Date: 2019-02-02 00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Mystery; Romance; Adult; Humour
Description: Motorhomes, Maps, & MurderBook FiveA Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery SeriesYou don't want to miss out on book 5 of this hilarious and very popular cozy mystery series from USA Today Bestselling Author Tonya Kappes. Welcome to Normal, Kentucky, where nothing is . . . NORMAL!Mae West, owner of Happy Trails Campground, never thought she would become an actress like her namesake. Calling herself an actress might be far stretch as she plays a minor role in the local Civil War reenactment BATTLE AT CAMP WILDCAT. When the reenactment doesn't go as planned, not one but two of the town's folks aren't p
Publisher: Tonya Kappes Books

Motorhomes, Maps, & Murder

A CAMPER AND CRIMINALS

COZY MYSTERY

Book Five

BY

TONYA KAPPES

Motorhomes, Maps, & Murder

Across the bluegrass field that was the makeshift parking lot, I could see the barrel where the men had gathered earlier in the day and used it as a table for the beer cans.

“I don’t see them.” I drove the car up as close as I could to the battlefield. There were some props still there and if I knew Queenie, I’m sure she had someone scheduled to come pick it all up.

“What’s over there by the trail?” Abby looked up from her phone and pointed.

“Gosh,” I groaned when I saw it was soldiers in their uniforms. “I bet they are passed out from drinking. More likely, when they pretended they were dead and dragged off the battlefield, they took advantage of the sleeping time.” I sighed and put the car in park. “Queenie is going to be so mad.”

“What are you doing?” Abby asked when I turned the car off and opened my door.

“I’m going to go get them.” I got out of the car.

“Just let them sleep it off.” Abby got out on her side.

“I told Queenie I would get them and I’m going to follow through.” If there’s one thing I learned since the whole money scandal from my dead ex-husband, it was following through with your word.

“Fine.” Abby shoved the phone in her pocket, and we walked across the battlefield. “Next year, she needs to lay down stricter rules about drinking until after the reenactment.”

The four people were all lined up in a row. Three men and a woman. I recognized the Bass boy, Darnell, and Burt Buggy. I didn’t know the other man or the woman, but I remembered her carrying one of the Union flags during the battle.

“Abby,” I gulped as my gaze held for a moment on each of the men’s chests. “None of them are breathing.”

“What?” She asked with a slight nervous laugh.

“I’m serious. No one is breathing.” I bent down next to the woman and put my hand on her neck. “Call the ambulance. I think she has a pulse.”

Dedication

Cherry Adair, Tina DeSalvo, & Delilah Marvelle!

Y’all, we had so much fun! Here you go.

Xoxoxox

T.

CONTENTS

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

RECIPES AND CLEANING HACKS

About the Author

Also by Tonya Kappes

Copyright

One

“Why didn’t they teach us about this in school?” I asked Queenie French, who was standing over the conference table in the Normal Public Library, about the history of the Battle of Camp Wildcat.

She didn’t stop looking over the map of the Daniel Boone National Park where the Battle of Camp Wildcat had taken place during the Civil War.

“They oughta since it happened right here in our state.” She shook her head and a strand of short blonde hair escaped from a bobby pin. She pointed to Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail near the Happy Trails Campground, the campground I owned and called home.

“That there trail played a big part.” She pulled the bobby pin from her hair and pried it apart with her teeth and fingertips before she snugged the wayward hair to her head. “Colonel Theophilus T. Garrard stood right there commanding the thousands of men in his troop.” She reached down and unzipped her fanny pack, taking out a few more bobby pins and sticking them all over her head.

“You put on this reenactment every year during the spring?” I questioned the accuracy of the event since the real battle took place the morning of October 21, 1861.

At least that’s what I’d read in the Normal Gazette, the local newspaper, in the section where they’d been featuring the reenactment to help spread the word.

“Mmmhmm,” her lips pressed together as she stood up straight, pushing the orange headband up on her forehead a little more. “During the spring was when they got word of the invasion. It took all summer to gather the troops and get them in position. Our first few reenactments were in October on the actual battle day, but the weather gets so wonky here that every year it was either raining or snowing, making it hard for everyone to sit outside all day.” She laughed. “You should’ve seen old Henry the last year we had it in October.” She was talking about my handyman at Happy Trails. “It was cold as all get out. He nearly froze to a popsicle while he laid there the four hours. He was the first one dead.”

“What?” I’d never been to a reenactment, much less participated in one. All of this seemed really fascinating to me.

“What do you mean, what?” Her eyes lowered, giving me the look. “You mean to tell me you ain’t ever seen a reenactment before?”

“I have in the movie Sweet Home Alabama with Reece Witherspoon,” I shrugged and tucked a piece of my long curly hair behind my ear.

“You’re in for a treat.” A young woman I recognized as the cashier from Tough Nickel Thrift Shop strolled into the conference room. She had a map in her hands and laid it on top of the one I was looking at.

“Then you seen enough of a reenactment to know that the people from both sides who are shot have to lay there until the battle is over. It’s a real reenactment with guns and everything, Mae.” She said my name like I should’ve known better.

“This is why I said it should’ve been taught in school,” I said, turning my attention back to the script that Queenie had given to all the actors. I used the term actor very loosely, meaning me. “I figured you’d been gone from Kentucky too long to play a good role like a nurse, so I have you watering the horses for the soldiers near their camp site.” She handed me an apron that’d seen better days. “You’ll put this overtop your uniform.”

“Reporting that there’s no signs of typhoid fever, smallpox, measles, diarrhea, pneumonia, or malaria,” said the young woman as she saluted Queenie.

Queenie beamed.

“You’re the best nurse in the war,” Queenie said as the two embraced.

“I’m Mae West.” I properly introduced myself. “I’ve seen you at the Tough Nickel Thrift Store.”

“Yes. I have seen you come in a time or two.” She smiled at me, waves of short, light brown hair framing her face. She had side swept bangs that showed off her pretty blue eyes. “I’m Julip Kaye Knox.”

“She’s not just a clerk at the thrift store, she’s on the board of the Historical Society. She knows the ins and outs of every map,” Queenie bragged. She definitely liked Julip. “I couldn’t put on this reenactment without her knowledge of the layout of this battle.”

“You would’ve done just fine.” Julip patted Queenie on the back. “Excuse me while I go grab some more maps.”

Queenie wasted no time getting back to my duties as horse wrangler.

“Here.” Queenie picked up a large sealed plastic bag and shoved it against my chest. “It’s your outfit. In addition to the apron.” She motioned to my shoulder where I’d flung the apron. “Now, don’t you lose any part of it. These are real, true to life uniforms. Replicas really.  But you’ll find the real ones in the Daniel Boone National Park museum located in their offices.”

“I’ll be sure to check that out.” I took the bag from my chest and held up it in the air when I noticed Hank Sharp beyond the hangers. He strolled into the room like he owned it.

Our eyes met. He smiled and it traveled all the way up his green eyes.

“Good afternoon,” he said and bent down to give me a kiss.

“Hi.” I crinkled my nose and lifted my hand up to rub over his black hair. “It looks like you got a haircut for your part.”

“Queenie insisted I had to if I was going to be a soldier.” He pulled away from me, straightened his body, clicked his heels, and saluted Queenie.

“Now if you two think that y’all are going to play kissy face during the reenactment, you’re wrong. You’re on opposite sides of the battle.” She wiggled her finger between us. “But I do like seeing the two of you happy.”

“I like making her happy.” Hank winked.

“It’s not hard to do.” I felt like a giddy teenager.

It was a very new relationship, me and Hank. Just a few months. We didn’t see each other every day, but usually did most days. And when we did, it was at my RV at Happy Trails. I’d yet to see his place, although I knew from his granny, Agnes Swift, that he lived on his parents’ property in a trailer on the south side of town, even though his parents had retired and moved to Florida.

“Geez,” Queenie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll be right back. I have to go get your bayonet and uniform. Not everyone can handle a bayonet.” She wagged her finger over her shoulder at Hank on her way out of the conference room.

I’d been in Normal for about ten months and never thought I’d find love, especially at a campground in Kentucky.

Not that I didn’t love the campground. I had grown to love it. I’d grown up in Kentucky, but as soon as the clock struck midnight on my eighteenth birthday, I was on a Greyhound bus to New York City where I worked my way through flight attendant school.

That’s when my life took a turn that changed everything. I’d met an older, wealthy, investment man on one of my flights, who hired me as his personal flight attendant. We fell in love, got married, and lived a life of luxury that always seemed too good to be true. Turned out it was.

Like Queenie always says, if it seems too good to be true, it is.

If only I’d known her back then. After a few years of marriage, Paul West had taken all his clients, including several in Normal, to the cleaners.  This put him in jail and uprooted me from my life of luxury and into a rundown campground that he’d put in my name, which is why Happy Trails was the only thing the government didn’t seize.

“Are you going over your lines?” Hank rubbed his hand down my back and looked down at the script in my hand.

“You mean my one line,” I looked at the paper and continued, “Look, the troops are coming.”

“You better put a little more oomph into it or Queenie will be mad.” His southern drawl was like music to my ears and sent my heart soaring.

In the back of my head, I knew it was the honeymoon stage, but I was willing to see it through.

“Detective Sharp,” he answered his ringing cell phone in his professional cop voice. “Mmmhmm,” he hummed and stepped away from me for some privacy.

“He’s gonna look so good in this,” Queenie said as she walked back into the conference room and put her finger up to her mouth when she noticed Hank was on the phone. “Won’t he?” she whispered and pulled up the plastic over the old uniform so I could see it better.

“He will.” I laughed at the thought of seeing him in the old civil war uniform, pretending to stab and shoot someone with the bayonet. “That thing looks sharp.”

“Oh, it is. I only let special people have one of these. It could poke someone’s eye out.” She gave a good hard nod. “I let him and Preacher Hager use them.”

Preacher Hager was married to one of my and Queenie’s best friends, Betts Hager.

“If you can’t trust a cop and preacher, who can you trust?” I joked.

“Listen, I’ve got to go.” Hank had walked back over to us. His face was stern, and his soft green eyes had turned back into stone like they did when he was on a case. He kissed my forehead while putting his phone back in the pocket of his black suit pants. “I’ll call you later.”

“What about the uniform?” Queenie called after him before he hurried out the door.

“I’ll get it before the reenactment,” he assured her as he called over his shoulder.

“I guess I can give it to you.” She held the uniform bag in one hand and the bayonet in the other.

“No, thank you.” If she thought I was going to be responsible for his uniform and bayonet and get in trouble if something happened to it, she had another thing coming. “I’ll have enough of a hard time keeping up with mine.”

“Mae West,” she tsked. “Don’t you be going and making me regret putting you in the reenactment. There’s been citizens who grew up here that’ve applied for parts and I didn’t let them participate.” She looked at me from underneath her brows. “You get what I’m saying?”

“I’m honored.” I wasn’t about to let the sixty year old widow down - she’d seen enough trouble in her life. “But I don’t want that thing in my possession.” I pointed to the bayonet.

The doors of the conference room opened, and all the reenactment actors filed in, ready to get all of their equipment for tomorrow morning’s big performance.

“One line!” Queenie used her hands to gesture like there was an airplane runway in front of her. “Give me your name and I’ll check it off.”

Julip came back in with a bunch of maps. Queenie ended up having me check off each person’s name on the list as she handed them their uniform and Julip gave them a map and a script.

During my ten months in Normal, I’d made it my mission to undo all the wrong Paul West had done now that he couldn’t do it since he’d been murdered. Another story for another time. But it felt good that I could stand here and help hand out the important uniforms that this community was built upon.

“Did you see Lester Hager come in here?” Queenie bit her lip and looked back towards the door after the last actor has left. There was one outfit with a bayonet left, and Preacher Hager’s name was the only one not marked off the list.

“I didn’t.” Julip shrugged.

“I didn’t see him either. Or Betts.” My brows furrowed, realizing it was odd that Betts hadn’t shown up, even though she didn’t have a part. She usually attended all community events, being a successful businesswoman and the preacher’s wife and all.

“I parked by the Laundry Club if you’d like me to take it to Betts,” I suggested since I’d figured Betts was there doing the books for the laundromat since it was close to tax season, something she’d been complaining about.

“She’s not there.” Abby Fawn, the librarian, was picking up little Styrofoam cups and stray napkins from around the room. “She called. She and Lester have all them bible-thumping women from the church at the jail, trying to get them prisoners some religion.” She threw the trash away and walked over to get the sealed plastic bag and bayonet.

“Alrighty. I guess I’ll give it to him in the morning at the reenactment. Something that I never do, but since it’s Lester, I’ll make an exception.” Queenie hung the uniform on the back of one the of the conference chairs and leaned the bayonet up against the table.

She removed all the bobby pins from around her head and ran her fingers through her short hair, fluffing up the top. She put the bobby pins in her fanny pack and adjusted it around her waist while she glanced over the list of actors.

“I think the reenactment committee did a real good job of coordinating everything. This went much smoother than last year,” Julip mentioned while Abby nodded in agreement. “I’m sure everything will go perfectly tomorrow.”

Abby took her phone out and started typing away. She was so good at social media and used that phone to spread the word about everything going on in Normal.

“I hear we’re expecting a few thousand people. The biggest turnout we’ve ever had.” Queenie nudged me. “This is why we have it during the spring. It honors the time and commitment both sides put into the battle. Plus, the weather is nice, which means a great turnout and more donations to the Camp Wildcat Preservation Foundation, who can use the money to teach more youth about our great state.

“Hashtag great state, hashtag Kentucky, hashtag Camp Wildcat reenactment, hashtag tomorrow, hashtag nine a.m.,” Abby talked out loud as she typed her latest tweet to attract more tourists to our little hiking tow. “Need a place to stay in hashtag Normal? Hashtag Happy Trails Campground.”

“Thanks for the shout out,” I said to Abby.

Abby had been instrumental in my decision to stay and get the campground back up and running. Between my ability to talk with people and invest in our community and Abby’s great marketing and social media skills, Normal’s economy was thriving.

Minus the hiccups of a few murders, but that was all behind us now.

I was just hoping and praying that everything went as smoothly tomorrow at the reenactment as Queenie expected. If history repeated itself like it had over the last few months, there was going to be a hiccup.

Two

There were signs posted all on light posts and in yards around Normal about The Battle of Camp Wildcat reenactment and the after party at Happy Trails Campground. Everyone was welcome. And it would double as the themed monthly party I hosted every month at the campground. The monthly party was Abby’s idea, to help bring life back into the campground when I took over. It was my way of giving back to Normal, for everything the town and its people had done for me.

The party was a way to get campers to stay around the campground and meet other like-minded folks who liked to camp. Local shops donated to the party, advertising their products and bringing the campers to their shops, which helped build the economy.

This month I figured it might as well have a history theme to go along with the reenactment. Since Queenie didn’t need me anymore at the library, I headed back to the campground to make sure Dottie Swaggert, my campground manager,  and Henry Bryan, the campground handyman, had started to set up the event stations in and around the campground.

That was what I was hoping for when I pulled up to find Dottie and several small business owners gathered around a campfire having a conversation or some sort of meeting. Going by the look on Joel Grassel’s face and the deep lines around his eyes, it was an intense conversation.

I parked in a vacant spot near the office, which was located at the front of the campground, instead of going on down to my RV. The group turned when they heard my door slam and watched me as I walked up.

“It looks like something is wrong.” I decided to cut to the chase.

“Mae, this is my brother, Darnell.” Joel’s hands were in the pockets of his greasy overalls. The wrinkles on his forehead multiplied.

“Hi, Darnell.” I gave him a smile and a nod when I noticed he was sitting in the same position as Joel, but rocking back and forth on his heels. “Are you a mechanic too?” I asked, wondering if he worked at Grassel’s gas station along with Joel and my foster brother, Bobby Ray Bonds.

“No, ma’am,” he shook his head. “I’m an HVAC man.”

“What’s going on?” I asked and went around the circle, looking at Dottie, Henry, and Alvin Deters.

“We are in a pickle here.” Alvin Deters, owner of Deters Feed-N-Seed, rubbed his hands together. His shoulders lifted and fell a few times as he took in deep breaths. It appeared as though he was gathering up courage to say something. “Greaser Gadie has escaped from prison.” He tugged his jeans up a little more as he tucked in his plaid shirt and adjusted his big metal belt buckle.

“Who?” I looked over at Dottie. The skin around her eyes was pulled so tight from where she’d put in her pink curlers, it looked like she had cat eyes.

Dottie dragged her cigarette up to her mouth and took a long drag, exhaling a stream of smoke. The implacable expression on her face was unnerving.

“Greaser Gadie.” The smoke came out in puffs with each symbol of Greaser’s name. “He was convicted a little over two years ago of killing them two hikers near here in Normal. It was bad.” She felt around the back of her head and unclipped one of the pink sponge curlers.

She wedged the cigarette in the corner of her lips and used two hands to twist the loose strand of her red hair back into the roller.

“Really bad.” Alvin’s expression stilled and grew serious. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“When did he escape?” I asked and gnawed the edge of my lip as I made the connection to Hank. I imagine the phone call he’d gotten at the library was about the prison break.

That was how we’d met. Paul, my dead ex-husband, had escaped from prison. Hank Sharp came to Happy Trails to see if I’d had a visit from Paul after he’d escaped. I insisted I hadn’t, but when Paul’s murdered body floated to the top of the lake that was in the middle of my campground, it didn’t look good for me. It gave Hank Sharp all sorts of motive to pin Paul’s murder on me. We had had what you’d call a turbulent start to our relationship. Now he couldn’t resist me.

My eyes scanned across everyone’s shoulders until they rested on the lake where Paul’s body had appeared.

“I’m sure they’ll catch him,” I assured them. “Hank was called away and I bet they are hot on this Greaser guy’s heels.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Darnell’s voice trembled. He ran his shaking hand over his military tight haircut, the exact same cut at Joel’s.

“Are you kidding?” I tried to smile to ease the seriousness of the situation. “Why would he stay around Normal and risk getting caught? I’m sure he’s long gone by now.”

“Not if he lives up to his promise.” Henry, my handyman, said somberly as he patted Darnell on the back.

Darnell gave Henry a sad look. Henry squinted his big nose, opening his mouth just enough to expose the space where he was missing his two front teeth.

