to me and put his
arm around me. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Looking deep into his green eyes made any insecure feelings
I had instantly go away. “You go get some sleep and call me when you get
up.”
He gave me a kiss and told Dottie to go to the station before he left.
“Did he pull off yet?” Dottie asked.
“Yes.” I looked out the window to be sure.
“We’ve got a problem,” Dottie said.
I turned toward her to ask her what she meant, but she was on the
phone.
“Your ex-husband was found dead. I think it’s murder,” Dottie told the
person on the other end of the phone.
Ex-husband? Was she talking to Paulette?
An icy chill started at my toes and traveled up and outward. One of
those danger chills.
CHAPTER 10

W aiting on Paulette Russel was like waiting on a baby puppy to

be born. It was a mix of excitement, anticipation, and nerves
all wrapped up into one. I was on edge just like I’d been
waiting for Fifi to have her puppies. I couldn’t wait until Paulette showed
up in Normal. Whenever that was. She’d told Dottie she’d try to hitch a
ride.
“Tell me one more time exactly how you know her?” I asked.
In my mind I wondered if I should tell Hank about Dottie knowing
Paulette, but I decided to hear what Dottie meant by telling Paulette how
they had a problem. What problem?
“She and I have been friends for years.” She walked outside the office
with her cigarette case in her hand. I followed behind her. “You don’t have
to come watch me smoke.”
“If y’all’ve been friends for so long, why on earth would you say all
those mean things about her earlier?” I shrugged and jumped when I almost
stepped on Fifi, who had run under my feet to go outside. “I mean, I
wouldn’t talk bad about you? Or any of the Laundry Club gals.”
“Mean things? I did no such thing. I told the truth. That’s what’s wrong
with people nowadays. They think when you tell the truth, you’re speaking
your mind and talking negative about someone. I don’t say nothin’ about
someone unless I’d say it to their face.” Dottie snapped open the case and
took out one of her smokes along with the lighter. She put it in her mouth
and flicked the lighter.
“What did you mean about having a problem?” There was no beating
around the bush with Dottie. She and I both had always been up front with
each other since the day I rolled the RV into the campground.
 “That gun.” She swiveled her head toward me. Her eyes darkened. “It
was Jay’s.”
“The gun they found on him?” I questioned since it only made sense the
gun was his.
“The gun stolen from my place.” Smoke blew in front of her face,
clouding her reaction and mine.
“And how did you get the gun?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted
to know the answer to the question.
“Took it.” She wrapped her free arm around her waist and continued to
puff away. “Me and Paulette took it from his stables.”
“Please don’t tell me you stole it.” I ran my hand over my face, afraid to
look at her. Her face told me I was spot on. “Oh no. You stole it?” I gasped.
“Paulette said she didn’t get half of nothin’ in their divorce. So it was
part of her half, and she said I could have it.” Dottie snorted. “She really
does deserve half.”
“You said she took off. Why should she have gotten half?” I waved my
hands in front of me. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have a
stolen gun, and it just so happens to be Jay Russel’s. Who is dead,” I told
her in case she’d forgotten. “By a bullet that knocked him into the electric
fence.”
“It wasn’t me. I was at the hoedown, and someone came in and took it.”
She could spin it anyway she wanted to, but if the bullet came back as one
from the gun she stole, then there’d for sure be a problem. “He wasn’t
murdered anyways.”
“Then why do you think you and Paulette have a problem if the gun
can’t be traced to his death?” I asked.
Fifi came running back. She bounced up on her hind legs and planted
one front paw on my shin, the other folded over.
“The money?” I asked and picked Fifi up, nestling her in the crook of
my arm. “What money?”
Dottie took one last draw off her cigarette before she bent over and
snuffed it in the gravel. She stood back up and rolled her shoulders back.
Her eyes drew up and down my body as though she were assessing me. The
sun was starting to rise over the national park. The light and dark pink sky
gave a warm glow around Dottie, making her red hair soft and angelic. She
was no angel.
 Her mouth twitched side to side. I could see the wheels in her mind
rolling around.
“You ain’t gonna tell your boyfriend?” Dottie must’ve had a big secret
if she was bringing Hank into this. “It could be a reason Jay didn’t hurt
himself.”
“Then we should tell the cops if not Hank.” I couldn’t live with myself
if we let someone get off free with murder.
“Then I ain’t telling you.” She twisted around and put her hand on the
knob of the office door. “If Paulette wants to tell you, then she can.”
“I want you to tell me.” I was going to have to promise not to tell Hank,
which went against my moral compass of keeping secrets from a person I
love.
“Can’t. Not if you’re going to tell Hank.” She jerked the door open and
walked in.
I sucked in a deep breath. The clean, fresh air filled me with a peace. Or
maybe it was just curiosity that made me want to agree to Dottie’s terms.
Either way, I had to know.
“Fine.” I walked into the office and stopped in the middle, facing
Dottie’s desk. “I promise not to tell Hank. For now.”
“For now?” She stared at me from over the computer monitor.
“Here me out.” I put Fifi down. She scurried over to the empty dog
bowl. “You don’t think Jay hurt himself do you?”
“Nope. That’s why I called Paulette.” She clasped her hands, sat back in
her office chair, and rested her hands on her belly.
I grabbed a cupful of kibble and poured it in Fifi’s bowl. It’d keep her
occupied while I finished my conversation with Dottie.
“Hank and the coroner’s office think so.” I walked over to the coffee
pot, grabbed the carafe, and refilled our mugs. “I’m not sure what money
you’re talking about. I’m good at figuring crimes out.”
It was a fact I wished wasn’t true. Over the past year, I’d gotten myself
into a few pickles that included murder, theft, and other unlawful deeds
where I had to use my keen sense of sleuthing to help the police along with
clues. Not that Hank wanted my help. No way. He’d tried many times to tell
me to keep my nose out of his business and job. It wasn’t how I operated.
I’d seen too much injustice in my life and wanted to make sure no one I
loved had it in theirs. Including Dottie.
 “You tell me what you are worried about. Money and all. Then I’ll help
you figure out what you need help with. You and Paulette. I’ll help try to
figure out your problem.” I put air quotes around the word problem since
that was what she’d said to Paulette. “If we don’t find the outcome you
want, then we drop it.”
I watched as Dottie nodded at what I’d said. She knew I was good at
finding things out and how I didn’t stop until I got to the bottom of things.
I’d proven myself many times, and she’d been right there with me even
when she’d gotten herself mixed up in a murder.
“Me and Paulette aren’t for sure, but we believe Jay has over six
hundred thousand dollars hidden somewhere in the stable.” She rolled that
off her tongue like it was every-day talk.
“Excuse me?” I eased down in the chair as the shock ran through my
body, making me a little weak in the knees.
Money was the last thing I had thought I’d hear her say. I was thinking
it was an affair. Another woman. Cheating in a contest or competition with
his horses. Anything other than money.
“Money,” she repeated.
“Yeah.” I blinked several times. “I heard that.”
“Then why did you ask me?” She snarled.
“I don’t understand. Why would he hide this money?” I stammered
around the words as I wrapped my head around hiding cash.
“He stole it from the Normal Bank and Loan.” She mentioned it like it
was just a normal conversation.
“Am I going to have to pull every little bit of information out of you.” I
scooted to the edge of the chair and put my fist on top of the desk. “Or are
you going to tell me what you are talking about?” I was tired of beating
around the bush. Especially one that was worth six hundred thousand
dollars.
“Years ago the Normal Bank and Loan was robbed. The police never
found the robbers.” She sat back up in her seat and rested her elbows on the
desk. “We were kids. I’m talking years ago when we were in our late teens.
I ran around with Jay, Lee, Paulette, Brooke, Brownie. It was rumored
Brownie and Jay had done it.”
“Did they?” I couldn’t wait to get to the answer or the rest of the story.
“According to them, no. Lee said he didn’t know anything about it, and
they were together during the time of the robbery.” Her chest inflated as she
took a deep breath through her nose and slowly went down as she let it out
in a steady stream through her mouth.
“Paulette still thinks he had it?” I asked and watched Dottie slowly nod.
“She was married to him. Wouldn’t she know?”
“Well, you’d think. You’d have to ask her about that. All I know is that
she has reason to believe he did it. He was the robber.”
“How did you get involved now?” I asked.
“Paulette came back to town for a brief time after she’d left. She stayed
here in the camper with me.” Dottie licked her lips. “She told me she was
here to find that money. She needed the money, and he didn’t give her a
dime from their divorce. She up and left and all that, leaving everything
behind. You’ll have to ask her about that. That’s when we went to the stable
and stole the gun.”
“How long ago was this?” I asked.
“Five years ago.” She shocked me with the time frame.
“Five years? I thought you said brief time.” I recalled she said Paulette
had come back to town.
“It was brief. She left twenty years ago, only came back five years ago.”
Dottie’s story gave me more questions than answers.
“Why now? Why didn’t she come back years ago?” I knew I was asking
Dottie questions she didn’t know.
“I didn’t ask. She told me about the money, and I was curious. Even
said she’d give me a cut.” Dottie wiggled her brows. “You remember what
this place looked like when your husband…”
“Ex, now dead,” I reminded her.
“You remember how Paul ran this place.” She said the only name that
still sent an arrow through my heart.
Not because I loved and missed him. It was the fact he’d completely
changed my life as well as hundreds of others, which made me feel guilty
even though I had nothing to do with it or any knowledge of it.
“I needed money to keep this place going and live myself.” She took
some more sips of her coffee, leaving me deep in my thoughts.
“She didn’t find it?” I asked. “The money?” I asked again in case she
didn’t know what I meant.
“Nope. Just the gun. She tried to take Rosa.” Dottie laughed. “Paulette
jumped up bare back on that horse. Rosa bucked her off, leaving Paulette on
the ground with a bruised butt bone. Funniest thing I ever saw.”
 “Why did you tell Paulette that we have a problem?” I asked bringing it
all back around to my original question.
“He found us in there. I stuck the gun in my waistband.” Her face
stiffened. Her eyes set. “He told us that if he did have the money, she’d
have to get it over his dead body.”
“Dead body?” I gulped. “She isn’t in town. How long will it take her to
get here?”
About that time the door of the office flew open.
“I’m back.” A woman with a big smile on her face stood in the
threshold of the office.
CHAPTER 11

I sat there frozen as the woman with stick straight black hair down to
her belly button, wearing a pair of cotton paisley-printed bell-bottoms,
a white tank top, wooden beads around her neck, and brown leather
sandals, walked in. She pulled a knit cap off her head. I’d never seen a fifty-
something-year-old hippy.
“Long time no see, doll. I love what you’ve done to the place. The
campground is in tip-top shape.” She smiled, winked at Dottie, giving her
the peace sign. “Excuse us, hon.” She walked past me and gestured me out
the door. “We’ve got private business to discuss. If you don’t mind hitting
the gravel.” Paulette moseyed across the office.
“Paulette Russel, meet Mae West.” Dottie stood up from her chair and
gave Paulette a hug.
“Mae West? Right.” Paulette scoffed. “I’m Marilyn Monroe.” She
elbowed Dottie. “I’ve smoked a lot of that wacky tobacky over the past
twenty years, but I still know who I am.” She talked out of the side of her
mouth as if it made her quieter. “You still get those nut job hikers around
here, huh?” She was obviously referring to me.
“Paulette, this is Mae West, the owner of Happy Trails.” Dottie’s face
was stone cold serious. “Mae’s married last name is West. As in Paul West.”
“Good ole Paul West.” Paulette looked at me with a disgust. “Yep. That
man is why we are probably standing here right now.” She pointed to me
but turned her attention to Dottie. “You told her.”
“She can help us.” Dottie gestured a cup of coffee to Paulette, but she
waved it off.
“Not good for the innards. You should really try some juicing.” She
gave Dottie a look. “I can see you’re still smoking.”
 “You smoke.” Dottie threw it back at her.
“Only the good stuff, babe.” She winked. “Gonna be legal soon.”
“Nah. Not in Kentucky.” Dottie and Paulette had some sort of secret
language between them that I’d seen in good friends before.
“How’s Mae West going to help us?” she asked. “I recall Jay telling me
about how Paul West was going to help him. That’s when he leveraged the
land. She gonna help us like that?”
“Oh, come on.” I threw my hands up in the air. “I’ve spent the better
part of two years getting this community to forgive me. In fact, I’ve done so
much work that I got a key to the city.” I stalked over to the wall where the
key plaque was hanging.
“Babe, he’s why Jay had to put the old train station up for sale,” she told
me again.
“I heard it the first time you said it,” I muttered under my breath.
“Paulette, Mae has really done well in Normal. We’ve forgotten about
Paul and what he did. Well, forgot might be strong, but we have forgiven.”
Dottie gave Paulette a side look with a theatrical wink, sending me into an
internal rage that I was sure going to question her about when we were
alone. “She has a knack for figuring things out. Like crime.” Dottie said
without telling Paulette all the things I’d sleuthed on my own. “She can
help us get to the bottom of what happened to Jay.”
Now Dottie seemed to be trying to stoke my ego. Cautiously, I sat there
listening to the two old buddies banter back and forth.
“I know he’s dead, but he’s got that money somewhere in that stable,
and we are going to find it.” Paulette’s greed started to show, surprising me
a little.
“He already sold the property to Coke Ogden.” I mentioned the small
tidbit that was the biggest bite.
“Good ole Coke. She always wanted to get her claws into Jay, and when
he turned her down, she’d had it out for him ever since.” Paulette seemed a
little bitter, but it was still some information that peeked some interest in
my gut.
The scene of Coke and Jay fighting in the café the morning Betts and I
had cleaned for her was one that I couldn’t forget. Especially the yelling
between the two. The door of the office flew open again. All of us jerked
around.
 “There’s been news.” Hank stood at the door with his hand still curled
around the door knob. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I thought Dottie and Mae were
alone.”
“Hank, let me introduce you to Paulette Russel.” I looked at his face
studying her. “She’s Jay’s ex-wife.”
He swallowed hard. “I’ve been trying to find you. We found your
daughter.” He took a step forward.
“Hmm. She won’t have nothing to do with me.” Paulette snarled and
looked at Dottie.
“I hate to meet you like this, but I do think you need to know that your
ex-husband’s death has been turned into a homicide.” The words spilled out
of Hank’s mouth. My mind went blank.
Homicide? I gulped. “Homicide?” I questioned again in disbelief.
“Yes. The gunshot knocked him into the electric fence.” He slid his gaze
to me. “The bullet pulled from his body wasn’t from the gun next to his
body. But it was from a gun model he does have registered to his name. A
gun he’d reported stolen to the police about five years ago.”
Dottie stumbled backward and fell into her chair.
CHAPTER 12

“S he’s not eaten this morning,” Paulette told me. We were

huddled over Dottie.
I looked at Paulette, wondering what on earth she was
talking about. She’d not been here long and had no idea what Dottie had
eaten or not eaten.
“Shhh.” Paulette’s glare at me made me a little nervous. “Shush,” she
said through her gritted teeth.
“Stop fussing over me.” Dottie shoved her hands in our faces. “I need
air.”
“You need to stop smoking.” Hank leaned his head to get a look at her.
“Really, Dottie.”
“You get out of here and go find out who killed Jay.” She shooed him.
I walked over to him, leaving Paulette with Dottie. She wasted no time
whispering into Dottie’s ear. Hank’s radar must’ve gone up because his eyes
focused on the two of them and not me when I stood up on my tiptoes to
give him a kiss.
“Hey,” I said and put my hand on his chin, turning it to face me. “Any
suspects?”
“From what you said about Coke Ogden and him having a fight, I’m
going to ask her what happened. Everyone he’s had a disagreement with is a
suspect. Then,” he let out a heavy sigh, “I need to find the person using the
stables. It could be as simple as the person getting back at him for
continuing to kick him out and fighting him.”
“Maybe he was looking for—” I started to say.
“Shelter.” Paulette left Dottie and hurried over. She stood behind me
and put a hand on each one of my shoulders. Her nails dug into my flesh,
giving me a clear signal to shut my mouth. “For years, Jay and I had to run
off all sorts of runaways and squatters. They were only looking for shelter
on their hike through the national park.”
Hank looked between me and Paulette. “Yeah. Well, I’m sorry.”
There was a flash in his eye. The flash I’d noticed he’d get when he
wasn’t fully believing the story he was being told. It was one of his little
nuances I’d picked up on when he was not only investigating or
interrogating, but also in his daily conversation with people. Hank always
had his guard up.
“I’m not going to be catching up on sleep. I’m going to be at the station
all day,” he said. “I’ll give you a call later.” He turned his attention back to
me. He bent down for what I thought was going to be a kiss. He whispered,
“Find out what she knows.”
I swallowed.
He gave me a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye to Dottie.
“You know”—he turned back around at the door—“I’ve heard of
hypnotists helping people who smoke. I’m not sure how it works, but I did
hear something about they smoked their last cigarette before they went in
and didn’t crave any after they went.” He gave a slight shrug. “Maybe you
need to check that out.”
He didn’t wait for Dottie’s unfriendly finger gesture before he left the
office. Paulette followed Dottie’s lead and did the same thing to Hank’s
back. I wished he’d turned around. That would’ve been funny.
I stood there in silence, facing the door with my back to Dottie and
Paulette, unsure how to address Paulette’s little finger signal.
“Hank is your boyfriend?” I heard disgust in Paulette’s voice. “You
want me to trust her?”
“What is our other option?” Dottie questioned.
I jerked around. “Other option?” A nervous laugh escaped me. “What?
You gonna kill me too?”
“Too?” Paulette’s little free-spirit act had flown out the window and
completely left the park. She stalked over. “I didn’t kill my husband.”
“I’m sorry.” My smart aleck side took over. “Last I heard, he was your
ex, and you left him and your daughter years ago. Leaving them both sad.”
“You have no idea what I went through, so before you judge me…”
Paulette slowly walked closer and closer, making me dig my feet down like
I was planting myself. Spit came out of her mouth as she spoke each word.
 “Alrighty! This is getting us nowhere.” Dottie’s senses must’ve been
coming back to her because she jumped up, knocking the chair to the
ground, to put her body in between me and Paulette. “We’ve got a bigger
problem than not finding the money.”
“Your big problem was not finding the money?” I asked about the
original big problem Dottie had said to Paulette this morning on the phone.
“It was. Now the fact that he was murdered is our new problem because
I think it was with that gun. The gun.” Dottie’s eyes grew big, referring to
the gun that was stolen from her camper. “We find out who broke into my
place, we find the killer.”
“That’s where we can use your little romance.” I didn’t like the
direction Paulette was taking this conversation. “You need to make sure you
question your little detective buddy all about suspects and everything else
that goes along with finding out who killed Jay. Report back to us all while
keeping your mouth shut about the money and the gun. Got it, doll?”
“Dottie,” I shifted my hips to the right and put my hands on my hips,
“you know I can’t deceive Hank.”
“You don’t have an option, Mae. Got it?” Paulette’s tone was a little
demented and actually scared me.
“Lay off her. Deep down Mae is one of us.” Dottie took her arm and put
some room between me and Paulette. “Mae will do it.” Dottie looked at me
and smiled. “Right, Mae? You’ll help me out for a few days. We’ve been
through so much, and we are friends.”
“We are business partners.” Paulette told Dottie. “This business deal
better not go wrong. Or else.”
“Or else what?” Dottie snarled.
“I’ve got people,” Paulette warned, sending chills along my arm. “You
understand, Mae?”
“Yeah. I understand.” My eyes narrowed as I took in the fifty-year-old
hippy. “But if I find out that either of you killed him, I’m going directly to
Hank.” I jabbed Paulette in the chest with my finger. “Do you got it?”
Everyone putting me in a pickle. It soured my mood.
CHAPTER 13

I t was Dottie’s day to open and work at the campground. On check in

days, we both worked, but since the guests who’d already made
reservations were all checked in, we were back to our regular work
schedule.
After I’d left Dottie and Paulette, I had to regroup and that meant
getting ready for the day and getting Fifi all settled with her food and potty.
I grabbed my crossbody and took my notebook out of the drawer, sticking it
in the bag. It was where I’d put notes and thoughts from the previous little
sleuthing cases I’d stuck myself on. Maybe it would come in handy for Jay.
Not that I didn’t want to help Dottie find the person who broke into her
camper, but it was hard to help out Paulette. She didn’t care who killed Jay.
She only wanted the money he had supposedly stolen.
The only way to find out if her story about the bank robbery was true
was to head to the Normal Library and pay Abby Fawn a visit. Exactly what
I had planned after I finished getting ready, which gave time for the sun to
fully come up, and the library to open.
The drive over to the library gave me a couple of minutes to think about
Paulette and Jay’s relationship. Why on earth would Paulette leave Glenda
here with Jay? Why would Paulette leave? Why not stay in Normal and
raise her daughter?
“One little duck went out to play.” The little voices to the preschool
tune sounded so happy and cheerful, not to mention out of tune and loud,
when I walked into the sliding doors of the library.
The sign at the front of the library had the day’s events on it, and it just
so happened to be children’s time. Abby was sitting in the middle of a
group of little people with her hands tucked up under her armpits, doing her
best wing flapping.
There were a few stray little ones that were flapping around the circle.
Abby tried to reel them in but gave up after a couple seconds. Our eyes met.
We smiled at each other. I stood there watching her finish up her song. She
nodded for one of the library employees to come over and take turns.
Abby slipped away while the other employee began to read the book to
all the children. “What on earth are you doing here?” she asked.
I was glad to see she didn’t seem to be out of sorts about me riding with
Ty to the hoedown. “Did you hear about Jay Russel?” I asked.
“There’s more news?” she asked and moved toward the reference
counter where her office was located behind it.
“Yeah. Apparently, he was murdered.” My mind curled back to the
night I found him. “You know, it doesn’t make sense. If he was killed from
a gunshot wound…” I let my thoughts stop when I had no good plausible
explanation about how he got tangled into the electric fence.
“What?” Abby abruptly stopped. “I know that look of yours. What are
you thinking? You’re not going to get involved are you?”
“I think we need to get the Laundry Girls together.” It was code for
letting her know that I was planning on putting my nose in it. “But not
Dottie. She’s working today.”
Abby gave me a strange look.
“Happy Trails is booked solid, and I have to have someone there at all
times.” I played off her curiosity, and that seemed to pacify her.
“Okay.” She looked down at her watch. “I can be there around lunch.”
“Perfect, I’ll text the girls.” I hesitated. “Did you ever hear about a
savings and loan or some bank around here getting robbed?”
She walked around the counter. “No. Recently?” she asked and sat
down in one of the chairs behind the reference desk. She tapped away.
I put my elbows on the counter, leaning on them.
“It was a long time ago, when Dottie was young. If there was”—I
pointed to the computer— “it’d be in your system, right?”
“A bank here in Normal?” she asked. Her eyes scanned the screen. “So
sad.”
“Huh?” I wasn’t following.
“I just pulled up the news about Jay.” She sighed with an empathetic
look crossing her face. “I took horse riding lessons from him when I was a
kid. He was so good at his craft.”
“I had no idea you rode horses.” There were still so many things I didn’t
know about the friends I’d made since moving to Normal. “But what about
the robbery?” I asked, bringing her back to the reason I was here.
“Let me look.” She moved to a different computer and typed away.
“Bank robbery.” She spoke as she typed. “There.” She hit enter and sat back
in the chair, looking at the screen. “Just waiting to see what the database
has. I’ve never heard of any.”
“According to Paulette Russel, Jay was the robber and has hidden the
money all these years.” I watched Abby’s face go from being curious to an
oh-my-goodness shocked face.
“There was.” She gasped and jerked back to sitting straight. “Like years
ago.”
I could see the reflection of the screen in her eyes as she read the
monitor.
“I had no idea.” She looked up at me, her mouth forming an O. Abby
had always been so proud of her knowledge of Normal. “Normal Bank and
Loan went bankrupt, leaving the Fawn family...” Her voice melted away.
“Fawn family?” I questioned.
“My great-grandfather owned the bank.” Her big brown eyes blinked
several times. “I’ve never heard of this.”
A look of disbelief flushed her face. She grabbed a water bottle with the
Tupperware logo on it. She screwed the lid off and downed the contents.
“I wish this was liquor.” She swallowed. She put her hand up to her
mouth as the other hand continued to scroll the information she’d pulled up.
“Talk about southern families sweeping stuff under a rug.”
“Why would your family do that? It wasn’t your family’s fault the bank
got robbed.” There were so many things running through my head. “What
about your property on Fawn Road? Did that have anything to do with the
bank?” Betts had mentioned how Abby’s family had owned that, but it was
in bankruptcy, which was how the Russel family got it.
She continued to type away, hitting the print button. “From just the little
research here, it says that the Old Train Station property had to be sold by
auction to the highest bidder after my great-grandfather, Roland Fawn, had
to pay back for not having enough insurance through the FDIC to cover all
the loss of the robbery.”
 “It just so happens, the owner was Jay Russel’s family.” I knew it
couldn’t be Jay because, according to Dottie’s story, they were teens or in
their late teens.
“Yeah.” Abby licked her lips. “I’ve got to ask my parents about this.
How did you know this again?”
“That’s what I wanted to meet with the Laundry Club gals. I think Jay’s
killer also believed that Jay was the robber. According to his ex-wife, she
believed he was, too, and he’d hidden it on the property.” I tried to keep the
story simple because I could see Abby wasn’t fully listening. She was deep
in her own thoughts.
“If that is the case, why did he have the property for sale all these years,
and why did Coke Ogden all of a sudden buy it?” Abby asked a very good
question that I knew only Coke could answer.
“The Old Train Station Motel is the next stop on my list,” I said.
“Why are you trying to figure this out?” she asked.
“You know me.” I shrugged. “Curious. I found Jay and feel a little
obligated to find out why someone did this to him.”
“I’ll head on over to my parents and see what I can gather.” She grabbed
the papers off the printer, stapled them, and handed them to me. “Here’s
what I found. You take these, go see Coke, and I’ll text the gals to meet us.”
With a purposeful walk, Abby headed to her office.
She was on a mission to get to the bottom of this family secret, and I
couldn’t wait to hear what she found out.
CHAPTER 14

T he library was located in downtown Normal. The Old Train Station

was located at the far northern border of town. It gave me a few
minutes to gather my thoughts about everything I’d learned since
I’d gotten up at four a.m.
Betts had mentioned the Fawn’s going bankrupt years ago, forcing them
to sell the property where the Old Train Station was located. It just so
happened it was Jay Russel’s family who’d bought the property around the
same time of the Normal Bank and Loan robbery.
According to Paulette, she believed he was the one who robbed the
bank, but it didn’t make sense to me why he’d never used the money or
even told her. Why did Paulette think he had the money? What did she
observe? Why come back all these years? Why did Paulette wait so long to
come back? Five years compared to the twenty years she was gone? The
place went up for sale. She wanted the money before he sold. She had
mentioned the friends that had hung out together.
“Jay, Lee, Paulette, Brooke, and Brownie.” I looked over at the papers
in the passenger seat and wondered if Abby could look up these Brooke and
Brownie persons.
If they were around, I might be able to get some information out of
them. Abby was right in questioning why I was even doing this. I really
couldn’t pinpoint it. For one, I knew Dottie didn’t kill him even if it was a
long shot that the gun Jay had reported stolen five years ago was that gun.
What if other people knew about this so-called robbery and Jay’s ties?
They might’ve been there like Dottie and Paulette. Jay was a hunter like all
the other men in Normal. They owned several guns, and his gun rack in the
back of his truck was a proud display of that.
 “Gun rack.” I wondered if there were any guns missing from there.
Then there was the electric fence. That really haunted me. I didn’t know
much about those, but if Jay was shot, how did he get in between the
electric fence. Just by sheer gravity, he’d fallen on top, then maybe slid
down. At least it was something for me to look at when I got there.
There were cars all lined up in front of the motel. From what Coke had
said, all the rooms had been rented, and it was a great turn out for the
hoedown. Too bad it was abruptly cut short.
I parked at the far end and decided to not even look for her. I had many
things to ask her to confirm what Paulette had said about her making a pass
on Jay. That was even too far-fetched for me to believe, but I was also
beginning to believe there wasn’t a robbery either.
The sun was bright and warmed my skin. I grabbed my rain boots and
changed out my shoes. I sucked in a deep breath and headed around the
building instead of going through the courtyard. I really wanted to get a
look at the place where I’d tripped over Jay’s body. The ground was nice
and soggy from all the rain. Every time I lifted my foot, there was a suction
sound bringing back memories of me romping around my biological
family’s home.
Good memories of my childhood home before I was put into foster care
were more painful than fulfilling. Maybe my past was the reason I wanted
to look into crimes or help out people. After the fire engulfed my home and
my family, it’d started off my curiosity on how and why things happened.
Sounds of laughter brought me out of my head and back to the reason I
was here. The doors to the barn were pulled open. The band was long gone,
but the tables were still in there and decorated with the red and white
buffalo-checked tablecloths. The flowers were wilted from what I could see
when I hurried past.
There was some activity at that stables, but I didn’t care to see what that
was about, just yet. I had my mind set on seeing the exact place where Jay
was murdered. Off in the distance, I could see the electric fence. I’d not
even noticed it when I’d gone back here to watch Jay with the horses.
“What exactly happened?” I looked at the fence and matted down grass
just beyond where Jay’s bottom half of his body had been when I tripped
over him. “Your chest was here.” I talked to myself and looked at the sag of
the fence.
 Police spray paint was still in the grass where it showed the outline of
Jay’s body and ran along the edge of the fence.
“So…” I stood a few feet away along the fence from where his body
had landed and put my arms out. “If someone shot me, I’d stumble back
and hit the fe—whoa!” I screamed, smacking down on my butt. “Dang
mud.”
I stood up and looked at the mess I’d made from slipping on the mud. I
ran my hands down my leg to get off the excess, but it was the slide marks
my feet made that grabbed me.
“There’s no drag marks.” I gasped when I noticed my feet had dragged
in the wet, soggy, and muddy grass. “If he fell back, his heels would’ve
dragged. It was raining, and there’s no way he didn’t make a mess,” I
whispered as the images of Jay falling just confirmed what I noticed.
“Excuse me?” The male voice caused me to jump around and almost
lose my footing again.
“Hi,” I greeted Lee. “I didn’t hear you come up.”
“Who are you talking to?” He looked around.
“Myself.” I gestured to my muddy clothes. “I was saying how clumsy I
am.”
“It happens after a rain. It makes everything out here a soppy mess.” He
looked up at the sun. “It’ll harden with the sun beating down like it is.”
“Gonna be a hot one.” I felt a little nervous around him and wasn’t sure
why. I glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone else noticed us.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“Making peace with my finding Jay.” I shook my head, hoping any sort
of excuse about me getting the heck out of there would pop in my jumbled-
up brain. “I feel awful, and I couldn’t sleep last night. I can’t help but think
if I’d found him a little earlier, I’d have seen the murderer.”
“Murderer?” Lee’s eyes filled with fear. “Did you say murderer?”
“Yeah. Haven’t you heard? Jay was murdered.” I probably should’ve
kept my mouth shut, but how he was acting really got me in the sleuthing
mood. “Apparently, Jay had robbed a bank years ago. It’s rumored the cash
is around here somewhere.” I watched as Lee tried to keep a steady look on
his face, show no emotion, but the movement of his Adam’s apple told me
he was gulping back some massive thoughts. “He’d reported a gun missing
about five years ago. The sheriff’s department didn’t find any guns that fit
the bullet that killed him in his house, but it sure did fit the gun that was
stolen.” I shrugged and took a step toward the motel. “I don’t know much.”
“Don’t you date that detective?” His jaw tensed.
“Yeah, but he doesn’t tell me much.” I took another few steps. “Just
what I told you. But you probably don’t know—” I turned back around to
face him, but he was gone. “What made you so jumpy?” I asked and
watched Lee hauling it back to the stable. “Why are you in Jay’s stable?”
Paulette Russel wasn’t innocent in my opinion, but she did say Lee was
part of the group who’d hung out during the robbery. Lee and Jay were
definitely fighting the other day. Even though Hank said Lee had a great
business already, it seemed the competitions they entered were very
competitive. Lee did mention Sarah, the young rider Jay was working with,
and how she was going to be big or something. To me, it didn’t matter how
much money Lee already had. It was the extra notch on his belt that he’d be
the trainer Sarah would win under.
Which made me wonder if Lee killed Jay for that reason only, and
maybe there wasn’t any sort of money around here.
I glanced back over to the riding ring. Lee was standing in the same spot
I’d last seen Jay. Goosebumps crawled up my leg and across my muddy
arms.
Instead of letting Lee intimidate me, I pulled back my shoulders and
walked straight over to the stable. I’d come here to check out the exact spot
where I’d tripped over Jay’s body and to check out the stable. Lee wasn’t
going to stop me. Just in case, I did go through the front of the stable and
hurried inside so he wouldn’t see me.
It was exactly the way I remembered it from the other night, only today
the lights were working. The transistor radio, tuned to an oldies station, was
sitting on an overturned five-gallon bucket, and the same horses were
sticking their heads out of their stalls. The only movement came from the
far end where the ring was located. Every few seconds, Sarah and her horse
trotted past followed up with a few instructions belted out by Lee.
Rosa wasn’t in her stall when I made it down there. I looked around to
see if I could see a horse wandering free, but it was all clear. I walked in
and noticed the stall had been mucked. There was a bag of food hanging
from the stall door and a trough full of water. It didn’t appear she’d been in
here.
 There was a tack cabinet in the far right corner. When I focused on it,
my mind told me to open it, but my heart told me to stop snooping or else.
It was beckoning me to open it. The pull was too great. Or maybe it was the
curiosity. Still, I had to see what was inside.
I gave one last glance around my shoulder to see if anyone was in the
stable with me. The coast was clear and so was my conscious of not
looking. Carefully, I opened the double doors in case they were going to
squeak. The yellowing around the tape holding up the photos taped on the
doors told me they’d been there a long time.
I took a closer look and noticed a little girl with eyes that looked like
Jay’s on a horse that looked a lot like Rosa. Not that I would know for sure,
but I noticed the horse in the photo was also an Appaloosa. The white stripe
with brown spots around the abdomen of the horse looked exactly like
Rosa’s. Then again, I’d never been around horses, so I was no expert.
There were two shelves on the right side, and the left side was open
with hooks at the top. Horse reins were on the hooks and a covered saddle
was lying on the bottom. The top shelf had grooming items along with other
various creams and salves I didn’t recognize.
There was a stack of journals. Being the nosy person I was, I took one
off the shelf. I rubbed my finger over the embossed gold lettering stamped
on the front that read Jay Russel. I quickly thumbed through it. It appeared
he kept all his trade secrets in there along with different clients’ names and
phone numbers.
“Now what are you doing in here?” Lee’s voice was loud and stern
behind me.
He scared me, making me jump and lunge forward. I banged my
shoulder into the tack box, knocking it a little side goggling. The journal
fell out of my hands.
“Are you okay?” He hurried in and put his hand out for me to take as I
sat there on my knees. “You’re a mess.”
“Thanks.” I groaned after I took his hand and was jerked to my feet. I
ran my hand over my knee and gave it a little rub. “Where’s Rosa?”
“No one knows. She’s not been back since Jay let her out.” Lee seemed
certain it was Jay that let her out.
“You think he did? I mean—” I shuffled the toe of my rain boot in the
hay on the floor, moving it around. “I heard he’d never let her out in a rain
storm. She was scared of thunder and lightning.”
 “I’m sure that’s why he was here. Putting on the music for her, and he
probably walked in on another stowaway. That’s probably who killed him
now that you said they are calling his death a homicide.” Lee looked to the
right at a couple who were walking down the middle of the stable. He gave
them a quick chin lift. The couple waved.
“You’ve got it all figured out.” My confidence had seemed to rise since
we were no longer alone. “I mean, just in that short time from when I told
you he was murdered”—I referred to when I’d slipped and fell in the mud
near Jay’s murder location—“you came up with that.”
“It makes sense.” He put his hand out in front of me. “Don’t you go
around making assumptions you can’t back up.”
“Did I make an assumption?” I asked with furrowed brows.
“You are implying that I’ve made up a story to fit why he’d be killed,
and that makes me think you think I had something to do with Jay’s death.”
He sucked in a deep breath. His chest expanded, and he was suddenly a lot
taller than me.
His bullying wasn’t going to work on me. “I think it’s strange that I
noticed you and Jay fighting the other day when you were here poaching his
client. Sarah, right?” My eyes narrowed. “I mean, like you said, it’s big
business around here, and the horse competitions are very important to
families. With Jay out of the way, I’d think your business would flourish.
Maybe give you one of those top prizes to hang on your wall.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He spit down on the
ground, narrowly missing my boot. “Why don’t you take your little trash
self back to the camper park where you belong.”
He gave me one last good hard stare before he turned around to walk
out of the stall.
It took me a second to gather my wits and breath. I took the moment to
close the tack cabinet and push it back to where it was before I’d knocked
into it. Using my hands, I grabbed under the wood cabinet, pricking my
finger on a piece of wood sticking down from the bottom.
“Crap.” I jerked my finger out and wiped the blood on my shirt. “A
little mud, a little blood. Nothing is going to come out of this shirt.” I
groaned and decided to leave the cabinet right where it was.
“Mae, what are you doing out here?” Coke was standing in the open
stall door.
 “I came out to check on a few things dealing with Jay.” I wasn’t sure if
she had heard. “Jay was murdered.”
“I just heard from Lee’s text.” She gave me a mothering look that told
me I was annoying Lee. “What’s going on? Shouldn’t Hank be handling
this?”
Her eyes glanced past my shoulder and focused on the tack cabinet.
“He is.” I got a sneaking suspicion that Lee and Coke had talked about
more than him telling her I was there snooping around. “It was a closer
thing for me. I couldn’t sleep, and when I heard he was murdered, I wanted
to come pay my respects to the spot and Rosa.”
“That’s mighty kind of you, but Lee is trying to help me move Jay’s
clients, so if you don’t mind, we can move our conversation up to the café.”
She wasn’t offering to talk to me there. She was telling me that we were
leaving. “Maybe we can get you cleaned up and a hot cup of coffee.”
“Do you know what happened to Rosa?” I asked, taking the heat off of
Lee.
He didn’t pay any attention to me when we passed him and the couple
on the way out of the stable.
“No clue. I’ve got the park rangers looking out for her. I’m not sure how
long she can survive out there with the wildlife.” Coke’s words made me
feel such deep sadness for Rosa. “I was hoping she’d come back, but as the
hours pass, I’m not sure she will.”
“She was witness to awful things,” I said and squinted when we walked
out.
The sun was burning brighter than before I’d walked into the stable. The
grass had a little dew left on it from the morning, but it would take no time
to burn off. Our feet made sloshing noises as we made our way across the
field.
“You know, Mae, I appreciate you stopping by, but it’s private property
now.” Coke’s attitude had changed. “If you want to look around, please call
me first.”
“I thought you told me you wanted me to help you. It’s what you said at
the Laundry Club that night.” I was shocked by her change of heart. “You
said he was murdered, and you were right.”
“After talking to Glenda, I think I overstepped my authority in her
father’s death, and I’m not looking for your help anymore.” She stopped
shy of the Caboose Diner door.
 “You talked to Glenda?” I questioned when I heard Jay’s daughter’s
name.
“She’s staying here. We go back a long way. I’ve been sorta a mother
figure for her since her so-called mother left her and Jay long ago. If I
weren’t a southern lady, I’d call Paulette some names that would make me
feel dirty.” She shivered like she was shrugging off something yucky.
“I’d like to give Glenda my condolences.” I decided to keep my mouth
shut about Paulette being back in town.
“She’s right there through the door.” Coke pointed through the Caboose
Diner window at a girl with a menu up to her face sitting alone at one of the
tables. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
The diner was full, and the chatter covered any silence. Typical diner
sounds like the clinking of dishes, the sound of a cash register, and the calls
of food orders being yelled at the short order cook could be heard.
“Glenda.” Coke interrupted Glenda’s perusal of the menu. “This is Mae
West. The lady I told you about.”
Glenda slowly moved the menu down from her face. Her eyes popped
over the top. She laid the menu down on the table and clasped her hands on
top of it. Her long red hair wasn’t expected. She definitely didn’t favor her
mother. There was a resemblance of her father’s eyes, but that was about it.
She had olive skin and gray eyes. A very unusual and striking combination.
“I hear you found my father.” She spoke in a soft voice and moved her
hand in a gesture for me to sit down. “I’d like to repay you for that.” She
took the napkin from her lap and dabbed the edges of her eyes. “If you’d
not come along, I’m not sure how long he’d have laid there with who
knows what trying to eat him like they’ve done poor Rosa.”
“Rosa is dead?” I eased down in the chair.
“We don’t know that.” Coke patted Glenda’s back. “I’ll be right back
with your coffee,” Coke said to me.
“I’d like a refill, please.” Glenda smiled at Coke, then turned her
attention back to me. “How did you know my father?” Glenda asked me.
“I didn’t. I just met him a couple mornings ago when he was chasing
that guy out of the barn.” I moved my hand out of the way for Coke to place
the mug down. The steam rolled off the top of the mug. It smelled so good.
“Guy? Chasing my father?” She looked at Coke for an answer.
“I didn’t bother telling you about the squatters he’s been running off.
They get in the barn and do God knows what, and it bothers the horses.”
Coke stood over the table.
“Can you please leave me and Mae to talk?” Glenda kindly asked Coke
to leave.
By the look on Coke’s face, she was a bit shocked and reluctantly gave
in.
“I don’t know you, but I’m a lawyer, and I read people pretty well.” The
expression and tone of Glenda’s body language changed. “I can see that
you’re either hiding something or dying to tell me something. Which one is
it?”
“Both.” I chewed on my lip, trying to figure out what I was going to tell
her first.
“Go on. I’m all ears if it’s going to help solve my father’s murder.”
Glenda Russel was no way brought up in Normal. Not that the people here
were backwards, but we had a way about us, and you could tell when
someone wasn’t from here, and she was that.
Maybe all sophisticated. The lines around her eyes were a little deeper
for her to be my age, but she held it well. She was like the girls I used to
hang out with in New York City. Her perfectly lined lips, makeup, two-
piece modern jumpsuit, and strappy sandals were enough for me to miss the
life Paul had given me. Only for a second. I sure didn’t miss him or his
conniving ways.
“Creamer?” She pushed the small cup my way.
“No. I’m good.” I did take a sip of the courage-inducing liquid before I
told her my thoughts. “I know your dad was fighting with squatters like
Coke said, but I also know that when he was younger…”
“He robbed a bank.” She cackled. “I see Paulette has gotten in your ear.
Where is she? Where’s she staying? I figured she’d come running as soon
as the police found her. Wanting her half of the money my father
supposedly stole.” She leaned in and whispered, “Don’t believe her. She’s
crazy.”
“What about this property? I mean, his family couldn’t afford it until the
Fawn’s had to claim bankruptcy due to the bank robbery. Did they have the
money to buy the place? Where did that money come from?” I asked. “Lee?
What about him?”
She continued to smile and ran her long fancy painted fingernail around
the rim of her mug like I was entertaining her. “Mae, he’s my father’s best
friend. You are a storyteller. You fit right on in around here with all those
tall tales.” She let off an air of conceit that made my insides growl.
“He is already trying to take clients, and your dad’s body isn’t even cold
yet.” I knew it was a harsh statement, but the facts were facts. “The man is
dead because of something. You keep dismissing anything I’m telling you.”
“So you’re saying that someone killed my father for the money he stole
during the bank robbery. Or Lee because he wanted my father’s clients?”
Glenda asked. Coke walked up and Glenda pointed to her. “What about
Coke? She’s got a great motive.”
“Motive for what?” Coke’s jaw dropped.
“Killing my dad,” Glenda said with a straight face. Coke turned all
shades of color. “According to my mother, you’ve always wanted to get
your claws into him.” She laughed. Coke didn’t. “I’m kidding. Relax.”
Glenda patted Coke’s arm. “Mae is giving me all sorts of reasons for
someone to have killed my father.” Glenda sat back and put her arm across
the chair next to her. “Tell her your tall tales, Mae.”
I decided not to take her up on her offer, but I needed a burning question
answered.
“How’s your room here?” I asked Glenda.
“It’s amazing.” She gave Coke another smile. “Coke has done an
amazing job with the place.”
“I thought you said the motel was booked. How did she get a room?” I
addressed Coke.
“I’ve had my reservation since the day she told me she was opening it.”
Glenda really got my interest up. “I love what she did with the barn for the
hoedown, don’t you?”
“I’m so glad you got to visit with your dad before…” I stopped talking.
“I didn’t see my dad,” she said, giving me another little ping to the gut.
“You’ve been here since the opening, and you didn’t visit with your
dad?” I found that to be super odd. She found it offensive.
“Ahem.” Coke cleared her throat. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave
if you’re going to antagonize my customers.”
“Excuse me? You invited me here.” I picked up my mug and drank the
last sip. “I certainly don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.” I got up.
Once I was outside of the Caboose Diner and into the courtyard, I
turned back and looked into the window. “There’s something fishy going
on,” I said to myself while I watched Coke and Glenda huddled together,
discussing something important. At least, the intense look on their faces
told me I’d struck a nerve.
What did I say?
CHAPTER 15

