Ropes, Riddles, & Robberies: A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Book 15
Date: 2020-12-30 00:00:00+00:00
Description: SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY WITH A SMIDGEN OF HOMICIDE USA Today Bestselling author Tonya Kappes brings you southern and quirky characters in her mystery series. Her stories are charged with humor, friendship, family and life in small southern towns. Solving murders come easy for Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies. Trying to solve a cold case is proving a bit challenging. Mae has been having memories about the house fire that killed her family, leaving her orphaned. As a child she couldn't do much to prove the fire wasn't an accident, but as an adult and with a group of friends to help, Mae is on t
Publisher: Independently published

Ropes, Riddles, & Robberies

A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Book 15

Tonya Kappes

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

Chapter 21

Recipes and Hack From Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies

Campfire Cobbler

Soap Hack

Cozy Cream Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Container Hack

Leave a review

Also By Tonya Kappes

About Tonya

Preview

The front of the Three Sons Bistro lit up with flashing lights. The five of us turned around in our seats along with the rest of the customers to watch an ambulance and sheriff’s car zoom past.

“Sheila!” Mary Elizabeth had a mouthful of pie, but Sheila apparently knew what she wanted.

“On it!” Sheila hurried back behind the counter with the coffee pot in her grip, forgetting about whoever’s mug she was going to fill up, and flipped on the police scanner.

The old thing screeched to life as she turned the dial to make it come in and twisted the two small black antennas on the back for better reception.

“We got us a 10-45 at the Perrysburg Retirement Facility. Repeat, a 10-45 at the Perrysburg Retirement Facility. We are going to need all available emergency crews. The call came in saying someone has been strangled. Possible 10-56A or 10-56. Prepare for the scene. Other members in the community are visibly upset. Repeat, 10-45 with a 10-56 at Perrysburg Retirement Facility.”

I looked around at my friends to see what that meant. Abby was on it. She was already typing on her phone and using her finger to scroll as quickly as possible.

“All units can stand down,” a man’s voice called over the scanner. “Marple Eickler 10-45D.”

“Did he say Marple Eickler?” Mary Elizabeth gasped.

I nodded my head.

“What’s a 10-45D?” Her mouth gaped open.

“That means dead.” The words fell from Abby’s lips in slow motion.

My gaze shifted to Mary Elizabeth. She shoved the entire piece of pie in her mouth.

GET FREE BOOKS

Join Tonya’s newsletter.

See all of Tonya’s books.

Join Tonya’s Reader Group on Facebook.

For extras and fun on Tonya’s Patreon account.

Find all these links on Tonya’s website, Tonyakappes.com.

Chapter 1

It was always a good feeling when the calendar turned to a new year. There was renewal, hope, change, and just a do-over. For me, Mae West, this year was going to be a sort of rebirth—a rebirth of who I had become and why I had become that person.

Not that I didn’t know who I was. I certainly knew that, and I didn’t have any control over the fact that my entire family had died in a house fire and I was clearly the one left to be spared.

Yes—I believed that I was spared.

How it’d happened or why I believed that was a whole nother way of thinking, and there was no harm done in trying to figure out if my recently unfolding memories of the house fire meant that it was deliberate and not an accident as the fire marshal had claimed. I was on a mission this year to find out.

Two problems.

I didn’t live there, and it was over fifteen years ago that the fire took place. I had no idea if the people who had lived in my hometown of Perrysburg, Kentucky, were around or even still alive.

There was one person in particular that I did know was around, and that was Jami Burkfield Mackenzie, my grade-school best friend. We’d been friends for a long time. It wasn’t by chance we happened to pick each other as friends—my father made me be friends with her. At the coal mine company picnic to be exact.

I remembered that day like it was yesterday. My mom had taken me and my sister to the local secondhand store. She had thumbed through those racks with me hanging on her leg and my sister stuck on her hip. Those steel-hook hangers screeched as she shoved them aside to look at the next piece of clothing on the rack.

“This will be pretty for the picnic.” I watched her pluck the red-and-white-checkered dress off the rack. “Look up, Maybelline.” She shoved the clothes hanger up under my chin as she held the dress up to me. “Step back, Maybelline. Why do you always have to be right on my leg, honey?”

Maybe because I was a little girl and wanted the comfort of being next to my mom? Was that really such a hard concept for her? Probably not, and I never sassed back to her. I just stepped back and took the hanger so she could get a look for herself.

“Do you like it?” Her eyes glowed. “It makes your curls stand out, and your beautiful skin.” My mom sighed. “You’re the best thing I ever made.”

“No.” My baby sister giggled. “Sugar cookies are the best thing, Mama.”

Mom and I laughed. Her laugh was so amazing. My mom was beautiful. She reminded me of a movie star with her long black eyelashes, her straight black hair, and her olive skin. When she laughed, her mouth would open wide and end up in a bright smile. My baby sister looked just like her.

But not me. I looked just like my dad. He had nice and thick curly brown hair. He had deep hazel eyes that always looked like they were studying something or thinking about an important project. After all, he was the foreman of the local coal mine company—which brings me right back to Jami Burkfield Mackenzie.

The Burkfields owned the coal mine. Heck, they practically owned everything in and around Perrysburg, so it was only natural that half the town worked for them.

“Maybelline, you be nice to Jami Burkfield.” My dad always made sure my little sister and I minded our p’s and q’s when we were around any of the Burkfields. That applied to the yearly company picnic in particular. “She’s my boss’s granddaughter, and she’s your age. I’m sure you two would get along,” I remember him saying one year as I looked out the window when we pulled up to their big fancy house on the outskirts of town. I’d never seen the likes.

They had an entire compound like the famous Kennedy family I’d seen my mom gawk at in those magazines while we were in line at the local grocery store—that was another fond memory I had of her. Mom would quickly thumb through them and read as much of the celebrity gossip as she could.

One time, the cashier had gotten on Mom for bending the pages of the magazine and putting it back. Told Mom not to pick them up if she wasn’t going to buy them. “They aren’t there for you to look through and put back.” The cashier glared at my mom. It was one of those glares that she shifted onto me and my little sister with a snarled nose. Like she was better than us and we were just dirty kids from the wrong side of the track.

We weren’t. We were clean, and my mom made sure of it every time she took us to town.

“One day, Maybelline,” my mom told me when we got back in the car after the cashier got mad, “you’re gonna be famous and on the front of these magazines.” She pinched my chin and smiled. “Then we won’t have to read about famous people, because we will be the famous people.”

That was my mom. She always had big dreams and big hopes.

After that day, when we’d go to the grocery, she’d look for that cashier and get in a different line. She still thumbed through the magazines.

I did remember one story when my face was plastered on a few magazines at the checkout—granted, they were mostly copies of the National Enquirer after my now-dead ex-husband, Paul West, got caught trying to pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in the United States.

All this to say the fire that killed my family haunted me to this day. I’d really run from my childhood by climbing out the window of my foster mom’s house in the middle of the night the exact minute I turned eighteen. I had climbed on a Greyhound bus, and as I turned around to look back at the Welcome To Perrysburg sign at the county line as we rolled out of town, I swore to myself I’d never be back in that town again.

Years later, and after remembering a few key details about the night of the house fire that killed my family, I was planning my trip back to Perrysburg because I didn’t believe the fire was an accident.

My family was murdered. I was going to prove it.

Chapter 2

“You’re going to do what?” Dottie Swaggert sat on the couch in the Laundry Club laundromat located in downtown Normal, Kentucky, during our monthly book club meeting. Her red hair was tightly curled to her head. One arm was wrapped around her waist while the other was propped up by her elbow on the arm of the couch as she gnawed on her fingernail.

“I’m going to drive back and forth or maybe stay.” I was a bit wishy-washy on the details. “I don’t really know what I’m going to do. But I need to find out the truth behind the fire that killed my parents and two sisters.”

My parents had just had my second sister a few months earlier. She was just a baby when she died in the fire. The Reiki sessions I’d been having with a local chiropractor by the name of Tex had been bringing all sorts of memories up.

“I know you’ve been listening to all that hocus-pocus voodoo crap from Texas.” Dottie waved her hands in the air like she was doing magic or something. “But honey, people like that can put crap in our heads, and we don’t know what’s the truth. The truth of the matter is that you are a grown adult with a life here.”

“The past is the past.” Abby Fawn, another one of our friends, readjusted herself as she pulled her leg up under herself. “And from what Bobby Ray says, the officials called it a wood-burning-stove fire.”

“Bobby Ray this, Bobby Ray that.” Dottie rolled her eyes and only said what the rest of us were thinking.

I looked around and could see it on all their faces. Betts Hager, Queenie French, and I—we all tried to keep our composure when Abby talked about Bobby Ray Bonds, my foster brother who she was now involved with.

“What?” Abby give a little smile and a shrug. She circled her long brown ponytail around her finger and blushed. “Can’t a girl be happy?”

“Of course, but what about Mae?” Betts asked. She ran her fingers through her wavy brown hair. “If Mae wants to figure out what happened, I’m going to help.” She shook her head to the left to get her bangs out of her eyes.

“You are?” My head jerked to look at Betts, the owner of the laundromat we actually used as a get-together for the five of us—the Laundry Club Ladies, as the local folks affectionately referred to us. Or maybe the Nosey Girls. Either way, we were all best friends, and it’d happened over the course of the last few years after I’d come to check out the campground Paul had put in my name. I had no idea he’d done that until Stanley, his lawyer, had given me a flamingo key chain with an RV key on it in exchange for the keys to my Maserati, which the government seized.

You’d think they’d want the campground too. But when I drove up and saw the campground was in worse shape than the RV I’d driven to Kentucky, I could see why they didn’t seize it, even if it was in my name.

The story had a beautiful outcome. I’d taken the bull by the horns and turned Happy Trails Campground into a thriving and lucrative business, not only for myself but for the entire town of Normal, Kentucky. I even had a key to the city to show for it from Mayor Mackenzie.

“I’d love for you to help me,” I said to Betts. “And it’s perfect timing too.” I referred to the winter season we were in.

There was very little camping going on during the winter months, but I’d made a great deal of changes to Happy Trails Campground so I could have guests. Very few trails were currently open in the Daniel Boone National Park, where we were located, but some die-hards did come to vacation. I’d made sure some of the campers were equipped for cold and even freezing temperatures. It hadn’t been too expensive, but I’d worked to make it happen.

“There’s not a lot of tourists, so the cleaners can run itself.” Betts agreed, even though she offered a service where she did drop-off laundry for people. “If Dottie’s not on board, she can watch the office at Happy Trails.”

“Now, you wait a minute.” Dottie straightened up and shook a finger at Betts. “I never said I didn’t want to be part of this. And Henry Bryant can look after the campground.”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as Dottie and Betts came up with a plan for my campground. Dottie Swaggert was the manager at Happy Trails Campground and had been so for years, even before I knew about the place. She worked for Paul, and when I say “worked,” I mean she didn’t get paid. He was kind enough to let her live in a camper there, and I say “kind” very loosely because her camper was less than stellar when I first moved here. Since, I’ve had Henry, the handyman, help fix up her place.

“You didn’t seem like you really wanted to go, and no one is going to force you.” Betts shrugged and eased back into the chair. She sighed and brought her coffee mug to her lips and took a sip.

Dottie’s mouth flew open then snapped closed.

“I think anyone who wants to go can come.” Abby scrolled through her phone with her thumb while holding her mug in her other hand. “It says here that Perrysburg has some really neat things to see.”

“I don’t know what you’re looking at, but I don’t recall a thing in Perrysburg.” The only thing I remembered was the old railroad bridge I used to hide under.

“The old coal mine is open for tours. That sounds fun.”

That got my attention. “Really?” I asked and got up to go sit down next to her to check out her phone. “That’s the place my dad worked.” I recognized it right off from the photo Abby had pulled up. “We definitely need to go there.”

“And do what?” Dottie asked.

“I want to talk to people who worked with my dad. I remember the night of the fire, my mom had made some chicken nuggets. She said Dad had to work late. She’d made him some stew and told us that she’d be back after Dad called. She needed to take Dad his food because he was on a break.”

I used to smile at memories of my parents together, but now that I got a real intuitive feeling someone had deliberately set our house on fire, those memories were wrought with revenge.

“It was that night that the house caught fire. I was asleep when my dad came home, but I’d heard him and my mom arguing. They rarely argued, so I thought it was strange.” I blinked a few times to see if I could remember more.

I cursed under my breath when I struggled to recall.

“It’s okay if you can’t remember.” Queenie French interrupted my thoughts. She pulled her headband down past her chin before she pushed it back into position on top of her short blond hair. “You were a kid. Who knows what happened, but if you want to find out”—she pointed to each one of the Laundry Club Ladies—“we are going to figure it out. Life is too short.”

Queenie had always lived by the “life is too short” mantra due to the fact that she was in her sixties with the title of widow hanging over her head.

“That settles it.” Betts’s voice turned sharp. “When are we leaving?”

I felt myself getting teary-eyed from all the support my friends were giving me.

“I say we leave tomorrow.” Abby smiled.

“What about Bobby Ray?” I asked.

“He’s got to work the rest of the week, and I’m off until the middle of the month. How long will we be gone?” she asked, her brows dipping.

“I can’t leave tomorrow.” I looked at them. “I need to tell Hank and go see Mary Elizabeth. Let them know what I’m doing.”

“And we need to get a camper ready.” Dottie was right. “What about the blue one?”

“Yeah. We could take that RV, but I’d like for Bobby Ray to take a look at the engine, the oil, and make sure all the bags are good. I’ll need to go by Deter’s Feed-N-Seed to pick up a propane tank.” All the things I needed to get the RV ready to go were running through my head.

Abby reached over and grabbed the notebook off the table that we’d used in the past to keep track of clues for various crimes that happened in the Daniel Boone National Park. Not that we were detectives or anything, but we did have a knack for being nosey and actually finding real clues that did help my boyfriend, Detective Hank Sharp, and the Normal Sheriff’s Department solve a few cases.

Granted, they didn’t like it, but we had a good time trying to follow various leads that did sometimes place us in front of a killer’s weapon.

But none of us had gotten killed yet.

“Yet” being the key word.

Chapter 3

“I told Mae that sometimes, the juice just ain’t worth the squeeze,” Dottie told Hank while the three of us were in the blue camper. “Honestly, I have no business whatsoever lookin’ into it, but I reckon I gotta go and keep her safe.”

We’d made the decision last night to meet here in the morning and have Bobby Ray look at the RV before he went to work at Grassel’s Garage. My day was full. After we got finished here, I was going to The Milkery to visit with Mary Elizabeth. I told her I’d help her make a couple of pies to serve to her bed-and-breakfast guests in hopes I’d get a big slice.

After that, I’d pack my clothes, check my itinerary, touch base with Jami, and then have a romantic dinner with Hank, which was rare. He was always called out to do something for the sheriff or the park rangers, so getting a night off was uncommon. I would love to say Hank was very supportive of me traveling back to Perrysburg with the intent of doing a little snooping around, but…

“Safe?” Hank’s eyes swiveled to me. “Are you planning on not being safe? I thought you said you were going to get the fire inspection report from…” Hank’s voice trailed off as he tried to recall the name of the fire marshal in Normal.

“Judd Tripoly,” I reminded him. “He sure made it seem like there was something bothersome about the fire.”

I clearly remembered when Hank came back to Perrysburg with me and Mary Elizabeth over the summer, where he’d met a few people from my past, Judd Tripoly being one of them.

I didn’t remind Hank, but Hank had commented on how Judd had implied that my parents’ house fire was suspicious. Of course, those words from the fire marshal never made it to the back of my mind, and they played over and over in Judd’s slow Southern drawl.

“That’s right.” Hank pointed to me. “Honestly, you don’t have to go. I can put out a call and get the records sent up here by fax or email.”

“No.” I’d not told anyone, not even the Laundry Club Ladies, that I’d been in contact with a few people from my past already and had a list of people to see once I got there. “We don’t have anything to do anyways.”

The door of the camper opened, and a rush of cold air swept in along with Bobby Ray and Abby right behind him.

“Brrr.” Abby had on a burnt-orange knit cap pulled down past her ears. Her long brown hair hung down in two braids. She was just the cutest, and her smile was even bigger when she was with Bobby Ray. “It’s so cold. I have no idea how he works in this weather,” she gushed and rubbed her hands up and down Bobby Ray’s arms.

They kinda reminded me of my mom and dad. As Bobby Ray told Hank and me about the engine and the other things I’d asked him to look at before we took the blue RV to Perrysburg, my mind drifted right back to when I was a child.

My parents hadn’t had a lot of money. Tonight reminded me of our one and only trip we took to Florida in our beat-up station wagon. Literally, there were mushrooms that grew in the floorboard because it was so moldy. But we didn’t care. We even slept in the old wagon once we got to Florida when my parents tried to get a motel room but it was too much money. That’s when my mom got creative and made everything an adventure.

Even taking showers every morning in the public restrooms at the public beach was fun.

Looking back now, my heart hurt at how hard they tried to give us the same experiences as other families in and around Perrysburg.

That vacation was fun until I’d overheard them having a pretty intense conversation in which my dad was upset because he felt like he’d not been a good provider for our family even though Mom insisted he was a great one.

“We’ve got a roof over our heads and food on the table.” I could still hear her twangy voice trying to make him feel better. Still, he’d come back with some sort of put-down on himself, to which Mama argued back. She was so good at making everyone feel as if they had a purpose in life.

It wasn’t too long after the vacation that the house fire happened. I remembered being so jealous they’d all died. Jealous. Could you imagine being jealous when you should’ve been grateful to have survived?

I wasn’t. I was jealous they’d all gone together, leaving me here to fend for myself. That was exactly how I’d felt too—like I had to fend for myself.

Going into the foster care system wasn’t high on a teenager’s priority list, and bouncing from foster family to foster family was also hard. I should’ve been very thankful Mary Elizabeth wanted to adopt me, but I’d had a family. A great family, and I couldn’t see past my anger to appreciate anything at that time.

Now, I couldn’t be more grateful for Mary Elizabeth. The only way I knew to really honor her for raising me and Bobby Ray was to call her Mom and take care of her the way I would’ve my mom and dad if they were living.

When I looked at Bobby Ray and Abby, I could see a deep love that was unbreakable, like that of my parents. She looked at Bobby Ray like he could do nothing wrong, and he treated her like she was the only one in the room when he talked to her.

“Other than that, I think it looks great. Survived all the snow we got a few weeks ago, and looking ahead the next few days, it’s gonna be cold and dry. Oh, the window latch near the dinette is broken, so you can’t lock that big window.” Bobby Ray’s voice brought me out of my memories.

“That’s fine. We won’t need to open it, and I’m sure we’ll be fine.” I watched him curl his arms around Abby. “I’m glad the heater is working fine.”

“I can’t let my little lady get cold, so I’d get at least two propane tanks and store one. You’ll be good for a couple of days.” He snuggled her closer.

“I’ve got all the paper plates, napkins, plastic utensils, and pots and pans we need for eating. I even stuck that Instapot thingy you gave me for Christmas in there. I’m figuring on making some soup on the way down so when we get there and get hooked up, we don’t have to worry about finding supper.” Dottie really did like to go camping in the RV.

We’d gone a couple of times, and she was always in her element. It was best to just sit back and let her do what she wanted to.

“Betts is bringing some meals she prepped beforehand.” Abby snuggled up to Bobby Ray. “The key to a successful camping trip is to have some prepared meals ahead of time so we don’t have to worry about cooking.”

“We aren’t camping. We are going to be busy clue-finding.” I looked around the main quarters of the RV.

Hank and Dottie were sitting on the couch that was located in the bump-out of the RV. There was a kitchen along the one side and a small electric fireplace with a television above it. Currently, Fifi and Chester were lying in front of the glowing fire. They looked so cute with their winter sweaters on and snuggled up together.

This camper was a very popular one for tourists who liked to stay in Happy Trails Campground but didn’t have their own camper. They wanted the camper experience.

There’d even been some of my guests who rented first and then, the next year, showed up in a camper they’d bought because they’d loved it so much.

The two captain’s chairs in the front did swivel around like the chairs in my RV, only this RV was larger than mine and had bunk beds in the hallway leading to the bedroom and a bunk overtop the cab.

I figured Abby could sleep up there so Dottie and Queenie could have the two hall bunks, and me and Betts could share the queen bed in the bedroom.

“Baby.” Bobby Ray wrapped his arms around Abby and clasped his hands behind her back. “I’m gonna miss you so much,” he whined as they swayed side to side, looking into each other’s eyes.

“Gag me.” Dottie snarled and got up. “I need a cigarette.”

“You’re going to catch pneumonia,” I warned in hopes she was at least going to give quitting a good effort like she was trying to do last fall but couldn’t.

“Mm-hmm.” Dottie already had a cigarette stuck in between her lips and was out the door before she even answered me.

“What exactly is your plan?” Hank wanted me to give him a detailed play-by-play.

“I don’t know. You’ve been there. I’ll take the girls to the Three Sons Bistro for lunch or supper. I’ll visit with Sheila and see if she remembers anything.” Sheila Bistro was the owner of the local diner in Perrysburg.

She had three boys, which was how she’d come up with the clever name of the restaurant.

“Are you going to show off your part of the Hall of Fame wall?” Hank teased and reached up to pull me down by my hand onto the couch next to him.

“That’s right. I’m a local celebrity.” I squinched my nose in a playful manner once I was situated next to Hank.

“Look at us.” Abby glanced around. “We can go on double dates and vacations.” Abby rattled off a few things couples did together.

I gulped.

“Why the sore look?” Abby kicked my foot with her foot.

“Nothing.” I planted a smile on my face and realized I liked my relationship with Hank the way it was, and getting married again wasn’t high on my priority list. Not that Abby was even mentioning getting married, but with all the couple talk, it was the kinda thing married couples did. “I’m thinking how jealous you’re going to be after you see my wall of fame,” I said to gloss over my actual feelings.

“My girl here was prom queen, though she stuffed the ballot box.” Hank giggled and pulled me closer to him.

“That’s a secret, buddy.” I jabbed my finger in his chest.

“There’s more secrets than you know,” Bobby Ray chimed in. I gave him a hard stare. “Your secrets are safe with me.” He put his hands in the air, letting go of Abby.

There were a lot of secrets that I wanted to be kept under the rug, and Bobby Ray was involved in many of those. For now, I was only able to focus on one secret at a time.

The house fire. That was a big secret that needed to come out. And I was on a mission to reveal it, even if my intuition was wrong and it was a simple house fire like everyone had seemed to accept. But at least I’d know the truth.

“What if all the memories you’re having aren’t real?” Bobby Ray asked.

“I feel like they are real. Deep down here.” I put my hand on my stomach where I felt my gut. Dottie had come back in the camper. “There is just so much detail in my memories.”

“I can’t believe you’ve let some hippie, shirtless chiropractor that goes by one name tell you that you’ve got pent-up memories in there.” Dottie roosted on the edge of the counter like a cock on a henhouse roof and crossed her arms.

“I’m not going to have to worry about you one bit.” Hank looked at me and smiled. His green eyes sent chills right to my heart, catching my breath. “Dottie is going to be watching over you so close, you won’t be able to catch a breath.”

“Well, who ever heard the like. Listenin’ to the kind of a man called Tex?” Dottie said his name in her Southern-speak as she rolled her eyes skyward.

“Tex is a nice man. He is a good chiropractor. He’s helped Mary Elizabeth’s back and now me with memories.” I looked past Dottie’s shoulder and out the kitchen dinette windows to where Tex was currently living, in a bungalow with a few of his followers.

Dottie was right. Tex was a chiropractor who lived in a yurt-style tent during the warmer months. He was also a Reiki specialist who I let unlock a few details in my memory after I’d had a terrible car wreck that had me unconscious for a few hours. I’d needed to remember a few things and took a chance on letting him do the Reiki.

He’d unlocked things from my past that I’d not sought out answers for, but here we were today. And those answers I needed were in Perrysburg.

“Whatever. I’m goin’, ain’t I?” she questioned.

“I reckon you are.” I pushed up to stand. “I’m going over my lists of to-dos, and one of the to-dos is to go see Mary Elizabeth this morning.”

“I’ve got to get down to the station.” Hank got up and kissed me. “I’ll take these kids on back to the camper. I’ll see you tonight.” Hank took Chester and Fifi with him.

“I’ve got to get going too.” Bobby Ray’s words were met with a frown from Abby. “You stop by and see me on your way to the library.” He tapped Abby’s nose.

“I thought you were off?” I asked.

“I am, but I wanted to grab a couple of books to take with me to read.” She was always either on her phone or nose stuck in a book. “If you think of anything else we need, just text me.”

“Will do,” I said and started to turn off the lights, the fireplace, and unplug things in the camper. “You ready?” I asked Dottie.

“Yep. I need to go see Henry and give him the rundown. There’s not any check-ins, so he should be good for that.” Dottie zipped up her coat and pushed her hands in her pockets. “Gonna be a cold one today.”

“It sure is.” I put on my coat and flung my purse across my body. “Be sure you bring some long johns on the trip.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved me off, her going one way, me going the other.

On the way to my camper where I needed to get my car, I looked back at the blue RV, exactly where it sat all the time in Happy Trails Campground.

Something told me that after we drove out of here in the morning, I’d never look at that camper the same way again.

Chapter 4

“When is this snow going to go away?” I gripped the wheel of my little four-door car and gave a quick glance over at Fifi. She was curled up in her little winter sweater in the passenger seat. “I’m so tired of it being so cold.”

I did love the winter months in Kentucky. Actually, I loved all the seasons and how Mother Nature really showed herself off, but it’d been a long winter, and just a few short weeks ago, the snow and ice had caught the tires of my previous car, sending me right into a tree.

Luckily, the tree did stop me from going over the cliff that was just beyond it, but I’d suffered a horrible concussion. I was ready to put this winter behind me, and that meant the snow.

The Milkery was an actual working dairy farm Mary Elizabeth Moberly, my foster mom, had bought along with her business partner, Dawn Gentry. Dawn was young and brought fresh ideas to The Milkery while Mary Elizabeth brought Southern charm and coziness to the bed-and-breakfast.

“At least it looks like the snow plows did a good job.” I sighed and let go of the wheel with one hand to turn on the radio to see if there was an update about the weather conditions that would hamper me from taking the RV to Perrysburg in the morning.

The snow had let up to where it was lightly falling, and The Milkery silos with the name printed on each of them came into view. Before the entrance of The Milkery, Mary Elizabeth had installed new Kentucky post fence along the entire property, costing her a pretty penny, but she was good at making everything look good, which she believed brought in business.

I smiled at the thought that I’d actually gotten my work ethic from her as I clicked on the blinker to turn into the entrance with the blacktopped driveway, costing another pretty penny, that had replaced the gravel driveway when she and Dawn first purchased the business.

Fifi jumped up and stood on her back legs with her front paws on the door so she could look out.

“We are at Granny’s,” I told her and laughed as she wiggled and jiggled in the seat. She even whined a couple of times. It was amazing how she knew exactly where we were. “The cows must be in the barn.”

She loved coming out here when the cows were out. She barked at them but didn’t get too close. Some of the cows would meander up a little closer to Fifi out of curiosity, but most of them kept their distance, as if they were trying to figure out what the little white yappy thing was.

“Looks like someone is in the chicken house.” I saw the lights on in the coop as I pulled up and decided to park there instead of going up to the bed-and-breakfast. “Let’s go see who’s in there.”

I knew it had to be Dawn or Mary Elizabeth. Though they employed several people on the dairy farm, Mary Elizabeth always took pride in picking out the eggs for all the delicious dishes and sweets she made for her guests. Since I’d already told her I’d be here today to help her bake some treats, I was sure she was getting fresh eggs.

The chicken coop was the cutest thing. Mary Elizabeth and Dawn had free-range chickens, but when it was just too cold outside, the chickens lived in their fancy house. It had heat and air along with all the luxuries they needed.

Fifi darted over to my side and eagerly looked at the bottom of the door which, once she saw it open, she’d jump through and run around.

“Yoo-hoo!” I walked over to the coop and knocked on the door. “Who’s in here?”

“You’re early.” Mary Elizbeth’s backside was to me. She was bent over looking in a few of the nests. A basket in the crook of her elbow was almost half-filled with various colors of eggs.

“Is that a problem?” I asked.

The chickens went crazy and flapped about when Fifi came in.

“My grand-dog must be in here.” Mary Elizabeth withdrew her hand from one of the nests and turned around. “What’s this I hear of you going to Perrysburg for a trip?”

“Wow.” My eyes popped open. “You’re just full of good cheer to see me today.”

“You know I love our baking time together, but I have to say that this little excursion can wait until spring.” She handed me the basket and felt around her hair for sprigs of straw that’d stuck to her hair. She pulled them out before running her hands through it. “It’s bad weather out there, and the roads will be treacherous.”

“Fifi and I just heard the weather on the radio on our way over here.” I patted my leg so Fifi would come stand next to me. I could see a little tension creeping up on Mary Elizabeth’s face, though she’d never tell me Fifi was making her chickens nervous.

Mary Elizabeth had a way of dancing around topics when she wanted me to take the hint instead of just telling me flat out.

For instance, when Fifi first came to The Milkery after Mary Elizabeth had bought it, Fifi would chase the chickens, and we’d laugh. When we’d leave the coop, she’d tell me a story about how chickens didn’t lay very good eggs when they were under stress.

That meant Fifi.

“The snow is moving out. Tomorrow, it’ll be warming up and melt it right off the roads.” I rolled my eyes. “Darn Bobby Ray.”

I knew he’d opened his big mouth. He couldn’t ever keep a secret from her, or at least, he loved to tell her things I didn’t want to tell her, then he’d say to me that I didn’t tell him not to say anything.

I walked out of the coop with Mary Elizabeth behind me. The rocking chair and basket of children’s books that were next to the door didn’t go unnoticed.

I picked up Fifi once outside, and we waited for Mary Elizabeth to talk to her chickens like she always did. In fact, Dawn Gentry told me Mary Elizabeth had started to read them bedtime books.

“Are you two ready?” she asked and held out the basket full of eggs to me in exchange for Fifi. “You can ride in the cart with Grandma.”

She turned around in her cute little purple snow boots and headed to the heated golf cart waiting for her while I pulled the edges of my coat up around my ears as I walked back to my car.

Before I could even get my car started and in gear, Mary Elizabeth had already driven past the metal building where the offices for The Milkery were located and up to the mansion house that was once the main house for the original owners of the working farm.

That was what she and Dawn had turned into a bed-and-breakfast. She didn’t have a lot of rooms, but they were always booked.

“How’s business?” I asked when I walked into the kitchen entrance and shrugged off my coat.

“Uh-uh.” Mary Elizabeth’s tongue wagged at me. “Hang it up on the coatrack.”

A long sigh escaped me. I picked my coat up off the ladder-back chair where I’d hung it and walked out of the kitchen, down the hall, and hung it on the coatrack just inside the foyer.

“It’s good. Business is good, but we need to get back to this business of you wanting to drive to Perrysburg in the morning when you can wait until spring.” Mary Elizabeth had never kept me from learning about my family.

She’d always been my biggest cheerleader, and I loved her for that. I was the one who was a pill to her after she’d taken me in.

“You have yourself to thank for this.” I walked over and gave her a hug.

She wasted no time grabbing an apron from the pantry and tossing it over my head before she twirled me around to tie it snug around my waist.

“This winter has had me eating.” I could feel the apron was a little more snug around my chest than it usually was.

“Happy fat.” She smiled.

“It doesn’t make me happy,” I groaned and watched her grab the recipe box from a shelf in her pantry before she brought it back to the table.

Mary Elizabeth claimed that when people were happy, they would eat whatever they wanted because they were happy, so weight gain was called “happy fat.” She also said she didn’t believe people were happy when they were so skinny.

“What shall we bake today?” She thumbed through the notecards.

The sun pierced the kitchen windows, the natural light washing over Mary Elizabeth. Seeing her streaks of grey hair stopped me in my tracks.