“Promise?” Clearly, there was something I was missing. After all, it’d happened before I even lived in Normal.

“Mmmhmm.” Dottie took one last puff before she threw the butt of the cigarette on the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of her shoe.

“Yep.” Alvin stood up from the big rock he was sitting on. He adjusted the big belt buckle on his blue jeans before tucking his plaid shirt deeper into his waistband. “When the judge read the death sentence verdict, Greaser looked at each jury member for what felt like an hour.”

“It was only about five seconds,” Joel chimed in.

“I said felt like,” Alvin snapped back. “Anyways, if you’d let me finish the story. Or you can.” There was a hint of anger in Alvin’s voice.

“No, you go on. I was merely a spectator. But I saw the look in his eyes.” Joel let out a deep sigh.

“What look?” I was all sorts of confused trying to get to the bottom of what was going on.

“Greaser looked me dead in the eye,” Darnell said, taking his hands out of his pocket and pointed to his eyes with his pointer and middle finger in a dramatic gesture. “He said, ‘I’m remembering your face so when I escape, I can come back to town and kill you before I disappear.’”

I wasn’t sure if it was his intense stare or his words or both, but chills crawled up and down my body, making the hair on my head feel like it’s standing up. All the rational thoughts I’d had a few seconds ago about Greaser leaving town went in all sorts of wonky directions.

“Honestly, he was just saying that to put fear in you.” I tried to make them feel better by brushing off this crazy notion. “I bet you’ve even changed in those two years.”

“Nope. He still looks the same.” Dottie at least took a moment to give Darnell a good onceover before she confirmed, “Yep, still looks the same.”

“I’m sure he is long gone by now.” I nodded.

“I don’t know.” Alvin crossed his arms over his chest. “I was on the jury too. Greaser looked and sounded serious.”

“Think about it. If you escaped from jail, wouldn’t you be thinking about getting as far away as you could?” It seemed like a perfectly logical question. “He’d be stupid not to.”

“Paul West was a very smart man, took all our money.” Alvin did a good job reminding of what my dead ex-husband had done. “He came right back here to see you before someone offed him.”

It was a very logical response to my logical question that left me speechless.

“I guess you ain’t got nothin’ to say to that?” Dottie asked in a very condescending voice. “Look at Darnell and Alvin.” She pointed to them. “They’re as scared as a cat in a dog pound and by rights they should be.”

“Mmmhmm, that’s right.” Darnell, Henry, and Joel all said in unison.

“Listen, I got a good idea.” Dottie’s ideas weren’t always the greatest. “Why don’t you call your man and see which way is up so we can get on with our lives.”

“What do you mean our lives?” I asked. “I didn’t do anything to Greaser.”

“But you might be in his way right now.” Alvin moved close enough to me to give me an elbow. “He might be in them woods right over there.” My eyes followed his nod. “He might be taking aim right now at me, miss, and take you out.”

“Oh, stop it.” I smacked his arm. I looked back at the woods. “You think so?”

“See, even Mae West ain’t so sure now.” Dottie’s drawn on brows rose plum up to the middle of her forehead.

“There’s nothing I can do right now,” I assured them and took my phone out of my back pocket. “Hank hasn’t texted or called. I’m not going to bother him.”

“We can’t even begin to put up the decorations and the work stations for the big party here if we don’t get some assurance that Greaser has left town, either by gunfire or on his own.” Henry’s big wide smile that showed off his front two teeth missing was nowhere to be found.

It was probably the first time I’d seen him without that big smile underneath his wide nose, giving me an unsettled feeling.

He was taking a stand and all the others were behind him with their arms crossed, backing him up.

“Fine.” I huffed and marched over to the lake to get a little privacy in case Hank did answer.

The thought of Greaser being around here really had affected me more than I thought it would. My fingers shook as I tried to scroll through my phone to find Hank’s number.

“You okay?” Hank answered immediately with more of a demand in his voice.

“I’m fine, but a few citizens are a little unnerved…” my voice faded when I heard his sigh drop on the other end.

“Mae,” when he said my name like that, I knew he meant business. I hated to admit it, but I wasn’t good at taking orders. “I really need you to stay out of this one. The other cases were local and crimes of passion. This one is different.”

“So you’re telling me this Greaser guy is on the loose and he really might make good on his promise to kill the jurors?” I asked.

“He’s a very dangerous man. He was wanted in four other states for murder and was being transferred to Texas to stand trial for a murder there. He’d requested to see the preacher.”

“Oh, no! Is Lester okay? What about Betts?” I gulped, tears filling my eyes. “Abby said it was their day to go to the prison.”

“They are fine. He knocked down Lester and the prison guard with the guard’s own Billy club and took it with him.” Hank sounded so frustrated. “I really shouldn’t tell you this, but I’d say, Greaser is headed straight out of town.”

“What am I supposed to tell Alvin and Darnell? They are on pins and needles and scared to death, like a cat in a dog pound.” I glanced over my shoulder back to the group. All eyes on me. I gave a slight wave.

“You sound like Dottie.” Hank stopped talking and I let the silence linger to give him a minute to think. “You need to tell them we have some good leads and everyone in Normal is safe. In fact, tell them we will be putting officers in front of their houses to make sure they have no unwanted visitors.”

“Oh, Hank. That’s good. I’m so glad you’ve done that.” I was relieved to be able to reassure them a little. “That’ll make them feel so much better.”

“And don’t you worry.” The tone of his voice changed. “I’ll make sure you’re safe tonight.”

“You better.” It was his way of telling me he’d be at my house - um, camper - when he got off work.

“And Mae,” Hank’s voice changed back to that detective tone. “Not a word about nothing I just told you. Just tell them we’ve got them a detail until this is all taken care of, which won’t be long.”

Three

“I don’t know, Mae.” Dottie Swagger shook her red, curly hair side to side after she took out the last curler. She leaned back in her chair inside the office we shared at Happy Trails. “I’m telling you, Queenie needs to cancel the reenactment until Greaser is found and Normal is safe again.”

“Normal is safe.” I pushed my long curly brown hair behind my shoulders and looked up from the paperwork of campers coming into town today. “Didn’t you hear what I said Hank told me?”

There were many things you could say about Hank Sharp. One was how he didn’t have the best southern gentleman manners that I had so desperately thought I wanted in a man, but he did have that protection factor. No matter how unsafe a situation, Hank was always there to protect. It didn’t matter if it was as trivial as a swim in the lake or a walk along the trail, he was a protector. This time he was determined to protect me and Normal from this Greaser guy.

“I heard.” Dottie still wasn’t satisfied.

“We need to check on Betts.” I looked out the window at the fifth wheel coming up the drive.

“What’s wrong with Betts?” Dottie’s chair screeched when she sat up.

“Nothing.” I shook my head, forgetting that I wasn’t supposed to say anything. “It looks like a new camper is here.”

“You think I’m gonna let you get away with not telling me what Hank Sharp really told you, you’ve got another thing coming.” Dottie jabbed the top of the desk with her finger. “I’ve known you for long enough to know you’re keeping something from me. And if it has to do with one of our Laundry Club gals, you better confess.”

There were a few huffs and puffs before I took a deep breath and prayed Hank wouldn’t kill me.

“The only reason I’m telling you this is because the Laundry Club took me in right from the start when I came to Normal. Y’all pitched in and helped me get this campground up and running. Y’all have become my best friends and I just can’t forget that.” The sound of the big dually truck that’d pulled up with the fifth wheel turned off. Quickly, I told her, “Greaser asked for one of the church people to come see him. Lester went in and did that whole ministering gig he does. When he got up to leave, Greaser knock him and the prison guard down with the guard’s Billy club. That’s how he escaped.”

“Git your things.” Dottie jumped up. “We’ve got to go to the Laundry Club.”

“Afternoon,” A couple who looked to be in their early 60s walked through the office door. “I’m Frank and this is my wife, Barbara.”

Barbara  pinched a grin that made her eyes squint.

“We have rented a lot for a couple of weeks.” He looked happy to be here, but she clearly was not.

“Yes.” Dottie grabbed the file with their name on it and practically threw it at him. “Here’s your paperwork, we’ve got to go. We’ll be back later to get it from you.” She grabbed him by the arm and shuffled him out of the office, shutting the door behind him. “Well?” She jerked around and looked at me. “What in the blue blazes are you waiting for?”

“I don’t think that’s a very good way to handle a tenant.” I might be wrong since I was still a little new to the campground owner stuff, but I sure wouldn’t’ve wanted to be treated that way.

“Don’t you worry about it.” Dottie grabbed one of the baskets off the wire shelf near the coffee pot. “I’ll give him a detergent basket, free of charge. Old people love free stuff.”

Dottie hurried out the door, hooting and hollering to the guests about their free basket while I took the time to shut down the computers and close down the office.

The Laundry Club was the laundromat located in downtown Normal. When I first drove into Normal in my small RV, I desperately needed to clean some clothes. At the time, the washer and dryer at the campground were broken, along with everything else. Since then, I had them up and working, but the Laundry Club was where I continued to go.

It was there that I’d met Betts Hager, Abby Fawn, and Queenie French. It wasn’t like any other laundromat you’d ever seen. Or at least any laundromat I’d ever seen, although I hadn’t spent a lot of time in laundromats before coming to Normal.

Betts was the owner and she made it a home away from home for the customers who did their laundry there. She had a family room type setting on one side with a few couches situated around a television. There was a section for games and puzzles. But my two favorite spots were the coffee bar and the book club spot where we held our monthly book club meetings that Abby Fawn spearheaded.

When we opened the front door of the Laundry Club, the smell of freshly brewed coffee curled around me and gave me a big hug of comfort.

Dottie rushed over to the coffeepot where Abby had already started to line up the coffee mugs that had our initials on them. I wasn’t too far behind her.

“While we wait for it to finish brewing,” Abby said and smacked Dottie’s hand away  when she tried to get a cup “tell me what’s going on.” She stood over the pot like a guard until it beeped.

“I’m not real sure about the details, but I’m assuming you heard Greaser escaped from jail.” I watched Abby go down the mugs and fill them up. She handed each one of us our cup. “He had been getting religion from Lester when it happened. Somehow, Greaser got the guard’s Billy club after he knocked down Lester and the guard.”

“Lester is in the hospital?” Abby headed over to the couch and sat down, pulling her feet up under her.

I followed her and sat down.

“We aren’t sure what’s going on!” Dottie was still at the coffee bar, doctoring up her creamer- and sugar-filled mug with coffee. She yelled loud enough to be heard over the washers and dryers going in the laundromat. “Betts hasn’t answered my calls or texts.”

Dottie pulled her phone out of her pocketbook and scrolled through it on her way to the sitting area, spilling a little coffee on her way over.

“Nothin’.” She sighed and sat down.

“Maybe we should just go over there and check on him.” It was a suggestion and I’m sure Betts would appreciate it. “I was told Betts and Lester are fine,” I said without disclosing what Hank told me, though they could read between the lines. “They probably are a bit shaken up and need some space.”

“I’m sure the police are all out in force looking for Greaser.” Abby jerked her head, her ponytail swinging to the side. “I’ll message Betts and see if I get a response, unless Hank has told you something.”

She was fishing for some intimate police insider information. I shook my head and took a sip of the coffee.

“We’ll give her ten minutes to respond. Enough time to drink our coffee.” Abby scrolled through her phone with one hand and used the other to drink her coffee.

“Do you remember what Greaser said to the jurors? It was awful.” Abby looked up from her phone at Dottie.  “I wrote a piece in the Normal Gazette about it.” Abby face clouded with uneasiness. “I sure wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.”

She shifted in her seat.

“I think Greaser is long gone by now. I know if I was him, I’d get out faster than a speeding bullet.” Dottie gave a hard nod.

I was glad to hear that Dottie had actually listened to my theory about Greaser leaving town that I’d told her, Darnell, Alvin, and Henry at the campground. It did make a lot of sense.

“That doesn’t mean we all shouldn’t be looking over our shoulders,” Dottie finished her thought and slowly glanced around.

All three of us jumped when the bell over the front door dinged as it opened.

“I guess we are more on edge than we figured.” Abby waved at Dawn Gentry, the newest member of our little Laundry Club, and Mary Elizabeth Moberly, my foster-slash-adoptive mom.

Adopted not by choice. And I had held a long grudge against her for trying to make me into some southern belle by sending me to etiquette classes and making me participate in local beauty pageants. Deep inside, I was grateful she took me in her home as a teenager after my entire family had been killed in a house fire because teenagers could be a little persnickety.

I was too young then to realize what I had and that’s when I high-tailed it to New York City. I had to get away, but the manners and all that stuff she tried to beat into my head had come in handy when I was a socialite. The grace and charm that came with learning to be a debutante had also come in handy when I had to sweet talk most of the town folks here in Normal as I was trying to show them I was nothing like my dead ex-husband.

“A meeting? Without us?” Mary Elizabeth drew her hand up to her collar bone and fiddled with the strand of pearls that lay perfectly on the neckline of her Lily Pulitzer dress. She had an overnight bag in her hand that exactly matched the pattern on her dress. The Bonnet Blue dress to be exact, one of Mary Elizabeth’s favorite prints from Lily Pulitzer.

“Yeah.” Dawn wore her normal motorcycle look with black skinny jeans, black leather jacket, and a black knit cap pulled down over her black pixie cut hair.

Dawn wasn’t much about social graces and I wasn’t sure how she and Mary Elizabeth had become business partners at the Milkery, the local dairy farm.

“We were walking back from dropping off some cream and milk to Christine Watson at the Cookie Crumble and noticed all of you in here.” Her five foot six inch, thin frame slid down into a chair. She pulled her legs up, crossing them.

Mary Elizabeth zipped open the bag and made the opening wide enough to let us look in while she swept it in front of us. “We had our first bed and breakfast customer.”

“That’s great.” I was truly happy for them. They’d been working hard on turning the working dairy farm into a bed and breakfast.

They’d converted the empty farmhouse on the back end of the property into a really cool remodeled bed and breakfast for tourists who weren’t into camping like the ones who came to my campground. Mary Elizabeth was so good at southern hospitality that when she decided to stay in Normal after she came to see me, she had to do something to keep her occupied. That’s when the Milkery went up for sale and Abby’s marketing ideas came into play, ending with a bed and breakfast.

“I’m sure you were the epitome of grace and charm.” A smile crossed my face when I saw the pride on hers. “Are they here for the reenactment?”

“No. Just passing through. It’s a shame because clothes were left behind.” Mary Elizabeth shook the bag, which was apparently filled with clothes.

“I told her just to stick them in a box and I’d write lost and found on the side, but she insisted that we clean and mail them.” Dawn rolled her eyes and picked at the soles of her Doc Martens boots. “They aren’t the best of clothes either.”

“Not that it would mean anything to you, but there’s a serial killer on the loose.” Abby changed the subject.

She got back up off the couch and gestured for them to sit while she ran over to the coffee bar and got them each a hot cup of joe.

“Serial killer?” Mary Elizabeth gasped, as the smooth, Botoxed lines between her eyes gave and creased as big as the Mississippi River.

I didn’t dare point it out or she’d be off to the doctor as soon as she left, getting more injections.

“Tell me,” Dawn said eagerly and rubbed her hands together. “I love a good mystery.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” I didn’t want them to scare Mary Elizabeth, but by her wide- eyed look, she was already a smidgen frightened. “A prisoner escaped. Hank is right on it.”

It sounded good coming out of my mouth, but the shaky tone in my voice said more than my words.

“Greaser Gadie hurt Preacher Hager.” Dottie scooted to the edge of her seat. “Has Betts texted you back?” she asked Abby.

Abby gave a slow head shake after she looked at her phone.

“I think we need to go to Betts’s house.” Dottie put both hands around her mug.

“I think we need to stay right here.” Mary Elizabeth was always the voice of reason when it came to doing the right thing after an event like a death or an accident. “Betts has her hands full. When she’s got time, she’ll call you back. In the meantime, Dawn and I will go back to the Milkery and bake some goodies for them.”

“That sounds like a very good idea.” Abby nervously looked at her phone. Her face pinched with worry.

Mary Elizabeth and Dawn were gone in no time, leaving us there to finish our conversation about Betts.

“Mary Elizabeth left the bag here.” Abby pushed the bag with her foot to move it out of the way of the couch.

“I’ll clean the clothes for her.” I stood up and took the mugs from Abby and Dottie. “I think Mary Elizabeth is right. We need to carry on with our everyday life and be here when Betts calls. If something was really wrong with Lester, we would’ve heard by now.”

My phone chirped with a text while I was walking over to the coffee bar to clean our mugs and put them back. I slipped the phone out of my pocket. It was Hank. He was on his way to the campground.

I didn’t tell the girls it was him because he didn’t say anything more than that, but I was hopeful he had some good news since he was stopping by. Usually, when he was knee deep in an investigation, stopping by to see me was the last thing on his list and that meant he’d stop by late at night.

If I did find out from him that Greaser had been caught, I’d let the girls know, but as of now, I didn’t know anything new.

“Let’s go, Dottie.” I quickly cleaned out our mugs and put them back in the right spot on the coffee bar so Betts didn’t have to worry about the Laundry Club.

Four

It felt so good to see the winter months had given way to the budding trees and the tip-tops of the Kentucky Bluegrass peeking out of the limestone soil. And that meant that Happy Trails Campground was booked.

Spring and fall were the campground’s two big seasons, though I was extremely happy with all the winter activities we’d planned that had brought in tourists that wouldn’t usually think of camping during the off season. But right now spring was here and so were the full campsites.

I pulled up in front of Dottie’s camper, which was the first one on the right after the office, and we got out of the car.

“It’s so nice to see us busy again.” I put my hand over my eyebrows to shield my eyes from the sun and look at all the campers walking around with coffee mugs in their hands and visiting with other campers that I’m sure they didn’t know until today.

That’s the one great thing about being a camper. The community. It was as welcome as any small town and just as cozy.

“I’ll get all the contracts to the campers and you give them an hour or so to fill them out.” Dottie was raring to go since today was considered the beginning of the week.

Fridays were a popular day to get to a campsite in order to have all weekend to camp and hike and enjoy nature. Friday was always our busiest day and today was busier than normal since some of the RVers and campers were here for tomorrow’s reenactment.