“W here are you?” Hank asked after I answered his call on

my way back into town to meet up with the Laundry
Club. “Wait, let me guess. Bugging Lee.”
“Bugging Lee?” I laughed. “He’s the one who came up to me. I didn’t
seek him out. Though I did find out he is working with Sarah Kaskle. If
that’s not motive enough for him to be a suspect in Jay’s murder, I don’t
know what is. Well,” I continued to ramble, “besides the fact that Jay’s
daughter has been in town for a couple of days before the murder. She said
that she didn’t visit with her dad, which makes me think there was some
sort of problem between them, and she certainly doesn’t care for her mother
either.”
“Are you finished?” He asked.
I slowed the car when I noticed a doe and a couple babies were about to
cross the road. Deer were everywhere, and it was always good to keep an
eye out.
“You know. In every other species, the mom really does take care of her
babies.” My thoughts were filled with Paulette and why she’d leave her
only child. “Anyways, I’m telling you that you need to go interview her
too.”
“Now are you finished?” he asked in an annoyed tone.
“I think so.” I wasn’t good at committing to something like that because
I generally said things that popped into my head. By the way he was
talking, I could tell that I was going to have to put that filter in place and
really think about what I was saying to him.
“Thank you for all the information.” He didn’t sound too appreciative.
“We already talked to Lee. We know all about the clients. We also knew
Glenda was in town because when I called her to tell her about her dad, she
told me she was at the Old Train Station Motel. It’s not strange to me
because she and Coke are really close.”
“Their relationship might not be strange, but for her not to talk to her
dad? What’s that about?” I looked over at the grassy median on my way
down Main Street to the Laundry Club.
Hikers with huge backpacks, food, and cups of coffee were sitting at the
picnic tables. The cups had the Cookie Crumble logo on them. I wondered
if Christine Watson had been visited by the hiker who Jay had chased.
“What about the guy hiding out in the barn? Did you get any leads on
him? Do you think it was really the same guy from the campground that
night?” My mind was going a million miles a minute. I wanted to get all the
information I could from Abby and Christine. Plus it didn’t help that I’d not
gotten all the answers I wanted from Paulette.
“Mae,” Hank said my name a few times to interject.
But I continued. “I just don’t understand how Jay had to sell the
property. I think we need to look into that too.” I was about to tell him
about the land and the mention the robbery. I pulled into the parking space
in front of the laundromat.
“Mae! Stop!” I pulled the phone away from my ear when he yelled so
loud.
There was dead silence.
“Mae, I called really for two things. Now, I’ve decided there’s three.
First, my parents want to have us over for supper. Can you do that?” he
asked.
“Tonight?” I searched my mind, giving me some time to think if I was
going to have to do anything about this murder or see anyone.
“Yes. Tonight.” The long sigh he let out was enough to let me know
he’d about reached his limit with me today.
“I’d love to.” I lied. The last place I wanted to be was with them. They
weren’t exactly the most welcoming parents. Plus, he’d mentioned going
out to dinner yesterday. What happened to that? “What’s the second and
third thing?”
“Secondly, I was going to tell you to stay away from the motel. There’s
no reason for you to be there.”
“But someone put Jay…” I wanted to tell him how Jay didn’t fall into
the electric fence.
 “Please. Stop.” His words were stiff. “I’m telling you to stay away, or
they will put a restraining order on you.”
I clenched my lips so I wouldn’t talk. My nose flared as I sucked in
deep breaths to stay calm.
“Third.” He paused just a second. “Do not continue to look into this. I
don’t know how many times I’ve told you in the past to stop snooping.”
“You’ve also told me to snoop. Remember last time?” What was it with
him? “Sure, use me when it’s convenient for you.”
“Mae, this is going to be a long investigation. We’ve got a lot to do, and
you can’t go full force where you shouldn’t be snooping. We’ve got it
covered. Understand?” he asked.
I didn’t respond.
“Mae, I need you to say you understand.” He left no room to just leave
the silence.
“Fine. I understand.”
I understood, but it didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to stop looking into
the evidence and clues I’d already gathered that itched my curiosity.
Little did Hank or anyone else in Normal realize that when I got an itch,
I scratched it.
CHAPTER 16

B etts had the door to the laundromat propped open, which meant all
the machines were taken and in use. No matter how low she had
the air conditioner thermostat, it was never efficient when all the
machines were in use.
“There you are.” Betts greeted me from the side of the laundromat
where she fulfilled personal orders.
“Do you need some help folding?” I asked, offering to chip in wherever
I could.
“Yeah.” Her brows rose. “Grab that dryer right there.” She pointed to a
dryer a couple down from the one she was pulling from. “You look like
something is on that mind of yours besides Jay. Is it Abby?”
“Abby?” I jerked my head and looked at her, a tee-shirt dangling from
my grip.
“The whole Ty thing.” Betts caught me off guard. “I told her it was
innocent, but she’s still upset that he told her she was boring. Now she
thinks she’s got to be someone like you.”
“Like me?” Now I was really getting offended.
“You know. Vibrant. Full of life. Don’t take no.” Betts put the shirt she
was folding in the customer’s bag sitting on the counter. “Just like Jay. You
found out he was murdered, and you’re determined to get to the bottom of
it.”
“About that.” Betts and I turned to see who was eavesdropping on us. It
was Coke. “You must think I’m a whacko. Telling you one minute to look
into Jay and the next not.”
“Coke.” I sighed and turned back to the dryer and folded a couple more
pieces of clothing. “Don’t worry. Hank called, and I got your message loud
and clear.”
“But you didn’t.” She appeared to be noodling something in her head.
She looked around. “I’m not so sure Glenda didn’t do it.”
“Kill her own father?” Betts pulled a pair of pants to her chest like a
protective blanket.
“It’s possible.” Coke looked around. None of the laundromat customers
were paying a bit of attention to us. “Jay was in financial trouble. That’s
why the place was for sale. I wasn’t able to finance all of it myself. Jay had
Glenda draw up the paperwork. That’s when she came in as a silent partner.
Majority owner really.” Coke sucked in a deep breath. The lines around her
eyes deepened. “Jay found out about it when he was in my office, snooping
around, and went crazy after he’d seen the contract between me and her. He
didn’t understand why Glenda didn’t give him the same deal when he’d
gone to her before he’d agree for me to purchase it.”
I started to come up with all sorts of reasons for Jay and Glenda to have
gotten into an argument. “Go on. I’m listening.”
I pretended not to be as invested as I was and grabbed some more
clothing and folded it, hoping she’d continue. I noticed the customers, who
were hikers, had left their machines and gathered across the street with their
other friends in the median.
“Jay was having a hard time getting a place to keep up his client’s
lessons. Even though he was going to retire after this year, he still wanted to
find something for the summer months. That’s when I told him I’d let him
use the stable all summer long if he let me keep Rosa at the end,” she said.
“All summer? I’d heard it was just a few weeks.”
“You know how it is around here. We say we’ll see you in a minute, and
it could be ten minutes or two days.”
She was right. Life was slow around here and time was just nothing to
the locals. Sort of frustrating for a type A personality like myself.
“You want Rosa?” I asked. “I thought you wanted to make the stable
into a wedding venue.”
“I do. My granddaughter is getting into riding, and I thought Rosa
would be a great gal for my granddaughter to be trained on first.” Coke
made sense.
“What did he say?” I asked and pulled out the last piece of clothing
from the dryer.
 “He was reluctant about it. After he thought about it for a few minutes,
he started laughing out loud, saying how it would kill Glenda if I made that
deal since she thought Rosa was always hers.” Coke gulped.
My jaw dropped. “Do you think Glenda let Rosa out of the stable, and
when Jay went to put on the radio, he caught her. They fought, and that’s
when she killed him?” I leaned back on the dryer and looked between Betts
and Coke.
“How did she know I had the gun?” Dottie’s voice was overheard
between the running machines.
“Well, well, well. Look who is standing right in front of me.” Paulette
stood in the doorway of the Laundry Club with Dottie next to her. Paulette
took very precise steps with Coke in her sights. “You just couldn’t live with
the fact that Jay was never going to be with you. You finally had enough
rejection and killed him.”
“Don’t you start with me.” The words seethed out of Coke’s mouth.
“You’re the one who left. I tried to get you to stay.”
“Ladies.” I stepped in between them before they could get any closer.
“This isn’t helping us figure out what happened to Jay.”
I was careful with my words because both of them had very good
motive to kill him. I wasn’t taking one side over the other. Though, they
both seemed adamant the other did it.
“You think Coke did it, and Coke thinks you did it,” I told Paulette.
“Both of you have good reason, but I can say I also think Glenda, Lee, and
the mysterious hiker have motives as well.”
“Glenda?” The hurt in Paulette’s eyes even hurt me. “My baby loves her
daddy. That’s why I left her with him.”
“Loved him? They fought from the day you rode out of Normal on that
high horse of yours. Look at you.” Coke’s nose snarled. “You look
ridiculous in those baggy pants. You used to be a pretty woman. You’ve
done went and gotten all leathery skin and scraggly.”
“Look at you.” Paulette shot back. “You think you’re something now
that you got that land. The land that’s rightfully the Fawn’s because you and
that gang of yours stole that bank money.” Paulette was laying it all out on
the table. “If you think for one minute my baby killed her father, you’ve lost
your mind.”
There was definitely animosity between the two that ran so deep that
this little interaction at the Laundry Club wasn’t going to solve anything.
 “I didn’t steal any bank money. All that free living you’re doing is
messing with your brain.” Coke rolled her eyes so hard, I heard them.
“Why don’t we look at the facts?” I suggested, hoping we could all take
a deep breath.
Dottie looked around. Betts looked around. Coke and Paulette continued
their standoff.
“Betts put on some coffee. I’ve got my notebook with me.” I sat the
customer’s bag on the counter with the receipt slip Betts had given me to
put on it.
“Fine,” Coke muttered.
“Whatever,” Paulette said with a stiff upper lip.
“Who is at the office?” I asked Dottie on our way over to the couches.
“Henry. I checked on all the guests before I left, and everyone had a
plan for the day,” she told me and sat down on the couch next to Paulette.
“Do you have anything ready for the theme party?”
“Gosh. I totally forgot about that.” I’d been so engrossed in Jay’s
murder, I’d forgotten all about this weekend’s Happy Trails monthly theme
party I was throwing.
The monthly get-together wasn’t just for the guests of the campground.
It was also open to the public. It was a great way for everyone in the
community to come together. This weekend’s party just might be the thing
we needed.
“I need to go see Alvin Deters to see what he wants to do about the
kayak lessons he was going to offer in the pond,” I said and glanced out the
window across the median where Deter’s Feed-N-Seed was located,
wondering if Hank had caught the person or persons who had broken into
his shop. It would be a perfect excuse to pick Alvin’s brain.
“I can head over there after this. I wanted to check on him and see how
he’s doing since the big robbery.” Dottie wanted to get in on the gossip.
“If I don’t have time, I’ll send you over.” It would be a great second
option if I couldn’t make it there, but I really wanted to see for myself if
there were any leads on the burglaries without having to ask Hank. “I think
the kayak lessons are going to be popular.”
It was that time of the year when most hikers and campers spent a lot of
time in the water areas of the Daniel Boone National Park. The only
problem was most of them had no idea how to kayak or white water raft on
their own. There were businesses in Normal that gave tours and sent them
out on these excursions, but most the time tourists didn’t want to be
bothered with lessons. That’s when people got into danger.
“Good afternoon,” Queenie French trilled when she grapevined into the
laundromat, doing her best Jazzercise move. Her shimmery gold exercise
pants glistened when the sunlight beaming through the windows caught
them at just the right angle. She had on a baggy shirt with a wide neck that
fell off one shoulder. It was gathered around her waist by her fanny pack.
“What’s the meeting about?”
“I’m here.” Abby rushed in and appeared to be out of breath. “Just on
time.”
She stood in the middle of all the ladies with a confused look on her
face when she noticed Coke and Paulette.
“We didn’t kill anyone,” both of them said in unison.
“Okay.” Abby reached over to the extra mugs of coffee Betts had placed
on the coffee table. “Let’s get started. I don’t have a lot of time to be away
from the library.”
“Before I forget.” I took the notebook out of my bag along with my pen.
“Can you do some marketing about the Happy Trails theme party?”
“Yes. I will.” She was already reaching in her pocket for her phone. It
was so natural to her. She retrieved some folded papers from the other
pocket. “I also have more articles about the bank robbery. And I talked to
my parents.”
“Oh geesh.” Coke threw her hands up in the air.
“What? I think he did it.” Paulette glared at her. The temporary truce
seemed be over. “Over the years, we didn’t have many luxuries, but if we
needed quick cash, instead of saving for it, he’d come up with some excuse
of how a client paid him extra for lessons. Or if a client won, they’d give
him some parts of the monetary winnings.”
I wrote down everything she was saying in bullet points. I never knew
what was going to come to light and what facts I could use.
“I’m not talking little money either. Once we were having some marital
issues, and he whisked me off on a European vacation when Glenda was
just a baby. You remember that?” she asked Dottie.
“Mmhhhmmm,” Dottie hummed behind her rolled-in lips.
“We couldn’t hardly afford diapers, but somehow we got someone to
babysit for her.” Paulette snapped her fingers and pointed at me. “Agnes
Swift. That’s who.”
 “Hank’s granny?” I asked.
“Yep. She babysat, and I don’t know what he paid her, but she stayed at
home. She might’ve been the secretary for the Normal Baptist Church or
some sort of volunteer. I know she didn’t have a job that required her to be
from home much.” Paulette sighed, making her shoulders lower.
“You’re close with Agnes. You should be able to ask her about it.”
Dottie’s brow rose as she brought her mug to her lips.
“Here’s what we know.” I got up and started to pace in front of the gals
while I read off the clues we’d gathered. “It’s rumored Jay had robbed the
bank when he was a teen. It’s a fact his family couldn’t afford to pay their
bills, and suddenly they owned the old train station and then lived fine for
years.” I left out the fact that it was Abby’s family who had really suffered
the most. “Granted, that’s when Jay started his training business, which did
bring in money, but enough to buy the farm from the Fawn’s?”
“It was in bankruptcy.” Dottie made a good point. “Things are way
cheap around here.”
“We know that Jay, Lee, Brooke, and Brownie hung out with you,” I
told Paulette. “I have here that it was rumored Brownie had been Jay’s
accomplice for the bank robbery. Where can we find Brownie?”
“He runs the Saddle Club off of Route 42,” Queenie said. “He’s been
out there for years.”
“Is that the bar heading south?” I questioned, recalling seeing it a few
times.
It was one of those bars one drove past and would never be caught dead
in. It was a dark and scary building with one flashing sign in the window
with most of the other lights out.
“They have a lot of card games and darts out there,” Dottie said. “What?
I like a good game of craps or poker now and then.”
“Of course you do.” I really thought I knew Dottie well, but the more
she talked, the more I realized I didn’t.
“You have no idea what I do at night. When I can’t sleep, I know
Brownie has a good game going. I probably head out there a couple nights a
week.” She smirked. “You think what you pay me pays my bills?”
“What bills do you have?” I asked her and continued to pace. “You
don’t have a lot fee. You don’t have water or electricity or trash.” My eyes
narrowed. “Seriously?”
 “I have to retire sometime. Besides, it’s none of your business. I just
told you where you could find him.” She crossed her arms across her chest,
giving me the signal it was time to move on to the next bit of information
I’d collected.
“We also know there’s a hiker or someone who has been staying in the
stables. Jay didn’t like that. Also, we know Jay was going to have to move
out of the stable since Coke is going to turn it into a wedding venue.”
I was about to continue, but Coke chirped up, “If you think I killed
him.”
She was sending a big warning my way, so I interrupted her. “I’m only
stating the facts. Besides, you were at the hoedown the whole time. I saw
Jay talking to Lee there, which brings me to Lee.” I flipped the piece of
paper of my notebook to read the rest. “Lee has a great business, but he’s
never had a winner. The big prize. Even though he might not need the
money, and the big prize doesn’t come with money, it is a goal that he’s had
all his life. Apparently, Sarah Kaskle is that big ticket. If Jay isn’t around to
train her, Lee sure is and has been.” I quickly told them what had happened
between me and Lee, giving Coke the stink eye because both of us knew
she made me leave the stables when he complained.
“What? Sarah’s parents were uncomfortable that you were in there,” she
confessed.
“They were?” My jaw dropped. “I thought it was Lee. He sent you a
text.”
“Nope. Sarah’s parents came to see me at my office when you and Lee
were having words. I hurried down there knowing you’d been busy looking
into Jay’s murder and needed to get you out of there. I have a new business
to run, and you two down there fighting isn’t helping business.” She sighed.
“Lee had only texted me about Jay’s death being changed to murder.”
“Okay.” I quickly wrote down how Sarah’s parents had complained.
“Regardless, the facts are the facts. Lee wants the title, and Sarah is the
fastest way to it.”
“He’s definitely a suspect.” Abby nodded. “He was also part of the
robbery gang.”
“Robbery gang?” Paulette was good at throwing her hands in the air.
“I’m part of the robbery gang, too, then.” She laughed.
“Where were you during the hoedown?” I’d forgotten to ask Paulette. “I
was with Dottie when she called you from the Happy Trails office, and you
were there in minutes. You were obviously in town.”
“I was, but I didn’t know Jay had been killed.” Her brows furrowed. “I
could never hurt Jay. He’s the father of my baby.”
“He also was your ex-husband,” I reminded her, knowing exactly how I
felt about my ex-now-dead-husband.
“Mae, no way.” Dottie encouraged me to move on.
“Fine. But you do want the money, and he was killed with a gun that
was reported stolen five years ago. You two are the only ones who knew
about the gun.” I gestured between them. “The gun that probably killed
him.”
Betts, Queenie, and Abby all leaned a little more forward in their seats.
“Oh, come on. You saw the person who broke into my RV and took the
gun.” She reached for her cigarette case, snapped it open, and took out a
smoke.
“You saw the killer?” Paulette got excited. “This is great!” There was
hope in her eyes.
“No. I didn’t see the killer. I mean—” sadness swept across her face,
replacing the hope she’d just had in her eyes. “I saw a shadow of someone
in there when I knew Dottie had gotten a ride from Henry to the hoedown,
but then thought maybe she didn’t go with Henry. That’s why I didn’t have
Ty stop.” I gulped when I realized I had mentioned Ty in front of Abby.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Abby ease back into the couch.
“Anyways, whoever stole that gun is our killer.” I felt confident in
knowing this bit of information. “Hank says he’s checking into that and the
hiker because the same hiker was at the campground the night before the
hoedown.”
“He was?” Betts asked. “You never said anything.”
“Hank was there. He chased him off. That puts him at the scene of both
crimes. I really want to find him.” I looked at Coke. “Have you seen him
since Jay chased him?”
“No.” She shook her head. “But I’ve also been busy with running the
motel.” She looked at Paulette. “Where do people like you hang out
between towns?”
“People like me?” Paulette laughed. “You mean the free life from stuff
and things?”
“You want to live a life free of stuff?” I questioned her. “You came back
here to look for the money with Dottie.”
 “I said stuff, not money. I have to have money to get places.” Paulette
turned back to Coke. “We have a nice little set up at different parks. We
don’t live like animals. We do yoga, meditations, eat off the land, and enjoy
the peace of life. I’m getting arthritis and eventually will have to move into
a home. I need money for that.”
“You can live with Dottie.” Abby joked, but neither Dottie nor Paulette
found it funny.
“I was at the Daniel Boone National Park commune the night someone
killed Jay.” She looked at Dottie. “Dottie has always been able to get in
touch with me. She pays the phone bill for me to have a cell. She lets me
know what’s going on in Normal.”
“No wonder you need more money.” I raised my brows at Dottie. “I
thought I knew everything about you.”
I wrote down a few things while Paulette continued to plead her case of
why she wanted the robbery money, if there was any. I still wasn’t
convinced there’d been a robbery. It was probably just an old wives tale like
most of the stories around here.
“Then we have your daughter.” I flipped the page to Glenda. “She is a
silent partner at the Old Train Station Motel.”
“Not now.” Coke grumbled when everyone shot her looks of shock.
“It’s not like I have all the money in the world either. Like Dottie and
Paulette, I’ve got to think about my retirement, and this was a great
opportunity.”
“Listen, you two might be getting old, but I’m not.” Dottie jumped up
and did a couple jazzercise moves, making all of us laugh and breaking the
seriousness of the atmosphere. “Go on, Mae. Finish this up.”
“You honestly don’t think Glenda has anything to do with Jay’s death?”
I asked Paulette instead of suggesting Paulette killed him. “Glenda has been
in town a couple of days, and if she and Jay had a fight, she could’ve done
it. I mean, did she know about the gun?”
The look between Dottie and Paulette didn’t go unnoticed. “What?” My
eyes shifted between them. “What are you hiding?”
“Glenda did catch us when we were in the stable stealing the gun.”
Dottie gnawed on her lip. “But I don’t think she saw we took a gun. She just
saw us in the tack cabinet. She was visiting and was going to say goodbye
to Rosa.”
 “That’s another thing. Rosa was Glenda’s horse, and if she found out
Jay had given it to Coke to sweeten his deal…” I looked over at the gasping
Paulette.
“He gave you Rosa?” Paulette jumped up. “He had no right to do that!
Rosa is Glenda’s! She won several titles with Rosa! You thief!”
Paulette darted out of the Laundry Club, helping me put Glenda right at
the top of the list of suspects.
CHAPTER 17

H ank’s family house was a modest farm house. Nothing fancy. A

family room with a wood-burning stove, a small kitchen with a
round table, a bathroom off the kitchen, and a long hallway with
doors along each side, which I assumed led to the bedrooms. Hank’s sister,
Ellis, was sitting at the table in the kitchen when we arrived. She had one
leg propped up on the seat, leaning over painting her toenails.
Ellis was a little taller than me. She was a model. Her blond hair was
pulled up into a ponytail, like she normally wore it. She had on a pair of
shorts that showed off a nice tan on her long legs. The tank top was tucked
into the shorts, showing off her slim body.
“You two are just in time for homemade pizza.” Hank’s mom rubbed
her hands on a tea towel before she hurried over to hug us. “Where’s
Chester and Fifi?”
“We left them back at Mae’s.” Hank hugged his mom. The stress I’d
seen on his face when we’ve come to visit before had lessened the more
we’d come.
Hank and his mom had really been trying to work on the rift between
them. Especially since Agnes had called out his parents for taking care of
Ellis and leaving him to fend for himself for years.
“How’s beauty school, Ellis?” Hank asked about her new career choice.
After they moved back to Normal full time, his parents had really cut
Ellis off. They had spent most of her life following her dream to be a
famous actress and model at no cost. Ellis had taken a lot of it for granted
and was used to getting anything she wanted.
When they’d first come back to Normal, Ellis thought she could just
hook Hank up with Natalie and definitely tried. No matter that Hank and I
were dating. It was the first time she’d not gotten her way since she moved
back. Now that her parents have put their foot down, they seemed happier
and interested in Hank.
“I’m never going to get use to painting someone else’s nails.” Images of
Ellis doing someone else’s mani-pedis did make me smile. “Did mom tell
you I moved into the trailer?”
“You did?” I blurted out. “I mean…”
“I know what you mean, Mae.” A shadow of annoyance came across
her face. “But I’ve fixed it up. Want to see?” She fanned her hand over her
painted toes.
“We will after supper. Mae and I are going to hike to the overlook if
we’ve got time before the pizza is ready.” Hank looked at me and smiled.
“You two lovebirds.” His mom gushed. “Go on. Be back in twenty
minutes. Your dad will be back from picking up Agnes, and the pizza will
be ready.”
It was interesting how she referred to her own mother by name instead
of calling her mom.
“Gross. You two are gross.” Ellis changed feet and shook the polish.
Hank grabbed my hand and tugged me out of the kitchen door. We were
about halfway through the yard and the trail that led to his favorite spot in
the entire Daniel Boone National Park before he stopped and looked at me
with his piercing green eyes.
“Finally.” He pulled me to him. His heart beat was so loud inside of his
chest. His nose was shoved in the crook of my neck. He inhaled. “You smell
so good.”
“Are you okay?” I asked and held him just as tight.
“I’ve missed you so much.” He pulled his head away and looked down
at me with half closed eyes. “We really need to have some time away. Me
and you.” He bent down and kissed me.
“Twenty minutes!” his mom yelled out the open kitchen window.
Both of us laughed and took that as a hint to hurry to the overlook and
back.
Hank was like a little boy, jumping over the branches that’d fallen and
careful not to step on any blooms left over from the spring. With summer
came a whole new crop of Kentucky wildflowers and ferns, making the
overlook even more gorgeous than the last time we were here. Hank had
made it to the overlook before me. He was already sitting on the big rock
formation with his leg dangling over.
“I’ll never get sick of this view.” I gasped at the big canyon with a
waterfall that was surrounded by lush Kentucky ferns, moss, and limestone.
The flowers and trees were in full bloom. The pops of purples, reds, and
whites was nature’s way of painting the beautiful park.
I sat down next to him. We sat in silence for a few minutes.
“I’ll never get sick of this view.” He gazed at me and leaned in, kissing
me.
“You’re such a romantic tonight.” The butterflies in my stomach
fluttered all over, making me light headed.
“I want you to know that you’ve never got to worry about anything.
That’s why you don’t need to snoop, and I’m feeling bad about getting on
you earlier,” he said.
“Oh.” The butterflies took a nose dive. “You are trying to make sure I
stay in line with what you’d said earlier. That’s what this is about?” I asked
and pushed myself up to stand.
“Where are you going?” he asked and looked back at me.
“I’m going back to the house. I don’t need you reminding me that my
personality isn’t something you agree with when it comes to your
profession.” I stumbled over a branch but found my footing and continued
to head to the trail.
“Don’t do this, Mae.” His voice was closer to me, and I didn’t have to
turn around to know he was following me. “I went to Deter’s, and I saw you
and the ladies in the laundromat. I also saw Paulette Russel run out. I
dragged her down to the station for questioning, and she told me all your
little theories. It’s gossip.” He put a hand on my shoulder.
“Gossip?” I shrugged his hand off of me. I jerked around. “Gossip leads
to facts and evidence which leads to a killer.”
“According to her, you’ve accused anyone who even associated with
Jay.” He reached out for me. “The bank robbery wasn’t done by Jay. You’re
on the wrong trail, Mae. That’s why you need to stop.”
I put my hands up in front of me. “I’ve never been anything other than
me since the day you pulled me out of the pond.” I reminded him of how
we met. “If you can’t get past who I really am, then this isn’t working.” I
gestured between us. Quickly, I turned back and hurried down the trail
toward the house.
 “Mae, I’m not trying to change you. I love that about you. That gives us
the fire,” he said about halfway down the trail. “But I can’t let you get hurt.
This is what we go over time and time again. You sticking your nose in the
wrong place and getting hurt.”
“It’s my nose to stick into things!” I screamed and made the clearing of
the trees.
In the distance, Agnes was getting out of the car. She looked across the
yard and smiled. It faltered when I didn’t return it. I watched her say
something to Hank’s dad, and he headed into the house without her.
“Don’t drag Granny into this,” Hank warned me like he was scolding
me. “This is between me and you.”
“We need a voice of reason.” I knew Agnes would be on my side like
always. “Agnes, can you please clear something up for us?”
“Hi, honey.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Are you two fighting
over Jay Russel?”
“Yes. In fact, I understand that you took care of Glenda Russel when her
parents went on a fancy European vacation.” I felt Hank’s body stop behind
me. She nodded. “Could they afford such a big vacation?”
“No. And I was shocked they even went. I even told them not to pay
me, but he insisted, saying he’d saved up.” She shrugged. “Gave me five
thousand dollars. Who had five thousand dollars back then to giveaway?”
She wagged a finger at Hank. “He never let me forget it either.”
“What do you mean?” Hank suddenly took an interest.
“After I started to work at the sheriff’s department as dispatcher, he
would make calls about claims on the land. If I didn’t get a deputy out there
or he didn’t like what the deputy had to say, he’d remind me how he’d
given me five thousand dollars to help me out during a rough patch in my
life. Five thousand dollars was a lot of money to me and your mom back
then.”
“That sonofa…” Hank’s words connected together. “Why didn’t you tell
me?”
“After he got up in years, I just started to ignore him. He was in a pickle
after Paulette had left him, and I did like Glenda. She was a baby, and your
mom was getting married. Sometimes you just have to shrug off things.”
She rubbed her hand down my arm. “If you’re wanting to know if he
robbed the bank, I can’t say, but it’s rumored.”
 “I know. And Hank is refusing to believe there’s money somewhere in
the stables. Especially since there was a hiker in there who was probably
the one who was in the campground that night before and it could be
possible that he stole Jay’s gun from Dottie.”
“Stole Jay’s gun?” Hank asked in a stern voice. “What are you talking
about? Are you saying the gun Dottie reported stolen is the gun we are
looking for that we believe killed Jay?” He asked with an intense interest.
“Oh dear.” Agnes’s lines around her lips deepened when her lips
flattened in a straight line. “It appears Mae knows a lot more than you care
to believe.” Now she patted Hank. “It looks like you two need to talk.”
“Yeah.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Tell Mom I’m sorry, but we had to
go.”
I stood there with my mouth gaped open, wishing I could take back
what I’d said. My mouth always got me in trouble.
CHAPTER 18

T he ride back to the campground was longer than normal. It was the
silence that made it so. And when he dropped me off at the camper
and grabbed Chester, I knew he was mad. Not the fact that I had my
nose stuck in it, but the fact I’d left out the information about Dottie and
Paulette stealing the gun five years ago. It wasn’t like I didn’t see his side
and how it impacted the investigation, but I was also loyal to my friend.
Dottie. Not Paulette.
My heart nearly stopped when I watched him from the window over top
my sink. He drove away from his rented camper after he put Chester in
there, and stopped in front of Dottie’s camper, the brake lights glaring. I
knew Hank, and he was going to haul her in for questioning. He got lucky
and took in a two for one deal. Dottie and Paulette got into his car.
A shadow walking in front of my camper did make my heart stop. I
screamed so loud, Fifi screeched and ran to the bedroom. I fell to the
ground so the shadow couldn’t see me and crawled over to where I kept my
gun. If the hiker was back and had heard I was spreading rumors that he
was the one who killed Jay, I had to protect myself.
“Mae.” I heard a whisper from outside. “Let me in.”
I crawled to the door and put my ear to it.
“Mae.” I heard the voice again. “It’s me, Abby. Let me in.”
I stood up and sucked in a deep breath to gather my wits before I
opened the door.
“Hurry up.” She pushed the door open all the way and hurried inside.
“Shut the door.”
“What’s going on?” I asked and looked out the door into the night
before I closed the door.
 “Ty. He’s got a date in his camper.” Abby chuckled nastily. “I’m going
crazy.” She huffed and rubbed her hands together. “I’m following him. I’m
obsessed.”
My head wasn’t wrapping around what she was saying. The images of
Dottie getting into Hank’s car made me ill and just took up any space left in
my head.
“Mae,” Abby stressed. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Yeah. Ty? Date?” I blinked a few times to make myself be present and
grabbed a bottle of water from my mini-refrigerator.
“Yes. But I’m losing my mind. I’ve become some sort of girl on one of
those crazy tabloid TV shows.” She took the water from me and plopped
down in one of the chairs at the small café table. “I even called that show
Cheaters, only he’s not cheating. I just want him to know that I know.”
“Abby, get a hold of yourself.” I sat in the chair across from her. “Start
from the beginning so I can understand.”
“It all started a couple of weeks ago.” She pulled a foot up under her.
“He told me how I was nice, but he didn’t feel a connection with me. I
asked him if it was because I wasn’t as wild as you.”
“Wild?” I jerked back, my jaw dropped. Fifi made her way back into the
family part of the camper and lay in her bed. “You think I’m wild?”
“I think that you’ve gotten so much more experience in life, and you
take every idea you get and run with it. Me.” She frowned. “I’m a boring
person. I love to read. I’d rather spend time at my office instead of having
parties like you. Going around and talking to people. I’m just not as
outgoing.”
“Then he’s got the problem. Not you.” I reached across the table and
patted her hand. “If he can’t see what an amazing person you are, then he’s
got issues.”
“He told me it wasn’t my personality. He said that he wasn’t ready to
commit to a relationship and needed to spend his time making sure his dad
had recovered and that his brothers are taken care of. He was really nice,
and I cried.” She shook her head. “I believed him. Until.”
“Until what?” I asked.
“Until I saw him with a woman through the diner window when we left
the Laundry Club. I sat in the Laundry Club and watched them for a couple
of hours. They were laughing, and she was touching him.” Abby stuck her
tongue out. “It was gross.”
 “Do you know who she is?” I asked and wondered why Abby didn’t
know the woman.
“No. She could be from here, but Ty is older than me.” Abby reminded
me how Ty and I were heading straight into our thirties while she was still
in her mid-twenties.
She jumped up, making Fifi dart back to the bedroom. Poor little girl.
Abby was giving her a heart attack. “It’s them!” She pushed open the door
and grabbed my purse. “Come on!”
“What?” I was so confused.
“They just left in Ty’s car. We are going to follow them.” She didn’t
even wait for me to protest. She ran to her car with my crossbody bag,
which she knew I never left home without. It was her sneaky way to get me
in her car.
“You be a good girl, Fifi.” I glanced at the water bowl to make sure she
had water and locked the camper behind me.
Abby had the car started and in gear before I sat in the passenger seat.
She floored the gas as I grabbed for the seat belt. I hung on for dear life.
“This is not normal. This is how someone crazy acts.” I informed her.
“You need to slow down before you kill us or someone in the campground.”
The words barely left my mouth when she took a sharp right out of the
campground. Ty’s taillights would come in and out of sight as his car
followed the curves.
“Abby.” I called her name a couple of times to get her to come back out
of crazy land. “Abby.”
“I know. I look nuts.” She didn’t seem to really hear herself because she
sped up. “I just want to know where they’re going. If he was such a good
guy taking care of his dad and brothers, he should be at home taking care of
them.”
My phone chirped a text.
“Don’t tell Hank.” Abby assumed it was Hank, and for a second, I
thought it might be.
“It’s Queenie.” I ran my finger across my phone to bring up her text.
“She wants to know what’s going on with Dottie.”
“Dottie?” Abby at least stopped her madness in her head to ask about
our friend. She didn’t slow down, though.
“You’re not the only one with big problems.” I hit the call button. It was
better for me to say it once to everyone then keep repeating how I’d
betrayed our friend. “I’m going to conference call our friends in.”
I wasn’t sure if Abby heard me because she had turned into the parking
lot of the Saddle Club, the bar that Dottie mentioned earlier. She parked
where there weren’t any lights. She reached under the seat and pulled out a
pair of binoculars. Ty had pulled up to the front. He got out and went
around the car to open the door.
“It’s Glenda.” I gasped and squinted to make sure.
“What?” Queenie asked from the phone.
“Where’s Glenda?” Betts questioned.
“Glenda Russel? The killer?” Abby leaned over the steering wheel with
the binoculars up to her eyes.
“What is going on? Why is Dottie at the police station?” Queenie asked.
“Dottie is at the police station?” Betts sounded so confused. “Where is
Glenda? At the police station?”
“Everyone stop talking.” I had to stop all the madness. “I’m at Saddle
Club with Abby. She’s been spying on Ty. Ty is apparently on a date with
Glenda.”
“What does this have to do with Dottie?” Queenie asked. “I heard on
the police scanner that she was being taken to the station along with
Paulette Russel.”
“That’s why I’m calling. I accidently let it slip to Hank how Dottie and
Paulette took Jay’s gun he had reported stolen five years ago.” It hurt saying
the words.
“Mae,” Queenie whined, “you didn’t.”
“She did.” Betts snapped. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“I know. I feel awful. We didn’t even stay for homemade pizza at his
parents because he said he had to bring them in. It was awful.” I couldn’t
get the image of Dottie getting into Hank’s car. “She’s innocent and has the
hoedown as the alibi, so she’ll be fine. I just don’t want him to bring
charges against her from five years ago.”
“Do we need to go get her?” Queenie asked a great question.
“I can go to the Laundry Club and put on some coffee,” Betts suggested.
“I think you two need to go get Dottie and bring her to the bar. We need
drinks.” Abby turned off the ignition of the car.
“You want us to go in there?” I asked her, knowing she’d lost her
marbles. “No way.”
“It’s a free country.” Abby’s attitude was really starting to annoy me.
 “Abby, nothing good can come out of this. I know. I’ve been here,” I
said. “He’s not worth it.”
“Listen to her, Abby,” Betts said through the speaker on the phone.
Headlights from another car pulled in and parked in a spot underneath
one of the pole lights. Lee and another person who looked a lot like Sarah
Kaskle’s dad got out of the car.
“On second thought.” I put the phone up to my mouth and spoke clearly.
“Go get Dottie and bring her to the Saddle Club. We need a girls’ night
out.”
Abby looked at me with wide eyes and a huge grin on her face.
“Thank you,” she mouthed to me.
I gave her a sympathetic smile. I couldn’t tell her why I was really
going in there.
“Mae, this is not a good idea.” Betts tried to be the voice of reason.
“Sounds good to me.” Queenie wasted no time. She hung up the phone.
“See you soon, Betts,” Abby said into the phone, leaning over into my
space.
I clicked the off button and grabbed my crossbody bag, flinging it
across my shoulder.
“Here are the ground rules.” I was going to go over some particulars
with Abby, but she’d already gotten out of the car and was halfway to the
front door of the bar. “I guess there are none,” I mumbled, picking up the
pace a little.
The inside of the building was as smoky as Dottie’s camper. Old tunes
were belting out of a jukebox that had seen much better days. There was a
full bar along the right side of the building and the left was open with bar
top tables. In the far back left were a couple of poker tables with no empty
seats. Behind that was a lane for darts.
It was loud, rowdy, and smoky, making it difficult for me to see where
Lee had gone.
“Mae!” Abby waved above the crowd and pointed to a couple of bar
stools.
I weaved in and around people to get to her. She was leaning over the
bar talking to the bartender. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but I
watched her gesture between me and her and then over to the far end of the
bar.
 I moved my gaze to where her finger was pointing and noticed Ty and
Glenda talking intently.
“I got them a drink.” Abby had a look of pleasure on her face and eased
down into the bar stool. “I got us one too.”
Her car keys were sitting on top of the bar counter. I took them and
slipped them into my bag.
“I’m fine.” I waved my hand. I wasn’t much of a big drinker, and I
wasn’t going to drink if she was going to. I had to get home somehow. It
looked like I was the driver. “Do you really think it was a good idea to send
them a drink?”
“He wants fun. I can be fun.” She took money out of her pocket and laid
it on the bar when the barista dropped off the drinks she’d ordered. “Watch
this.” She picked up her drink and nodded toward Ty and Glenda.
Ty’s eyes glanced past the bartender’s shoulder after Abby was pointed
out as the one who’d paid for the drinks. Abby planted a big smile on her
face and proudly held up her drink like she was toasting them. Ty’s face
showed shocked. He didn’t seem like he knew what to do.
“Look at that guilty face. Jerk,” Abby said through gritted teeth, her
mouth staying in a permanent grin.
“You look crazy.” I waved down the bar at Ty. Nervously, he waved
back and so did Glenda. “I hope that was the reaction you wanted.”
Abby sat down in the bar stool. “It wasn’t that fun.” She took a drink
and stared straight ahead. “Let’s face it. I’m not fun.”
“Stop it. You are fun.” I rotated the stool to face out and scan the crowd.
Lee had sat down at one of the poker tables. He was gabbing away and
didn’t seem to have a care in the world. It was odd that he didn’t appear to
mourn his best friend, which made him guilty in my eyes.
“I’ll be right back.” I got off the stool and made my way over to him.
I stood for a second and watched the dealer go around the table, asking
if anyone wanted a hit on their cards before I tapped Lee on the shoulder.
“Mae.” He stood up. “I had no idea you came around joints like this.”
“I don’t. I’m here with my friends, and I thought I’d come over and say
hi.” I wanted to make him so uncomfortable. “Or do you know the bar
owner and want them to kick me out like you had Coke kick me out of the
stables?”
He lowered his eyes and tossed his hand of cards on the table.
 “Fellers, I’m out this hand. Don’t let anyone take my spot.” He got up
and grabbed me by the elbow, dragging me over to a dark corner away from
prying eyes. “Listen, I don’t know what your problem is with me, but I’m
telling you to back off.”
“Is the heat getting to you?” I asked and didn’t turn away from his glare.
He wasn’t going to bully me.
“Heat?” An evil laugh came from deep in his gut. He threw his head
back. “You? Heat?”
“You had the biggest reason to kill Jay, and I’m going to prove it.” I
jerked my arm away from him.
“Geesh, are you kidding me? I’ve already been questioned by the
police. I’ve got an alibi. I had no reason to kill my best friend.” He crossed
his arms in front of him.
“Maybe for the title that Sarah Kaskle is going to win under your name
as trainer. Or should I ask her dad about that.” I moved my gaze from him
to the poker table. “That is her dad, right?”
“I want you to listen to me and listen to me good.” He uncrossed his
arms and jabbed his finger in my face. “After Jay died, the Kaskles came to
me. I don’t care about titles. Would it be nice? Yes, of course. I’d love to
retire from my life’s-long work with a big win, but it’s not that important to
me.”
“Did you kill him because you were the real robber from the bank
robbery years ago, and he was going to come clean? You and your friends,
Brownie and—” I had no idea where that came from.
He stood there. His mouth opened and shut and opened again. He
clamped it closed, at a loss for words. “What is it with you people?” His
chest heaved up and down as a big belly laugh started to come out of him.
“Jay didn’t rob a bank. I didn’t rob a bank.” He leaned over me and yelled,
“Brownie, she thinks we all robbed the bank.”
The group of men at the table started to laugh and smack each other on
the arm like it was such a big joke.
“You think I’m kidding?” I could feel my face flushing. “I’m not.”
“You’re the second person to ask me and my friends about that darn
bank robbery over the past week. It’s a joke. We might’ve gotten into a lot
of trouble as kids, but we didn’t rob a bank. Especially Jay. He was the most
honest out of all of us.” He took a step forward, and I moved out of his way.
“Stop.” I grabbed a fistful of the back of his shirt.
 He slowly turned around. I watched as his expression changed from an
intense stare to a hard glare.
“Let go of my shirt,” he warned and pulled his shoulders back. He
reached around and tried to run a flat hand over the back of the shirt where
I’d gripped. “Don’t put your hands on me.”
“You put your hands on me,” I recalled and pointed to my elbow.
“That’s not why I stopped you. You said someone else asked about the
robbery. Who?”
“Some kid. A camper. He comes in here and drinks.” He looked around
the bar. “He’s here somewhere.”
“Where?” I asked and let out a long sigh when I noticed Lee was fed up
with me. “Listen, I’m just trying to find out what happened to Jay.”
“Leave it up to your boyfriend.” He was playing hardball.
“If one of your friends was down at the station right now for killing Jay,
and you knew she didn’t do it, you’d be all over trying to figure out who did
it.” I wasn’t telling the complete truth, but I had to make him feel human or
some sort of heartfelt connection to me. “Dottie Swaggert is down at the
station. You know Dottie. She didn’t hurt anyone.”
“Dottie, huh?” His eyes darted back and forth like he was trying to find
an answer up in his head somewhere. “The kid is next to the jukebox. He’s
been asking a lot of questions about the money. We keep telling him tall
tales. Messing with him. Maybe it wasn’t smart to do.”
“Did you mention Jay?” I wondered if this was the hiker who Jay had
kept running off.
“Jay was here and really laid on this big story about how he had a map
in his stable. Like an X marks the spot pirates map.” His brows drew
downward in a frown. “Come to think about it, that was the night before Jay
was killed. You don’t think?”
“Good possibility.” I groaned.
“I’ll get my hands on that little—”
I grabbed another fistful of Lee’s shirt when he took a bold step in the
direction of the jukebox.
“Don’t go over there and start anything,” I warned. “You go back with
your friends and keep an eye on me. I’m going to go over and ask him a
few questions.”
“If I see him do any funny business, I’m going to clobber him,” Lee
said. He pressed his lips together in anger. “After your done with him, it’s
my turn.”
I put my hands out in front of me to make sure he calmed down. I was
surprised he actually went back to the table like I’d suggested. The other
poker players at his table leaned in to listen to what he was telling them.
They all turned and looked at me. I smiled and headed over to the jukebox
where the guy was leaning up against it.
The hiker had a backpack, but I couldn’t tell if it was the same
backpack. But the eye. I noticed a little scab on the corner of his eye that
appeared to be pretty fresh looking.
“Bad cut,” I said to him and then turned back to the jukebox to pretend
to look at the selection of songs.
“It’s fine.” He didn’t look back at me.
The door opened. Dottie, Queenie, and Paulette walked in. They all
three looked at me. I tried to avoid eye contact.
“Did you get it from a hanging branch when you were hiking?” I asked.
“Nope.” He pressed a longneck bottle of beer to his lips. “Listen, lady,
I’m just here to enjoy a beer. I’m not looking for company.”
“I’m not looking for company either. I was just making idle
conversation, that’s all,” I said.
“Mae West,” Dottie said my name with a cigarette stuck in the corner of
her mouth. The hiker pulled a lighter out of his pocket, flicking it to life.
“Thanks, hun,” she told him.
“Ryan? Is that you?” Paulette stood behind Dottie and questioned the
kid.
“Crap!” He shoved Dottie into me and Paulette. He dropped his bottle
on the floor before he bolted out the door.
Scuffles and yells came from the back of the bar.
“Are you okay?” I asked Dottie, trying to help her to her feet. Both of us
tumbled back to the ground when Lee and his goons ran past us, knocking
everyone out of the way.
“What in tarnation is happening around here?” Dottie looked at me. The
cigarette dangling from her mouth was broken. She took it out of her
mouth, looked at it, and tossed it to the ground.
“I’m not sure. But I have an idea.” I stood up and helped her and
Paulette up. “Paulette, how did you know that guy?”
“That’s Ryan Dunn. He is like me. Trying to figure out life.” She made
no sense.
 “How do you know him?” I asked her again. “That’s the guy I saw Jay
running off, and I think he’s the guy Hank ran off at the campground.”
“Oh no. He was around when I was talking to my group of friends about
the bank robbery.” Paulette had just tied Ryan to Jay’s murder. “He must’ve
wanted to come and find it for himself.”
“Did you tell him about the gun?” I asked.
“I might’ve added to the story how me and Dottie stole it.” She curled
in her lip and bit down on it.
“Lee told me he’d been asking around about the bank robbery and how
Jay had told Ryan a big tale about how he had a treasure map in the stables
and was going to dig it up one day.” All of the clues were coming together
like a big puzzle.
“Do you think he’s the one who stole my gun?” Dottie asked a great
question.
“Dottie!” I grabbed her and kissed her on the cheek. “You are so smart!”
“What is happening here?” Betts walked in. “I drive up and men are
chasing someone. You and Dottie are kissing and Abby is all chummy with
Ty and Glenda.”
“I think Dottie just helped me figure out who killed Jay Russel.” I
pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Hank. “Hank, you better get
over to the Saddle Club. I think Jay’s killer was here.”
Hank and his men were there in no time. I told Hank my theory about
how Ryan had come to Normal because Paulette told her hippie friends
about how she believed Jay was the robber. When Ryan came to town,
they’d told him this big story about how Jay was the robber. That was when
he had gone to the stables, and Jay had found him there. Then he must’ve
followed Paulette to the campground to find the gun. While Dottie was at
the hoedown, he had broken in. He must’ve been who I’d seen in her
camper.
Satisfied with my theory, he put out an APB and shut down the roads,
giving a character sketch and details of Ryan Dunn.
“Glenda used to babysit Ty when he was little. Can you believe she’s
that old?” Abby was happy Ty was dating Glenda.
“I knew she was older since her parents are Dottie’s age, but I didn’t try
and figure it up.” I drove us back to the campground even though Abby was
fine to drive. She’d had one drink and though she wasn’t impaired, I felt it
was best.
 “Then you solved the big murder.” Abby’s brows rose.
“Mmmhhh.” I didn’t want to lecture her on how awful her behavior had
been, and it was getting late.
“And you didn’t want to go to the bar because you said nothing good
could come from it.” She laughed and put the back of her head on the head
rest.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep before I pulled into Happy Trails.
CHAPTER 19