Mary Elizabeth always kept up her hair-color appointments and never let her hair go grey.

“When do you go see Helen Pyle again?” I asked about the owner and Mary Elizabeth’s hairstylist down at Cute-icles, the only hair salon in Normal.

“I have no idea.” She looked up at me and patted her hair before her fingers trickled along her pearl necklace. “Oh dear, do I look bad?”

“No. I was just thinking maybe we could get our nails done soon on a day you’re already there. When is your next cut and color?” I asked.

“I just had it done.” She went back to looking at her recipe cards. “But I’d love to have a spa day.”

“Spa day?” Dawn Gentry walked in.

I was still shocked when I saw the two business partners side by side, Mary Elizabeth head to toe in Lily Pulitzer and pearls with neatly brushed shoulder-length hair and Dawn Gentry with a short pixie-cut hairstyle, black skinny jeans, and a leather jacket over a tee shirt along with a pair of black Doc Martin boots.

“I would be down for a spa day.” Dawn smiled and walked over to greet me with a hug but not before she picked up Fifi. “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you tell her I was coming to bake?” I asked since Dawn was the one who went to the various local shops to pick up the ingredients that were made locally, which was one of the things Mary Elizabeth proudly boasted about The Milkery.

It was one of the things we all did as a community. We bought and used as much locally as we could to support each other. Mary Elizabeth always knew what we were going to bake and would give Dawn a list of things she’d need, so when I got here, we were ready to bake.

“Mary Elizabeth?” I called her name to get her attention after she didn’t answer me.

“Yes, hun?” She looked up and smiled.

“Did you not give Dawn a list of ingredients, or do you already have them?” I asked.

“I guess I didn’t.” Her brows furrowed, and she brought her hands up to her lips. “I guess we have everything we need for a pineapple upside-down cake. I think the guests will love it.”

“I don’t know if we have pineapple slices.” Dawn’s eyes shifted from Mary Elizabeth to me. Only when she looked at me, I could see some worry. “I can just run to town real fast.”

“You be careful. Remember, Maybelline had that awful wreck a couple weeks ago.” Mary Elizabeth’s brows shot up.

“Over a month ago,” I reminded her.

“Huh?” Mary Elizabeth looked at me with a questioning eye.

“My wreck was over a month ago.” I blinked a few times as I tried to tell if she was joking or if there was something wrong with her.

“Ahem.” Dawn cleared her throat and used her head to gesture me to meet her in the pantry.

“Time just flies.” Mary Elizabeth looked back down at her recipe box. “Now, we need to find a recipe.”

“You look through them, and I’ll be right back.” I patted her shoulder. “What is going on with her?” I asked Dawn once I made sure Mary Elizabeth was out of earshot.

“She’s been forgetting a lot of things lately.” There was concern on Dawn’s face. “Items that she really takes pride in, like those little soap thingies.”

Mary Elizabeth felt like the little extra touches to the rooms made the guests feel at home and cozy. Like the little soaps Dawn was talking about. They were locally made from the Sweet Smell Flower Shop. They had bits and pieces of wildflowers that were native to the Daniel Boone National Park in them, and Mary Elizabeth loved to have those sitting in each guest bathroom on a cute little tray along with some smell-good bath salts, a candle, and a bottle of water.

“So she forgot some soap.” I snorted, playing off my concern. “Big deal.”

“And she’s forgotten to go pick up items she’d ordered from the Cookie Crumble too. Christine called me twice in the last week after Mary Elizabeth didn’t pick up the morning donuts.” Dawn’s face told me of her real concern for my mom. “It’s not the first time. She’s been doing it for the past six months.”

“Six months?” I gasped.

“You okay in there, Mae?” Mary Elizabeth asked after she must’ve heard my shocked question for Dawn.

“I’m fine. Just looking for some ingredients,” I called out of the side of my mouth to assure her that I was okay and that she didn’t need to come in. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner than now?” I whispered, concerned, to Dawn.

“I just thought with all the stuff going on with her hip and then your wreck that she was under a lot of stress. I thought once the new year got here, things would’ve been settled down.” Dawn’s shoulders lifted to her ears as she took in a deep breath. “I don’t know, Mae. I think something is really wrong.”

Slowly, her shoulders found their way back down, but the look of concern didn’t leave her face.

“I—” I tried to swallow the breath that got caught in my throat as I felt my heart start to pound at the thought that something serious could be wrong. “I’ll take her to the doctor.”

I couldn’t bring myself to question if Mary Elizabeth was having memory problems that would lead to a diagnosis of dementia.

“I already got one set up after Tex came to do her physical therapy session and she forgot all about it.” Mary Elizabeth called her adjustment with Tex a physical therapy appointment when I think she just liked having him massage her. Plus, she’d always thought he was easy on the eyes.

“When is it?” I asked.

“In three days.” Her voice halted when she heard Mary Elizabeth shuffling around in the kitchen. Dawn glanced over my shoulder.

“I can cancel my trip to Perrysburg. Say, when did she talk to Bobby Ray?” I asked.

“He called her this morning. I overheard them talking when I was taking breakfast up to the guests.” Dawn smiled as if she were trying to give me some reassurance. “She does remember most of the time, but she forgets little things, like picking up the items she ordered or the soaps or even you coming to bake. It’s not all the time.”

“She did remember Bobby Ray opening his big mouth about me going to Perrysburg for a few days when I got here.” Of course she’d remember that. “I’ll just cancel,” I said again.

“No. Don’t. I can take her. If anything needs to be done, I’ll call you.” She gave me a watchful smile. “What? Perrysburg is like three hours away. Nothing is going to happen that you can’t get here for in three hours.”

I chewed on my lower lip and stole a glance at Dawn. I trusted her. I knew she loved Mary Elizabeth and wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Are you sure?” I questioned. “I do have some meetings set up, but they can always be rescheduled.”

“There’s no sense in it. I promise I’ll call you as soon as we see the doctor. Or if anything happens between now and then.” Dawn was a woman of her words. Her eyes shifted past me. “Oh, look. Pineapple chunks.”

She reached around me and plucked the big pineapple can off the wire rack in the pantry.

“She can use pineapple chunks instead of rings.” She pushed it into my chest. “I’ve got to go scrub some toilets. You go make her dessert so we can have some for the guests tonight.”

“Thanks, Dawn.” I gave her a quick hug and felt assured Mary Elizabeth would be fine until I got back.

I waited for a second after Dawn left the pantry and paused to catch my breath from the blow of news I’d just learned, only to find that my fears surrounding Mary Elizabeth and her health were stronger than ever.

Chapter 5

The rest of the afternoon was spent stopping in various stores to purchase things the Laundry Club Ladies and I would need for our RV trip to Perrysburg. After seeing Mary Elizabeth, I couldn’t help but wonder if I needed to leave for Perrysburg tonight and move my various stops there up a day.

If we left tonight, we could wake up in the morning and get a jump on things, whereas if we left in the morning, it’d take three hours to get there, set up the RV, then begin the things we needed to do.

My mind was preoccupied with why Mary Elizabeth seemed to be very forgetful, so I made my stops quick. In and out. When Alvin Deters wanted to talk about the spring and his new ideas for the kayaking side of my business, I simply thanked him for the propane for the RV and told him we’d talk when I got back.

Normally, I’d stay and chat, excited about the upcoming season, but right now, my mind was occupied with the living mother I had, not to mention the deceased family members I was going to Perrysburg to get answers about.

With Dottie working in the Happy Trails Campground office, I’d gotten a lot of items situated in the RV we were taking along with the things I’d gotten at the stores. So when all the girls had come over to discuss our final travel plans, I’d told them about Mary Elizabeth and how Dawn Gentry told me they had an appointment with the doctor.

“Maybe we should leave now and sleep in the church parking lot until we can get into a campground.” I had suggested to the Laundry Club Ladies that we leave tonight instead of tomorrow morning.

“I’m sure she’s fine. She’s exhausted. She’s been carrying on about you and that wreck you had. It nearly took her under.” Dottie doodled on her phone and tapped her foot in the air.

Abby was looking over her shoulder and pointing out different campground websites that just might be open during this time of the year in or around Perrysburg.

“What about that one?” Abby questioned.

Dottie pulled back and held the phone away from her face to see exactly which one Abby had pointed out.

“Bobby Ray did mention something about Mary Elizabeth.” Abby’s words were a little static, as though she didn’t want to say anything but knew she probably should. “I probably shouldn’t say.”

“Spill it.” Dottie stopped looking at her phone and gave Abby a hard eyeballing.

“I don’t know.” Abby shrugged and pulled her phone from her pocket. “I feel odd telling you things he tells me, like I’m going, you know, going against him or something.”

“You mean now that you’re dating Mae’s foster brother, we all can’t be best friends and help each other out?” Betts was always the logical one. “If your mom was ill and I knew something about it, I’d tell you, and that way, everyone would be in the know so she could get help.”

“You’re right, and I guess Bobby Ray didn’t want to jump to any conclusions or alarm anyone, but he said the other day, she dropped off some banana pudding, and there weren’t any bananas in it.”

“Are you sure it was banana pudding?” I asked. “Mary Elizabeth makes the best banana pudding, and Bobby Ray isn’t the best at knowing recipes.”

“Yep.” Abby sighed and thumbed through her phone. “I even took a photo of it.”

She flipped her phone around for me to see the photo. As much as I wanted Bobby Ray to be wrong, I knew that dish in the photo of the dessert Abby had taken.

It was a tall, wide-mouth cylinder glass with a stubby stem. The exact one Mary Elizabeth used to make the family’s banana pudding. She could tell you exactly how many vanilla wafers went around the bottom of that glass container along with the exact number of banana slices that were cut to a perfect half inch and how many bananas were needed for just that layer of the five-layer pudding.

“How long ago did she start this behavior?” I asked.

“You mean forgetting things?” Abby asked.

“Yep, you better call it as it is. Mary Elizabeth Moberly is getting the de-men-chia.” Dottie shook her head slowly. Her Southern twang made it sound like a death sentence.

“Hold on. She could have some other things going on. Why does everyone want to jump on the dementia train?” Betts’s reasonable side came out again. “You know Jerry Young at church?” Betts looked around and waited for confirmation. “Well, he ended up having a tumor the size of your fist that made him forget things.”

“Mm, that’s right.” Dottie nodded vigorously.

“And we also have Anna Bolton-Baker, who had that forgetting spell, and she ended up with a urinary tract infection.” Betts continued to recall all these folks who had some sort of memory loss. “You were there this morning, right?” Betts asked. I nodded. “With most dementia patients, their forgetfulness is mostly at night.”

“They call that sundowners.” Queenie was standing in the hallway where the bunk beds were located with her hands way above her head, then she moved them to her waist, then bent down to touch her toes. “I’ll take this bunk.” She pointed out one of the bunk beds.

“How do you know all of this?” It was a question I knew I should’ve known the answer to.

“Honey, there ain’t nothin’ secret when you are a member of the church.” Dottie had pulled out a cigarette, which hung immobile in her mouth. “Betts and her Bible thumpers can call it a prayer chain, but I call it the gossip line.”

Betts laughed. “And that’s why we took you off.”

“I’m gonna go take me a smoke.”

Fifi jerked up from her bed when she heard Dottie’s zipper and bolted in front of the door.

“I reckon I can take you with me.”

“Leash,” I called out because it was already getting dark even though we were barely near supper. “I put one in that first drawer.”

I’d already taken some supplies we’d need to the RV so I didn’t have to busy myself with packing up in the morning—things like the leash, Fifi’s food, and extra pots and pans because these women loved to cook, along with any medical extras I didn’t already have in the camper for guests. Extra blankets and sheets were always a good staple in case the RV did break down or one of the propane tanks ran out of juice.

From being around the four of them, I knew each one of them had different tastes in shampoos, soaps, and various toiletries, so I’d made each one of them a little basket of things that were specific to their needs.

“I understand you’d like to get a jump on things, but if we are here on time in the morning and with a good night’s sleep under us, we will be ready to hit the ground and can just leave the RV and come back after we hit a few of the places you want to go to get the RV set up.” Betts had pretty much made the decision for us. “I’ve got a casserole already made that we can have to eat tomorrow night so we don’t have to rush back to cook.”

“We can roll into town.” Abby sat down at the larger kitchen table in the RV with the notebook we used for all our previous snooping situations and clicked the pen. She started to make our list. “Park the RV, unhook the van, head to the police department or fire station to see where they keep the old reports. Possibly the courthouse.” She stopped writing and put the pen down in exchange for her phone. “Hashtag files. Where do counties in Kentucky keep old fire files? Hashtag help, hashtag Kentucky.”

I’d never ever been able to keep up with Abby and her social media knowledge. She loved to hashtag things and see if anyone would respond to her. Not just questions either. Whenever we had an event in Normal, she would hashtag it and be so delighted that people would see the post and show up. That’s why I’d hired her to do all the marketing for Happy Trails Campground.

“Knock, knock,” Bobby Ray said, sticking his head inside of the camper. “Are y’all almost done?”

“Meat is done, people are finished,” I teased him, imitating Mary Elizabeth’s voice.

He laughed. Abby jumped up, folding the notebook shut and sticking it and the pen back into the drawer where she’d gotten it.

“I think we are.” She bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement to get to Bobby Ray and give him a kiss.

“Hank just pulled in, and I think he’s getting Chester so they can come over.” Bobby Ray gave Abby another kiss. “You ready to go eat?”

“I’m starved.” Abby rubbed her stomach. “I’ll see y’all early in the morning.”

“Good night.” Betts, Queenie, and I waved her off.

“Nighty night.” Dottie passed Abby and Bobby Ray on their way out of the RV along with Chester and Fifi at her feet. Hank was right behind her.

“Brrrr. It’s so cold out there.” He shivered as he bent down to kiss me. “Are there treats in here?” he asked as Fifi and Chester danced around to get their usual treat for going outside.

“In the basket next to her bed.” I pointed.

“So we have a plan, ladies?” Betts looked at us. We all nodded in agreement. “Good. We have a plan. Mary Elizabeth will be okay.” She reached out for a reassuring touch. “We might even be back sooner than expected if we get our hands on the report and see it was simply a house fire.”

“Okay.” I hugged her and went down the line as each one of them filed out the door, leaving me and Hank inside.

“What’s going on with Mary Elizabeth?” he asked.

“I’m not sure.” I didn’t want the rest of my night to focus on what had happened with Mary Elizabeth and what might lie ahead of me with my birth mother. “Why don’t we grab some food and veg on the couch with a good movie?”

“I’m already ahead of you.” His green eyes lit up along with a bright smile. “I’ve already gotten our favorite Chinese takeout, and I’ll let you pick the movie.”

“Something good and sappy.” My eyes widened.

“Whatever you want.” He reached out for my hand, leading me out of the RV along with Chester and Fifi.

Chapter 6

Hank and I stayed up a little later than normal even though we didn’t intend to do so. After a long chat about Mary Elizabeth, which I didn’t want to have but he’d continued to press about because he could see I was worried about something, we finally said goodnight.

It took me a couple of hours after he and Chester had walked back down to his camper until I finally got to sleep. When the alarm on my phone went off, I thought it was a mistake since it felt like I’d just closed my eyes.

The few hours of sleep I did get still didn’t clear my mind of the two things rolling around up there—the fact that something could be wrong with Mary Elizabeth and the thought that I might be getting some real answers about what or who really set the fire that killed my parents and sisters.

“Are you ready to go potty?” I asked a very excited Fifi, who’d already jumped up from underneath the covers and gotten off the bed, where she waited until my feet hit the ground.

That was her signal that I was truly getting up and was when she’d dart down the camper hallway to the door.

I slipped my feet into the winter boots I kept next to the door and pulled on the puffer coat over top of my sweatpants and sweatshirt, my normal sleeping attire, and peeled back the curtain on the window over top the kitchen sink before I opened the door for Fifi to run out.

The sunrise wasn’t popping over the forest, but the threads of pinks, oranges, purples, and blues danced with one another as if having a party for the upcoming gorgeous day. The colors gave off enough natural light for me to see there weren’t any sort of animals in the campground that would get Fifi if she weren’t on a leash, and no one else was out of their camper yet.

I flipped the coffee pot on and opened the door. Fifi didn’t bother with stepping down the little metal steps of the camper. She leapt and hit the ground, running across the road to the sleeping ducks, sending them into a frenzy.

“Poor ducks,” I muttered when they landed in the cold lake. I pushed my hands into my coat pockets to keep them from the cold and kept a close eye on Fifi. The last thing I wanted her to do was to jump in the lake. “Let’s go potty.”

I took a short walk past a few campers and let her sniff alongside me. Before too long, she’d turned around and run back to the camper quicker than I could walk there.

“I guess we need to get you fed, and I need to get a shower.” I looked at the time to see if I had enough time to drink a cup of coffee before I got ready, but I would be cutting it close to when the Laundry Club Ladies would be here to hit the road.

I opened the kitchen cabinet door and scooped some kibble into Fifi’s bowl and made sure she had some fresh water before I poured myself a cup of coffee and headed to the bathroom.

A long sigh escaped me as I thought of the people I had to talk to and run into. Though I’d made good with everyone the last time I’d gone back to Perrysburg, and they’d heard all about me and Paul and what he had done, it still wasn’t easy to go back.

The look on the fire chief’s face and the look he’d given Hank back then still haunted me to this day. Recalling his words sent chills to my bones. “I’m guessing y’all are here about the fire, then? I sure hate that we weren’t able to find out who set fire to your house.”

Who set fire to the house? If that was the case, why did everyone dance around it and not truly find out what had happened?

That was the first person I was going to see today. Judd Tripoly.

There were a lot of questions I had, and hopefully, I would be able to get a copy of the fire inspection report. Hank told me he wasn’t able to get one faxed, but he knew the records were still located at the Perrysburg Fire Station.

The hot shower made me come up with more questions. Where did the fire come from? Was it from inside or out? Why did Judd think it was set by someone? When did they close the investigation? What was the reason that made them close it? Had this become one of those actual cold cases?

If that was the case, why did someone want to burn down our house? Did my parents know something they shouldn’t’ve?

All of the questions had to be answered before I could even think about when we were coming back. The Laundry Club Ladies thought we’d be back in a couple of days, but I couldn’t guarantee it.

The other people I wanted to see were past friends of my parents, which weren’t many. What about my dad’s co-workers? Did they have any knowledge of who might’ve been upset with my dad?

I didn’t meet a whole lot of Dad’s coworkers, but I had memories of the company picnic, and Jami’s family owned the coal mine. Her grandmother was still living, so I could ask her if she had any records of the employees.

When I got out of the shower and quickly got dressed, I got the notebook out of the kitchen drawer and wrote down all the questions and concerns I’d thought of. It would be a good starting point for Abby to really pinpoint where we’d go on our trip so we could make good time.

I kept the notebook out next to my purse so I wouldn’t forget either of them and headed back to the bathroom, where I lightly blow-dried my hair because my curls would frizz up if I did too much.

“You’re going to catch a cold going out in the dead of winter with wet hair.” I could hear Mary Elizabeth now, though I was sure it was a myth.

I wasn’t going to take any chances by going to Perrysburg without being in tip-top health so I could get the answers I needed to move forward with my life.

With a few items packed and a couple of nicer pieces of clothing, Fifi and I were ready to head down to the RV we were driving.

I was happy to see that everyone was there and on time. They’d all parked up next to the office and had given Henry their car keys in case he needed to move them, but I didn’t anticipate anything major happening while we were gone.

“Don’t forget to take off the sway bars before you unhook the van.” Henry had made sure we had Betts’s van properly on the ball for towing, which included sway bars on each side of the towing package so we didn’t swerve all over the interstate on our way to Perrysburg. “Even though it’s gonna be a pretty day”—he looked at me from underneath his bushy brows—“you take your time. Slow and steady.”

“Thank you.”

I looked back over my shoulder and watched the ladies file into the RV one by one. Dottie was the last. She’d gotten one more drag from her cigarette before she butted it out on the ground and headed inside.

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Bobby Ray and Hank will be here if I need anything.” He didn’t mention the other residents who lived here year-around, but he was right. If anything did go wrong or need attention, I’d direct him to my brother and my boyfriend.

“Are we ready?” I asked when I got into the driver’s seat. I turned around when I noticed Fifi was in the passenger chair. “What are y’all doing?”

“We decided to play some cards while you drive. Fifi looked comfortable, and you already know the way.” Queenie had worn a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, which completely threw me off.

“Yepper.” Dottie was shuffling the cards. “And Abby’s got it all planned out.”

“Unfortunately, there aren’t any campgrounds available.” Her news didn’t come as a shocker to me.

Recently, there’d been so much traveling and the camping industry had gotten so popular that it was hard to find any place to camp that wasn’t booked six months out.

“I guess we can boondock at the church like you did before, which would be fine because in three hours, we can grab an early lunch, head over to the fire department where Judd Tripoly is still the chief, and get that incident report.” Abby had the notebook open already. She dragged in the cards Dottie had shuffled for her and arranged them. “We can also go by your family home so we can read the report and get our eyes on a visual.”

I pinched my lips together in hopes I didn’t start to cry. There was a lump forming in my throat that I desperately tried to swallow back down. I’d not even considered how I would feel about going back to discover just what had happened. My drive had been the need to know and put it to rest, whatever it was.

My hands began to sweat, and my heart thundered in my chest. Slowly, I turned back around and said a little grateful prayer that we’d gotten our start and that I could do this.

With that positive mindset, I turned over the key and was greeted by the cheers of the ladies after I put the gearshift in drive and put my foot on the gas.

Chapter 7

“Are we already here?” Dottie asked and walked up between the captain’s chair and the passenger seat. Her head shifted left to right as she tried to get some good views out the windshield.

“Yep.” I sucked in a deep breath. A sick feeling washed over me. I licked my lips and took a right off the exit and let out the breath as soon as we drove over the bridge and passed the Welcome To Perrysburg sign. “It’s just like any other small town in Kentucky. Nothing special.”

“I’m glad we are here, because I got tired of taking everyone’s money.” Dottie crawled into the passenger seat and put Fifi in her lap. “I reckon we ought to stop and let her tinkle before we go eat.”

It was clear Dottie was going to be the mother on this trip.

“So Mary Elizabeth called you?” I asked, knowing Dottie was up to something.

“Might’ve.” She lifted her chin in the air. “Said I better take good care of you and if she didn’t have a doctor’s appointment, she’d be with us.”

“I’m glad she remembered her appointment.” It was at least a good sign for her memory.

I knew it was selfish, but the thought of Mary Elizabeth having memory loss played right up there with my feelings about the loss of my family. No one was going to remember me or anything about us, leaving me all alone again.

“You’ve been real quiet these past three hours.” Dottie’s hand gently rubbed down Fifi’s back. “You gonna be okay?”

“I am, but I really want some answers. I need these answers before I can even think anything is going to happen to Mary Elizabeth.” I let the words fall from my mouth as my eyes teared.

“Let’s get some food,” I overheard Abby holler out from behind me with a follow-up agreement from Betts and Queenie. “What about the Three Sons Bistro you’ve been bragging about?”

“You’ve got it.” I slowly drove down Main Street and took a left into the church parking lot.

Before I could even get the RV stopped, Abby had already gotten her shoes on and her coat zipped up. I pulled the RV up to the very back of the parking lot, practically out of sight and next to the greenest part so Fifi would have a place to do her business.

“I’ll go let the church secretary know we are here. I already sent a message via their website’s contact form, and she got right back with me. Said it would be fine for one of the town’s Hall of Famers to park here.” Abby snorted and hurried out the RV before I could give her a little grumble about the Hall of Famers comment.

“I’m glad we are going to Three Sons Bistro so I can see this wall of fame. We have to have our picture taken next to it.” Betts’s brows lifted.

I rolled my eyes and took Fifi from Dottie.

“I’m going to take her over there to potty. Y’all can go unhook the van.” I grabbed Fifi’s leash out of the basket I’d brought with her things in it and clipped it on.

She trotted out the door with her little puff tail wagging fast, as her nose that was to the ground took in everything it could. She darted from one smell to another, finally going potty. I took my time walking her around all the greenery I could see and gave the ladies time to get the van unhooked from the tow and Abby back from the office.

“I’m so excited to meet you.” The young woman was grinning ear to ear with her hand extended. “I’ve heard about you all my life but never seen you in person.” Her twang told me that she grew up right here in this part of Kentucky. “I’m Barbara Bishop.”

“It’s nice to meet you, I assume?” I questioned with a little trepidation because I had no idea what she’d heard about me.

“Thank you.” She drew her hand up to her chest. “When I tell my mama that you’re in town, she’s gonna be so excited. I mean, she tells me all about your stories when we go to Three Sons Bistro and I see her looking at your wall of fame.”

The girl rambled on and on.

“Now, when I tell my mama that I want to skip town like you did on your eighteenth birthday, I get it, but Mama tells me that I should have a better role model.” The girl’s eyes grew, her lips suddenly pinched. “Did I just say that?”

“Umm, yeah, but your mom is right. Do I know your mom?” I questioned.

“Mm-hmm. Doris Jean Bishop. She was a few years older than you, I think, but she knows all about you stuffing those ballot boxes and then forging your diploma.” She sucked in a deep breath like she was trying to suck back her words. “Did I say that?” She giggled.

“You stuffed the ballot boxes for what?” Abby’s weight shifted as she looked at me, wide-eyed.

“Mama said it was for prom queen and Jami Burkfield really won, but Mama said that the First Lady’s mama took to the bed it was so bad. Even demanded a recount.” Barbara nodded her head and looked at me. “Ain’t that right?”

“You be sure to tell your mama that May-bell-ine Grant sends a big ole hello.” I shooed the girl away.

“You didn’t graduate from high school?” Abby’s jaw dropped. “Bobby Ray didn’t tell me none of this. Does he know?”

“Know?” I held her coat, giving it a little jiggle to get her moving, which it finally did. “He is the mastermind. But we have plenty of time to talk about all that.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t mention it.” Abby was dumbfounded.

“I’m guessing he didn’t mention that Doris Jean Bishop was his big-time girlfriend back in the day.” Bishop. “Did she say her name was Barbara Bishop?”

“Yes. That’s her name. She’s in high school and works in the church rectory. Right now, they are on Christmas break, so she’s working until school starts back up.” Abby stopped walking. “Did you say Bobby Ray dated this girl’s mama?”

“I sure did.” Abby sure did know a lot about Barbara Bishop. But why was her name Bishop like her mom’s maiden name? “Honestly, it would do us good not to see Doris Jean while we are here. I hope that girl forgets we were here. Or at least forgets to tell her mom.”

“Bobby Ray said he didn’t have a girlfriend in high school.” Abby seemed to be more worried about Bobby Ray’s past relationships than why we were here.

“Really, it doesn’t matter. That’s in the past.” I shrugged and unclipped Fifi’s leash before she darted back into the camper.

“Yeah, I guess. It’s still weird that he didn’t mention anything about her.” Abby walked in after Fifi and picked up the notebook. “Are y’all ready to go eat? I’m starving.”

Everyone agreed it was time to grab some food. After Queenie, Dottie, Abby, and Betts got into the van, I made sure Fifi was okay and had everything she needed before I made sure the tires of the RV had blocks on them, the keys were in my purse, and everything was locked tight.

Not that I expected anything to happen to the RV, but when you boondocked, it wasn’t like it was guarded or had an eye kept on it like a campground. You just never knew what could happen. Even with the best locks in the world, campers weren’t as sturdy as a house door or even house walls. They could easily be broken into. Not that any of them had anything in there, but I did. Fifi.

“You be a good girl.” I gave her a few extra treats and made sure she had everything she needed. I’d even gotten some of those doggy pee-pee pads to put down in case she had to go. That was when Fifi’s background came in handy.

She’d been a show dog with a breeding pedigree that brought her original owner a lot of income. Fifi had been very well trained. “Had been” were the important words, because after I got the side job of babysitting Fifi and allowing her to run around the campground, she had gotten pregnant by Roscoe, Ethel Biddle’s pug, when Ethel’s band, Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys, were playing a gig at the campground.

Fifi’s rendezvous with Roscoe made her pedigree less than stellar and no longer worth a dime. That was when Fifi’s owner had no more use for her since she was no longer an income stream and happily turned Fifi over to me. At first, I wasn’t sure what I’d do with a dog, but Fifi was the one who knew what she was going to do with me—turn me into a big sap. Now I’d no clue what I’d do without her, making her the only valuable thing in the RV.

“I’m starving.” Betts had us all pile into her cleaning van. Once we were safely inside, though maybe not so safely secure—I was holding on to the handle of the vacuum for stability—she turned out of the church parking lot and headed towards Three Sons Bistro, with Abby in the passenger seat using her phone’s GPS.

“I told you, it’s down the road.” I tried to give them directions.

“You’ve got a lot on your mind. You keep percolating little details up there along with what Tex brought out so we don’t waste our time here.” Abby made everyone giggle, including me.

“Crazy loon,” Dottie grumbled under her breath.

“Call him what you want, but I believe there were some buried memories that he did help me bring forth.” I knew it wasn’t a very popular form of therapy around here, and Dottie didn’t keep it to herself that some weirdo hippie guy who insisted on going bare-chested touching me was ridiculous, not to mention that he shouldn’t be giving me advice because I was old enough to do as I pleased.

And I was pleased to come here to explore the memories I’d had.

“We’ll see after these next couple of days.” Dottie folded her arms across her chest but not for too long. When she was forced sideways as Betts pulled up to a vacant spot in front of the bistro, Dottie grabbed the leg of the steel shelf Betts had welded into the inside of her van.

“Welcome to Three Sons Bistro,” Sheila Bistro called without looking up as we walked in. It was the bell over the door that enabled her to greet every customer.

“Oh my goodness!” Queenie squealed and hurried over to the Hall of Fame wall that included taped-up photos of locals who made the local paper or did something nice for the community. “Looky, there you are.” She jabbed a photo of me with the prom queen crown on top of my head.

“Look at that girl.” Dottie pointed to Jami Burkfield standing next to me. “You could ride to town on that pouting lip.”

“Maybelline Grant, is that you?” Sheila Bistro questioned.

I turned around.

“Heavens to Betsy, it sure is!” She bounced on her toes. “Arnie, get the camera!” she hollered over her shoulder.

Everyone in the bistro had stopped eating and turned to see what all the excitement was about.

“You know when you and Mary Elizabeth came to town with that hunk of a man you got?” Sheila walked up to me. Her short brown hair was still the same, and there were a few more wrinkles around her eyes. “Honey, you still got that fine man, don’t you?”

“Yes.” I hugged her back.

“Well, I’m not gonna let another trip go by without me getting a picture with you.” In a whip, she turned around and wrapped her arm around my waist. “Smile!”

Before I could even think about what was happening, Arnie Bistro, her husband, holding a thumbtack in his mouth, had snapped a photo with an old Polaroid, making my eyes see bursts of light after the flash went off.

Arnie waved the picture in the air so it’d show up on the old Polaroid film and pinned it to my area of the wall with the tack. He took a Sharpie out of the pocket of his apron and used his teeth to pop the top off. With the Sharpie cap in his mouth, he wrote my name on the white part of the photo and stuck the lid back on.

“How’s your mama and them?” Arnie asked about Mary Elizabeth and Bobby Ray.

I was happy to see all the customers had gone back to eating, taking their attention off me.

“They are good.” I tried not to look at the unflattering photo he’d just taken or listen to the Laundry Club Ladies snickering at the fact my hair was mid-twirl, my mouth was open, and my eyes were shut since Sheila gave me no time to turn around and properly prepare for a photo. “In fact—Abby!” I called over to her. “That’s Bobby Ray’s girlfriend.”

“Honey, you are a brave woman bringing her here.” Sheila gave Abby the once-over and then did it again. “If Doris Jean hears he’s done got him a girlfriend, she’ll go crazy. Just like Jami Burkfield’s mama did when you won prom queen.” Sheila’s eyes slid past my shoulder, no doubt looking at the prom queen news clipping. “Doris Jean still comes in here flapping her jowls about Bobby Ray.”