“Why don’t you go on and visit with Hank while they fill everything out.” Dottie had noticed Hank’s car was already pulled into my parking pad next to my RV.

“You’re a good friend.” I patted her. “Tell them I’ll be by in an hour to pick up the contracts and get anything they need,” I said to her before I got back in my car.

She waved me off. I drove slow around the lake, the opposite side of where my RV and lot were located. I wanted to see if the new aeration system I had put in last year, which was really a fancy fountain that kept the water moving so the lake scum wouldn’t lay on top of the water, was on and working.

The main road in Happy Trails Campground went around the lake before it ended up back at the front. There were several small roads off the main one, but they were just ways to get to the different camping pads.

Each pad had its own concrete parking space along with hookups. I provided all the hookups including sewage, but a lot of campgrounds didn’t do that. As a camper, you had to really do your homework on a campground before you got there because trust me when I say that the big blue poop bag wasn’t fun to deal with if you had to haul it two or three miles down the road.

Each camper site had a nice brick firepit in the grassy area where we encouraged nightly supper get togethers when the weather permitted. Every camper who participated cooked an item that was meant to be shared with all the campers. Then we’d take our plates and walk around the campground filling our plates with delicious foods before gathering around the big fire near the Recreation Center at the top of the lake behind the office.

The Recreation Center was stocked with every family-friendly board game you could possibly imagine along with badminton, corn hole, bean bag toss, hula hoops, and other games. Inside were pool tables, old style video games, a snack bar, and a table for doing puzzles.

Next to the lake was a Tiki Bar and a little stage where we had Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys, a local band, perform during our monthly parties, like the one tomorrow after the reenactment.

The Daniel Boone National Park surrounded the campground. The beginnings of several marked trails were scattered around the edge of the campground. They were why campers really came to Happy Trails. It was the marvelous hiking, caves, and nature the national park provided that they loved.

The camper I lived in was actually a small RV that was also drivable. When I drove it into Happy Trails the first time, I thought I was just going to sell the campground, ditch the old RV, and get my old set of wheels back, which was a Maserati.

After I fell in love with Normal and its residents and knew I was going to make it my home, I had decided to remodel the RV.

I’d used every bit of space possible. I took down all the walls and made it an open concept plan with the kitchen and family room in one big room. I put up shiplap walls painted white. I’d gotten a cute café table with two chairs and a small leather couch from the Tough Nickel. The camper was the perfect size for one person. I had the floors redone with a prefabricated gray wood. The kitchen cabinets and all the storage cabinets were white. I’d transformed my little camper into a charming country farmhouse.

I’d strung twinkle lights everywhere I could. The bathroom had been updated with a tile shower and upgraded toilet. Then I had my bedroom in the back. I’d opted to buy a new mattress, with some wooden pallets painted pink and nailed together as a headboard. I’d gotten a dresser with four drawers from the Tough Nickel that went perfect with my distressed look. The twinkle lights added a bit of romance, along with the fuzzy rugs and milk glass vases that were currently filled with different floral arrangements from the Sweet Smell Flower Shop, the local florist.

I loved it here and I wanted to make sure the families who came to Happy Trails felt like they were home. I kept that in mind when I remodeled Happy Trails into what it was today.

The younger generations loved to hike and camp. If they didn’t have a camper, they could rent one of our little bungalows of various sizes. Those were all booked too.

“Hi there,” I greeted Hank as I walked into the camper.

My heart flip-flopped when I saw him on the couch with Fifi, my French poodle.

“Hi, baby,” my voice rose an octave when Fifi jumped off of Hank’s lap and greeted me, her little pom-pom tail wiggling back and forth. “That’s mama’s girl.” I made smooshy faces and kissy noises.

“I wish I had four legs.” Hank joked and put his arms out.

“Maybe if you greeted me at the door with a wagging tail, I’d treat you the same.” I winked at him and picked up Fifi. “But I guess I can give you a kiss too.”

I bent down with Fifi in my arms to give him a kiss, but she had another plan as she licked between us, making us giggle.

“I hope you’re hungry. I brought some Chinese takeout because I’m starving and only have a little time before I need to get back to work.” Hank stood up and walked over to the kitchenette.

“What’s going on with the escaped prisoner,” I asked.

I put Fifi down and grabbed her bowl, putting a scoop of her fancy, pricey dog kibble in it.

“We haven’t found him yet. There’s so much wooded area to cover. He could be hiding anywhere.” He pulled two little containers out of the brown sack before spooning a little bit of each on two plates. “We are using Darnell’s hunting dog. The dog picked up Greaser’s scent, but so far nothing’s turned up.”

“Where did he pick up the scent?” I asked and filled two glasses with water, placing them on the little café table that was just the perfect size for the inside of my RV.

“I can’t tell you specifics since it’s an ongoing investigation, but I can tell you that I’m sure you’re fine here.” Hank looked at me under his brows, setting the plates across from each other before he sat down in one of the two chairs.

“You can’t leave me hanging. I have a curious side that needs to be scratched,” I warned and sat down.

The smell of Chinese beef and broccoli made my stomach growl and my taste buds water.

“I told you earlier that you didn’t need to worry yourself with this.” He looked up from his plate and rested his forearms on the edge of the table. “But  I do want you to keep your gun close by.”

“My gun? You just said you thought I’d be fine.” That certainly got my attention. “I’ve never even taken the gun out of the box.”

When Hank and I officially started dating a couple of months ago, he had me take the conceal and carry class he taught at the local police station.

“That means you’re not really sure where he is,” I mumbled, trying to swallow the food that was now lodged in my throat.

I set my fork down. I’d suddenly lost my appetite.

“It means that if I can’t be here, I want you to protect yourself. That’s why I had you take the conceal and carry class.” He didn’t stop eating. “You just never know who’s out there in the woods. The national park is a big place.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” I picked up the glass of water and gulped it down. “You’ve never said to keep the gun close before.”

“Just do it, Mae.” A loud sigh escaped him.

“No.” I didn’t like the tone in his voice. “But I want to know why you think I need to protect myself.”

“Because,” he said with frustration. He paused. “Because the dogs picked up his scent on Forest Service Road 736 in the national park.  It’s on the other side of town, but I’m sure he’s still in there, trying to find a way out.”

A flicker of fear coursed through my veins, giving me goosebumps. It was spring. The sun still set pretty early in the evening and it was pitch black before eight p.m. If someone was walking around, I’d never see them.

“Do you think I need to inform my campers about it?” I asked in a very calm voice.

“I think you need to tell them to be alert and to report anything or anyone suspicious.” There was a look in his eyes that told me he was worried. “I’ve got officers at all the jurors’ houses just in case Greaser does decide to follow through on his threats.”

“What about the reenactment? Are you going to be able to come?” I asked, knowing that Queenie was relying on him.

“No.” He snapped his fingers. “Which reminds me.” He leaned to the side in his chair and took out his cell phone. “I’ve got to tell Queenie.”

He put his cell phone on the table and looked at me.

“Oh, no. . .” I wagged my fork in front of me before I dug it back down into my food. “I’m not telling her.”

“Please,” he begged. “She’ll take it better from you.”

“Are you serious?” I asked while trying not to look into his memorizing green eyes that made my mind go blank then swirl with incomplete thoughts. “Fine.” I put my fork down and grabbed my phone when he picked his back up.

I wrote a short and sweet text to her saying Hank was so busy trying to catch Greaser and working so hard to keep our town safe and it was all hands on deck to make sure Greaser was long gone or caught and that he didn’t show up at the reenactment.

“We are going to need officers at the reenactment site for tomorrow,” he had called someone and told whoever he was talking to on the other side of the phone. “They did?” He questioned. “Okay, I’ll make my way out to the Milkery in a few.”

He slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Milkery?” My heart fell into my toes. “Is he at the Milkery?” I asked in a panic, scared something had happened to Mary Elizabeth or Dawn.

“No.” Hank was trying his hardest to stay calm. “The dogs picked up his trail there. I hate to leave, but I’ve got to get out there.”

“I’m going too.” I stood up, knocking the chair backwards against the back of the small RV’s driver’s seat. “I’ve got to see Mary Elizabeth and Dawn.”

I picked the chair up and put it back.

“You stay here. They are fine.” He tried to assure me, but he didn’t know me very well if he thought I was going to be a good little girlfriend and stay where he told me to when Mary Elizabeth could be in trouble.

“I’m not staying here and you can’t make me.” I ran around the camper, making sure Fifi had everything she needed while I was gone. “You can deal with it or not. I don’t care.”

“Mae, I told you they are fine. I’ll call you when I get there.” He put his hand out to stop me from grabbing my purse and car keys.

“Listen, I think you’re great and all, but Mary Elizabeth took me in when I didn’t have a family. I’m going to be there for her when she needs me and if this crazy killer guy is there, I’m going with my gun.” I jerked away from his grip and headed back to the bedroom where I reached under the bed, pulling out the small pink metal case with the Ruger handgun in it.

“Mae,” he said my name with a clenched jaw. “Please don’t make me worry about you.”

“Don’t make me choose.” I held the gun case close to my chest. “It’d be so much better if you let me help you. I’m good at this.” I was referring to my snooping around and how I’d helped him a few times before.

I opened one of the kitchen drawers with my free hand and took out the notebook I’d used to keep various clues I’d come across on past cases where my amateur sleuthing had come in handy. Granted, those had been murder cases and this was a prison escape, but an investigation was an investigation.

I dropped the notebook on the café table between our two plates of Chinese food.

“This is different. This is a serial killer.” Hank’s words had an edge to them. “I’ll let you go see Mary Elizabeth and Dawn. Only because I want you to try to get them to stay here, but I’m not letting you try to find this guy.”

“Fine.” It was all I’d asked. I knew if he thought I wasn’t going to poke around in his investigation, he’d surely give in to me going to see if Mary Elizabeth and Dawn were okay.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed the small container off the kitchen counter and a fork on his way out the door.

Five

The large silos around the Milkery had the dairy’s name printed on each of them. Even as dusk started to set in, you could see them from miles away. The cows were walking together as they made their way up to the barn where it was about time to feed them before nightfall.

I noticed the free-range chickens were gathered in the coop on the other side of the Kentucky Post fence as I drove up the long, blacktopped drive. Blacktopping was something Mary Elizabeth had insisted upon when she and Dawn first bought the place even though it was very expensive to do, especially with as long as a driveway as they had.

She said a customer’s first impression was of the utmost importance and gravel didn’t give off a good first impression. Leave it to Mary Elizabeth and her southern roots to know what looked good and what didn’t. She was right. It added a much more businesslike and sophisticated feel to the dairy farm.

The steel building where the offices were located was all lit up, even the flood lights were on. Those were only used during a middle of the night emergency with the animals, which did happen since we did have foxes and coyotes in the area that loved to snack on the chickens.

The air had a bit of a chill as night was falling and a breeze settled into the holler where the Milkery was located.

It was typical for an early spring night in the state of Kentucky to feel a little crisp. The buds on the oak trees that surrounded the property showed the first signs of new life and would soon sprout into the brightest green leaves. The limestone-rich soil had already given the Kentucky Bluegrass a hint of blue and it was highlighted by the burnt orange sky from the sun about the set behind the Milkery.

Hank had already jumped out of his car and darted into the offices. When Mary Elizabeth came out the door, I knew he’d told her I was on my way.

“Are you okay?” I busted out of the car and hurried over to her, noticing that her normally glossy brown and perfectly styled hair was somewhat disheveled. “I heard the hunting dogs caught scent of the escaped prisoner off one of the service roads. I think you need to pack an overnight bag and come stay with me and Fifi. Dawn, too.”

My mouth was like a motorboat. It just kept talking and going faster as the words fell from my mouth. A sure sign I was a bit nervous.

“I’m fine.” She patted my arm with confidence, but the smudge of black mascara underneath her eyes told me she was worried. Mary Elizabeth only sweated when she worried. Many times she’d looked this way when I didn’t come in at curfew. And her pants were wrinkled. Mary Elizabeth would’ve never gone out of the house with her pants wrinkled. I didn’t care if she was just walking to the mailbox. Never. And I mean ever.

“I have the new security system and you know I pack,” she referred to her conceal and carry permit. “I’ll shoot him dead if he comes near me.”

Security system. Well, stinker, I thought and drowned out how she was going to go after Greaser if he got anywhere near her. She reminded me that I’d yet to get the security cameras at Happy Trails fixed. Something my insurance agent told me that I had to have with my policy. I made a mental note to get that done as soon as possible.

I looked over my shoulder towards the chicken coops when I heard the sound of a howling dog echoing off the caverns of the national park. “I think you need to come stay with me.”

I was sure she hadn’t shot a gun since her class.

“I won’t hear of it. I want you to come in and take a look at the bed and breakfast. I’ve got a fresh pot of coffee on.” She curled her hand into the crook of my arm and twisted us around. “You won’t believe all the changes Dawn and I have made. I’m pretty proud of them.”

Both of us looked uneasily out into the national park beyond the boundaries of the Milkery as the dog’s howl appeared to be getting closer.

“What about some cinnamon rolls to go with that coffee?” I tried to lighten the mood and get our minds off the dog.

“Why, you sure know I got some.” She patted my hand as we walked along the front of the office building towards the back half of the property where the renovated barn house was located. “You just come along with me and I’ll get you something good for your belly.”

“Are you trying to keep me out of the Milkery offices?” I asked, even though I’d already made up my mind to get some coffee. The cinnamon rolls were a bonus, but I still couldn’t help but notice her persistence.  “Did Hank put you up to this?”

“Oh, dear. You know me all too well.” She patted and rubbed my arm, a sure sign she was trying to keep her hands busy and not muss with her hair like she did when she was nervous.

“No wonder he ran in there ahead of me.” I glanced back and noticed a flurry of movement in front of the building as Mary Elizabeth dragged me along the side towards the barn house.

Hank was in the middle of the group as some cops with maps in their hands were pointing and talking. A cop with a dog wearing a reflective vest on a leash walked up to them shaking his head.

“He knows how insistent you are.” Mary Elizabeth hurried in front of me. “Let him do his job and you come have a cup of coffee and a snack.”

“One night?” I asked again, hoping she’d just say yes. “Stay with me one night. It would make me feel better.”

“No, I’m fine as a fiddle.” There was no sense in fussing about with her. She’d made up her mind. “Besides, I’ve got Dawn. She’s a tough nut you know.”

“Where is she anyways?” I asked, reaching around her to grab the handle of the front door of the bed and breakfast. “Is she here?” I asked, swooping the door open for her.

“She’s in the kitchen making a breakfast casserole for Betts and Lester.” She led the way into the house. “Since you are here, you can take it with you and take to Betts in the morning. We’ve got some planting we need to do in the garden and they sure aren’t going to plant themselves.”

The smell of cinnamon and honey filled the inside of the Milkery Bed and Breakfast, giving me a little peace deep in my soul. When I was growing up, Mary Elizabeth was always cooking in our house. She was a great cook and a great baker especially. From the smell of things, she was teaching Dawn.

The thought of Greaser hanging around this house made me so nervous. But I had to trust Hank and do exactly what he wanted me to do.

“Something smells so good.” I walked into the kitchen.

Dawn was standing at the counter, rolling out dough. She had on a pair of red footy pajamas. She looked so stylish in them with her black pixie cut hair, something only she could pull off.

“Hey there.” Dawn looked over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m making some cinnamon rolls now. I figured Betts and Lester could use something sweet too.”

“Mae will take the casserole with her since we have to get up early.” Mary Elizabeth walked over to the oven and opened the door.

The breakfast casserole had a light brown top to it.

“It’ll be another five minutes before it needs to come out,” she said to Dawn.

“Mary Elizabeth is teaching me how to cook.” Dawn had a big grin on her face while she cut the dough into strips. “And bake. I guess I’m going to need to know all that when we have more than one guest staying here.”

I grabbed a coffee cup from the mug tree and filled it with some of the freshly brewed coffee. Mary Elizabeth took some frozen cinnamon rolls from the freezer and quickly nuked them. My mouth watered when she grabbed a bowl of her homemade buttercream icing from the refrigerator and iced the warm cinnamon rolls.

“I hope mine turn out that good.” Dawn nodded towards the sweet treat Mary Elizabeth had put on the table.

They were the perfect ratio of dough to cinnamon filling. Dawn gave them a good onceover before she went back to counter, put more of the cinnamon mixture on her dough, and rolled it into the shape of one big cinnamon roll before she cut it into many smaller rolls.

“I bet they will if they are anything like Mary Elizabeth’s.” My mouth watered at the mere sight of them, not to mention the smell.

Mary Elizabeth had already sat down at the table next to me.

“Can you believe the dog picked up Greaser’s scent?” Dawn grabbed two oven gloves and put them on her hands before she took the casserole out, placing it on the cooling rack. “It’s crazy.”

She put the baking sheet of cinnamon rolls in the oven, turning down the temperature after she shut the oven door. She set the manual apple timer that was sitting on top of the stove to the desired time it took to make the cinnamon rolls perfect. The timer looked just like the one Mary Elizabeth had when I was living with her.

“I can’t believe he’s around here. But it would make sense if he’s heading out of town, which is what he should be doing.” I motioned for Dawn to sit down and join us.

Dawn made herself a cup of coffee and moseyed over.

“If you think about it, the Milkery is north of the prison, so he probably headed off on foot headed north somewhere.” It was the most logical explanation as to why his smell would be around here. “I told Mary Elizabeth that y’all can come stay with me, but she declined.”

“We are fine.” Dawn karate chopped the air. “I’ll take him down and beat him with that Billy club.”

The three of us laughed but stopped when we heard the front door shut. All of our jaws dropped, our eyes shifted between each other, visibly shaken with each sound of the heavy footsteps.

“Hank,” I let out a long deep sigh. “You scared us.”

“Not me.” Dawn did another chop.

“You should never leave that door open,” he scolded us. “ But I have some good news.” Hank pointed to the coffee maker. Mary Elizabeth nodded, and he made a cup. “The dogs lost his scent on the road, so I’m guessing someone picked him up, maybe a trucker, and he’s headed far out of town. We put out an alert for all trucks to be stopped all over Kentucky and the FBI has already stepped in.”

“What does that mean?” I asked and used the toe of my shoe to pull out the chair next to me for him to sit down.