“Y ou deserve a day off.” Dottie was sitting behind her desk in

the office the next morning around seven a.m. “I’ll be fine.
Paulette and Glenda are going to have lunch at the Caboose
Diner before she goes back to her hippie friends.”
“They are eating together?” I asked.
“Yep. Seems like they came together last night after you solved the
murder. According to the police Facebook page, they still ain’t caught
Ryan.” Dottie was tugging each pink sponge curler out of her hair. “They
will.”
“I hope so.” I looked out the window of the office at the gorgeous day
shaping up outside. “I’ve got to make it into town to get some of the items
for the campground party. Do you need anything?”
“Nah. Which reminds me”—she shook out the curls with her fingers
—“Did they ever catch the robber of Deter’s Feed-N-Seed and Cookie
Crumble?”
“I have no idea. After Jay’s murder, it seemed like it was on the back
burner.” It was a great day to go hiking before everyone was up and at ‘em,
making the trails busy. “If you’re sure you’re going to be alright here by
yourself, I think I’ll get in a hike and then go get the items for the party.”
There were things I needed to pick up. The donated food items along
with finalizing the menu with Ty on what he was bringing to cater. But I
needed to de-stress, and since moving to Normal and living in the
campground, I found walking one of the easy trails was so good for my
soul.
“Go on. Get out of here.” She lifted her chin in the direction of the door.
 She didn’t have to tell me twice to leave the office and get on my hiking
boots and Fifi.
There were several trails around the campground that ranged in level of
difficulty. Since I had Fifi and Chester with me, it was best to go on an easy
trail. I knew Hank was going to be busy all day. Chester didn’t need to be
cooped up.
The path was worn down and the rain from the other night had dried off.
Fifi loved getting all her white fur dirty and cleaning her wasn’t relaxing to
me. Chester, he was just easy. He trotted along side of me while Fifi darted
ahead, sniffing everything she passed. Chester was only ever interested in
food.
Sunrise was peeking over the Daniel Boone National Park in hues of
orange and pink, making the blue sky pop. There was a light breeze in the
shadows of the trees with a nice chill that filled my lungs with fresh air at
each breath. I stopped, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. There was
nothing as refreshing as good country air.
I opened my eyes and looked down to see what Chester was doing.
“Chester?” I twisted around and looked for him. “Fifi! Chester!”
When I heard the rattle of Fifi’s collar, I turned my head in that
direction. “Are you off the trail?” I stomped over to the tree line and could
hear Fifi’s collar. I pushed the dangling tree limbs and brush out of my way
with each step I took toward them. I kept my eyes down and made sure I
took careful steps. Off the trail was rocky and not as smooth. I didn’t want
to twist an ankle out here by myself. “You two are in trouble.”
I looked up, and in the trees was a hammock, along with a campground
site.
“Fifi, Chester,” I scolded them with a whisper in fear we were going to
wake up the campers. “Get over here.”
Fifi was not moving. She stood near the smoldering fire.
“What are you doing?” I tiptoed over and noticed napkins that had the
Cookie Crumble logo on them wadded up in the fire. Chester came back to
my side.
My gut twisted. Panic started to riot within me as I looked around and
noticed all the things that’d been stolen from Deter’s was right here in front
of me. Then my mind shifted to Ryan Dunn. Was this his hideout? Was he
the one who’d broken into the shops so he could live out here while he
hunted for the money?
 “Fifi,” I called after her when she still didn’t come. It was apparent that
I was going to have to sneak over there and pick her up. “Stay,” I whispered
to Chester. He sat down like a good boy.
Fifi was determined to keep her stance, and I was curious to see what
had her attention.
“Ryan?” I gasped. The twist in my gut moved to a cold knot in my
stomach.
Ryan Dunn was lying on his side on the ground.
“Ryan?” I tapped his shoe with my shoe. I touched him just enough for
him to roll over to his back, a gun in his hand and a gunshot to his chest.
There was a journal in his hand.
I bent down and noticed the journal was embossed with Jay Russel’s
name, just like the journals I’d found in the tack cabinet. A shuffle of noise
came from the behind me. Chester started barking, and I jumped around,
fumbling for my phone in my back pocket. Two big eyes stared at me from
behind the tree.
“Rosa?” I gasped when I saw Jay’s horse tied up to the tree. “Hank,” I
gasped into the phone. “Ryan Dunn is dead. I think he used Jay’s gun, and
he had Rosa.”
CHAPTER 20

T he news of what happened in Normal had spread, and the national

news media had picked it up. I always thought bad publicity was
bad, but Abby Fawn always claimed it was good. She was right.
The campground didn’t have a vacancy and The Milkery Bed and Breakfast
was also booked, which made me sad because I’d not see Mary Elizabeth
and Dawn Gentry since all this mess with Jay Russel.
Even Glenda and Paulette had stayed around a few more days getting
reacquainted. Hank had put the case of Jay Russel in the books even though
he still couldn’t explain how Jay had gotten in between the two electric
fence wires instead of falling on top of them. The coroner’s report came
back that he’d been shot and then fell into the electric fence, which
ultimately killed him.
Glenda had decided to leave Rosa with Coke, but she still remained her
not-so-silent partner. As a going away gift, Glenda had invited me and the
Laundry Club gals to the Caboose Diner for a little get-together before she
left town. Unfortunately, Paulette had left town and couldn’t stay for the
lunch.
The Old Train Station’s diner was packed, and it looked like Coke had
really gotten a good business going. She looked happy and relaxed.
Especially now that Jay’s murder had been put behind us.
“You thought me and Ty?” Glenda got a kick out of Abby’s story. “He’s
a sweet boy, but he’s definitely not the marrying type.” She told Abby some
details about Ty that put Abby to rest about dating Ty.
Dottie, Betts, and Queenie were having pie and some coffee while
talking to Coke about the renovations she was going to do with the stables.
She was excited to have her first wedding event booked.
 I sat by the window and looked out, wondering if Rosa was down at the
stables.
“Where are you going?” Dottie asked when I got up.
“I’m going to walk down to the stables and see Rosa.” I pushed my
chair in.
“I thought you were scared of horses.” Dottie was so good at reminding
me of the things I told her.
“Me and Rosa have a bond.” I winked, knowing good and well that I
wasn’t going to get too close to her.
The freshly cut grass smell surrounded me as I walked past the barn
where the hoedown had been hosted. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing
past it and looking toward the fence where I’d found Jay. I wondered what
he’d have thought about his daughter and ex-wife making amends and that
it was his death that’d brought them together.
I gripped the sliding barn door and gave it a good tug, just opening up
the one side.
All the other horses were gone. When I passed by the empty stalls, I
could see they’d been cleaned. There was a barrel and rake outside of each
stall.
Rosa stuck her head out from the bars of her stall at the end of the
stable. I stared at her big brown eyes the entire walk down the middle aisle.
“Hey, girl.” I extended my hand for her to sniff.
“Mae, you scared me.” Paulette was standing in Rosa’s stall in the
corner. “I was just saying goodbye to the old girl.”
“Paulette, I thought you’d left.” My eyes gazed past her shoulder to the
tack cabinet. It’d been flipped on its side. “You should come join us.”
A chill black silence surrounded us. I knew something was going on,
and I had to get out of there. Suddenly, my chest felt heavy like my breath
had been cut off when I watched Paulette bring her arm up in front of her
with a gun pointing directly at me.
“You just couldn’t stop yourself. You had to keep on and on until it
came to this.” Paulette slid the stall door open with her foot, keeping the
gun on me at all times. “Untie Rosa so I can slide the door open more and
let you join me.”
Even though I wanted to tell her what I thought about her, the gun was
what was driving me to do what she said. My hands shook as I untied the
knocked leather reins from the bar of the stall door. Rosa took a step back.
 “Whoa, girl.” Paulette was able to keep the gun steady with one hand
while soothing Rosa with the other. “Our little friend really needs a lesson.
And I’m not talking a riding lesson.”
She waved the gun in front of me to move me to the back of the stall. I
stepped over the piece of board she’d pried off the bottom of the tack
cabinet. I rubbed my finger and remembered getting pricked by something
when I’d moved it myself the other day. There was a duffle bag on the floor
of the stable with cash in it.
“You had it almost right.” She kicked the bag with the toe of her hippie
sandal. “Jay didn’t rob the bank. I did. He forced me to marry him, or he
was going to turn me in. He didn’t care about the money. He only wanted a
child so he could teach them to ride and carry on his legacy of greatness,
he’d say.” She rolled her eyes.
“No wonder you didn’t answer the questions at the Laundry Club when
I asked you if you robbed the bank. Dottie told me no way and to move on.”
It was the little details that’d gotten me off my trail, and here I was about to
pay big time for that.
“It was so easy for me to leave town. But before I left, I hid the money
underneath the tack cabinet and nailed a board over it. I knew he’d never
move this old thing.” She shrugged with a slight grin. “I was right.”
I gulped.
“What? You regret putting your nose into it? Don’t.” She winked. “We
all have a way to die, and I believe this is your way. Just like Ryan. He was
so stupid. I told him exactly where Alvin Deters kept all the stuff we
needed, down to the freeze-dried food. But Ryan had to have donuts.” She
laughed. “He was so eager to get his hands on the money after I told him
about the robbery. I had no idea Jay was going to tease him, but it played
perfect.”
“You killed him?” I asked.
“Jay? Ryan? Yes. Both.” She moved to the right when Rosa took a step
back. “Easy girl.” She patted her with the free hand. “Ryan and I had come
to town. I had him do all the dirty work like breaking in the shop while I
found our perfect camping spot near Dottie so I could get that gun. I’d
already heard about the hoedown, so I had Ryan break in and get it.”
“Did Dottie know about the money?” I asked.
“Not that I’d stolen it, but like she said, I made her believe all these
years that Jay had dropped hints.” She waved the gun. “I don’t even know
why I’m telling you this. I guess I just want to tell someone how genius I
am, and since you aren’t going any further than this…” she paused, “I
figure you can take it to your grave. As for Jay. He didn’t know I was back
in town. It was going to be fine. I was going to get the gun from Ryan. Jay
was going to the hoedown. The stupid storm.” She shook her head. “I
should’ve remembered Rosa was scared of thunder and knew he’d come
back in here to check on her. That’s when he found me.”
Paulette continued to tell her story as my mind tried to think of a million
ways to get out of the stall.
“We had an argument. I had the gun and ran out of the stable, knowing
he’d run after me.” She took her eyes off me for a second, and when I
started to shift, she jabbed the gun back out in front of her. “It was pouring
down rain. I’d forgotten about that stupid electric fence. I stopped, and he
laughed at me. That’s when I pulled the gun out, and suddenly we changed
positions. He was standing next to the fence. He was scared. In that
instance, I knew he had no control over me, and I was free to get my
money, leave town for good.” Her eyes narrowed. “He took a step toward
me, and I shot him. He wasn’t dead but close.”
“How did he get between the electric fence wires?” I just had to know.
She smiled. “Ryan. He was in the stable. He’d brought me the gun, and
that’s where we were meeting. He picked up Jay’s upper half, and I picked
up his feet. We tossed him in the fence.” She shuddered like she had a
memory of it.
“Why kill Ryan?” I understood about Jay.
“He had come to the stable to look for the money the day before. I
didn’t exactly tell him where it was since I didn’t know if he would try to
come without me. I was right. It was perfect, though.” An evil grin slipped
across her lips. “Jay caught him, immediately making him a suspect. I never
figured Ryan would leave our little camp and go around asking questions.”
Her face stilled and grew serious. “That’s when I knew I had to go back to
camp after you recognized him, and well, you know how that ended.”
Rosa took another step back, rearing up on her back legs, making
Paulette stumble enough for me to dart out of the stall.
“Get back here, or I’ll shoot!” Paulette screamed at my back when I
took off running down the middle aisle toward the door.
“No, you won’t!” There was another scream, a thud, and another yell
that made me stop and turn around.
 Dottie Swaggert was standing with a cigarette dangling between her
fingers and a shovel in the other hand with a knocked-out Paulette Russel
on the ground.
“She ain’t gonna hurt no one anymore.” Dottie put her cigarette in the
corner of her mouth and stared at me. She put the shovel down and reached
around to her back pocket.
“Dottie, please don’t.” I put my hands out, thinking she was going to
pull a gun on me. “Don’t kill me.”
“Huh? Kill you?” Her lip curled. She took out her cell phone.
“Yeah. You knew about the money.” I gulped. My insides were shaking
like a leaf. “Did you come here to help her get the money?”
“I didn’t know if Jay stole the money or not.” She didn’t know. “I was
coming to check on you. You being scared of horses and all.”
“You didn’t know that Paulette had been the bank robber this whole
time and hid the money in Rosa’s stable?” I was stunned.
“I had no idea.” She swiped her finger on her phone screen and brought
it up to her ear. “Hank, it’s Dottie Swaggert. You gonna need to come down
to the Old Train Station stables and pick up Paulette Russel for killing Jay
Russel and Ryan Dunn. She’s also the bank robber.”
I leaned my back against one of the stall doors and slid to the ground. I
buried my head in my hands and cried as relief poured out of me.
“I’ll explain when you get here.” I heard her tell Hank before she hung
up. “Mae, you gonna be alright?”
“Yes.” I looked up and smiled. “I’m going to be just fine as long as I’ve
got you by my side.”
“Don’t you worry. Hank will be right here.” She looked down at
Paulette who was still knocked out. “He’ll haul her sorry you-know-what
off to jail, and we can get back to our lunch.”
Dottie Swaggert and I were the unlikeliest of best friends. No matter
what happened to my real blood family, I have come to know that family
wasn’t always blood related, and Dottie Swaggert was my real sister.

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 Chapter One of Book Eight
Assailants, Asphalt & Alibis

The silence from at least one hundred people was almost as deafening as the
bullfrogs billowing around the Happy Trails Campground lake while one of
the treasure hunters told the group about the regional legend of John Swift’s
silver mine.
The flicker of the red, yellow, and orange flames showed in all their
eyes as they focused on the intriguing story of the possibility that in and
around my campground could be a massive amount of silver just waiting to
be claimed.
“In the year 1760, John Swift made his way into Kentucky from the
Gap and followed the creek known now as Swift’s Creek. He was a well-
educated Englishman that was a natural-born leader and sailor of his own
ships off the coast of the Carolinas. It was when he’d come to Kentucky
when he met up with a man by the name of Montgomery. Swift wasn’t
happy with the British and let it be known. It was then he and Montgomery
had begun to counterfeit the British crown as a way of getting back at the
British for invading the land we are gathered upon today as well as the
entire Daniel Boone National Forest.” Mason Cavanaugh’s voice held a
mysterious tone that rose up and down with the importance of what he had
to say.
He held up a piece of paper that appeared to be the journal he’d
mentioned.
“Swift had heard of the mines in Kentucky and maybe a mention or two
about there being silver here. Thus began his several mining expeditions to
Kentucky.” Mason leaned over his knees and swept his hands in front of
him. His eyes grew big. The flames of the fire made his blue eyes sparkle to
life, making the scene ominous.
“It wasn’t until a wounded bear led a very courageous Swift to a rock
house, which is what we call a cave. This was the first time Swift found
silver. It wasn’t the only rock house, or cave, where Swift found silver. He
noted all of the places in his journal, including maps.”
He held up more papers with upside-down V designs and big Xs
scribbled all over them. He brought the paper up to his eyes and leaned into
the glow of the campfire.
 He read, “Taken directly from John Swift’s journal.” Then he continued,
““Seven miles above the mouth of the creek is a natural rock bridge. On the
northwest side of the creek, a short distance below the bridge, is a branch.
Follow the branch to its head, thence ascend the ridge, leaving the highest
part of the ridge on your right. Go along the ridge to a point that is higher
than the others, where a large rock seems to have fallen from above. Go in
between them. This is where we obtained our best ore.”
He pulled the papers down from his face and sat back, turning his head
from side to side as if he were trying to see what others thought about his
tale. His stare stopped on another camper. I watched as her brow rose and
didn’t break the eye contact.
He looked back down at his papers as if he were trying to compose
himself.
“The creek he refers to we believe is what we know now as Swift
Creek, located right here in Normal.” He looked up, and a slow grin crossed
his face. The flicker of the fire caught his eyes at the right moment, making
shadows cross his face.
Goosebumps crawled along my legs.
“Don’t tell me you are falling for this crap.” Dottie Swaggert flicked the
ash off her light cigarette and brought it to her mouth, taking a long draw.
Her red hair lay in curls around her head. “Because if you do, I’ve got a
gold mine right under my old camper over there. I’ll let you have it for one
hundred dollars.” The smoke rolled out of her mouth, and she pointed to her
camper at the front of the campground.
A few people turned around to shush her. She gave them the death stare
with big eyes.
“All these people are fools.” She took one last puff before she threw it
on the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of her flip-flop. Dottie stormed
off toward her camper. She’d had enough.
“Not all of those journeys were successful. Swift and his crew were met
with numerous obstacles from Indian attacks to mutiny among his crew,
which was when John Swift holed up in one of his silver mines and finished
his journals. He even had time to fall in love with the widow Renfro before
he was deported back to England, where he was convicted of counterfeiting
the crowns. It’s rumored he left his journals and treasure map with the
widow Renfro until he rejoined her after he’d served his sentence.” Mason’s
eyes shifted back and forth.
 “Unfortunately, Swift became blind while imprisoned, making him
unable to find his treasure, leaving it buried forever.” He took a deep breath
and sat up, pulling his shoulders ramrod straight. “Or until someone finds
it.”
Murmurs from the crowd around Mason came up as they dispersed to
their own campfires, campers, or headed home. Abby Fawn, Queenie
French, and Mary Elizabeth Moberly, my adoptive mother, all walked up. I
glanced around them and noticed Mayor Courtney MacKenzie had made
her way over to Mason.
Mayor MacKenzie rarely came to the campground for monthly themed
parties, and her presence made me question why she was there. Mayor
MacKenzie didn’t do anything that didn’t get her attention, and election
year was right around the corner.
“Do you need any help cleaning before we go?” Abby asked, breaking
my concentration.
“Nah.” I blinked a couple of times to get present with my girlfriends.
“It’ll give me something to do tomorrow,” I said.
Every month I hosted a get-together between the community and the
camping tourists. It was a fun party where Blue Ethel and the Adolescent
Farm Boys, a local band, strummed on their instruments, giving it their best
go at bluegrass music while the guests enjoyed local foods donated by
restaurants in Normal.
“That is a fun campfire story,” I said to Abby Fawn, noticing all the
camping lots and the campers I provided for rental were all occupied. It was
nice to see all the campfire rings lit up. “I’m sure it’s the talk around all the
s’more-making.” I noticed everyone was enjoying the ingredients I’d given
them when they rolled into the campground as a little special treat to thank
them for choosing Happy Trails Campground for their vacation.
“Story?” Abby swung her head toward me, flinging her ponytail around.
She stared wordlessly at me.
“Oh, honey, it’s no story.” Queenie French’s hot-pink Jazzercise leotard
shimmered more than the blanket of stars in the midnight sky. She picked at
the edges of her short blond hair nervously. “Don’t you know all of these
people are here just for the annual Legend of John Swift Excursion?”
“You’re pulling my leg.” Mary Elizabeth’s southern-accented voice held
questions. “Right?” She fingered the pearls around her neck.
 “I ain’t pulling nothing.” Queenie’s nose curled; her right brow rose.
“I’m telling you, there’s several people out there who have found crown
catches from John Swift’s counterfeiting in these here caves.”
Mary Elizabeth ran her hands down her Lily Pulitzer jumpsuit and then
clasped them in front of her.
“The library is filled with tourists trying to get their hands on one of
John Swift’s treasure maps.” Abby shook her head. “I keep telling them
they need to go to the Historical Society.”
Abby was the local librarian, Tupperware representative, and social
media expert.
“Is that why I’ve had an uptake in calls?” Queenie’s face drew as she
stepped to the side to get a good look at Abby. She put her hands on her
hips. “I was about to tell the mayor I was stepping down as the Historical
Society president because it’s taken up too much time away from my
Jazzercise classes.”
Queenie French was in her sixties. She was active in the community and
taught Jazzercise in the undercroft of the Normal Baptist Church. I’d like to
say she kept all the citizens of Normal in shape, but she only kept them in
the latest gossip.
“From now on, I’m telling them to go back to the library.” Queenie
crossed her arms in frustration.
“Or don’t answer the phone.” Mary Elizabeth’s face lit up like it did
when she heard Nordstrom’s was having their big annual sale. “Abby, you
don’t need to worry about the library, because”—Mary Elizabeth bounced
with excitement—“we are going to go on the expedition.”
“Did you get into Bobby Ray’s moonshine?” I asked, referring to my
foster brother. “Bobby Ray!” I flailed my arms in the air and yelled over to
him, where he was with a group of friends.
“Hush.” Mary Elizabeth batted my arms out of the air. “I’m serious. We
haven’t done anything exciting since I moved here.” She started to count on
her fingers. “December, January…” She continued reciting the months.
“Eight months I’ve been here and not been camping at all.”
“In those eight months, you bought the Milkery and opened a bed and
breakfast. I’d say you’ve been very busy.” I recalled the dairy farm and all
the hard work she and Dawn Gentry had put into the Milkery’s old
farmhouse to open a much-needed bed and breakfast in Normal. “Besides, I
have to run the campground. Abby has to work at the library, and Queenie,
she’d never cancel her Jazzercise classes.”
“Yes, I would.” Queenie nodded back and forth between me and Mary
Elizabeth.
“I could take some time off too.” Abby shrugged. “I have some vacation
time. What are we talking, just the weekend?”
“Dottie said it’s not real.” A nervous laugh escaped me. I pushed a
strand of my curly brown hair behind my ear.
I had to stop this nonsense. I’d seen that look in Mary Elizabeth’s eye
before, and it was the kind that meant when she had her mind on something,
nothing stood in her way to get it, whatever it was.
“If you don’t want to do it, then we will do it.” Mary Elizabeth’s chin
lifted in the air, and she looked down her nose at me. “Though I’d normally
beg you to wear something presentable, you’re going to have to wear
different shoes.”
I knew when I’d decided to wear the cute sequined flats that Mary
Elizabeth would love them. They were from the Neiman Marcus from my
former life. A few of the finer things I did keep, and I pulled them out every
once in a while. Plus, I loved how they sparkled and glistened like the
lightning bugs when I was standing near the campfire.
“Oh come on, Mae.” Abby nudged me. “It’ll be fun. We can even drive
your camper and stay in it instead of a tent.”
“Sounds wonderful.” Queenie did a grapevine dance move with
excitement. “I’ll be here in the morning.” She waved goodbye to us and
headed to the parking lot in the front of the campground.
“This is perfect.” Mary Elizabeth squealed with delight, just like the
time I’d agreed to enter the Miss Eastern Kentucky beauty pageant at the
county fair when I was sixteen.
That turned out to be a disaster, and I’d put money on it that this little
treasure hunt would be too.
The three of them had decided upon a time to meet in the morning. We
all agreed I’d ask Mason if it was all right so we could be sure he didn’t
mind four tagalongs.
“I’ll text you what he says,” I told them.
“He can’t stop us from going to look for the treasure.” Queenie was
bound and determined to go on the hunt this weekend. “I’m the one they
have to register with, so I’ll just march on over to the Historical Society
office in the morning and put our names on the list. You just let me know
which campsite they are intending to use.”
“Campsite?” I asked. I was still a little green to most things in the
camping world. “You mean campground.”
“No. I’m talking primitive campsites, but you can put your RV on it,
just not all the fancy you got here.” She rolled her hand in front of her.
“There are several campsites that cater to the treasure hunters just for the
John Swift silver mine expeditions. Unfortunately, some of those roads are
gravel and not stable for big recreation vehicles like your RV.” She glanced
over her shoulder to Mason’s camper behind his big truck. “He must be
going somewhere that’s not too terribly hard to get to if he’s taking that big
thing.”
“Either way, if he is, we can still go somewhere else.” Abby smiled. “I
have so many John Swift maps that I can get, it won’t matter where we lay
our heads at night.”
“I’m still in.” Mary Elizabeth rubbed her hands together.
She looked like she was in with her perfectly styled hair and beautiful
red fingernails I was sure she’d just gotten manicured by Helen Pyle down
at Cute-icles. However, I would be curious to see Mary Elizabeth without
her pearls, which I’ve never done. I swore she slept in them.
“Fine. Y’all go on home, and I’ll head on over to talk to Mason.” I
shooed them off and made my way over to the mayor and Mason’s inner
circle.
“Mighty fine party you hosted.” The mayor flashed her million-dollar
pearly white smile that I knew had to come from some dentist not in
Normal.
It was one of the dye jobs only one of those sleep-in dental plates could
give, or so claimed the infomercials. She had her long red hair pulled up in
a high ponytail like a cheerleader. Her long and lean frame wore a linen
jumper with a pair of sensible sandals.
“Thank you. Mason, I see you met our mayor.” I smiled, looking
between them. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“And miss a chance to talk to one of Normal’s regular John Swift
hunters? Never,” she gasped and drew her hand up to her chest, showing off
the hand with no wedding ring. She batted those big eyes. In the dark of the
night, I could see Mason blush. “He’s going to find that treasure, and with
his advice, I’m so pleased to let him know his suggestion of the asphalt was
presented at the Kentucky assembly, and I got it passed.”
“You did?” Mason sounded a little shocked.
“What asphalt?” This was the first I’d heard of any projects taking place
locally.
“As a matter of fact, they started a couple of days ago.” She propped her
hands on her hips in a bossy way. “I told them the sooner the better.”
“What asphalt?” I asked a little louder this time.
“Last year the mayor had asked me what improvements she could make
to the trails getting to the Swift mines, and I told her how we could stay
longer, which does pour money into the community, if we had roads instead
of gravel.” He stomped his food in the gravel we were standing on.
If he only knew how much asphalt cost to replace the gravel, he’d
appreciate that we let him even look for the John Swift, but I kept my
mouth shut.
“I took his suggestion to heart and realized how right he was and
saddened the treasure hadn’t been found.” She gave me a squinch-eyed
look, like I better not have any sort of opinion on what she was yammering
on about. “I went straight to Frankfort for the assembly when it was in
session with my concerns, and don’t you know they have grants for things
such as this.”
“As mayor, you didn’t know that?” I just had a hard time keeping my
mouth shut. But it was a very reasonable question.
“I have not only the Kentucky legislature and law to understand, Mae,
but also the National Parks laws and regulations that have to go together.”
The mayor put her hands together like she was doing a puzzle with her
fingers. “And it just so happens, they started on the gravel road to the
Furnace.” She raised her brows at me like I knew what the Furnace was.
“That’s exactly where me and my crew are headed.” Mason seemed
very happy with the big news.
“Now, I did hear some rumblings from our local news reporter there
was some whispering about some protesting going on from one of the
environmental groups about asphalt.” The mayor was quick to dismiss any
sort of claims. “So just keep going tomorrow if anyone is protesting. I’ve
got the police on alert.”
I skimmed over her protest comment and decided to let Mason in on
how me and my crew were going to join him.
 “Mason, me and a few of my friends are going to join you if you don’t
mind.” I looked Mason in the eyes and tried to determine what kind of man
he really was and if he would help us.
“Ummm…” One of Mason’s crew members let out a loud sort of protest
before he cleared his throat and looked down at his feet.
“Your friends?” Mason looked up at me.
“Just me and a few of my close friends who have lived here all their
lives, minus Mary Elizabeth, but she’ll probably stay in the RV the entire
time. Air conditioning and all.” I waved my hand in front of my face.
“There’s no electrical hookup at the campsite we are going to, so you
probably wouldn’t be comfortable if someone needs air.” He looked as if he
had an out with me.
“You know we are in the dog days of summer here.” The mayor fanned
her hand before her own face. “My mama never let me play in the creek
during the dog days. Said it was bad luck. There are a lot of creeks near the
Furnace.”
“What is the Furnace?” I finally asked.
“It’s a rock formation believed to be in the area where some of the silver
is hidden. And with the new asphalt roads, there is a greater chance
someone will finally find the silver after 400 years.” The mayor was still
selling the asphalt.
“You know, I think we’ll be fine.” I shrugged. “If not, we can leave.”
“According to the Weather Channel, there seems to be a little rain
moving in over the weekend but nothing to worry about.” The mayor was
saying anything just to keep in the conversation. She seemed a little
nervous. “Maybe you and the gals should just hike your trails.”
“I think we will be fine.” I gave the mayor a hard look.
“If you really want to go.” Mason gave in, but his friend stormed off.
“We will be leaving from here around eight in the morning.”
“Perfect. We will be ready. Have a good night’s sleep.” I walked away
before he could stop and think about us tagging along, not giving him any
time to tell me he really didn’t want us to go.
“Mae! Mayyeee!” The mayor hollered after me and trotted up next to
me. I continued to walk. “Don’t you mess this up for Normal. You of all
people know how important it is to continue with the great economy.”
“What are you talking about?” I stopped and turned to look at her, a
little confused. “Look at my campground. I obviously have the best in mind
for Normal.”
“You don’t know, do you?” She smiled. “You know it’s just a legend.
The silver. I mean, John Swift is real, but it’s been 400 years. No one has
found it?” She laughed. Then she stopped when she saw that I’d not joined
her. “You really believe the legend, don’t you?”
“I never heard of the legend until tonight, but Abby and Queenie seem
to believe it. We are really just going for the fun of it. Real or not.” I
shrugged.
“I don’t care really what you think, but I’m going to do whatever it
takes for everyone in the world to believe somewhere deep in the Daniel
Boone National Park, specifically Normal, that the John Swift silver mine is
still buried and ready for all the treasure hunters of the world to come here
and spend as much money as they want in our town to find it. Do you and I
have an understanding?” She cut her eyes at me and started laughing when
Mason walked by. “I hope you girls have a great time. And good luck!”
I stood there watching the mayor sashay off to another group of campers
to tout how she’d gotten the government grant for the asphalt.
“Some tale, right?” The woman I noticed had caught Mason’s stare and
almost threw him off his story stopped in front of me. “The John Swift
legend,” she clarified when she noticed my confusion.
“Oh, that.” I laughed. “I had no idea. I’ve been here a while now and
still don’t know all the secrets the forest holds.”
“There’s so many secrets.” She winked and headed off before I got to
ask her name or question her any further. “Nice shoes, by the way.”
Many more secrets? I stared at her since I was now more intrigued with
the town I’d made my home. I clicked the heels of my shoes together and
smiled.
“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” I laughed and
headed in the opposite direction.

Assailants, Asphalt & Alibis is now available for purchase and also in
Kindle Unlimited.
RECIPES AND HACKS

RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS FROM MAE WEST AND THE

WOMEN OF NORMAL, KENTUCKY and HAPPY TRAILS
CAMPGROUND

Campfire Baked Apple Dessert

Ingredients
Apples
Oatmeal cookies
Granola
Granola bars
Cinnamon
Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut the core out of an apple through the stem end, leaving the base intact.

2. Fill the cavity with granola or crumbled oatmeal cookies or granola bars.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and wrap well in two layers of foil.

4. Tuck into the embers and turn occasionally for about 10 minutes; when
the package is cool enough to handle, unwrap and eat – preferably warm,
with ice cream.

Campfire Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients
Can of cinnamon Rolls
Stick
Campfire

Directions
1. Twist the dough around the top of your stick.

2. Pinch the ends to prevent the cinnamon treat from falling off the stick
during roasting.

3. Roast over a fire, just like you would a marshmallow. Hot coals are best--
-not a flaming fire. You'll have to be patient, because they don't cook up as
fast as a marshmallow. So, keep watching it until the outside is golden &
the inside is cooked.

4. When it's done & looking' tasty, slide the cinnamon roll off the stick.

5. Cover with the frosting.

Enjoy

Coconut Curry Soup

INGREDIENTS

30 grams coconut cream powder (1/2 a packet)

1-2 cubes vegetable bouillon
1 teaspoon curry powder
Pinch of cayenne
A handful of rice noodles
 A handful of dehydrated veggies
2 cups water

Directions

1. At home, combine coconut cream powder, bouillon, curry

powder and cayenne in a small zip top bag.
2. In another bag, portion out your noodles and dehydrated
veggies.
3. At camp, boil the noodles and dehydrated veggies in the water.
4. Once the veggies are re-hydrated and the noodles are tender, stir
in the coconut cream mixture.

RV Essential Checklist

Outdoor Camping

Tent
Sleeping bags
Camping chair
Picnic blanket
Beach towel
Hammock
Cooler
Flashlight/headlamps
Citronella candles
Insect repellent
Firewood
Compass
Water bottles

First Aid

Vitamins
Prescriptions
Pain Relievers
Antacid
Imodium
Allergy medication
Antibiotic ointment
Hydrogen Peroxide
Band-Aids
Gauze
Scissors
Thermometer

Hobbies & Entertainment

Fishing gear
Hiking gear
Bicycles/ helmets
Binoculars
Camera
Board games & puzzles
Playing cards
Frisbee

Clothing Items

Bathing suit
Hats
Rain jacket
Umbrella
Sunglasses
Hiking boots
 CONTENTS

PREVIEW
AUTHOR’S NOTE

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19

SNEAK PEEK VALLEYS, VEHICLES, & VICTIMS

RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS
Skillet Chicken Enchilada
RV HACK #1
Iron Skillet Hamburger Casserole
RV Hack #2
Iron Skillet French Toast
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About tonya
Also By Tonya Kappes
PREVIEW

Assailants, Asphalt & Alibis

Abby pulled the pack off her back and got the journal out. She began to
read, “At the branch head without crossing, then due east to the top of the
ridge out of the clift country, then along the ridge to the right-hand side, and
there will appear a place that is higher than the other. The hanging rock.”
Abby drew her eyes up from the paper and looked at the formation that
appeared to hang over us from where we stood.
“The rock!” Queenie bounced on her toes and clapped her hands.
“We’ve got to go up there.”
“Let Mary Elizabeth tell us what’s up there when she gets back.” I
covered my eyes from the sun. A couple of rocks tumbled down. “Mary
Elizabeth? You okay?” I hollered up but didn’t get a response.
The four of us stood there looking up as a few more pebbles fell.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Abby gave me a worried look.
“We need to go up there according to the map, so let’s just meet her up
there.” Queenie made a good point.
“Watch out!” Agnes yelled when a few larger rocks rolled down and fell
into the water below.
The heat beat down over the rock, and when I looked at it, something
shadowed the sun, as if there were a small eclipse.
“Avalanche!” I screamed and ran to the side, covering my head with my
arms before I knocked Agnes out of the way with my body.
I heard a loud splash into the water—then silence.
I gulped and looked up. Mary Elizabeth stood on the hanging rock
above the branch and waved.
 “All done!” She grinned, having no idea what just happened to us down
here.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked and made sure to look at them. They all
looked okay. “Did you know big rocks fell like that?” I asked them since
this was my first time here.
“It wasn’t a rock,” Abby said, her voice cracking.
We all looked over to where she pointed.
“My pearls!” Mary Elizabeth screamed from above.
Mason Cavanaugh lay face up, eyes open, floating in the water, with
Mary Elizabeth’s pearls in the grip of his hand.
“The curse.” Agnes’s words sent chills along my spine.
AUTHOR’S NOTE

Author’s Note:

This particular fictional installment of A Camper and Criminals Cozy

Mystery was taken from a legend or tall tale told to me growing up.

The true story of the John Swift Silver Mine is one of the oldest legends of
Kentucky recorded. It has been passed down through generations and was
told to me as a child, and I told it to my children.

According to the legend, John Swift came to the Daniel Boone into
Kentucky in the 1760s on a mining expedition. He came across a wounded
bear. John Swift claimed the bear led him to a vein of silver ore in a nearby
cave. For the next nine years John Swift continued to mine that cave, where
he carried out silver bars and minted coins. He also claimed in his journals
that he buried vast amounts of the fortune in various locations throughout
the forest.

When you think of ginseng, do you think of Kentucky? Well… ginseng is a

high commodity in the Daniel Boone National Forest. So much so that you
have to obtain a harvester permit to pick and sell the root. It’s illegal to pick
and sell. If caught, there’s automatic jail time starting at six months and up
as well as a huge fine. You have to be a licensed dealer in order to sell it
from September first through December first in a calendar year.
You can’t just harvest any ginseng plant you see. Taken from the Kentucky
Agricultural website: Plants must have at least 3 prongs with 5 leaflets on
each prong. This is the minimum legal age. The market prefers roots that
are 10 years and older. Any berries present must be planted within 50 feet
of the harvested root with no tool other than your finger; the goal is to put
the seeds in the soil just over half an inch deep.
Like hunting season, there’s a harvest season and buying season.