“Doris Jean can’t be that bad.” Abby spoke up all innocent-like. “We just met her sweet daughter, Barbara Bishop.”

“Sweet? Ha.” Sheila snorted. “That girl is all sorts of mischievous. Why do you think she’s spending the last part of her school break in the new year at the church? Somehow, her mama thinks that girl is gonna get some religion by osmosis.”

“I understand that.” Dottie put in her two cents. “I could tell something was off with that girl.”

“I’m sorry, Sheila. These are my friends, Dottie Swaggert, Betts Hager, Queenie French, and you’ve met Abby Fawn.” I paid attention to this exact moment, the moment the Laundry Club Ladies had been waiting for the past couple of years, as my two worlds collided.

The past people I ran from and the current people I clung to, right here in this very spot.

“It’s so nice that May-bell-ine brought you to here. But what for?” Sheila waved us over to a table.

“Gonna find out who killed her mama and daddy.” Dottie’s lack of secrecy made me inwardly groan.

“Killed your mama and daddy?” Sheila questioned loudly, causing everyone in the restaurant once again to turn and look at us.

“Killed is a strong word,” I assured her, but no matter how you put it, I did feel that way. “I’m here to put an end to the mystery behind the house fire that killed my family.”

“Oh, sugar, sometimes it just happens, and we just don’t get what we deserve in life. You, honey, you were served some terrible apples, but I don’t think anyone would deliberately kill your entire family. I mean”—she took out her notepad from her apron pocket and pulled a pen from behind her ear—“I knew your daddy had caused a little ruckus at the coal mine before all this, but I doubt anyone killed him over it.”

“A little ruckus?” I asked. “That’s news to me.”

“You were a child. What did you know about any adult stuff going on?” She winked, smiled, and put the pen to the tablet. “What can I get y’all to drink? We have sweet iced tea, water, coffee…”

“I’m sorry. What was the ruckus my dad caused?” I questioned.

“Oh, just some hearsay. Gossip.” Sheila waved me off. “You know how gossip around here is. Not true.”

Betts spoke up. “Any information would be very helpful, even if it’s just gossip. That’s how we’ve weeded through to help solve some of Mae’s hunky boyfriend’s cases.”

“He is a hunk, isn’t he?” Sheila said with a wrinkled nose. “Uh-oh. Don’t look now, but you ain’t gonna believe who just walked in.”

“Who?” I asked before turning to see for myself.

“Ruth Ann Jolly and her very single pharmacist son, Kenny.” Sheila mentioned my sorta-ex-boyfriend’s name in a way that made it sound like we were in some Hallmark Christmas movie where the small-town girl comes home and reconnects with her past and her boyfriend.

No way. No thank you.

At least not for me.

“Is that him?” Dottie asked. “Hey! Kenny Jolly! Right here is May-bell-ine Grant.” Dottie pointed to me.

I could feel my face redden.

Just seeing him brought back the emotions of how Mary Elizabeth insisted Kenny Jolly be my date to cotillion. It was the most uncomfortable event ever. She made me take etiquette classes that taught me not only which fork was which but also how I needed to sit properly, with my ankles crossed and knees shifted to the side, and how I had to stand just a smidgen behind my date so the man was visible. Little did she know that no man was going to stand in my way, including Kenny Jolly, who came from what Mary Elizabeth called “good stock.”

That meant Kenny’s family had money. It had been a thing and still was in Kentucky. Jami was no stranger to that fact. She’d always tell me how she couldn’t wait to go to college to get her MRS degree. I didn’t even know what kind of degree it was, but come to find out, it stood for Mrs. as in “married.” She didn’t go to college to get a degree that would land her a job. She went to college to flirt with fancy and rich boys so she could land herself in society.

If I’d stayed with Kenny Jolly, there was no doubt in my mind I’d be living in some fancy house with oriental rugs all over the place that covered up some very expensive hardwood floor, being a housewife and member of some crazy women’s club with the title of secretary or something.

“Hey, Mae.” Kenny’s voice matched the big, happy grin on his face. “Twice in, what?”

“Oh, a year, I guess.” I could feel the Laundry Club Ladies clinging to every word I was saying to him and taking notice of my body language. So when he bent down to hug me, I froze. “Let me introduce you to my friends.”

After some brief introductions, I could feel all of their feet shuffling as they kicked each other under the table.

“Where is Mary Elizabeth?” Ruth Ann asked.

“She’s back in Normal. The Milkery is so busy this time of the year since it’s a bed-and-breakfast. She’s got so many guests who don’t want to camp out in frigid temperatures.” I shrugged and peeled back from the table when Sheila walked up with a much-needed pot of coffee in her hands.

“Did Mae tell ya she’s in town to investigate?” Sheila made it sound so mysterious.

“Investigate what?” Kenny asked and looked at me with a crooked grin on his face. He knew so many little secrets about me that I couldn’t tell if he thought I was here on past business that concerned him or not.

“The death of her family.” Sheila nodded.

“I’m just here to visit the cemetery and look around since it’s slow at the campground.” Though I’d just lied to them, I knew it was in my best interest since, no doubt, it would be all over town that I was here snooping if I didn’t fib a little.

“They were murdered.” Queenie gave a quiet thank you to Sheila when Sheila filled her coffee cup.

“Murdered?” Ruth Ann’s brows winged up. She gasped, “Who was murdered? I didn’t hear nothing about no murder on the TV this morning.”

“Maybelline is looking into the fire that killed her family.” Betts tilted a little to the side when Sheila placed the plate of buttermilk biscuits in front of her. “Who ordered breakfast?”

“Darlin’.” Sheila smiled. “Everyone here gets biscuits on their table, kinda like those big chain restaurants who put rolls on their tables. We do biscuits.”

“And they are the best biscuits around.” Kenny spoke up, his gaze lingering on me, making me a tad bit uncomfortable.

“Kenny would know.” A proud tone held in Ruth Ann’s voice. “He’s traveled all over the world talking about the new CBD oils and supplements. Not the kind that get you all high and all. You know, people around here just think Kenny is selling drugs.”

“Technically, I am,” he joked, making Dottie laugh.

I kicked her under the table. I didn’t want her to continue the conversation so we could just move on with our day. The last thing I wanted was a reunion with the Jolly family. No thank you.

“Now, what is it about this fire?” Ruth Ann clasped her hands in front of her. “Mary Elizabeth didn’t tell me a thing about you coming here and investigating your past.” She sighed. “Not that she’d care. I’m sure of it, but she did take you in.”

“Now, listen here.” Dottie shoved back the plate of biscuits that had somehow made its way in front of her.

“Yes. Mary Elizabeth knows. She’s always encouraged me to find out what happened.” I wasn’t finished with my sentence, but Abby chimed in.

“Since it’s slow in Normal, we figured now was a good time.” Abby’s words made me inwardly groan.

Now, I was sure there would be gossip saying my campground was slow and not doing well, which would turn into it closing and then a foreclosure, putting me out in the streets. None of which was true, but it was the way of Perrysburg.

“Not slow. Happy Trails Campground is doing great.” I could hear myself saying the words that made Ruth Ann roll her eyes with a smirk on her face. “It’s winter. Who wants to camp in winter?” I snorted and picked up my coffee to take a sip so I’d just shut up.

“We didn’t know your family, but I’m sure if my mom or I hear anything, we will definitely tell you.” Kenny put his hand on his mother’s back. “Mom, I think our table is ready. And I’ve got to work today.”

Ruth Ann stood there for a second too long as she assessed me with her narrow eyes. It was as if she were trying to formulate some sort of question in her head, but when her eyes opened wide and her chin lifted in the air, I knew she’d given up.

“Mm-hmm. I’m sure I’ll be talking to Mary Elizabeth soon. I’ll let her know you’re doing fine here.” Ruth Ann turned before I even had the opportunity to say that we wouldn’t be in town long.

“What a horrible woman,” Abby gasped.

“I was going to tell her what was what, but Mae kept kicking me under the table.” Dottie bent down and rubbed her shin where I’d used it as a kickball.

“She’s just looking after her friend and not getting hurt.” Betts got the glare from each one of us. “What? She doesn’t know how much Mary Elizabeth supports you, so just let her go on.”

“I wonder how she keeps in shape? Do you think her son gives her some sort of hyped-up medication to keep her metabolism going? He is cute too.” Queenie was always on that fitness wheel. It was exhausting.

“I don’t think so. I mean, Kenny was definitely a partier in high school, but it wasn’t my thing. I just let people think I was a wild child, but in reality, I just wanted my parents and to get out of here and away from all the memories.” I looked at the paper menu but already knew I was going to get the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with the crinkle fries and a Diet Coke.

“Maybe we should take him up on his offer to see if he knows anything or hears anything. I mean, he is the town’s pharmacist, and I’m sure people tell him stuff all the time.” Abby continued to watch over my shoulder at Kenny and his mother. “He’s very good looking.”

“Mm-hmm.” Queenie agreed like he was a decadent dessert or something. “Did you see how his bicep popped a smidge when he put his hand on his mama’s back?”

“No. I missed it,” Betts gushed. “But his dimples sent me over the edge.”

“Who are you people?” I asked and laughed.

“They are single people. Well, except for the hashtag queen over there.” Dottie’s eyebrows scrunched together in a scowl. “I don’t trust them people.”

“He’s a doctor.” Abby sighed.

“You can tell by his shoes that he’s very well educated.” Betts’s observation made all of us turn to look, which made them all carry on about his clothing.

I listened to them go on and on about how cute and smart Kenny was.

“Don’t let his good looks deceive you,” I said as the coffee’s steam rose around my nose. “He was great at combining all sorts of drugs when we were in high school, if you get my drift.”

“Oh, Mae, don’t you worry. We love Hank too.” Abby winked with a smile dangling off the corner of her lip.

“Ladies, what can I get y’all today?” Sheila had come over to take our orders.

Everyone ordered something different. While we waited, Abby pulled out the notebook and flipped it open.

“I thought we’d head on over to the fire department after this. They are supposed to keep a fire log and reports. I’ve been studying them at the library, so they should be pretty detailed.” She pointed to her list of items that she’d check off as we’d go. “After that, we are going to meet up with Jami at her place.” Abby looked at me. “Right, Mae?”

“Yes. But I’m not sure if I should just go, or all of us. I mean…” I wasn’t sure what I really meant, but I didn’t want Jami not to be open with me about the names of the people who worked in the coal mine with my dad, who might know something.

“We can go to the library here and research why the mine closed, when it closed, and if it was close to when your family died. I have to find out if what we were told is true about your dad knowing something had gotten him in hot water.” Abby made a great point.

“I think we should just go to the library and see what they have. That way, Mae’s friend can talk openly.” Queenie reached across the table and patted my hand. “You need to make sure that you are taking care of yourself mentally while we are here. This is a lot of stress. I know.”

“You do?” I questioned, realizing I didn’t know too much about Queenie French’s past.

“I do. My mom died when I was a little girl. Hit by a car in downtown Normal. It was a hit-and-run.” Even though Queenie was much older than me, her eyes told me the pain was still very real. “It took them a few years to catch the person who hit her. They were a tourist and, going through town, they figured they’d be able to escape without ever getting caught.”

“Gosh, I’m so sorry.” I’d had no clue, as no one had ever told me. I wanted to thump Dottie again on the shin. She should’ve told me.

“Honey, you’d never have known unless I told you. I don’t talk about it. The person who hit my mama was a young kid camping, and my dad didn’t even press charges. But we knew what had happened. In my mama’s case, it was an accident. I mean, there were no sidewalks then. Not a lot of traffic, and it was before they straightened out the curvy road and put the grassy median in the middle so people wouldn’t drive those curves so fast.” She gulped and tried to offer a reassuring smile, but I knew that look on her face.

I wore that look of sadness and silent pain a lot. It was a club no one wanted to be in and a club I had never wanted to join. The dead parents club, where they were just taken too soon.

“Anyways, I think you should continue to find out what happened to your family, and don’t listen to anyone around here.” She gestured to the customers in the diner. “They don’t know how it feels. And even if the fire wasn’t deliberately set, you’ll have answers. That’s what really helped me move forward when I was a kid. Knowing exactly what happened and who did it.”

“Alrighty, I’ve got the country fried steak for you,” Sheila called and handed Betts’s plate across the table. She called out each remaining order and handed them off. “One order of Mary Elizabeth Moberly’s famous snowball cookies on the house.”

“Snowball cookies?” Dottie’s eyes grew when she saw the powder-covered ball cookies on the plate in the middle of the table. “Can we just eat those first?”

“Honey, I ain’t your mama. You can do whatever it is you want.” Sheila winked and stuck the carrying tray up underneath her arm as she moved over to check on the table next to us.

“Mary Elizabeth baked a lot when I was growing up. These were pretty popular around here during the winter. She actually made them for winter funerals.” I loved how Mary Elizabeth made desserts based on the time of people’s death. “If you died in the winter, your repast got snowball cookies. If you died in the summer, people knew they would be served her delicious lemon cookies. It was a running joke around here how people would say, “If I die in the summer, you know Mary Elizabeth is going to have them lemon bars at my funeral.”

We all laughed. I looked down at my hands and took a second to think. For a moment, I wondered what on earth had I gotten myself into.

I looked up and away from our table.

My eyes caught with Kenny’s. His mama was talking a mile a minute, but he was staring at me. He crinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out, making me laugh out loud.

“What?” Dottie asked and turned to see what I was laughing at. “Maybelline Grant West, you take your eyes off that boy. He’s nothin’ but trouble. I mean capital t-r-o-u-b-l-e.”

Chapter 8

Dottie was certainly right about Kenny Jolly. He’d been trouble all throughout high school, but he was one of those boys who had it all. Best athlete, very smart, great at partying but hiding it, well mannered, always polite, and amazing kisser.

I let him kiss me a time or two, but that was it. I’d already made my mind up that I wasn’t going to stay in Perrysburg. And the look he gave me at the bistro with the crinkly nose and his tongue sticking out was the same look he’d given me when he’d dropped me off at the Greyhound bus station on my eighteenth birthday.

Oh, Bobby Ray gave me the money, sorta. Bobby Ray had told me he couldn’t take part in me going away because it would practically kill Mary Elizabeth.

“I got paid today. I left it on top of my car dashboard. I sure would hate it if someone broke into my car and took it.” Bobby Ray wasn’t too subtle. It was his way of giving me the money without getting blood on his hands, so when Mary Elizabeth asked him how I got the money, he could say he didn’t know.

Though Mary Elizabeth had never said so, I did believe she suspected I was the one who took the money from Bobby Ray’s car or at least knew he’d left it there for me to take without him actually handing it to me. He’d refused to drive me to the bus stop.

That was when I’d called in Kenny Jolly to help me with my great escape and the second time I’d let him kiss me. He was a great kisser but not great enough to keep me in Perrysburg that night, which was what he’d thought.

Being back here did me no good in the memory department. I didn’t like having those types of memories. My life was completely different, and so was his. Besides, he probably had a girlfriend, and I had Hank.

There was no time to even think about Kenny Jolly unless I needed to use him for information like Abby had suggested.

With the Laundry Club Ladies on their way to the library, I strolled along downtown Perrysburg toward the fire department. Like most small towns in Kentucky and unlike Normal, Perrysburg wasn’t any sort of tourist town. It was simply good old folks who went to work during the week, came home at night for supper, and went to church on Sundays. Nothing more than that.

There were a few factories that’d moved to town and provided jobs, but most people found odd jobs here and there. The downtown buildings weren’t in the best of shape. They weren’t falling down, but some of the brick could use some tuck-pointing. They could certainly stand some fresh paint. But it wasn’t my job to worry about.

The fire department had three big bays. There were two fire trucks and an ambulance.

When I opened the door to the building, I scuffed my feet along the rug to make sure I didn’t drag something in on my shoes and unzipped my coat.

“Can I help you?” a woman asked me from one of the two tables in the wide-open space behind the fire trucks.

“I’m looking for…” My voice faded off when I heard Judd.

“I’m looking for you, Maybelline.” Judd Tripoly walked out of the back of the firehouse with a huge smile on his face. His big belly protruded between his suspenders. “I heard you were coming to town. Mary Elizabeth called me this morning.”

“She did?” I questioned. I was definitely happy she’d called him.

“Now, it took her minute to recall why she’d called, but she did finally spit out that you were coming home to Perrysburg to visit your family gravestones.” He looked over at the woman. “Becca, can we have a minute?”

“Sure thing, Chief.” She got up from the table. “Hushpuppies and fries are in the oven if you want some.”

“Thank you, darlin’.” He nodded when she passed.

I smiled. I knew that in today’s world, he’d get a second look from someone he called darlin’, but this was not like the rest of the world, and people didn’t get offended as easily at a harmless word. Judd meant no disrespect for her. He was just old-school.

“Is Mary Elizabeth okay?” he asked me as the muscles in his face tightened.

“She’s fine, but she does have a doctor’s appointment this week. She’s been a little forgetful, but I’m hoping they will find it’s nothing more than some sort of hormonal imbalance.”

I knew it probably wasn’t at her age, but men always ran away from the subject of hormones when it came to women, and it was a topic I didn’t want to discuss with him.

“Honestly, I’m not in town to visit my family’s gravestones, though I will.” I didn’t want to seem like I wasn’t going to visit my family. I could hear it now.

Maybelline Grant has come to town to find revenge since she’s got nothing better to do now that her campground ground is in foreclosure because business is bad, but she didn’t even go see her parents. Shameful. Then I saw her making eyes at Kenny Jolly. That girl is still a gold digger.

I’d been the center of gossip here for years.

The best one was when I’d escaped town and gotten a phone call from Kenny. It went something like this:

Mae. Oh my gosh. Everyone thinks you skipped town in the middle of the night because you’re pregnant. Of course my mom woke me up and asked me if it was mine. Can you believe it? I’ll never tell them I picked you up. But I did see Mary Elizabeth and Bobby Ray at church. Bobby Ray gave me the stare down, so I know he knows I picked you up. Poor Mary Elizabeth. She looks bad. Ragged around the eyes. I bet she’s been crying herself to death over it. Not literal death. I guess you made it to New York. You never called to let me know.

Right after he’d called my cell, I knew I had to get rid of it. I dropped it in the streets of New York City right before a taxi ran right over it. That was when I completely cut ties with my past.

Or at least I thought I had. Like our Southern saying, the past will always come back to haunt you. That was exactly what these new memories had done.

“I’m here to find out what really happened to my family. The fire, I mean. I know you keep the old records here.” The more I talked, I noticed Judd’s body language change. His body stiffened more and more. He rocked back on his heels. I kept talking. “I’ve had some recent memories of someone picking me up out of bed and carrying me outside. I believe I was spared for some reason.”

“Spared?” He snorted. “Now, Maybelline, I was on that case.”

“Yes. And the last time I was in town, you mentioned that you were sorry you never found out who set fire to my family home.”

“I meant that I never found the source. It could’ve been that old gas stove your mama cooked on or that wood-burning stove your daddy had gotten secondhand from Marple Eickler.” He inhaled a deep breath and blew it out slowly, peering down his nose at me. “Now, it was a long time ago, and you’ve done good for yourself. Mary Elizabeth raised you up right, and it’s just time to move on. Besides, if you did find out someone set fire to your home, the law is the law, and the statute of limitations would come into play.”

“I can see that you clearly don’t want me to look into this. I understand that some people might not even be alive after all these years, but I have to know for myself.” I tried to be as polite as I could under the circumstances because he was right. Mary Elizabeth did bring me up right, but I still needed to know. “I have a right to know. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to get a copy of the fire report.”

“I thought this was why you were in town.” His shoulders slumped. “I already pulled the file just in case. I’ll go get it.”

“Thank you.” There was a lot of relief coursing through me, though I didn’t dare show it. I wanted to keep a confident outward appearance to make sure Judd knew I meant business.

I looked around while I waited. The fire department was really volunteer other than Judd.

They had the typical kitchen setup in the metal barn structure. There were heaters hanging down from the ceiling.

There was no fancy sleeping area. There was an old television sitting on a TV stand with an antenna sticking up from behind it.

“I’m not sure what you’re going to find out, but you are right about one thing. Anyone mentioned in this report is either dead or got some sort of dementia or health issue. So I’m not sure what you’ll get out of them.” Judd handed me a file with my name on it. “I want you to know that we did investigate it. It was heartbreaking to see you standing there all alone in the dark with your little nightgown on. It tugged at my heart, and I did do everything I could to find out what happened.”

“You were the driver of the fire truck?” I asked since I did remember seeing the red twirling lights in the pitch black behind the burning house before I’d even heard the sirens or seen the truck.

“I was. You were probably too young to remember. I had called in Inez Marsh to pick you up to take you to social services. Do you remember her?”

“I do, now that you mention it.” I shook my head. “I think I’ve tried so hard to forget everyone and everything surrounding that night, that I can’t distinguish between reality and what I’ve got in my head.”

“I wish I had more in the report for you that would lead you to any sort of reason why there was a fire, but we just didn’t find anything.” He tilted his head right and left a few times and shrugged. “Not finding any sort of cause for the wood burner to have caught fire is really mind-boggling. That’s why I’ve always thought something was off. From my history being the chief all these years, my theory is that the remnants of a fire leave a trail to exactly where and how that fire started. In your family home, there was none of that. That’s why I said to you that I wished I’d found out why the house had caught fire.”

“So you didn’t rule out someone deliberately setting it?” I had to be clear about what he was saying because he seemed to be talking out of both sides of his mouth.

“I’m saying we were never able to pinpoint that it was the wood stove. When a wood burner catches a house on fire, we can look at the components to see what went wrong and where. In the Grant case”—he moved his hands around as he talked—“your family’s, there was never a sure ‘this is what made this house go up in flames, taking four lives with it.’”

“Don’t you think it’s odd that I remember someone taking me out of my bed and putting me on the grass right before the house exploded in flames? It was like I was the sacrifice for my family. Was it because they knew me? Was it because they wanted me to suffer my whole life?”

“I’m sorry. I see the hurt written all over your face, and I truly wish I could help you answer those questions. I’m here to help you if you need me. I just don’t know what more you could find out that all the experts we had look into it didn’t find out.”

I smiled and graciously thanked him before I left.

“You have no idea who I am,” I muttered when I walked out of the fire department, more determined than ever to prove him and his so-called experts wrong.

Chapter 9

I’d been to the Burkfields’ family compound a few times, and actually, none of them had been too pleasant. It was the “be a good girl because this was Daddy’s boss” speech and “be sure to say yes ma’am, no ma’am, and mind your manners.”

All the instructions I’d taken from my biological parents had been so hard for me to do with Mary Elizabeth. Looking back, I realized it was because I only wanted my parents. I wanted no one else. If I did exactly what Mary Elizabeth asked me to, I felt as though I were betraying them.

I scoffed at my thoughts on how much easier it would have been to behave for Mary Elizabeth as the memory of coming to Jami’s for a sleepover flooded back as my Uber driver pulled into the entrance of the family compound.

“You can just let me out here,” I told the driver so he didn’t have to use the call box to get us through the gates that led up to the mansion.

I thanked him and got out of the car, sending Jami a quick text to let her know I was here. And right on time.

The gates opened for me to walk through. I used the walk up the long drive to check in with Hank and see how he was doing this afternoon.

“I picked up the fire department report. Judd had it ready for me. He said Mary Elizabeth had called him to let him know why I was coming to town.” I didn’t look at the report on the way over to Jami’s because I knew I wanted to deep-dive into it instead of skimming over it, which was what I’d have had to do on the drive over.

“That has to make you feel good, that she remembered.” Hearing his voice made me feel reassured even though it still didn’t mean something was wrong with her. “And the fact he had a report from so long ago is good too.”

“Yes. I’m currently walking up the Burkfields’ driveway. And I’m freezing,” I said through chattering teeth. “The Laundry Club Ladies went to the library to see if they could dig up any old articles about the coal mine or the fire.”

“That’s a good start. It was worth going down there for the actual report.” Hank had been very supportive of my finding out the truth. It was a little odd, but since he knew I suspected someone had set fire to the house, making it a cold case, it probably gave him some relief, since he was used to me sticking my nose into current murder cases he was pursuing and putting my life at risk.

“I’m hoping to get a list of miners who worked there while my dad was alive. I also need to go see the man who gave my dad the old wood-burning stove. If he tells me the stove was defective, then I have to believe it was the old stove and somehow I started the fire.” I gulped, remembering how Jami used to call me Firestarter after that.

She and I were forced to play together even after my family’s death. The reason I stuffed those ballot boxes for prom queen was to get back at Jami after she’d teased me all those years. She did stop when we had gotten older and Mary Elizabeth turned me into a debutant, but I harbored those feelings for a long time. Mary Elizabeth did too.

She was a grudge holder, and she didn’t take no crap off the Burkfields. Here I was, standing at the foot of the mansion steps, looking up and wondering why on earth Jami hadn’t opened the door.

The buzz of a golf cart caught my attention from the right of the house, and around the corner, I saw Jami’s outline behind the plastic golf cart tent.

“I should’ve told you to just drive to my house.” She unzipped the plastic tent and got out.

“You’re pregnant.” My jaw dropped when it caught me off guard. I’d never seen Jami Burkfield any larger than a cake of soap. I hated to admit that her being pregnant gave me pleasure. “Bless your heart,” I had to say about her looking as fat as a boardinghouse cat.

I had no idea if she took it in the good way or the Southern insult kinda way, but I meant it as the latter of the two.

The last time I’d seen Jami, she was trying to eat a protein bar while I was munching away on Funyuns and downing Ale-8, the soda native to Kentucky. Neither were good for you, and Jami was always in shape and took care of her body.

“I know.” She rubbed both hands all over that big ole stomach of hers. “Hunter and I are on solid ground now, and I reckon I’m not getting any younger.” She had a knitted cap pulled down over her long red hair that hung in one long braid down her back, which was again very unusual to see considering she was always put together, hair either neatly combed in her normal straight style or in loose curls she created with a curling iron.

Another thing the last time I’d seen her—she and Hunter had been on the outs. He’d even gotten a date with a friend of mine while he was in Normal for a wedding. Jami’s family wedding to be exact.

Hunter did come to Normal frequently, not for business as the mayor of Perrysburg but because his sister Courtney Mackenzie was the mayor of Normal. He’d drive up to visit her for the day or whatever, so that was how he’d gotten to know my friend.

It wasn’t until he and Jami had filed for divorce that he stepped out of their marriage. As I could see, it was all worked out.

“You know, Mama is ill, and I really wanted to have a baby before she completely forgets everything.” Jami had told us the last time we’d come to Perrysburg that her mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Oh. Is she worse?” I asked.

“No. The new meds have really started to slow down the progression of the disease, and I take her to all the big-time specialists around the states so we can get her the best care.” Of course they did. They had the money to do that.

“I bet that’s a fortune,” I commented in hopes she’d give a little hint about the cost in case I had to take Mary Elizabeth to some special memory doctor.

“Thank goodness she didn’t spend all of Daddy’s money from the mine.” She pointed to the cart. “Where’s your car?”

“I Ubered. Some of my friends are with me from Normal, so they are doing their thing while I snoop around.” I couldn’t peel my eyes off her face—her nose was larger and lips plumper, making me wonder if this happened to all pregnant people. She looked painful, almost scaring me away from ever wanting to have children.

“They should’ve come with you. Get in.” She got back in the golf cart, and I unzipped the passenger side and immediately felt the heat from inside.

“Your golf cart is heated?” I questioned and enjoyed the warm air whipping along my nose.

“Oh yeah. Now that we have our house in the back of the family land, there was no way this big ole belly was being carted up to see my mama without wheels.” She gave her stomach one last little pat before she pushed the pedal, jarring us forward. “I was so glad to get your text that you were for sure coming home to Perrysburg, but I guess I don’t really understand what it is you want with the list of employees from the coal mine.”

“I know it’s going to sound really strange, but I’m having memories of when my parents’ house burned down.” I held on for dear life as she whipped the golf cart around the mansion and laid on the pedal, headed past the family home and around their large pool and pool house toward what off in the distance looked to be an even larger home.

It was brown brick all the way around, which I was sure cost a fortune, and there were multiple levels of black shingled pitched roofs that against the backdrop of the sky looked like a shadow of a city.

Each window was unusually large and had equally large shutters on each side.

“What memories?” she asked.

“Is that your house?” I questioned.

“Mm-hmm. I figured if I was going to stay married to Hunter after our little issues, then we better get to having kids to keep me company, because you know those Makenzies. They never want to give up running for office.” She waved her long, thin fingers in the air. A big diamond on her ring finger was the size of a peach and shone like the North Star. “He says to get my bags packed because he’s takin’ us all the way to Frankfort.”

She was talking about the capital of Kentucky, where the governor’s mansion was located.

“I said to him”—she wasn’t about to miss a word—“now, Hunter Daniel Mackenzie, you know that I can’t fit my bedroom furniture in that old house they call the governor’s mansion, so you can just commute.” She twisted her head towards me, her brows lifted up to the sky. “I said that too. Exact words. If he thinks I’m moving all my stuff into that tiny little house, well, he’s gonna have to drag me and these babies kicking and screaming.”

“Babies?” I gulped.

“I got me a set of twins in here. I reckon they are like me. Stubborn-headed.” She laughed. “You know, my mama has half lost her mind, but she remembers things from far back and says to me, ‘Them babies are gonna be stubborn-headed just like you.’ You know she’s right.”

I held on tighter when I noticed she was going to pull us into her garage but wasn’t slowing down. I swear she sped up.

“I went to see my doctor, and we was going to do an ultrasound so I could at least have some sort of bow for a girl or bow tie for a boy for our going home from the hospital photos, and these little stubborn Mackenzie babies decided to cover up their parts. You know what I mean by parts?” she asked and slammed on the brakes, skidding the small tires of the golf cart to a halt.

“Yes. I understand.” I let out a long sigh as I told myself I would just walk back to the gate when I was done here.

“Look at me, Maybelline Grant. Or is it Maybelline West?” She snorted and unzipped the golf cart with one hand and pushed the garage door opener with the other.

Her flightiness was making me all sorts of nervous. I didn’t remember Jami Burkfield ever being able to do more than one thing at once, but she was on fire today.

“Either,” I mumbled when she continued to talk and not really let me answer her question.

“Did you see how big I am?” She groaned and walked up the two small steps from the garage into the mudroom of her home. “I swear, if I get one stretch mark, I’ll be going to the best plastic surgeon around.”

“Why wouldn’t you wait until you finish having all those babies you referred to back there?” I pointed behind me and followed her into the massive marble-floor kitchen.

“I told myself when we were building this house that I was going to have me a mess of kids. Well, this is it. I’m having two at once, and the good Lord knew I wouldn’t be strong enough to have any more after one, so I know he stuck two in there.” She teared up and looked at me.

“Oh no. What’s wrong?” I asked and stopped being nosey to rush over to her side. “This isn’t the Jami I’m used to.”

“I don’t even know this Jami.” She used her hand to circle a gesture around herself. “I’m an emotional wreck. I don’t have any self-confidence, and my mother isn’t able to help, and she’d have loved this.”

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know anything about this either, but I’m a pretty good listener.” I actually felt bad for her.

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m going to help you do whatever it is you need to do because it’ll take my mind off whatever it is I’m going through.”

“I’ve heard hormones go up and down when women are pregnant. I’m sure it’ll all be fine. Look around you. Your kids get to grow up near your mom on your big family farmland, just like you.” I recalled being so jealous of her when we’d come here for those picnics.

I would sit on the bedsheet my mom would bring as the picnic blanket and imagine my curly-haired head on Jami’s body as she’d smile and talk to people from her real, fancy gingham picnic blanket.

“I know I should be very grateful, and I feel the joy, because I am grateful. I just don’t know about taking care of two babies at one time. Of course, Hunter said I could hire a nanny, and of course I’d have to have one when I become Kentucky’s First Lady.” This was when she caused me to roll my eyes so hard it actually hurt.