“They will take over from here or work alongside Normal’s sheriff department and the Daniel Boone National Park Forest Rangers.” Hank took a sip of his coffee.

It seemed so long ago that he’d cut his hours back as a Ranger. He’d gone to school for that, but loved the investigation aspect so much that he went back to the sherrif’s department to become a detective.

“Then we are all safe.” Mary Elizabeth pushed herself up to stand and moseyed over to the cinnamon rolls.

A gust of warm cinnamon and sugar floated over to us when she opened the oven door.

“Those smell so good.” I smiled. “I’m more than happy to take those to Betts.”

“You can have one and tell me if it tastes the same.” Dawn winked.

Hank reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of paper from the inside pocket.

“I hope you don’t mind that I used the printer in your office to make some copies of the flyer the FBI put out with Greaser’s face on it.” He took out the piece of paper and laid it on the table.

“That’s him?” I asked, picking up the piece of paper, noticing he looked just like every other person on the street. Nothing special like big moles, facial tattoos, long hair, bald - no unique marks.

“That’s him.” Hank leaned back and curled his hand around the handle of the mug, bringing it up to his lips. “In case he does come back, I want you to put these flyers up all over the campground.”

“Sure. I’ll have Dottie make them in the morning.” I laid the piece of paper back on the table.

Mary Elizabeth sat down and slid it over to her side of the table. Her face turned white as a ghost.

Slowly, she lifted her chin, her eyes big. She swallowed as though something was stuck in her throat.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“This is the escaped prisoner?” She lifted her hand to her pearl necklace.

“And serial killer,” Hank added.

“Are you okay?” I asked her again.

“I. . .um. . .Dawn?” She called Dawn over from the counter where she was using a spatula to place each cinnamon roll on a fancy milk glass platter. “This is Greaser.” She held the piece of paper up so Dawn could see it.

“No.” Dawn laughed, but quickly stopped when she saw our faces. “That’s our first guest.”

“Guest?” Hank asked.

“Oh, gosh.” Mary Elizabeth’s hand moved from the pearls to covering her mouth. “He stayed here last night.”

“What?” The shock took over. “How on earth did you let him stay here? What were you thinking? You’ve got to shut this place down. No more!” I jumped up, pacing back and forth. “You don’t know what kind of riffraff you’ll get staying here. You are too old to deal with this and I can’t take it.”

“Calm down,” Hank spoke to me in a soft and rational tone, putting his hand out for me to sit back down. My chest shook as my breaths got deeper and deeper.

“She could be dead now.” I pointed to Mary Elizabeth.

“She’s not. Just sit down.” Hank’s sheriff side had taken over. “Dawn, can you please come sit down and tell me about Greaser being here.”

“Sure.” She ran her hands down the tea towel and sat down across from Hank, next to Mary Elizabeth. “We were in the garden doing some hoeing when he came up from nowhere.”

“You should’ve known then.” I couldn’t keep my mouth shut even though Hank continued to give me the wonky eye.

“He asked if there were any rooms available for the night.” Dawn looked over at Mary Elizabeth for confirmation. “We told him there were and that he was our first customer.”

“Excuse me.” Mary Elizabeth stood up and walked into the bathroom off located just off the kitchen.

“This will bother her,” I said and ran my finger around the rim of the mug to keep from shaking.

“We thought it was weird he had no car or luggage, but he said that a friend had dropped him off.” Dawn gnawed on the edge of her lip, then rubbed them together. “He ate supper with us. He wasn’t wearing anything that looked like prison clothes.”

“What did he have on?” Hank reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out the little notebook for his case notes. He snapped the pen and started to write.

“Jeans. A gray V-neck sweater. Loafers.” She put her finger in the air. “I remember the loafers because most of the people who’ve come to the Milkery to buy products usually have on boots or tennis shoes. Hiking-friendly footwear.” She shrugged. “When he said he had been dropped off, I figured he was in town on business and needed a place to stay for the night.”

“How did he pay?” Hank asked.

“Cash. He pulled out a wad of cash from the front pocket of the jeans. No wallet,” her voice trailed off as though she was watching a movie of him in her head. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“My stomach is a mess.” Mary Elizabeth came out of the bathroom. “I can’t believe I didn’t see past his act.”

“What do you mean?” Hank asked Mary Elizabeth.

“He was a nice guy. He didn’t have a ring on his finger, and he spoke with intelligence.” She reached over and patted Dawn on the back. “I encouraged Dawn to get his personal information because he was so charming, and she could use a charmer.” She grimaced and said, “She likes those biker types. Tattoos and all.”

Dawn and I looked at each other. We both knew what it was like to be mothered by Mary Elizabeth.

If it weren’t for this being a serious conversation, I might’ve said something about Mary Elizabeth always trying to play matchmaker. Another thing that drove me crazy as a teenager. She loved having boys over for supper as potential dates for me. Embarrassing.

“It’s fine.” Dawn put her hand on Mary Elizabeth’s and patted her back. “He didn’t have much to say about his past. I even invited him to the reenactment, but he said he was heading out of town.”

“What time did he show up and what time did he leave?” Hank asked. There was no expression on his face. His green eyes were intense.

“He showed up around three in the afternoon?” Dawn said with more of a question. “We were out in the garden for a few hours. Since he was our first customer, we told him to pick any room. He was gone by the time we got up this morning.”

“Where is the room?” He asked, leaning on this left leg as he reached around to pull his phone out of his back pocket.

“I’ll show you.” Dawn stood up and walked out of the kitchen with Hank following along.

He was on the phone with the sheriff’s department, telling them to come to investigate the house. I stayed behind to soothe a very upset Mary Elizabeth.

“I can’t believe this.” She wrung her hands as she paced back and forth. “I’m usually a good judge of character.”

“You had no idea.” I didn’t know what to say to comfort her. “At least he didn’t hurt you.”

“He was such a nice young man.” Mary Elizabeth looked at the table with a blank stare. “He sat where Hank was sitting. He enjoyed the meatloaf.”

“You heard Hank. The scent stopped at the road. He probably hitched another ride, like he said, and he’s long gone.” I wanted both of us to believe the words coming out of my mouth, but I was scared.

Six

Before I left the Milkery, Hank had every single officer from Normal at the bed and breakfast. They checked every nook and cranny in and around the farmhouse.

“This is an open investigation which means the bed and breakfast and the Milkery will remain closed until further notice,” Hank told Mary Elizabeth and Dawn

“Have you lost your mind?” Mary Elizabeth looked at me with an open mouth. “I think he’s lost his mind.” She turned to Dawn when she didn’t get a response from me. “He thinks we can just up and close a thriving business. Closing the bed and breakfast is fine, but what about all the cow’s milk? The eggs? They will spoil, and local restaurants pay for our fresh products.”

I thought Hank was going to have to take Mary Elizabeth down to jail because she was giving him the business about how she wasn’t going to close the Milkery. And he thought I was bad.

I left it up to Dawn to be the sane one. I reiterated my offer for them to come stay with me for the night or as long as they needed to, but they declined.

There wasn’t much more for me to do there, so I gathered up the casserole and the cinnamon rolls and headed back to Happy Trails, leaving Hank to calm Mary Elizabeth down.

I kept my eyes peeled on the windy roads all the way back to the campground for any signs of a person walking along. The further away from the Milkery I got, the safer I felt, and I was so happy to hear the gravel spit up from underneath the wheels of my car as I entered the campground.

There were a few campers sitting out in by their firepits. Soon the flames would be the only light around.

Henry was putting the finishing touches on the Tiki Hut for the party tomorrow. I loved how he had put an old tent around it to make it look like a civil war camp.

Dottie was sitting outside of her camper with a cigarette dangling from her mouth and the pink sponge curlers in her hair, a nighttime ritual.

I stopped my car in front of her camper and rolled down the window.

“What’cha doing?” She asked through a puff of smoke. “Why don’t cha get out and visit?”

“I’ve got to let Fifi out, but we’ll walk up here.” I drove off in the direction of my camper and parked on the concrete pad.

The weather was perfect for an early spring night. These first few months of the year were hard to figure out weather-wise. Freezing in the morning, hot during the afternoon, and chilly at night. Tonight was a little more on the warm side, which was perfect for strolling around the campground and making sure all the tourists were okay.

I grabbed the flyer of Greaser that Hank had asked me to make copies of from the passenger seat. If I didn’t grab it now, I’d forget or leave it in the car.

I looked down at what appeared to be a fairly normal person, my gut tied knots at the thought of telling my guests to be on the lookout for this guy.

Fifi was dancing at the door when I opened it. She scurried down the few metal steps of the RV and hurried over to the grassy area to do her business. The little white puff ball of fur on the tip of her tail wiggled in delight. She was good about staying around the camper, so I left her outside while I grabbed her leash.

The sight of her leash made her jump up and down with delight. She loved going for walks. She didn’t know that she didn’t need a leash while we were at the campground, but I always used it anyway.

She was a designer poodle with a very fancy pedigree background. Before she came to live with me, she’d been formally trained. She was a show dog and was to continue the family line with the perfect mate.

Leave it to me to ruin that. I’d been babysitting Fifi for Tammy, her former owner. Like I said, she loved running around the campground. I didn’t worry about the filthy mess and matted clumps of mud she had in her pristine white fur, figuring I’d give her a bath before she went home. That I could control. What I couldn’t control was Rosco, the brown and white pug, taking advantage of Fifi and the rest was history. Poor little Fifi had become pregnant with what I coined a pugoodle. You know, a mash up of Pug and Poodle. Well, Tammy didn’t think that was at all amusing, especially since she’d put so much money into Fifi. Tammy said she didn’t want anything to do with Fifi, so she came home with me.

Fifi had her sweet babies and Hank gave one to his mother. And here we were today. Fifi was a confused, previously rich campground dog. One minute she acted all pedigreed and the next minute, not so much.

“Good evening, Mr. Bassett,” I greeted the man who’d driven into the campground earlier today. “I want to apologize for not being able to show you around this afternoon when you got here.”

“It’s no problem.” His lips barely moved underneath his full mustache. “Dottie gave us everything we need. My wife, Barbara, and I have been to many campgrounds in our motor-home. We’ve been traveling around the United States. We were happy to see you really do provide all the hookups. Some campgrounds say that but leave out the part where they charge you an arm and leg to use them.”

“We stand by our word. I can’t believe other campgrounds do that.” My words only encouraged him to tell me more about their cross country adventures.

“Now we are making our way up the east coast to see some family members. I’m a bit of a Civil War buff, so I planned this leg of our journey around the reenactment tomorrow.” He rocked back on the heels of his Timberland boots.

“We are happy to have you.” I put Fifi’s leash under the toe of my shoe. It was hard to unfold the piece of paper Hank had given me and hold the leash at the same time. “I wanted to let you know to be on the lookout for this guy.”

He took the paper from me and adjusted it in the beam of the street light to get a better look. It was in between daylight and dusk, making it hard to see perfectly. It was a beautiful back drop for the Daniel Boone National Park that surrounded Happy Trials.

The burnt oranges and light pinks cast a blue tint on the forest and mountains, giving them a warm glow that filled your spirit and couldn’t help but remind you why people loved it here so much.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about and he’s long gone from Normal by now.” I didn’t like how long it took for Mr. Bassett to study the picture. I couldn’t read his body language and I really wanted to know what he was thinking. “Besides, the last time the dogs picked up Greaser’s scent, he was heading out of town.” I shrugged and said with confidence, “I’m sure he hitched a ride and is long gone.”

“Interesting.” He sucked in a deep breath and handed me the paper back. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

I folded it back up and stuck it in my back pocket in exchange for my ringing phone.

“If you’ll excuse me.” I hit the green answer button when I saw it was Betts calling. “If you need anything,” I said to Mr. Bassett, “my camper is right over there, and you can always call Henry.”

We gave each other one of those goodbye nods as I put the phone to my ear.

“Are you okay? All the girls and I have been worried sick about you and Lester,” I said with a bit of worry in my voice and with eagerness to hear what Betts had to say.

“We are fine. A little shaken, but fine.” Her voice sounded unsteady and not fine, despite what she was telling me and wanting me to believe.

I walked around the lake in case I ran into some more campers. I wanted to tell them about Greaser instead of just posting a few flyers around the campground like Hank wanted me to.

“Lester is a little more upset than me because he’d been praying with Greaser when Greaser took complete advantage of him. The poor guard, she almost broke her hand trying to get her Billy club back from him.” She told me the horrific details while I continued to walk the campground with Fifi trotting alongside of me.

I was happy to hear Betts and Lester were okay and glad to see Henry had gotten the twinkle lights strung from post to post around the lake. The pedal boats were tied to the small dock and ready for the campers to use. The Tiki Hut had red, white, and blue lights and American flags dripping off the roof.

The party was going to be a success and now that Greaser was long gone, I knew we were going to have a good time.

“The guard was a she?” I asked, making sure I had heard right. I had assumed the guard was a man.

“It was Blanche Davis.” Betts acted as if I should know her. “Gosh, sometimes I forget that you’re not from here. Blanche is the daughter of a longtime member of the church. Blanche doesn’t get to church much because she’s always working. She likes to sit in on the sessions we do with the prisoners. She says she feels like she’s in church. Lester tells her that she’s already doing God’s work in the prison by being a good example.”

“Lester finds the good in everyone, doesn’t he?” I didn’t know him all that well. We’d only interacted a few times, but he was well-liked in the community and I had only ever heard great things about him.

“He does. He’s even forgiven Greaser for escaping, but he is beating himself up about it. I told him that it wasn’t his fault Blanche didn’t have her holster on.” That caught my attention.

“She didn’t have her gun?” My jaw dropped.

Fifi began to bark and tug, extending the leash as far as it would go. I reeled her in and unclipped her, letting her run over to the performance stage near the Recreation Center. Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys were setting up. Ethel was Rosco’s mama and he was with her.

Rosco and Fifi kissed and sniffed each other. I was fine with it now that Fifi was spayed and unable to get pregnant. Tammy would have had a fit if she saw Fifi interacting with what she’d call a dog from the wrong side of the tracks.

“Lester said she never wore a gun when they did one on one time with the prisoners because he wanted them to talk freely. When I go in and do one on ones, the guards always have their guns on. I feel safer, but I don’t have to worry about that now.” She let out a big sigh of relief.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The FBI put a stop to anyone coming in and out of the prison until they find Greaser. But like Lester said, Greaser has long left now.” She sounded confident.

“Did he say something to Lester?” I asked.

“Lester didn’t say much to me, but I overheard him telling Hank that Greaser had said, and I quote, ‘Preacher, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m gonna be going a long ways away from here and you tell the cops that.’” Her voice changed, making me think it was how Greaser talked.

“Unbelievable.” I shook my head.

I decided to walk up to the office and run off a couple copies of Greaser’s mugshot and make good on my promise to Hank. If the flyers weren’t up, it’d be the first thing he’d notice when he came to see me.

“What’s unbelievable?” Dottie asked. She was sitting in one of the plastic chairs near the office door, pushed back, teetering on the hind legs of the chair.

“Is that Dottie?” Betts asked.

“It is. I’m at the office.” I pushed the back of the chair down to all fours before I walked into the office. Dottie grumbled under her voice.

“Can you tell her and the rest of the Laundry Club that I’m fine? I got all their texts, but we’ve been in and out and so busy talking to the sheriff’s department and other officials I don’t know that I’ve barely had time to go to the bathroom.” She sounded a little more like herself, which settled my nerves a little.

“I have a breakfast casserole and some of Mary Elizabeth’s cinnamon rolls that Dawn made for you and Lester.” I snuggled the phone between my ear and shoulder while I opened the top of the copier and slipped the piece of paper out of my pocket to make a few copies. “I told her I’d drop them off to you in the morning.”

“I’ve got to go to the Laundry Club to do taxes before the deadline, so do you want to meet me there?” she asked.

“I’d love to. I’m so glad everyone is okay,” I told her before we said our goodbyes.

I stared at Greaser’s mugshot.

“But where are you?” I asked the photo.

I had an eerie feeling in my gut that we had not seen the last of him.

Seven

“So Lester isn’t going to play his role in the reenactment?” Queenie asked, with a snide tone at the other end of the phone call.

I was thankful Lester and Betts were okay, but Queenie wasn’t as forgiving about Lester not being a soldier.

“Who am I going to get that’s responsible enough to use a bayonet?” she questioned me like I knew of someone.

“I’m going to drop the casserole off to her.” I hadn’t thought the text message I’d sent the girls at the Laundry Club this morning would spur a call from Queenie.

“You don’t get it, Mae. This is a big deal. If we don’t do the reenactment exactly the way it was and it is written in the script, we can get some of the state funding taken away. I have to send in a video. It’s not some willy-nilly thrown together little play.” Queenie rambled on about how she’d worked her hiney off to get all this funding and since Lester wasn’t hurt, he should be able to keep his word.

No amount of reasoning with Queenie was going to help. She was stressed out and until this was all over, she wouldn’t be her normal self.

“I’ve got to go. I’ve got to make a few calls to see who can stand in. Don’t you be late!”  The line went silent.

While Fifi went out to do her morning business, I put some kibble in her bowl and freshened up her water. I would be gone a few hours until after the reenactment this afternoon. She wasn’t used to being home so much by herself. I added a few treats to her food dish.

I filled my coffee mug with the freshly brewed pot I’d made and grabbed the plastic bag with clothes Queenie had given me for the reenactment.

I checked my phone one more time to see if Hank had texted me with any updates on Greaser, but he hadn’t.

Fifi danced around the car in anticipation of me putting her in there as I packed all the things I needed to take with us, including the breakfast casserole and the cinnamon rolls.

“You be a good girl. I’ll miss you, ” I said to Fifi as I brought her back into the camper. I surprised myself sometimes with the baby talk I did to her. That was something I never thought I’d ever do. Well, I also never thought I would ever live in a camper, much less own a campground.

The day was shaping up to be pretty nice for a reenactment. The weather between winter and spring was hard to predict in Kentucky. One day it could be raining, and the next day two inches of snow could fall. Today the sun was starting to fade away the morning dew and cast a bright light on our little part of the world.

Downtown Normal was the cutest place. Cozy shops lined both sides of street. The street was one way each side and was divided by a grassy median with a small amphitheater and covered shelter. Several picnic tables scattered around the tall trees.