Note that any reference to the ginseng and John Swift legend was taken
purely from the Kentucky Agricultural website and the Daniel Boone
National Forest and Parks website.

As this book was written, there was a hold on any sort of harvesting ginseng
or selling in the Daniel Boone National Forest, making it illegal, though
people are doing it.

I knew both of these concepts were awesome things to put in a book. Of

course, all my book is fictional but loosely based around the John Swift
legend and the ginseng issues. And I knew the Laundry Club ladies would
love to be on the trail of a good treasure hunt.

So I hope you enjoy a little bit of Kentucky history from our famous John
Swift legend as much as I loved incorporating all of it into this fun fictional
series.

xoxo
T.
I have to give a HUGE shout out to Author Sue Ann Jaffarian! Sue Ann
gave a generous donation

to a wonderful library to have her name in A Camper & Criminals Cozy

Mystery Series book.

I’m beyond grateful for Sue Ann’s generous donation and happy to have
create a character in

her honor. Hugs, Sue Ann!!! I hope you enjoy!

xoxo
T.
CHAPTER 1

T he silence from at least one hundred people was almost as

deafening as the bullfrogs billowing around the Happy Trails
Campground lake while one of the treasure hunters told the group
about the regional legend of John Swift’s silver mine.
The flicker of the red, yellow, and orange flames showed in all their
eyes as they focused on the intriguing story of the possibility that in and
around my campground could be a massive amount of silver just waiting to
be claimed.
“In the year 1760, John Swift made his way into Kentucky from the
Gap and followed the creek known now as Swift’s Creek. He was a well-
educated Englishman that was a natural-born leader and sailor of his own
ships off the coast of the Carolinas. It was when he’d come to Kentucky
when he met up with a man by the name of Montgomery. Swift wasn’t
happy with the British and let it be known. It was then he and Montgomery
had begun to counterfeit the British crown as a way of getting back at the
British for invading the land we are gathered upon today as well as the
entire Daniel Boone National Forest.” Mason Cavanaugh’s voice held a
mysterious tone that rose up and down with the importance of what he had
to say.
He held up a piece of paper that appeared to be the journal he’d
mentioned.
“Swift had heard of the mines in Kentucky and maybe a mention or two
about there being silver here. Thus began his several mining expeditions to
Kentucky.” Mason leaned over his knees and swept his hands in front of
him. His eyes grew big. The flames of the fire made his blue eyes sparkle to
life, making the scene ominous.
 “It wasn’t until a wounded bear led a very courageous Swift to a rock
house, which is what we call a cave. This was the first time Swift found
silver. It wasn’t the only rock house, or cave, where Swift found silver. He
noted all of the places in his journal, including maps.”
He held up more papers with upside-down V designs and big Xs
scribbled all over them. He brought the paper up to his eyes and leaned into
the glow of the campfire.
He read, “Taken directly from John Swift’s journal.” Then he continued,
““Seven miles above the mouth of the creek is a natural rock bridge. On the
northwest side of the creek, a short distance below the bridge, is a branch.
Follow the branch to its head, thence ascend the ridge, leaving the highest
part of the ridge on your right. Go along the ridge to a point that is higher
than the others, where a large rock seems to have fallen from above. Go in
between them. This is where we obtained our best ore.”
He pulled the papers down from his face and sat back, turning his head
from side to side as if he were trying to see what others thought about his
tale. His stare stopped on another camper. I watched as her brow rose and
didn’t break the eye contact.
He looked back down at his papers as if he were trying to compose
himself.
“The creek he refers to we believe is what we know now as Swift
Creek, located right here in Normal.” He looked up, and a slow grin crossed
his face. The flicker of the fire caught his eyes at the right moment, making
shadows cross his face.
Goosebumps crawled along my legs.
“Don’t tell me you are falling for this crap.” Dottie Swaggert flicked the
ash off her light cigarette and brought it to her mouth, taking a long draw.
Her red hair lay in curls around her head. “Because if you do, I’ve got a
gold mine right under my old camper over there. I’ll let you have it for one
hundred dollars.” The smoke rolled out of her mouth, and she pointed to her
camper at the front of the campground.
A few people turned around to shush her. She gave them the death stare
with big eyes.
“All these people are fools.” She took one last puff before she threw it
on the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of her flip-flop. Dottie stormed
off toward her camper. She’d had enough.
 “Not all of those journeys were successful. Swift and his crew were met
with numerous obstacles from Indian attacks to mutiny among his crew,
which was when John Swift holed up in one of his silver mines and finished
his journals. He even had time to fall in love with the widow Renfro before
he was deported back to England, where he was convicted of counterfeiting
the crowns. It’s rumored he left his journals and treasure map with the
widow Renfro until he rejoined her after he’d served his sentence.” Mason’s
eyes shifted back and forth.
“Unfortunately, Swift became blind while imprisoned, making him
unable to find his treasure, leaving it buried forever.” He took a deep breath
and sat up, pulling his shoulders ramrod straight. “Or until someone finds
it.”
Murmurs from the crowd around Mason came up as they dispersed to
their own campfires, campers, or headed home. Abby Fawn, Queenie
French, and Mary Elizabeth Moberly, my adoptive mother, all walked up. I
glanced around them and noticed Mayor Courtney MacKenzie had made
her way over to Mason.
Mayor MacKenzie rarely came to the campground for monthly themed
parties, and her presence made me question why she was there. Mayor
MacKenzie didn’t do anything that didn’t get her attention, and election
year was right around the corner.
“Do you need any help cleaning before we go?” Abby asked, breaking
my concentration.
“Nah.” I blinked a couple of times to get present with my girlfriends.
“It’ll give me something to do tomorrow,” I said.
Every month I hosted a get-together between the community and the
camping tourists. It was a fun party where Blue Ethel and the Adolescent
Farm Boys, a local band, strummed on their instruments, giving it their best
go at bluegrass music while the guests enjoyed local foods donated by
restaurants in Normal.
“That is a fun campfire story,” I said to Abby Fawn, noticing all the
camping lots and the campers I provided for rental were all occupied. It was
nice to see all the campfire rings lit up. “I’m sure it’s the talk around all the
s’more-making.” I noticed everyone was enjoying the ingredients I’d given
them when they rolled into the campground as a little special treat to thank
them for choosing Happy Trails Campground for their vacation.
 “Story?” Abby swung her head toward me, flinging her ponytail around.
She stared wordlessly at me.
“Oh, honey, it’s no story.” Queenie French’s hot-pink Jazzercise leotard
shimmered more than the blanket of stars in the midnight sky. She picked at
the edges of her short blond hair nervously. “Don’t you know all of these
people are here just for the annual Legend of John Swift Excursion?”
“You’re pulling my leg.” Mary Elizabeth’s southern-accented voice held
questions. “Right?” She fingered the pearls around her neck.
“I ain’t pulling nothing.” Queenie’s nose curled; her right brow rose.
“I’m telling you, there’s several people out there who have found crown
catches from John Swift’s counterfeiting in these here caves.”
Mary Elizabeth ran her hands down her Lily Pulitzer jumpsuit and then
clasped them in front of her.
“The library is filled with tourists trying to get their hands on one of
John Swift’s treasure maps.” Abby shook her head. “I keep telling them
they need to go to the Historical Society.”
Abby was the local librarian, Tupperware representative, and social
media expert.
“Is that why I’ve had an uptake in calls?” Queenie’s face drew as she
stepped to the side to get a good look at Abby. She put her hands on her
hips. “I was about to tell the mayor I was stepping down as the Historical
Society president because it’s taken up too much time away from my
Jazzercise classes.”
Queenie French was in her sixties. She was active in the community and
taught Jazzercise in the undercroft of the Normal Baptist Church. I’d like to
say she kept all the citizens of Normal in shape, but she only kept them in
the latest gossip.
“From now on, I’m telling them to go back to the library.” Queenie
crossed her arms in frustration.
“Or don’t answer the phone.” Mary Elizabeth’s face lit up like it did
when she heard Nordstrom’s was having their big annual sale. “Abby, you
don’t need to worry about the library, because”—Mary Elizabeth bounced
with excitement—“we are going to go on the expedition.”
“Did you get into Bobby Ray’s moonshine?” I asked, referring to my
foster brother. “Bobby Ray!” I flailed my arms in the air and yelled over to
him, where he was with a group of friends.
 “Hush.” Mary Elizabeth batted my arms out of the air. “I’m serious. We
haven’t done anything exciting since I moved here.” She started to count on
her fingers. “December, January…” She continued reciting the months.
“Eight months I’ve been here and not been camping at all.”
“In those eight months, you bought the Milkery and opened a bed and
breakfast. I’d say you’ve been very busy.” I recalled the dairy farm and all
the hard work she and Dawn Gentry had put into the Milkery’s old
farmhouse to open a much-needed bed and breakfast in Normal. “Besides, I
have to run the campground. Abby has to work at the library, and Queenie,
she’d never cancel her Jazzercise classes.”
“Yes, I would.” Queenie nodded back and forth between me and Mary
Elizabeth.
“I could take some time off too.” Abby shrugged. “I have some vacation
time. What are we talking, just the weekend?”
“Dottie said it’s not real.” A nervous laugh escaped me. I pushed a
strand of my curly brown hair behind my ear.
I had to stop this nonsense. I’d seen that look in Mary Elizabeth’s eye
before, and it was the kind that meant when she had her mind on something,
nothing stood in her way to get it, whatever it was.
“If you don’t want to do it, then we will do it.” Mary Elizabeth’s chin
lifted in the air, and she looked down her nose at me. “Though I’d normally
beg you to wear something presentable, you’re going to have to wear
different shoes.”
I knew when I’d decided to wear the cute sequined flats that Mary
Elizabeth would love them. They were from the Neiman Marcus from my
former life. A few of the finer things I did keep, and I pulled them out every
once in a while. Plus, I loved how they sparkled and glistened like the
lightning bugs when I was standing near the campfire.
“Oh come on, Mae.” Abby nudged me. “It’ll be fun. We can even drive
your camper and stay in it instead of a tent.”
“Sounds wonderful.” Queenie did a grapevine dance move with
excitement. “I’ll be here in the morning.” She waved goodbye to us and
headed to the parking lot in the front of the campground.
“This is perfect.” Mary Elizabeth squealed with delight, just like the
time I’d agreed to enter the Miss Eastern Kentucky beauty pageant at the
county fair when I was sixteen.
 That turned out to be a disaster, and I’d put money on it that this little
treasure hunt would be too.
The three of them had decided upon a time to meet in the morning. We
all agreed I’d ask Mason if it was all right so we could be sure he didn’t
mind four tagalongs.
“I’ll text you what he says,” I told them.
“He can’t stop us from going to look for the treasure.” Queenie was
bound and determined to go on the hunt this weekend. “I’m the one they
have to register with, so I’ll just march on over to the Historical Society
office in the morning and put our names on the list. You just let me know
which campsite they are intending to use.”
“Campsite?” I asked. I was still a little green to most things in the
camping world. “You mean campground.”
“No. I’m talking primitive campsites, but you can put your RV on it,
just not all the fancy you got here.” She rolled her hand in front of her.
“There are several campsites that cater to the treasure hunters just for the
John Swift silver mine expeditions. Unfortunately, some of those roads are
gravel and not stable for big recreation vehicles like your RV.” She glanced
over her shoulder to Mason’s camper behind his big truck. “He must be
going somewhere that’s not too terribly hard to get to if he’s taking that big
thing.”
“Either way, if he is, we can still go somewhere else.” Abby smiled. “I
have so many John Swift maps that I can get, it won’t matter where we lay
our heads at night.”
“I’m still in.” Mary Elizabeth rubbed her hands together.
She looked like she was in with her perfectly styled hair and beautiful
red fingernails I was sure she’d just gotten manicured by Helen Pyle down
at Cute-icles. However, I would be curious to see Mary Elizabeth without
her pearls, which I’ve never done. I swore she slept in them.
“Fine. Y’all go on home, and I’ll head on over to talk to Mason.” I
shooed them off and made my way over to the mayor and Mason’s inner
circle.
“Mighty fine party you hosted.” The mayor flashed her million-dollar
pearly white smile that I knew had to come from some dentist not in
Normal.
It was one of the dye jobs only one of those sleep-in dental plates could
give, or so claimed the infomercials. She had her long red hair pulled up in
a high ponytail like a cheerleader. Her long and lean frame wore a linen
jumper with a pair of sensible sandals.
“Thank you. Mason, I see you met our mayor.” I smiled, looking
between them. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“And miss a chance to talk to one of Normal’s regular John Swift
hunters? Never,” she gasped and drew her hand up to her chest, showing off
the hand with no wedding ring. She batted those big eyes. In the dark of the
night, I could see Mason blush. “He’s going to find that treasure, and with
his advice, I’m so pleased to let him know his suggestion of the asphalt was
presented at the Kentucky assembly, and I got it passed.”
“You did?” Mason sounded a little shocked.
“What asphalt?” This was the first I’d heard of any projects taking place
locally.
“As a matter of fact, they started a couple of days ago.” She propped her
hands on her hips in a bossy way. “I told them the sooner the better.”
“What asphalt?” I asked a little louder this time.
“Last year the mayor had asked me what improvements she could make
to the trails getting to the Swift mines, and I told her how we could stay
longer, which does pour money into the community, if we had roads instead
of gravel.” He stomped his food in the gravel we were standing on.
If he only knew how much asphalt cost to replace the gravel, he’d
appreciate that we let him even look for the John Swift, but I kept my
mouth shut.
“I took his suggestion to heart and realized how right he was and
saddened the treasure hadn’t been found.” She gave me a squinch-eyed
look, like I better not have any sort of opinion on what she was yammering
on about. “I went straight to Frankfort for the assembly when it was in
session with my concerns, and don’t you know they have grants for things
such as this.”
“As mayor, you didn’t know that?” I just had a hard time keeping my
mouth shut. But it was a very reasonable question.
“I have not only the Kentucky legislature and law to understand, Mae,
but also the National Parks laws and regulations that have to go together.”
The mayor put her hands together like she was doing a puzzle with her
fingers. “And it just so happens, they started on the gravel road to the
Furnace.” She raised her brows at me like I knew what the Furnace was.
 “That’s exactly where me and my crew are headed.” Mason seemed
very happy with the big news.
“Now, I did hear some rumblings from our local news reporter there
was some whispering about some protesting going on from one of the
environmental groups about asphalt.” The mayor was quick to dismiss any
sort of claims. “So just keep going tomorrow if anyone is protesting. I’ve
got the police on alert.”
I skimmed over her protest comment and decided to let Mason in on
how me and my crew were going to join him.
“Mason, me and a few of my friends are going to join you if you don’t
mind.” I looked Mason in the eyes and tried to determine what kind of man
he really was and if he would help us.
“Ummm…” One of Mason’s crew members let out a loud sort of protest
before he cleared his throat and looked down at his feet.
“Your friends?” Mason looked up at me.
“Just me and a few of my close friends who have lived here all their
lives, minus Mary Elizabeth, but she’ll probably stay in the RV the entire
time. Air conditioning and all.” I waved my hand in front of my face.
“There’s no electrical hookup at the campsite we are going to, so you
probably wouldn’t be comfortable if someone needs air.” He looked as if he
had an out with me.
“You know we are in the dog days of summer here.” The mayor fanned
her hand before her own face. “My mama never let me play in the creek
during the dog days. Said it was bad luck. There are a lot of creeks near the
Furnace.”
“What is the Furnace?” I finally asked.
“It’s a rock formation believed to be in the area where some of the silver
is hidden. And with the new asphalt roads, there is a greater chance
someone will finally find the silver after 400 years.” The mayor was still
selling the asphalt.
“You know, I think we’ll be fine.” I shrugged. “If not, we can leave.”
“According to the Weather Channel, there seems to be a little rain
moving in over the weekend but nothing to worry about.” The mayor was
saying anything just to keep in the conversation. She seemed a little
nervous. “Maybe you and the gals should just hike your trails.”
“I think we will be fine.” I gave the mayor a hard look.
 “If you really want to go.” Mason gave in, but his friend stormed off.
“We will be leaving from here around eight in the morning.”
“Perfect. We will be ready. Have a good night’s sleep.” I walked away
before he could stop and think about us tagging along, not giving him any
time to tell me he really didn’t want us to go.
“Mae! Mayyeee!” The mayor hollered after me and trotted up next to
me. I continued to walk. “Don’t you mess this up for Normal. You of all
people know how important it is to continue with the great economy.”
“What are you talking about?” I stopped and turned to look at her, a
little confused. “Look at my campground. I obviously have the best in mind
for Normal.”
“You don’t know, do you?” She smiled. “You know it’s just a legend.
The silver. I mean, John Swift is real, but it’s been 400 years. No one has
found it?” She laughed. Then she stopped when she saw that I’d not joined
her. “You really believe the legend, don’t you?”
“I never heard of the legend until tonight, but Abby and Queenie seem
to believe it. We are really just going for the fun of it. Real or not.” I
shrugged.
“I don’t care really what you think, but I’m going to do whatever it
takes for everyone in the world to believe somewhere deep in the Daniel
Boone National Park, specifically Normal, that the John Swift silver mine is
still buried and ready for all the treasure hunters of the world to come here
and spend as much money as they want in our town to find it. Do you and I
have an understanding?” She cut her eyes at me and started laughing when
Mason walked by. “I hope you girls have a great time. And good luck!”
I stood there watching the mayor sashay off to another group of campers
to tout how she’d gotten the government grant for the asphalt.
“Some tale, right?” The woman I noticed had caught Mason’s stare and
almost threw him off his story stopped in front of me. “The John Swift
legend,” she clarified when she noticed my confusion.
“Oh, that.” I laughed. “I had no idea. I’ve been here a while now and
still don’t know all the secrets the forest holds.”
“There’s so many secrets.” She winked and headed off before I got to
ask her name or question her any further. “Nice shoes, by the way.”
Many more secrets? I stared at her since I was now more intrigued with
the town I’d made my home. I clicked the heels of my shoes together and
smiled.
 “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” I laughed and
headed in the opposite direction.
CHAPTER 2

“I ’m coming!” I hollered through my home on wheels from my

bedroom, which was located in the far back.
My new home was a far cry from the Manhattan skyrise or
the beautiful beach house in the Hamptons. You might question how on
earth did I end up in the camper. Well, I’d say I wasn’t the happiest person
in the world when I found out my now-dead ex-husband Paul West, hence
my last name, had pretty much screwed everyone we knew when he pulled
one of the biggest Ponzi schemes that’d ever taken place in the United
States. He left me with nothing but a run-down camper and campground
along with a lot of people who, well, let’s say had a very bad taste in their
mouth about me.
I’m not going to lie. I’d planned on traveling to Kentucky, selling
Happy Trails Campground along with the old camper, and getting back to
my life in New York. Mary Elizabeth always told me nothing ever turned
out as planned. Boy, was she right.
If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be living in a camper in the middle
of the Daniel Boone National Forest in a campground that I owned and
would have a dog and date a detective, I’d have laughed in your face.
Turned out, I was in love with my life in Normal, and I’d embraced my
Kentucky roots once again. Again? Yep. I grew up in Kentucky. I loved my
life until my family was killed in a home fire and I was placed into foster
care.
Don’t get me wrong. Mary Elizabeth Moberly’s house was fine. It was
all the manners and classes she insisted I take in order to be a Kentucky
debutante that weren’t so appealing. Now, if my mama had put me in those
things, I probably would’ve loved them, but as a teenager, I didn’t want no
one but my mama. That included Mary Elizabeth.
When the clock struck midnight on my eighteenth birthday, I was outta
there, and that’s how I got to New York, where I’d become a flight
attendant and met Paul West on a flight.
“Hey.” I swung open the door, putting my foot in front of the opening so
Fifi, my poodle, didn’t run out when I let Detective Hank Sharp and
Chester, his dog, into the camper. “No, Fifi.”
Fifi danced around in anticipation of Chester. She loved Hank’s hunting
dog, though Hank didn’t hunt. Darnell Grassel used to be Chester’s owner.
Darnell had died, and Hank took Chester in even though Darnell had
family. Chester really took to Hank, so it was just natural he went to live
with him.
“Do you two want to join me for a nightly walk?” Hank and Chester
had come inside. He shut the door behind him and gave me a quick kiss.
“Of course we do. I’ll go get my shoes.” I headed back to the bedroom
to exchange my flip-flops for tennis shoes.
It was pitch black at night here, without the glow of big-city lights. It
was safer to wear shoes that covered your feet because we had plenty of
snakes. They might not be poisonous, but nursing a snake bite wasn’t on my
to-do list.
I’d used every bit of space possible. I’d taken down all the walls and
made it an open concept plan with the kitchen and family room in one big
room. I’d put up shiplap walls painted white. I’d gotten a cute café table
with two chairs from the Tough Nickel as well as a small leather couch. It
was perfect for one. The floors were redone with a prefabricated grey wood.
The kitchen cabinets and all the storage cabinets were white. I’d
transformed the little camper into a country farmhouse.
I’d strung twinkle lights everywhere I could, and I redid the bathroom
with a tile shower and upgraded toilet.
I grabbed my tennis shoes and sat down on my bed. It was actually very
comfortable, and I’d made a headboard using some wooden pallets painted
pink.
I’d gotten a dresser with four drawers from the Tough Nickel, located in
downtown Normal, that went perfectly with my distressed look. The
twinkle lights added a bit of romance, along with the fuzzy rugs and milk
glass vases full of fresh flowers or wildflowers that grew here in the Daniel
Boone National Park.
“What is all this?” Hank asked. “All this stuff on your counter?”
“I’m going on a treasure hunt.” I tied up my laces. “I’m going with
Abby, Queenie, and Mary Elizabeth to find John Swift’s silver.”
I headed back into the family room combination part of the RV.
“Oh geez.” Hank ran his hand through his hair. “Did you really fall for
all the gibberish from them?” He gestured to the outside.
I knew he was referring to the group of treasure hunters, including
Mason, who were staying here for the night until they moved to the more
primitive campsite, where we’d be going tomorrow.
“I think it sounds interesting and fun.” I shrugged.
I grabbed the bottle of bug spray, which was a must when you lived in a
campground or even just in the forest. Especially in the middle of summer,
when the heat and humidity brought out all the bugs and creatures that
loved to bite.
Hank had gotten Fifi’s leash on her for me. Chester and Fifi were
eagerly dancing in front of the door. They both ran around the campground
freely during the day, but night was different. We had a lot of creatures that
would eat the pups as a snack, and we didn’t want that to happen.
“If I find the silver and cash it in, we’ll be rich.” I laughed and pumped
the juice all over me. I handed the bottle to Hank when I finished spraying
myself. “Besides, it’ll be fun to get away for a couple nights.”
“Couple nights?” Hank whined.
“Yeah.” I put my hands together and batted my eyes. “Will you watch
Fifi for me?”
I’d planned on asking Dottie to do it for me, but Fifi would much rather
stay with Hank and Chester.
“I guess since I’m not investigating anything right now.” Hank was a
detective who used to be a Park Ranger part time. It wasn’t until recently
he’d become a full-time detective, and his office was located in the sheriff’s
department. “We can show her how the boys live.”
Hank hadn’t been living in the campground long. He had a trailer on his
parents’ property, but they had recently moved back from being mostly on
the road with his sister, who’d been pursuing a modeling career that went
nowhere.
 Another story for another time. But the short of it was he lived in one of
the rental campers from me. When I built Happy Trails back up, I’d fixed
up some campers for people to rent so they could experience camping
without having to haul their own. Happy Trails also had hookups for people
who did trailer their own campers or RVs. The most popular were the small
bungalows nestled in the far end of the campground in the woods. They
were adorable and perfect for couples or friend getaways.
“You do know about the John Swift silver curse, right?” Hank asked on
our way out of the camper.
Immediately Fifi darted to the right into the grass, the leash taut.
Chester followed her, so that’s the way we decided to start our walk.
“Curse?” I gulped, happy it was super dark and he couldn’t see how big
my eyes had grown.
I gripped Fifi’s leash a little tighter. A curse? I’d not had a whole lot of
luck while I’d lived in Normal. There’d been a couple of murders where I
was somehow involved with finding the body or stumbled upon the killer. A
curse was something I didn’t need. No way. No how.
“Of course it’s all part of the legend that a curse has been placed on
treasure hunters, but over my life there’s been a lot of people trying to hunt
the silver. But it’s silly.” He whistled for Chester and tugged on his leash
when Chester found something on the tires of Mason’s big truck as we
passed the camper he’d rented for the night.
“What about the curse?” I asked, not letting him off the hook.
“I recall Granny saying something about my granddad trying to find the
silver.” He was talking about Agnes Swift, his adorable eighty-something-
year-old granny, who was still working as the dispatcher at the police
station. “She said one of the guys with him had a heart attack while in what
they thought was the cave with the silver where Swift had followed that
wounded bear. That took a while to get him out. Another one of the men
with him had tripped over a rock going into that same cave and broken his
leg. After my granddad got him out, then my granddad got his truck stolen.”
Hank stopped and grabbed my hand, stopping me. “But that’s all silly talk.
Part of the legend.”
“Hank Sharp,” I scolded when I saw a little shimmer of entertainment
on his face. “Are you trying to scare me into not going? Because I can ask
Agnes, and she’ll tell me.”
“Tell you?” He let go of my hand and laughed. “She’d go with you.”
 “Then I just might ask her.” My eyes narrowed to see what was rustling
around in the bushes outside one treasure hunter’s camper.
Hank and I both reeled the dogs in but not with a little protesting from
Fifi. She was always determined to get her way. After all, she was a show
dog before I had babysat her while her owner was in jail for one of those
murders I’d referred to earlier. Fifi ran around this campground like a little
floozy, getting pregnant by a pug named Rosco.
That’s when she became my dog. The owner couldn’t breed a tainted
dog anymore, and Fifi wasn’t considered a pedigree now that she’d
ventured to the wrong side of the tracks, and the rest was history. From that
point on, we were stuck together. She still roamed the campground, but I
got her spayed just in case she got any more ideas.
“Who’s there?” Hank bent down and pulled up the leg on his jeans,
taking a gun from the ankle holster he wore when he wasn’t working.
“Excuse me?” The man’s voice came from beside the camper. “Who are
you?” When he walked out of the shadow of the moon, I noticed it was one
of Mason’s guys.
“You’re with the treasure hunters.” I walked over to him. “I’m Mae. I
own the campground. I thought everyone was asleep.”
“Dirk Ivy.” He rubbed his hands off on a greasy rag, put it in his back
pocket, and extended his hand for me and Hank to shake. “Yep. I’ve been
out here with Mason a time or two. He says we are getting closer.”
“Me and my group of friends are going to tag along with your group.” I
got a chill when I noticed how he looked at me. “I guess it’s okay.”
“It’s all good.” Hank was obviously taking the opportunity to let it be
known that not only was I his girlfriend, but he was a detective. “I’m sure
these fine treasure hunters will keep you safe and sound since I’ll be here
making sure there’s not anything to investigate.” Hank put his arm around
me. His gun dangled from his hand.
Dirk’s eyes fixated on the gun, and he continued to watch Hank uncurl
his arm and bend down to put the gun back in his ankle holster.
“I grew up around here, so you make sure you be careful,” Hank
warned. “I was just telling Mae about the curse.”
Dirk laughed. There was almost what we called a shit-eatin’ grin on his
face.
“Part of the legend.” He looked around his shoulder at the camper. “I
guess the curse got my camper because I’m having to get a couple-hundred-
dollar fix in the morning from your local mechanic before we even drive
out of here.”
“Joel Grassel?” I asked since Grassel’s Gas Station was the only
mechanic shop in Normal.
“Yep. I met his worker tonight. Bobby…” He searched his memory.
“Bobby Ray. That’s my brother.” I left out the foster thing because it
didn’t matter. I loved Bobby Ray Bond like a brother and truly tried to
make up for the start in life he gave me when I ran off on my eighteenth
birthday.
It was Bobby Ray who gave me the money. I never looked back,
figuring it was the last time I was ever going to see him, until he showed up
at Happy Trails Campground after he’d read an article about me in the
National Parks Magazine.
That’s when he came and brought Mary Elizabeth with him. My past
had caught up to me. Something I thought I was for sure going to regret, but
a few months into them being here had really been a blessing in disguise.
“He said he’d take a look at it in the morning when there’s some light.”
Dirk shook his head. “Maybe it’s the curse,” he said with raised brows. “If
that’s all the curse does while we are here, we are good.”
“Good luck.” Hank nodded after he noticed Chester had his feel of
Dirk’s setup. “Do you know for sure where y’all are going to be setting
up?”
Was Hank asking for me? Or was Hank asking so he knew exactly
where we were going to be?
“Mason said he wanted to set up camp right outside of Ore, south of the
Furnace.” He rattled off places I’d never heard of, and I’d been living here
awhile. “Mason wants to head north up to the rockhouse off the Furnace
Creek where the West Mine juts off a little to the south.”
“Is that right?” Hank seemed to be gnawing on the location. “I heard
just last year they had closed down that path to the West Mine. Something
about a mudslide.”
“You’d have to ask Mason about that.” Dirk shrugged. “He’s the one
who filed all the paperwork.”
“Maybe we are going to take the new asphalt road all the way in.” I was
met with a look from both of them like I didn’t know what I was talking
about. “The mayor mentioned the asphalt was being poured in that area.”
 “Then I’m sure he’s gone through the legal channels.” Hank nodded
before the gravel shuffled under his feet and we started back on our walk.
“See you in the morning.” I waved at Dirk and followed Hank. “You
didn’t seem to like him too much.”
“What on earth gave you that idea?” Hank asked.
“You asked him about the permit and all that when he clearly isn’t in
charge of it. Or?” I winked at him. “Are you worried about me being around
these big treasure hunters and running off with them when we find all the
silver?”
“Yep,” he said in a stern, non-joking voice, “that’s it. You got me.”
“I’m kidding.” I tucked my arm in his elbow and kept my thoughts to
myself about how he was acting a little strange. “It’ll be fun for me and the
gals to get away.”
“So it’s only you, Queenie, Abby and Mary Elizabeth?” he asked,
walking down the small pier that was right across the lake from my camper.
“Yep.” I slipped my shoes off and sat on the edge of the pier. I
unclipped Fifi and let her jump in for a late-night swim. Chester jumped in
after her. I dangled my feet in the water and watched the goofy dogs in the
glow of the moon. “I’m sure it’ll be a whole lot of fun.”
“Mmhmmm.” Hank sat down next to me and reclined back on his hip,
one leg cocked at the knee. He didn’t put his feet in the water. “You really
should ask Granny. She’s on vacation this week.”
“Really? You think she’d go?” I asked and put my hands on the deck
behind me, reclining on them.
“Are you kidding? She loves this stuff. Anything to do with John Swift
reminds her of my granddad.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll even call her
for you.”
“You sure do really want her to go.” I gave him the wonky eye to see
exactly what he was up to.
“Fine. I want her to keep an eye out for your safety because the camp
those guys are going to, it doesn’t have a lick of cell service up there. If
something does happen, you’d have to pack up and leave camp. Granny,
she’ll know exactly what to do.” He was too busy dialing her number to see
the sheer fright on my face.
I’d never been without cell phone service. Neither had the queen of
social media, Abby. Queenie would be fine, and so would Mary Elizabeth.
What if there was really a curse? What would we do?
 “She’s really excited. I’m going to go get her in the morning for you.”
Hank looked a little more pleased. “What?”
“Nothing.” I shrugged and whistled for Fifi, her signal to come.
“That look on your face doesn’t look like nothing.” His eyes narrowed
when he looked at me.
“Do you really think there’s a curse?” I asked.
“Now that Granny is going…” He gave me that southern, snarky smile I
loved. “Nah. Y’all be just fine.”
“Yeah. We will.” I waved off any knots in my stomach and grabbed up
Fifi when she swam next to the dock.
Hank and I laughed when both dogs did the shimmy shake, flinging
water all over us, except the tone of my laugh was a little more nervous
than Hank’s.
CHAPTER 3

T he excitement over the prospect of finding the John Swift silver

mine had me turning over a dozen times, wishing for daylight and
wondering if we would have any luck. With the thoughts of what I
could do with the money, the treasure was heavy on my mind. Before I
knew it, I dropped off to sleep.
The smell of bacon was what really got me and Fifi out of the bed. I
rolled over and pulled the curtain away from the window. Mason and Dirk
were making breakfast over their campfire. The cast-iron skillet along with
the tripod holder perfectly placed above the fire made me comfortable that
they knew how to cook and showed their camping experience.
I’d learned over the past year that anyone could wing camping, but the
true campers and hikers knew how to make a great meal over a campfire.
Most used very few ingredients.
“Fifi, you’re going to be a good girl for Hank and Chester,” I said to her,
throwing the covers off me. She bounced around like she knew exactly
what I meant. She knew Hank and Chester’s names, which made her crazy
already, but staying with them would just top off her weekend. “Let’s eat.” I
grabbed my phone off my dresser and turned off the alarm before it even
rang and padded down the small RV hall into the kitchen, where I scooped
some of Fifi’s kibble into her bowl.
I quickly checked the time. Mary Elizabeth, Queenie, Abby, and Agnes
would be here in about a half hour, which gave me enough time to grab a
quick shower, get some of the specialty baskets from the front office, and
pack up Fifi’s things. Plus, I had to unhook, something I’d not done while
I’d been living full time in the RV since moving to Normal. I had gotten a
small car from Grassel’s Garage that I drove around town when I needed to.
 After my shower, I did a fast clean up, since the gals and I would make
this our home the next couple of nights.
“Let’s go see Dottie,” I suggested to the dancing Fifi. She needed to go
potty since she’d eaten all her food, and it would be a nice walk up to chat
with Dottie about leaving her in charge, which I was completely fine with
since she’d always been the manager even before I knew I owned the place.
Fifi had darted down the steps of the camper and was already running
up the road toward the office.
“Mornin’!” I hollered to Mason when he threw a hand up. There was a
scowl on Dirk’s face.
Maybe he wasn’t happy we were going to tag along. Maybe he wasn’t
happy how Hank treated him. Big deal. He was going to have to get happy
because we were going, and nothing would stop us.
“Looks like a good weekend to go and chase a big lie.” A puff of
cigarette smoke poured out of Dottie’s mouth.
“It’s going to be a great weekend no matter what.” I gave her a little
shove on my way into the office. “You should come. Henry can watch the
place for a couple of nights.” I tried to entice her because Henry Bryan, my
handyman for Happy Trails, was probably more qualified than either Dottie
or me to run the place.
“Do you remember what happened last spring when I went chasing a
money trail?” Dottie reminded me of a recent murder in Normal that I’d
been trying hard to forget about since I happened to literally stumble on top
of the body, bringing me nose to nose with the victim. “I’m done with tall
tales. The only money I’m gonna chase is the paycheck you’re going to
give me for working double duty this weekend.”
Fifi darted into the office and immediately planted her little self in front
of Dottie’s desk. Dottie had a bad habit of giving Fifi treats, and Fifi knew
Dottie was a sucker for her.
“Fine.” I held the door for her when I noticed her putting her cig out.
“Keep an eye out for Fifi. Not that Hank won’t take good care of her, but
you know she can be a handful when she wants to swim with the ducks.”
“We will all be just fine.” Dottie’s brow rose. She tossed a treat to Fifi
and then walked over to the filing cabinet. She pulled open the bottom
drawer and took out the most awful mess of wires all gummed up. “I can’t
let you head out to the Furnace without taking some walkie-talkies.”
She handed the tangled mess to me.
 “I have no clue how to use these.” They dangled from my grip. “Do
they work?”
“They might’ve seen better days, but they got me through a lot of
storms over the years before we had all that fancy cell service in the
campground. I wouldn’t go to the Furnace without them. There’s not a bit
of service up there, but I think the mayor has gotten someone to get some
lines pulled once they get the asphalt roads poured.” She walked back over
to her desk.
Fifi was really showing off for Dottie to give her another treat. Fifi
danced on her little back paws and did a circle, leaving Dottie in a fit of
laughter. I put the walkie-talkie mess on my desk.
“You’re such a good girl.” Dottie continued to give her treats while I
went over to the specialty baskets we offered the campground guests.
“I think I’ll take a couple of the spa kits and a couple of the bath kits.” I
grabbed the few kits and shut the door behind me.
“You think y’all going on some spa weekend?” Dottie asked and
laughed even harder at me than she did Fifi. “Mae West.” She tsked. “This
here Happy Trails is the Ritz Carrollton compared to where you’re going.”
I wasn’t sure if she was trying to scare me or just keep me from going
so she wasn’t left out of the group, but no matter what she said, there was
no way it could be that bad.
“I’m going to take my chances.” I pointed to Fifi. “Be sure you take
care of my baby,” I told her and retrieved a grocery bag from underneath
the coffee station stand so I could put the walkie-talkies in it.
“All right,” Dottie said flatly. “If you don’t make it back, who do you
want to have Fifi?”
“Stop it.” I bent down and rubbed my sweet little white fur ball. “You
be a good girl for Mommy.”
She licked my face and ran back over to Dottie.
“Huh.” I pushed up to stand and got the items off my desk. “I see where
I stand.”
“We will be fine.” Dottie looked out the window when a car passed. “It
looks like Hank is back. Tell him Fifi is here with me and I’ll bring her
down later. She can keep me company.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you in a couple of days,” I said to her over my
shoulder and gave Fifi one more glance before I headed out of the office.
 In the distance, I could see Mary Elizabeth, Hank, Agnes, Queenie and
Abby all standing outside of the camper in a little huddle.
Dirk was putting out the campfire, and Mason had already unhooked his
camper.
“I’ll be finished unhooking in a minute,” I told the girls and gave Hank
a quick kiss. Hank followed behind me, helping me unhook. “It only took a
kiss?” I asked him and eyed the infamous blue bag… the potty bag he was
handling.
“You just be safe.” There was no joking in his tone. “I’m worried sick
with you up there with no cell service, but Granny Agnes knows her way
around.”
“Why is everyone so worried about us?” I ran my hand down his arm.
“Before I forget”—his worry made me remember Dottie—“Fifi is hanging
out with Dottie today. Do you have to work?”
“I’ve got a few things we are investigating, so I’ll be going to the office
for a couple hours. I’ll grab her on my way home.” He smiled. “Anything
you need me to do around here?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Henry is going to clean up Mason and
Dirk’s spot before the weekend guests get here.”
Our busiest times around here were Thursday through Saturday nights.
The guests generally got here around Thursday night or Friday so they
could have all weekend to hike and do what they wanted. We were
completely full for the weekend.
“I heard over the weather alert this morning when I went into the office
before I picked up Granny that there might be a few pop-ups over the
weekend.” He didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already expect. We were in
the dog days of summer, which brought the heat and humidity along with a
few showers here and there. Nothing like the tornadoes we have in the
spring.
“Everything in the camper is secured.” Abby had met us around the
back side of my home on wheels as I took the stoppers out from underneath
the rubber. “Agnes and Mary Elizabeth are on the couch with their seatbelts
on, and Queenie insists she sits up front.”
“Looks like you gals are ready.” Hank put his hand on my back. “I’ll get
this taken care of.” He still had the blue bag to deal with.
Hank gave me a quick kiss.
“Be careful,” he warned.
 “I will.” I shook my head and tapped Abby because I heard Mason put
his camper in gear. I looked over at him. We made eye contact and gave the
good Baptist nod. “Let’s go.”
Hank stood there and watched as we got into the camper. Mason pulled
out, then Dirk, and I followed.
I couldn’t help but look in my side mirror at Hank standing there. Blue
bag and all.
CHAPTER 4

T here was a lot of excited chatter among the ladies as we made our
way out of the comforts of Happy Trails Campground and hugged
the curvy roads of the Daniel Boone National Park on our way to
find the John Swift Silver Mines.
“You do know that my Graham and I did a little treasure hunting
ourselves.” Agnes Swift, Hank’s granny on his mother’s side, was as cute as
a button. Not to mention feisty as a cat. “When Hank asked if I wanted to
come along, I knew I had to get into my attic and get out Graham’s old
maps,” she said. Then she dug down in her pocketbook until she pulled out
a folded piece of yellowed paper.
I watched through the rearview mirror as she moved from the couch to
the café table, where she put the paper down. I’d not yet told Mary
Elizabeth there was no electric service where we were going.
Agnes’s wrinkled hand smoothed out the map. Abby rested herself on
her forearms and leaned over the table.
“I got the maps from the library too. One of them looks a lot like this
one.” Abby pushed off the table and bent down to retrieve the bag she
always took with her to the library. She hoisted it up on the table, letting it
land with a clunk. She took out all sorts of hardback books and a stack of
papers. “I took every book ever written about John Swift, along with his
journals.”
“My Graham said those journals were so hard to read, and if we can
decipher some of it, we just might find some of those crowns.” Agnes
nodded her head, running her hand through her grey hair before she pulled
something else out of her purse. “Like this here.” She tapped the paper.
“‘We first left between 25,000 and 30,000 dollars and crowns on a large
creek running near a south course, close to the spot where we marked our
names, Swift, Mundy, and one other name, on a tree with a compass and
trowel.’”
“That could be any creek.” Queenie swiveled her passenger captain’s
chair to turn completely around to face them. “I stopped and got the maps
from the Historical Society, though I probably shouldn’t’ve, but if I’m
gonna find the silver this weekend, I’ll give them a very hefty charitable
donation.”
Queenie also had a big bag full of papers and documents that appeared
as old as Agnes’s, and since I’d just learned of the John Swift legend less
than twenty-four hours ago, I decided to keep my mouth shut on any sort of
ideas I might’ve had—at least until I had some more information.
“Right here John writes in his journal.” She called him by his first name
as though they were on a first-name basis. “‘Not far from these trees we left
a prize near a forked white oak and about two feet underground and laid
two long stones across it, marking several stone marks on the place.’” She
thrust her head up and gave Abby and Agnes a good long stare. “Now, you
two and I both know that can be anywhere in the entire Daniel Boone
National Forest, not just here in this park.”
“It sounds like you have a lot of hunting to do.” Mary Elizabeth leaned
over the couch and opened one of the kitchen drawers I used as the junk
drawer. She rooted around in there until she took out a fingernail file and
eased back onto the couch, filing her nails. “I’ll be sure to have a nice
supper fixed when y’all get back. That way”—she circled the file in a circle
—“we all have a part when the treasure is found, and we can split it.”
“Well, I declare.” Agnes’s saggy jowls dropped even more. “I never
figured you to be a campfire cook.”
“Campfire?” Mary Elizabeth fingered the pearls around her neck. “I’ll
be using that electric fire right there.” She noted the small two-burner stove
in my kitchenette.
“Electric?” Agnes shot a look at me in the rearview. “You do know
there’s no electrical hookup at the campsite, or any sort of hookup for that
matter.”
“What?” Mary Elizabeth shot up and moved to the edge of the couch,
gripping the leather when I started to bring the RV to a stop.
Agnes and Abby had pulled the curtain away from the window to look
outside and see what was going on while Queenie swiveled the chair to look
out the windshield.
“Looky there at those kooks holding those signs. Don’t they understand
progress?” Agnes tsked. “Some do-gooder official from the environmental
office probably sent them down here. It’s all they’ve been talking about
down at the station.” She shook her head. “I’m so glad I’m off this week.”
A line of protestors demanded the stop of the asphalt being laid down.
They were chanting something, but I couldn’t hear over the chatter in the
RV about it. Everybody had a cause to chase after, and it wasn’t my place to
say whether they were right or wrong, as long as it didn’t hurt my chances
of getting at the silver.
Still, Mayor MacKenzie’s little talk with me about saying anything
about the legend not being real or even thinking it wasn’t real was heavy on
my mind. Here she was using up all this state grant money to fund a big
asphalt road when there might not be any silver to be had. All the same, I
was having a good time with the gals, and even the thought there could be
something kept me going.
“This must be a doozy of a grant.” Agnes unbuckled her seat belt and
jumped up to get a look out the window over the top of the sink. “Because I
just can’t believe they’d go right through the ginseng fields.”
“Ginseng?” I asked. “You mean the supplement or vitamin type
ginseng?”
“Mmhhh.” Agnes was about to rub a hole in my flooring, going back
and forth between the two windows as the RV crept along at a snail’s pace.
“Didn’t you know Kentucky ginseng is one of the most sought after by the
Japanese? That’s why the national park has put a hold on any certified
ginseng harvesting for the past couple of years.” Her neck strained as she
tried to see farther up the road. “The field over there is sparse too. I guess
they’re just gonna do without all the extra money that brings into the
national park.”
“Did you see in the paper where they arrested that one tourist for even
picking any? He got a five-thousand-dollar fine and six months in jail,”
Abby told Agnes.
Agnes sat back down once we got past the protestors, the ginseng field,
and the little bit of asphalt the workers had laid down. The gravel churned
under the tires of the RV, smacking little pebbles up underneath the
carriage.
 “We gettin’ close now.” Queenie nodded and rubbed her hands together.
“’Bout another half hour.” Queenie wiggled her brows. Some sort of body
part on Queenie was always wiggling and jiggling, which made her perfect
as a Jazzercise instructor. “Girls, you better get a little shut-eye because
once we get there, I’m hittin’ the trails.”
I had no clue where we were going, but following right behind Mason
and Dirk was where I was going to stay.
They all must’ve taken Queenie’s advice because when I looked back to
see what happened, it got suddenly quiet. All of them had their heads
thrown back, eyes closed, and appeared to be what Mary Elizabeth would
call resting their eyes.
After about fifteen minutes of gravel road, we turned down a dirt road
for another fifteen miles before I saw a sign that read JOHN SWIFT
SILVER MINE CAMPGROUND written in black paint on a piece of wood
stuck in the ground. The dirt road just stopped, and we continued on the
grass until it opened up to a clearing.
A few tents were already set up near the far end of the space where the
tree line had shaded a few feet. A small cabin-type structure sat in the
middle with a permanent campfire structure enclosed with cement blocks.
“Lordy be, if Ritchie Stinnett don’t look bad.” Agnes got out of her seat
belt again and propped herself up between the two captain chairs, looking
out the windshield. “I ain’t seen that boy since he was knee high to a June
bug.” Her chin jutted forward as her eyes squinted. “Look at that tangled
mess of hair he’s got.”
The pimply-faced young man had patches of beard that his razor had
obviously missed. He wore a T-shirt that used to be white but was covered
with dirt spots. His long pair of cut-off shorts showed off his scrawny legs.
He had on a pair of brown hiking boots. He flailed his arms in the air and
pointed our RVs to the far right of the clearing.
I threaded the RV through the people who didn’t seem to care that this
big recreational vehicle was coming toward them. They continued to look at
their maps.
“I really don’t see any hookups.” Mary Elizabeth pressed her lips
together as tight as a zipper and breathed all hot and heavy, giving off her
disapproval.
“Did you think I was a liar? Or a jokester?” Agnes’s head jerked to look
over her shoulder at Mary Elizabeth. “There’s no electric, no water, and no
cell service.”
“What on earth am I going to do without air-conditioning?” Mary
Elizabeth threw one hand over her mouth and the other to finger the pearls
around her neck. “I mean sleeping and all?”
“We will just have to rely on the open windows.” Abby got up and
started to open the windows as the RV came to a stop where Ritchie had
parked us, like those workers at the airport pull the planes to the ramps.
“That just won’t do.” Mary Elizabeth grabbed one of Agnes’s maps off
the café table and started fanning herself.
“Have you lost your ever-lovin’ mind?” Agnes jerked the paper from
Mary Elizabeth. “My Graham went through a lot of trouble working on
these, and I’ve gone through just as much effort preserving them. Do you
want to split this treasure or not?” Agnes wagged a finger at Mary
Elizabeth. “Because if you do, you’re gonna have to take off them pearls
and get dirt under those fancy nails.”
I tried not to look back at Mary Elizabeth, though I could only imagine
the look on her face.
CHAPTER 5

“I hope them protestors didn’t cause y’all too much trouble.”