She was always putting the cart before the horse. Just like the time she thought Kenny Jolly was going to take her to cotillion and when she figured she was a shoo-in for prom queen. Technically, she was the real prom queen, but she didn’t need to know that. She also thought Kenny Jolly asked to be my cotillion date, and she didn’t need to know it was set up by Mary Elizabeth and his mama, which I was sure Ruth Ann Jolly regretted terribly now.

“Of course you will.” I patted her on the back and continued to look around so I could go back and tell the girls exactly how Jami’s house looked. “I had no idea the mayor made such good money.”

“Honey, hush your mouth.” Jami’s tears dried up quicker than a well on a one-hundred-degree day. “Are you joking? That penance? Shhmeh.” She scoffed and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fancy full-glass Sub-Zero refrigerator. “You wunt one?” she asked in her Southern twang.

“Want,” I corrected her. “Remember how the etiquette teacher used to correct us? Do you want one? Not you wunt one?”

“You wunt one or not?” she joked and smiled, reaching in to get me one regardless of whether or not I wanted it. “I swear. We might’ve had our differences, but we sure did have some good times.”

“Mm-hmm,” I hummed, wondering what sort of memories she had. I didn’t have any good ones with or without her in them. Mostly, I’d spent my days daydreaming about life outside of Perrysburg or life in her world. “When are you due?”

“Any day now.” She handed me a cold bottle of water and walked between the marble pillars leading to the big open family room with the huge floor-to-ceiling wood-burning fireplace that glowed as the flames did a magical dance into the chimney. “I honestly wanted to get my nails done, hair colored, and even just a Botox, but I don’t have the energy to look good in those pictures.”

The sound of someone coming from her hallway caught my attention.

“You remember Elsa, our housekeeper.” Jami hugged the woman, who was much older than I remembered. “Elsa, you remember Maybelline Grant.”

Her short hair had gone all grey, and she was still the tiniest of women.

“Hi, Elsa. How have you been?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m alright. I’m excited about these youngins.” She patted Jami’s stomach. “I reckon I better get on up to the house before they need me.”

“I need you.” Jami wouldn’t let go of Elsa’s hand when Elsa tried to pull away.

“You’ve always needed me, young woman. And you’re gonna have to share me with those babies. Might’s well get used to it now.” Elsa smiled. The wrinkles around her mouth and eyes deepened.

“Fine.” Jami huffed in a pretend-childlike way, though I knew deep down she really didn’t want Elsa to go. “Mae, you can take a look at the coal mine employee file while I send Elsa on her way.”

“I was wondering what you were doing in your daddy’s office,” Elsa commented.

“She was getting the file for me. I’m in town because I’m finally going to find out the real truth behind what happened to my family. And I remember how nice you were to me after the fire.” I bowed my head. “Thank you for that.”

“Honey, my heart broke in pieces after what happened to you. You know, we didn’t even know you had siblings.” Elsa tsked and shook her head while lowering it to the ground. “Pitiful. Just awful. But I thought they said it was a house fire.”

“Me too, but I’ve discovered some recent memories.” My stomach lurched like it did every time I recalled that same memory of me standing in front of my home, watching helplessly. “It might be nothing, but I have to find out before I can truly move on with my life.”

“Knowing you”—she wagged a finger at me and winked—“you’ll get the answers in no time.” She turned to Jami. They hugged, and we said our goodbyes before Jami walked her out.

I made my way into the family room with my coffee, forgetting about the file for the moment. The fact that Jami was pregnant, much less with two babies, was still a shock to my system.

Jami found me sitting on a couch, and she put her hand on the arm of the couch, easing herself down. She huffed, puffed, and moaned before she appeared to get comfortable. If this was what it was like to have a baby, I wasn’t sure I wanted any part of it. She looked like she was about to pop.

I smiled at images of her trying to look so proper in her fancy heeled shoes while running around trying to control two little kids. The grin took over when I imagined what she’d look like at the expensive country club Christmas parties they hosted every year for all the club members.

I had not been invited when I was in high school, but I was hired to work for them after Jami’s mama asked Mary Elizabeth if I could because one of their employees came down with the flu right before the party. Mary Elizabeth agreed despite my protests and forced me to go. She threatened to take away my cell phone if I didn’t do it. Said it was a good thing to do because they were in need.

They weren’t in need. Her mama was mad because it was right after cotillion, and Jami had had to go with the second-smartest boy in school. The reason I knew this was because the Jollys were members of the country club, and was it a coincidence that I was the bus girl for their table? I certainly knew it wasn’t.

But here we were today, and I needed that file, so I was going to sit here and take in her crazy talk.

“Enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What do you think of me?” She snorted, reminding me of her famous saying from high school when she and her friends would be wrapped up in her drama. “Just kidding.” She crinkled her nose. “You’d get that same look on your face in high school when I would say that.” Jami appeared to be interested.

It’s because I couldn’t stand to hear you say it. I kept my thought to myself and planted a big smile on my face.

“Really. Tell me about your little dream you were telling Elsa you’ve been having.”

“It wasn’t a little dream.” I had to be very clear when I told her exactly what I was after. “I had a memory of someone carrying me out of my bed and outside of my family home. Told me to wait there.”

Chills ran up my legs, leaving a trail of goosebumps, and the faint whisper of a voice that I couldn’t identify lingered in my ear as if someone were right there next to me. Then the feel of the hem of a nightgown brushing up against my shin made me visibly shake, so I gripped the bottle of water with both hands.

“Memory?” She curled her leg up underneath her and leaned in. “Did you just happen to have this memory?”

“It’s a long story, but I did have some help from Reiki.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell her, but why not? It was going to get around town that I was broke and had lost the campground, so why not add that I’d lost my mind by going to a voodoo doctor, which wasn’t something a lot of people did in the Bible Belt?

Of course, we spouted off old wives’ tales and lived and died under superstitions, but actually going to see someone for a technique like Reiki was completely off-limits.

“Stop giving me that judgmental stare,” I told her, giving her a little jolt into the past. “In case you’ve forgotten, it was you who dragged me into that fortune-teller’s tent at the county fair.”

“Yeah, but it was you who she gave the reading to when I was the one who wanted it.” She threw that fact back in my face, which I’d totally forgotten about.

I started laughing and recalled how when we got inside after Jami paid for the reading, the fake psychic had actually refused to give Jami a reading, and she told me something I already knew.

“And obviously you didn’t take her advice,” Jami remembered. “She told you to stay away from me and my family.”

“And here I am.” I winked and smiled, bringing the water bottle up to my lips to take a sip.

When the garage door opened, both of us twisted around to see who it was.

“Mama,” Jami gasped.

Mrs. Burkfield, or at least a shell of the Mrs. Burkfield I remembered, shuffled through the door with a huge straw sun hat on like she was going to the beach. There was a saying threaded around the base that read, Life’s A Beach.

Jami fisted her hands and pushed herself up to stand.

“My goodness, Jami.” Mrs. Burkfield drew back. “How many Pop-Tarts have you eaten? I told you, one Pop-Tart a week. It looks like you ate the entire factory.”

I tried not to smile if only for the sheer fact that this was exactly how her mother had acted when we were in school. She made sure Jami didn’t ruin her figure with sweets or large amounts of food. Jami’s mother was very controlling when it came to her, down to her clothing.

But there was something about her mother’s innocence in having Alzheimer’s that made me smile.

“Mama, I’m pregnant with the twins. Your grandbabies, remember?” Jami met her mom at the small step-down from the kitchen to the family room. Jami helped her mom when her mom should’ve been helping her.

“You’re pregnant?” Her mom’s eyes jumped open.

“Yes. With my husband, Hunter. Remember, I’m the First Lady of Perrysburg.” Jami pointed to a photo of Hunter and her in her big, fancy white wedding dress on their wedding day that took up almost the entire wall.

It was a wedding I hadn’t been invited to—fine with me. I didn’t invite her to my justice of the peace wedding with Paul West either. Or anyone for that matter. If Mary Elizabeth had known I was getting married to a man in his sixties, she’d have been on a plane, called the governor, and put a knife to the judge’s neck if he’d married us.

“Mama, you remember Maybelline Grant, Mary Elizabeth Moberly’s foster daughter.” Jami was good with her mom. She seemed to be patient with her and made sure to say my name when Mrs. Burkfield looked at me funny.

“Who could forget that hair? You had that family fire, right?” she asked.

“It’s odd how she remembers things in the past but not this.” Jami patted her belly with one hand and helped her mom into the wing-back chair next to the fire. “Mama, where is your coat? Where is Chyina?”

“Chyina?” Her mom jerked her head up and looked at Jami.

“Your nurse.” Jami let out a long sigh. “Did you get out of the house? Mama, you’ve got to stop doing that. You’re going to give Chyina a heart attack.”

The two of them carried on an argument, bickering back and forth, as Jami used her cell to make a call. It wasn’t too long after Jami had put down her phone that a woman that I would guess was in her mid-thirties popped through the door. She had on a black puffer coat with a pair of blue scrub pants and snow boots. Her black hair was short and barely touching the top of her ears.

“There you are.” Her eyes darted right at Mrs. Burkfield. “I followed the snow-covered footprints to find you. I’m glad you put on your snow boots, but you forgot your coat.”

“How does she keep getting away from you?” Jami asked Chyina before turning to address me. “This is Mom’s nurse.”

“Hi.” Both of us greeted each other before Chyina walked over to Mrs. Burkfield.

“You need to come on up to your house for your afternoon snack.” Chyina had said something that got Mrs. Burkfield’s attention. “She loves food.”

“It’s because all those years, she didn’t let me eat anything. Of course she gets excited about food and not her grandchildren.” Jami seemed to be a little off-put by the situation concerning her mom. “I’m sorry. This is my day in and day out. I get really frustrated.”

Her eyes teared again.

“Jami, honey, is this Grant child bothering you? I can tell your daddy that she needs to go home.” Mrs. Burkfield’s words fell out of her mouth as if she’d said them before, which there was no doubt in my mind she had.

“No, Mama. We are fine.” Jami looked up at Chyina and gave her a nod. “Why don’t y’all take the golf cart up to the house? I’ll come get it when Hunter gets home and drives me up there.”

“Sounds good.” Chyina tucked Mrs. Burkfield’s hand in her arm and slowly led her to the garage door, but they hadn’t left when the doorbell rang.

“Jami, you better get that before Elsa gets mad and comes running out of the kitchen with that fly swatter.” Chyina smiled.

“Fly swatter?” I asked and laughed.

“You know our housekeeper, Elsa,” Jami reminded me, but I was deep in memories at this point, and at the time, everything happening to me had felt so serious, but now that I was going down memory lane, it all seemed really funny.

“Elsa is still here?” I remembered how nice she was to me. She’d sneak me a couple warm cookies when I was forced to come play. She felt sorry for me.

“Oh yeah. She can’t clean nothing anymore, but Mama keeps her on. Her husband died after a lengthy battle with complications from a stroke.” Her words made me sad and a little happy at the same time. “I don’t even know what I’d do without Elsa. She’s been so good about the twins,” she called over her shoulder when she went to the door. “I think it’s Mary Elizabeth.”

Jami opened one of the huge mahogany doors, and there stood Mary Elizabeth Moberly.

“My goodness gracious. You’re about to be blessed.” I heard the familiar gleeful statement Mary Elizabeth always said when she saw a pregnant woman. “You are gonna have one large boy.”

“Twins. Get in here.” Jami greeted Mary Elizabeth.

There was a little murmuring between the two, but I couldn’t hear them. They’d gotten Mrs. Burkfield’s attention, which made her jerk away from Chyina so she could go see who was talking.

“I’m an adult.” Mrs. Burkfield smacked Chyina’s hand. “I’m fine. I don’t need you to keep me from seeing who is at my front door.”

She shuffled back from where she’d just come, and when Mary Elizabeth, along with Jami, walked back into the open family room, her face drew a wide smile.

“Mary Elizabeth, you’ve done so well with the foster girl. She has used such good manners and is a wonderful playmate with Jami.” It was like I’d turned back time, and I felt sick to my stomach.

When I used to go to Jami’s house, I counted down the hours and abuse until I’d be free from the backhanded comments that were thrown at me anytime we went to get a snack and her mother was there. Even Jami would start to apologize for her mother’s behavior toward me. There was some good in Jami, and it was from her father.

“Can you believe our babies are all grown up?” Mary Elizabeth asked Mrs. Burkfield as she wrapped her arms around me. “And your little girl is having some babies of her own. You beat me to being a granny,” she teased.

“What are you doing here?” I asked nervously and checked behind her to see if she was alone.

At first, I didn’t think Mary Elizabeth remembered Mrs. Burkfield had Alzheimer’s, but then I remembered to never doubt Mary Elizabeth.

“How are you, dear?” She took Mrs. Burkfield by the arm. I was still waiting for the answer to my lingering question. “I heard you’ve got a little memory loss.”

“It’s hell getting old.” Mrs. Burkfield smiled, and there seemed to be a light switch that turned on. “Did you see Jami is having twins?”

“I did. I’m still shocked. I never figured you’d be a granny before me.” Mary Elizabeth was repeating herself, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was trying to communicate with Mrs. Burkfield or because she forgot she’d already said it.

My thoughts must’ve been written on my face.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t have dementia,” she whispered on our way back over to the couch. “I went to the emergency room because I was so confused, and I have a urinary tract infection. So after I got my prescription filled after a good shot, I got myself a bag packed and hit the road.”

“By yourself?” I asked.

“Why, sure. Why not?” She drew back and gave me the look your mom would give you when you were sassy and she didn’t like it but also didn’t want to scold you in front of people.

“I don’t like you driving alone.” I realized all eyes were on us.

“Why are you in town?” Mrs. Burkfield asked me and smacked away Chyina’s hand when Jami gestured for Chyina to take Mrs. Burkfield back to her house.

“Mae is here to see what happened to the fire that killed her parents and little sisters.” Jami appeared to have given in as she waddled back to her spot on the couch.

“Sisters?” Mrs. Burkfield drew a hand to her lips to help disguise her shock. “I had no idea you had siblings. Sisters.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m not sure if anything will come of it, but I do know my father had found out about the mine closing.” I wanted to choose my words carefully because I wasn’t sure what she knew or didn’t know.

My mom would always ask my dad if she could just take one of her pies over to Mrs. Burkfield and “talk woman-to-woman.” I never fully understood what my mom had meant by that, but now I couldn’t help but think my dad had told my mom about the coal mine and Mom was trying to smooth things over.

It was a theory worth exploring.

I gulped at the thought of Mr. Burkfield having something to do with the death of my family. My heart started to race, and I suddenly got worried about the possibility.

Mr. Burkfield had long since passed on. Did he take the answers to my questions to his grave?

“You know, we don’t want to bother you with all this.” I gave Jami a little gesture implying how our presence could be too much for her mother, which was a great excuse to get Jami to hand over that file and get myself out of there before I started spouting off accusations. “Do you have that file?”

“What file?” her mom asked. “Jami, dear. What file is it Mary Elizabeth’s foster child wants?”

“No worry, Mama. I’ve got it.” It took all of Jami’s energy to scoot to the edge of the couch.

“You stay,” I insisted. “I can get it.”

“Thank you.” She let out a sigh. Her shoulders slumped, and her belly fell a little more between her legs. “It’s on the island.”

I didn’t waste any more time. I grabbed the file.

“Mary Elizabeth, can you give me a lift to the library?” I asked in more of a matter-of-fact tone than a questioning one.

Of course, Mary Elizabeth took a few more minutes saying her goodbyes before she agreed to come back for supper when Mrs. Burkfield offered.

“Are you sure?” I looked at Jami.

“It’s fine. I’ll order in.” Jami had gotten up despite the fact that I’d ordered her to stay as we let ourselves out.

She stood next to her mom, Chyina behind them as they waved us off.

Chapter 10

“I’m so thankful you’re okay and not like Mrs. Burkfield back there.” I couldn’t help but be so happy to hear Mary Elizabeth’s memory issues were due to a urinary tract infection. “But why on earth would you accept an invitation to their house for supper? We don’t even know what the girls are up to.”

“Of course I know what they are up to.” Mary Elizabeth knew the roads leading back to Perrysburg better than the roads in Normal. “That’s how I knew where you were. She sure is in bad shape.”

“I feel bad for Jami. She sure is upset.” I didn’t want to say anything out loud because I had been scared Mary Elizabeth was getting dementia, but the thought of being pregnant and wanting to share that with your mother was something I knew Jami wanted, as did I.

Only I had to wonder if the experience would be better if Mrs. Burkfield was no longer among the living, if it was harder that she was here but not really here, if that made any sense.

“I’m not going to lie, I thought for sure you had dementia. I mean, you’re not that old…” The last of my words lingered.

“Old? Who are you calling old?” She gasped, taking her eyes off the road and snapping them at me. “I knew I was forgetting things. I just didn’t know why. Now that I have been diagnosed with the infection, I can see that I’ve probably had it for a while.”

“Now you know the symptoms. Did you really forget to put the bananas in the banana pudding you made for Bobby Ray?” I asked.

“Heck no.” She shook her head. “I was going to make him banana pudding, but I didn’t have any bananas. Well, I’d had bananas, but Dawn decided to make some banana smoothies that morning for a couple of hikers for some extra carbs because they were having some leg cramps. I just pretended it was banana pudding. I did end up using banana pudding mix instead of vanilla, so it still tasted the same.”

“You know Bobby Ray. He loves his banana pudding.” I had no words to let her know just how happy hearing her talk sanely made me. “Will you make us some when we get back to Normal?”

It sounded so good. Comfort sounded good. I knew I was going to be a little stressed when I took on this task, but I didn’t anticipate how much I’d long for the comforts of my life in Normal and at the campground.

“The girls are still at the library. They got all sorts of articles, one in particular about your dad and being interviewed.” Mary Elizabeth chatted on and on about one friend she had whose brother-in-law she believed was mentioned in the article. “I’m telling you, me and her had us some good times. It was well before I adopted you and Bobby Ray though. Her brother was older than her. A good-looking man too. I wonder if he’s still alive.”

“That’s the issue Judd Tripoly had concern with. He said a lot of the town folk who mined are long gone, which would make it really difficult to ask questions.” I ran my gloved hand over the file sitting in my lap. “Do you think Mr. Burkfield had anything to do with it?”

“Oh no, honey. He was so kind to you after that. He even sent me a few checks after I got you out of the foster home, and I took them right back over there. That’s when me and Mrs. Burkfield became friends. Well, as much friends as we have become. Poor thing. She sure ain’t with it. If she was, she’d be dying over how her hair looks. It looks like a rat’s nest.”

“Mary Elizabeth.” I gasped, snorting with laughter.

“If I do get in that state, you promise me you’ll have me a regularly scheduled hair appointment and keep me presentable?” I nodded when she looked over. “I want to hear it. Promise me.”

“I promise. But what makes you think I’m taking care of you and not Bobby Ray?” I questioned.

“Because the daughters always end up with the crazy mothers.” She had already pulled into the library.

“Yep. I guess you’re right.” It made me wonder about Abby and Bobby Ray. Abby would be a great caretaker, and she did love Mary Elizabeth long before she and Bobby Ray had their lips locked.

Mary Elizabeth and I left our conversation about dementia and Alzheimer’s in the car. We were going to discuss it plenty at the supper table now that she had committed us to going to the Burkfield mansion to eat.

The Perrysburg Library was pretty much like every other library in a small town. One building. One reference desk. Two computers, both taken up by the Laundry Club Ladies. A children’s section and a bathroom.

“If you look here, it mentions Orville Brohman and Thomas Grant.” When Abby said my father’s name out loud, I gulped.

I only knew him as Dad, and that was how my mom had referred to him.

“Your dad is coming home soon. Dad, your daughter wants you to play with her.” Her voice was clearer than ever in my head.

“That’s Mellie’s brother-in-law I was telling you about.” Mary Elizabeth elbowed me. “I already called her to meet up with me tomorrow for breakfast at Three Sons Bistro.”

“Oh, that’s good. Thank you.” I was glad that she was along on this journey with me. I’d never want to hurt her feelings, but I couldn’t just let the time go by and not find out what had happened now that I had some pretty important memories.

“What did the report say?” Betts asked. Her gaze slid to the files in my hand.

“I’ve not looked at it.” I handed one file over to her and one over to Queenie while I looked to see what Abby was pointing to on the computer screen.

“We have this interview with another coworker by the name of Marple Eickler. He and your father are in this photo together.” Abby hit the print button and continued to print off the newspaper articles of anyone who had been interviewed who was a coworker of my dad’s.

“We can take the names of the coworkers and check them against this list Jami gave Mae. Then we can also run these names through the obituaries.” Queenie had a great suggestion. “Because a lot of these people had birthdays a long time ago, way before even me.”

“That old?” Dottie cackled.

“Listen, me and you aren’t too far apart, and I can dance circles around you.” Queenie didn’t like being called old, and that was one reason she kept up with her Jazzercise.

“Give me a name. I’ll look up the obits.” Dottie turned back around to face the computer she was on. She wasn’t going to argue with Queenie because she knew Queenie was right.

Abby wrote the names of the coworkers from the various articles in the notebook. She then gave it to Queenie, who wrote down birthdates from the coal mine file Jami gave me next to the corresponding names.

One by one, Dottie plugged the names into the local paper’s online obit section. And one by one, the coworkers turned up dead. All but two.

Marple Eickler and Orville Brohman.

“I’ve got Orville Brohman covered.” Mary Elizabeth would get all his information from his sister-in-law tomorrow.

“I’ve got Marple Eickler’s address here.” Abby had pulled up the local white pages on the computer and quickly wrote down his address.

“I hope he remembers me.” I took the paper from her and folded it up, putting it in my purse.

“Remembers you?” Betts asked. Everyone looked at me. “I read in this report the police questioned him, but you knew him? He could be the killer if the police questioned him.”

“He gave my dad the wood-burning stove. They haven’t truly linked the fire to the stove, but it was the one thing that was lit that night.” My voice trailed off as tears began to well up and settle on the edges of my lids. “I was the last person to put logs in that night. I can only think that I didn’t close the door all the way. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself all these years until I had the memory.”

“Then you need to let that notion go. Now, heck.” Dottie smacked the table the computer in front of her sat on. “You’re gonna realize you had nothin’ to do with this daggum fire. We are here to help you, but getting all teary-eyed won’t help none of us.”

Dottie knew exactly how to bring me out of my funk. She could’ve been a little more sensitive in the moment, but that was not what I needed, and she knew it. She was caring when I needed it and tough the rest of the time.

“You’re right.” I rubbed my eyes. “We are here to fact-find, and me getting all sad sack ain’t going to help.”

I grabbed my coat and put it on. Abby had taken the reports from me and Betts to make copies for everyone, which was a great idea. I did believe that there could never be too many sets of eyes on something. Especially something this important.

“I’m going to go see Marple Eickler.” I held my hand out. “Mary Elizabeth, can I borrow your car? You can ride back to the camper with Betts and them.”

“You don’t want anyone to go with you?” Queenie asked.

“No. I think I need to go on my own. It’ll be too weird showing up with a bunch of women all gawking at the poor older man. Besides, he might not be of sound mind. It seems like everyone has dementia nowadays.” It was strange how I’d been hearing about the memory-loss disease more and more.

“Let’s cross our fingers and hope not,” Betts said before they sent me on my way, the piece of paper with Marple Eickler’s address on it firmly in my hand.

Chapter 11

It was actually kinda nice to be going out on my own. I’d started to get a headache while I was at Jami’s, and with all the commotion going on around me, I’d forgotten to ask for some ibuprofen.

“Get off my tail,” I groaned when I noticed an old green Toyota a little too close for comfort in Mary Elizabeth’s rearview mirror. “I’m going to pull into this spot, and I’ll hit you.” I acted like the driver could hear me when I stopped by the open parking space on the street in front of the drug store. I was going to have to parallel park, and with this car on my tail, I didn’t have a whole lot of room.

Once the person behind me saw I was parking, they zoomed around me.

I needed a good old Diet Coke and some ibuprofen to get rid of this headache so I could concentrate on what Marple might tell me, so the drugstore was a perfect pit stop before I made my way to his house.

Before I could see anyone, it was time for me to really read the fire department report. This was one of the moments I’d truly wanted to be alone and sit with the findings in hopes they would give me some more clarity.

I took the file from the passenger seat and flipped it open. On the first page were the particulars of the event, like the time the call came in.

“Who made the call?” I asked out loud and reached into my purse to get a pen and the notebook so I could jot down some good questions for Judd.

After all, he did say he’d help me if I needed.

Next on the report were the weather conditions, date, address, and GPS references. Also listed in a grid was the protocol and the order in which things took place, including the time the fire truck got to the location, who the firefighters were, when Inez Marsh got called, and the time she picked me up.

The next paragraph was a summary from the fire chief, Judd Tripoly. It was literally just the facts, but the following section was the most interesting. The heading was “Elimination of Causes,” and there were items listed below like electricity, stove, and range, but there was no mention of the wood-burning stove there.

I went over my actions that night. I did exactly what my dad and mom had taught me to do.

“When I give your sisters a bath, you can put the last few logs in the stove. You do remember how to load the wood burner, right?”

I’d nodded and watched my mom pick my baby sister up from the cradle my dad had made from a tree he’d cut down on the property.

“Don’t forget to open all the controls.” She had the baby in the crook of one arm and grabbed the hand of my other sister before they walked into my parents’ room, where Mom gave them a bath.

There was a valve on the outside of the stove to control the oxygen that my dad told me to switch to Open anytime I was adding wood to the stove. I gripped the handle of the stove’s door. I was always cautious because I’d burnt my finger the first time I’d done it, so I made sure I knew better the following times.

When I opened the door, there was one log left on the fire, which meant I didn’t have to add anything except some logs my dad had cut to fit perfectly inside of this particular stove.

“No more than four logs” were his exact words.

I counted out those logs and carefully put them in the stove before I shut the door. The only thing I didn’t clearly remember was closing the control valve.

I shook the memory from my head and continued to read down the report. The only thing that had caught my eye as a bit fishy was the fact that they reported the back-door glass, not anywhere near the wood stove, had been shattered. The door had been unlocked, which made them question if this was a robbery. Then the report noted how there’d been a rash of robberies.

I grabbed my phone and quickly texted Abby, asking her to research any robberies in the area during the month and year of the fire. She immediately got back with me to tell me she was on it.

Even though it was a possibility, the truth of the matter was it all funneled back to my memory of being carried out of the house. Why would a robber carry me out and then set the house on fire?

The final report stated they were unable to establish probable cause of the fire due to the fact that the entire house was engulfed in flames. None of it made sense, and it sure wasn’t going to hurt to go see Marple. He was the one who gave us the wood-burning stove in question. He’d have insight on the condition of the stove.

After reading the report, I had more questions than ever. My head was pounding, which I bet was from stress, and I had to get rid of it before I could even think about going back to Jami’s.

The drugstore was a little five-and-dime store that’d been there since I could remember.

The floor had the large cream and red tiles. There were four rows of various items for sale as well as a toy section and candy aisle.

To the right was a soda-fountain shop with only three round stools at the small counter. And at the very back wall was where the pharmacy was located.

The idea of a good cold fountain drink made my mouth water.

“I’ll have a large Diet Coke,” I told the cashier. “Oh, do you have that tiny ice or cubes?”

“Tiny ice. Everyone comes in for the tiny ice.” She smiled. “You want tiny ice, and lots?”

“Yes, please,” I gushed. “While you’re doing that, can you point me in the direction of headache medicine?”

“You can ask the pharmacist. I don’t know what to tell you to get.” She shrugged and turned to get a cup for my drink. “I’ll have your Diet Coke to-go. I bet that’ll help a headache.”

“I sure do hope so.” I headed on back toward the pharmacy, taking the candy aisle to get there.

My eyes shone in delight at the sugary goodness. It was the old-fashioned candy most stores didn’t sell anymore. I grabbed a couple of sheets of sugar dots, peanut butter bars, and tiny-size Chiclets. Not that this stuff would help my headache, but it sure would satisfy the sweet tooth I was currently feeling, which I also blamed on stress.

With all my goodies in my hands, I walked down a little more to where the cosmetics were.

“Maybelline.” I could hear my mom’s voice as clear as day when I looked at the makeup from which my mom got my name.

I brushed off the feeling of sadness and walked up to the pharmacy counter and laid all my candy down on the counter.

“I’ll be with you in one sec.” I heard the all-too-familiar voice of Kenny Jolly coming from in between the shelves the drugs were stored on.

“Crap,” I muttered and scooped up the candy. Quietly, I started to walk lightly on my toes to get away without Kenny seeing me.

“Maybelline?”

Too late.

I took a big swallow, closed my eyes, and planted a smile on my face before I turned around.

“Kenny, hey!” My eyes bolted open with my mouth following suit. “I had no idea this was your pharmacy. I was just…” I stood there trying to talk with my hands that were full of candy.

“Here because you’ve got a serious sugar issue?” he asked.

“Here you go.” The cashier walked up with a huge Diet Coke in her hands. “I see you got you some candy. Is that what you told her to get for her headache?”

“You’ve got a headache?” he asked me.

“She said she did and wanted to know what she could take. I told her to come back and ask you.” They were having this entire conversation as if I weren’t even there.

“Maybelline, are you okay?” Kenny finally noticed me. “Are you seeing spots? Is there a black dot in the middle of objects you are looking at?”

“No. I just have a slight headache. I’m sure this big Diet Coke will help.” I cuddled all the candy close to me and, with a free hand, took the Diet Coke. “And candy,” I whispered, feeling my cheeks starting to get red.

“Heaven help us, I think she’s ’bout to faint.” The woman took the Diet Coke back and offered to help me to the one seat that was attached to the blood pressure cuff machine. “Her coloring has gone red.”

“I’m fine,” I tried to assure her, but her urgency made Kenny come out of the pharmacy.

He put his arm around me, apparently to make sure I wasn’t going to pass out while the cashier took my candy. I did keep a grip on one of the peanut butter bars, unwrapped it, and popped it into my mouth before she could take it.

“Low blood sugar.” I added yet another lie to the web of lies I’d learned to weave over the past couple of years.

“You’ve got diabetes?” Kenny questioned after he got me seated on a small bench-type seat. He bent down next to me and put both his hands on my knees. “What are you on? Insulin? Pills?”

“Nothing. I’ve not eaten since the bistro when I saw you and your mother earlier. I have a slight headache, and I stopped in to get some ibuprofen. I guess I’m just light-headed.” I sucked in a deep breath to pretend I was doing some sort of Zen thing, but who was I fooling?

Certainly not him. I could see it by the look in his eyes.

“You still have that same sweet tooth.” He and I used to go to the general store after he’d steal money from his mom’s wallet and load up on candy to take it to underneath the railroad bridge, our favorite spot to just hang out. “When you came back to ask me where the headache medicine was, you heard my voice and were trying to walk away, which in turn caused your face to redden.” He gave me a smile that dangled on the corner of his lips.

“That,” I pointed to him and said with a mouthful of peanut butter bar.

“Here.” He stood up and talked to his employee for a moment before she gave me a gap-mouthed stare then walked away. He came back with the candy. “You know I’m going to tell you to take Goody’s powder and see if that helps before I tell you to take pills.”

“Yes. I was going to ask the pharmacist, but then it was you.” I wasn’t sure why I was running away from him. Or maybe it was just the past that I continued to run from.

“Do you ever wonder what would’ve happened if I had refused to sneak out of my parents’ house that night to take you to the bus stop?” Kenny asked a question that I had thought of, but I wasn’t going to let him know that.

“Nope. I never looked back.” I looked at the open wrappers. “Make sure we count these so I can pay for them.”

“Nah. On the house.” He lifted his chin. “I know the owner.” He winked that same old wink he would give to all the girls in high school that made them swoon over him. “Besides, your answer about not looking back is full of malarky. You’re here now. Looking way back into your past.”

“Aren’t you just the smartest?” I joked.

“So, let’s try this again. Do you ever—” he started to say.