There was no doubt in my mind that there’d be tourists enjoying their lunch on the picnic tables today.  The community theater would be starting up soon. During warmer weather tourists would flock to Normal since we were located smack-dab in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Parents loved to bring their children here during their spring break. Hikers loved to come and enjoy the spring foliage that would soon be taking place.

I noticed the buds on the trees when I pulled into a spot in front of the Laundry Club. Soon all the shop owners would be working in their side yards.

Each shop was a renovated, cottage home-style building with a fenced side yard. Deter’s Feed-N-Seed used his side yard to make a mini-campsite to display all the cool items he sold just for those hikers and campers who came to town.

The Trails Coffee Shop had little tables set up in their side yard so tourists could sit outside and enjoy their coffee while taking in the breathtaking views of the park.

“Good morning,” I trilled when I used my backside to push open the door of the Laundry Club.

My arms were stacked with the casserole and cinnamon rolls, plus I had my coffee mug in my hand. I knew Betts would have some fresh coffee brewed. Although I probably didn’t have time to have one, since Queenie was such a mess, I did wish Betts would invite me to have a cinnamon roll with her.

“In here!” I followed Betts’s voice and found her in the office. She got out of the office chair and hurried over to grab the food out of my arms. “I have to say that I’m thrilled your foster mom has come to live here.” She licked her lips.

“Yeah. I guess I’m getting used to it too.” It was funny how once you’re a grown up you can see why someone like Mary Elizabeth wanted me to take all those fancy lessons. She only wanted what was best for me and I could see that now. “Plus, she does make a great homemade cinnamon roll that goes great with coffee.”

“Then we must have some.” Betts winked, getting the underlying tone in my voice.

I followed her back out into the laundromat and over to the coffee station where she set down the casserole and cinnamon rolls.

“I’ve already got my coffee,” I said and held up the mug I’d brought from home.

The Laundry Club was empty this morning. Betts had the morning news on the TV and the ticker on the bottom of the screen was a scrolling news alert about Greaser’s escape.

“I guess they still haven’t found him.” I gestured up to the TV when Betts came over with her cup of coffee and two small plates with a cinnamon roll on each.

“Lester thinks that Hank is right about Greaser getting out of town.” She shook her head. “We just can’t believe it. I should’ve known when he asked to see Lester that something was up.” She adjusted herself on the couch, pulling her leg up underneath her. “Prisoners never ask to see us. But you know Lester.” She pulled the mug up to her lips and took a sip. She continued, “Trying to save the world.”

“He’s a good one,” I said.

Gosh, I sure hoped she was right about Greaser.

“I can’t believe they can’t find him.” She took a bit of the cinnamon roll and a gurgle of happiness came from her throat as she mmhmm’d. “There’s only one way into Normal and one way out.” She was referring to the curvy country road that led to our little town.

“Hank said the dogs stopped tracking Greaser’s scent at the road, which makes me think he was picked up by someone.” I didn’t want to put too much thought into it because I was afraid that I’d tell her what I really thought, that he was hiding in the woods somewhere.

“You’d think if they stopped every truck and car going out of Normal, like he said they were, they’d found him by now.” She was right. “Do you think someone helped him?”

“I don’t know.” My thoughts exactly. “Let’s just be happy that you and Lester are safe and leave all the hunting down to Hank.” I took a bite of the cinnamon roll.

While Betts and I finished eating our cinnamon rolls, we continued to watch the news. Both of us cheered when they interviewed Queenie about the reenactment. She was standing at the entrance of one of the trails where Colonel Theophilus T. Garrard had led his troops to the battlefield site.

She told the history of the battle and why they decided to have the reenactment at this time of the year instead of on the October date of the actual battle.

“I had no idea they started to get ready for the battle so many months before.” Betts shrugged and got up to get another cinnamon roll.

“I was looking over the maps Queenie laid out on the conference tables at the library yesterday and I said that I can’t believe as a kid who went to school in Kentucky that I never learned about these battles.” I scooted to the edge of my seat. “Speaking of the reenactment.” I took the last sip of my coffee. “Do you need a ride? I’m heading over there now.”

“I’m not going to be able to go. When Queenie first said they were going to do it this month, I knew it would be hard with taxes due. Plus, Lester is having a hard time getting the taxes done for the church, so I’m going to have to try and help out over there.” A long, exhausted sigh escaped her. “Besides, I’m still a little shaky from Lester’s ordeal.” She held out her hand. It was a tad bit trembly. “I know I wasn’t in there, but I could be a widow right now if Greaser . . .” Her voice cracked and trailed off.

“Don’t think like that.” I stood up and put my arm around her. “Everyone is fine. Greaser has left town and the reenactment is going to happen. Why don’t you get as much of the paperwork for the Laundry Club done as you can and come watch a little of the battle.” I squeezed her shoulder before I removed my arm. “I bet you didn’t know that I’m pretty good with numbers, so why don’t you let me take a look at the church’s taxes tomorrow.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that. I mean, you already helped me out so much with the cleaning jobs and . . .” she stopped talking when Hank began his news conference update.

There wasn’t much news to report. There was no change. The police were in place, and the FBI was setting up more checkpoints and had their people positioned around Normal. He assured everyone the reenactment was a go and that officers would be on duty there. He looked so handsome. His green eyes flickered as the camera swept across his face, the sun hitting him perfectly. It was a darn shame how men didn’t have to use makeup or a filter to get a great photo with perfect lighting.

“You know.” Betts clasped her hands together. “I will take you up on that offer. I’m going to get some paperwork done and I’ll be at the reenactment. I bet I can even get Lester do his soldier duty.” She rose up on her toes, clicked her heels, and saluted me, which had both of us laughing. “We have to move on. Greaser is gone and he didn’t hurt us.”

“That’s the Betts I know and love.” A huge smile crossed my face. It was a big relief to see my friend coming back to life. “You tell Lester that I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning.”

“You’re such a gem. I have no idea what Normal would’ve ever done without you.” Betts gave me another hug.

“Hey, you two!” The bell over the door of the Laundry Club dinged, signaling Abby’s arrival. She was carrying some rolled up papers under her arm. “I saw you in here and thought you were probably getting ready to go to the reenactment.”

“I am. Betts will meet us there. And you are just in time for a cinnamon roll.” I walked over to the coffee station and put a cinnamon roll on a napkin. “Here you go.” I exchanged the pastry for the rolled up documents in Abby’s arms. “Do we need to get these to Queenie ASAP?” I asked when I noticed they were maps.

“No. Hank.” She took a bit of the yummy goodness, the cream cheese icing dripping down onto her bottom lip. She licked it off.

“Hank?” I asked.

“Yeah.” She did the gimme gesture and took one of the maps from me. “This is a map of the part of the Daniel Boone National Park where they last tracked Greaser.” She looked over at Betts with big eyes. “Sorry. I should be more sensitive.”

“I’m fine.” She waved off Abby’s thoughts. “We are all concerned about it. It just happened to be Lester who was used as a pawn for him to escape.”

“Pawn?” Abby asked, a concerned look in her eyes.

“I really think he asked for Lester on purpose to come to help in his escape. It’s not a big secret that Lester doesn’t like armed guards in with him when he witnesses to the prisoners. It was the perfect storm for what Greaser was planning.” She made a lot of sense that I’d not thought of.

“Hank wanted to get the original maps of the park from the library since they allow the prisoners to come to the library and use our resources.” Abby threw that out there like it was a topic of everyday conversation.

“Really? Like how Jeffery Damore escaped from the library in Aspen.” It was a known fact how he, a serial killer, had jumped from the third floor window of the Aspen, Colorado. library and lived in the mountains until they finally found him. “I wonder if Greaser had thought of that?”

“Not sure, but I do think he looked at these maps and got a sense of where he needed to head so he could get out of town fast.” She uncurled the map on the puzzle table and used the box of the unfinished puzzle to hold down the edges. “Here is the prison.” Abby put her finger on the map.

It wasn’t a map with cute streets, houses, and trees. It was a map that I didn’t understand, a topographic map. There were dark areas and light areas that looked like pencil markings, but clearly they meant something because Abby could read it.

“Here is Happy Trails.” She pointed to a light area with little dark offshoots. “These are the trails leading away from the campground into the National Park. Over here is where they lost Greaser’s scent.” She jabbed the paper. “By the Milkery. He would have never been able to get over there that quickly if he hadn’t known the land.”

“That’s crazy.” I shook my head. “Do you keep records of who looks at these maps?”

“Not really. I’m mean,” her face reddened and her voice softened. “We should. But this is Normal, not some big city.”

“But we are next to a prison.” Betts said, surprising us with her little jab. “I’m sorry.” She could probably tell by the looks on our faces that she caught us off guard. “If it didn’t happen to Lester, I probably would’ve said the same thing, but it did happen to Lester.”

“That’s usually the way it goes.” Abby reached across the table and patted Betts’s hand. “We don’t care about things that we should care about until they happen to us. Like the maps. From now on, I’m going to make sure that everyone who pulls them from the archives signs a log.”

“Thank you.” Betts and Abby exchanged soft smiles.

My phone chirped with a text, interrupting the tender moment between friends.

“It’s Queenie. She wants to know where we are and there’s several exclamation points and a devil emoji.” I turned the phone around to show them. “We’ve got to go before one of Hank’s men has to detain her.”

“She’s over the top this year.” Abby gave Betts a quick hug and then I did the same.

“We will see you there.” I waved her off and held the front door for Abby, gesturing to where I parked the car.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Betts, but don’t you think it’s weird they haven’t found Greaser at one of the checkpoints?” Abby asked the question that’d been swirling around in my head.

“More than weird. I mean, he could be hiding in the trunk of car, but I think one of the police dogs would’ve sniffed him out.” I shrugged.

“Or someone didn’t leave with him and he’s somewhere in Normal.” Abby glanced over at me. She gnawed on her cheek, her eyes dull with fear.

Eight

I had never been to a reenactment before and was excited to see all the spectators when I pulled up and parked in the parking lot next to the battlefield.

Normally the grassy field was filled with small tents for serious campers who only needed the basics to hike the Daniel Boone National Park. But today it was like I’d stepped back in time, to 1861 in fact. There were teepee type dingy white tents, horses, and people walking around in period clothing that I’d only ever seen in the bags Queenie had handed out yesterday at the library.

Old kettle pots were boiling above tented wood and open flames. There were dogs running around with no leashes, but you could see they were sticking close to their owners. Some soldiers with bayonets were hanging around an old barrel that was really a newly made beer cooler. They were drinking and having a good laugh. I recognized Darnell and Burt as two of the men.

“There you are.” Queenie jerked my arm, nearly making me drop my horse caretaker uniform. “I’m about to kill them.” She nodded towards the drinking group. “They think this is all a joke. I swear. I should’ve never given them the roles they wanted. I ought to kick myself in my behind for letting them.”

“I think it’s all in good fun. You need to relax. They showed up.” My hand swept in front of us to show her how her hard work had come to life.  “Look at this place. You’ve done a great job. It’s time for you to enjoy and relax. Let everyone do their job.”

“I’ll relax once I get this uniform on that Bass boy.” She shook the bag and held a bayonet.

“Who?” I asked, though I knew I wouldn’t know who she was talking about.

“You know. The Bass boy.” She tapped her head. “My head is all jumbled. I can’t remember his name, but it’s Ronald Bass’s boy. He’s on the Rifle and Archery Club at the high school.”

“Is his dad the Principal?” I asked.

“Yes. I said Ronald Bass’s boy,” Queenie spat like I knew him or something. She jumped around. “That’s him over there. You go get your outfit on, right now.”

She scurried off to the thin boy about fifteen feet away, his back to me. I stood there as she jerked off his baseball cap and tucked it in the fanny pack under her Jazzercise sweatshirt, replacing it with a soldier’s cap.

The poor guy reluctantly took the items before Queenie shoved him off to take his post.

“Kids.” Queenie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms after she came back over. “I swear they don’t have brain cells.”

“I thought you were picky about who handled the bayonets.” I called her out on the firm stance she had taken earlier in the week.

“I’m in a pickle and since he’s the captain of the Rifle and Archery Club and available, I figured he was the best option I had.” She jerked her head toward the men around the barrel who were now toasting each other with their beer cans. “I swear, they think they can just live it up because Greaser is out of town, but they’ve got another thing coming to them.” She darted off towards them.

I grabbed a fist full of Jazzercise sweatshirt and tugged her back.

“Wait. They’ve been drinking and you don’t want them to get mad at you, even though you’re right.” I knew I had to make it seem like it was her idea to send me over to calm them down. “So, I think you know I should probably go over and say something.”

“I was just going to ask you to do that.” She circled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “You go tell them to behave and that we are starting in twenty minutes, so they need to take their positions.”

I nodded and started to walk away to let them know to keep it down.

“And change your clothes!” She screamed at my back.

I held up the bag and waved it in the air without turning around to look at her.

Cars were pulling in, and some of the tourists and local folks had already claimed spots near the edges of the battlefield. A few people had set up some chairs and were already enjoying the early afternoon sunshine.

The weather was going to be perfect, just like Queenie had wanted and one of the reasons she’d moved the reenactment from fall to early spring, although she was telling the crowd it was due to the first meeting Colonel Theophilus T. Garrard had had about the Battle at Camp Wildcat .

In any case, the crowd was starting to gather around and they were ready for the reenactment, with not a bit of worry about Greaser being on the run.

“Hey, guys.” I moseyed up to the group of men. “We’re about to start, so can you please take your places so Queenie doesn’t start a real battle.”

“Sounds good, Mae.” Darnell said. “You know, you’re right about Greaser probably being out of town. Now I can rest easy.” He used the back of his hand to knock the guy next to him in the chest. “This is Burt Buggy. He was on the jury too.”

“Me and my wife, Louise.” He pointed over to one of the kettles boiling over an open flame. “She’s a nurse in the reenactment. We almost didn’t come in fear of Greaser, but we got us some police escorts.”

The dressed officers were standing on the edge of the battle line, right in front of the crowd.

“I’m sure it’s all good.” I pinched a smile and was happy to see some of them had started to walk away from the beer barrel.

“She should know. She dates Hank Sharp.” Darnell gave a good hard nod. “We are going to live it up at her campground tonight!”

“Cheers!” The two men clanked together their beer cans before chugging down what was left and following that with long belches that made my nose and lip curl in disgust.

The bugler stood in the middle of the makeshift battlefield and gave a revelry bugle call, which was our signal to take our places. My stomach grumbled when I walked past spectators with bags of freshly popped kettle corn from one of the vendor booths. The cinnamon roll was great, but not keeping me full, making me look forward to the after party at the campground.

“You better get that apron on before Queenie high-tails it over here.” Julip Knox stood near the makeshift horses stable where I was going to “tend” to the soldiers’ horses, only there weren’t any horses there.

“Hey, there,” I greeted her with a smile, happy to see that I wouldn’t be standing alone for the thirty minutes it took to do the actual reenactment. “I’m glad to see you.” I reached into my bag and pulled out the apron she was talking about. “I had to wait to the last minute to put it on.” I held it up to my nose and cringed when I got big whiff of the musty smelling cloth.

“They could do a better job cleaning them.” Julip laughed. “I’m lucky that I get to wear some of the authentic nurse things I collected at the thrift shop.”

“Yeah.” I doubled the apron string around my waist and knotted it. “I bet you get the pick of the litter when things come in.”

“I do. I’m just glad that Mr. Deters lets me have that as a perk.” She shrugged.

“Where on earth did Queenie get all of these props?” I looked around at the cannons, the bourbon barrels, and multiple white tents.

“The high school has a great theater department and they let her use what they have. They store them in the basement of the school.” Julip pointed to the makeshift horse stall behind us. “Your stall is new this year. The drama teacher said they’d make one and then come up with a new play to use it in.”

I was going to comment but then a boom of a cannon exploded into the air, giving me a jolt.

“Here we go.” Julip vigorously rubbed her hands together with excitement.

I turned around to watch as the six cannons on our side of the battlefield went off one by one, obviously not with real ammunition. There were ten men on horses with swords in their hands and a line of men and a couple of little boys marching behind another man carrying the Union flag. Each of them had some sort of gun, even the young ones, which looked odd, but back then they were considered old enough to fight.

The cannon fire exploded from the other side and a plume of smoke hovered over each cannon long after the boom. A couple of men from our side of the battlefield fell as though they had been struck. I watched as Julip ran into action, rushing over to an injured soldier’s side, cradling his head in her lap, and pretending to cry. She was really playing the part as the horses and men with swords danced around her as the other side’s men on horses charged.

Julip didn’t even look up as the sword fight went on around her. She simply took items from her knapsack and tended to the man’s wounds. She finally gave up, laying his head gently on the ground and leaving his lifeless body.

“So now what for him?” I asked about the man just lying there.

“Someone will come cart him off.” Just as she said that, a man came out of nowhere, hoisted the lifeless soldier up by this armpits and dragged him off the battlefield.

I was happy to see a man on a horse trotting over. The man leapt from the horse and handed me the reins. I did what Queenie had written down in my notebook to do. I took the horse’s reins and gave him a carrot from my apron.

There was a steady stream of men and their horses for the entire thirty minutes. The reenactment was planned down to the second. Julip did her job, running to the injured soldiers, and she did the exact same thing every time. I was starting to see the pattern of the Battle at Camp Wildcat. After the first round of cannons from both sides went off, they did it again, giving each side time to have men die. Then the men with the swords charged each other in the middle, knocking out more men.

“Charge!” A group from the other side came flooding over to our side. Some had swords while others had guns. Right away, I noticed Lester Hager was one of the men. I was glad to see that he had shown up. I bet Queenie was pleased too.

Bodies were dropping left and right. Julip was picking up her game. She was beginning to linger a little longer with each injured soldier while I had nothing to do because most of the horses had already been taken off the field because their men had gotten killed or injured.

“Surrender!” shouted many voices from my group of soldiers. Some of them were “shot” or “stabbed” while others ran off into the woods. The way it was playing out seemed very real and I could picture how it’d happened back in the day.

“I said surrender!” I heard Darnell scream before he fell to the ground in what could’ve been considered an Oscar-worthy performance. His arms flailed, his legs shook to keep him from falling down, and his fake blood pack squirted all over the place, finally sending him to the ground in a pile of body parts.