Ritchie Stinnett had already planted himself at the door of the
RV, his hand out. “How many of y’all in there?” He craned his
neck to see in the door.
“Five of us.” I didn’t even bother saying anything about the protestors
because he’d already moved on.
“It’ll be fifty dollars a night. Ten each,” he said and grabbed everyone’s
money as they anted up their part.
“Is there really no electric?” Mary Elizabeth held on to the edge of her
money.
“No’m, there ain’t. But you gonna be too busy looking for the silver to
worry about any sort of electric. You gonna be so plumb tuckered out, you
won’t be able to get them fancy pearls off your neck to sleep.” Ritchie
Stinnett smiled, which didn’t do much for the poor boy’s looks. His teeth
were rotted.
“Oh dear.” Mary Elizabeth backed into the RV, her hinny leading the
way. “I wonder if you could call Hank to come get me.”
“There’s no cell service.” I pointed to my phone, sitting in the cupholder
of the console up front between the captain chairs. “Go on and look.”
She was bound and determined to prove me wrong.

“I’ M GONNA TAKE MY M ETAMUCIL BEFORE WE GET GOING .” A GNES AND THE
others got out of their seatbelts while I headed out the door to greet Ritchie
and get the layout of the land. “Where you going?”
 “You can’t go without us.” Queenie dug through her overnight back.
“I’m just going to see what I need to do with the RV and find out from
Mason what our plan is.” I sighed deeply, wondering exactly what I’d
gotten myself into.
The heat hit me, taking my breath as soon as I’d opened the door. It
would just be a matter of seconds before Mary Elizabeth had her first
conniption about the heat and demanded something be done.
Ritchie had walked over to Mason and Dirk to collect their money, so I
headed on over to talk to them and really get a handle on how all things
treasure hunting happened.
“I’m serious, Ritchie,” said Mason. “I’ve been here a long time, and if it
doesn’t get straightened out”—Mason pointed to me—“we will take our
money back and head on out. There’s plenty of camps around here. In
fact”—Mason rocked back on the heels of his hiking boots—“Edward
Summers had sent me an email saying the new asphalt had already let him
get internet into his camp. I could do a lot of research with the internet at
night when I’m not hunting, so just go on and give us all our money back.”
“Now hold up,” Ritchie stammered. “I can’t help who shows up here
without a reservation. Can’t you just go on your way and she go hers?”
“Who?” I asked, wondering if they were talking about me.
“Sue Ann.” Mason nodded toward the other camp we’d seen on our way
in.
“Sue Ann?” I asked and glanced over when I noticed the woman
stalking over to us. The closer she got, the more I recognized her as the
woman who was at the campfire. The one who told me the forest held more
secrets than I was aware.
“Sue Ann Jaffarian.” Mason’s scowl told me how he felt about her. His
mouth twisted. “I’m not going to try and make nice after she stole my
maps.”
“What is going on here?” The woman planted her hands on the waist of
her too-short shorts. Blond curls framed her bright, Cupid-like face.
Perspiration oozed out from underneath her makeup as words poured out of
her mouth. “Are you still stuck on the fact that I know something or two
about the John Swift silver and don’t have to rely on you?”
“Rely on me?” An evil laughter escaped Mason. “You took it all. Little
floozy.”
“What did you say?” Sue Ann snapped, showing off a little of her spirit.
 Mason looked at her with a wide grin on his face like he knew he’d just
poked the bear.
“You heard me. Jezebel.” Mason’s jaw tensed.
“You are a crooked, lyin’ son of a…” She looked at me then zipped her
lips. “You know what you are.” She swerved then quickly turned back
around with a closed fist and gave him a swift knock to that tense jaw.
Mason’s head swung to the side. He brought his hand up to where she’d
landed the blow and rotated his jaw both ways as though he were working
out the pain he was trying to hide.
“I oughta,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Oughta what?” Sue Ann tugged the edges of her T-shirt over the waist
of those too-short shorts.
“Now, now.” Ritchie pushed between them. When I got a good look at
him up close, Agnes was right. Though I’d never seen him before, he was a
scrawny and pale fellow. Kinda sorry-looking guy who probably worked
hard just to make a buck. “Can’t we compromise here?”
“Why not now, Ritchie?” Sue Ann stuck her hip out and planted a fist
on her hip. The other hand she fisted and stuck in the air, shaking it at
Mason. “You better wipe that smug look off your face, or I’m gonna get the
other side.”
“Violence is not good around here.” Ritchie seemed to have taken
Mason’s side, for which I could not blame him. “The trails and hiking
around here is very dangerous in the calmest of situations. I can’t have the
two of you taking your lovers’ spat out there and risk getting hurt.”
“Lovers’ spat?” My brows rose a notch. “You two?”
“No.” Mason spit on the ground, nearly getting Sue Ann’s boot, making
her jump as if a rattler was underfoot.
“Fine.” She threw her hands up in the air. “But you.” She pointed
straight at Ritchie. “I’ll never do business with you again.” Then she swung
her finger at Mason. “I do hope the curse of John Swift gets you while you
are here.”
“Curse, my butt.” Mason shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Good
riddance, thief!” he called out to her with a big smile on his face, even
though he rubbed his jaw where she’d socked him.
Ritchie gave each of us a hard look before he walked away.
“What was that all about?” I questioned Mason.
 “She’s my ex. We did a lot of treasure hunting together. We broke up,
and I found out about her stealing. Some of my very own maps I’d made
from years of research were gone. Luckily, Dirk has a great memory, so we
were able to get some of the points back on a new map.”
“Did you ask her about returning them? Or calling the police?” It
seemed like a logical thing to do when you were accusing someone of
stealing something so valuable from you.
“Are you kidding? A map for a 400-year-old treasure that most people
think isn’t real?” He made a good point. “The police would laugh at me.”
I was going to encourage him to rethink that, but Hank’s voice started
playing in my head on how it wasn’t real, and then there was the matter of
the mayor and her veiled threat toward me to keep my thoughts to myself.
“I’m not saying we have the solution, but three of my five have their
own maps. Agnes, the older lady, her husband hunted for the silver for
years, and she brought his maps.” I saw the spark in Mason’s eye come
back.
The roar of Sue Ann Jaffarian’s RV and her crew revved up. Mason’s
spark dulled.
“I’d like to look at those maps.” Mason turned back to me and stared
intently like he was trying not to look Sue Ann’s way.
The door of my RV swung open. As if on cue, Mary Elizabeth came
out, in sweat and all her glory. She hemmed and hawed down the steps and
over to us.
“Or look at those pearls.” Mason’s eyes grew big.
“Hi, darlin’.” Mary Elizabeth fanned her face. “I swear, hon, you’re
gonna have to call Hank and get me out of here before I melt.”
“Yes’m.” Mason smiled. “My mama used to say back in Georgia that
this heat is for training ground below.”
“Below?” Mary Elizabeth drew back and lifted her hands in the air. “I
don’t dare plan on going down below.” She gestured to the heavens. “That’s
why I can’t take this no more.”
“Tell me about those pearls.” Mason was stuck on those silly little round
cream-colored balls lying around Mary Elizabeth’s neck.
“They were my great-grandmother’s. They came from the Wilsons’
wealth down in Western Kentucky.” She talked as though everyone on
God’s green earth knew about the Wilsons and their wealth. “They’ve been
in the family all this time, and I had adopted Maybelline here in hopes she’d
one day respect them.”
“You two?” Mason wagged a finger between us. “You can’t be her
mama. Sister maybe.”
Hold the horses! Was Mason flirting with Mary Elizabeth?
“Oh, you.” Mary Elizabeth blushed like a summer wine. She stood up a
little straighter and shook with laughter. “Why, I didn’t birth her.” Mary
Elizabeth ran her hand down her Lily Pulitzer blouse.
Now she was denying me? I sucked in an audible deep breath.
“I wanted a girl so bad that I couldn’t resist that cute little face when the
state needed her to be adopted.” Mary Elizabeth grabbed my chin and gave
it a good shake. “She’s a doll and single.”
“Mary Elizabeth!” I gasped. “No.” I shook my head. “I’m not single.
I’m dating. Hank.” I flipped my hand back and forth. “You met Hank.
Remember Hank?” I gave Mary Elizabeth the wonky eye.
“I don’t see a ring. Do you, Mary Elizabeth?” Mason smiled and
winked. I wasn’t sure who he winked at, but he made Mary Elizabeth go
weak in the knees.
“It’s the heat, hon.” She smiled, making me unsure she didn’t pretend to
get all side-ogling the way she acted as he helped steady her.
“I sure would like to give you a pretty penny for those pearls.” He was
so close to her neck that I thought he was going to kiss her.
“You don’t have enough money to burn a wet mule, much less give me
even half the cash of what these pearls cost.” Mary Elizabeth just gave him
her version of the southern “God bless you” without even having to say it,
making me happy to hear that she wasn’t being fooled by his flirting ways.
“I might have a couple of cents if you’d just let me touch them and see
if I can give you a good price?” Mason was like a booger on a finger. He
wasn’t about to be thumped off. He was even brave enough to put his hand
out, extending it toward the strand of pearls before Mary Elizabeth smacked
it away.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re too popular with the ladies today.” I
laughed. “Mary Elizabeth, you need to go on in the RV and let the air
conditioning cool you down until we decide what time we are hiking out
today.”
“Are you sure we can’t get ahold of Hank somehow?” Mary Elizabeth
wasn’t listening. This was what made me so angry when I was a teenager
and caused me to run off on my eighteenth birthday.
“You can do two nights.” I took an adult stand. “I’ll be in there in a
minute. I want to talk to Mason.”
At least he was taking note and being good, not bothering Mary
Elizabeth about those pearls.
“I’m hungry.” She stomped off like it was her decision that made her
leave and not me telling her to go back. Whatever it took.
Mason and I stood there watching her head back to the RV. Abby,
Queenie, and Agnes all stared at us from the various windows.
“She’s a feisty one.” Mason joked and took my attention. “I have to
apologize for my reaction to Sue Ann, but she and I’d been together for
over ten years. It was time to separate, but when I found out…” He shook
his head, disappointment in his tone. “I was heartbroken. To think if she
finds the John Swift silver before I do. That would be a kick in the teeth.”
“No big deal.” I waved it off. I might not have agreed with how the two
of them handled things, but it wasn’t my battle to fight, so I just left it as it
was. “She is gone now.”
“I hope so. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were to show up while we are
out there, now that she knows we are here.” He looked over his right
shoulder into the woods. “There’s more ways than one to skin a cat. Just
like you said about the three different maps your friends have.”
“What time are we heading out?” I asked. “I can see if we have time to
take a look at all our maps.”
I wasn’t about to give him our maps if he wasn’t willing to show us his.
“You’re serious?” His brows furrowed.
“Serious?” I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Serious about finding the treasure?” He snickered. I didn’t like how he
was acting toward me, like he’d treated Sue Ann.
“Why in the world would I be here in the dog days of summer if I
wasn’t? Or dragging them along with me?” I asked and tried to read his
facial features.
“I was thinking the five of you thought it was an entertaining tale from
last night’s campfire.” He was really full of himself. I almost wished Sue
Ann was still here to give him another piece of her mind. “Now that I can
see you’re serious, I guess you should know we will have a meeting before
campfire supper tonight, get a good night’s sleep and head back out in the
morning.”
 Dirk had walked up and planted himself just a little behind Mason.
“We aren’t going tonight?” It seemed like a big waste of a chunk of
daylight and time.
“Listen.” He leaned in a little closer. “Leave the planning up to me. I’ve
been doing this for over fifteen years. Each year I get closer and closer.
There’s no good that comes from being hasty. This is how I’ve always done
it.”
He looked over his shoulder at Dirk, and Dirk nodded to confirm.
“I’m going to get the meeting papers ready now that Dirk has set up the
shelter tent.” He was referring to a large white yurt that was set up between
Dirk’s RV and Mason’s camper, which was now unhooked from his truck.
Dirk had muscled all the equipment without any help.
“He’s a tough one.” Dirk waited until Mason was out of earshot. “Hey,
thanks to your brother for fixing my camper.”
“Yeah. No problem. He’s really a great guy, and you can tell Mary
Elizabeth that because she’s proud of him.” I gestured to my camper. “She’s
in there all hot.”
“She’ll be okay once the low pressure comes through. If it does rain, it
might take out some of the humidity.” He checked his phone. “According to
the weather update, it might rain a little more than initially thought. But we
have enough equipment to get done what we need done.”
“I don’t understand why we aren’t looking now. We are burning up
daylight.” I shrugged.
“It’s Mason’s way.” Dirk shrugged. “I don’t agree with him, but he
seems to think it’s the best, and once I’m boss, I can do what I want to.”
The little strain in his voice made me question just how long Dirk
wouldn’t be the boss.
“Until then, we will have to do what Mason suggests.” Dirk glanced
around to see the commotion behind us. It was Mason carrying long rolled-
up white sheets that looked like those building plans out of his camper and
heading into the yurt. “I suggest you and the ladies take a nap because
starting in the morning, it’s all go until we pull out of here on Sunday.”
I couldn’t really do anything but listen to Dirk and Mason. Could I?
CHAPTER 6

“W ait and see.” Agnes snatched up her maps and grabbed

the backpack she’d filled with all sorts of things while I
was outside with Mason. “You think I’m wasting my
Graham’s maps and daylight to wait for some amateur treasure hunter? You
got another thing coming.”
“He said that…”
I was interrupted by Queenie. “Who cares what he said?” Queenie
strapped on her hot-pink fanny pack. She unzipped it and filled it with some
granola bars. “We paid Ritchie our fee, and I’m going to use it up. Even if
just for the exercise since I didn’t get to teach my Jazzercise class today.”
“You really think we should?” Abby was the only one who had some
sense in her.
“I’m going.” Mary Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom. She’d
completely changed her clothing into a pair of jogger shorts and T-shirt,
minus the pearls. My jaw dropped. “What?” She lifted her chin in the air
and looked down her nose at me. “I wear this when I’m cleaning the bed
and breakfast.”
“But your pearls?” I questioned with a little shocked tone. “I don’t think
I’ve ever seen you without them around your neck.” I really dug deep in my
memory and could never recall a time.
“There’s no way I’m going out there with those precious family jewels
on and risk a tree limb snagging on them or something unthinkable
happening.” She lifted her hand to where the strand had lain and rubbed. “If
we are going, I think we should go.”
“All in favor of going now for a few hours, raise your hand,” I said.
 “What? Are we five years old?” Queenie asked sarcastically and raised
her hand along with Agnes and Mary Elizabeth.
Abby and I looked at each other. My eyes grew big, gesturing for her to
say something about why she didn’t think it was a good idea.
“I think we should listen to…” Abby was barely audible.
“Three against two. We win.” Agnes pointed to the three of them, a side
of her I had no idea existed.
“I knew you were feisty but had no clue you were so passionate about
finding silver.” Abby laughed and grabbed the backpack she’d brought.
“Before we head out…” I stopped them before they opened the door.
“Don’t we want to know whose map we are looking at first?”
“Hhmmm…” Queenie’s mouth twisted six ways to Sunday as she
thought about it before she said, “That ought not to be a bad idea.”
“We have three maps, right?” Mary Elizabeth was good in this sort of
take-charge situations. “Abby’s library copy, Queenie’s Historical Society
copies, and Agnes’s ‘my Graham’s’ copies.”
I tried not to smile when Mary Elizabeth referred to Agnes’s husband
the way Agnes always referred to him.
“Sounds about right to me.” Agnes gave a hard nod.
“We are here tonight, Saturday, and Sunday.” I could see where Mary
Elizabeth was going with this. “Leaving Sunday night.”
“No wonder where Mae got her smarts.” Queenie tapped her noggin.
“One map a day. But whose map is going to get the shorter time today?”
“We can do mine,” Abby suggested. “It’s not like I’m as invested as the
two of you seem to be with yours. It’s also the most public one, and if no
one has found the treasure using it yet, then it might be good not to spend so
much time on it.”
“All in favor?” Queenie took my line.
All of us raised our hands.
“Let’s get going,” Agnes said and bolted out the door before anyone
could protest anything else.
The five of us stood outside the camper. Mason and Dirk were hunched
over a table in the tent. Mason was pointing to something, and Dirk shook
his head in protest.
“This is ridiculous!” Dirk ran his forearm down part of the table,
shoving off papers onto the ground.
 “You’re a fool!” Mason grabbed Dirk by the arm. “When you’re in
charge, you can do what you want. But for now, we are doing it my way.”
Dirk jerked his arm away from Mason. Mason brought his hands up to
his face in a boxing position like the two of them were going to go at it.
“I’ll be in charge sooner than you think!” Dirk jerked around. When he
saw the five of us standing there with our mouths practically trying to catch
flies, he sucked in a deep breath and composed himself. He took one last
look at Mason before he stalked out of the tent.
“Ladies,” he grunted and headed toward Ritchie’s small cabin in the
middle of the open field.
“Hey,” Abby said meekly while the rest of us remained quiet and looked
at him.
“Where are you off to?” Mason walked over, peeking out of the tent’s
open flap. He took a few seconds to look at each of us while I explained
how we would just look at Abby’s map and kill time by trying to find
something on our own.
“It’s better than sitting around being hot when I can at least be shaded in
the forest.” Mary Elizabeth had beads of sweat along her freshly waxed
upper lip. “I’m a sweaty mess.”
“No, honey.” Queenie did some sort of side shuffle. “You are
glistening.”
Mason smiled, breaking the stern look he’d had on his face from the
whole Dirk thing.
“You ladies be careful. Remember, John Swift encountered a few bears
along the way.” His eyes sparkled. You could tell he really enjoyed looking
for the silver mines.
“If I didn’t know better”—Mary Elizabeth shook a finger at Mason
—“I’d think you were trying to scare us.”
“Scare?” Mason gave her a shy smile and wink. “Me? Never,” he
gasped, and his eyes moved to her neck. “Oh my, your pearls.”
“I took them off just in case I do see a bear.” Mary Elizabeth was so
good with comebacks that were witty. “Now, since you are cooking supper,
please have it ready when we get back.”
“Yes’m. You wait right here.” He gave a soldier’s salute before he
disappeared back into his tent. He reemerged with some Ziploc bags in his
hand. “Here’s some food that will help sustain your energy while you’re out
there. You might think you aren’t working your body hard, but you are.”
 “That’s mighty kind of you.” Mary Elizabeth took the Ziplocs and
handed them to me as she turned her back, gesturing for me to put them in
her backpack.
“I don’t want to have to come out there and hunt for any of you,” he
told us in a voice of authority.
“We will be fine,” I assured him and walked away with the gals
following me.
“He sure has taken a shine to you.” Agnes had taken charge and was the
first one on the trail.
“He’s just being friendly.” Mary Elizabeth played it off.
All five of us were in a line as we walked what little trail was still
trodden down from others. Just about half a mile into the hike, the trail was
no longer visible. Agnes would stop a few seconds every hundred feet or so.
“Let me see here.” Her little wrinkly hand held up the compass. She
moved in a circle to find the exact direction she wanted to go. “My Graham
said this was how people got lost. The trails stop, and people keep walking.
My Graham said you have to use a compass.” She eyed Abby. “You young
people don’t even know how to read a compass or map.”
“Why are you lumping me into that mix?” Abby asked with an offended
tone.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you taking out your phone to see if you had
service.” Agnes’ observation made us laugh. We were all guilty of trying to
see if we were getting any sort of service. After I’d tried a couple of times, I
just gave up.
“According to your map, Swift’s first fifteen thousand crowns are
twenty poles from the creek.” She continued to look at her compass until
she was satisfied with the direction. “That means we need to walk a little
over half a mile before we get to the small rock near the blush-colored
bush.” Agnes made a karate chop move. “This way.”
We all forged ahead, not questioning a bit of Agnes’s ability to get us to
the spot on Abby’s map that led to a cache of crowns Swift had
counterfeited while he was here in Kentucky.
The forest got thicker the deeper we went. I was happy to be in the very
back because Agnes cleared some brush with her stick while Abby forged
behind her. Queenie was next, and she whacked everything in her way,
clearing the way for Mary Elizabeth, then me.
 The sound of crackling leaves and sticks made me stop to listen. A few
murmuring voices had me turning around to see who was behind me.
“Y’all,” I whispered. The chills prickled the back of my neck.
“Someone is out here.”
Everybody stopped.
“Someone?” Agnes asked. “A lot of someones are here. All looking for
the treasure.”
Just as the words left her mouth, Sue Ann Jaffarian and a couple of crew
members appeared from behind some trees.
I think they were just as shocked to see us as we were them.
“I’m so glad it’s you.” I put my hand up to my chest. The chills fell
away. Then I started to explain myself. “Not that I know you, but I did see
you back at Ritchie’s campsite. And you never know who you’ll see out
here and if they are going to… kill you.”
“Kill you?” Mary Elizabeth jerked back. Her brows furrowed.
“I’m just saying anything can happen in the woods.” I had no idea why I
kept talking. “Anyways, I’m Mae.” I went down the line. “Sue Ann, this
here is Mary Elizabeth, Queenie, Abby, and Agnes.”
Sue Ann gave me a look as though I’d lost my mind.
“I can call you Sue Ann, right? I mean, I know we weren’t introduced at
the campsite, but Mason did tell me who you were, and I just…” I clamped
my mouth together when I noticed her brows were digging, popping, and
just plain confused with me.
“Yes. About that.” She glanced over her shoulder at her crew members.
She had a fistful of some greenery in her hand. “I’m sorry you had to
witness that. He just can’t take it that I broke up with him, and I’ve got
better people working for me as well as better at finding treasure.” She gave
a sly look to both the people with her. “He’s spent the better part of the last
six months trying to ruin my reputation, and I’ve about had it up to here
with him.” She took her finger and drew it across her neck.
I let out a little gasp from her gesture.
“We did get set up at another camp. Good luck on your hunt.” Sue Ann
shrugged as if what she said was A-okay.
“We have no idea what we are doing,” Abby spoke up and took the map
out of Agnes’s hand.
“Speak for yourself, child.” Agnes grabbed it back. “My Graham was a
treasure hunter. God rest his soul.”
 “Did he have any luck?” Sue Ann actually sounded like she really
cared.
“Close.” Agnes wasn’t about to say that Graham had failed at anything.
“Close but no cigar,” one of Sue Ann’s crew members said with a tone
of sarcasm. Sue Ann nudged him, and Agnes glared at him.
“Is that his map?” she asked Agnes and gestured with her fistful of
weeds.
“No. This is one from the library we are doing this afternoon just to get
our feet wet in hunting. We are going to use my Graham’s map tomorrow.”
Agnes had so much pride in her voice.
“That’s wonderful. We are just hiking from the new campsite to get our
surroundings since we don’t want to have to waste any time tomorrow.” She
looked up at the trees. “It’s nice in here. Shady.”
“Why is it that you aren’t hunting treasure now?” I asked because it was
obviously something she and Mason shared opinions about.
“Once you start the hunt, you truly don’t want to stop to go back to
camp until the very last minute. As you can see, it’s pretty dark in here with
the sun beating down because the trees are so thick, they shade not only the
heat but the light. When you set up camp, which takes a good half a day, it’s
hard to even go hunt and come back after a couple hours. You definitely
don’t want to set up in the forest because of all the creatures.” She smiled.
“You mean the legend?” Mary Elizabeth quivered.
“Mason has you scared to death.” Sue Ann laughed, and so did her
crew. “Not the legend so much as the bears. Can we see your map? Maybe
we can hike with you.”
Agnes practically pushed all of us out of the way with her little eighty-
year-old body so she could get to Sue Ann and show her the map.
“According to this map and Swift’s April fifteen journal entry, he left
fifteen thousand crowns about twenty poles that way.” Agnes might not’ve
gone treasure hunting with Graham, but she sure did sound like she knew
what she was talking about. “There’s a blush-colored bush next to a rock
that’s got three chop marks.”
“I think we’ve seen that bush near the forked white oak,” one of her
crew members said.
“We don’t know about this one. Also, according to his journal, he had
two horse loads of treasure there.” She smiled. “That’s where we are going
this weekend.”
 “You saw the bush?” Agnes asked with a lot of interest.
“We did a few months back. Remember, you’re looking at a journal that
was written in April. Springtime.” She made a very good point. “With the
seasons Kentucky has, a lot of those colors are turned green or even died all
together.”
It was like she took a big needle and popped a balloon. That’s how
quickly all of our bubbles burst with her words.
“Then we just need to go on back.” Mary Elizabeth twirled around to
where we’d come from.
“Hold on there.” Agnes stomped her foot. “What kind of treasure hunter
are y’all if you just hightail it back to the camp after a little, tiny setback?”
“Tiny setback?” Mary Elizabeth growled. “These journal entries are the
only thing we have to go by, and that includes the colors of the bushes and
trees.”
“We still have the map. We still have the three-chop-mark rock. That
won’t change colors,” Agnes spat back. “Now, you can go back by yourself,
or you can go with us.”
Sue Ann Jaffarian and her crew stood there as if we were a show to
watch. They appeared to be entertained by the glee on our faces.
“Any words of advice?” I asked her.
“Okay, listen.” Sue Ann took the chance to talk to us. “Treasure hunting
is hard. If everyone doesn’t like it, then one of you should head up to the
information center back at camp.”
“Information center at camp?” Mary Elizabeth really liked that
suggestion.
“Yes. I’m sure Mason has a tent set up at camp already.” We all nodded,
and she continued, “In the tent is the information center. It’s got all the
maps and locations he and his team, which I think is just Dirk this time, will
hike to and hunt around. They’ve spent years on these locations and have
stacks of places to look. Each time we come out here, we pick one or two
locations to hunt. Every day they’ll come back and mark off places they
believe where the Swift journals and maps have taken them. They will
make notes about the places and log any sort of treasure they find.”
“No one has found any sort of Swift mine.” Queenie was very
confident.
“Actually, several people have found a lot of the counterfeit crowns.
We’ve found at least one every time we’ve come here to hunt. That’s
probably what keeps me coming back. It does make me feel like his claims
are true.” Her words got me a little excited to find something.
“Really?” I asked a little shocked.
“Are you not a believer, Mae?” she asked me. Apparently, I didn’t have
a good poker face. Something to remember.
A beeping sound came from the pocket of one of her crew members.
“You get cell service?” Abby Fawn jumped on it. She must’ve been
having withdrawal from her social media.
“No. It’s the walkie-talkie.” Sue Ann stuck her hand out, and he gave
her the unit. “Please tell me you have one with you.”
All five of us looked at each other before we all felt ashamed and
looked down at our feet.
“Go ahead,” she spoke into the device.
“Yeah, Mason is at it again. This new campsite said they got a
complaint, and we need to move.” The voice on the other end came through
very loud and clear.
“I swear.” Sue Ann’s face turned pink, but the more she talked, the more
her blush turned to fire-engine red and dripped down her neck. “He’s going
to give me hives.”
“What are we going to do?” one of them asked her.
“Kill him. He and I both can’t be treasure hunters.” She put the walkie-
talkie back up to her mouth. “We are coming back. Don’t do anything until
I talk to them.”
With that, Sue Ann Jaffarian and her crew headed back the way they’d
come.
“What are we going to do?” Mary Elizabeth had the information center
in her head now. There was no way she would let that go.
“I think we need to go back.” I looked up and tried to gauge where the
sun was located in the sky. In no way could I even see through the trees, but
I did know it was getting darker, and soon what little light there was
peeking through the leaves would be gone. “It’s going to get too dark to
find our way back.”
“It’s not the dark. I can do that with my compass. It’s the bears.” Agnes
walked to the back of the line as I was holding up the rear. “My Graham
said to never let a bear see ya in here. He said you’d never make it out
alive.”
 Goosebumps ran up my legs. Was Graham talking about being attacked
by the bear or by the John Swift curse?
CHAPTER 7

T he closer we got to camp, the more something just smelled better

and better. When we made it out of the forest and back into the
clearing, my stomach was delighted to see Mason had taken
instructions from Mary Elizabeth about getting supper together.
Mason, Dirk, and Ritchie stood around the roaring campfire. There was
a big pot hanging across the fire and a grill plate set up next to it.
“Y’all are just in time.” Mason popped straight up from over the fire
when he saw us walking toward him. “We are having steak nachos, grilling
style.”
My mouth watered at the sight of the steaks he had in the skillet. They
smelled delicious, and the sound of the sizzle was music to my ears. I
wasn’t sure what it was about campfire food that made it taste extra good.
Maybe it was the entire package of the sounds of the night or just being in
the open air, or even among friends, but there was no place I’d rather be
than right here watching Mason cook.
“Did you find anything?” Dirk was placing the tortilla chips in the large
pot hanging over the fire. He added some black beans, corn, and green
chilis along with some shredded cheese.
Queenie, Abby, and Agnes had walked over to the cooler to get drinks.
“A whole lot of Sue Ann,” Mary Elizabeth said, making Mason look
over.
Dirk didn’t stop layering the nacho ingredients on top of each other. He
continued to look at the steak Mason was tending to, though he was
Mason’s sous-chef and getting all the food prepared and cooked at the same
time.
 “What she means”—I shot Mary Elizabeth a look—“is that we were
hiking and ran into Sue Ann and a couple of her crew members.”
“She was not happy with you.” Agnes had joined us at the tail end of
the conversation. “She said you keep getting her kicked out of
campgrounds.”
“You can’t do that. The forest and park are open to anyone. Even the
campgrounds.” Queenie should have known since she was the president of
the Historical Society. “Ritchie has to pay a fee, you know.”
“Ritchie wanted to keep the peace.” Mason flipped the steaks over. If I
could’ve seen his face through the smoke from the steaks, I was sure he
would look mad. It was the tone in his voice that told me he didn’t like
hearing we’d seen his ex. “Besides, he didn’t kick her out.”
He was taking up for Ritchie’s actions as if Queenie were the camping
police.
“What did she say exactly?” Mason took the skillet from the flame and
put it on the rock next to us.
“She just said how the two of you dated and how you didn’t want her
here.” I left out the part where she pulled her finger across her neck,
wishing he were dead.
Not Agnes.
“She got word you had her removed from another campground, and she
wished you dead.” Agnes giggled. “You done made that girl mad.”
“What’s that saying about a woman scorned?” Dirk nudged Mason.
They both laughed.
Dirk took the steaks out of the skillet and placed them on a cutting
board, where he cut them into strips. Mason had abandoned the meal
altogether and was visibly upset with the news about us seeing and talking
to Sue Ann.
“She stole my maps. She doesn’t deserve to be at this site.” He jerked
his hand towards the woods. “She thinks she can just come in here when
I’m here and follow my maps. At least she can come when I’m not here.”
Dirk looked at me from underneath his brows and rolled his eyes. He
made me feel like this was an ongoing discussion between them.
“Did she honestly say she wished I was dead?” Mason’s brows
furrowed.
Mary Elizabeth dragged her finger across her neck, giving me an
expression I didn’t figure on.
 “My pearls.” She jumped up. “Now that I’ve been out there, I can say I
participated in the John Swift silver treasure hunt. I can put on my pearls
and stay behind tomorrow.”
“Aren’t you going to eat while it’s hot?” Mason tried to stop her when
he scooped up some of the layered nachos and topped them with the steak
on a plate. “Those pearls can wait.”
“I’m good.” Mary Elizabeth hightailed it across camp to my camper.
“I’ll be right back.”
Neither Agnes, Queenie, Abby, nor I needed any coaxing on having a
plate. Just as we all sat down and got comfortable, the loudest shrieks came
out of the camper followed by a frantic Mary Elizabeth.
“You stole my pearls!” she screamed to high heaven. “Where are they?”
“What? Who?” I put my plate down and walked to meet her.
“Him!” She continued to yell and point at Mason. “That sonofa…”
“Stop.” I pushed her arm down. “What did you teach me about pointing
at people? It’s bad manners.”
“It’s bad manners to steal people’s things.” She spat and glared over my
shoulder at Mason. “He took them, and I want them back.”
“I didn’t take anything.” Mason’s jaw dropped. He looked at everyone,
put his plate down, and stood up. “I’ve been going over my maps and
cooking. I didn’t even go near your camper.”
“You’re the only one who even noticed my pearls, and we had a
discussion.” Mary Elizabeth stalked over to him and put her hand out. “You
can give them to me, and we forget it, or I call Hank. Call Hank anyways,
Mae.”
Now she wanted to be bragging on me and Hank, but earlier, she was
trying to get me all hooked up with Mason.
“We don’t have cell service,” Abby reminded her. She hadn’t touched
her food yet. She seemed to be waiting to see what was happening with the
pearls. No way did this situation bother Queenie and Agnes. They were
shoveling it in as fast as they could alongside Dirk.
“Let’s go look one more time,” I suggested, thinking it was a pretty
good idea.
“Yeah. Maybe you don’t remember where you put them.” Mason had
said the wrong thing.
“Are you calling me old? Are you saying my memory is gone? Because
I remember fine how you offered me money for my pearls, and when I
refused, you stole them when I turned my back.” She rubbed her bare neck.
“I knew I shouldn’t’ve taken them off.”
“Just go back and look for them. Make sure before you go accusing
someone,” Agnes grumbled.
Mary Elizabeth let out a few huffs and puffs before she gave in to all
those who agreed.
“It’s not like he’s going anywhere,” I told her while I escorted her back
to the camper. “Maybe they fell out of wherever you put them. It’s not
going to take us long to find them.”
“I’m telling you I didn’t misplace them, or they didn’t fall out. I looked
before I realized they were gone and came out here to get them back from
Mason.” Mary Elizabeth was getting older, though I didn’t think she was
getting Alzheimer’s or anything. Just forgetful.
“I forget things all the time,” I confessed. “Like keys.” I shrugged.
“Are you really going to try to sell that to me? Because I’m not buying.”
She stomped up the step into the camper. We walked back into the
bedroom. “I put them right here in the red velvet pouch after I changed my
clothes. The red velvet pouch they came in, and it’s gone.”
“Let’s just look.” I took the bed covers off my bed and shook them.
“Let’s look under the mattress.”
I knew it wasn’t under there since the mattress sat on top of some
storage that was built into the camper. But if it was going to make her
happy, I was willing to take everything out of the camper so we could find
it.
“I told you Mason stole them,” she continued to say every time we’d
move something or pull something up to look under it.
“I’m afraid I don’t see them.” I braced myself for the hissy fit she was
about to throw as I watched her chest heave up and down from the breaths
she took in and out of her nose.
“Maybe we can look again.” It wouldn’t hurt. “I just don’t think he took
them.”
“Oh.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Are you going to tell me it’s
the John Swift curse, and my pearls just vanished? Poof.” She was getting
snarky now. “All good.” She brushed her hands off in front of her.
Her eyes narrowed. Her jaw tensed. Her fist clenched.
“I’m going to go into his camper and look. He can’t stop me.” She
twirled on the balls of her hiking boots and left the camper.
 “Lord, please help whoever took her pearls,” I said, wondering if we
should just all pack up and head on back to the Happy Trails Campground,
where we were all happy.
By the time I made it out of the camper, Mary Elizabeth had gone over
to Mason’s camper with him on her heels. They were in an all-out cat fight.
“What are you going to do about this?” Abby questioned with a scared
look on her face. “They don’t care.” She gestured to Agnes, Queenie, and
Dirk.
All three of them were still crunching down on the nachos. I was
jealous.
“What do you want me to do?” I snapped back at Abby. “The pearls are
gone. I took everything apart in the camper. You and I both know she had
them on. I did hear the banter between her and Mason where he tried to buy
them off her. He even flirted with her.”
“It doesn’t make him a thief.” Abby was quick to not have any conflict.
It was just her quiet nature.
“No, but it does seem fishy since he’s the one so interested in them.” I
didn’t bother going to get between Mason and Mary Elizabeth because
she’d take him and me down with one lash of her tongue. He would soon
find it out.
Soon was real soon.
He staggered out of his camper from the top of the steps after Mary
Elizabeth gave him a hard push backwards.
“She’s your mom.” He looked at me like I had three heads.
“Yeah. I know the consequences. Listen, if you took them, it’s best to
just give them back.” I wondered if reasoning with him would work.
“If I took them? I didn’t take them.” He ran his hand through his hair
when we all heard some slamming noises coming from the camper. “She’s
going to tear my stuff up.”
“Just give them back.” There was truly no other explanation.
“What’s going on?” Ritchie had come over to the group.
“Mary Elizabeth’s pearls are gone, and she thinks Mason took them,
since he offered to buy them from her.” Dirk scooped up a piece of steak
with a nacho that dripped with cheese and stuffed it into his mouth.
“He was really wanting them, and if that’s the case, maybe he should
leave camp,” Ritchie said. “I’m about to head home. Do you want me to
call the police?”
 “Yes. We do! Call the police! Call Hank Sharp!” Mary Elizabeth stood
at the open door of the camper with her hands on her hips. “Tell them to
bring the paddy wagon and take this thief away!”
“Yeah! Call the police!” Mason yelled at Mary Elizabeth when she
marched down the steps and back to the group.
He and Mary Elizabeth stood nose to nose. Neither one backed down.
“It’s the curse.” Agnes’s eyes glowed at the prospect of it.
“That’s silly.” What was silly was that I was the only one who didn’t
think it was the curse at this point.
“Go on and run all over the place to look for your precious pearls.”
Mason was being a jerk now.
“No wonder Sue Ann left you.” Mary Elizabeth glared at him. “You are
a no-good, dirty lying dog, and she deserves more in a man, if that’s what
you want to call yourself, than you.”
“If you all think you’re going to follow me and Dirk around tomorrow,
because we are going to find the treasure, you can forget it.” His finger
circled the five of us. “You’re on your own. You can go back to your little
hillbilly campground for that matter and leave.”
“You don’t have to name call.” Queenie stood up. “I think I’ve lost my
appetite.”
It was cute how Queenie threw away her empty plate. She’d not lost her
appetite—she’d fed it. Still. She was trying to say she was picking Mary
Elizabeth’s side.
“We don’t need you anyways.” Mary Elizabeth walked over to Agnes
and tried to take her plate. Agnes had a death grip on it but let go when
Mary Elizabeth gave her a look of death. “We’ve got our own maps of real
treasure hunters. Ain’t that right, Agnes?”
“Yeah. That’s right. My Graham, he was a treasure hunter,” she said
proudly.
“Yes’m, you told us.” Dirk had finally found his voice. “Why don’t we
all go to our campers and get a good night’s sleep.”
“I’m waiting up for the police.” Mary Elizabeth sat down in a chair in
front of the campfire. “Ritchie left, so it won’t be long.” She crossed her
arms and wasn’t about to budge.
“Fine. You do what you think you need to do, but we are going to bed.”
Mason tugged on Dirk’s shirt, and they both left.
 “I’m not going to sit out here and get eaten up by chiggers.” Queenie
swatted at her ankle before she skipped back to the camper, soon followed
by Agnes and Abby.
In the distance, the sky lit up as heat lightning rippled through the
darkness.
“Are you sure?” I asked Mary Elizabeth. “It looks like rain might be
moving in.”
“I’m more sure than ever that I’m not going to leave this chair. They
might try to get out of here with my pearls when we are sleeping. That’s
their treasure.” Mary Elizabeth looked hurt. “I just can’t believe this. My
mama would be so upset.”
“I’m not sure where they are, but once Ritchie gets the police here, they
will help look and get to the bottom of it.” I rubbed her on the shoulder.
“Are you sure you won’t just come in and watch from the kitchen table? It
really does look like it’s going to rain.”
“Not in a million years. Hell or high water, it’s what I’m doing.” She
dug her feet deeper into the grass. I left her to do exactly what she wanted.
No one in this world was going to tell Mary Elizabeth Moberly what to
do. That included me.
CHAPTER 8