“I wonder stuff all the time. But what good is it going to do you? Things like that aren’t helpful for anyone, but the reason I’m here”—I gestured to the ground with my finger—“is because I truly believe someone killed my family, and I want justice. This is a real crime. Not some petty issue about legally leaving town as soon as my birthday struck.”

“You know, I got in a lot of trouble for that. I got grounded after someone who saw us take off from Mary Elizabeth’s house called my mom and told her.” I tried to recall if anyone was up that late. “It was like they knew what we had planned. She was waiting for me when I got home. She said she would call Mary Elizabeth, but it was best you were gone. Best for me. So she didn’t call her in fear she’d stop you from leaving town.”

“Yeah. Your mom always loved me.” I joked since in truth the woman couldn’t stand me.

“She was right, ya know. If you would’ve been here, I probably wouldn’t’ve gone to college and spent the last eight years in school.” He was a bit smitten with me, poor guy.

“I keep forgetting how young we really are.” I looked around. “You’ve done good for yourself, Kenny. I’m proud of you.”

“And you. I mean, married to one of the biggest crooks in the world. Got you a campground and even a key to the city from what I hear.” He shook his head. “I don’t even have a key to the city, and I give drugs to all the city council members.”

“You’re still funny.” I couldn’t help but smile. “You always knew how to make me laugh when you knew Mary Elizabeth had something planned for me that I didn’t want to do.”

“You got a few?” he asked and put his hands in the pockets of his white lab coat with his name embroidered across the chest pocket. “I’ll give you something for the headache outside of candy and Diet Coke.”

“Sure.” I smiled and gave in. What was it going to hurt, talking to Kenny while I got rid of the headache? “But I want to ask you some questions about some people around here.”

There was no way I wasn’t going to snoop. He did say he provided the medication for all the important people.

He slipped off his coat on his way back into the pharmacy. He said a few words to a young woman and reached for a bin on one of the shelves.

“Do you have Marple Eickler as a patient?” I asked and watched as he took some sort of pill from the box.

“Yep, sure do. I do all the nursing home patients.” He smiled and handed me the pill over the counter. “It’s a high dose of ibuprofen instead of the powder. You can take it with the Diet Coke. Why do you ask about Mr. Eickler?”

“He is someone I want to talk to about the fire. He is actually mentioned in the report.”

I had not seen what was coming next.

“If you’re up for a little drive, we can go deliver the afternoon meds for the nursing home, and you can visit with him.” Kenny shrugged.

“He lives in a nursing home?” I asked, again realizing just how much older my father’s coworkers had become, especially since a lot of them had been much older than my dad. “I have an address for him though.”

Maybe Abby had found an old address.

“He has black lung from the mine. He just needs someone to distribute his meds and check on him. He actually lives in one of the apartment-style assisted-living homes on the property of the nursing home.” He shook his head. “What do you say? You want to get in a car with a stranger?”

“You’re hardly a stranger.” I laughed.

“And your hot detective boyfriend won’t mind?” he asked with a sly look on his face.

“Not if you keep your distance,” I joked. “I bet there’s a girlfriend you’re not telling me about.”

He gathered a few prescription bags and put them in a container before he took a print-off from the computer and met me in the store.

“Nah.” He set the container down and zipped up his coat. “Girls are nothing but trouble. You know that. Or at least the girls I seem to gravitate toward.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Too much for you?” He knew he was flirting, and it wasn’t going to get him anywhere. “We can change the subject. What did the report say?”

I followed him out the side door to where he was parked. The sun had gone behind some grey snow clouds. I’d heard the weather called for snow today, but I wasn’t sure how much.

I took the keys he was trying to juggle with the container in his hands and opened the trunk of his car so he could put the tub of drugs safely inside without dropping them to the ground before we got inside.

“According to the report, my dad had recently gotten a new wood-burning stove from Marple. The stove is where they believed the fire started, but they aren’t sure. That’s the problem I’m having. If Marple gave my father a stove that was possibly damaged or not properly installed, I can accept the fact it caused a fire, but it still doesn’t explain the memory of someone carrying me outside while the house burned down.” My voice trailed off as I watched the few snowflakes fall to the ground, melting on impact.

“Could it have been your mom or dad, and they went back inside to get the others?” He asked a very good question.

“I wondered the same thing, only my entire family was found in my parents’ bedroom. In their bed. My sisters were young. It wasn’t unusual for my little sister to crawl in bed with them at night. And my youngest sister was a baby.” I patted my purse. “But I’m hoping to get Marple’s account of the condition of the wood stove. I suspect Judd Tripoly thinks it’s foul play, and now that I’ve read it for myself, there’s a possibility it was from a robbery gone wrong. But I can only wonder why they carried me out.” I mean, the parents theory was a possibility, but none of that made sense.

“I sure hope you can get some answers. But would it make you feel any better if you knew it was just a pure accident?” he asked.

“I just want to know the answers. I’ve lived with the idea that I started the fire because my dad had to go back to the coal mine for something. My mom always bathed my sisters in her bathtub, and I would end up playing in my bedroom, but when we got the wood burner, they taught me how to load it.” I gulped. “I was the last one to put wood in it.”

“And you continue to go back to the memory of watching the house burn down from outside.” He knew what was in my head before I even said it. “What if you walked out? You smelled and saw the fire before you ran out of the house.”

“Maybe.” I guess I could’ve just remembered my bare feet in the cold grass, the cool breeze, and thought up the rest. There was no doubt the mind was a tricky thing. It was true that the voice telling me to wait there was just a faint whisper in my memory. “It still haunts me. So the answer to your question about feeling better”—I looked over at him—“is that I won’t until I get the answers to what exactly happened.”

“I heard Mary Elizabeth is in town. My mom called to let me know she got a call from her. They are meeting up with a few of the other ladies for tea or something.” He laughed, changing the subject. “Mom wants me to stop by. She likes showing me off like one of those show dogs.”

“I have a pedigreed show dog.” I couldn’t help but gush about Fifi and how I’d gotten her, finishing up the story just as he parked the car in the nursing home lot in a special spot reserved for the pharmacist.

“You mean to tell me you let a pug get her pregnant?” Kenny’s eyes were so big. There was an amused look in his eyes before he threw his head back with the biggest gust of laughter I’d ever heard come from him.

It was contagious, because I ended up laughing so hard my eyes watered.

“You are something else, Maybelline Grant.” Kenny looked over at me. His eyes softened, and the smile fell from his face. “I, um… I guess we better get in there and give out their meds before they bring the nursing home down.” He joked about the patients, but I knew he was trying to cut the silence that fell between us after we stopped laughing.

“Yeah. I have Marple’s address in my pocket.” I took the piece of paper out of my coat and unfolded it.

“It’s that building over there. We can go there first,” he suggested.

“No. I’ll go alone.” I noticed the entrance to the apartments was on the far-right side of the building. “I don’t want you to go and get in any sort of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble can I get in?” His brows formed a V.

“I don’t know. If Marple tells anyone that you gave me his address, won’t that hurt his HIPAA rights? I know people take those very seriously these days.” I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if Kenny got in trouble because I dragged him along in my sleuthing quest to find answers.

Kenny must’ve agreed, because he didn’t try to convince me otherwise, nor did he follow me when I got out of the car.

My phone rang on my way over to Marple’s apartment building.

“Hi there.” My heart fluttered when I answered the phone, knowing it was Hank on the other end.

“Hey, any big news or breaks?” His southern accent dripped through the phone.

“Not yet. I just got a ride with Kenny to see Marple Eickler, my dad’s coworker and the man who gave us the wood-burning stove.” I picked up the pace when the snow started to fall a lot harder.

The sound of screeching tires came from behind me.

“Hey!” I screamed and dropped my phone and purse when I leapt out of the way of a zooming car.

“Mae! Mae!” I heard Hank screaming from my phone as I landed on my side.

“Mae!” Kenny came running from where he’d left me. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I inhaled deeply and tried to see the license plate of the green Toyota. “Is that a Toyota?” I asked Kenny to be sure.

“Yeah, but are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine.” I got up on my hands and knees so I could take his hands to help me up. I continued to try to keep my eye on the car as it zoomed out of the parking lot of the assisted living facility. “My phone.”

Once I was up on my feet and Kenny looked me over, he walked over to get my phone and my purse.

“I think that person tried to run me over.” I could see Kenny’s face, and he was confused. “I saw that car when I pulled into the pharmacy parking lot.” I held the phone in my hand, forgetting Hank was on the line.

“Mae! Mae!” I heard Hank screaming.

“Hank, oh gosh. Hold on.” I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Kenny, do you know who owns that green Toyota?”

“No. It looks old.” He made an obvious observation that I’d already made.

“I saw that same car. In fact, they were on my tail when I pulled into the parking space like they were following me closely.” My hands started to sweat. “Do you think someone knows I’m looking into the fire and doesn’t want me to know?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Kenny wrote off the seriousness I felt at the moment, and I knew he didn’t understand. “I think you were on the phone and weren’t watching where you were walking. Cell phones are going to kill us all.”

“Fine. I’m fine, and I’m going to go see Marple now.” I waved him off, pulling the phone back up to my ear.

“Hank, I think someone just tried to run me over on purpose.” I kept my eyes on the road to make darn sure no one was going to run me over again.

“Kenny? As in your old flame, pharmacist guy?” Hank zeroed in on the Kenny part. “He ran you over?”

“No, but yeah. He is the pharmacist for the nursing home and was headed this way, so I hitched a ride.” I played it off as no big deal, which it wasn’t. “But when I made it to the parking spot at the pharmacy, there was a green Toyota that was on my tail, and after I pulled into the spot, it zoomed by. Now it tried to run me over. Same car.”

“Are you sure?” Hank asked.

“I’m positive, but I couldn’t get the license plate number since it was moving so fast.” I had to take a few deep breaths to bring my nerves down, and hearing Hank’s voice did help. “I don’t know.”

I started to doubt myself. “Maybe it wasn’t the same car. I was on the phone with you, not paying attention.” It seemed like the logical thing at the moment, so I went with it.

“Mary Elizabeth said you had her car. Why are you with Kenny?” Hank had to go back to Kenny. “I called her after you didn’t answer your phone.”

“You called? I didn’t hear it.” It was true. I didn’t hear it.

“I guess you were busy talking to Kenny on your way over in his car.” Hank’s tone told me of his disapproval of my choice of transportation. “What did Marple say?”

“I haven’t met him yet. I was just walking over to his apartment.” I put my hand on the door of the complex and tried to tug it open, but it was locked. “I think I need a special code to get inside,” I told Hank when I noticed the silver keypad on the building next to the door.

“Try keying in the apartment number,” Hank suggested, and he was right.

As soon as I put in the apartment number from the piece of paper Abby had given me, there was a buzz before the crackling voice of an older man came through the speaker. “What do you want? I didn’t order no packages, and I’m not buying anything you’re selling. I know it’s not time for my medicine, so go away.”

“I’ll call you back,” I told Hank and hung up the phone, slipping into my coat pocket. “Mr. Eickler?”

“Mm-hmm, who is this?”

“My name is Maybelline Grant.” I smiled at my own voice, claiming my full birth name, which I’d not done in a long time. “You and my father, Thomas Grant, worked together over fifteen years ago at the coal mine in town. The one the Burkfields owned.”

“Who’s your daddy?” he questioned.

“Thomas Grant,” I said before I heard the sound of the door buzzing, which unlocked it for me to go in and possibly unlock the secrets to the past.

Chapter 12

“You’re Thomas’s daughter?” The older man with the short and tight, not to mention grey, curls knitted around his head looked at me with a cautious eye from behind his bifocals when he let me through the first door of the assisted living facility.

“Yes, sir. I do believe I met you once.” I was having a hard time matching his current appearance with the photo of him in the newspaper Abby had pulled up.

The young man in the photo was upright with a strong jaw and jutting chin. The man before me was hunched over and frail.

“I think you did. When your daddy came to pick up the stove from me.” His head turned to the right. “I reckon you want to come in?”

“Yes, sir. I’d love to ask you a few questions if you’ve got the time.” I could tell by the way his jaw set that he knew I was there about the fire.

“Come on then. I just put on some coffee.” He shuffled over to the handicap button on the wall to make the next set of doors automatically open. “Do you like coffee like your daddy?”

“I do.” I smiled when I recalled a memory from way back. “You just sparked a memory. A very fond one.”

I followed him through the door into the open atrium with a couple of tables, one with a jigsaw puzzle and another with a set of pens, markers, and coloring books. There was a kitchen-style area with a large bar with a big basket of fruit. The glass wall beyond had a nice view of the woods and a large concrete patio with furniture covered in winter storage bags.

“I’m on the second floor.” He waved me over to the elevator. “What was it about a memory?”

“My dad. He used to sit at the kitchen table in the morning before work. It would be early. And he’d slip me a few sips of his coffee while my mom was tending to one of my sisters.” I laughed and faced him in the elevator on our ride up. “My mom would fuss and say that I didn’t need the caffeine. My dad told her I had a little headache and that I needed a few sips to help clear it.”

“Your daddy loved you. Said you were special.” The ding of the elevator stopping at its destination cut off the chitchat. “I reckon you’re here to learn about the fire. You know, Judd Tripoly tried to pin that on me.”

The elevator opened into a nice sitting area with a few large chairs, a coffee table, and a television on the wall. We took a right and walked down the hallway until we reached his apartment.

“I did read in the report how you gave my father the stove, but I don’t remember picking it up with him.” I really wished I did. There were few memories I had of just me and my dad. “Maybe you can tell me about it, and I might remember. I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

“He was very excited about the stove. I’d gotten a new stove. We were at work when the guy delivered it to the house. Your daddy couldn’t believe I was getting a new stove because he’d been looking for one. They weren’t cheap.” He pushed his key into the door handle and turned, gesturing for me to go in before him.

I took a few steps into the apartment. There was a kitchen–family room combination, a large window that overlooked the same woods as the recreation room downstairs, and a nice little wood balcony off to the side. There was a shut door I assumed was his bedroom.

“You’re not married?” I asked.

“Nope. Never did get married. I spent my life working for that coal mine. Took up all my time. No time for a wife. Not fair really. I mean, your daddy did the best he could.” He set his keys on the small kitchen island before he took two mugs from the cabinet. “Plus, I’ve got the black lung now. That wouldn’t be good for a family.”

“Thank you.” I took the mug from him.

“Anyways, your daddy asked me how much I wanted for my old stove. I told him it was free. I remember you sitting in the truck that day right up next to him with a big smile on your face.” He nodded and winked. “That’s when I knew your daddy was right about you. You were special. Still are, from what I gather. I seen all them photos of you down at the Three Sons Bistro.”

I snorted.

“I do wonder what my life would’ve been like if there wasn’t—” I gulped after my words began to crack as I tried to hold back the idea of the what if.

“Honey, I don’t know what happened to your family home, but I do know that I gave your mama and daddy a wonderful wood stove. I wanted a new one that had those fancy blowers on it to heat up my whole house. Bigger. The one I gave your parents just heated the one room. But he was so excited about it.”

“We had the wood-burning fireplace, but my dad would say how we lost more heat up the chimney,” I said. “I know he was grateful for your generosity.”

“I tried to get him to calm down when he picked up the stove, and I told him that he had to have his right mindset to install the stove so he didn’t do it wrong.” He got my attention.

“Calm down?” I asked.

“Yeah, about the mine.” He said it like I should know what he was talking about. “You don’t remember him fussing about it when y’all were here?”

I shook my head.

“You were busy with that old stray cat that hung around my place. I reckon your mind was on taking him home, because you were crying when you left here when your daddy didn’t let you take that old cat with you.” He snickered. He walked over to the small kitchen table with two chairs and set his coffee mug down. He pulled out a handkerchief from the pocket of his blue pants and rubbed underneath his nose before he stuck it back in and sat down.

“I don’t remember it.” I couldn’t stop the smile. It was nice to hear someone’s memory that I didn’t recall. “I’m sure they never let me have pets because we couldn’t afford it.”

“If he was right about the coal mine, there’s no doubt in my mind y’all be richer than them Burkfields.” He nodded, and I sat down in the other chair.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“Your daddy and Lonnie Burkfield had that big fight that day.” He rubbed his hand over his chin. His lips smacked together. “I guess you didn’t know about that.”

“No. I do know that Dad was up to something, because the night of the fire, he’d gotten called in to work, or at least that’s what my mom had told me.” There was obviously a lot I didn’t know. “And I did read in some of the articles from the library that my dad was part of something with the coal mine closing down, or he’d heard it was closing down. Trying to stop it or something.”

“No. Your dad was trying to get it closed down.” He leaned back and crossed his arms across his frail chest. “Coal mining is a way of life around here. I’d gotten sick, and the doctors told me it was from all the pollutants down in the mine. They told me how dangerous the job was to my health, but it was the best job around. Your daddy, much younger than me, started researching all those clean coal mine ideas they were doing out west. Now, it cost a lot of money to get something like that going, and your daddy was in charge of our union at the mine. He brought it up at a meeting, and we decided to make some demands of the Burkfields.”

Even though I didn’t remember my dad being part of this new movement, I did know over the past ten years, a lot of Kentucky’s coal miners demanded our mines take steps to produce clean coal.

“The night of your fire, we went on strike. That didn’t go in the papers, did it?” He smirked. “Lonnie Burkfield was having a fit. For weeks before that, he and your daddy would have huge arguments. Burkfield would tell your daddy they didn’t have the money. Your daddy would tell him to stop the picnics to save money and put it toward the beginning stages of the clean coal. Burkfield never would listen.” His nose curled with disgust. “That’s when we decided to go on strike.”

“I didn’t know all of this. I thought the papers said something about the coal mine closing, and that’s why…” My voice faded off when Marple cleared his throat.

“The paper was owned by the Burkfields at the time. They put in the paper what they wanted in the paper. Instead of saying your daddy wanted clean coal, they said your daddy wanted to close down the mine. That means no jobs, and the Burkfields painted your daddy as the bad guy.”

“The police never looked into the Burkfields for potentially starting the fire?” I asked.

“They didn’t look into anyone but me. They only focused on the stove, and when it turned up nothing, they just said it was an unfortunate accident.” He drummed his fingertips on the table. “They said that you somehow got out, and that was it.”

“I tried showing them the videos we took at the meetings. Your daddy was smart. We had a video camera taping all the meetings we had with the workers so we had documentation. Video cameras were becoming pretty popular back then. We had a few coworkers who’d gotten them.”

“Do you remember who had the camera?” I asked.

“Orville Brohman. He really had a beef with Lonnie Burkfield and wanted to see them taken down.”

I instantly recalled the name as being Mary Elizabeth’s friend.

“Do you think he still has the videos?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but I can find out. I’ve got his number somewhere.” He got up and walked over to the kitchen, where he pulled out an address book from the drawer.

Please, please, please let him have the number, I prayed to myself.

While he thumbed through his book, I took my phone out and quickly texted the Laundry Club Ladies group.

Hey, ladies. I am with my dad’s coworker. My dad was actually trying to get the coal mine shut down, not keep it open. Burkfields owned the paper and had them report what they wanted the public to know. My dad was looking into clean coal. Mary Elizabeth, can you see if your friend, Mellie, can get old videos of the union meetings from Orville?

“Here it is.” Marple tapped his finger on the page and reached to get the landline phone from the receiver. He slowly pushed the numbers as he said them and put the phone to his ear. “Orville, it’s Marple. Marple Eickler from the mine.”

There was a pause, and I could hear someone talking on the other end.

“I’m good. Not bad. Living in assisted living so I can get the medications I need on time.” The two men spent the next few minutes catching up, and I tried to wait as patiently as I could, but my foot started to tap on the floor, catching Marple’s attention. “I’m calling because Thomas Grant’s girl stopped by, and she’s looking into the family’s death. I told her about them videos you took.”

He stopped talking, and I could hear Orville on the other end.

“I see. Mm-hmm,” Marple hummed. “Well, I guess I could meet you tonight.” He looked at me as if asking me if tonight was fine.

I nodded and smiled.

“Yeah. Sounds good. I look forward to it. See you then.” He pushed the button to turn the phone off, then he put it back on the charger. “I’m going to go meet him at the diner tonight for supper. He said he’s got them somewhere.”

“Thank you so much.” My nose tingled when I felt the tears starting to build up. “I’m so grateful.”

“I’m not sure what you’ll get from them, but you’ll see that we all wanted to close the mine to get the process of clean mining up and running.” There was a knock at the door. “I bet that’s my medication.”

“I’m going to get going anyways.” I’d gotten a text back, and Mary Elizabeth said they were at the camper. She was getting ready for supper at the Burkfields’ and would call Mellie before we left. “I’m actually having supper at the Burkfields’ tonight. Maybe I need to ask Mrs. Burkfield about the mine.”

“Are you kidding? She never knew what was going on. Lonnie would always say how she didn’t have any clue. As long as he continued to funnel her the money to do whatever she wanted, then she didn’t want to hear about it.” Marple walked me to the door, and when we opened it, it was a nurse with his medication and Kenny Jolly standing behind her.

“Thank you so much.” I took his hand to shake it.

“One thing. Orville told me to tell you something very odd.” Marple’s eyes grew very serious. His jaw set. “I am something that goes up. Although I am not a kite, I am held over your head to help block rain or sunlight.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but he said to tell you, so I did.”

The nurse smiled and walked in the door.

“Let me say goodbye to my guest,” Marple said.

“Real quick.” My mind was still wrapped around the time before my dad died. “What happened after the fire? Did anyone follow up on the clean coal movement? Health care?”

“That’s the sad thing. Mr. Burkfield ended up paying for all of your family expenses and gave everyone a dollar raise. I mean everyone.” Marple’s eyes glazed over, and he couldn’t look at me.

That was when I knew that all the coal miners had given in to the money and kept quiet now that my dad wasn’t around to cause any more problems.

The nurse tapped her foot.

“Can I ask you one more favor?” I had to know, even if for my own reference. “Do you mind whispering something for me?”

“That’s an odd request, but anything for Thomas’s daughter.” He looked at me. “Well, what is it you want me to whisper?”

“Wait right here,” I told him.

“Where you going?” His eyes squinted.

“No. I want you to say, ‘Wait right here.’” I blinked a few times. “You see, I had a memory a few months ago of being carried out of my home the night of the fire, and someone put me in the grass. They told me to wait there for my family.”

“Okay.” He leaned into my ear. “Wait right here,” he whispered. “Wait right here.” He said it again. “Is that okay?”

“Perfect.” I gave him a hug. “Can I stop by in the morning?” I asked. “To get the tapes?”

“You sure can. You can stop by tonight if you want to. You’ve got to remember, me and Orville have a few years on your daddy. We are old. We like to eat around four thirty for supper, so I’ll be home well before Wheel of Fortune comes on around seven.” He grinned. “You just show up, and I’ll have them for you.”

“You’re the best. No wonder my daddy loved you so much.” I gave him one last hug before I headed out the door.

I couldn’t wait to get back to the camper so I could tell the girls what I’d found out. But there was one place I had to go first—well, after Kenny took me back to the pharmacy to get Mary Elizabeth’s car.

I waited for him next to his car while he finished up dispensing the medications.

Chapter 13

“Honestly, I couldn’t thank him enough.” I had my hands plunged into the pockets of my coat as I stood in front of my family’s final resting place.

The two large oak trees that covered my family’s gravesite were barren of leaves. Soon, little buds would start to form, shading the gravestones from the spring and summer heat.

I ran my hand along one of them and felt sick to my stomach.

“I have a feeling Mr. Burkfield didn’t want anyone to know why Dad wanted to shut the coal mine down. In my gut, I wonder if it had anything to do with your death.”

I talked to the stones that had my family’s names etched into them.

“Did Mr. Burkfield”—I couldn’t bring myself to say his name, James, in fear I might follow it up with some really terrible words—“pay for these plots, give the money to Mary Elizabeth, and continue to try to do right by me all those years to wipe the blood off his hands?”

Funerals were expensive. I remember how James Burkfield had paid for everything I needed for the funeral.

Or at least everything Inez Marsh had told them I needed for the funeral.

“I went to see Marple today. He’s aged. I wonder what you’d look like now. I guess I don’t have to wonder what Mom would look like. I can see Mom’s hands in mine.” I lifted my hands up to look at them, taking my gloves off. “I go from not seeing you for years to seeing you a couple of times this year. But I have to put this to rest.”

I wasn’t sure why I was trying to convince my parents why I was here. It wasn’t like they were going to ground me, but I wanted their approval.

“I just want you to know that I’m going to do whatever I have to do to find out who set our house on fire.” I ran a bare and cold hand over their stone before I brought my fingertips to my lips, kissing them then running my hand over each of the four names of my family. “I love and miss you all.”

The warm tears rolled down my cold cheeks, dripping off my chin and instantly making holes in the white blanket of snow below.

“There’s only one person to ask these questions—Mrs. Burkfield.” I wasn’t sure if I would get any clear answers since she had Alzheimer’s, but I was willing to try.

It was hard trying to compose myself on the way back to the Baptist church parking lot and get presentable for when I walked into the camper, where I was sure the Laundry Club Ladies were poring over the reports and the articles Abby had printed off from the library.

I pinched my cheeks to make them more red than blotchy.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Mary Elizabeth eyeballed me right when I walked into the camper.

“Nothing.” I unzipped my coat and peeled my gloves off my hands, sticking them in the coat’s pocket so I’d know where they were when we left. “I’m glad to see the propane heater is working out good.” I put my hand next to the blower, which was located underneath the kitchen cabinets.

“Your face is all splotty-like.” Dottie got close to my face. “Some sort of scratch on it.”

“I’m sure it’s the cold. It’s freezing out there. I was just standing in front of my family’s gravesite in the freezing cold.” I took the files out of my purse and set them on the table next to Abby and Betts, where they had all their copies laid out with all sorts of marks on them. “Not to mention, I almost got hit by a car.”

“You what?” Mary Elizabeth frantically hurried over to get a look at me.

While she did the mothering, checking my pulse and making sure my fingers opened and closed, my legs moved okay and I could turn my head, I told them how I’d seen the green Toyota twice.

“And are you sure it was the same?” Abby asked.

“Not positive, but I think so.” I was really beating myself up for not getting the license plate number. “It was on my tail when I was pulling into the pharmacy, and I just thought it was some everyday Joe-schmoe driving too close, but after it almost plowed me down in the assisted living parking lot, I thought otherwise.”

“It does seem strange.” Betts’s stare sent a shiver up my spine. “Maybe the assisted living has some cameras and the police will look at it.”

“I didn’t call the police,” I said.

“You didn’t?” Mary Elizabeth’s face contorted before she let out a long sigh.

“No. I was fine, and Hank was on the phone with me. The car did speed off and didn’t technically hit me.” My brows furrowed. I probably should’ve called the police.

“Hank didn’t tell you to call the police?” Betts asked.

“No. He was too busy asking why I was with Kenny.” Now I wished I’d called the police, because they could’ve looked at any video that might’ve been taken. “Maybe it’s not too late to check with the police.”

“What did you find out from Marple?” Queenie got right to it. She picked up the notebook and a pen to jot things down so we didn’t forget anything. “Start with the ex-boyfriend.”

“What?” I gasped.

“Do you honestly think you getting into a car with Kenny Jolly wouldn’t make the rounds of the afternoon town gossip?” Mary Elizabeth cocked a brow. “When I called Mellie Brohman to confirm our lunch date for tomorrow, she told me that she’d heard from Rachel Sewer and from Justine Hille that you were seen going into the pharmacy.”

My mouth opened as I went to protest, but she put a finger up for me to hush.

I closed my mouth. They seemed to be more worried about me and Kenny Jolly than me almost getting killed.

“Shortly thereafter, you walked out with a big fountain drink, arms filled with candy and Kenny opening his car door for you. You got in, and off you went toward the railroad bridge.” Her chin shifted slightly sideways. “Just like you used to do when you were running from me.”

“And did you go to the bridge?” Abby lost interest in the files. She pushed on the table’s edge with her forearms and drew her leg up under her.

“No. And no.” I gave Abby and Mary Elizabeth hard nods. “I went in there to get headache medication. I had no idea it was Kenny’s pharmacy, though I should’ve, but listen”—I lifted my hands—“I didn’t even think that since it was the only pharmacy in town, Kenny Jolly would own it. That’s how far back in my mind he was.”

“Mm-hmm,” Betts hummed.

“What’s that?” I asked her. “Actually, Kenny came in very handy during my little investigation with Marple. Kenny just so happened to be going to the nursing home to deliver all of their medication. Including—”

I was about to say his name but Queenie interrupted.

“Marple Eickler’s.” Queenie immediately started to jot his name on the paper. “See, I told y’all she was too smart to let Hank go.”

“Y’all thought I was cheating on Hank with Kenny Jolly?” I felt my face do all sorts of contortions. “Honestly. I would’ve thought you’d think better of me.”

“Do you see the way he looks at you?” Abby asked.

“And he is still single. After all these years,” Betts pointed out.

“That tells me he has a problem, not me.” I let out a big sigh and put the files on the table. “So, to finish my story.” I unzipped my purse and dumped out all the candy.

The four of them were like vultures, each one getting her grabby hands on the candy.

“Since your mouths are full and you can’t talk…” I watched them stuff their mouths with their candies of choice. “I’ll tell you what I found out.” I took the notebook from Queenie because she wasn’t going to write anything down, so I might’s well do it and refresh myself on what Marple had told me.

Underneath where Queenie had written his name, I started to make bullet points of the major clues I’d gotten from him.

“Marple said my father was actually trying to get the mine to close down until Mr. Burkfield implemented the clean coal system, which was pretty new and costly. Apparently, a lot of the coal miners had started to show signs of black lung disease, which Marple has and which is why he was getting medication from Kenny.” I added in the bit about Kenny so it’d set their minds at ease. “Marple told me the Burkfields had control over what was being printed.”

“Which is something I found.” Abby shuffled the papers, careful not to use a finger that had remnants of sugary candy on it, and pulled out a piece of paper. “They still own it, but after Mr. Burkfield died, they gave up editorial control and called in a real editor to the helm. So I told Betts I was leery about things being printed during the time of the fire because we weren’t really sure what was the case. Now we know.”

“That’s not all. There were several meetings between my father and Mr. Burkfield. According to Marple, Orville Brohman recorded them.”

“As in Mellie’s brother-in-law.” Mary Elizabeth’s eyes grew, and she rubbed her chin.

“It was videotaped. And Marple is going to get them from him tonight. They are meeting at Three Sons Bistro for supper. Marple said I can stop by tonight or tomorrow.”

“Did he say anything about the meetings?” Betts questioned.

“He said my dad would argue with Mr. Burkfield, and after the fire, Mr. Burkfield made every employee happy by giving them a dollar increase in pay.” I shook my head.

“It seems they didn’t close the mine down for years after that.” Betts had an article on the coal mine. “It says here that it was too much for the mine to keep up with the new government regulations. A lot of the employees had been forced to retire due to coal mine illnesses. Plus, they did have a mine collapse that took days to get the miners out of.”

“I remember that.” Mary Elizabeth slowly nodded. “It was when you were up in the sky, flying all around the world.”

I loved how she referred to me being a flight attendant. It made me smile.

Betts continued. “It was around that time they closed, and shortly thereafter, Mr. Burkfield died.”

Hearing Betts made my heart sink right into my stomach.

“Marple said Orville videotaped the meetings and there were some heated arguments. With my dad out of the way as well as my mom, who my dad told everything to, then everything at the mine could go back to normal. No more meetings. No more talk of clean coal. No more needing to get miners all worked up about new health care. No more Thomas Grant meant no more uproars.” I gulped.

“You think James Burkfield set the fire?” Mary Elizabeth drew her hand to her mouth. “No wonder he paid for everything for you.”

“Right. He carried me out of my house because he didn’t want me to die because he couldn’t live with it since he knew me. I went over to all those picnics. But I don’t think he knew I had siblings, because Mom and Dad never took them to the company picnics.” I snapped my fingers and pointed to Mary Elizabeth. “Mrs. Burkfield even said today that she didn’t remember me having siblings.”