“Wow,” I gasped, giving him a slow nod for his amazing performance and watched as Julip threw her hands up in the air as the soldier who pretended to kill Darnell jabbed the bayonet at her.

She giggled and put her hands down when the soldier ran away towards the battle.

The crowd must’ve enjoyed the reenactment as well because they cheered with delight. The more the crowd cheered, the more aggressive the other side’s soldiers charged my poor soldiers with gunfire, sword fighting, and regular fist fighting before they finally took what was left of my side as prisoners of war. Even poor Julip.

I was supposed to surrender too, but I quickly took the clothes off that were on top of my regular clothes and hurried to the sidelines with the onlookers to grab me some of that kettle corn before it was gone.

After the smoke cleared and the pretend prisoners of war had been taken into custody, the bugler gave the final toot. He played Auld Lang Syne as the winning side, which was the north, held up their beaten up flag. The crowd roared with hollers and claps.

Queenie took her spot in front of the crowd and held a microphone. The crowd erupted into another round of applause for her. She beamed with pride. No one dare leave their posts.

The dead were lined up along the tree line. The horses were tied up to trees, and the prisoners of war, including Julip, had their hands up in the air with a soldier behind each of them. It was actually kinda cool and I really enjoyed it.

Too bad Hank couldn’t’ve been there. Though I’m sure he’d seen plenty before.

“Mae, we got us a problem.” Dottie ran up to me, out of breath. “Someone stole the Bassetts’ motorhome.”

“What?” A few kernels of kettle corn dropped from my mouth.

“Gone,” her lips opened wide as she slowly articulated the word. “Stolen.”

Nine

“Do they know?” I asked Dottie as we stood in the empty camper lot where Frank and Barbara Bassett had parked their big motorhome.

“Yes. How do you think I know?” The lines between her eyes were deeply creased. “They came back from the reenactment and their motorhome was gone.”

Gravel spitting up under tires grabbed my attention. I turned and looked over my right shoulder, lifting my hand and shielding the sun from my eyes to see it was Hank’s big black car.

He got out and looked between me and Dottie, peeling his sunglasses off his face. There was a deep set worry in his green eyes that told me something wasn’t right.

“What?” I asked.

“Are the Bassetts in the office?” he asked Dottie directly.

“They are and they are a mess.” She shook her head, pinching her lips together. “I’ve never had this happen. Ever.”

“First time for everything. This is why we keep good insurance.” I made a side note to try to see a little more of the sunny side of a situation that looked all too bleak.

“Mae, this is very serious,” Hank told me like I wasn’t taking it that way. I was, but I also had a tendency to try to see the glass half full. If I’d not done that all my life, I’d be stuck somewhere other than here.

“Sorry,” I said instead of going head to head with him. “What can I do?”

“I’ll need to see the video footage of your security cameras.” His words stuck me like one of the swords the reenactment soldiers were using. “You did get those up and running, didn’t you?”

He must’ve seen the look on my face.

I licked my lips and gnawed on the edge of the bottom one.

“Mae,” he signed and ran his hand over his hair. “That was one of the first things that needed to be fixed when you started fixing things up.”

“It’s one of the things you told me to get to fixed after Paul floated up to the top of the lake.” My eyes gazed over at the pier where my dead ex had appeared after his prison break. “It wasn’t a priority with me.”

“Then how do you figure I find who stole the motorhome?” He asked in a sarcastic way.

“I don’t know.” I shot back. “Maybe some good old-fashioned detective work like they did before there was all this technology to do it for you.”

His eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched. His chest lifted.

“I’m sorry.” I hurried after him after he started to walk back to his car. “I didn’t like how you scolded me.”

He held up his hand for me to stop, his back to me.

“Hank, we are all on edge here. No one wanted their motorhome to be stolen. We’ll find it.”

“You’re always optimistic.” He turned around. His expression was serious. “Life isn’t always. . .” His hands gestured in the air as he searched for the right word.

“Unicorns and rainbows?” I suggested.

“What?” He blinked a couple of times. “Fluffy. I was going to say fluffy.”

“I prefer unicorns and rainbows,” I joked, with no response from him. “Fine.” I shuffled the toe of my shoe on the gravel. “What can I do to help?”

“For starters,” He pointed to the front of the campground, “I can’t have anyone coming in or out of here until we check all the gravel marks for footprints, tires, and any debris.”

“That’s impossible.” Was he crazy? “I’m about to host the big reenactment after party.”

“You’re not now. This is an official investigation.” He grabbed his phone out of the inside of this jacket pocket. When he did, a folded up piece of paper fell out.

I picked it up and noticed it was a map. I opened it and looked at it while he called in for more backup, making it very clear this was going to be a long afternoon and would probably go into the night.

The map was of some of the Daniel Boone National Park trails that surrounded the campground.  There were lines drawn with red ink that led straight to Happy Trails.

“What is this?” I asked when he got off the phone.

“Follow me.” He grabbed some police tape from the trunk of his car and walked along the road going towards the front of the campground. “As you can see it’s a map of some of the hiking trails that dump into the campground. We’ve not found Greaser at any of the checkpoints, which makes us believe he’s still here.”

“But I thought you said someone probably picked him up.” My mind started to get all jumbled up as my heart sped up.

“Probably isn’t a for sure. We have to look at all angles. Those red lines are trails he could’ve taken from the prison to here.” He fisted his hand, leaving his thumb out, jabbing it over his shoulder. “And stealing a motorhome would be something right up his alley to get out of town.”

“You don’t. . .” My jaw dropped. “Greaser stole. . .” My voice trailed off again while my mind tried to catch up to my mouth. “You think Greaser stole the motorhome?” I gulped.

“It’s a possibility.” Hank put his hand out in front of him as a car was driving up, having them stop. “Here.” He peeled the edge of the police tape from the roll and handed it to me. “You walk that way and circle it around the storage units. I’m going to circle it around the office until my men get out here to do it properly. I’ve got to stop the traffic.”

I did what he said without even thinking about how I could get around this or where we were going to have the after party. It was already set up and we’d worked so hard on it.

By the time I’d gotten around the storage buildings, a line of cars had been stopped at campground’s entrance. Hank was walking car to car, letting them know the party was cancelled.

“What is going on here?” Queenie was running alongside the cars, waving her Jazzercise headband in the air. Her face was as red as her hair. “Someone better explain something to me fast!” she screamed.

Everyone was starting to get out of their cars. There was a domino effect of car doors slamming as people started to get out.

Dottie was in the office with the Frank and Barbara. And it was exactly where I wanted to be, especially once I heard Queenie calling my name.

“Mae West! Mae! You better have me another place!” she hollered as she tried to dance around Hank.

He had his hands out to his sides trying to reason with her. Her nose was curled and her lips going a mile a minute, no doubt giving him a good tongue lashing.

“What’s going on?” Abby Fawn had walked up to the police line where I was tying it off.

“A motorhome was stolen. Hank thinks Greaser stole it.” The reality hit me as the words came out of my mouth. The thought of him being in my campground sent goosebumps all over me. “Now we can’t have the party here and Queenie is going to kill me.”

“Easy.” Abby pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hashtag reenactment party moved to hashtag town median.”

“Genius!” I grabbed her by the arms. “You keep doing all that social media and see if the radio station will pick it up. I’ll get everything in my RV and get it down there.”

“Is Hank going to let you out?” she shrugged.

“No.” My heart sank when I remembered he said no one driving in or out. “But you have a car right there. And they all have cars.” My finger drew down the line of cars. “There’s at least fifteen. Everybody can take something. We just have to get Hank to agree.”

Abby stood there and did all the social media and called the radio station while I walked over to Queenie and Hank, where I pitched Abby’s idea about moving the party to the median downtown.

“It’s perfect. The twinkle lights are still up from Christmas. It’s a gorgeous afternoon. The food is all ready to go and everyone can take a tray or two with them. The band can set up in the amphitheater.” I rocked on the heels of my shoes and clasped my hands in front of me. “It’s a better option than no party.”

“What if people don’t use social media and show up here?” Queenie was full of piss and vinegar.

“I can position one of my men at the entrance of the campground to divert them back to town. It’s only a few minutes’ drive.” Hank was on board. “It’s your only option, Queenie.”

“Fine. But you owe me.” She jabbed her long, bony finger into my chest before she twirled around and hurried back to her car in a huff.

Hank and I made several trips from the recreation center kitchen, where the food had been dropped off by area businesses, to the cars. Everyone was more than happy to do what needed to be done to get the food to the median downtown.

The police officers and sheriff’s department had shown up while we were transferring the food. Hank quickly gave all of them the lowdown while I helped everyone back up and head to town.

Hank and I went into the office where Dottie was sitting with Frank and Barbara, who were rightfully so very upset.

“Mr. and Mrs.  Bassett, I’m Detective Hank Sharp, and I’ll be working on getting your motorhome back safe and sound.” Hank shook both of their hands.

“I don’t want it back if a serial killer has stolen it.” Barbara eased up on the edge of the chair and nudged her husband. “Isn’t that right, Frank?”

“I just want my stuff out of it.” The bags under Frank’s eyes were dark. “I’m sure you have insurance, right?” Frank looked at me.

“We do. I’ll call him right now.” I headed over to my desk and thumbed through the old paper wheel address book looking for the phone number of Ken Heidelman, owner of Heidelman Insurance Agency.

Hank had pulled up a chair next to Frank and continued to ask them questions.

“Have you seen anyone unusual hanging around your motorhome?” he asked them.

“Unusual?” Barbara  laughed. “Most of the people we find in these campgrounds are sort of unusual, if you know what I mean.” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and looked at Dottie from underneath her brows.

“What does that mean?” Dottie spoke up quickly, not letting anything get by her.

“I’m just saying that. . .” Frank put his hand on his wife’s knee to stop her.

“My wife isn’t a fan of the RV life. I had to buy the big motorhome in order for her to feel like it’s a home.” His hand gesture didn’t work for long. Barbara smacked it away.

“Don’t silence me, Frank. I told you not to leave the keys in the console,” she warned with a sharp tongue.

Who on earth leaves their keys where they are visible, I wondered? Then I questioned whether or not I could use that bit of information with the insurance company.

“He is having some sort of later in life crisis, because we aren’t young. And he wants to travel all over the states and do these silly little reenactments. If you seen one, you’ve seen them all.” The sarcasm in her tone brought me out of my thoughts.

“Barbara , dear.” Frank once again tried to silence her.

“He’s right. I didn’t want to leave the comfort of my home, so he had the motorhome turned into a replica of our family room, including my electronics where I play computer games and keep up with my friends on social media.” She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a long, deep sigh. “I told you this sort of thing happens at these sort of places.”

“What sort of places?” Dottie was getting hot under the collar.

“Mae,” Hank said my name with a head tilt towards the door. His way of telling me to get Dottie out of the building.

Ken hadn’t answered the couple of times I’d dialed him, so I hung up the phone and gestured for Dottie to follow me while I grabbed Fifi from her dog bed.

“What? Mae, you heard her.” Dottie wasn’t budging. I walked over to her desk, giving her a stern look. “Fine, but that woman talks enough for four sets of teeth,” she spat and jumped up from her chair, grabbing her cigarette holder pouch.

She didn’t bother trying to be nice on the way out, slamming the door behind us.

“You can’t tell me that you’re happy with what she said in there.” Dottie snapped open the top of the pouch and took out a cigarette. She stuck the stick in the corner of her lip as she fumbled to get her lighter out of the little pocket of her cigarette pouch.

I put Fifi on the ground to let her do her business while Dottie and I discussed the stolen RV situation.

“Dottie, we are a business and we have to just ignore people like that.” There was no movement on her face that let me know she was understanding what I was saying. She was too focused on getting the lighter to work, taking her three tries. “They have no idea how amazing living in a campground really is. Look at me. I had no clue either. Remember?”

Dottie shifted her weight to one side. One arm hugged her lower belly while the other arm held up the cigarette as she continued to smoke like a choo-choo train. She glared at me through the smoke.

“Seriously?” I fanned the smoke out of my face. “You’ve got to stop smoking. It’s not only killing you, but it’s killing me.”

The door of the office opened, and Hank stuck his head out.

“The office phone was ringing. I answered it and it’s Ken Heidelman.” He nodded for me to come back in.

Dottie threw the cigarette on the ground and started to snuff it out with the toe of her shoe.

“Not you, Dottie.” He put his hand out. “Just Mae.”

“You made me waste a good cigarette.” She bent down and grabbed it, trying to salvage what was left of it.

I shook my head as I walked into the door. I turned around and said to her, “Do you mind taking Fifi back to my camper?”

“Nope.” She looked past me and glared at Hank. “I need some good refreshing air.”

We ignored her snide comment and walked inside the office.

“Do you have the make and model of the motorhome?” I asked Hank when I saw that Barbara Bassett was being consoled by her husband.

“I do.” He flipped through his little notebook on my way over to the desk where the receiver of the phone was lying on its side.

“Hello, Ken,” I greeted him on the other end of the line.

“I see from my caller ID you called several times,” Ken said.

“Yes. I’ve got a claim to make on a stolen motorhome. It’s currently in the hands of the sheriff’s department, but I wanted to know what the steps were to get a claim started.” I knew he was going to need a police report and more, I just wasn’t sure what the more was.

I knew for sure I would get dinged big time for not having security cameras. I grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and wrote down the things he was telling me.

“I need your vehicle identification number as well as your motorhome insurance company name and policy number. Do you have a list of items in your motorhome?” I asked Frank.

“In the motorhome.” Barbara snarled. “But it got stolen and if you had cameras that were working, then we could see that serial killer stealing it.”

“Dear.” Frank patted her again. She jerked away.

“Do you know offhand what type of coverage you have?” I asked Frank directly. He looked confused. “Comprehensive? Personal contents coverage? Sound system coverage? Emergency travel?”  I listed some out for him as he shrugged. “You know what, your insurance agent will know.”

I quickly wrote down Happy Trails’ email address and fax machine number so he could give those to his insurance agent and slid the paper across my desk.

“Thank you. I’ll let them know.” I hung up the phone. “Ken said not to worry. It’ll all be replaced and he’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Barbara  jumped up. “I’m not staying here another minute. Either he comes today or we sue you!”

“That’s not going to help anyone. There is a protocol for these things and we have to proceed step by step” Hank spoke up, trying to get Barbara to settle down. “We have a very nice bed and breakfast just outside of town that I’m sure Mae doesn’t mind paying for. You’ll be very happy there.”

“That sounds good.” Frank nodded and continued to try and pat his wife, who jerked every time his hand even got close until she finally smacked him away. “I know this isn’t what we’d planned. I’m sure it’s not what Mae planned,” he was trying to assure his wife. “Things happen. When you agreed to get a motorhome, we knew this was a possibility.” He continued to talk to her because she’d settled down and seemed to be listening to him through her fake sniffles, “As long as you are safe, I’m happy. We will go to the reenactment party and let Mae get us some things we will need while we stay here. She can get everything to the bed and breakfast while we enjoy the rest of the day.”

That wasn’t what I was thinking at all, but apparently Frank had decided what I was going to do after they left. I took my own advice that I gave Dottie and sat there with a smile on my face, agreeing to whatever Frank had to say to keep Barbara calm.

“Sound good?” he asked as she let him rub her back.

She sniffled, blinking her eyes as her chin lifted up and down several times with puckered lips like a baby about to cry.

“Perfect.” Hank looked over at me with relief on his face. “I’m going to go down to the reenactment party to talk to a few of the campground guests to see if they might’ve seen something out of the ordinary today. Why don’t you follow me down there?”

After I made sure I had Frank’s cell phone to get in touch with him, Hank, along with Frank and Barbara, were on their way.

“Well?” Dottie popped her head back into the office door. “Am I allowed back in my own office?”

“Yes. But I’m afraid we are going to be in a bit of a pickle.” I looked down at the notes I’d taken during my quick phone conversation with Ken. “Since I didn’t get the cameras fixed, this is going to cost me a lot of money and I’m worried the campground is going to be in trouble.”

“What do you mean?” The look in Dottie’s eyes wasn’t one I had seen since I originally moved to Happy Trails and planned to sell the place, leaving her without a job.

“Ken said that the claim on the Bassett’s motorhome would nearly triple the premium for our policy and I don’t have that kind of cash in the campground checking account.” I clicked away on the keyboard of the computer to bring up the bank account. “It looks like I’ll have to close the campground, claim bankruptcy, and sell it.”

I tried to look at Dottie past the tears filling my eyes.

“That settles it.” Dottie grabbed my keys off the desk. She tossed them, sending my flamingo keychain towards me. “We’ve got to find the motorhome before they can make a claim.”

My brain was having a hard time registering what she was saying.

“Get off your hump. We’ve got a serial killer to track down,” she scurried out the door. “After we make an appearance at the reenactment after party.”

It was official. Dottie Swaggert had lost her mind and I liked it.

Ten

Dottie rambled on the entire way over to the reenactment party about all the different places we could look for the motorhome. She was right about one thing: the motorhome wasn’t going to get out of Normal because the police checkpoints were still up. That also meant that Greaser was still in town, which didn’t make me feel any better.

“What’s the plan?” Dottie asked from the passenger seat of my car with a glint of wonder in her eye.

“I’m not sure if I have a plan. You’re the one who came up with the grand idea of tracking down Greaser.” I pulled into a spot near the Laundry Club and parked.

“I came up with the idea, so now you need to come up with the plan. Geesh, Mae, I can’t do everything.” She opened her door and got out, leaving me no room to protest her silly comment. “I’ll think on it while we grab some food.”

It was enough of a plan for her to head on over and talk to people still dressed in their reenactment outfits while she fed her face.

“Just the person I wanted to see,” I greeted Dawn Gentry when I saw her walking up. “Where’s Mary Elizabeth?”

“She’s back at the Milkery getting some of the garden items labeled.” Dawn had a corn dog in one hand and a chocolate-dipped banana on a stick in the other. “You have to try one of these.” She held the banana out. “We sell these at the Milkery now. Organic and so fresh.”

“I think I want one for the chocolate.” I laughed and quickly stopped when I noticed Queenie marching over with a scowl on her face. “Oh, gosh.” I grabbed the chocolaty treat from Dawn and chowed down on it.