“S
die.”
he’s gone and lost her ever-loving mind.” Agnes had the
curtain pulled back, looking out into the dark, rainy night.
“Mary Elizabeth is going to catch a cold, get pneumonia, and

The campfire had long gone extinguished from the storm coming
through. I’d gone back out and given her an umbrella, but she refused it.
Mary Elizabeth was making a point, and she wasn’t going to budge. It
would take a bulldozer to pick her up and move her until Mason gave her
back the strand of pearls she’d accused him of stealing.
“Lightning is going to hit her.” Abby leaned over Agnes’s shoulder,
biting her lip. “I think you need to get her seen by the doctor, because no
one in their right mind would risk their life for a set of pearls.”
“You don’t know Mary Elizabeth. Once her mind is on something, you
can’t get it off of it.” I failed to tell how Mary Elizabeth had sat outside of
the county fair offices for three days to turn in the beauty pageant form for
me to enter. It wasn’t like anyone was dying to win the title, and no other
mother sat out there for three days. I didn’t even want to be in the darn
thing, but Mary Elizabeth Moberly had it in her head that her adoptive
daughter would be the debutante.
She’d had it in her mind that I’d had a hard life, and no matter what, we
were going to show people how we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps
and made it in life. I was perfectly fine with my life, since I knew I was
going to get out of there on my eighteenth birthday.
“I’ve been looking out at the entrance.” Queenie had been sitting in the
driver’s captain chair looking out the window. She swiveled the chair
around. “I still don’t see no headlights from the police.”
 “I’m sure Ritchie told them the story, and it wasn’t on the priority list.” I
looked out the window at Mary Elizabeth. She’d not moved an iota. She
had her hands placed on her knees, and she stared at Mason’s camper.
Mason and Dirk didn’t seem to care. The lights were out in their RVs,
and the pounding rain didn’t bother them any.
“We can’t just sit up all night and watch her make a fool of herself.”
Agnes switched places with Abby. “I’m going to get some shuteye, so y’all
go on and get out of my bedroom.”
“I’m not going to let you sleep out here.” I’d planned for her and Mary
Elizabeth to sleep in my bed since they were the oldest, and the mattress
was made specifically for my camper. “Queenie, you go with her and Abby,
and I’ll watch Mary Elizabeth.”
“I don’t know why we are watching her.” Abby pulled the curtain shut.
“If that clap of thunder didn’t light a torch under her hiney, I don’t think
nothing will.”
Queenie and Agnes went to the back and got ready for bed. Abby made
the coffee so we only had to flip on the switch in the morning, which was
just a few hours away, while I made the couches into a makeshift bed for
me and her.
Abby and I didn’t say much. Both of us felt deeply disturbed at how
Mary Elizabeth had acted.
“We looked everywhere for those pearls.” Abby’s voice pierced the dark
as both of us lay there.
The rain continued to knock on the roof of the camper. I couldn’t help
but think Mary Elizabeth was shivering out there. Once one of these dog-
days-of-summer rains got into your bones, it was hard to shake it off.
“Where do you think it is? Do you think Mason took them?” Abby
rolled over to her side to face me from the little couch. Abby and I had done
some investigating on our own before and with great results, I add.
“I don’t know. I mean, he did make such a big deal about them when he
noticed them.” I recalled how hungry his eyes looked when he saw the
pearls around Mary Elizabeth’s neck. “He continued to offer her more and
more money for them, but she refused. They’ve been in her family for so
long and they’re so much a part of her identity that I’m not sure what she’ll
do if we don’t find them.”
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
 “I don’t think Ritchie went to the police, because I think Hank would’ve
been told, and he’d have been here.” I remembered the CB radio Dottie had
given me. “If they aren’t here in the morning”—I glanced at the digital
clock I had on the wall and realized morning was just a couple hours away
—“then I’m going to hook up the CB Dottie gave me just to tell her to tell
Hank about the missing pearls.”
“You have a CB?” Abby popped up, leaning on her elbow. “You
should’ve called before the storm because the rain will hurt the waves.”
“I don’t know anything about the darn thing, but you can try your hand
at it.” I was going to get up and let her work with it, but she stopped me.
“It won’t do us any good now. The thunder and lightning won’t help.
Might’s well wait until the morning.” She rolled back the other way, and
before I knew it, the sound of snoring filled the camper.
I got up and looked one more time at Mary Elizabeth. She was still
sitting there staring at Mason’s camper.
I shook my head and lay back down on the couch, tugging the blankets
up to my chin.
As I recalled the conversation from start to finish, the rhythm of the rain
sounded like a song and put me right to sleep like a lullaby.
CHAPTER 9

“G
the cover off me.
et up!” Agnes shook me by my shoulder. “Mason and Dirk
are going at it. Mary Elizabeth is encouraging Dirk.”
“What?” I bolted up from being sound asleep, throwing

Agnes already had the door open with Queenie following behind her. I
grabbed my hiking boots and put them on without lacing them up.
“Sock him!” Mary Elizabeth looked like a drowned rat as she hooked
her arms like she was in the boxing ring. “Sock him good too!”
Dirk and Mason danced around on their toes in a circle with their fists
up.
“What is going on here?” I stomped through the mud puddles to reach
them and put my arms out. “Has everyone lost their minds?” I looked
between them.
“Get out of the way. Dirk is gonna give that thief exactly what he’s got
coming.” Mary Elizabeth punched the air a few times.
“You’ve gotten really good at your form,” Queenie encouraged Mary
Elizabeth. The wrong thing to do. The grass was soaked. “Strike class has
really been helping you.”
Mary Elizabeth and Queenie started to talk about the Jazzercise class,
while I tried to stop the real fight.
“Leave us alone, Mae,” Dirk warned me, never looking away from
Mason. “He’s got this coming to him. Your mom is right. He’s a thief.”
“Not a thief. The silver is anyone’s to look for. Ask Queenie. She
knows. She’s the historian here.” Mason tightened his fists and moved them
up to his face.
 “We agreed when Sue Ann left that I’d get her share. Not just the
twenty-five percent. Half. Half of whatever we find out there, and now you
are saying I’m not getting what is owed to me.” Dirk jabbed the air a couple
of times, and Mason pulled back, barely missing getting punched in the
face.
“Stop this right now!” I screamed. “This is ridiculous.”
“Get him!” Mary Elizabeth screamed.
“Stop it now! You are grown men, and you are my mother,” I said
through gritted teeth. I bounced between them, ignoring the mud flinging up
from under my feet.
“Did you just call me your mother?” Mary Elizabeth got a little too
excited and flung her arms around my neck, practically squeezing the life
out of me. “Thank you,” she gushed and kissed me before she let go. She
turned to Mason. “Keep the pearls, loser.” Her nose curled. “They are worth
a lot, but hearing Mae call me her mother is worth the loss. If I had to get
those pearls stolen to hear this”—she looked at me, tears in her eyes—“it’s
worth it. Hearing that is worth more than those pearls.”
“Is that really all it took?” Agnes snarled.
“That doesn’t settle this.” Dirk pointed to Mason. “I’m going to get half
of whatever we find today and tomorrow.” He took a step forward and
jabbed Mason in the chest with his finger. “Got it?”
“Yeah. We’ll see.” Mason’s jaw set. He didn’t bother watching Dirk
stomp back to his camper. “Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “I’m going to tell
you one more time, and then we aren’t going to revisit this again.” He
jabbed a finger toward Mary Elizabeth. “I didn’t take your stupid pearls.
Now, be ready in ten minutes to head out.”
“We aren’t going with you.” I stepped up and glared at him. Forget that
I was sinking into the wet ground. “You’re a jerk. If anyone took the pearls,
we know it’s you, and when the police get here, we will make sure to tell
them everything.”
“The police aren’t coming at least until tomorrow. No one is coming or
going.” Mason laughed. “The roads have washed out from the storm.”
“What?” My entire insides deflated. “We can’t leave even if we wanted
to?”
I was going to suggest to my group that we just leave and not worry
about the treasure.
 “Nope. Ritchie came back last night and knocked on my door when he
saw Mary Elizabeth sprawled out in the chair, asleep.” Mason eyed Mary
Elizabeth.
“I was doing no such thing. I saw him.” Mary Elizabeth twitched, a sure
sign of her lying.
“Regardless, what exactly did he say?” I asked and turned around to
look at Ritchie’s little cabin in the middle of the field.
“What does it matter?” Mason acted as if I was putting him out. “The
roads are closed. I’m sure it’ll all dry out by the time we all leave
tomorrow.” He turned and headed toward his camper. “Five minutes, ladies,
or I’m leaving without you.”
“‘Five minutes, ladies,’” Queenie mocked Mason with a curled lip and
squished-up nose. “I’ll give him five minutes.” She turned to Mary
Elizabeth. “Come on. We need to get you in the camper for a hot shower
and a cup of coffee.”
While they all took Mary Elizabeth into the camper, I decided to head
over to see Ritchie to learn exactly what he knew about the roads and if he
went to the police station like Agnes had suggested.
There wasn’t any electricity running to his cabin, and I couldn’t tell if
he was asleep or up. I took my chances and knocked on the door anyway.
When he greeted me in a pair of underwear and nothing else, I got my
answer.
“Oh. Crap.” He was decent enough to use his hands to cover himself. “I
thought you were a guy. Let me put some pants on.” He shut the door on
me.
I could hear some rustling in the cabin. Probably where there was no
light and he couldn’t see, since I’d apparently awakened him from a dead
sleep.
“Sorry ‘bout that.” He yawned and stretched his hands over his head. “I
got in late, and that rain makes me sleep like a wee little baby.”
He stepped out of the cabin, and his bare feet sank into the wet grass,
mud squishing up between his toes.
“What can I do you for?” He crossed his arms in front of him.
“We still haven’t found the pearls. It’s my understanding the roads have
been washed out, and no one is coming in or out of here.” I ignored the
sounds of Mason and Dirk behind me. Ritchie didn’t, though. He was
watching every move they made from over my shoulder. “Did you go to the
police station about the missing pearls?”
“I was headed there when the big storm came, and I knew I didn’t have
no time to go there and be back here before the gravel washed away. So I
made me an executive decision. The safety of the campers during a wash-
out is more important than a pair of pearls to me. Safety first. That’s what
they teach you in Scouts.” He sucked in a deep breath; his eyes bored into
me like he was prepared to challenge me if I dared say something.
“So you didn’t go to the police station? I just want to be clear.” My
shoulders dropped when I realized he was barely listening to me. I snapped
my fingers in front of his face.
“No.” He shook his head. “I didn’t. But I’ll try to get out today while
you’re hunting.”
It was the best I was going to get from him, and I knew it.
“Fine. Just let me know.” I turned around when I didn’t even get an
acknowledging grunt, much less any words from him.
Mason and Dirk must’ve made up because on my way back to my
camper, I watched the two of them disappear into the woods where the
mouth of the trail led to what they believed was the John Swift silver mine.
The sun was trying to peek out over top of the mountainous area. If it
would just pop out, it might help dry up some of the road, though I knew
that road was literally covered from the bridge of trees on the way here and
the sun would have to penetrate through them to even start to warm the
gravel and dirt.
The mud squished underneath my boots, and I took them off once I
stepped up on the step before entering the camper.
“Anything?” Agnes greeted me with a cup of steaming coffee after I
shut the camper door.
“No.” I shook my head and took the coffee mug. “Ritchie said he had to
make an executive decision about the safety of the campers or the pearls.
He thinks he’s in charge of us and wanted to be here in case something went
wrong.”
The first sip of the coffee instantly made me feel somewhat better.
They’d already cleaned up the covers from the couches. I sat down in one
of the café chairs and curled my hands around the mug, bringing it up to my
mouth to enjoy the warm liquid.
 “What are we going to do?” Queenie asked and looked around at all five
of us. She was spraying the bug spray all over her body, including her
clothes.
After Queenie doused herself in the stuff, she handed it off to Abby,
who handed it off to Agnes, who handed it off to Mary Elizabeth.
“We are going to go find that treasure.” Mary Elizabeth ran her hand
across her neck where her pearls used to hang. “If I don’t have my treasure,
Mason won’t have his. That means we have to find the John Swift silver
before he does.”
“That’s music to my ears.” Agnes gave a vicious grin. “I’ve got the food
backpack.” She flung the bigger bag on her back.
“Here, spray yourself good.” Mary Elizabeth held the spray out to me.
“When you were a kid, you fought me tooth and nail for me to spray you.”
These women were out for blood. Even the poor bugs had no chance
with them. They say you never cross a Southern woman, and here Mason
had crossed two. The John Swift curse had nothing on a scorned Southern
woman.
Mary Elizabeth decided to spray me herself, even my clothes. I batted
her away before she got near my arms and face.
With everyone all bug-sprayed up, we were out the door in no time.
“How on earth did you sleep in that rain?” I asked Mary Elizabeth as I
locked the door to the camper, since I was the last one out.
“Honey, I’m tougher than you know.” She winked, and we headed into
the woods.
“Let’s go find that treasure.” I smiled.
“I got my treasure this morning.” She patted me on the back as she
referred to me calling her Mom.
CHAPTER 10

“W ho does he think he is?” Even though Mary Elizabeth had

said she was letting it go until we could get some police
in here, she didn’t. “He can’t tell Sue Ann she can’t be
here when he’s here. He isn’t Father Nature, God, or the owner of the
Daniel Boone National Forest.” She swung the walking stick at all the low-
lying branches to smack them out of the way.
At least she was getting some energy out and would probably sleep like
a baby tonight. Or maybe a big nap this afternoon if we took a break. She
claimed she was up all night, but according to Ritchie, when he came back
to the campsite, she was snoring to beat the band.
“Let’s focus on the treasure.” Agnes glanced back. She was leading the
group and had Graham’s map in one hand and the compass in the other.
“According to the map, the Furnace is this way.”
“How far?” Queenie pushed the glittery headband up on her forehead a
little more.
“Three miles.” It rolled off Agnes’s tongue like it was just a jaunt
around the bend.
“Dear Lord!” Mary Elizabeth huffed. “Three miles? Why didn’t we
camp closer?”
“There’s no camping in the forest. Only the designated areas.” Abby
was so sweet and really took the time to explain to Mary Elizabeth how
John Swift couldn’t just put his treasure where anyone could just find it.
Every few thousand feet, we’d stop for a drink of water and maybe a
little taste of chocolate to keep us going. Abby and I continued to take turns
hiking with the food backpack. There were a few grunts and grumbles from
the group, especially when we had to climb over a little more brush than the
typical fallen logs or rocks. The farther we hiked into the forest, the thicker
the vines, grassy areas, and rocky areas, making it a little more challenging.
I kept an eye on Agnes and Mary Elizabeth, not that Queenie was much
younger, but she was in better physical shape with her Jazzercise.
“Do you hear that?” Agnes perked up and turned her ear.
We all stopped. The sounds of birds chirping and a faint bubbling sound
filled the silence.
“I think that’s the small branch in the journal.” Agnes handed the papers
to Abby. “Read that.”
“To go to the Furnace to the ore, climb the rock to the left hand, steer a
due south course till you come to a small branch. You will find the way
very rough. Then go to the branch to the head without crossing. Then due
east to the top of the ridge out of the cliff country.”
“That’s enough for now.” Agnes took the papers back from Abby.
“After we get due east past the branch, we will revisit the journal. I think
we are close. I remember my Graham talking about it.”
“You lead the way.” I was started to get excited, even though Hank had
told me it was really a tall tale. Just the fun of being with the group was
enough for me. Making good memories was also very important.
“Climb the rock to the left.” Agnes repeated over and over as the sound
of a creek got closer and closer.
All of our eyes were focused up, and we looked around to help find this
rock to the left. There were a lot of cliffs and rocks but nothing due south
per John Swift’s instructions.
“That’s that?” Abby pointed to a mossy-looking structure. “I think it’s
the rock. It’ll take us to another level of the forest.”
“Should we climb it?” Mary Elizabeth climbed over a downed log and
took a high step up on one of many ledges that we could carefully climb to
the top.
“I think we should.” I encouraged everyone to make a move because
we’d never know unless we did it.
“I think so too.” Agnes’s eyes grew big. She held the map and pointed
to a spot. “We passed the three beeches, and if we climb the rock, we can go
east.” There was an X on Graham’s map. “Abby, let me see Swift’s map.”
Abby took off the food backpack and opened the front zippered pocket,
where she’d put the maps in a Ziploc bag in case something happened and it
got wet.
 “If you lay Graham’s map overtop of Swift’s…” Agnes put the maps on
top of each other. The X Graham had put on his map and the mine Swift
had named West Mine practically lined up together. “This has to be the one
Graham had been looking for.”
Agnes’s face glowed. Some pride and some joy all tied together.
Without even asking what we thought, she handed Abby back the map
and took off up the mossy rock. Abby put the map back in the Ziploc and
zippered pocket of the pack, replacing the backpack on her back.
“Be careful,” I told Mary Elizabeth, who I made climb in front of me
just in case she fell and took me down with her, allowing me to soften her
fall.
There was a small cliff that led up to the next one, like stepping stones
to the top. The moss was slick from all the rain we’d had, which made it
slippery to climb fast, so we all took a step and even told each other, “Be
careful on that one. It’s really slippery.”
Once we all got to the top of the rock, we sat down on the rock and took
a small water break to catch our breaths. Climbing the rock was a lot harder
than I thought it was going to be. I was using muscles I’d not used in a long
time or maybe ever. I already longed to go to bed, but we were still just a
couple of hours into the hike.
Some shuffling sounds caused all of us to look over our shoulders. We
listened for a long pause before we turned to look at each other. Silently,
our eyes shifted to each other, as if we were trying to figure out what each
one was thinking.
“What is that?” I asked.
Agnes pushed herself up and held up a finger for us to stay while she
crept over toward the shuffling sound. I’m not sure why, but we all felt like
Agnes knew what she was doing, and she was the Mason of our group.
“Is it a bear?” Mary Elizabeth looked at me with big eyes. “Just like
John Swift said in the journal.”
“What did he say again?” Queenie dug into her backpack and pulled out
the set of papers she’d taken from the Historical Society.
“It’s probably just another group of treasure hunters.” Abby made the
most sense, and I elected to believe her.
“I’m sure Abby is right.” I was happy and relieved to see Agnes come
back.
 “I didn’t see anything.” Agnes didn’t look at us. “Let’s go.” She
grabbed her backpack and put it on. By accident, her eyes met mine.
Something in them said she wasn’t really telling the full truth, but I couldn’t
put my finger on it. “We are almost there.”
“You take the end of the line,” I told Abby so I could be behind Agnes
and try to figure out what she was hiding.
Agnes stood at the front of our little line.
“Me, Mae, Queenie, Mary Elizabeth, and Abby.” She pointed to each of
us when she said our name. “We are all here. Are we all good?”
As soon as we all nodded, Agnes started us on the last leg of the journey
to the West Mine.
“Our first clue to check off is the creek, right?” I asked Agnes, fully
knowing it was where we were headed, but I wanted to open the lines of
communication with her.
“Yes.” The one-word answer and her pinched lips were sure signs
Agnes Swift was hiding something. Then something just hit me. “Agnes
Swift. Swift. Graham Swift. John Swift.”
“It took you this long to figure out Graham was believed to be a
descendant of the John Swift?” Agnes’s lips relaxed, as did her face. “Why
do you think it was so important for Graham to find it?”
“Gosh. I never even thought. So is this why Hank thinks the legend is
just a tall tale?” I asked her, hoping to open her up even more.
“Graham’s family had so many generations that were so proud of the
legend, and Graham was too. We spent so many nights alone, me and my
daughter.” She was referring to Hank’s mom. We’d come to a nice
embankment next to a small brook. The foliage was growing close to the
ground, so we all walked next to the babbling water, thanks to the heavy
rain.
Agnes continued, “I think that’s why they decided to follow Ellis
around the world for her modeling career, leaving Hank here.”
There was a small family rift between Agnes and Hank’s mother. Hank
was in the middle, but he was more on the side of his granny Agnes than his
own mom. It was a long story that I’d been able to piece together little by
little as I’d gotten closer to Hank. This was a new discovery.
“Hank and I talked a lot about the legend, and he came to the conclusion
it was all false after he’d spent a few years in his teens out here looking.”
She smiled. “You and I both know Hank has a lot of pride and doesn’t like
to be wrong. So I think that’s why he is adamant about it being a tall tale.”
It made a lot of sense now that I thought about Hank and how he was
very private about his younger years. Hank was probably the last type of
guy I thought I’d see myself with. He was a little rough around the edges.
He liked being outside. He was not the southern gentleman that I liked. Nor
had he even lived the lifestyle I’d gotten accustomed to with Paul West. I
think it was probably his rougher side that appealed to me because
underneath a few of those layers, he’d do anything to keep me safe and
happy.
“I think we are here,” Agnes gasped. She pointed to the opening of the
stream into a much larger pond. One of the many gems the Daniel Boone
National Park had to offer.
“That trickling sound is making my water drop.” Mary Elizabeth did a
little tinkle dance. Her head swiveled around as if she were looking for a
spot to do her business.
Agnes’s jaw dropped, making her mouth part before a big wide smile
drew up on her face. “Up there.”
“You want me to go up there to go potty?” Mary Elizabeth shrugged,
while Agnes didn’t pay a bit of attention to her. Agnes was pointing to the
rock. I didn’t stop Mary Elizabeth when she started to make her way around
the hanging rock and climb up.
“Oh! It’s the rock.” Abby pulled the pack off her back and got the
journal back out. She began to read, “‘At the branch head without crossing,
then due east to the top of the ridge out of the clift country, then along the
ridge to the right-hand side, and there will appear a place that is higher than
the other. The hanging rock.’” Abby drew her eyes up from the paper and
looked at the formation that appeared to hang over us from where we were
standing.
“The rock!” Queenie bounced on her toes and clapped her hands.
“We’ve got to go up there.”
“Let Mary Elizabeth tell us what’s up there when she gets back.” I
covered my eyes from the sun. A couple of rocks tumbled down. “Mary
Elizabeth? You okay?” I hollered up but didn’t get a response.
The four of us stood there looking up as a few more pebbles fell.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Abby gave me a worried look.
 “We need to go up there according to the map, so let’s just meet her up
there.” Queenie made a good point.
“Watch out!” Agnes yelled when a few larger rocks rolled down and fell
into the water below.
The heat beat down over the rock, and when I looked at it, something
shadowed the sun, as if there were a small eclipse.
“Avalanche!” I screamed and ran to the side, covering my head with my
arms before I knocked Agnes out of the way with my body.
I heard a loud splash into the water—then silence.
I gulped and looked up. Mary Elizabeth stood on the hanging rock
above the branch and waved.
“All done!” She grinned, having no idea what just happened to us down
here.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked and made sure to look at them. They all
looked okay. “Did you know big rocks fell like that?” I asked them since
this was my first time here.
“It wasn’t a rock,” Abby said, her voice cracking.
We all looked over to where she pointed.
“My pearls!” Mary Elizabeth screamed from above.
Mason Cavanaugh lay face up, eyes open, floating in the water, with
Mary Elizabeth’s pearls in the grip of his hand.
“The curse.” Agnes’s words sent chills along my spine.
CHAPTER 11

M ary Elizabeth let out a scream that would wake the dead… well,
it didn’t wake Mason Cavanaugh.
“My pearls!” Mary Elizabeth continued to yell as she fought
the terrain to come back down to where we were. She ran to the edge of the
water, and before I could gather my wits about me, she did a belly flop,
creating a big splash.
“Stop!” I was shocked Mary Elizabeth would jump in with a dead body,
much less grab her pearls out of his dead hand. “That’s evidence.”
“Yeah! Evidence he stole them like I said.” Her face flushed white, and
her eyes grew big like she just realized what she’d just done. She turned
back around, and the motion of the waves she’d created had Mason’s body
floating right toward her. “Get me out of here!” She started to fight the
water as she tried to run toward us, leaving the pearls in his grip.
I stood at the edge, leaning over with my arm extended so she could
grab it. The more motion she created in the water, the faster Mason’s body
caught up to her.
“Help me,” she cried out and grasped my hand. I tugged. Her belly
dragged along the edge and across the grass as I walked backwards, pulling
her to safety.
“Grab him!” Agnes barked at me when I let go of Mary Elizabeth.
My adrenaline kicked in, and I did exactly what she said. I stepped into
the water and grabbed Mason’s arm before the tide shifted and dragged him
up to the shore.
We all stood there for a second, looking at Mason as we tried to wrap
our heads around what we were seeing. The sound of footsteps were as loud
as thunder as they came toward us.
 “I heard a scream.” Sue Ann Jaffarian stood behind us. “What
happened?” she asked and walked in between me and Mary Elizabeth.
“Mason?” She screamed and fell to the ground. “Did you do CPR?” She
didn’t even wait for us to answer. She started to do mouth to mouth on him.
“Idiots.” She turned her head to me. “Help me.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t really sure what to do since I seemed to be stuck in my
head, and nothing was computing.
“Get out of the way.” Sue Ann shoved me and started to do the chest
compressions between the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
A couple of times Mary Elizabeth actually reached over as if she were
going to get those darn pearls. I gave her the stink eye a couple of times,
making her pull her hand back.
She did this for about five minutes until she had a complete breakdown.
A flood of tears followed with sobs escaping her as she leaned her body
over his, and primal sounds came out of her.
“I’m so sorry.” I bent down and put an arm around her for comfort.
“No, you’re not,” she spat and jerked away, finding her footing to stand.
“You!” She pointed to Mary Elizabeth. “You killed him. I saw you come
down from there. You pushed him because you wanted those stupid pearls.”
“How did you know about the pearls?” Agnes asked.
“Dirk told me when I saw him about an hour ago.” She looked around.
“Where is Dirk?”
“We’ve not seen him.” I tried to be as calm as I could, since she’d just
accused Mary Elizabeth of killing Mason.
“Now what?” Abby’s voice cracked. “We don’t have cell service. We
can’t get out of the campsite to get help.”
“We have to carry him back. We can’t leave him here.” Sue Ann started
to sob all over again. “I love you so much.” She fell back to the ground.
It took a second, but I got everyone’s attention, besides Sue Ann, and
nodded for them to meet me out of earshot of her. Quietly, we all walked
away.
“What are we going to do?” I directed my question at Agnes.
“Why are you looking at me?” she asked.
“Because you work around this stuff all day,” I pointed out. “What do
the police do when they get called to a murder scene?”
“We don’t know it’s murder, and you should ask yourself that same
question,” Queenie suggested with a little sarcasm.
 “Just because I’ve found a couple of dead bodies…” I started to say
before I was rudely interrupted.
“A couple?” Abby asked.
“Listen, I get that we are all tense here, but we are here, and we need to
do something. Sue Ann is right about one thing.”
“I didn’t kill him.” Mary Elizabeth jerked back. “I never saw him up
there.”
Her statement stuck in my head. She was on the same rock formation.
How did she not see him.
“Not right about that.” I sucked in a deep breath, curled my lips
together, and let it out my nose while I looked at them underneath my
brows. “She’s right that we can’t leave him here.”
“I’m not carrying him.” Queenie crossed her arms.
“Stop it.” I shot her an eye. “We all have to carry some sort of part of
him. You.” I pointed to Abby. “You take a foot, while I take a wrist. Mary
Elizabeth, you take a foot, and Queenie, you take a wrist with me.”
“What about them two?” Queenie flung her hand at Agnes then at Sue
Ann.
“They are going to get us out of here. They know the way.” I licked my
lips and thought back to the crime scenes I’d had the unfortunate time being
involved in. “Hank would mark off the scene, take photos, and then look for
evidence.”
“He fell from the rock. I bet he saw us and leaned over too far.” Abby
made a good case, but by the look on Agnes’s face, I could tell she was
thinking something completely different.
“What is it, Agnes?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t count him out being murdered.” She glanced
around. “You go up to the top of the rock and see if he left his backpack up
there or where his maps are. When he left this morning, he had his gear.
Where is it?”
“I’ve got my phone so I can take photos.” Abby pulled her phone from
her pocket.
“Mary Elizabeth and I can gather some rocks and make a circumference
around what we think is the crime scene down here.” Queenie also made a
good suggestion.
“This is great teamwork.” I smiled and nodded, happy to see that we
were all starting to come to our senses, but it wasn’t far from my mind that
there were two people here that had some threatening words with Mason,
even if one of them was my adoptive mother. And she just so happened to
have been up on that rock when Mason had fallen to his death.
“Sue Ann.” I put a hand on her back. This time she didn’t jerk away
from my touch. “Agnes Swift works at the Normal police station, and we
are going to treat this like a crime scene and do the things the police would
do if they were here.”
“Did she confess?” Sue Ann referred to Mary Elizabeth.
“No. I’m sure she didn’t push him off the rock.” I had the need to
defend my adoptive mom even if I wasn’t sure what happened. I did know
that she’d never, ever murder someone. “But I’m going to go up to the rock
and look for his equipment while Agnes checks out some things around
here.”
Sue Ann quickly nodded in agreement.
“Please don’t touch his body until Agnes looks at him and we carry him
out.” I knew that would be met with a gush of tears.
“I still loved him.” She brushed her hand across her cheek. “We were
together for a long time.”
“I know.” I pinched my lips together and left her alone. The others were
off doing exactly what they’d planned to do, and now it was my turn to
climb the rock.
With each step, I tried to see through the eyes of Mary Elizabeth. What I
thought was beautiful was a sight for sore eyes in her mind, so it was
difficult to see through the beauty of nature. The climb was steep but not so
much so that Mary Elizabeth would have a hard time climbing to the top to
go tinkle.
Once at the top, I looked both ways. The sun was bright and almost
blinding. Had Mason accidentally walked off the rock, not seeing the edge
in the glare of the sunlight? He wasn’t wearing sunglasses, and I wasn’t
either. I had to shield my eyes to get a good look.
To the right was where it appeared in a lower area. Carefully, I walked
to the edge of the rock, noticing there wasn’t a slick spot or a wet spot from
the rain. This knocked out my theory that he’d slipped and fallen. The rock
was dry as a bone. The water was crystal clear, as far as the eye could see.
The view was spectacular, and I wondered if this was the last thing Mason
had seen.
 “Abby!” I yelled down when I peeked over the side. My stomach felt
like I was on a big roller coaster and the first huge hill was approaching.
The anticipation of the thought of Mason falling off here curled in my
stomach. It was a long way down. The impact of hitting the water must’ve
been what actually stopped his heart after he’d either fallen or someone
killed him.
There weren’t any uneven spots or gravel where I stood.
“What?” I heard Abby holler back without me looking down. I just
couldn’t look down.
“Am I standing about the spot where Mason landed in the water?” I
asked because I wanted to make sure there was nothing there for him to
have slipped on.
“Yes!” she answered.
“Can you also read to me the journal entry where we left off? And yell
it out.” I took a big step back and away from the edge, making me breathe a
little easier.
“‘Along the ridge out of the clift.’”
I knew the clift she was referring to was the overhanging rock I was
standing on.
“‘There will appear a place that is higher than the other.’”
I looked around as she read Swift’s journal.
“‘Go in a low gap. Leave the high knob to the right.’”
“To the right.” I glanced around that way and saw a low spot.
“‘Go down, and you will see a hanging rock and a rock that seems to
have fallen from the other. Go in betwixt them, and you are very near the
spot. You will find the opening of the mine.’”
“That’s all for now!” Our voices echoed back as we’d been speaking.
“Go to the low spot.” I told myself the high points I’d gotten out of the text
Abby had said to make sure I got the main markers Swift had stated.
“Hanging rock and another rock.”
I walked down into the low spot and looked for any sign of Mason’s
gear. It had to be here somewhere. I shifted my gaze up and saw the exact
rock from Swift’s journal. The rock was just a few yards away, but the
brush was so thick, it took more time than I had anticipated.
The chiggers were biting every naked piece of skin on me they could
find. I’d smack the spot where I felt them gnaw into me, but it was already
too late. The nasty bugs had already gotten me, and little bumps showed it.
 “I should’ve put that bug spray on my arms.” I regretted not listening to
Mary Elizabeth now. I smacked away a few more of the critters on my way
down the gap, heading to the hanging rock, as John Swift put it. “A cave,” I
gasped when I got to the underhang. “Is this where you met the bear?” I
asked out loud as if someone was going to answer me.
“It might be.” The voice caused me to jump around.
“Dirk.” I put my hand up to my chest. “You scared me.”
“Sorry about that.” He grinned and looked around. “Where’s your
friends?”
“They are with…” I stopped when I realized he didn’t know about
Mason. “Dirk, Mason is…” I gulped and watched his eyes search my face.
“He’s in the cave looking for the treasure.” He laughed and pointed
inside the opening. “What’s wrong?” The smile fell.
“Mason isn’t in the cave. He… um… fell off the cliff and into the water.
And, um…” I blinked a few times to get it together. “He is dead, and my
friends are with his body.”
“Dead?” He cried out. “No. You’re mistaken.” He ran his hand through
his hair before he darted into the cave. “Mason! Hey, man, where are you?
Yell back if you can hear me!”
“Dirk,” I called after him and looked into the dark abyss. “Dirk!”
There was no way I was going in there without some sort of light, and I
knew I didn’t have a flashlight on me.
“Mason!” The echo of Dirk’s voice bounced off the walls of the cave.
Chills traveled up my body at the sound of his desperate cry. “Come on,
man, answer me!”
“Dirk!” I’d put my hands up around my mouth as a megaphone. “Dirk!
Please come back and see for yourself.”
The silence was deafening. The darkness was frightening. I took a step
out of the cave and looked up at the sunshine trickling through the leaves. I
jerked my head toward the cave when I heard heavy footsteps approaching
the mouth.
“No.” Dirk shook his head, his jaw clenched. “Can’t be.” His nostrils
flared as his chest heaved up and down. “No way. He was so careful. No
way.”
“Please just come with me. We need to get him out of the forest.” I
pushed my hands in the pockets of my pants and waited for what I was
telling him to process in his jumbled head. “We need to go before we lose
sunlight.”
“Our stuff.” He walked over to a brushy area, where he uncovered their
backpacks and a couple of other sacks. “I can’t leave it here.”
“I can help.” I walked over and let him decide what he needed me to
carry, and soon we were on our way. “Did you know he left the cave?” I
asked.
“No.” Dirk was walking behind me, following me to the others and
Mason. “He was sure this was the cave. We’d been to this location so many
times because it was one of the first places John Swift talked about in his
journal. Really it’s a rookie move.”
I turned around when he didn’t continue. His eyes were hollow, and his
face was flushed.
“Let’s stop for a second. Do you have any water in these?” I asked since
I hadn’t planned on being gone for so long, so I didn’t bring any water with
me.
“Yeah.” He blinked a few times and pointed to one of the bags he’d
given me.
Without asking him any more questions, I decided to just unzip some of
the openings of the bag until I found a bottle and handed it to him.
Five minutes went by until he finally screwed the lid back on the bottle
and looked up at me.
“We’ve been here hundreds of times over the past five years. He’s
always been so careful. This just doesn’t make sense.” He held the bottle
out to me. “Do you want a drink?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m good. You need to drink it.”
He did. He finished it off and stuck it in his backpack.
“You said he was on a cliff?” Dirk asked with disbelief in his tone.
“It was the rock that overlooks the mouth of the stream.” I didn’t recall
John Swift’s actual wording from the journal. “It was in the journal.”
“Yeah. I know the rock. But there was no reason for him to go there.”
Dirk stood back up, signaling it was time for us to continue on our way. “He
was exploring the cave like we’d done so many times before.”
“Where were you?” I asked.
“I, um…” There was an uncomfortable pause. “I…”
I turned around, suspicious of his behavior. His face was flushed, and
sweat dripped down his face.
 “Are you okay?” I asked, stopping us.
“Fine.” He ran the sleeve of his shirt across his face. “I think I just need
to get back to camp.”
“Do you think you can help us with Mason?” I asked. “It’s just a few
more feet that way.”
“Of course.” He took a few steps, making me proceed.
I figured it best not to say anything else so he could preserve his energy
for our hike back to the campsite. The last thing the Laundry Club gals and
I needed was another body to try to carry.
“There you are,” Mary Elizabeth greeted me after Dirk and I had
climbed down the rock to the opening of the lake. “We were starting to
worry.” Her eyes shifted to Dirk. “He doesn’t look so good.”
Dirk shoved past me and right over to Mason’s body. He stood there
with a look of shock on his face. Sue Ann was still hovering over the
corpse.
Agnes, Queenie, and Abby walked over to me and Mary Elizabeth.
“I think he’s in shock. We need to hurry back,” I told the group. “Did
you find anything?” I asked Agnes.
“No. You?” We started to walk over to Dirk and Sue Ann.
“There’s some unanswered questions I have, but Dirk is in no shape to
answer them.” I shrugged.
“We need to get back.” Agnes started to bark some orders.
“Who do you think you are? You can’t just tell us what to do. He was
our friend.” Dirk’s tone was stiff.
“I’m Agnes Swift, an employee of the Normal Police Station, and I
hereby deputize myself to look into the murder until the law can drive into
camp.” All of her little, elderly body stood firm.
“Murder?” Dirk’s eyes popped open. “You think he was murdered?”
“I’m not sure, but we are treating it as such since the three of you”—she
pointed to him, Sue Ann, and Mary Elizabeth—“did threaten that you’d like
him dead.”
“Now wait a minute.” Sue Ann stood up. “You’ve lost your marbles.”
“Yep. The heat has fried your brain,” Mary Elizabeth chirped.
“Stop it!” Dirk screamed. “This is ridiculous. We need to get him back
to camp before the sun starts to set and the trees cover the forest with
darkness. Then we’ll be stuck out here.”
CHAPTER 12