“Yeah, but you also said Mrs. Burkfield has Alzheimer’s. So who knows what she remembers.” Queenie took the notebook back from me and started to write down the things we were saying.

“Jami did say she remembered things from a long time ago, which she means she could very well remember things from that time.” I knew I had to get some answers from her tonight. “The best way to get some clarity about that time in their home would be to ask her some very pointed questions tonight.”

“I have no problem doing that. She was always straight to the point after I adopted you. She didn’t hold her tongue at all.” Mary Elizabeth had made sure to keep my relationship with the Burkfields going though I’d not wanted to.

“Here is what we know so far.” Abby stood up and started to pace back and forth in the small RV. I sat down in her spot to make room.

Betts was still sitting in the chair across the table from me. Queenie and Mary Elizabeth were sitting on the couch that was positioned in the side pop-out of the RV.

“Mr. Burkfield knew your father wanted to get some sort of health care reform or insurance maybe—we aren’t clear on the health part of this situation. This would cost Mr. Burkfield a lot of money, especially if some of the employees had preexisting conditions or needed a new physical, because we know from the obituaries most of the miners died early of lung diseases.” Abby picked up a stack of stapled papers where she’d written MINER OBITS in big letters on the front. “Also, the Burkfields owned the paper, so they were able to say what they wanted to get published even though it was a totally different story behind the scenes at the actual mine.”

“Good point,” Betts agreed.

“Your dad obviously wasn’t going to get bought by James Burkfield, so the best way to solve the situation was to start a fire from the used stove your father had installed.” Abby caught my attention.

“What do you mean start from the stove?” I looked down to search for the inspection report I’d gotten from Judd Tripoly.

“According to the coroner’s report—”

Abby gave Betts a subtle look that didn’t go unnoticed.

“What? What are y’all not telling me?” I could see on everyone’s face there was something huge that I didn’t know.

“Queenie had a very good idea to check out the coroner’s report because the fire report barely even mentions your family, only that they were found inside.” Mary Elizabeth’s voice adopted a more cautious tone, as though she were trying to choose her words wisely. “Your mom and sisters were in the bed. Your father’s body was found outside of the door. There appeared to be some sort of esophageal bruise found from what was left of his body they were able to autopsy.”

“Bruise?” I asked. “As if someone had choked him?”

“Unfortunately, the report shows that the body was so badly burned that they were unable to come to a conclusive cause of death. There were visible signs of smoke in all of their lungs.” Betts handed me the report they’d retrieved. “We called the coroner’s office to see if we could talk to the coroner who wrote the report.”

“Yeah. Because this is something you just don’t forget.” I held out hope they’d talked to him.

“Unfortunately, we are working against time, and he is also deceased along with over three-fourths of the employees from the coal mine. The ones we have tried to call were either too young to even remember everything that took place or too old and unhealthy to ask.” Abby only told me something that I already knew I was up against when I started this whole investigation.

“Then we have to work with what we got.” I stomped a foot. “What we have are some tapes that we will go by Marple’s tonight and get so we can watch them tonight.” I pointed to the old television in the camper, which had an old-time tape recorder built in, so I was beyond hopeful it was that sort of video camera. “And we can ask Marple some questions since he was with my dad. We can also ask Orville questions since he took all the video footage. We will collect all the data we can get before we go home. Maybe we can show Hank all the information we’ve come up with, and he can get the local sheriff to reopen the investigation.”

“So we don’t have to go hunting around for a killer?” Betts’s face relaxed as relief washed over her.

“Don’t worry. I’m afraid the fire was so long ago that we will never get whoever killed my family because I honestly believe that person is dead.” I could only hope to bring whatever justice I could. “With Mr. Burkfield, I feel like the secret is buried with him.”

“Remember, keeping a secret in the South is like caging a wild hog. It won’t stay quiet for long.” Mary Elizabeth always gave me a little twinge of hope.

Chapter 14

In light of Jami Burkfield Mackenzie’s current pregnancy situation, I wasn’t as nervous as I’d usually be about the outfit I’d picked out to wear to our meetup in a social setting. I could’ve put on a cornmeal sack and outshone her.

But I still decided to wear a black pair of slim pants along with a black turtleneck and leopard-print boots that stopped shy of my knees. There wasn’t much room in my camper to have too many clothes, so when I did purchase something to wear, I made sure it was more of an evergreen piece, which meant wouldn’t come and go as a fad.

I loved wearing black and knew I’d get some flak from Mary Elizabeth, but when I picked it out, I’d not planned on her being here.

“Honestly. Black again?” She snarled when I walked out of the bathroom. “At least your curls are nice and relaxed.”

“I think she looks cuter than a whole litter of puppies,” Dottie bit back at Mary Elizabeth.

“Oh!” Abby squealed. “A litter of puppies are awfully cute.”

“I don’t know about you, but if you keep eating candy like that, you’re not going to be able to zip up them boots over fat calves.” Queenie had changed back into one of her silky sweatsuits. She had a big pair of puffball earmuffs on her head and wore matching gloves. She jogged in place, making the RV sway back and forth. “I’m going to go for a little walk to burn up some of those calories.”

“Don’t be gone too long.” Betts’s mothering side came out even though she was much younger than Queenie. “It’s almost dark out.”

“We’ve got to go.” I smiled at Mary Elizabeth’s Lily Pulitzer orange pants, white blouse, and black cardigan neatly buttoned up to the tippy-top hole. The pearls around her neck were lying on the outside of her sweater.

Mary Elizabeth never took off her pearls—well, almost never. I did get her to take them off once when we went camping. That was something I’d never have her do again. It just wasn’t worth the hassle.

“Get your coat,” she told me as she zipped up her wool coat and pulled out her fancy leather gloves from the pocket.

“We thought we’d go to the diner and see if we can meet up with Marple and Orville.” Abby and Betts had also gotten up to get coats on. “We have no idea who we are looking for, but I bet Sheila Bistro will be happy to point them out.”

“That’s a great idea. See if you can get the tapes so we don’t have to make a trip to Marple’s on our way back.” I was happy to see them make a plan that would help us save even more time since we only had a couple more days here.

We needed to gather all the information we could so we could dissect it when we got back to Normal and handed it over to Hank.

“I’ll drive,” I told Mary Elizabeth and plucked her keys off the hook next to the door.

She didn’t bother fussing with me, so it meant she agreed. Trust me, if she didn’t agree, she’d tell me as much, no matter what my reaction would be.

“I think everyone is right,” I told her once we got in the car, seat-belted in, and on the road toward the Burkfields’ lavish estate for supper.

“What’s that?” Mary Elizabeth sat in the passenger seat with her legs crossed at her ankles, pocketbook in her lap and hands neatly folded over each other.

“I think we just need to gather information to give to Hank that would create enough doubt for him to see if they’d reopen the cold case.” I knew it was going to be hard to prove, but we’d seemed to uncover some information that I felt could create doubt over it being just a simple house fire.

“That’s probably our best bet. I’ll be curious to see what’s on those tapes.” Mary Elizabeth was so supportive. I loved that about her, and it was one of the things I’d grown to appreciate as an adult and realized I wasn’t able to see when she was raising me.

In fact, I’d come to wonder whether how I’d behaved when I was a teenager was due to my age and not the fact that I didn’t want to listen to Mary Elizabeth because she wasn’t my biological mom.

Never once did I ever say to her that she wasn’t my mom when I got so angry at her for making me go to those silly manners classes or dance classes or any other crazy society learning experiences.

Though I couldn’t compare the two, I was pretty certain I would’ve given my mom the same runaround as I did Mary Elizabeth, no matter what the situation was. With Mary Elizabeth, I’d had a fancy house, fancier clothes, things she could afford.

There was no sense in looking back. I was moving forward, and I truly felt like getting to the bottom of what started the house fire was my ticket to continue looking ahead in my life. Even if it did turn out to be just a simple house fire and nothing more.

“Good evening.” Jami greeted us at the front door of her parents’ home with Hunter standing behind her. “You do remember my husband, Mayor Mackenzie.”

I knew where this was going. The Jami Burkfield I was liking today had seemed to revert to her Jami Mackenzie, First Lady role that I certainly wasn’t fond of.

“Yes. Hello, Mayor.” I greeted him the way Jami had intended for him to be greeted.

“Good evening.” Mary Elizabeth smiled and nodded as she moved around me and into the house. “Where’s your mama?”

“She’s in the family room.” Jami and Hunter stepped back to make more room so Mary Elizabeth could just blow right past them.

I followed her.

“The political office sure has done a number on him.” Mary Elizabeth couldn’t just keep her observation to herself until we got back in the car after supper. “My goodness, the age difference is showing.”

“Shh,” I whispered through the smile I continued to keep on my face in hope the Mackenzies, who were walking a bit of a distance behind us, didn’t hear her carrying on, though she was right.

He was much older than Jami, and it’d been rumored how he’d always stepped out of the marriage.

“No wonder he’s kept her. No one would want that.” Mary Elizabeth cackled before she put a huge smile on her face, chin lifted and eyes set on Mrs. Burkfield, who was sitting in a wingback chair next to the lit fireplace.

Hunter and Jami walked in with this air about them. Hunter’s hair was greyer than the last time I’d seen it. The lines around his eyes were also deeper, and it appeared as if his lashes were almost white, transparent.

“There she is.” Mary Elizabeth put her hands out on her way over to greet Mrs. Burkfield. “How is my dear friend tonight?”

“Mary Elizabeth, what on earth are you doing here? At this hour?” Mrs. Burkfield had clearly forgotten she’d invited us. On a good note, she remembered Mary Elizabeth.

“It’s only six o’clock. These dark winter nights get us all confused.” Mary Elizabeth bent down and hugged her before she peeled off her coat and gloves, handing them to Elsa, the ancient maid the Burkfields had had since I was a child and who I’d already seen today.

“Elsa,” I greeted her.

She was only about five foot and tiny. Now that I was standing in the big house, I vividly remember her scampering around the house with her feather duster.

“Did you have a good day?” She looked me up and down. “What’s on your face?”

“A cut. Maybelline was almost run over today.” Mary Elizabeth shot me a disapproving look. “Talking on that cell phone.”

“Elsa, I’m fine,” I assured her when she grabbed my chin and moved my head from side to side. “How is Rusty?” I asked about her husband.

“Rusty is just fine. He’s getting older and older. Old coot.” Her face softened. Her tight curls were a little looser and tad bit longer than I remembered, as though she didn’t go to the hairdresser as frequently as she used to.

“He was always so nice.” I blinked a few times as my memory recalled how he would go out of his way to be extra nice to me. I was sure it was because I was the orphan girl. “I didn’t get to tell you how good you look.”

It was the good old Southern way to follow up something sad with a positive thought or two. I followed up with a second happy comment. “You’re in good health, it seems.”

“I’m guessing you’re staying out of trouble?” She reached for my coat.

“I am now that I’m not hanging around her,” I joked and pointed to Jami, implying Jami was the source of all my teen shenanigans.

“Can I get anyone anything?” Elsa asked. “I’ll grab Mrs. Burkfield a quilt if she’s going to continue to visit after supper, which is already on the table.”

“My goodness. No visiting first?” Mary Elizabeth’s eyes grew big, and she looked Mrs. Burkfield. “You of all people made sure there were at least a good two hours of cocktails and gossip before you even thought about serving the salad.”

“I’m afraid those days are long gone, Mary Elizabeth. I fear that I might be becoming a little forgetful. Did you end up finding that girl you adopted?” Mrs. Burkfield seemed to be a bit confused.

“Look, here she is.” Mary Elizabeth put her hand out for me to take and tugged me over to say hello. “Here is Maybelline.”

“Oh, yes. That dreadful hair.” Mrs. Burkfield glanced at me before she pushed herself up to stand. “Did Elsa say supper was on the table?”

Even though Mrs. Burkfield wasn’t able to recall things and seemed to be getting older and more forgetful by the minute, she was still the head of the household, and they treated her as such.

No one sat down at the fancy dining room table with all the fancy glass and gold balls neatly placed in the middle. They looked as if they were part of a New Year’s party yet to be taken up.

“Mother.” Jami spoke up when she noticed her mom’s head was hanging down. “Did you tell Mary Elizabeth how excited we are about the twins?”

“Yes. The twins. There’s something to be said about children raising children.” She moved her hands away from her plate while Elsa put her portions on it for her.

“This looks delicious.” Mary Elizabeth was going to try to find a silver lining to the reality of her friend’s current condition with her upbeat attitude.

It was a far cry from how I watched my birth mother interact with Mrs. Burkfield.

“Did you find anything out with the employee file?” Jami’s voice echoed, bouncing off the marble flooring and high ceilings.

“There are a lot of the employees who’ve passed.” I didn’t bother telling her how all my friends were also looking into various avenues. “Did I tell you how I got the fire inspection report?” I asked but didn’t wait for a response when I noticed she was having some sort of back-and-forth with Hunter. “Anyways, Dad had gotten a wood-burning stove from Marple, and I went to see him at the pharmacy.”

“I heard you and Kenny Jolly were hanging out.” Hunter’s voice dropped in volume after Jami shot him a look.

There was no way I was going to let him have the last word on that subject.

“Kenny was gracious enough to give me a ride to talk to Marple because he was on his way to the retirement community to deliver their prescriptions.” I spoke to him in a monotone voice and kept our eyes locked. I shifted gears back to Jami after Hunter looked away. “I’m grateful for everyone’s kindness in helping me find the answers.”

“What did Marple have to say?” Jami picked up the butter and took a pat, brushing it on her roll.

“He said something about Orville Brohman knowing something about my dad and the mine.” I bit down into my roll, hoping she didn’t pick up on what I was saying.

No chance.

“Ahem.” Mary Elizabeth cleared her throat, her Southern way of trying to tell me to stop talking in a positive way. But that was quickly followed up by a kick to my shin.

“Umm.” I gritted my teeth at the pain of her pointy shoe going into my skin a little harder than it should’ve.

Did I get the hint? Heck no. I already had it in my head that James Burkfield had something to do with my family’s death, and it was eating me up inside.

Hunter passed me the gravy boat for the mashed potatoes before he passed me the meatloaf. “At least I’m not the topic of your trip this time.”

“Nope, you sure aren’t, but I’m happy I was able to stop by and see Jami.” Jami and I both knew why I was there, but I was really happy to see her since she offered the file.

“And the coal mine employee file,” Jami reminded everyone.

“I do love seeing you. I think we are much older and more mature now.” Not that the twelve years made us too old, but I had to believe we’d somewhat changed. Hopefully.

“Is that right?” Hunter wasn’t letting it slide. “I guess the last time you were here, you wanted to break up our marriage, claiming my wife or I had anything to do with that woman’s murder.”

“That woman, she has a name. Trudy Bell.” I still got teary-eyed when I thought about my friend whose life was cut short by a killer. “And I drove here to get clues to make sure you didn’t kill her. And it’s in the past. So I’m moving on. We are moving on. New year, no looking back.”

“Then why did you want the file of James’s employees? Your house caught fire. I looked into it when Jami told me you were coming here.” Hunter used his fork to stab a piece of meatloaf before he dragged it through his mashed potatoes and gravy and shoved it in his mouth.

“We don’t need to get into this right now.” Jami was getting visibly upset. “I’m not hungry.”

She pushed the plate in front of her to the side and brushed her fingertips underneath her eyes. “Excuse me for a minute.” Jami scooted back her chair and got up.

Hunter gave me a scathing look before he got up to follow his wife.

“Maybe I should go smooth it over.” Mary Elizabeth looked a bit perplexed. “I mean, she’s not got a mama to help her through the feelings, but at least I’m a woman of sound mind.”

“Sound mind?” I asked. “You just had your own bout of forgetfulness.”

“And it was because I had—”

I cut her off by gesturing at her to go then picking up my glass of water to take a drink as she left the table.

“What is it you want with the employees of the coal mine?” Mrs. Burkfield questioned when we were left at the table alone.

“I’m, well…” I was stumped. I wasn’t sure if I should tell or not, for fear of possibly getting her upset if she didn’t fully comprehend what I was doing. “My mother, father, and two little sisters were killed in a house fire. Somehow, I escaped.” I tried to give it to her in simple words. “My dad worked at your coal mine, and to my understanding—” I looked over my shoulder when I noticed Elsa had come into the room. I smiled at her. “It was my understanding that my dad and Mr. Burkfield were having some sort of disagreement.”

“Disagreement about what?” Mrs. Burkfield looked up at me with some fury in her eyes.

“I’m not sure. But I do remember my dad telling my mom that he needed to go back to the coal mine and leaving. My mom took my sisters to get a bath, and I put the last logs in the wood stove before I went to my room. Next thing I remember is someone carrying me out of my house.” I could tell by the faraway look in her eye she wasn’t following everything I was saying.

“What was it you were saying about Orville Brohman?” She drummed her fingers on the table. “James never liked him. He liked your dad. Just like the other day, when your dad came over. He was so polite and sweet. He talked fondly of you.”

“And my sisters, I’m sure.” I had a memory of my dad coming home from work and lifting up my little sister, who filled the kitchen with giggles, making the baby coo and me smile.

“No. I don’t recall Thomas Grant having any more children than the one little curly-headed girl Mary Elizabeth Moberly adopted.” Mrs. Burkfield talked to me like she had no idea I was that little girl. “It was a shame about his family. You know, James tried to help out that little girl.”

“Yes. I heard.” I smiled. “Do you remember what Mr. Grant and James had an argument about? Something about the coal mine? Clean coal?”

Maybe a good nudge to her memory was all she needed.

“Did James come on angry when Mr. Grant wanted him to shut down the mine?” I continued to pepper her with questions, which turned out to be the very wrong thing to do. “Was that the disagreement?”

“If there was ever a disagreement, then it wasn’t my precious James. Do you see this house? Have you seen my daughter? She wears the best clothes, drives the best car, and has everything a teenager would ever want. He has been a wonderful provider and father, not to mention husband. So don’t be coming into our home.” Her voice shook. “Everyone loved James.”

“Mrs. Burkfield, it’s time to take your medication.” Elsa jumped right on in to help calm down a very upset Mrs. Burkfield.

“I wasn’t trying to say Mr. Burkfield wasn’t a good father, husband, and provider.” I was trying desperately to plead my own case. “I was just trying to figure out what happened between them, because I remember someone carrying me out of the house that night, and I just want answers. I think my family was murdered.”

“Murdered?” Elsa gasped. Immediately, she grabbed up the medication she’d set down in front of Mrs. Burkfield and took Mrs. Burkfield by the hand. “We can take your medication in your room tonight. Good night, Mrs. West.”

“Elsa, I didn’t—” My lips smashed together when she put her hand out for me to stop talking.

“You didn’t what? Want to ask a very sick woman questions about something when she can’t even remember what happened this morning? What if she made something up and you used it against her? I think Jami gave you everything she needed to give you this morning with the file. You are more than welcome to question whoever you want, but right now, you will not be questioning Mrs. Burkfield.”

The sound of heavy footsteps hurried into the room.

“Mom?” Jami’s belly moved up and down as she tried to catch her breath, leaning against the doorjamb. “Elsa, what is wrong? I heard yelling.”

Mary Elizabeth and Hunter had come up behind her, both of their eyes moving from one person to the other.

“I made the mistake of telling your mother why I’m here. Elsa figured it wasn’t a good thing to do after your mom got upset when I told her my dad and your father had an argument a few hours before the house fire.” My words fell on Jami like a brick had hit her.

“Are you saying my father had something to do with your family’s house fire?” She asked as though she was seeking clarity, but her body language told me different.

She pushed herself off the doorjamb and waddled over to where her mother and Elsa were standing.

“I’ve got Mom.” She took her mom’s elbow. “Dinner is over. You can see our guests out.”

“I think that’s our cue to leave.” Mary Elizabeth broke the silence.

“Jami.” I softly called her name when she and her mom passed us to go down the long hallway that led to her parents’ room. “I really meant no harm.”

“The door is that way.” Hunter pointed directly to the front of the house.

“I know where the door is, thank you.” I jerked my arm away when I felt Elsa try to guide me. “I’m sorry.” I thought Jami might turn around and say it was okay, but she didn’t. “I said I was sorry!”

“Leave!” Hunter hollered back at me.

“Don’t you think you’re getting my vote for the governor’s mansion.” I turned and gave Mary Elizabeth a hard head-jerk to leave.

My mind was so jumbled trying to process what had just happened at the Burkfields’ house that I didn’t even realize I’d pulled up to the Three Sons Bistro to have pie with the ladies.

“We need pie. Go meet the girls” were the last words spoken to me by Mary Elizabeth until we got into the diner, where she darted straight over to the group and told them exactly what got us kicked out of the Burkfields’ dinner party in our honor.

“You thought it was a good idea to bring it up over supper?” Dottie looked at me like I had three heads.

“Since when did you grow you some manners?” I asked her.

“I’m not the one who we expect good manners from. And she was with you.” Dottie flung a pointed finger at Mary Elizabeth. “You know she ain’t too big for a spankin’.”

“It was embarrassing.” Mary Elizabeth wrung her hands and pulled Queenie’s pie toward her.

“Hey.” Queenie’s brows knitted. “That’s my pie.”

“Who are you fooling?” Mary Elizabeth forked the end of the triangular dessert. “You aren’t going to eat no pie.”

She shoved the utensil in her mouth.

“More importantly and why we are here”—I was tired of talking about the Burkfields—“did you get the tapes from Orville and Marple?” I asked.

“No. They weren’t here.” Betts picked up the cup of coffee to chase down her spoonful of warm campfire cobbler and scoop of vanilla bean ice cream that Sheila made with her ice cream maker.

Delicious.

“We even asked Sheila, and she said she didn’t see them here.” Abby shrugged. “Maybe they canceled or met somewhere else.”

“That’s okay. I think we will go ahead and stop by Marple’s on our way back to the camper.” I started to calculate the time Fifi had been alone and began to feel awful. I should’ve left her with Hank and Chester. “Or maybe wait until tomorrow, because I need to let Fifi out.”

“We can go back and do it after I eat this last piece of cobbler.” Betts smiled and offered me a bite, but I waved it off.

My stomach had been in knots the last couple of hours, and I was ready to get the tape, put it in the camper’s old TV, or maybe go straight to bed. It was going to feel good curling up with Fifi and getting some good shut-eye.

The front of the Three Sons Bistro lit up with flashing lights. The five of us turned around in our seats along with the rest of the customers to watch an ambulance and sheriff’s car zoom past.

“Sheila!” Mary Elizabeth had a mouthful of pie, but Sheila apparently knew what she wanted.

“On it!” Sheila hurried back behind the counter with the coffee pot in her grip, forgetting about whoever’s mug she was going to fill up, and flipped on the police scanner.

The old thing screeched to life as she turned the dial to make it come in and twisted the two small black antennas on the back for better reception.

“We got us a 10-45 at the Perrysburg Retirement Facility. Repeat, a 10-45 at the Perrysburg Retirement Facility. We are going to need all available emergency crews. The call came in saying someone has been strangled. Possible 10-56A or 10-56. Prepare for the scene. Other members in the community are visibly upset. Repeat, 10-45 with a 10-56 at Perrysburg Retirement Facility.”

I looked around at my friends to see what that meant. Abby was on it. She was already typing on her phone and using her finger to scroll as quickly as possible.

“All units can stand down,” a man’s voice called over the scanner. “Marple Eickler 10-45D.”

“Did he say Marple Eickler?” Mary Elizabeth gasped.

I nodded my head.

“What’s a 10-45D?” Her mouth gaped open.

“That means dead.” The words fell from Abby’s lips in slow motion.

My gaze shifted to Mary Elizabeth. She shoved the entire piece of pie in her mouth.

Chapter 15

“Call the church and see if Barbara is there and ask her to let Fifi out,” I asked Abby since Betts was driving all of us in her cleaning van to the crime scene.

There was no way any of us were going back to let Fifi out when we knew of a real-life dead body, that of someone I’d seen about the death of my father and who was in cahoots to get us some solid information.

“Did you happen to get Orville’s phone number when you were checking on the employee files?” I asked Abby.

“I’ll check.” She got out her phone. “I can only do one thing at a time.”

All of us were a little testy on the way over to the retirement center. And when we pulled in, it was right behind the white van that read CORONER in big black letters.

“Oh good, you’re there. This is Abby Fawn. I’m in the camper with Mae West, and we have a favor to ask.” Abby’s voice sounded like one of those cartoon character’s voices that was all mushed together, kinda like background noise.

My mind was trying to wrap itself around what my eyes were seeing, making me feel like I wasn’t in my body and this was a bad dream.

“Are you okay?” Mary Elizabeth touched my arm when she noticed I’d gone eerily silent.

“I’m in my head.”

Abby flipped on the flashlight on her phone and looked around the van.

“I told Barbara how to break into the camper so she could let Fifi out.” Her flashlight was bright in my eyes. I had to look away, and when I did, I saw several flashing lights in the distance.

All of us got eerily silent and focused on what was ahead of us.

“What am I going to do now?” I asked as we passed all the police cars and pulled up next to the coroner’s van.

“We need to find out who killed him,” Dottie blurted out. “That’s what we’ve got to do.”

“Killed him?” Queenie jumped around from the front seat to look back at all of us in the back.

“Yeah. You think he just died?” Dottie’s lips twisted. “Someone knew Mae was figuring on finding out who killed her parents and stopped Marple before he could tell her.”

“Or get me the tapes.” I gulped and looked back over at Abby to see if she’d gotten the information about Orville as she continued to use her phone’s flashlight to pore over the employee file.

“I don’t have Orville’s phone number or address.” She looked up once Betts had put the van in park.

“Then we have to go in and get Marple’s address book he keeps in the kitchen drawer. I watched him pull it out and use it to look up Orville’s number before he called Orville.” I licked my dry lips and kept the bottom lip tucked in as I noodled over how I was going to get in there.

“Look at Kenny.” Mary Elizabeth motioned at him, making me look to see where she was glancing. “He’s taking his doctoring degree so seriously.”

“He’s a pharmacist. Not a doctor.” Betts turned the van off.

“You don’t have to be a certified doctor to be a coroner in Kentucky.”

I jerked.

“What? Kenny is the coroner too?” I questioned.

“Yes. He didn’t tell you? He won last election. Everyone loves their pharmacist, even the dead,” Mary Elizabeth joked, but it was not funny.

“This is the best news.” I got up from the makeshift van seat. “I’ll be right back.”

I jerked the handle of the van and slid the door open with my eyes set on the coroner’s van—or should I say Kenny’s van, where I found Kenny in the back with his hands on the church cart, which was the gurney the body would be put on.

“Mae, what are you doing here?” There was an element of surprise on his face that faded very quickly. “I guess I’m not so shocked you’re here, but how did you get here so quickly?” His sparkling eyes showed a bit of humor.

“I was at the diner, hoping to meet Marple there, and the police call came through the scanner.” I gnawed on my lip and realized I was going to have to do it. I was going to have to flirt with Kenny Jolly. “Kenny, I need your help.” I batted my lashes and gave him a sweet smile.

“Oh no.” He shook his head and went back to getting the things he needed to go inside Marple’s apartment, where there was a flurry of activity from the lawmen coming in and out. “I can’t do anything illegal.”

“Kenny.” I swayed my shoulders back and forth, taking a couple of steps back so he could get out and pull the cart out of the back. “I’m not asking you to do anything illegal. First, I just want to know if Marple was murdered. Secondly, I need the address book from his kitchen drawer.”

“No.” He jerked the edges of the gurney as he pulled it out of the back and locked the legs in place, rolling it to the side. “No. I am not going to get involved in this.”

“Involved in what?” I asked. “You know something. Kenny Jolly, you better tell me what you know.”

“Listen.” He shut the back double doors of the hearse. “I already helped you a long time ago and paid for it dearly after you left. Today I even helped you, not to mention got a phone call from my mother after she got a call about someone seeing us together. I can take that. But this involves the law, and I’m not going to help you.”

“Kenny.” I blinked a few times and whispered, “I need you to help me. I just need to know if Marple was murdered, because if he was, do you honestly think it is a coincidence that I’m here snooping around? I was with him today and supposed to meet him tomorrow to get some tapes that might have some evidence about why someone killed my family.”

“You for sure have evidence that your family’s house fire was deliberate?” he asked.

It was then that I could see his eyes soften, his jaw relax, and I swear I could feel his heart tingle with sadness for me.

“Yes. I have evidence,” I lied with a straight face and had zero qualms on my conscience.

He clenched his jaw and looked down at me with his deep eyes.

“Fine. Marple was strangled with a rope. It appears as if someone came up behind him while he was sitting in his chair and strangled him.” He put his hands up. “That’s all I know from the initial observation. I won’t know more until I take the body and do a complete autopsy.”

“So he was murdered,” I whispered to myself and tried to think back to who on earth could’ve possibly known that I was going to meet him. “The Burkfields.”

“What?” Kenny asked, puffs of smoke coming out of his mouth as the night’s cold winter air mixed with his warm breath. “What about the Burkfields?”

“They are the only people who know that I was with Marple.” There wasn’t any other explanation.

“Nope. It wasn’t them. I was actually at their house when I got the call.” Kenny cocked an eye at me as he began to tell me how he knew. “Marple died a couple of hours ago. I had just missed you at the Burkfields’ house. I was delivering all the orders from this afternoon on my way home, and they were my last stop. I ended up eating the dessert with them that was meant for you and Mary Elizabeth. It was also when I got the call from the police saying the nurse had come to give Marple his nightly medications and found him. When I got here, he’d not been dead for very long.”

“Which means the Burkfields have an alibi.” I gave it my best effort to keep myself collected as the reality hit me that if I’d not been in town, Marple Eickler would probably still be alive today.

“I did get a call from the sheriff today about you getting run down.” Kenny didn’t appear to be too happy about it. “I told him I didn’t see it.”

“How did he know?” I asked because I didn’t get a phone call from anyone.

“Your boyfriend called them. Told them I was with you. I told you, I’m not going to get wrapped up in all your drama, Mae.” Kenny’s face was stern, his eyes set.

“I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking for one little favor, then I will be gone, and you won’t have to see me again.” I crossed my heart with my fingers, making him smile.

“What is it?” Kenny asked with some trepidation as if he was going to regret the question.

I hated pulling the wool over his eyes, but I had to get that address book.

“Kenny, I really need to see him. I have to. I honestly think he’s dead because of me. I truly believe he knew something about the fire or might’ve had a clue who did it and they killed him.” I put my hand on my chest. “If I don’t ask for his forgiveness now, I’ll never be able to live with myself.”

Kenny was still shaking his head, standing there like a stubborn mule.

“Listen, you don’t have to do anything. Just tell me how I can get in there, past them.” I nodded toward the sliding front doors of the apartment building. I watched him crane his neck around me, giving the joint a thorough once-over before he looked down at me. I stopped talking.

“Here.” He handed me a set of keys. “The white flat thing opens up the side door to the steps. You can go straight up to his floor, and his door is right across from the stairwell. You have to get yourself in there without me. Understand?”

“Thank you, Kenny. I’ll wait here until you get to the double doors.” I slid around to the side of his van with a different plan in mind than the one he had.

When he’d pushed the creaky cart up near the building, I helped myself to one of the packages of scrubs that I’d seen lying in the back of the hearse and quickly ripped the package open.

With the paper scrubs tucked in my coat and the keys to the side door in my hand, I hurried back to the van, pulling the door open.

“Abby, I need you to put these on and go up the side stairs, using this key to get in.” I laid everything out. “I need you to go into Marple’s room, pretending you are with the coroner.”

“Why can’t you do it?” Her face paled.

“Because I might know one of the officers or investigators, and you can tell them you’re an intern or something. They’ll believe anything around here.” There wasn’t any way I could risk my one shot at getting my hands on the address book.

“Fine,” Abby agreed, and everyone sprang into action to help her get her coat off and paper scrubs on. “If I get any pushback from them and they don’t let me in the kitchen, I’m not going to get the address book.” She was determined to let me know after I explained exactly where Marple’s address book was located. “I’m the technology member of our group. Why can’t Queenie dance her way in? Or better yet, Betts pray her way in?”