“Mae,” Dawn squealed.

“Mae West, where is your outfit?” Queenie huffed and puffed up like a proud rooster. “This is turning out to be a disaster.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked through a mouthful of mushed up banana. “Everyone is enjoying themselves.” I gestured with the empty stick the treat used to be on.

“Not this.” She stomped.

That’s when I noticed Dawn moseying away. Traitor, I thought.

“Some of the actors aren’t here and I can’t give my thank you speech without them. I swear if they are drunk, I’ll. . .I’ll. . .” she stuttered, “I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Listen, would you feel better if I drove back out there and got them?” It was a good time to not only drive around to see if I could find the stolen motorhome, but also to help out Queenie by bringing the probably drunk actors back to the after party, making her a little happier.

“You’d do that for me?” she cried out with a look of gratitude on her face.

“Of course I would.” I rubbed my hand up and down her arm for comfort. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Maybe a jiffy was stretching it because I did plan on taking my time to look for the motorhome along the way.

“Thank you, Mae,” she sighed with relief.

“Thank you for what?” Abby walked up just in time to hear the tail end of my conversation with Queenie.

“Just in time for you to take a ride with me to the battlefield.” I tucked my arm in Abby’s elbow and guided her out of the median, across the street, and down the sidewalk towards the Laundry Club where I’d parked my car.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

On our way down the sidewalk, I told her about the motorhome getting stolen and how I had to get Frank and Barbara set up at the Milkery.

“I need a favor.” I started up the car when we got in. “Do you know Julip Knox’s phone number?”

“I do.” Exactly what I wanted to hear from Abby.

“I need to talk to her about possible places someone would hide something in the national park. Something like a motorhome.” I couldn’t help but think Julip might be of some help on where Greaser might be hiding a huge motorhome. “There can’t be too many places to hide such a big vehicle.”

It only made sense. Even if Greaser wasn’t the one who stole it, somebody did and they had to be hiding it somewhere.

I headed back out of town, toward the battlefield, while Abby was on the phone with Julip.

“I’m not sure, but I can grab some maps I have at home and take a look,” Julip said through the speaker of Abby’s phone.

“Do you know of any hiding places off the top of your head?” I asked, hoping we could just drive by some on the way to the battlefield.

“Well, there’s the Kissing Point, but kids go there to party. Their parents don’t know about it, but I do because I know this place like the back of my hand.” That gave me at least one place to check out.

“The Kissing Point?” I questioned. It sounded like a place I would have liked when I was a teenager.

“I haven’t been there in a long time.” Abby smiled. “Good times. I know exactly where it’s at.”

“Thank you, Julip. Please let me know of any other places,” I said before she and Abby hung up. “We can go there after we pick up the drunk soldiers.” I turned the car into the entrance of the battleground field.

Across the bluegrass field that was the makeshift parking lot, I could see the barrel where the men had gathered earlier in the day, using it as a table for the beer cans.

“I don’t see them.” I drove the car up as close as I could to the battlefield. There were some props still there and if I knew Queenie, I’m sure she had someone scheduled to come pick it all up.

“What’s over there by the trail?” Abby looked up from her phone and pointed.

“Gosh,” I groaned when I saw that it was soldiers in their uniforms. “I bet they are passed out drunk. When they pretended they were dead and dragged off the battlefield, they took advantage of the sleeping time.” I sighed and put the car in park. “Queenie is going to be so mad.”

“What are you doing?” Abby asked when I turned the car off and opened my door.

“I’m going to go get them.” I got out of the car.

“Just let them sleep it off.” Abby got out on her side.

“I told Queenie I would get them and I’m going to follow through.” If there’s one thing I learned since the whole money scandal from my dead ex-husband, it was follow through with your word.

“Fine.” Abby shoved the phone in her pocket and we walked across the battlefield. “Next year, she needs to lay down stricter rules about not drinking until after the reenactment.”

The four people were all lined up in a row. I recognized the Bass boy, Darnell, and Burt Buggy. There was a woman that I didn’t know, but I remembered seeing her carrying one of the Union flags during the battle.

“Abby,” I gulped as my gaze held for a moment on each of their chests. “None of them are breathing.”

“What?” She asked with a slightly nervous laugh.

“I’m serious. No one is breathing.” I bent down next to the woman and put my hand on her neck. “Call the ambulance. I think she has a pulse.”

“Are you kidding me?” Abby was in bit of a shock. “Darnell, you drunk. Get up.” She haphazardly kicked the bottom of his shoe, causing his neck to fall to the side.

“Abby, I need you to call the ambulance,” I told her again and looked the woman over.

“Mae,” Abby’s voice got louder as she drew out the last letter of my name. “He’s been stabbed!”

“What?” I jumped up to my feet and hurried over to Darnell. There was blood all over his neck.

“And Burt!” She screamed so loud it echoed off the trees. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, fumbling it a few times between each hand until she got a steady grip on it.

When I heard her say we needed an ambulance to the person on the other end of the line, I took a couple of deep breaths to get my head in the right place and called Hank.

“They are dead!” I screamed in the phone. So much for a calm head. “Hank!” I began to cry as the words left my mouth. “Darnell, Burt Buggy, and the Bass boy are dead, but the woman. . .” I was hyperventilating from talking too fast. “The woman still has a pulse. Darnell, Burt, and the woman have all been stabbed. The Bass boy, I don’t see anything on him.”

“Mae, where are you?” Hanks asked just as calmly as could be.

“I’m at the battlefield picking up. . .” My voice trailed off and I jerked my head towards the woman when she gurgled. “Oh gosh, hurry. I don’t know how long the woman is going to last.”

I threw the phone back in my pocket and ran back over to her. I ripped the bandana off her head and used it to apply pressure on the stab wound in her neck.

It felt like hours later when I heard the sound of sirens in the distance, but in reality, I knew it was only a few minutes. Abby was kneeling by the top of the woman’s head, encouraging the woman to hold on, telling her help was on the way.

Abby and I didn’t look up when we heard several car doors slamming. We continued to talk to the woman until the paramedics asked us to move. It wasn’t long before Hank and a slew of cop cars peeled into the battlefield.

“Hank.” My heart dropped when I saw his gentle eyes find me. The worried look on his face melted when he saw that I was really okay.

I ran over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, sobbing.

“Shhhh,” his breath was hot against my ear. “It’s going to be okay,” he assured me and I truly believed him.

“Why don’t you and Abby go sit in my car?” He pulled away from me and used his hand to push back my hair.

“No.” I shook my head swallowing hard. “I’ll go sit with Abby and you come get us when you need us.”

I knew from past experience that he would take a quick look around the scene and tell his men what they needed to do before he decided it was time for him to question me and Abby about all the particulars. Why we were here? How did we find them? Positions? Did we move them? All the questions.

Abby and I sat in silence, watching the team of officers. They were like ants going from one victim to the other. At one point, they all seemed to have stopped, like the leaves on a tree before a tornado was about to rip through. Then a tornado did rip through.

“That’s Greaser.” One of the officers said about the Bass boy.

“Greaser?” Abby and I said together in disbelief and looked at each other.

“That’s not Greaser!” I screamed over at Hank.

All the men in uniforms glanced over at me, then looked at Hank. He waved me over.

“What do you mean this isn’t Greaser?” Hank asked me.

“That’s the Bass boy. You know, the boy who is on the archery club at the high school,” I said it as confidently as Queenie had told me. “Ronald’s boy. The principal of the high school,” I rambled on like I really knew what I was talking about.

I could see the confusion written on all of the officers’ faces.

“Excuse us.” Hank grabbed me by the elbow. While pulling me away from the scene, he said to the men, “Go ahead and process.”

That was apparently some sort of code to move the bodies because I saw Colonel Holz, the coroner, push his church cart over to Darnell Grassel.

“Mae, that’s Greaser. The escaped prisoner,” Hank told me just as stern. “Why do you think it’s Ronald Bass’s son?”

“Well,” I paused, leaning a little past Hank’s shoulder to look at the man again. “I swear it’s the same guy that came up to Queenie. Or did Queenie grab him when he was walking by?” I wasn’t sure of how those particulars went, but I did know that Queenie told me. . . My jaw dropped. “Hank,” I gripped his forearm. “Queenie was mad because Lester couldn’t come and do his part, so she’d called Ronald Bass to see if his son could handle doing the bayonet because he was responsible as the captain of the archery club at the school. He said yes and when that guy,” I pointed over at the dead guy, “walked near me and Queenie, I guess she assumed it was the Bass boy and she gave him. . .”

My words stopped when I suddenly realized exactly what had happened here.

“Darnell and Burt,” I gasped. “They were on the jury! Greaser recognized them and he made good on his promise.”

Panic started from my toes and ended in a swirly head of dizziness, bringing me to my knees. Hank wrapped me up in his arms and picked me up. He carried me over to his car and sat me down in the passenger seat.

“Here.” He reached across me and grabbed the bottle of water from the middle console. “You sit right here and drink this.”

I did exactly what he said and watched as the Colonel took each man to a waiting ambulance, assessing them and writing notes on a clipboard before he let the ambulance drive off.

The woman had been gone a while and I couldn’t help but wonder if she too were on the jury or was just an innocent bystander.

“Please, please, please, let her live.” I took the moment I had alone to say a prayer because I knew what was going to happen next.

All the Laundry Club girls would be dying to know what happened, what really happened, on the battlefield today.

Eleven

After I’d sat in Hank’s car for a little while and after Abby had answered all the questions Hank had for us, he let us leave. He said it was going to be a long night since it was now a murder investigation. He’d also mentioned something about someone on the outside helping Greaser escape.

He never once told me if he thought Greaser had been murdered or how he’d died. I decided to believe that maybe the woman realized that he was really stabbing people and she ended up being the hero of the day.

“Wouldn’t that be something?” Abby liked my theory.

“Tell me where the Kissing Point is again.” Even though Greaser had been identified, I still believed he had stolen the motorhome, plus there might be some evidence in it for Hank if somebody did in fact help him escape.

But not going bankrupt was my real motivation for finding that motorhome.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go looking now.” Abby’s knee bounced up and down. “I’d just really like to get back so I can go home.”

“I need to find the motorhome,” I told her and pulled the car off to the side of the road. “I don’t have video cameras at the campground. If I don’t find that motorhome, I’ll have to file bankruptcy because my insurance will go up and I can’t afford that right now.”

It was humiliating having to tell her that, and my soul felt defeated. It was hard for me to accept any sort of failure, but she needed to know exactly the reason for my drive to find it.

“I thought the campground was doing great.” Abby looked at me for an explanation.

“It’s doing well. I have been pouring any extra money into continuing to build it up. I figured I’d have some time before something disastrous happened.” I gnawed on the edge of my lip. “Obviously, I was wrong.”

It was true. I had used any extra money from the camper rentals, lot rentals, and prepaid future guests to continually make improvements to the campground. It wasn’t cheap getting more laundry machines, fixing up the recreation building, keeping the lake clean with the new aeration system, updating the campers to today’s standards, etc.

“Mae, you’ve got to be kidding me? All the social media work I’ve been doing for free is going to go down the tubes?” Abby gave me a blank look.

“Not necessarily. I’m sure someone will buy the campground.” A week didn’t go by without someone contacting me to buy the place and take it off my hands.

“Yeah, people who want to make Normal a mini-Gatlinburg,” she groaned, melting her body into the seat. “We don’t need all that traffic.” She was talking about the tourist city in Tennessee that used to be a hiking trail through the Great Smoky Mountains that was now littered with places like Ripley’s Believe It or Not, The Cheesecake Factory, pancake houses, and outlet malls. “Go on.” She pointed back to the road.

“Thank you,” I said with a grateful heart. “We might not find it there, but I’m going to try really hard to find it.”

“What does it look like?” she asked, taking out her phone.

“It’s base color is cream. There are several brown and orange stripes along the side. It’s a motorhome, so there’s a driving part up front and a sleeping part on top with windows.”  I did my best to describe it from memory.

“Hashtag motorhome stolen in hashtag Normal,” Abby recited everything I had described, adding a hashtag before every word and only stopping when she gestured that I needed to turn. “Is there a reward?” she asked.

“I’ve not thought about it.” It did seem like a good idea.

“How much money do you have?” she asked, pointing for me to turn down a narrow gravel road.

“It doesn’t matter.” I slammed the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden halt.

Both of us stared out the front windshield at the big cream motorhome.

“Is that it?” Abby asked, looking for confirmation.

“Yes.” I jerked the gear shift into park and opened the door.

“Oh, no.” Abby sat straight up. “This time we are calling Hank first.”

“No, we aren’t.” I slammed the door.

“Yes, we are!” Abby jumped out of the car and fumbled with her phone. “Greaser might have an accomplice that could be in there. Dying today wasn’t on my To Do list.”

“It’s fine.” I waved her to follow me.

“It’s not fine.” She kicked an empty beer can. “Do you think Greaser drank all this beer by himself?”

There were six cases of empty beer cans thrown all over the ground in front of the motorhome.

“I’m going in.” I have no idea where my confidence came from, but adrenaline was pumping through my veins, making me make decisions that probably weren’t in my best interest. Before I even thought about what I was doing, I curled my hand around the motorhome door handle and opened the door.

“Hello? Police. I’ve got a gun!” I yelled into the motorhome. A big lie, but they didn’t know that. “Is anyone in here?” I peeked inside and saw legs on the floor, coming out from under the kitchen table.

“Well?” Abby was as close to me as she could be without being piggyback.

“I see feet,” I whispered and watched to see if there was any movement. “I hope they aren’t dead.”

“Let me see,” Abby shoved me out of the way and walked right up the steps into the motorhome. “Davey Bass! Is that you?” I heard her say once she was inside. “Your mama and daddy would be ashamed.”

From her tone, I knew it wasn’t a dangerous situation, so I went inside, delighted to see there didn’t appear to be any damage, although I hadn’t seen what it looked like before. I did see the computer area Barbara had talked about and it looked just fine.

“Davey Bass, you get up from there!” Abby continued to yell at the boy.

He groaned and rolled a few times, expelling a smell that should never come from a human.

“Are you drunk?” Abby continued to badger the poor kid. “How did you get this motorhome?”

“Stole it,” he grumbled and belched before mumbling a few more words.

“You stole it?” Abby asked him. “You better sit up right now.”

We took a few steps back as his body began to wiggle about. When he finally did come from out underneath the kitchen table, he looked an awful mess. His hair was sticking up all over the place. There was what appeared to be vomit on the high school letter jacket with his name and archery badges.

“Did you interact with Greaser?” Abby asked, trying to understand how the Bass boy got in the motorhome with Greaser.

“Who?” His head swayed side to side, his eyes closed.

“Who did you get this motorhome from?” She asked again.

Once again, he said, “Stole it from campground.”

I bent down. My toes curled from the stink rolling off of the kid.

“Hi, I’m the owner of the campground and I need to know if you and Greaser stole this motorhome.” I tried to talk to him as calmly and clear as I could, but Abby was talking over me about how his parents were good, churchgoing people who were going to be very disappointed.

“My parents were going to battle. . .” he rolled his finger in the air. “Friends. Joy ride.” He smiled. His head did circles before his eyes bolted open. “I’m going to puke.” He shoved me out of the way. He made it to the door of the motorhome just in time to hang out the door and vomit.

“Kick him out!” I called to Abby as I made my way to the cab of the motorhome where the keys were dangling from the ignition.

“What?” Abby’s face contorted. “I’m not going to do that,” she protested. “I’m going to call his mama and daddy right now. They can come get him.”

“Fine, do that. Then drive my car back to the campground.” I turned the motorhome on. “I’m taking this baby back to where it belongs and not going bankrupt.”

“Mae West, you’ve lost your ever loving mind. Don’t you want to file a report that it was stolen?” she asked a very good question that I did not have the time to consider. “That’s what Hank would want you to do.”

“I’ll worry about that and what Hank would want me to do later.” I put the car in drive. “I’m going now. I’ll see you after you do whatever you need to do with that kid.”

Abby grunted a few groans and muttered something under her breath as she realized I was going to leave with or without her. She gave me one more disappointed look before she left the motorhome and took Davey with her.

Twelve

The motorhome needed a front end alignment, or maybe I was going a little faster than a motorhome should, but I was on a mission to return Frank and Barbara’s home on wheels before any sort of insurance claim was filed and Happy Trails was taken away from me.

I reached over for my cell when I realized I’d left it and my purse in my car back at Kissing Point with Abby and the drunk Bass boy. She was right in that I probably should’ve called Hank, but it wasn’t in my nature to change tracks to do the right thing when I was on a mission, especially a mission to save my livelihood. Besides, the campground wasn’t far and while Frank and Barbara were checking out their place to make sure it was okay, which it appeared to be, I would call Hank then. After I called Ken, my insurance man, that is.

“What on earth?” The flashing red and white lights from a Daniel Boone National Park’s forest ranger truck caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “Great,” I groaned and veered to the side with a tiny bit of hope he wasn’t pulling me over. “This is the last thing I need.”

That hope crashed and burned when he pulled up behind me.

“Get out of the motorhome with your hands up!” The ranger was screaming over his loud speaker from inside of his truck.

“What?” I twisted around and to look through the motorhome and out the window in the back. “What did he say?” I asked myself as though I was going to answer and shifted my gaze to the side mirror attached to the driver’s side door.

“Get out of the car with your hands up!” This time he’d opened his door and his head was sticking out of the truck between the opened door and the roof. “I said…”

I wasn’t sure what he said after that. All I knew was that he had his gun sticking straight towards the motorhome and I knew I should’ve listened to Abby about calling Hank.

“I’m out!” I yelled with my hands raised above my head. “I know I was speeding, but I need to get this motorhome. . .” I tried to explain.

I couldn’t even get out the rest of my sentence.

“Stop talking!” He yelled from the truck. “Is anyone else in the vehicle?”

“No.” I shook my head and started to lower my arms.

“Keep your arms up in the air!” he yelled, making me jerk my arms up.

“Okay. Fine!” I yelled, but he didn’t seem to care. He kept his gun on me while he talked into his phone. He was too far back for me to hear what he was saying, but I did hear the sirens. “Thank goodness,” I sighed, knowing Hank was on the way.

When several other ranger trucks pulled up, I became increasingly worried. Hank’s big black car was nowhere to be seen.