“W hat the hell?” Ritchie ran over to the tree line from the
campfire when he noticed us walking out, carrying
Mason’s body.
“In the tent,” I grunted from packing my share of the weight. “Let’s put
him in there.”
“In this heat?” Sue Ann cried out from behind us.
“You want to put him in your camper? Then you can carry him to
wherever it is you’re staying.” Mary Elizabeth had about enough. After
Agnes took the pearls for evidence back at the water, Mary Elizabeth had
been spitting nails under her breath ever since.
“Fine.” Sue Ann shook her head and nuzzled against Dirk’s chest.
“Wait a minute.” Ritchie was in a panic. He jumped around each of us
as we walked to the tent. “What the hell happened?”
“Ritchie”—Agnes jerked around—“you say another curse word, and
I’m gonna tell your grandmother. We attend the same Sunday school
lesson.” She shook a finger at him. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes’m, but I’m just trying to figure out what happened here. I ain’t
never had no one die and certainly never expected someone as trained as
Mason Cavanaugh to have the curse laid upon him.” Ritchie continued to
follow alongside of us, his eyes on Mason.
“It was no curse. Someone wants you to think it’s the curse.” Agnes
made a lot of sense, and I wondered if she was right.
“Agnes, what if that’s it?” I couldn’t believe I’d not thought of that.
“We will talk about this once we get him in there,” she whispered. “Not
around those three.” She nodded at Dirk, Ritchie, and Sue Ann, who were
huddled around Mason’s body.
 “What are you doing with them?” Dirk asked Sue Ann. “Did you push
him?”
“What is it with you?” She shoved him. “I’ll push you.”
“Stop it, guys.” Ritchie grabbed Dirk’s shirt when Dirk started to go
after Sue Ann. “This isn’t going to solve anything.”
“How are we going to get to the police?” Dirk asked the first real
question that needed answering.
“I can’t get any signal with my CB,” Ritchie said. “I’ve been trying
since I got back here last night.”
We got Mason’s body on the cot he’d put in there. All of us gathered
around him and looked down. I closed my eyes and wished him to be alive
when I opened them. My wish wasn’t granted.
“Should we say a little prayer?” I asked. “I think we need to do
something.”
“Fine.” Mary Elizabeth always saw herself as a good Christian lady.
“Everyone close your eyes.” She muttered a quick prayer.
“Why would you want to hook up your CB if you didn’t think you were
going to use it?” Abby asked Ritchie after she must’ve taken the prayer’s
silence to think about what he’d said.
“It’s always a good idea when you’re out here like this to have some
sort of communication with the outside world.” He glared at Abby from the
other side of Mason’s corpse. “I look forward to when they get the asphalt
down so they can bring in electric.”
“Now what?” Sue Ann asked.
“We need to wait until Ritchie can get his CB up and running, or we can
get out of here once all the water dries up.” Agnes stomped the ground. The
mud splashed up under her hiking boot. “If we don’t get any more rain, this
heat and humidity will help dry up the ground, hopefully let us get out of
here.”
“You won’t be taking that big camper out of here. It’ll take a few more
days of no rain to drive that out through the mud.” Ritchie didn’t bring me
any hope. “I can get people out with my truck if it gets dry enough. I
guess.” He looked back down at Mason. “I could put him in the bed of the
truck.”
“That’s a plan.” Agnes wrung her hands. “No one leave this camp until I
say so. That includes you.” She looked at Sue Ann.
 “I can’t stay here. My crew is back at our camp, waiting on me. They
will go out and look if I don’t get back.” Sue Ann made a valid point.
“Then I’ll talk to you first. But right now, I need to go shower.” Agnes
looked at Ritchie. “There’s no more we can do for Mason. You and Dirk get
the fire started and get to cookin’. We all need to get a little somethin’ in
our stomachs.”
All the Laundry Club gals went back to the camper while the others did
what Agnes told them.
“I’ve got this CB from Dottie.” I retrieved the wadded-up mess of cords
from the storage underneath one of the couches.
“Oh my stars.” Agnes looked more scared of that than the idea of a
killer among us. “That’s as old as the one my Graham had.”
“I don’t know how to use it, but I can tell you this: we need to figure it
out.” When Abby held her hands out, I gave it to her.
“If we are taking handouts, I’ll take my pearls now.” Mary Elizabeth
held her hand out to Agnes.
Abby looked up from trying to untangle the wires, and I glanced their
way to see Agnes’s reaction.
“You will get those back after we find out what exactly happened to
Mason.” Agnes carried her backpack with the pearls and whatever other
evidence she had collected into the bathroom with her.
“Do you really think he was murdered?” Mary Elizabeth followed
behind her.
“I think there are a lot of variables.” Agnes and Mary Elizabeth stood in
the hallway. “I think there are three people who weren’t very happy with
him. I also think he was a professional hiker and climber who just so
happened to fall off a cliff that I’m sure he’d been on millions of times?”
Mary Elizabeth came back into the family room, and so did Agnes.
They sat down on the couch. Abby had gotten the CB free and walked back
toward the bedroom, where the radio and stereo equipment was located,
plugging the CB into any hole in which it would fit.
“There weren’t any cracks in the rock for him to trip. And I didn’t see
any puddles of water or slippery areas.” I gave my observation and poured
myself a cup of coffee now that it stopped brewing. “Here is what I know.”
I opened the kitchen junk drawer, where I had stored a notebook I’d used
for other murders I’d been involved in. I took out the notebook and pen.
 I walked down the hallway and gave the notebook to Abby. She set the
CB on the floor and joined us in the kitchen area.
“Not that I think you did it,” I stated directly at Mary Elizabeth and
scratched my forearm where the chiggers had gotten me. “But I’d not be
doing a good job of figuring out all the pieces unless I said this.”
Mary Elizabeth uneasily shifted positions on the couch, tucking her feet
up under her and nestling her hands between her legs.
“Mary Elizabeth and Mason had a lot of unkind words between them.
As we now know, her pearls were stolen.” I glanced over at Abby to make
sure she was writing all this down and using the diagram we’d used before
where we listed the victim then the suspects. Sort of like you’d see on one
of those crime shows. “He had approached Mary Elizabeth about buying
them. He offered a pretty penny, but she refused. He waited until we left to
go look for Abby’s map’s treasure to break into my camper and steal them.
Which he denied.”
I put that in there so we’d have it documented.
“We have Sue Ann Jaffarian. His ex-girlfriend of many years, who he
claimed stole his maps after he’d done generations of hard work to get to
this point. He also had her kicked out of the campsite and tried to get her
thrown out of the other one, creating a lot of anger in her.” I paced back and
forth as I dug deep into my memory for their exact conversation. “And she
just so happened to show up after he fell?”
“Don’t forget she did the finger-across-the-neck gesture.” Agnes did the
motion.
The goosebumps crawled along my neck as I watched her bony finger
cross her throat.
“Oh yeah.” Abby held her pen up in the air and then went back to
writing. “She said she wished the curse would get him.”
“Love and scorn is a good motive to kill someone,” I said, rubbing my
neck to take away the itching from those pesky bug bites.
“Then we have Dirk.” I glanced out the kitchen window over to the
headquarters tent, where Dirk still stood over the table, looking at the
drawings. He had a cup of coffee in his hand.
“Dirk? That’s his partner.” Queenie didn’t seem so convinced he could
be a suspect.
“But Dirk was supposed to get fifty percent of the treasure since Sue
Ann was knocked out of her percentage.” I wiggled my finger in the air.
“Mason told him he wasn’t getting the fifty this time, and it angered Dirk.
Money is a good motivator.”
“What was my motive?” Mary Elizabeth asked.
“Revenge. You wanted your pearls back, and when you saw him on the
rock with your pearls in his hand, you pushed him out of anger.” The words
rolled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“I’ll be…” She jerked, sitting up on the couch. She gave me a hard
stare. “I’m going for a walk.” She jumped up and headed straight out the
door.
“I have lime-green nail polish.” Queenie unzipped her fanny pack. “Dab
a little on each one of them chigger bites. It’ll kill the eggs under the skin.”
“Eggs are under my skin?” The thought of little bugs hatching under my
skin and living in my body was scarier than seeing Mason’s corpse.
“Maybelline! Mayyyybellllieeeeen!” Mary Elizabeth’s shrill voice
pierced the walls of the camper from the outside while me and the other
Laundry Ladies tried to figure out motive.
Nearly scalding myself with my coffee, I plunged toward the door and
opened it. Mary Elizabeth stood at the entrance of the headquarters tent,
screaming her head off.
Ritchie and Sue Ann were already running over to her.
“What’s she’s squalling about?” Agnes asked as we all piled out of the
camper.
“Dirk!” Mary Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hands.
Ritchie and Sue Ann pushed past her. I ran faster and faster to see what
was going on. Ritchie and Sue Ann had stopped once they got inside, but
they weren’t near the area where we’d placed Mason.
“Did you kill him too?” Sue Ann lunged toward Mary Elizabeth right as
I got there.
“Stop it.” I stood as a buffer just in time.
“Are you sure he’s dead?” Agnes asked.
I glanced over at Dirk’s body lying on the ground near the table where
he and Mason had looked over the maps. I walked over and bent down to
see if there were any signs of life. I shook my head at Agnes, signaling he
was dead.
I quickly observed the bowl of stew on the ground that it appeared he
had been eating. The cup of water sat on the table. It was as if he were
standing over the maps, eating. The thought of how he could be doing that
with Mason’s body in there was just unbelievable to me.
Mary Elizabeth had started to shake. Abby wrapped her arms around
her and took her out of the tent where they met Queenie. The three of them
walked to the camper.
“His eyes are open. There’s no pulse.” Ritchie gulped. “I think he’s
dead.”
“This is not good.” Agnes’s eyes shifted, but her face was still and stern.
Her saggy jowls quivered. “Ritchie, how are the roads?”
“I just got back from looking, and they are still too muddy to even think
about trying to move across them.”
“We need to move out of the tent. This is a crime scene, as are Dirk and
Mason’s campers.” Agnes used her arms to usher all of us out.
“It couldn’t be something he ate because we’ve eaten all the same
stuff,” Ritchie suggested. “Maybe they ate some wild berries? There’s no
visible signs of death.”
“I have to go. I can’t stay here any longer.” Sue Ann hugged herself.
“My crew will be out looking for me, and I’m afraid I’ll end up dead if I
hang out here.”
“I want to talk to you.” Agnes was insistent Sue Ann stay.
“I don’t have to…” Sue Ann started to protest before Abby saved the
day.
“I got the CB to work!” Abby yelled from the open door of the camper
and then ran over to us. “I got Dottie on the line, and she called the police.
Hank was with her.” She huffed and puffed as the adrenaline coursed
through her. “They are going to use some ATVs to try to get in here.”
“Abby!” I threw my arms around her. “You’re a genius.”
CHAPTER 13

T he Normal police had done one better than ATVs: they brought in
the National Park Rangers and their big Jeeps. The Rangers had
gone into the woods to where we told them Mason had fallen off
the cliff. Agnes told them he was pushed.
“I’ve never been so happy to see you.” I couldn’t stop staring at Hank.
“This has been a nightmare, and I think it’s the curse you told me about.”
“I’d bet there’s a logical explanation for why there are two men dead.”
Hank stood next to me and Agnes while we watched the police start their
investigation alongside the rangers.
“There is all right.” Agnes gave him a swift nod. “There’s a murderer
here.” She pointed directly at Sue Ann and Mary Elizabeth.
“Hold on. You don’t know that.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Agnes has
deputized herself in order to investigate.”
“You did?” Hank looked so pleased with his granny. She agreed with
pride. “What did you find out?”
“I found out Mason wasn’t very popular. Sue Ann Jaffarian is his ex
who he claims stole his maps to find the treasure. If that’s not enough, he
had her and her crew kicked out of here and almost out of the other
campsite. And it just so happened she’d come right around the corner after
Mason was pushed off the cliff.” Agnes’s thin brows cocked up. “Then we
had Dirk, but I guess he’s dead and really isn’t a suspect. Unless he
somehow killed himself.” She stopped talking, like that was a possibility.
“How is Mary Elizabeth on your list?” Hank asked in an entertaining
sort of way.
“Mason kept asking to buy her pearls off of her. He was very persistent.
Then, someone broke into our camper.”
 Agnes had told Hank too much. He looked at me with big eyes and a
dropped jaw.
“It’s fine.” I waved my hands. “At no time were we in danger.”
“We were. A killer and two dead.” Agnes was good about reminding us.
“Anyways, Mary Elizabeth accused him of stealing them. They were in his
hand when he fell off the cliff. I put them in my bag for evidence.”
“Don’t forget the finger.” Queenie ran a finger across her neck.
“That was Sue Ann, not Mary Elizabeth.” Agnes nodded. “Yeah. Sue
Ann.” She made the gesture.
“Be sure you tell the police all of this.” He held his hand out to shake
the hand of the officer who walked up to us. “Jerry, I think you know Mae.”
“Yes. Hello, Mae,” he greeted me. Jerry stood about six feet tall and was
probably in his sixties. A little bit of a belly showed underneath his blue
uniform. He had black hair. He was nothing special like Hank. I’d seen him
at the station a few times but never really talked to him. “Mae, I’m going to
need the keys to your campervan. It will have to be fingerprinted because
Ms. Moberly claims the pearls were stolen, and she wants to file a stolen
goods report. And if this does become a homicide team, we will have to
keep it here until our investigation is over.”
“The campervan is open. The keys are in the console.” What kind of
bad luck was going on here? First Mary Elizabeth’s pearls were stolen.
There was a terrible rainstorm that cut us off from the world, not to mention
no cell service. Then Mason died, followed up by Dirk dying, and now my
home was taken from me.
I was beginning to think the curse was real, and John Swift never
intended anyone to find his hidden treasure.
“How are you?” He focused his attention on Agnes. After all, she did
work for the man.
“You know me.” She winked. “Finer than frog’s hair. But I deputized
myself in order to keep this an investigation.”
“You did.” Jerry looked amused. “And what did you discover?”
Hank tugged me aside when Agnes started telling Jerry exactly what
she’d told Hank.
“Are you okay?” Hank asked again as if I’d had a few minutes to think
about it since he’d last asked.
“I’m fine. I just want to get my camper back to Happy Trails and be
done with this,” I told him and watched as the officers had Sue Ann and
Queenie sitting on the back of the Jeep, asking them questions.
“That won’t be tonight. It’s too muddy out there.” He ran his hand
through his hair and looked at me with his big green eyes. “I knew you
shouldn’t’ve come out here. I’m glad Granny was with you.”
“How’s Fifi?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.
“She’s fine, and you can’t avoid talking about this.” He wasn’t going to
stop poking the bear. “I mentioned bad weather. I told you there’s no cell
service out here. Thank God, Abby knows what she’s doing.”
“Are you kidding me?” I was annoyed. “It was fun until this. You can’t
keep me in a bubble, Hank. I live my own life.”
“Yes, you do. But I’m in it now, and it’s my job to protect you from the
evils that can happen in and around the forest.” He made it sound like a
third-world country.
“Are you two arguing?” Queenie must’ve satisfied the officer with her
answers as well as Sue Ann, because they’d been replaced by Abby and
Ritchie. “Is this the first spat?” she teased.
“He’s saying how it’s his job to protect me. I think I did all right out
here, didn’t I, Queenie?” I asked her for confirmation.
“I’ll let you protect me.” She winked.
“You are too much.” I shook my head. “When do you think I can drive
out of here?”
“It might be tomorrow.” He looked up, and the sun was giving its last
bit of heat before it sank behind the trees for the night. “Or it could be two
days. Depending on how quick it’ll dry.”
“I’m not staying here that long.” Queenie bounced on her toes.
“No. We will take y’all out tonight.” Hank rubbed his hand up and
down my back.
“Hank.” Jerry called Hank over. “Can I see you for a second?”
I watched as Agnes stood in between them. She was telling them
something that I couldn’t make out. She was talking softly, and her jowls
wiggled when she nodded her head while one of the officers talked to her.
“What do you suppose she’s saying?” Queenie asked me.
“I don’t know.” My eyes narrowed. “I have a sneaky suspicion she
knows something or saw something, and she didn’t tell us.”
Queenie, Abby, Mary Elizabeth and I had taken turns being brought out
of the campsite by a ranger on the back of an ATV to where Hank’s big blue
car waited on part of the new asphalt road.
 “Where’s Agnes?” I asked Hank when one of the rangers brought him
out of the campsite. I was squeezed on the hump in the middle of the front
seat with the lap belt on and Mary Elizabeth next to me. Queenie and Abby
were in the back.
Hank leaned across the front seat and looked at Mary Elizabeth.
“Why aren’t you in the back?” he asked her and ignored me.
“I want to be here with my daughter before someone hauls me off to
jail.” She patted my leg. “I’m not stupid. I know what those officers were
getting at when they asked me all them questions.”
“What questions?” I asked her. “You didn’t kill anyone.”
“You were off in the woods, peeing,” Queenie reminded us.
“You peed in the woods?” Hank put the keys in the ignition and started
the car. “That is out of your character.”
It was out of Mary Elizabeth’s southern manners to do anything of the
sort, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.
“See. Right there.” She turned her head and looked out of the window.
“It doesn’t mean she killed Mason.” I let out a long sigh and rolled my
eyes. “If anyone is to be looked at, I think it’d be Sue Ann Jaffarian.”
“The police will decide all of that.” Hank made a U-turn and headed
back to Normal.
“How is Happy Trails with all the rain?” I asked, hoping to get our
minds off the murders for a little bit of time.
“It’s all good. But I heard the rain devastated some of the primitive
camp sites. Sue Ann told the rangers where she and her crew were staying,
so they sent some other rangers there to see if they were stuck.” Hank
gripped the wheel. The tense jawline told me he was thinking, and I was
positive it was about the murders, something I would question him about
when it was just me and him.
“The dogs?” I asked, even though I’d asked earlier.
“I told you they are fine. Fifi will be happy to see you when we get back
to my place.” Hank glanced over and gave me a planted smile.
“She’ll be staying with me.” Mary Elizabeth’s mouth was clenched, a
sure sign she wasn’t happy.
“I’m not staying with you or you,” I told them both. “I’ve got an entire
campground of rentable campers and bungalows.”
“Fine.” Mary Elizabeth harrumphed.
 “Y’all are quiet.” I turned around and looked at Abby and Queenie.
Both were just staring out the window.
“I want to go home, get a good shower, and see what I missed on social
media.” Abby stared at the phone in her hand.
“I need some exercise to clear my head,” Queenie said with quiet but
desperate firmness. “I can’t believe the curse has struck again.”
“Oh.” Abby’s eyes grew. “I can hashtag the heck out of our trip and use
‘swift curse’ as the tag.” Abby’s face lit up when her phone dinged.
“Whoooohooo!” There was excitement in her voice. “I’ve got service.”
“We won’t see her for a week,” I joked about Abby being so tied to her
social media.
“Speaking of social media. Mayor MacKenzie was in the office when
Dottie got ahold of me, and she is all over this murder thing. She doesn’t
want anyone to say anything until the investigation is over.”
Hank knew the back roads so well. He was able to get us to Happy
Trails in no time.
“So it is a murder investigation.” I made a point to hear him admit it.
“I’m not saying that. I’m saying that she wants to make sure before
anything gets out.” He never liked how I could manipulate the words that
came out of his mouth.
“Looky there.” Queenie sat up on the edge of the back seat and laid her
elbows on the back of the front seat, staring out the windshield. “Dottie is
wearing the soles of her shoes out from pacing.”
The grass in front of Dottie’s camper was all patted down where it
looked like she’d been walking back and forth. Dottie must’ve heard us
driving up the gravel because she stood there with her hands on her hips,
pink sponge curlers in her hair and a cigarette dangling from her lips.
She waved her arms in the air, and her eyes were half closed as the
smoke billowed in her face.
“Wait!” she hollered when Hank almost passed her up.
He brought the car to an abrupt stop, and everyone but him opened their
doors.
“We’ll walk from here.” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be
down to get Fifi.”
“I can drop her off. And Chester, if you don’t mind.” There was that
look on his face again, the look that told me he was going to be working on
this case and there wouldn’t be any time for us.
 “So it is an investigation.” I eyed him when all the gals were out of
earshot and trying to tell Dottie their side of the story.
“It’s suspicious. That’s all. And they need all the manpower they can
get. I’m going to be looking into a few things for them while they process
the scene. The rangers are involved too.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure how
involved I’ll be or how much they’re going to need me, but I’m only
working on one other case that doesn’t even have to do with the John Swift
silver mines.”
“I’d love to keep Chester. Does that mean you won’t be back tonight?” I
asked.
“Probably not.” He put his hand on the side of my face. “I’m glad
you’re okay. When Dottie called, I got scared.”
“I’m fine,” I said just as Dottie tapped on Hank’s window.
He rolled it down.
“You’re staying with me tonight. We can get Joel Grassel to get in
Ritchie’s campsite tomorrow and tow you out if we need to.” Dottie showed
no signs of relenting. Her words were final.
“I can stay in one of the unrented campers.” I shook my head. “I don’t
need to be a bother to anyone.”
“Unrented?” She laughed. “Honey, when the rain fell, all those campsite
people came here to stay. We are booked solid. Get out of the car and grab a
shower. I’ve got some grub on over at the main campfire. You come on over
and get something good in your belly.”
“You heard the woman,” I said to Hank. “I’ll grab the dogs soon.”
After we kissed goodbye and got out of the car, Dottie leaned over and
whispered, “Uh-oh.” She lifted her chin at the car pulling in. “Here comes
trouble.”
Mayor Courtney MacKenzie drove by real slow, curling her finger at
me to come see her.
She parked her car near the office, which was right across from Dottie’s
camper. She got out, and before she headed toward me, I went ahead and
met her there. Dottie had rejoined Queenie, Abby, and Mary Elizabeth in
front of her place.
“What went on out there?” the mayor asked me.
“Good evening.” I took the moment to greet her. “I’m doing fine.”
“I know you’re fine, Mae. You’re always fine. But if you want to do the
pleasantries, how are you really?” She drawled with distinct mockery.
 “I’m starving, and I need a shower.” I pointed to the communal
campfire. “I… um…”
“What?” the mayor asked when it was apparent that I’d totally lost my
train of thought as I saw Sue Ann Jaffarian and her crew grabbing some of
the food.
“I’m not sure what went on out there. Like I told the police, we were
hiking, and all of a sudden Mason fell from the sky. After that, we got him
out of there, and the next thing we knew, Dirk, his partner, was also dead.” I
shrugged. “I’m thinking they ate some poisonous berries because they
aren’t from here.”
“Really?” She eyed me. “As experienced as they were?” she asked but
continued yammering on. “This isn’t going to look good and keep people
from coming to find the treasure. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort getting
those gravel roads paved with asphalt. It wasn’t easy. There were many
things I had to do besides go to Frankfort and lobby for the grants. I had to
go to the gaming commission, the National Parks commission, and the
agriculture commission.”
“I’m sure you went through a lot, but I can’t help that this happened.” I
wasn’t really sure what she wanted me to do.
“You can help keep this on the down low with all the campers who have
decided to stay here. If they hear these people could’ve possibly been
murdered, they will hightail it out of here, thinking the locals are killing off
people for the silver just like they did over at the Red River Gorge some
years back.”
I had no idea what she was talking about. But I nodded my head
anyways.
The Red River Gorge I did know. It was a very popular hiking area
some bit away from Normal. But the locals? That was nothing I knew
about.
“And her.” She jerked a look at Abby. “Tell her to stop posting stuff.
Making us look bad. I’ll be in touch with you later.”
I wanted to ask her why she would need to be in touch with me, but she
jumped back in her car and sped off.
“What was that about?” Dottie asked with the girls all waiting for my
answer after I walked back over to them.
“I have no idea.” I shook my head. “Something about she’s gone to
great lengths to get the asphalt and promote the Swift mine and for you to
stop your attacks against it on social media.”
“She called my tweets attacks?” Abby snarled and threw her stare at the
entrance of Happy Trails Campground.
“She said something about the Gorge.” I laughed. “We can revisit all
this tomorrow. Why don’t we grab some food so we can all get a good
night’s sleep?”
“And meet up at the Laundry Club in the morning?” Mary Elizabeth
asked.
We all looked at each other and grinned. It was the unsaid agreement we
all understood. If there were murders to be solved, and one of us was a
suspect, the only place we wanted to be was the laundromat.
Mary Elizabeth, Abby, and Queenie walked up to where my campervan
was supposed to be parked, jumped into their parked cars, and headed out
of the campground.
I grabbed my phone and quickly texted Dawn Gentry, honorary Laundry
Club lady and the co-owner of the Milkery with Mary Elizabeth, to give her
a quick update about what had transpired with Mary Elizabeth. I also told
her to keep an eye on Mary Elizabeth since they lived together and to call
me no matter what time it was if she needed me.
Her reply: You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ll call you in the morning.
I replied to her text: Meet us at the Laundry Club at eight a.m. if you
can make it.
“What on earth happened out there?” Dottie asked on our way over to
Hank’s camper to get the dogs. “The girls told me, but you know how they
all see things so differently.”
Dottie Swaggert wasn’t fooling me at all. She loved to gossip just as
much as the rest of the Laundry Club ladies.
“Do you really think Mary Elizabeth did it? I mean, according to
Queenie, she’s not sure who killed him, but she did say she couldn’t get
Mary Elizabeth’s actions out of her head.” Was Dottie telling me that
Queenie thought Mary Elizabeth could possibly have killed Mason?
“No.” I shook my head. “Mason really flirted with her, and she really
was buying it until he offered to give her money for the pearls. Then she
told him they were passed down from her great-grandmother. He was
practically salivating from the mouth.”
Why was I finding myself completely defending Mary Elizabeth when I
shouldn’t even respond to such ridiculous accusations?
 “Mae, according to Abby, Mary Elizabeth had decided to go to the
woods to use the bathroom. That’s completely out of her nature. Then
Mason falls to his death? She walks back around to y’all and immediately
goes to grab her pearls out of Mason’s hand? That was her first reaction?”
Dottie’s words made my insides curl with fright.
“Did they really tell you all that? Because it sure does sound like they
all believe Mary Elizabeth killed him.” It was not sitting right with me to
think our friends would truly believe she’d kill him. “What about Sue Ann
Jaffarian?”
“I’m just saying, according to…” she started again.
“According to who? According to what?” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t
want to hear any more.” Then I had a disturbing thought. “Did they tell the
police all this?”
Dottie shrugged and stood on the outside of Hank’s camper while I
reached up and opened the door. Fifi and Chester bolted out, focusing on
Dottie.
“Fifi,” I called my little white furball and bent down. When she heard
my voice, she darted over to me. “My sweet girl. Mama missed you.”
Fifi danced with delight in circles and tried to give me kisses on each
twirl. Chester nearly bowled her over, getting to me and almost knocking
me down. He was a lot stouter than my little poodle.
“They missed you so much.” Dottie patted me on the shoulder. “I even
missed you.”
“Awww. Dottie Swaggert, you do love me.” I stood up and gave her a
hug. “But I’m going to tell you Mary Elizabeth didn’t kill anyone.”
“According to…” she started again. I glared at her. “Mary Elizabeth is
the number-one suspect.”
CHAPTER 14

I t didn’t take a genius to know Mary Elizabeth would likely be

considered a suspect, but being the number-one suspect was far from
ideal.
Dottie and the dogs took a walk around the campground to make sure
everyone was settled. I took the moment to call Hank. There were some
questions I wanted to ask him. When the call went straight to voicemail, I
figured he’d gone back to the campsite to help out and didn’t have cell
service.
“Are you doing okay?” I’d decided to stop at the communal campfire,
where Dottie and Hank had prepared the skillet hamburger casserole, which
was a very inexpensive campfire supper when you needed to feed the
masses.
“We are fine.” Sue Ann Jaffarian had a big plate of food and a bottle of
beer. She didn’t look a bit upset or even fazed about being a suspect. “I just
wish Mason and Dirk were here too.” She put down her plate and picked up
the bottle.
I sat down in the chair next to her. This was my time to ask her any
questions that could help out Mary Elizabeth.
“Mason and I had some ups and downs. Currently on a down, but we
would’ve gotten over it.” She took a swig of her beer and leaned back in the
chair. “Mason was so focused on finding the treasure, he got sloppy. I told
him that one day he was going to be so unfocused that he was going to slip
up.” Her eyes teared.
“I’m sorry. I know you must’ve truly loved him.” I tried to be as
empathetic as I could, since I was trying to get something on her for the
police to focus on and take some heat off of Mary Elizabeth. “What map
was Mason talking about?”
“Map? What map?” she asked.
“When we questioned Mason why he made you leave the campsite, he
said it was because you’d stolen his maps, and it was obvious because you
were at the same treasure site as the map.” I might’ve stretched the truth.
That was what we politely called a lie. Mason didn’t say all of that, but he
did imply it. At least, in my opinion he implied she was there because of
that specific map.
“The map I took was a map of all the campsites in the area. It didn’t
have anything to do with the John Swift treasure.” She jerked her backpack
up from the ground and unzipped it, tumbling some of the contents out of it.
Mainly it was Ziploc baggies of food like the kind Mason had given us.
I bent down and picked some of them up. I understood the granola and nuts
for energy, but the salad was beyond my comprehension.
“Salad?” I asked when she stuffed them back in her bag and dug around
for something else.
“Yeah.” She snickered. “I have to keep my bowels moving.” She rolled
her eyes and continued to dig in the backpack.
“Most of the primitive campsites aren’t listed on the National Park’s
registry.” She took out a piece of paper, and in exchange for the Ziplocs, she
handed me the map. “I’m the one who made the map as we stayed at these
places. He didn’t want me to have what was rightly mine. I didn’t need his
help in trying to find different spots to look within the forest. Those places
are documented all over the John Swift journal entries and other treasure
hunters who’ve come before us.”
I looked at the paper. It was an outline of the Daniel Boone National
Forest with several Xs dotted around with the names of the campsites. A
few I’d recognized from just hearing around town or the hikers who would
come through the trails that lead into Happy Trails, but most of them I
didn’t even know existed.
“Can I get a copy of this?” I asked.
“You can have that one. I made several copies just in case Mason tried
to sneak into my camper and steal it. He was very sneaky.” Her voice
choked. There were tears in her eyes. “We had some really good times until
he got so greedy and wanted to cut me out. I wish I could take back the last
time I saw him.”
 “You mean the fight?” I asked.
“Yeah…” she trailed off. “I only wished I was able to confront Dirk like
I wanted to.”
“Dirk?” I questioned.
“He and Mason were in the final stages of their collaboration. After I
left, Mason told Dirk he’d give him half of the treasures found. Dirk had
been waiting a long time to replace me, and he’d spent the better part of the
last year doing all the research for this trip.” She wiped away a tear that’d
fallen down her cheek.
“I heard them arguing in the tent,” I told her. “He was saying how
Mason had gone back on the percentage.” I didn’t tell her all of the
conversation I’d overheard, since it was something I needed to tell Hank
now that I remembered that little piece of their argument.
“They were fighting?” Her chin dropped to her chest. “I told Mason not
to mess around with lies. But he thought he could just throw his weight
around like he was the only one who could find any treasure, no matter
where we went on hunts. I just couldn’t take his greediness anymore.”
“So you broke up with him?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Her head jerked up, her brows furrowing. “Did you think
differently?”
“I wasn’t sure when he talked about you. It was never clear.” I sucked in
a deep breath and pushed myself up to stand. “It’s been a long couple of
days, and I’m going to head on to bed. Let me know if you or any of your
crew need anything.”
“Thanks, Mae. I’m sorry your mom is wrapped up in all this, but I truly
think Dirk did it. He had motive, and I’m not so sure he didn’t end his own
life.” Her words made my stomach clench tight.
Dirk and Mason did have a fight. It was about money. Like Sue Ann
said, Mason was greedy, and ultimately, was that what got him killed? How
did Dirk die?
All of these were questions that would need time, and maybe a good
night’s sleep would bring me some clarity, plus give the police enough time
to get some preliminary answers.
CHAPTER 15

I t was too bad I let Hank live in one of the nicer campervans I had to
offer for guests. There were different levels of camping in Happy
Trails and different ways to camp. I was so happy to have been able to
offer some campervans where campers could actually rent them and drive
them in and around the Daniel Boone National Park.
When Hank had moved in, renting actual campervans was a new
concept Abby Fawn had started to market for me on behalf of Happy Trails.
I never figured it’d be one of the hotter commodities with guests. Now, we
had a long line of reservations, and Hank taking one of them up wasn’t
helping out my bottom dollar, but it did make me happy he was here.
The inside of the van was perfect for a couple of people. The two
captain’s chairs in the front did turn around. There was a small table with
two built-in bench chairs on either side. Across was the kitchenette with a
two-burner stove, a small oven, and a microwave built into the storage
cabinets above. In the back of the van was a full-sized queen mattress and
not more than a closet-sized bathroom with a handheld shower.
When Joel Grassel had found it and sold it to me, my foster brother
Bobby Ray and I had gone to great lengths to clean it up and get it all ready.
Since Bobby Ray was the best mechanic in all of Kentucky, he had the
thing purring like it was brand new. We’d laid in a new wood floor, and I’d
gotten new white cabinets and butcher block counter tops. The table was
also made of butcher block, with blue accents. The light colors made the
campervan feel larger than it really was, and there was plenty of storage.
Hank didn’t drive it as it was meant to be, and since the dogs and I had
slept there last night, I found it to be a lot more comfortable than I’d
expected.
 Instead of making coffee or even walking over to the guests next door to
grab a cup of joe from their early-morning campfire, I’d decided to head on
into Normal and get a cup of coffee from The Trails Coffee Shop. I was
going to meet the gals at the Laundry Club anyways, and Dottie was
already working for me, since I was still supposed to be on the treasure
hunt. I wasn’t going to waste my morning.
Besides, I was a little antsy to see if Hank had heard anything about
how Dirk had died. If it was a case of death by his own hand, Mason’s
murder could be solved and shut, which meant Mary Elizabeth was
completely off the hook.
“You two stay here.” I put some kibble in Fifi’s and Chester’s bowls
after I let them back in from doing their business. “I hope we get our home
back today.” I gave Fifi a good scratch on the ear, grabbed my bag, and
headed out the door to get into my car.
It wasn’t any sort of lavish car. Again, Joel Grassel had it on the lot
when I’d first rolled into town, and when it became very apparent I wasn’t
leaving Normal anytime soon, it was much easier to buy a cheap car,
because that was all I could afford, and keep the campervan parked at the
campground.
My mind was so occupied with what Sue Ann had told me. It was a
shame I wasn’t taking in the gorgeous scenery. About this time every year,
and under the right conditions, dogwoods and sumacs turned red and
purple, sugar maples turned orange and red, oaks, sourwoods and sweet
gums took on red hues, and poplars and hickories turned yellow and gold. It
was truly a spectacular real-life painting.
One-way roads ran down Main Street, with a grassy median between
them. It wasn’t just any median. It was one where people gathered at the
picnic tables that stood among the large oak trees on each side of an
amphitheater and covered seating area. Thick white pillars you’d see on the
front porch of a plantation home held up the structure. Each post had a real
gas lantern hanging off it. Large ferns toppled over several ceramic planters.
There were twinkling lights around each pole, giving it such a romantic
feel.
There were little shops that ran along each side of Main Street. They
ranged from the Smelly Dog, which was a pet groomer, to the Normal
Diner, the Tough Nickel Thrift Shop, and Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, along with
more boutique-type shops that I couldn’t wait to check out. The display
windows of each shop even had visions of family camping and summers in
Normal—as well as the much-needed Trails Coffee Shop, which was where
I had my eyes set on.
All the shops were free-standing cottage-style homes with a small
courtyard between them. Today, there were some open tables at the Trails
Coffee Shop, perfect for me to sit and enjoy my first cup of the day.
“It’s a little early for you.” Gert Hobson was the owner of the coffee
shop. “Did you not get your order? That new delivery guy is about to get
delivered some firing.” She shook her head.
“No.” I waved my hands in front of me to stop her blood pressure from
rising. “I’m sure your coffee is there. I’m not working today so I decided to
come into town early and enjoy a nice cup of coffee right here.”
I had an agreement with many of the local businesses in Normal. I only
used their products in my campground. I served complimentary coffee from
Gert alongside the Cookie Crumbles’ donuts, or scones or muffins in the
recreational center at the campground. The guests were also offered many
different baskets to purchase with various local goodies in them. For
instance, if they wanted more coffee, for a small fee they could purchase a
coffee basket that featured Gert’s specialty coffees and treats. If they
wanted a spa kit, which were very popular with the girls’ weekends, they
could purchase a basket put together from Cute-icles. It was my way of
giving back to Normal after what my ex-and-now-dead-husband, Paul, had
done to the town. In turn and just because the people in Normal are good,
the area businesses put Happy Trails Campground flyers in their shops and
even in customers’ bags.
It truly was an amazing community, and I was proud to now call it
home.
“Well.” She smacked her hands together. “You’re in for a real treat
being this early.” A huge smile curled up on the edges of her lips. “I’m in
there right now trying a new hot brew that I’m going to feature for
Christmas.”
“Christmas?” I jerked back, giving her an are-you-crazy look.
“Now, don’t be looking at me all googly eyed. When you own a coffee
shop, you have to think a few months ahead so you can create the perfect
holiday blend.” Swiftly she turned around and stopped at the door. “What
are you waiting for? Christmas?” she laughed. “Get on in here.”
 Gert had really taken the name to a whole ‘nother level inside. There
were café tables inside as well as long farm tables. In the middle of the
tables, she’d repurposed old bourbon barrel lids and made really cool lazy
Susans out of them. Each one had little containers of different condiments
you’d need for any type of coffee. It was like each table had its own little
coffee bar that could just be twirled around to make the perfect cup of
coffee.
One of the walls was a living wall. She’d had some fancy architect
come in and design it especially for the shop using only the plants, flowers,
and greenery local to the Daniel Boone National Forest. It was pretty neat.
“I just love it in here.” I continued to look around while she got my
special coffee ready to sample. “Is it busy like this all the time?”
I moved to the far end of the counter so her employees could wait on the
already-long line of customers so early in the morning.
“They all like to get a head start on most of the trails before it gets too
hot or crowded.” She pushed all sorts of buttons on a fancy machine, and
then she stirred and crushed up some beans. I watched in awe as she created
something that was in her head without reading from a piece of paper.
She looked extremely busy at the moment, so I took the opportunity to
walk around and check out some of the local items posted on her corkboard.
Most of the business had a corkboard on the wall, showing the different
things going on in the amphitheater or just around Normal. The John Swift
flyer stood out the most. It was from Ritchie’s campsite. He was offering a
discount if you stayed at his place, something I either had no idea about or
had taken advantage of automatically, since he’d immediately asked for the
cash after we parked. Then I wondered if I could get my money back since
we didn’t stay, but it wasn’t that much, so I just put that out of my mind and
moved on to the next bulletin on the corkboard.
It was from the National Forestry and Rangers in the Daniel Boone
National Forest. It had a picture of a five-leaf plant that looked like poison
ivy, and in bold red ink it read ALERT.
That got my attention.
No one wants to get poison ivy on any sort of trail. Henry was great
about getting it all chopped down at the beginning of the trails that led in
and out of Happy Trails because I didn’t want any of my campground
guests having to deal with that.
 I read, “In an effort to increase wild ginseng populations on national
forest lands, a ban prohibiting ginseng harvest in the Daniel Boone National
Forest has been extended through the harvest season, from Sept. 1 to Dec.
1.”
Ginseng? I took another look at the leafy plant they’d displayed
underneath the big red alert.
I continued to read: “It’s illegal to harvest any ginseng,” Forest
Supervisor Ken Bailey said. “Only Kentucky licensed dealers can legally
export ginseng out of Kentucky, and it must be accompanied by appropriate
documents. A harvester may apply to become a dealer to certify one's own
roots. Diggers, this includes mailing your ginseng to an out-of-state dealer,
leaving the state post-harvest, or meeting with an out-of-state dealer by
vehicle. Kentucky ginseng cannot legally leave the borders of Kentucky
without an export certificate issued by our agency.”
I reread the quote. I’d never even known ginseng was a thing in the
forest.
“The forest stopped issuing ginseng collecting permits in an attempt to
boost the plant’s population in the forest due to years of noticeable ginseng
decline across the forest. Remember you have to have a legal permit to even
harvest ginseng.” The article continued with a statement from Ken Bailey.
“This year those permit holders are on suspension, and there will be no
harvesting this season. If you do and are caught, you will be prosecuted.
There is a hefty fine and a minimum prison sentence starting at six years.”
“Mae, your coffee is ready,” I heard Gert say.
After I scanned down the rest of the article, I went to get the fancy
coffee where she’d designed a Christmas tree, of all things, in the foam.
“Seriously?” I questioned her with half a smile. “The last thing I want to
think about is Christmas. It’s my least busy time, and I generally have to
take a job with Betts Hager in her cleaning service to make ends meet.
Though I’m really working hard at trying to save any extra money at the
campground so we don’t have many lean months.”
“The campground is rocking. You’re doing amazing things still.” She
was referring to the key I’d gotten from Mayor MacKenzie a few months
back after I’d helped improve the region’s economy by upgrading the
campground and adding all the new features that really made camping a lot
more glamorous than it had been in years.
 “Thanks. It’s just that everyone wants to hibernate in the winter and not
take hiking trips.” I picked up the ceramic mug, lifted it to my lips, and took
a little sip. I closed my eyes and let the warm, cozy peppermint-infused
liquid slide down my throat. “It sure does taste like Christmas.” I licked my
lips and took another sip. “Any chances I can get this in a to-go cup? I have
to meet some of the gals at the Laundry Club this morning.”
“I’ll make all of them a cup.” Gert winked and headed back to her fancy
equipment, where she started that whole process all over again.
I took the mug over to a little table out of the way of the other
customers, sat in the café table near the corkboard, and snapped a photo of
the alert from the forestry department.
I texted Dottie: Have you heard of this crazy ginseng thing?
Dottie texted back: Big business if you are one of the lucky ones to get a
permit.
I texted back: Do you have a permit? Or know of anyone who has one?
Dottie texted back: Nope. But I know plenty of people who do it
illegally. Why? You need some?
I texted: No! I don’t even know what ginseng does.
Dottie texted a laughing emoji due to my ignorance. But with a quick
internet search on my phone, it was easy enough to find out that Kentucky
was a huge ginseng importer to Japan. Ginseng was claimed to help boost
energy, lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels, reduce stress, promote
relaxation, treat diabetes, and manage sexual dysfunction in men, which
seemed like it was good for everyone.
I just might need to check into being a harvester myself. That might
bring in enough money for future winters, now that Gert had that in my
head.
“Here you go.” Gert walked over with the cardboard coffee holder filled
with the to-go cups. “If you need more, let me know. I’ll have them right
over.”
“Thanks, Gert.” I stood up and sucked down the last little bit from my
mug. “You’re so kind. The ladies are going to love this. Thank you.”
“You seem awful interested in the ginseng poster.” She took the pin out
of the paper and held it out. “I’ve got plenty more back there to replace it.
They give me stacks so people don’t rip one down.”
“I had no idea this was a thing.” I was still in a bit of a shock.
 “Crazy. People think all us locals born and bred here grow marijuana
and all sorts of illegal things on the forest since it’d be so hard to track, but
it’s the ginseng that’s so widely and worldly in demand that no one really
outside of the forest knows about.” She laughed.
“Maybe I can become a harvester to help supplement the income in the
winter I was telling you about.” I shrugged and put the paper in my bag,
making sure to steady the coffee carrier.
“Not this year or you’ll get thrown in the pokey,” she joked on my way
out the door.
CHAPTER 16

“C offee!” I hollered over at Abby, Queenie, and Betts Hager as

I backed in the door, rear first, in hopes they’d run over and
help me with the door or take the coffees from me.
No chance. The three of them sat on the couch in the family room area
of the Laundry Club, glued to the television. But Agnes Swift had just
walked out of the bathroom and hurried over to help.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see her.
“I stopped by to check on you before I headed back to work.” She was
so sweet and kind.
We walked over to the group.
“I’m fine.” I was going to tell her more, but the others were annoyed.
“Shhh! Hank is doing a press conference.” Queenie and the other two
didn’t even look my way.
“Why is Hank doing the press conference?” I asked and shuffled over,
careful not to spill the coffee.
Like vultures, they each grabbed a cup and sat back down. Abby picked
up the remote and turned the volume up, her rude way of telling me to be
quiet.
“If anyone was hiking during these hours around the Furnace, please
contact the Normal Police Station. Even if you didn’t see Mason Cavanaugh
or Dirk Ivy. Any and all information is collected, and the slightest thing
might be able to help bring us closure about what happened to these two
hikers.” Hank was looking directly into the camera. “Thank you.”
“Oh my stars,” Betts Hager gasped, making her bangs fly to the side of
her forehead. She pushed back a strand of her wavy brown hair and curled
her leg up under her other leg, nestling the coffee in both hands. “I tell all
the kids at the church to be careful during any hikes because all experienced
hikers can have accidents.”
Betts was very active in our local church, Normal Baptist Church. In
fact, in a former life, which we didn’t talk about much, she was the
preacher’s wife. Though her ex was no longer the preacher or even in
Normal, Betts kept an active role there and really enjoyed working with the
youth. She did work with the prisoners in one of Kentucky’s state prisons.
After a twist of events, she changed her ministry focus to the youth
program. She’d been really good at it too.
“What is going on?” I was so confused.
“They confirmed Mason died from his fall, and Dirk died of a heart
attack. Hank said he’d interviewed other hikers, meaning us, along with
local Ritchie Stinnett. Ritchie said he saw Sue Ann and Dirk talking at his
campsite during the time it was confirmed Mason had died. He said he
overheard Dirk tell Sue Ann something about Mason trying to find the
treasure at the Furnace when she told him Mason cleared her team to go
there. Dirk and Sue Ann took off on the trail to find him,” Agnes said.
“That’s why Sue Ann was there. And I found Dirk at the mouth of the
cave. He said Mason was in there, but I told him he wasn’t.” I was glad the
initial reports came back that the deaths were from natural causes because
Normal didn’t need any more murders.
I opened my bag and took out a paper, putting it on the coffee table.
“Here is the map Sue Ann supposedly took from Mason. It was her own
map that he didn’t want to give her. She broke up with him. So now that we
know Hank has apparently cleared her as a suspect, then we can too.”
Abby leaned over and took the paper from the table. “What is this?” she
asked and turned it around.
“Sorry. Wrong paper.” I dug back in my bag and took out the map.
Agnes picked it up and looked at it. “I’ll take it with me and make us
copies at work.” Agnes made a good suggestion, since I guessed we were
all treasure hunters together. “Speaking of work. I’ve got to hit it.” She
folded up the paper and said her goodbyes.
“What was that other paper?” Abby asked once we settled back into our
little group and enjoyed our coffee.
“I might just become a ginseng harvester. I saw that on Gert’s
corkboard. I had no idea it was a big deal around here.” I gave Abby the
flyer I’d taken from the Trails Coffee Shop corkboard.
 “It’s a huge deal. You wouldn’t believe how strict they are on the whole
thing. If you can get a license to harvest, I’d love to be an employee and
work for you.” Betts made it clear by her statement how difficult it must be
to get that license.
I’ve never been deterred by hard work.
“Anyways, do you have the notebook?” I asked Abby about the
notebook I generally kept in my camper, which was still stuck at the
campsite, where we always wrote down different ideas and clues about the
other murders and crimes that we’d decided to investigate.
On our own, of course.
“Yep.” She reached down and pulled it from her purse. “You can put it
back in your campervan.”
I took it from her and put it in my bag along with the map Sue Ann had
given me.
“Maybe when Sue Ann and her crew leave, we can use her map to look
for the treasure.” I wiggled my brows, still very interested in finding the
treasure.
“Do you think Mary Elizabeth will be up for it?” Queenie laughed. “She
sure did not understand how we didn’t have electric.”
Abby and Queenie spoke over each other, telling Betts how
uncomfortable Mary Elizabeth had been when she realized it was primitive
camping.
“Mary Elizabeth.” My phone rang. “Speak of the devil.” I showed the
three of them the screen of my phone with Mary Elizabeth’s name scrolling
across. “I hope you got some good sleep last night,” I answered the phone.
“Listen to me. The police said I can come get my pearls.” She talked
about how she wanted them back and attached around her neck as soon as
she could.
She yammered on about how she felt naked without them while a text
from Hank came through saying my campervan had been released, and he’d
take me to the campsite to pick it up.
“I’m heading to the station to get a ride to the campsite now that Hank
has cleared the deaths as due to natural causes and released the campsite.”
Inwardly, I groaned, wondering if they had used fingerprint powder all over
my home and how much time I would have to spend cleaning it up.
“You don’t mind?” Her southern voice dripped through the phone. “I’d
be ever so grateful. We are so busy here, and I don’t want to leave Dawn
alone again.”
“No problem, as long as you have me over for supper.” My hint wasn’t
so subtle, but I knew if I had to clean my campervan, the last thing I wanted
to do was to cook supper.
“Supper it is. And you can invite your cute boyfriend too.” Mary
Elizabeth giggled and hung up the phone.
“Since we don’t have any murders to investigate, I guess I’ll be heading
over to the station and have Hank drive me to get my campervan.” I
gathered all my things and made sure everything was in my bag.
“I guess I can go to the library and cut my vacation off short.” Abby
grabbed her phone. “Hashtag hikers beware of dangers even if you are
experienced. Hashtag even experts die.” She continued to ramble on as she
typed on her social media about the press conference Hank had given and
the findings.
“I’m going to head on over to the Normal Baptist Church undercroft to
teach.” Queenie adjusted her leg warmers before she stood up. “I had a
student teaching today, but since I won’t be wearing my sleuthing
headband, I might’s well get my sweat on.”
“What about you?” I asked Betts.
“I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on and get some activities ready
for youth group tonight.” She sighed. “I am relieved everything is all good
and no murderers on the loose.”
“Yeah.” I laughed and headed back to the door. “Me too!”
CHAPTER 17