“I think you can do this.” Betts had put in her two cents, which made Abby jump out of the van.

I’d never seen any of these women stay quiet for this long. Each one of us was holding our breath until we saw Abby hurrying out of the building, hugging herself around the middle. She ran toward us.

“Get the van started,” I told Betts and opened the door for Abby. “Drive, Betts,” I said as soon as Abby hopped back in.

Betts threw the van in drive and took off just as I slid the door shut.

When I turned around, Abby’s face was as pale as a sheet, her eyes flittin’ about everywhere before she pulled something from her coat, and a smile crossed her face.

“I got it.” She sighed.

All of us gave out a celebratory holler.

Chapter 16

None of us were in any shape to go over to Orville’s house after we’d used up all of our energy, waiting and hoping Abby had made it out with the address book unnoticed. We decided to drive back to the camper, where I was greeted by a very excited Fifi.

“Hey, baby girl.” I was glad to see she’d not gone potty, though I knew Barbara had climbed through the dinette window, which Abby had told her to get access through since it had a broken lock. “Let’s go potty.”

I grabbed the leash out of the basket I’d made for her and clipped it on, leaving all the Laundry Club Ladies to get comfortable before we went over all the clues for the day and headed to bed.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to take her out for her nightly potty.” I grabbed the flashlight and headed out of the camper.

“Maybelline, is that you?” I jumped around when I heard someone call my name from the darkness. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

I shined the flashlight toward where I heard the voice.

“Doris Jean?” I questioned after the light hit her.

“Yes. I’m sorry if I startled you, but I didn’t know how to talk to you. Barbara told me you were here.” She shuffled her feet and pulled her hand up to her lips as she puffed on her cigarette.

I tugged on Fifi’s leash so we could walk over to Doris Jean.

The sound of the camper door opened. The light from inside of the RV formed a direct lighted path to Doris Jean as Dottie Swaggert made her way outside.

“I’ve gotta get a smoke in.” Dottie talked to me, not realizing we weren’t alone. “Who’s that?” Dottie’s head wiggled side to side, trying to take in Doris Jean through the darkness now that she’d shut the camper door, extinguishing any extra light.

“This is Doris Jean. She was Bobby Ray’s girlfriend when I left Perrysburg,” I half joked, but Doris Jean didn’t smile. “Was.”

Her hair was long, bleach-blond, and stringy. Now that I’d seen Barbara, she didn’t look anything like her mama.

“You know Barbara from the office? This is her mom.” I introduced them the best I could.

“How’s Bobby Ray doing?” Doris Jean asked and shifted her focus back to me as she and Dottie puffed alongside each other.

“He’s great. He lives in my campground in the cutest bungalow. He has a job as the head mechanic at the only garage in Normal, so you know he’s super busy and the best at his skill.” I went on and on about how well Bobby Ray was doing now that he didn’t live in Perrysburg.

Dottie stayed silent but kept a very close eye on Doris Jean. Both of them were looking like two smoke stacks puffing away.

“He’s dating my friend Abby. I swear, I’ve never seen him so in love.” I smiled.

“Give him time. He’ll dump her like he did me.” Doris Jean raised a brow and brought the cigarette back up to her lips. “Enough about him. I heard you are looking for some information about the coal mine and your daddy.”

“Why? You know somethin’?” Dottie asked as they bonded over the smoking.

“I might.” Doris Jean lifted her chin. “For a price.”

“How much you talkin’?” Dottie went into negotiation mode.

“Hold on. If you know something, then you should tell me out of the goodness of your heart and not make me pay for it.” I just couldn’t believe I was getting swindled by Doris Jean.

“Do you think it’s free to raise a daughter, Mae?” She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t go around telling nothing about nothing unless I think it might have some value. It’s all over town that you’re here snooping around, and with Marple now murdered, you think it’s coincidence he’s dead after you went to see him? And I also heard someone tried to run you over.”

“I’ll determine the value when you let me know what it is you know.” I glared right back at her, not letting her run my investigation.

“Then I reckon you don’t want to know.” She threw her cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. She gave a bit of a shrug and started to walk off to the beat-up car parked underneath the parking lot light.

“You’re going to let her leave like that?” Dottie asked. “She just might know some knowledge of somethin’ up in that noggin’ of hers.”

I didn’t want to play around with Doris Jean. She was always up to no good, and Mary Elizabeth used to call her no-count. I didn’t pay attention to all of that when I was growing up, but I could see now what Mary Elizabeth meant.

“I don’t think she knows anything we don’t. I’ve been around Doris Jean a long time, and she’s still the same Doris Jean. Poor Barbara.” I watched Doris Jean get into the clunker. She turned on the engine, but it just clicked a few times.

She glanced over at me and Dottie before she turned the key again. Nothing.

“It looks like the tide has turned.” Dottie smiled and nudged me with her elbow. “We just might get that information after all.”

Doris Jean’s head dropped before she finally gave up on trying to start her car.

“Where you goin’?” Dottie asked when I took a few steps toward Doris Jean’s car.

“Just because she don’t want to help me doesn’t mean I don’t want to help her.” It was like Mary Elizabeth always said, the Golden Rule of do unto others.

Not that I wanted to use up the Golden Rule on Doris Jean, but she needed something, and I was able to give it.

“I guess you’ve come over here to gloat?” Doris Jean had pushed the door open with her foot. Her legs were sticking out of the car, but she was still sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Nope. But I do have jumper cables. Let me get my friend Betts to pull her van up so we can jump it.” I could almost see the relief on Doris Jean’s face, but she wasn’t going to show it.

She was too proud, like most people in Perrysburg.

“Go on and pop your hood,” I instructed her and went back to the camper, passing a grumbling Dottie on the way.

When I walked inside, Mary Elizabeth, Abby, Betts, and Queenie were still mulling over all the things we’d come across.

“Hey, Betts, can I move your van? Doris Jean’s car needs a jump.” Vigorously, I rubbed my hands together to get them quickly warmed up. It felt so good inside of the camper.

“Bobby Ray’s Doris Jean?” Abby jumped up and grabbed her shoes. “I’ve got to get a look at her.”

“There isn’t much to look at, bless her heart,” Mary Elizabeth muttered with a hint of sarcasm. “I know it’s not nice, but that girl strung him along forever until she finally got hooked up with that boy down in the holler. Then they had that baby.”

“Barbara.” Abby put her coat on.

“My keys are on the hook.” Betts didn’t look up from the notebook. “We really need to go over some of these clues to see which ones are more important since we leave tomorrow.”

“How do you know Barbara?” Mary Elizabeth asked Abby.

“Because she works in the church office while she’s out of school for winter break.” Abby took a quick look in the microwave door to get a glimpse of her reflection.

“Honey, you could have ratted hair and make Doris Jean jealous.” Mary Elizabeth chuckled. “I know.” She glowered when she saw me give her a look. “We are in the church parking lot. I should hold my tongue, Lord willing.”

“I’m not so sure I’m leaving. Y’all just might have to leave without me.” I could feel everyone’s eyes focus on me. “I can rent a car to drive back to Normal. Now that Marple has been murdered, I can only think it was because someone figured out I was snooping around. Doris Jean pretty much told me it’s the talk of the town, and that’s why she’s here with some information she’s had all these years.”

“What information?” Mary Elizabeth got up from the couch. She reached over the kitchen sink, peeled back the curtain, and looked out into the darkness. “Is that her underneath the parking lot light?”

“Mm-hmm.” I plucked Betts’s van keys from the hook.

“What kind of information does she have?” Mary Elizabeth asked again.

“I don’t know. She wants me to pay for it, but I decided not to, then her car wouldn’t start, and I’m using your advice about the Golden Rule and all.” I thought Mary Elizabeth would be happy as a goat in a clover field after I told her what I was doing.

“Golden Rule goes out the window when someone is trying to blackmail you. Didn’t I teach you anything?” She jerked the keys out of my hand and shoved her feet into the pair of slip-on shoes at the door, grabbing her coat on the way out. “Listen here, Doris Jean.”

She started fussing at Doris Jean from the time she opened the camper door until the time she got the van pulled up to Doris Jean’s car.

Most of what she was carrying on about wasn’t even audible over the rumble and clatter of Betts’s old cleaning van, but did you think Mary Elizabeth cared about that? Heck no.

“What are you rambling on about, Ms. Moberly?” Doris Jean did have some manners about her. Good thing too. It seemed to soften Mary Elizabeth a smidgen.

“I was just saying that I think it’s awfully kind of Maybelline to give you a free jump and not leave you stranded out here in the bitter cold after you dangled some very important information in front of her and expected something in return.” Mary Elizabeth used her words wisely in a way that would guilt-trip anyone. “But that’s exactly how I raised Maybelline. Do unto others even though, in this case, you are the other and not doing unto.”

Me, Dottie, Doris Jean, and now Abby all stood there in the cold with our mouths hung wide open as if we were all trying to figure out what exactly it was that Mary Elizabeth was trying to spout out in one long breath.

“Fine.” Doris Jean cocked her hip and head in the same direction at the same time. “I’d heard your parents got robbed. I was cleaning houses back then with my mee-maw. I was just a few years older than you but big enough to know something bad had happened.” She frowned. “I guess I should’ve told you when you were in high school, but it’s not something you just blurt out.”

“I’m grateful you want to share with me now.” I didn’t want to discourage her but knew it was still something to look into. “I did read that there’d been a lot of burglaries around that time.”

“I can’t help but wonder if your daddy came home while the house was being robbed, because from what I’d heard, he’d gone to the coal mine to talk to James Burkfield about the demands of the miners from the meeting they’d had that night.”

When she said “meeting,” I knew I had to talk to Orville about those tapes. It was more important than ever now that she’d said what she’d heard my dad’s meeting was about.

“They’d said your father had been hit over the head and then hog-tied with a very strong rope.” Doris Jean’s words made me look away.

“It does go along with how the others who were robbed were found, only they were found alive.” Abby’s observations from her research only made me go right back to the thought my dad was a target of something greater.

“What if the person who set fire to my house wanted it to look like my parents were robbed, which was why they really never pursued it?” I asked.

“I do have the name of the robbers. They were caught, and I also have their addresses.” Abby had gone above and beyond what we needed, and I was so grateful for her. “I did write it all down in the notebook, which was what Betts was trying to get you to do. Come look at the notebook.” Abby flung her ponytail to the side and looked at Doris Jean. “Hello, Doris Jean. We’ve not been properly introduced. I’m Abby Fawn.”

I wasn’t sure if I should let the two of them converse but found it would be interesting for two very different women to argue over Bobby Ray. He’d get a kick out of it. I let Mary Elizabeth and Dottie stand there as referees while I hooked up the two vehicles to the jumper cables.

“So you’re the little sidepiece.” She looked Abby up and down. “Not his usual type. I mean, you don’t wear any sort of makeup that I can see, though we are in the dark, still.” She pointed to her eyelids. “I always put a little sparkle on my lids just in case I am in the dark.”

“I guess Bobby Ray needed a change.” Abby didn’t back down from Doris Jean. “But I wanted to introduce myself. Good luck with your car.”

“Start’er up!” I hollered over the rattle of van’s engine. “I said to start’er up!” I peeked around the hood of Doris Jean’s clunker. She nodded at me through her windshield and turned her key over to start.

Carefully, I unhooked the jumper cables and made sure they didn’t touch. The last thing I needed was to get fried right there in the church parking lot, giving the good citizens just one more thing to gossip about.

“I’m not sure if you want to go see those two men who did all those robberies, but I guess you could try to get some answers from them.” Doris Jean said her goodbyes but not without first telling Abby to give Bobby Ray a big warm bear hug.

Chapter 17

“I’ll give her a big warm bear hug,” Abby mocked as we all sat around the kitchen table in the RV.

“Why didn’t you ever mention there’d been burglaries around the time of the house fire?” I asked Mary Elizabeth.

“There were rumors, but you know rumors. But there was nothing that’d come back conclusive about the robberies either.” She tsked. “My goodness. The rumors also said you stuffed the ballot box for prom queen.” Mary Elizabeth’s eyes searched my face for answers. “Oh my Gawd.” She threw her arms up in the air. “Jesus, take me now!”

“Please, take her now,” Dottie agreed, only to be met with squinting eyes from Mary Elizabeth.

Ignoring the two of them in their stare-off, I flipped through the notebook where we’d all taken turns writing down everything we’d discovered in the past twenty-four hours.

“I think we should figure out who we need to see tomorrow and the importance of it all.” Betts was trying to be logical.

I glanced at her.

“I know it’s all important, but I do think we have a lot to get through. This isn’t going to be as cut-and-dry as we thought it was.”

“I understand, but I do need to see this thing with Marple through.” I handed the ink pen to Abby and pushed the notebook her way. “I really want to go see Inez Marsh.”

“Why do you want to see her?” Mary Elizabeth asked.

“I just want to see what she knows about James Burkfield trying to pay for my things. Not that you didn’t provide,” I had to assure her. “But in case it made him feel better about killing my family.”

“Okay.” Abby wrote down that our first stop the next day would be seeing Inez. “I have her address too.”

“You are so good.” I smiled at my friend. I was glad she and Bobby Ray were dating. They were complete opposites and good for each other. But let’s face it. I could’ve been sitting across from a crabby Doris Jean at the Christmas table instead of Abby. “Then I would like to go see the robbers.”

“Robber. I misspoke earlier. Shawn Herrigan is still here, but Alec Fischer is in the big house. He went on to do a lot more than just breaking into people’s homes,” Abby read from her phone.

“Maybe Shawn Herrigan might join him if we can prove they did rob my parents and set fire to the house.” Not that my parents had much—we didn’t, but maybe that was why they would have had a motive to kill them.

If my dad had come into the house while this was happening, then he could’ve ID’d them, but it still didn’t go with the fact they tied people up during their robberies.

“After that, I hope we can hear back from Nellie Brohman about seeing her brother-in-law, Orville, about those tapes he was going to give Marple for me to view.” I looked to Mary Elizabeth to see what she had to say about her friend and getting in touch with her.

“About that.” Mary Elizabeth’s brows furrowed. “Nellie said Orville didn’t want to touch this with a ten-foot pole and he wasn’t going to dredge up the past. She mentioned how odd he was and how he liked to speak in riddles. Only I didn’t get this one.”

“What was it? Something about rain?” I asked.

“No.” Her face squinched up as if she were trying to remember. “Ah! You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, but the future can never taint me.”

“That’s so weird. What does that even mean?” Queenie rolled her head around to stretch her neck. “Makes my head hurt.”

“‘You will always find me…’” Abby was saying the riddle as she typed it into her phone. “History. The answer to his riddle is history.”

“So he doesn’t want to be involved.” That annoyed me. He might be the only link to what really took place at those meetings if I couldn’t find anyone else alive here that was a worker with my father.

“Nellie said he’s a strange bird. Always talking in riddles and won’t answer a single question just straight up. That’s why she said he was a good miner. Alone all day and didn’t have to interact with society too much.”

“Here is what he said to Marple today.” My mind rolled back to the riddle. “‘I am something that goes up. Although I am not a kite, I am held over your head to help block rain or sunlight.’”

“Hold on.” Abby typed even faster as she said the riddle out loud. “An umbrella.”

“An umbrella?” I blinked a few times to see if I remembered Marple saying anything about an umbrella. Nothing came up. “Okay. Just write that down, because we are going to make Orville Brohman our next stop after Shawn. Then we can see what kind of time we have before we make a decision whether we go home or not.”

“We are going home.” Betts looked at me. “We told Hank that we’d bring you home in three days. End of story.”

“Since when did we ever listen to Hank?” I looked at the Laundry Club Ladies.

We all busted out laughing.

Chapter 18

I turned over for the umpteenth time that night, listening to Mary Elizabeth and Queenie in a snoring match.

If that didn’t make it hard to sleep, I had Abby, on the other hand, having a dream, and I swear she was talking about Bobby Ray, which only made me sick to my stomach.

Somewhere between the snoring and the love talk, I seemed to have gotten a tad bit of shut-eye because the next thing I knew, Fifi was licking my face in efforts to get me to take her to go potty.

“Okay. Let’s go.” I put my two feet on the floor and slipped my sweatshirt over my head as I headed down the hall. With a flip of the switch, the coffeepot roared to life. I slipped my phone off the charger and headed out the door with Fifi’s leash clipped on to her collar.

She darted off in the direction of the grassy area and extended the leash as far as it could go. I took the opportunity to call Hank while Fifi was occupied with all the smells.

“Good morning.” It was nice to hear his voice.

“How did you sleep?” I asked.

“Meh. I sleep much better knowing you’re in the camper next to me and safe.” His voice held some fatigue. “But you’ll be home tonight.”

“That’s what I was calling about. I know Betts promised you.” I could hear the deep sigh from the other end of the phone line. “But I really need to tie up a few ends before I can bring home everything I’ve found out.”

“What did you find out?” he asked.

“The papers reported some break-ins where the robbers tied up the home owners. They didn’t really get much attention, but one of the robbers is still living locally while the other is in the big house.” Hank laughed, making me smile. “I just want to see if he is able to tell me if they robbed my parents, because Doris Jean said she’d heard my dad was tied up, which goes along with the bruises around his neck and esophagus.”

The images of my dad being tied up literally made me nauseous.

“I just have to get answers.” I could feel the sting of tears starting to well up in the bridge of my nose. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, creating a long stream of steam.

“I know. I understand. As long as this robber isn’t dangerous.” Hank was going to give me a lecture, but I interrupted him.

“I’m going to be fine. I’ve got all these nosy ladies with me.” I did want to go see some of these people alone, but I knew they wouldn’t let me. “So that’s one avenue that might’ve opened up for us to investigate.”

“I can dig around and see about anything coming out of the robberies if you want me to.”

“Since when did I get an opinion on what you look into?” I asked.

“Mae, this is very important to you. Probably the most important thing in your life. There’s no way I’d ever want to do anything to compromise how you see things going down in your head. I’d never want you to regret anything. That includes me. I will only do what you want me to do.” Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could hear how much he cared for me, and though that should be enough, he was right. I had to get these answers for myself.

“You can look into anything. I trust you.” I smiled and walked as Fifi moved from smell to smell. “I’m also going to go by and see Inez Marsh. She was my social worker. She had direct contact with James Burkfield, and I’ve still not decided whether he or someone else set fire to our home. I just have to cross off the Burkfields once and for all.”

“Okay…” Hank’s voice trailed off as I continued.

“Then there’s Marple’s murder.”

“They already said he was murdered?” Hank asked.

“Kenny is the coroner.” I tried not to smile when I knew what Hank was going to say.

“Of course he is. Next he’ll be the chief of police, fire marshal, and whatever other title that town wants to give him. Geez,” Hank groaned.

“Anyways, I have to know if he was murdered because of me. Someone has spooked Orville away from letting me have the video tapes. I have to think it’s because of me seeing Marple, which makes me think the person driving the green Toyota was trying to send me a message.”

“A message?” Hank’s question me hit me hard.

“Oh, Hank. Yes. A message.” I gasped. “What if they just wanted to scare me enough, not to hurt me, but to run me off from investigating? Like the person who carried me out of the house to save me?”

“Are you saying that the person driving the car was the person who carried you out of your house?” Hank questioned.

“Yes. I think there’s a link. Listen, I’ve got to go, but I’ll call you back to let you know when I’m coming home. Love you.” I quickly hung up the phone and pulled Fifi’s leash to get her to head back into the camper.

The coffee had brewed. The smell was so inviting.

“What if the person who owns the green Toyota was the same person who carried me out of my house that night?” I questioned, flipping on the lights of the camper, only to be greeted by groans, moans, and a lack of energy.

“Then we will just have to figure it out.” Betts was the first one out of bed and always the hostess as she got everyone a hot cup of coffee. “What is our plan today before we head back to Normal?”

“We are going to go talk to Shawn while Mae goes to meet with Inez.” Abby sat up, grabbing a fistful of her long hair and gathering it into a low ponytail as she tugged the elastic band from her wrist. “Right, Mae?”

“I want you to try to figure out who owns the green Toyota too.” I knew it was a bit of a stretch, and before they could turn on me about how they were going to do that, I continued, “I don’t know. Just ask around and see what pops up. I’m sure Shawn won’t have a lot to say, because if they did rob my house and set fire to it, I’m sure he won’t want to come clean. You’ll have a lot of time on your hands. Then we can go see Orville.”

“Orville?” Mary Elizabeth asked when she walked out of the bathroom to join the conversation. She was already put together and smelled good too. “I told you, Mellie said he wasn’t going to see you or anyone concerning the mine for that matter.”

“Mellie Brohman is not stopping me from going over to Orville’s house.” Did she honestly think someone telling me no was going to stop me? “You know me better than that.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to just stop by,” Queenie noted and pulled her leggings up to her kneecaps. “That’s what we do in the South. Stop by without calling first.”

She was right. Rarely did anyone ever call to say they were stopping by to visit. They just showed up.

“Ain’t no different than how we used to do it, Mary Elizabeth. I remember several times we’d be at a store near one of your friends’ houses, and you’d just stop by because we were in the neighborhood.” It was fond memories now. Back then, I wasn’t very happy when she did those types of things.

“I reckon we can.” Mary Elizabeth’s lips pinched. “If Mellie gets wind of it, she’s not going to be happy.”

“So?” Dottie grumbled and put a knit cap over her hot-pink hair curlers, slipped her feet into her boots, and grabbed her coat, which no doubt had her pack of cigarettes in the pocket. “I’ll be ready to go when you tell me.”

She headed outside to enjoy her morning smoke like we enjoyed our morning coffee. With a plan in place, the Laundry Club Ladies took Betts’s van, and I drove Mary Elizabeth’s car in the completely opposite direction.

Inez Marsh’s office was in a chippy old building on the east side of Perrysburg. It was in much need of an overhaul back then, so you can only imagine the shape it was in now. The old metal panes in the windows had mold stuck to them, and the brick was littered with large structural holes. The inside was just as cold as it was outside.

I remembered going there and feeling so cold that night. I took a few deep breaths as I walked down the hall to find her name was still written on the door.

“Hello,” I called and put my head into the office before I noticed someone at the desk and stepped in. “I’m looking for Inez Marsh.”

“You found her.” The woman turned around, and I was happy to see it was her. Her black hair had a few grey streaks in it, but she still looked the same. Time had been good to her. She had a few wrinkles around the eyes, but that was pretty much all. “How can I help you?”

“I’m not sure if you remember me.” I straightened myself a little taller and unzipped my coat. “I’m Maybelline Grant. My family was killed in a house fire.”

“Oh my goodness. Maybelline.” She stood up and opened her arms, rushing towards me. The glasses dangling from the chain hit her in the chest as she bounced my way. “Honey, I’ve thought so much about you but see by the Hall of Fame wall down at the Three Sons Bistro that you’re doing just fine for yourself.”

She gave me a huge hug then took a step back. She put the glasses on her nose.

“Let me get a look at you.” Her eyes drew up and down my body. “Yep. You sure are a pretty thing. I wasn’t sure you were going to amount to much. But look at you. You’d be a great guest speaker for the children’s home.”

“Maybe one day. I’m here because I wanted to ask you if there was anything unusual about my situation the days after the fire. I understand Mr. Burkfield was very generous with his donations to fund my family’s funeral expenses and afterwards, when Mary Elizabeth fostered me. But anyone or anything else?” I asked.

“Gosh.” She crossed her arms over the red V-neck sweater vest and tapped the toe of her thick-soled black shoes. “It’s been a long time, but I do recall a man coming in once a month asking if you’d been adopted yet. I always thought he was wanting to adopt you, but once he came in after you were adopted by Ms. Moberly, he stopped coming around.”

“Can you describe him to me?” I asked, thinking this was maybe the person who carried me out of the house that night.

“Maybelline, I can’t recall what I had for breakfast, so much for almost twenty years ago.” She blinked and offered me a sweet smile. “But I’d love to get your number, and if I remember something, I’ll be more than happy to call you.” She pulled the sleeve of her sweater up. “I’ve got to run. You know, placements are taking place today.”

It certainly wasn’t the outcome I was hoping for, and without an appointment, I knew I was running the risk of not getting another moment of her time.

“I’m just grateful you could talk to me now. I’ll leave my name and phone number.”

“That’d be great.” She took a business card from the top of her desk and grabbed a stack of files. “Here. Just leave it when you’re done, and I’ll keep it dear to my heart. I’m so proud of you.” She hugged the files to her chest after she handed me the business card. “Take care, Maybelline.”

“Thanks. You too.”

She hurried out of the office.

I scribbled my name and phone number as well as Dottie’s number and Happy Trails Campground’s office phone numbers on the card, leaving it on her desk before I left to go to my next stop.

It was Orville Brohman’s, where I waited for about fifteen minutes until the ladies showed up in the van.

He lived in the typical Perrysburg home with the white siding, small porch, and couple of dormer windows on the front of the house. The town was built around the coal mining industry years ago, so the houses were cookie-cutter, one after the other.

Over the years, people had fenced in their yards or tried to add on to the structures, but they all still looked the same. Most of them were run-down with siding missing, shingles from the roof long gone, or shutters dangling from the last threads of screws holding them in place. All they needed was a good winter wind to knock the shutters right off.

I remember when the coal mine did end up shutting down, though it had since been bought and reopened, but back then, it devastated Perrysburg, and that was when a lot of the coal miners moved away, leaving me with only two people I could talk to that remembered something.

Well, really only one. Marple.

I glared at Orville’s house, wondering what I could offer him to get him to talk. It wasn’t like I had enough money to help fix up his house. All I knew was that I needed some sort of leverage.

The rattle of Betts’s van brought me out of my thoughts. I waved and walked over to them. One by one, they piled out of the van.

“Shawn have any news?” I asked.

“We talked to him.” I was happy to hear this from Abby. “He said the newspapers were wrong and they never tied anyone up.”

“Nope. He said no one was home when they would rob people. They only targeted the rich people. Which meant they didn’t even think about your family.” Mary Elizabeth reached out her gloved hand and squeezed my arm.

“I’m afraid we are back to square one.” Queenie’s lips curled into a sympathetic smile, a look I knew well.

“I guess we just need to make ourselves welcome since Orville is the only shot we got with some real information before we head back home.” It was very clear we weren’t going to get this whole thing wrapped up before we left.

“Are you still open to take home what we know, and we can present it to Hank to see if there’s enough to open the case?” Mary Elizabeth asked. “I don’t think all is lost.”

“I think that’s a great idea, though I’d like to try to talk Orville into giving us the tapes. Even if I have to pay him.” I took the first steps up to his front door with them following me.

“Maybe we can see if he can go into the protection program,” Betts suggested.

“It’s Perrysburg, Kentucky.” Dottie shook her head and pushed the doorbell. “Not like the mob.”

“Marple was murdered, according to Kenny Jolly, and I just so happen to think it was because of me.”

We all stood there waiting for the door to open.

“I’m going to see if he pulls the curtains open to peek out.” Abby took a few steps back and watched the windows.

“Do you think that green Toyota followed me to Marple’s, tried to send me a message to stop snooping, and then came back to finish Marple off?” I just couldn’t shake the notion this was all because I was here.

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” Dottie pushed the doorbell again. “Is he even home?”

“There’s a car under the carport,” Abby pointed out. “No one has come to the window.”

“Here.” Betts pushed past me and Dottie, grabbing the handle of the metal screen door and jerking it open. She gave a good hard knock with a tight fist, pushing the door slightly ajar.

She jerked around with a big smile on her face.

“Hello? Mr. Brohman? Are you home?” Betts had turned and yelled into the home through the cracked door.

All of us leaned in to see if we could hear any footsteps or even any noise.

“I don’t think he’s home,” Dottie whispered before she pushed the door open and walked right on in.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a rush.

“I’m going to find those tapes he promised Marple before he gets home.” Dottie turned around. “What are y’all waiting on? Christmas? It just passed, so get on in here.”

“I think this is illegal.” I shrugged and walked in, leading the way for the other ladies.

“Then I suggest we hurry up.” Mary Elizabeth had a little giddyup in her step.

Once inside of the front room, there were stairs going up and a small hallway to the back of the house.

“I’ll take the kitchen. Abby, you and Betts take upstairs. Maybelline, you can look around in here while Dottie, well…” Mary Elizabeth eyeballed Dottie. “You watch for anyone coming.”

“What if he’s asleep upstairs?” Abby asked since we had no idea if Orville was home or not.

“Let him sleep.” Mary Elizabeth acted like it was no big deal. “Go. We are wasting precious time.”

We dispersed in a hurry, sending a few texts back and forth saying no one had seen him, which gave us some peace to snoop.

“What was that riddle again?” Dottie asked. Her foot was propping the front door open. Her arm was hanging out the door with a cigarette lit between her fingers.

“I am something that goes up. Although I am not a kite, I am held over your head to help block rain or sunlight. Umbrella,” I recalled.

“I’m not some big college graduate, but I’d go with finding an umbrella.” She flicked the cigarette out of her and came inside, leaving her post. “I can go look for an umbrella.”

With the great idea Dottie had, I focused on finding an umbrella. I searched the hall closet, cabinets, and told everyone else to be on the lookout for one.

“I found something!” I heard Dottie yell from upstairs.

“You found the tapes?” I rushed up the steps, taking them two at a time, and found Dottie in the bathroom with the shower curtain pulled open.

“Nope. I think I found Orville Brohman.” She looked, and I followed her gaze to the man who was lying in the tub with a rope around his neck.

“Sap is droppin’ from the trees.” Dottie’s look sent a shiver all the way down to the bone.

Chapter 19

“Let’s go over this one more time.” The deputy the dispatch operator had sent after I called 911 wasn’t as lenient as the sheriffs in Normal when I told them I’d found a dead body.

It was almost expected for them, and I tried to tell the deputy this was nothing new for us.

“You ladies are detectives or something and find dead bodies a lot?” he questioned with narrow eyes.

“No. We are friends from Normal who are here to find out who exactly killed Maybelline’s parents.” It rolled out of Dottie’s mouth like it was no big deal. “We just so happen to get ourselves in some sticky situations, and I don’t mean by eating donuts.”

The deputy looked confused as all get-out.

“I’m gonna need for the six of you to stay put,” he told us like we were going anywhere.

Betts, Abby, me, Dottie, Mary Elizabeth, and Queenie sat on the curb while the sheriffs scoured the house.

There was a smidgen of relief when I saw Kenny Jolly’s coroner hearse pull up.

“Go sweet-talk Kenny so we can go.” Mary Elizabeth leaned forward and looked past Dottie to talk to me.

We all watched Kenny get out of the hearse and waved when he looked over at us.

“I should’ve known you six had something to do with this.” His gaze settled upon me. “Care to explain to me what’s going on? They all seem to think you’ve killed Orville and tied it to Marple.”

“That’s downright the dumbest thing I ever heard.” Dottie’s nose curled in disgust.

“Dottie Swaggert!” the deputy called from the front porch of the house. “Can we see you?”

“I reckon.” She struggled to stand up from the curb so she picked an alternative way. She put her two hands on the concrete in front of her and hiked her rear end up in the air so she could push off her palms before she got on her knees to stand. “You could’ve helped.” She shook a finger at all of us then ended with a good hard shake at Kenny Jolly.

“Mae? A word?” Kenny nodded for me to follow him.

Once we were away from the ladies and next to his hearse, he asked me what had happened.

“Of course you just waltzed right on in.” He didn’t care for the truth after I told him. “And did you find what you were looking for?” he asked.

“Nope. Not a single umbrella.” I left out the part that I did tell the girls to search high and low for an umbrella before the sheriff’s department got there because I knew we were on borrowed time.

“Let me go in here and see what they are thinking in hopes I can get you out of town. Do you understand? If I can get them to let you go, I want you to go back to the camper and leave town. Go back to Normal.” Kenny’s face was stern and hard.

“Yeah. Sure.” I swallowed hard and watched him stomp into the house.

“What did he want?” Mary Elizabeth asked.