T he police station was a little bit outside downtown in the business

district. The white courthouse was the tallest building and right in
the middle. The police station was attached to the courthouse. The
line of police cars was parked on the side like always.
I headed through the door, and instead of the quiet I normally heard
when I visited, there was a lot of chattering and moving around in the
entrance, where there was another door that actually led into the police
station. Agnes was sitting on her perch behind the sliding glass window
with her head down.
“Can I help you?”
The nameplate on the other side of the glass had Agnes engraved across
the brass plate, and I ran my finger across it.
“I said, can I help you?” She finally looked up at me. “Mae, get on in
here.” She waved me to the door, where I heard it buzz to unlock. “I haven’t
had time to make copies of the map for our group.”
“No problem. It’s busy in here this morning,” I said to her and looked
around.
“They’ve been working on a big case and pulling all sorts of hikers and
campers in here to question.” She smacked her hands together and got off
her stool, giving me a hug. “I hear you get your home back.”
“I do. Where is Hank?” I asked.
“Oh dear.” There was a worried look on her face. “He did mention
something about you coming here when I first walked in, but I forgot what
he told me to tell you. I was so busy getting some warrants ready to send
over to the judge, then the mayor called all up in arms wanting to talk to
Jerry, that I plumb didn’t listen to a word that boy told me to tell you.”
 “It’s all right. I’ll just go look for him.” It wasn’t something I was used
to with Hank. He’d tell me one thing, then get dragged elsewhere by work.
“He ain’t here. He had to go out on the investigation he’s been working
on.” She frowned. “Can I help you?”
“He was going to take me to get my van.” Not that I expected Agnes to
do anything, but I did want my house back.
She looked up at the clock and back at me.
“Listen, it’s only eleven, but I was taking lunch anyways because
Precious is at the Smelly Dog, getting a cut. I was going to go get her and
take her home because I just hate having her stay there all day long. It just
frightens her so much.” Agnes referred to one of Fifi’s puppies, which she’d
had with Roscoe the pug . “You know I can’t turn down those free
haircuts.”
Ethel Biddle, owner of the Smelly Dog Groomer, and Roscoe had felt so
bad about Roscoe taking away Fifi’s pristine accreditation that she offered
Fifi and Roscoe’s offspring free grooming for life. Hank had given one of
the puppies to Agnes, and Precious was much loved.
“If you don’t mind me running her home, I can drive you out to the
campsite. I’m not sure what you’d do with your car here, but at least you’d
have your home back.” She made a great point and one I didn’t want to
refuse.
“Perfect. When can you leave?” I asked. There was no sense in dilly-
dallying around all day when I could be at the campground with Dottie so
we could get the rentals ready for the next group of guests.
“I can go now and be back by one.” She reached up to the window and
clicked the lock, grabbed her little pocketbook, and gestured for us to go out
the back door.
“I can get Hank to drive me here to get the car anytime.” I followed
behind Agnes to the back door, where the employees and police cars were
parked.
“What did you think about Colonel Holz’s preliminary autopsy?” Agnes
asked on our way back to town, where the groomer was located.
“I’m glad there isn’t a murderer out there. But there were still so many
people who wanted Mason dead that it’s hard to believe he slipped.” But
who was I to go against what Mason’s body had told Colonel Holz’s
autopsy report?
 Colonel Holz was the doctor and the coroner, so he’d know like he
always did.
“I told Hank I just couldn’t believe how Mason had fallen. If I’d not
seen it with my own eyes, maybe, but the way he fell”—she shook her head
—“didn’t sit well with my soul.”
She found a parking spot right up in front of the Smelly Dog Groomer
and turned the car off.
“You comin’?” she asked.
“I was going to stay in the car.” I didn’t see a reason for me to go in
with her.
“Hodge-podge. Come on in and say hi to Ethel.” She got out and shut
the door, waiting on the sidewalk for me to get out.
“I guess I’m going,” I muttered to myself and unbuckled the seat belt.
“It’s good manners to say hello. And just too dang hot to stay in a car.”
She shuffled to the door, and I reached around her to open it.
We were greeted with the sounds of buzzing hair dryers, dogs barking,
dogs whining, and a whiff of dog shampoo.
“Hey there.” Orlene Roth, the young girl behind the counter, had a big
grin on her burnt face. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and it
swung as she talked. “Oh, Mae, we don’t have Fifi.”
“I’m here with Agnes.” Agnes had already walked over to the door with
the Employees Only sign and walked through. “She’s just made herself at
home.”
“You know Agnes.” Orlene winked. She worked here during the
summer when she was on school break. I’d gotten to know her when I was
doing a little substituting at the high school. “She just does whatever it is
she wants to do.”
Boy, was I glad that gig was over.
“You been to the beach?” I asked Orlene and walked over to the
corkboard to see if Ethel had any good specials I could pass along to my
camper guests. A lot of hikers and campers had animals. Some of the full-
time RVers would make appointments when they did long stops to get their
animals groomed.
“Nah. It’s fake.” She shrugged. “My mama tells me not to lie in them
tanning beds, but when I go to Sally Ann Dean over at the Cute-icles, I just
can’t help but hop right on into the bed for a quick glow.”
The employee door opened, and out ran Precious with no leash.
 “Precious.” I bent down and called for the little squirt. After she heard
me, she ran over and jumped into my lap, ready for some good kisses. “You
are so cute,” I gushed over Fifi’s little baby girl.
Even though Roscoe and Fifi were an unlikely pair, they sure did make
some cute pups.
“I reckon you’re ready.” Agnes came out with the purse swinging by her
side. “Anything new on the board?” Agnes asked and looked at the
advertisements.
“Did you see this?” I asked her about the same notice the National
Forestry had put out about the ginseng.
“That’s big business around here.” Agnes did a quick search of the
board before she turned around to leave. “See you, Orlene. Tell your mama
and them I asked about them.”
I held on to Precious since it seemed Agnes didn’t bring her a leash and
walked out with her. Once we got into the car, I put Precious in the back,
but she jumped right back up in front after I’d put my seatbelt back on.
“That ginseng thing.” I adjusted in my seat so Precious could have a
little more room. She looked like Fifi but was the size of Roscoe the pug .
“I think I might just see if I can be a harvester.”
Agnes shifted in her seat and gripped the wheel. She was eerily silent.
“What’s wrong?” I asked and held on as she sped out of downtown onto
the windy road that led to Ritchie Stinnett’s campsite.
“Nothin’,” she said, but I knew something was bugging her.
“I know you better than that.” I eyed her suspiciously and held on to
Precious for dear life. “Plus, you’re a little heavy footed.” I referred to her
driving.
“You need to talk to Hank about the harvesting. He knows a lot more
about that than I do. So before you do anything, you talk to him.” She
slowed the car down when the big orange triangle signs signaling road
construction started popping up every few feet. “Do you hear me?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” I was a bit taken aback by her adamant attitude where she
just didn’t want to talk about it. “I was just going to ask you about it.”
“Don’t.” The tops of her wrinkly hands were white from how hard she
was holding on to the wheel. “I’ll quickly drop you off so I can get Precious
home.”
“Did I do something to offend you?” I questioned. “Because if I did, I’d
like to know. You know me. I own up to my misgivings, and I’m not about
to let another second go by without knowing what’s crawled up in you and
died.”
So there might’ve been a smidgen of a lack of respect for Agnes Swift
at this moment, but I wouldn’t keep going and thinking I’d done something
when I clearly had not. If Hank’s family had said something to her to make
her change her mind about our relationship, then I wanted to know. It was
no secret they weren’t very happy he’d moved off their property and come
to live in my campground. In fact, his own mama said it was like he moved
in with me, which was a big no-no around these parts before you were
married. When I denied that false statement she made, she said living in the
same campground was pert near the same thing.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind. There ain’t nothing crawled up in me.” She
looked around. “Woooweee, this new asphalt sure is nice. I do hope the
mayor gets exactly what she thinks she’s gonna get because she did have a
lot of the ginseng fields taken out.”
“Now you want to talk about ginseng?” I was so confused. Was Agnes
starting to lose it? She was eighty years old, and sometimes the mind went.
“Nope. I’m just saying these asphalt roads sure have people up in arms
since it’s taken a lot more land than originally anticipated with the grant.”
Agnes wanted to tell me something, and she was doing a terrible job
covering it up.
“Spill it,” I told her and waved when the road crew let us pass where the
gravel road picked up.
“What?” she asked all innocent, as much as an eighty-year-old woman
who loved to speak her mind could. She took two fingers and twisted them
in front of her lips like she was locking something. “Tick a lock.”
“Mmm-hhmmm. I’ll get it out of you.” I had to smile at her. She was so
cute, and I adored her as much as Hank did.
For the next few minutes, I sat back and closed my eyes to let the
sunshine peeping through the trees and the window warm my face until
Agnes took a sharp right down the gravel road toward the campsite.
“Looks like we got company.” Agnes noticed another camper had
pulled into the campsite near Ritchie Stinnett’s cabin. “I’ll drop you off at
your camper, and then you get on out of here with Precious. Hank will bring
her to me tonight.”
“I thought you said you wanted to drop her off at home,” I said. Agnes
was making me wonder if she wasn’t all there right now. She was talking in
circles, being vague, and acting a wee bit nuts. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
I opened her car door and noticed Sue Ann Jaffarian was taking down
the big tent Mason had made as headquarters for his hunt.
“Look, Sue Ann must be gathering all Mason’s things. I bet she’s super
sad.” A twinge of pain hit my stomach at the thought of losing a loved one
to something like a strange and unexpected accident like a fall.
“Where you going?” Agnes had jerked open her door and yelled after
me.
“I’m going to go say hello to her.” I didn’t want to, but I had no choice.
I had to tell Hank about Agnes’s odd behavior.
“Don’t go near her!” Agnes called after me, but it was too late. Sue Ann
was walking toward me. “She’s illegally harvesting ginseng!”
“Illegally what?” I turned to look back at Agnes, who was walking as
fast as she could toward me. Then I turned around when I heard a click.
Sue Ann Jaffarian pointed a handgun right at my head.
“Ritchie! Get out here now!” she screamed over to Ritchie’s little cabin.
“We got trouble!”
“Trouble” was all Ritchie needed to hear. I stood with my arms up,
looking back and forth at Agnes and Sue Ann Jaffarian. Apparently, I’d
totally missed what Agnes did to make Sue Ann mad.
Ritchie jerked open the door of his little cabin. He looked over at the
three of us and reached inside the cabin, pulling out a shotgun.
CHAPTER 18

“W hat is going on here?” I tried to steady my voice as I

looked at Sue Ann Jaffarian and Agnes Swift. The
generation between them showed on their faces. “There’s
clearly something I’m missing. There’s no need for a gun.”
For some weird reason, I thought Sue Ann would listen to me and put
the gun down, but that was positive thinking for sure.
“Lord have mercy on our souls,” I whispered when I noticed Ritchie
was taking all of Sue Ann’s orders.
“Ritchie, has your butter slid off your biscuit?” Agnes asked.
I wished she’d not insulted him in this particular situation, but she kept
going.
“When I see your mama and daddy at church on Sunday, I’m gonna tell
them exactly what you did here. Holding me at gunpoint. I’d be ashamed.”
Agnes scolded him, not caring a bit about his shotgun pointed straight at
her.
“Shut up. I’m so tired of listening to you talk and talk and talk.” Sue
Ann’s attitude took a big turn. With one hand she bent down and picked up
the rope from the information tent of Mason’s that she had taken down, and
kept the gun still pointed at us. “Tie them up.” She threw the rope to
Ritchie.
“She’s right.” Ritchie sounded a little beat up from Agnes yelling at
him. He walked over to me with the rope and jerked my hands behind my
back. “My mama and daddy will be disappointed if we get caught.”
Sue Ann’s face contorted in all sorts of ways that said she was annoyed.
The huffing and puffing coming out of her was worse than a choo-choo
train trying to travel up a steep hill.
 Agnes and I stood before her with our hands tied behind our backs.
“We aren’t getting caught. We will kill them and dispose of the bodies
in the campfire. Go get it good and hot.”
“Mae, you were asking about ginseng harvesting. Well, it seems Sue
Ann can answer anything you need to know because she and Ritchie
Stinnett have been illegally harvesting for the better part of five years, and
that’s why she killed Mason Cavanaugh.” Agnes was about to get us shot
right there. But she kept talking. “Hank has been busy working on this case
for a few months, and he’s so close to catching you. If you kill me, he’ll kill
himself hunting you down.”
“If I’d known you were his beloved granny, I’d have killed you before I
killed Dirk.” Sue Ann’s mouth twitched as she spat the nasty words from
her mouth.
The campfire roared to life. Ritchie was throwing lighter fluid on it.
“You killed Dirk?” I gulped. “Mason?” I cried.
“Go on and tell her if you think you know so much.” Sue Ann
encouraged Agnes with a slight smile of defiance.
“Nah. I’ll let you have that glory.” Agnes wasn’t backing down, and I
normally admired that in her, but at the moment, I so wished she’d just
apologize and beg for forgiveness.
So I did it.
“Listen, Agnes is eighty years old and a little senile, if you know what I
mean.” I jerked my head toward Agnes.
“Why, I am not,” Agnes protested.
I spoke over her.
“Just let me get my campervan and drive me and her out of here. We
won’t look back. I don’t know what you’re doing, and I just learned about
the ginseng so I have no knowledge of what’s happening. I can even make
Hank believe Agnes has lost her mind.” I nodded, hoping Sue Ann would
buy it, but she didn’t.
“It’s a little too late for negotiations. I mean, you’re all tied up, and the
fire is about ready to go.” Sue Ann sighed and gave a resigned shrug.
“Why kill them?” Agnes kept poking Sue Ann, for sure going to get us
killed before I could think of a way to get us out of here.
“Mason wasn’t going to let it go. He was determined to turn me in when
he saw me here.” She laughed. “Only I had other plans for him.”
 “So the map of the campsite locations wasn’t the map you were talking
about?” I asked.
“It was the map. All those little Xs on it, those are where some ginseng
fields are located and about to get taken out due to that stupid mayor of
yours.” Sue Ann had a steady gaze on me as she continued her awful
actions. “He stole it from me because he was going to turn it in to the cops.
He told me not to show up to this year’s John Swift hunt because he knew it
was perfect harvesting season, and the treasure hunters always take the
spotlight, making it perfect for me to get my ginseng out and overseas
before anyone misses it.”
I gulped.
“Are you telling me that you come here every year as a treasure hunter
but harvest the ginseng without a permit and sell it?” I knew from what
little research I’d done over the past twenty-four hours about ginseng and
Kentucky law that it was very illegal to harvest and sell across state lines
without the appropriate permit.
“And here I thought you were a smart businesswoman.” She laughed.
The chill between us grew. I didn’t like anyone, especially another woman,
putting me to the test. “Yes. That’s exactly it. With Ritchie Stinnett here to
look in on the crops all year long, it was a perfect business until Mason
realized how little I was looking for the treasure. That’s when he caught on
to my little side hustle with Ritchie.” She threw her head back and laughed.
“He thought I was sleeping with Ritchie. What a joke.” She rolled her eyes
like Ritchie wasn’t anywhere near her dating league.
“You killed Mason because he was going to tell the police about your
illegal business.” I stressed illegal. “Dirk? Why? How?”
My head was having a hard time wrapping around the fact someone
would kill two people over ginseng.
“Psst.” Agnes kept trying to get my attention. When I looked at her, she
gave me the shut-the-heck-up look, wrinkled her nose a few times, and
looked down at herself with a few quick nods.
“That was perfect!” Sue Ann’s voice echoed around the campsite. “You
see, I came to the campsite the first night you were here so I could get a
handle on what Mason knew and had up his sleeve. I knew he was going to
go to the cops after the weekend hunt was over. When he thought I’d gone
to the new campsite with my crew, I stayed in Ritchie’s cabin so I could
watch everything going on. I knew I was going to kill him, so when you
were gone, I crept into your campervan and took the pearls after Ritchie
told me how Mason begged her for them. It was a little insurance just in
case we needed a killer.” She beamed with pride in how smart she thought
she was.
“That was perty good,” Ritchie chimed in. I had to listen really hard to
how his hillbilly accent changed words. “I reckoned it was fine for me to
tell Sue Ann how Dirk and Mason had fought so in case Merry Lizbeth
didn’t work out as a suspect, Dirk did.”
“You disgust me.” I spit on the ground near Ritchie’s feet.
“Don’t.” Sue Ann put her hand out when he stalked toward me to do
God knows what for me nearly spitting on him. “I’ll let you shoot her with
that big shotgun.” She twisted her head from side to side. “Do you know
what happens when you’re shot by a shotgun?” She burst her free hand
open. “Boom.” Her eyes expanded, and she smiled.
“I like how you followed Mason to the Furnace and used the exact
moment to push him off.” Ritchie made it sound like some sort of fun game.
It made my stomach curl.
Agnes continued to stand there with her chest all popped out. I would
glance over at her, but she had no expression.
“It was perfect for you to lace Dirk’s coffee with ginseng. I had no idea
the caffeine from the coffee and the ginseng interact like that with the end
result of a heart attack.” Sue Ann’s words hit me.
“The caffeine interacts with the ginseng to speed up the heart.” My jaw
dropped. “So Dirk did die of a heart attack, no thanks to you.”
“We got rid of them. Investigation cleared that Mason had an
unfortunate fall while Dirk had a massive heart attack, making everyone
believe it was the curse of John Swift.” She pretended to cry and gave a few
sniffs to make it seem more real. “How sad. But now we have you two. I
was hoping to get all this down and get the ginseng in my camper before
anyone came to get your heap of junk.”
Then all the conversations I’d had with Sue Ann over the past couple of
days hit me like a ton of bricks. Sue Ann had told me about her relationship
with Mason and how she couldn’t’ve killed him. Then she referred to so
many more secrets in the Daniel Boone National Forest than just the John
Swift silver. She had to be talking about her little ginseng gig.
“The salad,” I gasped, remembering when she gave me the map and the
contents of her backpack fell out.
 “Salad?” It was the first thing Agnes said since Sue Ann started
confessing.
“Yea. When Sue Ann gave me the map to throw me off that she didn’t
kill Mason for some silly real treasure map that he claimed she stole from
him.” I snapped my eyes at her. “You knew I’d tell Hank how you broke up
with Mason and how he stole the map from you.”
“Girl’s gotta cover her tracks.” She winked, sending rage right through
me. “Yes, it was a bag of ginseng that fell out along with some granola.
How could you live here and not know about the ginseng?” She mocked
me. “I honestly thought you were such a smart businesswoman.”
“Far’s ready.” Ritchie Stinnett’s accent made “fire” sound like “far.”
“You take them over there, let them feel the heat on their skin so they
know what it’s gonna feel like to burn.” Sue Ann really did enjoy torturing
me and Agnes.
Ritchie laid his shotgun down on the ground and used one hand on each
of us to jerk the rope, causing a little pain. Poor Agnes. She groaned out
loud, making my heart drop to my toes. I truly didn’t see any way out of
this.
“Listen, I know people,” I told Ritchie, hoping to strike a deal. “You
won’t go to jail. Just her.”
“Any time now!” Agnes screamed and looked at me with big eyes.
“What? Any time now what?” I yelled back at her. “I’m trying to talk to
Ritchie.”
“I got it all!” Agnes’s voice quivered.
“Got what?” Sue Ann put a hand out for Ritchie to stop dragging me
and Agnes to the hot fire.
“Police! Rangers! Hold it right there.” The voice boomed out of the
woods right before hundreds of police fled out of the forest with headgear,
bulletproof vests, goggles, and guns focused on Sue Ann Jaffarian and
Ritchie Stinnett. Hank Sharp led the charge.
CHAPTER 19

“Y ou should’ve seen him.” Agnes Swift’s eyes were glowing,

and it wasn’t from the campfire flames we were gathered
around. “My grandson stormed in there just in time. We
were ‘bout to be burned at the stake.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Dottie gushed. She was leaning forward in the chair with
her elbows resting on her knees. She was enthralled with the story of how
Hank had saved us from being murdered at the hands of Sue Ann Jaffarian
and Ritchie Stinnett. “And you had on a wire?”
“I sure did. If it weren’t for Mae and that map she gave me to make
copies of, then we’d never have solved it.” Agnes had fooled me when we
were being held at gunpoint. She wasn’t going senile. She was so with it she
knew Hank had been working on the ginseng case.
In fact, later I’d found out Hank had held the fake news conference to
throw Sue Ann and her group off, making them go about their business
without trying to sneak around when they thought they might be suspects.
When I’d given her the map from Sue Ann, Agnes took it, thinking it
might be something Hank would be interested in. He was! It just so
happened to be the map where Sue Ann had marked all the hidden ginseng
fields she and Ritchie had been illegally harvesting from, and that morning
Hank and the rangers set out to find Sue Ann and her crew. When they
realized she was at Ritchie’s campsite still and I needed to get my
campervan, Hank had wired Agnes and arranged for her to drive me there,
knowing they were lurking in the woods.
“So you mean to tell me that Agnes tried every which way to get you to
take Precious and your campervan out of there before she confronted
them?” Dottie leaned back in the chair, laughing and clapping her hands.
“Just like Mae to hang around.”
“Mae West comes to the rescue again,” I joked and looked over at
Hank.
“You see this marshmallow?” He lifted up his stick from the fire. The
marshmallow was on fire. “You were about to be burnt if it weren’t for me.”
“I thought for sure Mae was going to screw it up.” Agnes didn’t hold
back. “She kept on talking and talking while I was trying to get Sue Ann’s
confession on the wire.”
“Is that why you were pushing out your chest?” I started to laugh when
I recalled her standing all funny like when I was trying to save our lives.
“It wasn’t to show off my old tatas.” Agnes tsked.
“Okay, when we start talking about my granny’s women parts, it’s time
to call it a night.” Hank stood up and put his hand out for me to take. “Let’s
go let the dogs out, and I’ll walk you home.”
“Show me how Agnes was all standing with her chest out.” Dottie
encouraged me to act like Agnes.
I pushed my chest out and walked away with Hank, leaving them both
laughing and staring into the campfire.
“All joking aside, when you didn’t leave the campsite like Agnes told
you, my heart fell in my feet, and I almost called the raid off.” Hank
squeezed my hand. “You know, we found a single fingerprint on that pair of
sparkly shoes you wore during the campfire story night.”
“Sue Ann’s.” I gasped when I remembered she’d noticed my shoes and
commented on the night I’d first seen her. “I bet she picked them up and
looked at them when she broke into my campervan to take Mary Elizabeth’s
pearls.”
“Yep. That’s how I really pegged she was up to something, along with
the map you gave Agnes from Sue Ann.” Hank had just put all the pieces
together. “Still, if anything had happened…” His voice trailed off.
The darkness had blanketed the campground, and since there weren’t
any lights but the full moon hanging overhead and the lightning bugs to
guide us, I was glad he couldn’t see my face or the tears that welled up on
my eyelids.
“Mae, did you hear me?” Hank stopped and turned me toward him. He
lifted his hands to my face. “I’m in love with you.”
 I blinked. A tear fell down my cheek. He used the pad of his thumb to
wipe it away.
“I love you too,” I whispered, sealing the words with a kiss.
Keep reading for a sneak peek of VALLEYS, VEHICLES, &
VICTIMS.
 Chapter One of Book Nine
Valleys, Vehicles & Victims

Fall in Kentucky was probably my favorite season. The fall foliage created
a cozy picture that no artist could ever capture on film or in a painting. The
brilliant red hues of the red maples stood proud and tall next to the
spectacular yellow and oranges leaves of the sugar maples. But the
sweetgum trees that lined the exterior of the Happy Trails Campground
were definitely among my favorites.
The sweetgum was a showoff, with its rich, wine-colored yellows,
oranges, reds, and purples creating the perfect autumn atmosphere for all
my guests at Happy Trails Campground.
“They are going to love the bungalows.” I sighed and brought the cup of
steaming coffee to my lips. The communal campfire roared and warmed me
from the early morning chill, which would soon burn up in the brilliant
sunny day forecasted for Normal, Kentucky, our little slice of heaven
located deep in the Daniel Boone National Forest.
“They are going to be partying up more than enjoying the scenery.”
Dottie Swaggert was always the cynical one of my little group of friends.
She sat in the chair next to me. Her coffee was getting cold, but the
cigarette dangling from the corner of her lip was lit up.
“Bridal parties have one thing in mind,” Dottie said through the smoke.
With her hands, she removed the pink sponge curlers from her hair.
I watched in amazement. I could never figure out how she could smoke
and do her hair all at the same time. She put the curls in a drawstring bag
nestled in her lap.
“Getting drunk,” she finished and then ran her hands through her short
red hair. The finished product was a loose strand around her head, her usual
look.
“Maybe not.” I shrugged and took the last drink from my mug.
“Fill ’er up?” Henry Bryan held up the stainless-steel coffee pot that had
been hanging over the campfire.
“Yes.” I held my cup out to Henry and watched as my handyman of
Happy Trails carefully filled up my mug. “Thank you,” I said to him and
met with his signature wide smile that made his already big nose spread
across his face, exposing his two front teeth.
 “You’re welcome, Mayyyybelleeen.” He giggled when he said my name
like my family did, which sometimes drove me crazy.
Mae was how I preferred people to refer to me. Mae West was my
name, and I was nothing like the actress. I just so happened I was married to
Paul West. Yes. The Paul West who had been convicted for a Ponzi scheme,
bankrupting celebrities and nearly half of America. His criminal ways
weren’t limited to just the rich and famous. He also took money from the
citizens of Normal—and me. My lifestyle dramatically changed when all
my assets were seized. All but this campground, which wasn’t much of a
campground when I showed up, and a beat-up campervan, which I fixed up
and currently lived in.
Fast forward to today. Paul West was murdered and not by my hands,
though I did fantasize about it; the Happy Trails Campground was a
thriving part of the Daniel Boone National Forest; and we were about to
have one of the biggest weekends we’d ever hosted.
Honk, honk!
The first few honks led to a long honk that didn’t stop until the huge RV
stopped right in front of the office and a pile of girls fell out.
“I figure that’s the bride?” Dottie’s right brow cocked when the girl in
the white veil was the last to get out of the camper. “Or the sash.”
The woman waved as if she were the Queen of England as she walked
out of the RV. Her blonde hair hung perfectly straight and was cut at the
perfect angle. She had the kind of cut you’d get at a very fancy salon, not
like Cute-icles in town. I should know. I used to go only to those upscale
salons, and I couldn’t help but gaze at the bride’s hair. It glistened in the
early afternoon sun.
“What gave it away? The veil or sash that has ‘bride’ spelled out in
glitter?” I joked and stood up to go greet them. “Come on,” I told Dottie.
She was the manager, and I needed her to come help wrangle the rowdy
bunch. “If this weekend goes well, we just might have more bridal parties.”
“Oh goody,” she said with a flat voice. Her sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed.
“Giggling and squealing is exactly why I decided to live deep in the
woods.”
“I’ll go and add some extra wood to their porches.” Henry filled up his
thermos and took off the opposite direction of Dottie and me.
“You be nice,” I warned Dottie. At times, she could pull off a “bless
your heart” in a rude kind of way that would make people do a double take
once they registered what she’d said.
“I’m always nice.” Dottie laughed.
Who’s leg was Dottie pulling? Not mine.
“Hi there.” I greeted them with a smile and a snarling Dottie Swaggert.
“I’m Mae. Welcome to Happy Trails. I’m the owner, and I live on the
property.” I found guests loved to know I was just a camper away if they
needed me. “This is Dottie, the manager, and she also lives here. We have a
full-time handyman that lives here too, so we’ve got you covered if you
need anything.”
A woman in a short-skirted pink suit from Chanel fanned her hand in
front of her face after Dottie lit up her cigarette.
“This isn’t a smoke-free facility?” the woman asked. I wondered
whether she was the bride’s or the groom’s mother.
“Puh-lease,” Dottie snapped. “I didn’t light it yet.”
“Mom,” the bride gushed. She took the sparkly clutch from underneath
her armpit and literally smacked it into the chest of the woman next to her.
The woman used one hand to take the clutch and the other to push the
glasses back up on her nose. She had brown hair that hung past her thin
shoulders. She wore a pair of jeans and a green collared shirt, finishing the
outfit off with a pair of sneakers. She was the only one who looked like she
was actually going to be staying in a campground.
“It’s outside and a campground. We are here, so you’re going to have to
accept the fact that Lewis and I are going to go get married here. Smoke or
not.” She turned to me. “I’m Shay, the bride, in case you couldn’t tell.
That’s Misty. My mother.” Shay wiggled her shoulders. “These are my
bridesmaids.”
“Nice to meet y’all.” I tried to keep smiling when I noticed all the
bridesmaids’ phones were capturing every second of Shay’s big life
moment. “And who are you?”
Apparently, this woman wasn’t important. The other women were
typing away on their phones, no doubt putting the moment on social media.
“Amy Hill, family secretary.”
Shay shrugged and buttoned up her lip.
Amy and I exchanged pleasantries. She had a planner hugged to her
body and a pencil stuck behind her ear.
“When will the men arrive?” I asked.
 From the email correspondence I’d had with Shay, she mentioned that
the girls would be driving in an RV before the men, who were also driving
here in an RV. She said the arrangements were like their bachelorette and
bachelor parties on wheels.
“Not until much later this afternoon or even tonight.” Shay clasped her
hands.
Amy flipped her planner open and used her finger to scan down the
page.
“They will be arriving precisely around seven-ish,” Amy said.
Shay rolled her eyes. “Like I said, this afternoon or tonight.” The two
women definitely had a little tension between them. “It’s even more
beautiful than I imagined.”
The bridesmaids agreed, but the mother gave a little disgruntled moan.
“Then why don’t I take you on a quick walking tour of the main part of
the campground so you’ll know exactly what’s here,” I suggested and met
with smiles all around… except from the mother.
The mom had a familiarity about her, but I couldn’t put a finger on it, so
I let it roll out of my mind. I gestured for all of them to follow me while
Dottie went into the office to get the contracts for them to sign on our way
back around.
Dottie and I were a team. We worked together like a well-oiled
machine. It wasn’t exactly like that when I first drove into Happy Trails, but
what great friendships weren’t built on some sort of initial conflict?
Ignoring the mother’s grumbles under her breath about how her fancy shoes
weren’t fit to walk on gravel, I started the tour.
“Some of the campers are people who actually call Normal home and
live here year round.” I gestured to a few of the campers as we walked
down the gravel road that circled the big lake in the middle. “There’s also
campers set up for rental, so our guests don’t have to haul in a camper or
simply do without a camper.”
The campground offered something for everyone. I was pretty proud of
how I’d been able to bring the campground into the black, purchase some
beat-up can-ham campers and restore them to their original glory, and add
some wonderful cozy touches.   
“Everyone has lake access. There is a pier on the other side where you
can get in the paddle boats. The tiki hut over there will have some snacks
and cocktails.” I was cut off by a couple of the bridesmaids squealing about
how they had to get photos of them. “You can swim in the lake. There are
fish. We are a catch and release but offer many different types of fish in our
nightly cookouts.”
I wasn’t sure if they were listening, but I still told them how the guests
walked around at night during the suppertime hours and sampled other
campers’ food by the campfires. This practice was a way to bring
community and something I thoroughly enjoyed.
“Oh! Lost dog,” Shay whined and pointed at the fluffy white ball of fur
bolting toward us.
“She’s not lost.” I smiled. “She’s exactly where she needs to be. Fifi is
my dog.”
Fifi wagged and danced around all the women. She knew if she did all
sorts of standing on her hind legs and using her front paws like she was
begging, she’d garner a lot of attention. Fifi lived for attention. The desire
was in her DNA and trained in her before I got her and ruined her to be a
hillbilly campground dog.
She had a very high pedigree until I babysat her for her original owner
and she ended up getting pregnant by a pug, of all breeds. That was what
did it in for poor Fifi, and her owner didn’t want her anymore since she was
no longer able to show her for money. Good for me and Fifi because we
were so happy and I couldn’t imagine what life would be like if I didn’t
have to give her a bath every other week. Joking, of course.
“She’s very sweet, and you’ll see her around, along with a hound dog
who goes by the name of Chester.” I glanced over at Hank Sharp’s camper,
which he was renting from me.
“Renting” was a term I used loosely, since he was my boyfriend, and
recently we’d just started using the love word, something I think that took
us both by surprise.
“He’s very sweet too.” I had to reel those women back in and finish the
tour or we’d never make it to town in time for their tour. We rounded the
road to the back of the campground. At different offshoots, I had several
concrete pads and hookups for the campers who brought in their own RVs
and wanted to be surrounded by woods. This particular group wanted to
show up in their RV and stay in one of the cute bungalow cabins I had for
rent.
“These are the bungalows.” I gestured to the wooded area where you
could barely see many bungalows’ front porches. “Bungalows one through
four are for your group. I have the bridal party in bungalow one, the bride’s
parents in bungalow three.” I handed the key to bungalow one to the
bridesmaid, who seemed to be the most responsible, though it was a toss-
up.
“Thank you,” Misty mouthed and took the key.
I laughed. “My feet are killing me.”
Amy Hill rushed to her side and took out a pair of more sensible shoes
from the bag on her shoulder.
I ignored her comment because I wanted so bad to tell Misty she wasn’t
dressed appropriately for a campground. But who was I to judge? I looked
and acted exactly like her a couple of years ago.
“Bungalow two is for the groomsmen. I figured you’d want to be next
to them.” I winked at Shay, who replied with a cute giggle. “Bungalow four
is for the groom’s parents.”
Amy had opened her planner and was vigorously writing things down.
Nothing that had anything to do with the Moon women was getting past her.
“You can’t put them on the opposite end, could you?” Misty questioned
me with a hint of joking but a whole lot of seriousness, making me pause.
“I’m joking. I’m sure your parents thought your husband wasn’t good
enough for their little girl.”
“My parents are dead, and I’m not married.” I probably shouldn’t have
said that, but I just blurted it out.
Jealous of Shay? Jealous of how much her mom lovingly doted on her?
Yeah. All those. I still felt shortchanged in the parent department, since my
entire family had been killed in a house fire when I was an early teen. Being
put in the Kentucky foster care system wasn’t high on any girl’s list.
However, I did end up being adopted by Mary Elizabeth Moberly, who I’d
just re-established a relationship with after years of me not keeping up with
her.
Another part of the Paul West saga that I’d put behind me was that Mary
Elizabeth and Bobby Ray, my foster brother, called Normal home.
“Anyways…” I reeled in my feelings, since this was a business deal and
I needed them to feel as comfortable as I could since we were going into the
winter months in the forest. Not many people had the skin to camp or hike
when there snow and bitter temperatures bit at your toes. “I’ve gotten all the
goodies in there you sent.”
 Shay had sent the bridesmaids gifts and bought the spa baskets from me.
They included locally made items along with a nice white cotton robe and
white slippers to match. I’d told Shay I’d take her group downtown so they
could get a feel of the town and also take them to the wedding venue, The
Barn, at the Old Train Station Motel on the other side of Normal. It sounded
far, but it wasn’t.
“Thank you, Mae.” Shay squirmed with delight. “You’ve been so
amazing. My family think Lewis and I are crazy for getting married here,
but we love the outdoors and the atmosphere.” She twirled around, very
aware that all the girls pointed their phones at her and put her images on all
their social media accounts.
“Oh, Shay!” one of them yelled, and everyone gathered around her.
“This has to go in the High Society magazine shoot.”
“High Society?” I was familiar with the national magazine. Who
wasn’t?
“Yes.” Shay wiggled her shoulders. “Daddy knows people.”
I was sure, but I’d almost swear I saw Amy Hill roll her eyes. Or it
might’ve been the sun catching her glasses at just the right angle.
“Her father is Tom Moon from Moonbucks Coffee.” Misty smiled.
“Misty Moon?” My “oh crap” meter went off. “Socialite Misty Moon?”
“The one and only. Please, don’t tell anyone I’m at a campground,” she
muttered under her breath as she leaned over.
“Mom. This is Mae West.” Shay sounded like she knew me. “Paul and
Mae West from Manhattan and the Hamptons. I read your story in the
Times, and I had to come help you out. Come on”—she got close to me and
nudged me—“you can’t tell me that you had no idea”—she rolled her eyes
—“that Paul was scamming all of your friends.”
And that was how the Moons heard of Normal, Kentucky. And… I had
a feeling they were never going to forget their time here.
Continue your visit with Mae & the Laundry Club Ladies! VALLEYS,
VEHICLES, & VICTIMS is now available!
RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS

RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS FROM MAE WEST AND THE

WOMEN OF
NORMAL, KENTUCKY and HAPPY TRAILS CAMPGROUND
SKILLET CHICKEN ENCHILADA

Whether you decide to make this tasty dish over the campfire or in your RV
or home oven, everyone is going to love it.

INGREDIENTS
Four cooked and shredded chicken breast
10 oz can enchilada sauce
½ chopped onion
3 TBS chopped garlic
Four corn tortillas, quartered
1 can black beans
¼ cup water
¼ cup of sour cream
1 TBS olive oil
1 package Mexican Cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cook over campfire:
Heat up the olive oil and add the onions and garlic.
Brown them for five minutes.
In a bowl mix: onions, garlic, enchilada sauce, sour cream, and water.
Fold in the tortillas, chicken, and beans.
When mixture is fully covered, add back into the skillet and warm over
fire.
Add cheese on top and let it melt.
Cook on stove and in oven of the RV:
Preheat over to 500*
Heat up the olive oil and add the onions and garlic on stove.
Brown them for five minutes.
In a bowl mix: onions, garlic, enchilada sauce, sour cream, and water.
Fold in the tortillas, chicken, and beans.
When mixture is fully covered, add back into the skillet and warm it on
the stove.
Add cheese on top and put it in the preheated oven for five minutes.
ENJOY!
RV HACK #1

This isn’t really as much of a hack in cleaning, but a good hack for an acorn
in case you ever need a whistle in case you get lost from your other hikers.

Acorn Whistle

Make the cap of an acorn into a whistle.

1. Use the brown part on top of the acorn. Make sure it is not
cracked or deformed.
2. Grab the acorn cap in both of your hands between your thumb
and index finger with the inside of the cap facing you.
3. Put your thumbs up to near the top of the acorn. The sides of the
knuckles of your thumbs should be touching each other.
4. Position the acorn so that a triangle of it is showing out between
the tops of your thumb-knuckles.
5. Put your upper lip on the top of your thumb-knuckles. Make
sure there’s no air escaping your bottom lip. This part will take
the most practice but keep going!
6. Blow through your top lip right into the triangle that you had
formed earlier.
IRON SKILLET HAMBURGER CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS
1 pound(s) hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder

1. can, ranch style beans

DIRECTIONS
Brown hamburger, onion and chili powder in a skillet over the camp fire
until the hamburger is completely browned.
Add can of ranch style beans and continue to cook until beans are
thoroughly heated.
ENJOY!
RV HACK #2

This isn’t really a RV hack, but something great for your dog! There are a
lot of animals that camp too. Your dog wants to be part of the action when
you’re outside so why not make them a nice little zipline?

Camping Carabiner, which is one of those clip keyrings.

Nylon Rope around 40 – 50 feet long
Two Spring Clasps

DIRECTIONS
Tie one end of the nylon rope to a spring clasp in a very tight knot on
both ends.
Do the same to other end of the nylon rope with the opposite spring
clasp.
Circle the rope around two trees or something as stable on each end.
Connect the spring clasp on the other side.
Connect the camping carabiner to the suspended nylon rope.
Connect your dog’s harness to the camping carabiner.
Enjoy watching your fur baby hang outside with you too!
IRON SKILLET FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients
6 eggs lightly beaten
12 oz can evaporated skim milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 slices of raisin bread with the crusts removed
2-3 tbsp diced butter
Maple syrup

Instructions:
Whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk, cinnamon and brown sugar,
making sure the brown sugar completely dissolves.
Dip each piece of raisin bread into the egg mixture, coating completely,
then lay in the skillet.
Repeat with until you cover the bottom of the skillet completely, then
use the remaining pieces of bread to form a second layer.
Continue the layers until the bread is all gone.
Pour any remaining egg mixture on top and put the diced butter on top
of that.
Bake 35-45 minutes in the grill or RV oven until the top is browned.
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 About Tonya

Tonya has written over 85 novels, all of which have graced numerous
bestseller lists, including the USA Today. Best known for stories charged
with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have
garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her
husband and a very spoiled rescue cat named Ro. Tonya grew up in the
small southern Kentucky town of Nicholasville. Now that her four boys are
grown men, Tonya writes full-time in her camper.
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 Also By Tonya Kappes

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A CHARMING CHRISTMAS (novella)
A CHARMING FATALITY
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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s
imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living
or dead, is entirely coincidental. The cover was made by Mariah Sinclair, Red Adept Publishing.
Copyright © 2020 by Tonya Kappes. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No
part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information email
Tonyakappes@tonyakappes.com