“He just said he’s going in there to see what the sheriff has to say. Hopefully we can go. I’ve reached the limit of what we can do here. I put all of y’all in danger. I’m sorry. Let’s just do what Kenny said to do,” I told them.

“What was that?” Betts asked, the first one of them to stand up. The rest of them started to get to their feet.

“He said we need to go back to Normal if the sheriff will let us.” I didn’t know what to say to them. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you kidding?” Abby put her arm around me. “You think a little dead body has ever scared us off before?”

“That’s right.” Queenie did a little jig. “This just means you’re on the right path and someone doesn’t want you to find out that your parents were killed.”

“I’m worried someone took the tapes.” I stopped talking when Kenny came back out to talk to us.

“Someone did take the tapes.” Kenny looked at me from under his brows and opened his coat slightly. “Umbrella stand next to the door. No umbrella, but this was in the bottom.”

My eyes lit up, making me smile.

“Kenny! You’re a saint.” I threw my arms around his neck to give him a huge hug.

“Okay. Stop being so excited and slowly move your hands around my waist to slip the tapes out of my coat before someone sees you,” he whispered, and I did exactly what he said.

“Thank you,” I whispered, tucking the tapes in my coat before I stepped back from him.

“Good for you, ladies. Orville was killed at least ten hours ago from my preliminary examination of the body, which means you can go on your way.” Kenny had once again saved me from staying in Perrysburg any longer than I needed.

The night of my eighteenth birthday, he drove me to the bus stop, and now, he’d given me the ability to go on back to Normal.

“I guess I wasn’t meant to stay in Perrysburg after all,” I teased when he walked me to Betts’s van.

“I guess not, Maybelline.” He reached up and touched my cheek. “Hank Sharp is a lucky man, but boy, does he have his hands full.”

“He likes it that way too. And he likes it when it’s only his hands on her face!” Dottie hollered on her way past us after the sheriff escorted her out of the house.

“It looks like you’ve got the family you’ve always wanted.” He nodded toward the van, where all of them were looking at us.

“Yeah.” I smiled and gave him one last hug. “I need to go make good with Jami before I leave town.”

“I heard about the supper,” he said, making my jaw drop. “What? Gossip around here is lightning fast, just the same as it was when you lived here. So now what with this investigation?”

“I’m going to give all this over to Hank and let him decide if there’s anything on the tapes or about these murders that will open up the fire investigation. I think it’s time for a trained professional instead of five ladies who like to hang out at the laundromat with nothing to do but let their minds wander.”

Chapter 20

“I’m sorry.” It was all I could say to Jami Burkfield Mackenzie when she opened the door.

I’d left the church parking lot in Mary Elizabeth’s car to say goodbye and sorry to Jami while the Laundry Club Ladies got the RV all ready to drive back to Normal.

Jami’s belly looked to be much tighter in what looked to be the same shirt she’d had on last night at supper.

“I didn’t mean to get your mom upset, and I am sorry I ruined supper.” I put my hands together. “Please forgive me.”

If this was when we were younger, there was no way I’d have come here to apologize, but it just so happened I’d grown up and both of us had matured.

Standing here, looking at her, I knew I’d forgiven her for calling me Firestarter in school.

“One good thing we can say about the whole thing”—she smiled—“is that Mama doesn’t remember a thing.”

Both of us started to laugh out loud.

“I’m awful.” She put her hand over her mouth to hide the gummy grin. “Oh.” She moved her hand down to her belly and hunched over. “Come on in. I need to sit down.”

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m having the Braxton-Hicks today. The twins are going to be the death of me before I even get…” Her voice trailed off as I helped her to the couch. “Ohhh,” she groaned.

“Let me get you a water.” I set my bag down on the floor next to her feet and left her sitting on the edge of the couch, legs spread wide, belly hanging down with her head following.

“Good afternoon.” Elsa came into the kitchen, surprising me. “I thought Mrs. Burkfield might’ve scared you off.”

“Listen, if someone trying to run me over didn’t scare me back to Normal, then Mrs. Burkfield doesn’t have a chance,” I joked and rooted around in the upper kitchen cabinets until I found a glass to fill with water from the Sub-Zero refrigerator.

“Someone tried to run you over?” Jami asked in a muffled voice. She placed her hands on her legs, arched her back, and stretched side to side, making her belly move along with her.

“Oh yeah. When I went to see Marple Eickler, someone tried to run me down. I can only think that it was someone who knew I was looking into the fire with Marple now dead.” I gulped, looking at Jami and hoping it wasn’t too much information that would put her into some sort of stress that would induce preterm labor.

“Well?” She cocked one eye at me. “Keep going.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I don’t want to upset you.”

“It’s giving me some much-needed relief from thinking about these false labor pains.” She had her fingers kneading her belly on each side.

“I don’t think you need company.” Elsa walked over and gave Jami a good once-over. “Are you sure those are false labor pains?”

“Yes.” Jami blew out a long stream of steady air. “These feel like the same as last week.” There was some distance between each one of her words as she mentally worked through the pain. She rolled her back, hunching her shoulders over and looking down between her legs, where I’d left my bag. “What are those?”

“VHS tapes I took from Orville Brohman’s house.” I really wished I knew what was on them. “We don’t have a VHS machine here, but the Normal library does. Since Abby is the librarian, we’ll be able to use the machine to see exactly what it is that someone doesn’t want me to see.”

“What do you mean?” Jami asked and let Elsa put a heating pad on her back. Elsa rubbed down Jami’s hair and took care of her like Mrs. Burkfield should’ve been able to.

My heart sank as I watched Elsa take over that role once again.

“Keep talking,” Jami encouraged me.

“Anyways, I went to see Inez Marsh, the social worker who placed me in foster care. She told me there was a man who’d come to check on me a few times. Inez thought it was someone from the coal mine, and from the employee file you gave me, only a handful of employees are alive.”

I noticed Jami intently listening, which made me think she was preoccupied with my tale instead of focused on her fake labor pains.

“I was hoping to get a name, but Inez said she never got his name. That he would only come in and ask if anyone had adopted me.” I snorted. “Maybe he felt guilty that he killed my family.”

“Do you honestly think Judd Tripoly wouldn’t’ve figured out what or who did it if someone did do it?” Elsa asked.

“It seems like he missed a lot of things. Which brought me to think maybe my parents were affected by those robberies that were taking place during that time.” I looked at Jami to make sure she was okay before I kept telling her what else I’d found out. “I went to see Shawn Herrigan.”

Jami looked at me with some confusion. Her hands had gone from kneading to rubbing small circles.

“He was one of the two guys doing all the break-ins. Alec Fischer was the other guy, but he went on to do bigger jobs, like robbing a bank, and got sent to the big house.”

“My goodness, you’ve been busy over the last couple of days.” Elsa moved the heating pad to Jami’s side.

Jami’s face softened with some relief.

“I’ll be so glad when these kids come out.” She tried to position herself on her side to lie down. “Keep going. You’re keeping me entertained.”

“I’m so glad I can be of service,” I joked.

“I keep thinking that this is how you processed all the stuff that took place with me and Hunter last year. I can picture you now telling someone everything you found out and how I’d gotten that cell phone.” She recalled an event that I wanted to forget forever before she started laughing. “Oh. Don’t make me laugh. It makes my belly jump up and down.”

I’d found Jami with my friend’s cell phone. My friend had just so happened to be murdered, and I’d found it very odd that Jami had her phone. Turned out Jami was innocent.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go lie down?” Elsa moved from behind Jami when Jami had completely lain down on her side.

“No. I’m good. This feels good.” Jami patted the edge of the couch. “Can you sit here and put the heating pad here?” Jami pointed to her side.

Elsa readily agreed.

“Keep going, Mae.” Jami closed her eyes.

“Where did I leave off?” There were so many things I needed to look into that I couldn’t recall what I’d told her.

“The robbers,” she reminded me.

“Oh yeah. Okay, so I went to see Shawn, and he told me that he and Alec never tied anyone up and the paper had it wrong.” I clamped my lips together when I realized I’d just put my foot in my mouth after talking about the paper, because it brought it all back to her father, James Burkfield, who I still believed had some sort of knowledge or had done something to my family.

“Then I kinda snuck into Orville’s house because he was going to turn over those VHS tapes to Marple, only then someone killed Marple with a rope to the neck.” When I tied Marple’s death to the way my father was found, tied up, Jami caught on and looked at me with big eyes.

“Yep,” I sighed. “That’s why I think someone knows I’m here and killed Marple and now Orville so they wouldn’t tell me something.”

“I don’t understand the tapes?” Elsa questioned. She had gone from pressing the heating pad close to Jami’s babies to leaving the heating pad while she rubbed Jami’s legs.

“Apparently, Orville likes to give riddles, and when he talked to Marple, I do believe he knew something about the fire. I also believe he knew that if someone found out I was sniffing around, we’d all be in trouble, so he gave Marple a riddle.” I pulled the riddle out of my memory and slowly stated it exactly how he had. “I am something that goes up. Although I am not a kite, I am held over your head to help block rain or sunlight.”

“How odd,” Jami said and moved her legs around the edge to push herself up to sitting again. Poor Elsa continued to move around Jami and land wherever Jami patted for her to go.

“Not so much.” I put my finger up in the air. “This riddle is an umbrella. So when I let myself in his home when I thought he wasn’t home, I looked for an umbrella. None to be found.”

Elsa and Jami both looked at me with big eyes in anticipation of what I was going to say next.

“You see, my friends and Mary Elizabeth, we all walked around his house, looking for an umbrella.” I swallowed hard. “That’s when my friend Dottie Swaggert found Orville strangled with a rope in his closet.”

Elsa and Jami gasped.

“This is like a movie,” Elsa said, and Jami agreed.

“Of course I had to call the local sheriff, and it was a bear trying to get him to understand why we were there. If it weren’t for Kenny Jolly, I’d probably be in jail right now.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two? I mean, I’ve seen you with Hank and I know y’all are meant to be together, but you and Kenny keep running into each other.” Jami made me laugh off any such notion.

“No. He is your coroner, and you better watch out, or he’s going to be the new mayor,” I teased.

“He can have it.” Jami patted her stomach again. “I never see Hunter anymore. He’s always off doing something for someone other than me and these two.” Jami looked at Elsa. “Can you get me a couple of antacids? I think this false labor is over.”

Elsa smiled and headed off into the kitchen behind us.

“Kenny Jolly was the one who noticed the umbrella stand next to the front door.” I wanted to change the subject about Kenny, but he was the one who had found them, which was pretty important. “He’s the one who found the VHS tapes in there and slipped them to me without the authorities noticing.”

“I knew he still had a hankering for you. That’s why he’s never gotten married. But go on with the story.” Jami asked, “What was on the tapes?”

“I don’t know. I told you, we didn’t have a VHS machine, but the library does, and we packed up to go home, but I wanted to stop by and apologize for my behavior last night. I shouldn’t’ve asked your mom any questions.”

“It’s no big deal. Like I said, Mom doesn’t even remember you coming here or Mary Elizabeth. We try not to get her too upset because she just gets angry. She’s got the type of Alzheimer’s that gets her angry sometimes.” Jami winced. “But we have a VHS.” She pointed to the large TV console on the opposite wall. “It was my parents’. Go on and pop it in.”

“Here you go.” Elsa handed Jami the antacids. “It’s probably time to go lie down. You’re looking a little tired.”

“Yeah. I better get out of here.” I stood up and went to get my bag.

“No. Let’s put it in. You’re entertaining me.” Jami grabbed the strap of my bag. “Don’t you just have a few more minutes?”

“I bet they want to get on the road before it’s too dark.” Elsa was trying to help me out, but Jami wasn’t having it.

“What time is it?” I patted for my phone in my back pocket. “I guess I left my phone in the car.”

“It’s almost five.” Elsa looked back at the clock in the kitchen. “Jami, they have a three-hour drive ahead of them. I’m sure she’ll let you know if anything is on the tapes.”

“Elsa is right. I will be back with more questions. This old cold case isn’t going to be solved in a few days of me snooping around.” I could see she was getting very tired. “When I do come back, I bet you’ll have those sweet babies in each arm.”

“Just a few more minutes.” Jami frowned. “Besides, you owe me for making Mama upset.”

“You are awful!” I yelled out with a smile and shook my head, reaching into the bag to get the VHS tape. “Fine. A few minutes.”

“Yay.” Jami tried to sound upbeat, but it came out pitiful. “Just open the cabinet door to the left, and you can pop it right in. Hunter already has it hooked up and some old Disney VHS tapes in there. He claims he’s going to show the babies the classics.”

I walked over to find the VHS machine exactly where she’d told me. I popped in the tape while she had Elsa hand her the remote.

“Oh my goodness. Is that the old coal mine employee room?” Jami smiled. “I remember going in there and having cupcakes that were brought in by some of the wives of the miners.”

“I’ve never been in there before.” I watched as the men started to file into the room. “I think this is one of the meetings my dad had called to discuss the health issues with mining.”

I got closer to the TV to see what the chalkboard at the front of the meeting said.

“I think it says ‘clean coal.’” I took a couple of steps back and crossed my arms so I could watch it.

I was only going to let Jami see a little, figuring I would dissect it frame by frame once the Laundry Club Ladies and I were at the Normal library.

“There’s my daddy!” Jami squealed in delight. The most upbeat I’d seen her all day. “There’s Rusty, Elsa.”

“Mm-hmm, it does look like him,” Elsa said. “I wonder what he was doing there?”

“Don’t you remember how Daddy would pile into that old green Toyota of his and have Rusty drive him around?” Jami cackled at the memory.

Green Toyota?

I slowly turned around.

“What did you say?” I asked.

“She’s tired. She needs to go to bed.” Elsa tried to get Jami up.

“I’m fine, Elsa. I’m just remembering things.” Jami grinned and winced at the same time. “You remember that old Toyota?”

“Green Toyota? Does Rusty still have the green Toyota?” I questioned as I recalled the Toyota that nearly ran me over.

“He does still drive that old thing. Even after my dad left a car to him in his will.” Jami’s lips formed an O as she inhaled deeply, pushing on her belly.

“I’ve got to go. You look like you aren’t feeling well,” I lied, straight-up. I headed back over to the VHS and hit Eject. “They sure didn’t make these things slow.” I toe-tapped, waiting for the darn thing to eject from the machine so I could get the heck out of there.

“Jami, I’m sorry, but I can’t let your friend leave.” My head jerked up when I heard Elsa’s tone and words. Her fingers were punching on her cell phone.

“No. I’ve got to go. I’ve got to get home like you said.” I looked past them and into the kitchen. “Look at the time. I’m not a great driver at night, much less in a camper for three hours in the dark.”

“I’m sorry. I just can’t let that happen,” Elsa snapped, pulling a long knife from the large cutlery block on the kitchen island and giving it a slight wave. “Rusty is just up at the house, bringing in more firewood. He’ll be here in a second, then you can converse with him about you leaving.”

“What’s going on, Elsa?” Jami pushed herself up to stand. “Oh, boy. I’m not sure this is preterm labor. This contraction hasn’t stopped in five minutes.”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on.” I glared at Elsa. “Rusty killed my family. I’m not sure it was because of your dad, but somehow, he set fire to our house…” My voice trailed off. “Oh my gosh,” I gasped, drawing my hand to my lips, remembering just how Rusty had gotten into our house the night of the fire.

“Mae, you’re talking out of your head.” Jami bent slightly over and looked up at me. “I’ve known Rusty and Elsa my whole life. They are like second parents to me.”

“Rusty delivered wood to my family’s home during the meeting your father had called my dad to. If this tape is that night, Rusty dropped off your dad and then went to my parents’ house to deliver wood. He came in and fiddled with a few things after he commented on the wood-burning stove.”

My mind rolled back to that night, and it was like I was transported as the words spilled out.

“‘Come in,’ my mom told him. ‘Maybelline, you remember Rusty, Mr. Burkfield’s handyman. Say hello.’” Tears began to sting, but I refused to let Elsa see me cry. “I was a good girl and said hello. ‘Yes, it’s a new—well, new to us—wood burner,’ she told him, and he fiddled with it.” I gulped as I tried to keep myself from physically shaking. “Rusty told my mom about the pipe in the attic and how if it wasn’t properly installed, it would catch the house on fire.” I lifted my head and looked at Elsa.

The tears I tried so hard to keep back started to stream down my face.

“My mom showed him where the pipe was, and when he called for her, she told me to go and check on my sisters until Rusty was finished so we wouldn’t bother him. So when you said you didn’t know I had siblings yesterday, it was because Rusty didn’t know when the house set fire and he carried me out. But you lied yesterday. You didn’t know at the time of the fire, but once it came out that my siblings were dead, Rusty came to check on me in the foster care system. That’s who Inez was talking about.”

“Keep your mouth shut. You’re upsetting Jami.” Elsa kept glancing out the window in anticipation of Rusty pulling up soon.

“Now that I’m back in town and snooping around, he didn’t want to kill me, just scare me off so I didn’t figure it out. He killed two more people looking for this.” I wagged the VHS tape in my hands. “Thanks goodness for riddles. Oh, the robberies were manipulated by the newspapers. I was spared because you didn’t want the death of a child on your hands.”

“I’m sorry to say—” Jami started to talk, but I interrupted her.

“Jami, I think your father found out, and that’s why he wanted to pay for the funeral and my life with Mary Elizabeth.” I did a little fist-clenching so I wouldn’t run and whoop up on Elsa. “We need to call the police.”

“My water just broke,” Jami cried out. Elsa put the knife on the counter and hurried over, and I ran to the kitchen, where I got a bigger knife, making Elsa look up.

“Back away from her,” I instructed Elsa on my way over to them, where I waved the knife in front of her face. “I don’t care what happens here or who dies, because I have no one or nothing to lose. Move away from Jami.”

Elsa put her hands in the air.

“She is in labor, and we need to get her to the hospital.” Elsa’s voice was calm and steady.

“Well.” I rolled my eyes and laughed out loud, trying to act crazy. “That’s not going to happen, now is it?”

“Mae, I need to go to the hospital,” Jami cried out.

“I don’t think so. Not until Elsa tells us why Rusty killed my family. And if and only if I am satisfied with the answer, then maybe I’ll spare you and your children.” I snorted and took Jami by the arm, the knife fairly close to her stomach. “Or not.”

“Alright!” Elsa screamed. “Don’t you touch her with that knife.”

“Are you threatening me?” I asked. “It seems that you shouldn’t be doing anything but telling me why you wanted my family dead. Then I might just spare Jami and her perfect little family.”

“Mae, please,” Jami begged, but I had to put her plea out of my head for a second because I knew I only had a second or two before I really did need to get her to a hospital, and I had to know, and this was the only way I could get the truth from Elsa.

“Fine! Fine.” The fright in Elsa’s eyes darted between me and Jami. “This is my family. I took care of Jami since she came home from the hospital. When your father started bringing up all that nonsense about clean coal, it was putting stress on his marriage with Mrs. Burkfield. So much so that he was working long hours and ended up having an affair. It wouldn’t’ve happened if your father had kept his mouth shut, so I had Rusty eliminate the problem. Your father.”

As she told the story, I continued to hold up Jami, but my heart was sinking.

“My dad what?” Jami’s breath heaved up and down. She slumped over. “Oh!” she cried out, cuddling her stomach.

“James was having an affair to get rid of his stress, and your mom told me she’d caught him at the office with another woman. They were going to get divorced, and I would lose my job of being your nanny. I couldn’t let them take you from me. I had to do something. After the fire, your mom and dad were grateful for me. They were happy and lived a long life. Now, we will have a grandbaby.”

“We?” Jami’s breath labored. “You will get nowhere near my babies.” She found an ounce of strength in her as she struggled to stand tall. “Get out of my house.” Jami reached for her cell phone on the side table next to the couch. “I’m calling the police.”

“Jami, you’re like a child to me. I would do anything for you. Anything,” Elsa began to plead.

“Anything?” Jami asked, seething. “Then stay right where you are.” She pulled the phone up to her ears. “This is Mayor Mackenzie’s wife. I need the police here immediately. There’s an intruder in my home, and I also need an ambulance. My water just broke, and I’m about to have twins.”

Chapter 21

The sunrise tipped the top of the hill with yellow and orange rays flowing down like fingers as they grazed the top of the gravestones.

I knew it was going to be my last time right here on this hillside for a very long time, and after the long night we’d had, we had decided to spend one more night in Perrysburg. I knew exactly where I needed to be as soon as dawn broke.

“Daddy,” I whispered into the silence around me. “I am so proud of you for bringing the clean coal issue up at the coal mine. I don’t know if you regret doing it because of what ultimately happened. But I don’t hold you responsible for making our world a much better place even if I have to live without y’all in it.”

I really didn’t know what to say to my parents and sisters, but I felt like I needed them to know that I was okay. I was going to be okay now that we all knew the truth.

“Even if James Burkfield didn’t know what Elsa and Rusty were up to, he did find out something had happened.”

I also told them how Rusty had come down to Jami’s to see why the police were there. “He sure was surprised when he figured out they were there to haul him and Elsa off to jail after Elsa had spilled her guts to Jami about what happened.” I smiled and ran a hand down the cold marble stone, using my finger to trace the letters of their names. “Rusty did say James asked him if he’d done something then told him he didn’t want to know quickly thereafter. So I do hold Mr. Burkfield accountable even though he’s dead. Rusty and Elsa will spend the rest of their lives in jail for what they did to us. Of course, Mrs. Burkfield isn’t fit to tell us if she knew anything or even go to jail if she did.”

The wind whipped up and over the hill as the sun swept up into the sky. I tugged the collar of my coat up around my neck then put my hands in my pockets.

“And Jami. Well, she’s got two healthy baby girls to keep her busy.” I laughed, thinking about how spoiled those little girls were going to be.

“I just hope I made you proud. Mary Elizabeth is wonderful. You’d get a kick out of Bobby Ray. I hope y’all can rest peacefully now.”

The crunch of footsteps caught my attention. I turned around.

Hank Sharp was walking up the hill. His sparkling green eyes had me in their sight. He smiled.

“Hey, you.” He walked up and curled me into his arms. “I thought I might find you here this morning.”

“Oh, Hank.” His embrace opened the flood gates. He stood there holding me, caressing my hair, as I let out the long-awaited and much-needed deep sorrow for the loss of my family I’d been holding in for almost twenty years.

“I’m always going to be here for you.” His words were a solid promise I knew I could take to the bank.

“The fear of being alone scares me.” I looked up at Hank, tears streaming down my face.

“You’re never going to be alone. I will always be with you.” He wrapped the blanket around me before he took me into his arms, where I knew I was always going to be safe and held in love.

Hank and I stood there for about another hour. We ended up talking to my parents like they were there. They were. I could feel them. They would love Hank.

My mom would go gaga over his eyes. And, well, I couldn’t imagine how or what my sisters would look like, but I’d bet they’d have quality men like Hank.

“Are you ready to go back to Normal?” Hank asked and pointed in the direction of the cemetery parking lot, where I watched the RV pulling in next to Hank’s car with Dottie Swaggert at the wheel.

“Lord help us all.” I smiled and squeezed Hank’s hand. “I’m ready to go home.”

I turned and looked at the gravestones one last time. A feeling of peace like I’d never known before swept through me.

I nodded my head and smiled.

“What?” Hank asked as we started to walk to the parking lot.

“Everything is going to be just fine.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Just fine.”

“Yes, it is.” Hank and I stared ahead but with hopeful hearts for what the future held.

The End

But wait! Before you flip on through to the yummy recipes, I wanted to answer a question I get from so many readers. Readers want to know if any part of my fictional characters imitate my real life.

I’ve got a story for y’all. A real story.

Whooo hooo!! I'm so glad we are a week out from last Coffee Chat with Tonya and happy to report the poison ivy is almost gone! But y'all, we got more issues than Time magazine up in our family.

When y'all ask me if my real life ever creeps into books, well...grab your coffee because here is a prime example!

My sweet mom's birthday was over the weekend. Now, I'd already decided me and Rowena was going to stay there for a couple of extra days.

On her birthday, Sunday, Tracy and David were there too, and we were talking about what else...poison ivy! I was telling them how I can't stand not shaving my legs. Mom and Tracy told me they don't shave daily, and I might've curled my nose a smidgen. And apparently it didn't go unnoticed.

I went inside the house to start cooking breakfast for everyone, Mom went up to her room to get her bathing suit on, and Tracy was with me. All the men were already outside on the porch.

The awfulest crash came from upstairs, and my sister tore out of that kitchen like a bat out of hell, and I kept flipping the bacon. My mom had fallen...shaving her legs!

Great. Now it's my fault.

Her wrist was a little stiff, but she kept saying she was fine. We had a great day. We celebrated her birthday, swam, and had cake. When it came time for everyone to leave but me and Ro, I told Mom that she should probably go get an x-ray because her wrist was a little swollen.

After a lot of coaxing, she agreed, and I put my shoes on and told Tracy, David, and Eddy to go on home and we'd call them.

My mama looked me square in the face and said, "You're going with that top knot on your head?"

I said, "Yes."

She sat back down in the chair and said, "I'm not going with you lookin' like that."

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm dead serious. I'm not going with you looking like that. What if we see someone?" She was serious, y'all!

She protested against my hair!

Now...this is exactly like the southern mamas I write about! I looked at Eddy, and he was laughing. Tracy and David were laughing, and I said, "I can't wait until I tell my coffee chat people about this."

As you can see in the above photo, the before and after photo.

Yep...we went, and she broke her wrist! Can you believe that? We were a tad bit shocked, and I'll probably be staying a few extra days (which will give us even more to talk about over coffee next week).

Oh...we didn't see anyone we knew, so I could've worn my top knot! As I'm writing this, you can bet your bottom dollar my hair is pulled up in my top knot!

Okay, so y’all might be asking why I’m putting this little story in the back of my book. Well, that’s a darn tootin’ good question.

This is exactly what you can expect when you sign up for my newsletter. There’s always something going on in my life that I have to chat with y’all about each Tuesday on Coffee Chat with Tonya. I hope you join us by clicking here and signing up.

Recipes and Hack From Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies

Campfire Cobbler

INGREDIENTS

•1 cup flour

•1 cup white sugar

•½ tsp cinnamon

•Pinch of salt

•1 stick butter

•4 cups berries

Directions

1.Before you leave for your camping trip I suggest you mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a reusable container or even in a large baggie you can just throw away.

2.On a metal grate over your campfire, melt butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Pour melted butter into container with flour mixture, and stir together.

3.Spread berries into an even layer on the bottom of the cast iron skillet.

4.Sprinkle butter-flour mixture over top.

5.Cover with 2 sheets of tin foil and crimping around the edges.

6.Cook for 30-45 minutes.

7.It’s cooked when the berries are bubbling and the topping is golden brown.

Soap Hack

I’m not sure if y’all tent camp or camper camp, both are great! When you are in a campground that has a water spicket next to your camper, I love to have access to wash my hands and not fuss too much.

What we do is take a pair of panty hose and put our bar soap into the toe. We will cut the panty hose at the thigh. Once we get to the campsite, we will tie the panty hose on the actual water spicket so it hangs and is there for us when we need to wash our hands.

Cozy Cream Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2 cups wild rice, cooked according to package directions

1 quart chicken broth

1 large baking potato, peeled and cubed

½ cup nutritional yeast

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 rib of celery, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Fresh parsley

In a soup pot, combine broth, potato, and nutritional yeast and bring to a low boil. Allow to cook about 10 minutes, or until potato is tender. Mix until smooth using a blender to mix in potatoes.

Return to the soup pot.

In a pan, sauté onion, carrots, celery and garlic over medium heat until the onions are translucent and the carrots have begun to soften slightly. Transfer to soup pot.

Add rice and chicken to the soup pot and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 20-25.

Container Hack

I get a lot of emails from y’all about storage containers in the kitchen space. I’ve found that using containers is great but use the square ones instead of the round ones. They take up much less space and I can get five more square ones in the same space that hold the same amount of the rounds ones. Square ones go up so I don’t have to stack the round ones which do slide and fall when we are driving.

Leave a Review

Like this book?

Be sure to leave a review now!

Join Tonya’s newsletter to stay updated with new releases, get free novels, access to exclusive bonus content, and more!

Don’t forget to head on over to Tonyakappes.com to join Tonya’s newsletter, check out all of her books and
join her Reader Group on Facebook.

Also By Tonya Kappes

Magical Cures Mystery Series

A CHARMING CRIME

A CHARMING CURE

A CHARMING POTION (novella)

A CHARMING WISH

A CHARMING SPELL

A CHARMING MAGIC

A CHARMING SECRET

A CHARMING CHRISTMAS (novella)

A CHARMING FATALITY

A CHARMING DEATH (novella)

A CHARMING GHOST

A CHARMING HEX

A CHARMING VOODOO

A CHARMING CORPSE

A CHARMING MISFORTUNE

A CHARMING BLEND (CROSSOVER WITH A KILLER COFFEE COZY)

A CHARMING DECEPTION

A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery

BEACHES, BUNGALOWS, & BURGLARIES

DESERTS, DRIVERS, & DERELICTS

FORESTS, FISHING, & FORGERY

CHRISTMAS, CRIMINALS, & CAMPERS

MOTORHOMES, MAPS, & MURDER

CANYONS, CARAVANS, & CADAVERS

HITCHES, HIDEOUTS, & HIDEAWAYS

ASSAILANTS, ASPHALT, & ALIBIS

VALLEYS, VEHICLES & VICTIMS

SUNSETS, SABBATICAL, & SCANDAL

TENTS, TRAILS, & TURMOIL

KICKBACKS, KAYAKS, & KIDNAPPING

GEAR, GRILLS, & GUNS

EGGNOG, EXTORTION, & EVERGREENS

ROPES, RIDDLES, & ROBBERIES

PADDLERS, PROMISES, & POISON

Killer Coffee Mystery Series

SCENE OF THE GRIND

MOCAH AND MURDER

FRESHLY GROUND MURDER

COLD BLOODED BREW

DECAFFEINATED SCANDAL

A KILLER LATTE

HOLIDAY ROAST MORTEM

DEAD TO THE LAST DROP

A CHARMING BLEND NOVELLA (CROSSOVER WITH MAGICAL CURES MYSTERY)

Mail Carrier Cozy Mystery

STAMPED OUT

ADDRESS FOR MURDER

ALL SHE WROTE

RETURN TO SENDER

FIRST CLASS KILLER

A Ghostly Southern Mystery Series

A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING

A GHOSTLY GRAVE

A GHOSTLY DEMISE

A GHOSTLY MURDER

A GHOSTLY REUNION

A GHOSTLY MORTALITY

A GHOSTLY SECRET

A GHOSTLY SUSPECT

A Southern Cake Baker Series

(WRITTEN UNDER MAYEE BELL)

CAKE AND PUNISHMENT

BATTER OFF DEAD

Kenni Lowry Mystery Series

FIXIN’ TO DIE

SOUTHERN FRIED

AX TO GRIND

SIX FEET UNDER

DEAD AS A DOORNAIL

TANGLED UP IN TINSEL

DIGGIN’ UP DIRT

Spies and Spells Mystery Series

SPIES AND SPELLS

BETTING OFF DEAD

GET WITCH or DIE TRYING

A Laurel London Mystery Series

CHECKERED CRIME

CHECKERED PAST

CHECKERED THIEF

A Divorced Diva Beading Mystery Series

A BEAD OF DOUBT SHORT STORY

STRUNG OUT TO DIE

CRIMPED TO DEATH

Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series

SPLITSVILLE.COM

COLOR ME LOVE (novella)

COLOR ME A CRIME

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. Editing from Red Adept Editing Services.

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

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.

Learn more about her be sure sure to check out her website tonyakappes.com. Find her on Goodreads, Patreon, Facebook, BookBub, and Instagram

Sign up to receive her newsletter, where you’ll get free books, exclusive bonus content, and news of her releases and sales.

If you liked this book, please take a few minutes to leave a review now! Authors (Tonya included) really appreciate this, and it helps draw more readers to books they might like. Thanks!