“Lay on the ground!” one of them ordered me with his gun trained on me. “Lay on the ground with your nose touching the pavement now!”

I gulped and did exactly what he said.

I grimaced as four of them swooped in on me, grabbing my wrists and flinging my hands behind my back. In nanoseconds, they hoisted me up by the cuffs and dragged me to one of their trucks while reading me my rights.

“You are under arrest for stealing this motorhome. . .” was all I heard.

“I can explain,” I continued to say over and over.

“Save it!” screamed one ranger.

“I’m Hank Sharp’s girlfriend,” I said, right before he shoved me in the back of one of the Jeeps.

He hesitated when he heard that.

“I’m Hank’s girlfriend and I own the Happy Trails Campground where the motorhome was stolen from…” I started to say, but he slammed the door shut on my explanation.

He got in the front seat and picked up a clipboard. He wrote a few things down and then peered into the rearview mirror.

“Hank Sharp doesn’t have a girlfriend.” His shoulders jiggled as he laughed.

“Yes, he does.” What did he mean by that? “Did he tell you that?” I was now more concerned about Hank not telling anyone about me. “We’re together. You’ll see.”

I huffed and sat back into the seat. Once they took me to the station, I knew I could prove this guy wrong.

He threw the police Jeep in gear, did a U-Turn in the middle of the road, and headed back towards the station, which was on the other side of town. I wasn’t sure what I was madder about, the fact this guy thought I stole the motorhome or the fact that Hank hadn’t told anyone about us.

Granted, Hank was now full time at the sheriff’s department in Normal and his life as a ranger was over. So maybe these guys didn’t know. But their offices were in the same building. On the other hand, some of the rangers did just hang around the Daniel Boone National Park offices.

No matter, I was still devastated that Hank hadn’t ever mentioned me. Ever.

“Don’t try any funny business,” he warned when he opened the back door of the Jeep once we’d pulled into the Normal Police Station.

“Don’t worry.” I swung my legs out and let him guide the rest of me out of the Jeep with his grip on my cuffs.

“Mae, is that you?” Agnes Swift asked through the sliding glass window of the police station. Her saggy jowls frowned.

“Hi, Agnes,” I snorted and shrugged. “I think I’m in a little bit of trouble or at least this guy thinks I am.”

The ranger didn’t even look at me. He stood at the window and filled out some paperwork before even acknowledging Hank’s Granny.

“She needs to be placed in the tank until she can be questioned about the motorhome she stole. We’ve already read her her rights, so she should call her lawyer.” He handed the paperwork to Agnes through the window opening.

“She doesn’t need a lawyer.” Agnes shoved her pen in her short gray hair and jumped off her stool that was butted up to the window.

The door between the entrance of the station and the inside of the station flung open. Agnes might’ve been in her eighties, but she was full of spunk and spice that made me jealous.

“Bring her in here and get those off her.” She waved me and the ranger in.

“Ma’am, this is official business and you need to realize this is the woman who helped Greaser escape.” He was dead serious.

“Greaser is dead,” Agnes said with a flat voice. “She didn’t steal no motorhome, the Bass boy did. He’s in the drunk tank. Someone has already brought him in.”

“Abby?” I asked and looked around. She wasn’t there, but I saw Julip sitting in one of the chairs along the back wall where they sit you before they interview you. She was leaning over the empty chair next to her talking to someone in a police uniform two seats away.

“Your little librarian friend.” Agnes nodded. She smacked the ranger’s hand. “Get them off her.”

“I’m gonna need some reassurance from Hank.” His tone was a bit shaky, like he wasn’t sure if he should be disrespecting Agnes.

I had to give him credit because she wasn’t backing down.

“Fine.” She grabbed the keys from his belt, snapping them off. “I’ll do it.”

“Ma’am, give me back my keys!” He raised his hands in the air, letting go of me.

While he and Agnes did a little dance, with my hands still cuffed behind my back, I headed over to the empty chair between Julip and the other person, who I thought was a woman, but I wasn’t sure.

“What on earth have you done?” Julip asked.

“Not a thing. I found that motorhome at the Kissing Point. It’s all because of you telling me people hide out there that I won’t go bankrupt. I owe you.”  I went on to tell her how I’d gotten stopped by the police since they’d set up road blocks all over the national park and how they thought I was helping out Greaser. “You know, the serial killer.”

“I don’t know him, but I’m here because they’re interviewing everyone involved with the reenactment.” She tapped her feet on the ground nervously. “I’ve never been in a police station before. That’s Blanche Davis,” she whispered and gestured to the person next to me.

A woman.

“Who is that?” I whispered.

“She’s the security guard that the serial killer knocked down.” Julip’s brows wiggled.

“I thought she was a cop with her uniform.” I leaned back and glanced at Blanche with my peripheral vision. I wanted to jerk my head around and look at her, but I figured that would be impolite. I wanted to see her bruised up hand from trying to get the Billy club back from Greaser.

She didn’t have a single feminine way about her whatsoever. Her hair was almost as short as a buzz cut.

“Afternoon,” said Blanche with pinched lips and a solid head nod when she me looking at her.

I guess I wasn’t as smooth as I thought I was.

“Hi there,” I said with a sweet smile. “I hear you’re the guard Greaser knocked down,” my mouth blurted out, my eyes looking down at her hands.

I’m not sure if it was because she had beefy hands or if enough time had passed, but she sure didn’t appear to have any bruises or scratches on her hands. Well, at least I couldn’t see any from where I was sitting.

“Mmmhmm, I guess I’ll never live that down.” She rolled her eyes. “But I’m glad he’s dead,” she said in a low voice, looking over me at Julip and then around the room. “Of course, I can’t say that too loud.”

I wiggled in my seat hoping I’d be getting these cuffs off soon since the park ranger was walking over with keys in his hand and Agnes on his heels.

“You are going to stay here in her custody until all of this gets straightened out. You understand?” he asked with furrowed brows.

I nodded, keeping my mouth shut for once so I wouldn’t get myself into any more trouble than he already thought I was in.

I scooted up on the edge of the chair, giving him space to unlock the cuffs. Once my hands were free, I rotated my fists and rubbed out the indentations the metal had left in my skin. My arms ached from being up in the air while they searched the motorhome to make sure there were no more criminals in there. Now I wished I had been going to Jazzercise with Queenie. My arms probably wouldn’t be aching as much.

“Mae don’t be going and stealing anything in here,” Agnes snickered and turned around. “I’ll let Hank know you’re here.”

“Hank Sharp?” Julip asked.

“Yes. He’s my boyfriend.” I smiled with pride and looked over at Blanche to see if she’d heard my conversation, but she was too busy fiddling with her cell phone.

“Really?” There was a look of surprise on Julip’s face. “I had no idea he had a girlfriend.”

“Seriously?” I questioned and made a mental note that Hank and I needed to be seen a lot more in public. “We’ve been dating a few months now.”

“Strange he never mentioned it when he comes into the thrift store.” Julip shrugged her shoulders.

“Julip Knox.” One of the officers I recognized from the crime scene at the battlefield called her name. “Follow me, please.”

“It was good seeing you again.” Julip gave me a half smile and stood up. “Good luck with that.” She pointed to my wrists before she disappeared down the hall where they took people to be interviewed.

A place I know all too well.

“Mae.” Hank turned the corner of that same hall and came into the main room. “What on earth is going on?” He was accompanied by a cute little beagle dog.

“You tell me,” I stood up, demanding answers. “We’ve been dating for a few months, but you never talk about me or even acknowledge that you’ve got a girlfriend?”

“What?” By the look on his face, I could tell I’d taken him by surprise.

“You heard me. The ranger who cuffed me, way too hard by the way, said you didn’t have a girlfriend. Then.” I flung my hand up and pointed to the hallway. “Julip Knox had no idea either because he’s never mentioned it when he comes into the thrift store,” I said, mocking her tone.

“Follow me to my office,” he said in a calm matter, fully aware all the eyes of the other officers were on us. “Would you like a coffee?” he asked, opening the door of his office and putting the dog in there.

“I’d love one.” I watched him as he walked over to the coffee station and poured two cups of coffee. He even doctored mine up the way I like it.

I followed him to the office right by the coffee.

“How would you know how I like my coffee if we weren’t dating?” I asked very loudly so everyone could hear. he closed to the door to his office and set the coffees on his desk.

“What on earth is wrong with you?” he asked in a very calm voice. “I’m trying to run an investigation here. We’ve got a few dead bodies that I can trace back to Greaser, but I have no idea who killed him.” He paced back and forth, running his hand through his hair as though he forgot I was there and was trying to talk out everything in his head. “Then we have Flora Jean in the hospital in a coma. Who knows when she’s going to wake up and tell us what happened. Then I have the FBI breathing down my neck.” He pointed to the sleeping dog. “And now I think I’m a dog owner, which I don’t want to be.”

He stopped pacing. His chin lifted and he looked at me.

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head and reached out for me to take his hand. “I know you didn’t need to hear all that.” He squeezed my hand and let it go.

“Dog owner?” I looked at the sweet pup.

“Yeah. That’s Darnell’s hunting dog. He’s the one with the good sniffer we used to track Greaser. No one in the family wants the dog, and I just couldn’t put him in a shelter.” His eyes softened.

“You are a good man.” That melted my heart. “I hope he and Fifi get along.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about right now. I’m worried about Greaser’s steps and how he got back into Normal.”

“You have no idea who killed Greaser?” I asked, picking up my coffee from the desk. “Flora Jean is in a coma?”

“She should be okay, but they put her in a coma to get the deep stab wound in her chest sewn up.” He pointed to where she must’ve been hit. “She’s lucky you got there when you did because she would have been dead in a few minutes if you hadn’t.”

“I’m so glad I went there for Queenie.” I took a drink of my coffee. “Did you hear I found the motorhome? Well, Julip did. Sorta.”

I should’ve thanked her when I saw her in the waiting room, but I forgot. Oh, well. I’d be sure to stop by the Tough Nickel to thank her.

“I heard they arrested you for stealing it, but I’ve got someone on it. You know, you should’ve called me like Abby told you to do.” He sat down at his desk and gave me a good stern look like a disappointed parent.

“She’s a tattletale.” I winked at him to lighten the mood, but he didn’t smile and continued to tap the end of his pen on the desk. “I’m sorry. I am, but if I hadn’t found it, I’d be bankrupt, and you can’t be mad at me for that.”

“No, but I did question Queenie about Greaser and how he got the bayonet. She was insistent that she didn’t know he was Greaser.” He opened a file on his desk and flipped through some papers.

“I know. I was there.” A movie of Greaser walking up to us played in my head as I recalled the details. “Queenie was waiting for Davey Bass to show up. He was going to take Lester’s spot in the reenactment, but Lester ended up showing up, which made Queenie really happy.”

“The story,” he reminded me to get back on track since I was really good at making a long story longer.

“Honestly, Queenie shoved the uniform and equipment into Greaser’s arms. He was reluctant at first.” I recalled his hesitation. I hadn’t seen his face, but I remembered his body language. “I think when he realized she didn’t know who he was that he decided to go with it.”

Hank sighed. His eyes gazed over my head as though he were looking in the air for the answers.

“Were all the victims jurors?” I asked. “Did he make good on his promise? How did he know they were all going to be in the same place?”

“Mae!” Hank smacked the table. “Yes. He knew that Darnell and Buggy were jurors, but how did he know about the reenactment? How did he know where to go? Why did he go to the Milkery and backtrack into Normal when he could’ve just left town? The Milkery is on the edge of town. He would have been free.”

“Someone helped him,” I suggested, with a little intrepidation in my voice.

“You’re dang right somebody did. How else can you explain how his scent stopped at the road and the dogs never picked it up?” Hank got up and started doing that pacing again.

“You do that a lot.” I wiggled my finger at him.

“What?” he asked and continued to pace.

“Walk back and forth.”

“Yeah. Helps me think and work things out in my head.” He bent down and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll have an officer take you home.”

“What about the motorhome?” I asked. I wasn’t going to leave without getting that sucker back to Frank and Barbara.

“Donald Bass already gave me his insurance information to pay for any damage to the motorhome. He’s keeping his boy in the drunk tank until he sobers up and isn’t sure when he’s going to get him out. He said the boy needs to learn a lesson.” He laughed. “Not that the Normal jail is great for that since there’s no one in there but him. You know my granny. She’s giving that kid all sorts of food to help him sober up. The motorhome is back at Happy Trails. The Bassetts should be happy.”

“Thank you,” I said.

I was grateful he had taken a break from a murder investigation to make sure the motorhome was back safe and sound.

“I love your granny.” I did love her, and I loved how he loved her.

“She’s pretty fond of you.” He took my hand and lifted me up, pulling me into his arms. “Which reminds me, she wants to have you over for supper tonight.”

“Perfect.” We kissed, making me forget about how he’d not bragged on us dating and reminding me how I loved his strong, protective personality. I guess he would tell everyone about us on his own time. “Time?”

“Make it around 6. And you can bring Fifi.” He looked over at the Chester. “They need to meet.”

“Why is Blanche out there?” I asked, wanting to know why she was here since the prison break seemed so long ago, even though it hadn’t even been forty-eight hours.

“Blanche who?”

“The prison security guard who Greaser knocked down.” Did I really have to remind him?

“I moved that investigation over to another officer to finish up the paperwork now that Greaser is dead.” He opened the office door. “I’m sure she’s here to give a final statement.” He led me out of the office.

Julip Knox was rounding the corner of the hallway as I was walking out the office door. Our eyes caught.

“Do you want me to take the dog?” I asked.

“Chester. His name is Chester.” He smiled like it was hard for him to say the name without giggling. “He’s fine. He’s a good boy and maybe I’ll let the Bass boy play with him.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.” I gave Hank one more quick kiss and walked over to Julip. “Are you going anywhere near the campground?” I asked.

“I live a little past there. Well, actually, a little past the battleground. Why?” she asked.

“I need a lift home.”

“I can take you,” she offered, and I accepted.

“Everything good?” Agnes asked on my way out.

“It’s all perfect. What can I bring tonight?” I asked.

“Not a thing. I’m feeding you.” She gave me a quick hug.

The police station was still in a flurry when we left. There was still some good sunlight, making me think I should probably stop by the reenactment after party, but I was so exhausted and I really didn’t want to be bothered with anyone. Not even at the campground.

“You know what, can you just drop me off at the Normal Baptist Church instead?” I asked Julip when we got into her Subaru station wagon. Odd car for such a young girl, I thought.

“You need a little religion?” she asked with a jovial tone.

“No. I’m actually doing the taxes for Betts Hager. We’re friends and her husband is the preacher.” I swung the seatbelt around me and clipped it.

“I know who they are.” She started the car. “I’m from here. All my life. I’ll never get out of this town.”

“Good. We need good residents like you. Especially since you are a historian and know all about these maps.” I wondered if Hank had thought about using her to help trace Greaser’s steps.

I quickly texted him to suggest that while she talked about the maps with obvious passion, but he didn’t get back to me by the time she pulled up in front of the church.

“Are you sure you don’t need a ride home?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine.” I opened the door. I really wasn’t sure, but if I knew Normal like I did, there was always someone around that I could bum a ride off of.

The old school bus the church used to transport the Bible thumpers to the prison for their ministering was parked in the church parking lot. Lester was coming off the bus with a bag in each hand. He stopped and looked at us.

“Thanks again,” I said to Julip.  “And thanks for talking to me during the reenactment.”

“My pleasure.” She pulled off and I watched as she drove away.

Thirteen

“You need help?” I asked Lester when I noticed he’d already gone back into the bus and brought out two more bags.

“I’m just doing busy work.” He lifted the two bags in the air. “Why were you with the Knox girl?”

The question hit me as odd.

“Long story short, she was at the police station and I needed a lift.” I left out the part about Greaser since it was a touchy subject with him and Betts. “Good news, I found the stolen motorhome. Kids took it for a joyride.”

Somewhere under his smile I wondered if he had been rebellious when he was a child.

“These are the bags we use when we go to the prison to minister.” The ice between us seemed to have melted.

It’s not that we didn’t like each other, we simply didn’t know each other. He and Betts were so kind to me when I moved to Normal. All the kindness was funneled through Betts and I’d yet to thank him.

“You know.” I shrugged. “I’ve never really had the chance to thank you for all you and Betts did for me when I first moved to Normal.”

“You know how you can thank me?” He asked with a raised brow. There was a hesitation when I didn’t answer. “Come to church. That’d make Betts very happy.”

I’m not sure if it was the sun or if it was the glistening glow of God around him, but Lester was glowing. He had strawberry blond hair and fair skin. He was tall and slender. Around his mid-thirties. From what I remember Dottie telling me, he was a little older than Betts, but not by much.

“I can help.” I followed him up the steps on the bus and helped him carry out the rest of the bags, ignoring his statement about me and church.

“Betts said you might be stopping by to help out with the taxes, but I told her I could do it. I’m not upset about the prison break anymore now that Greaser is dead.” He grabbed a couple of bags in each hand and headed towards the church office, which was located on the side of the church.

“Speaking of the reenactment,” I grabbed a few bags and followed him. “I’m glad you came. Queenie was worried that you weren’t coming.”

“Betts told her that, but I keep my word. The good Lord willing.” He held the door open for me with the heel of his shoe. “You can just drop those on the floor anywhere.”

“Betts is a good wife just trying to look out for you.” We made one more trip out to the parking lot to get the rest of the bags. “What is in these?”

“Bibles and this week’s lesson. Which reminds me that I need to put in next week’s lesson.” A long sigh escaped him. The stress showed in the deep set wrinkles around his eyes.

“Do you want me to do that for you?” I asked.

“No. I’ll do it. Thank you for coming. Do you need a ride home?” he asked.

“I’m going to take a quick look at your taxes. Like you, I gave Betts my word and I’m going to keep it.” I wasn’t going to let the stress of a little unaccounted for money weigh on him when I couldn’t help but think in the back of his head that he worried if he’d done his job in the reenactment, Greaser wouldn’t’ve put on that uniform and got the bayonet that was meant for Lester.

“Really, Mae, I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.” His face relaxed as he looked out the window at the last bit of sun for the afternoon. “You know, sitting here and looking out over the mountains of the park with the sun starting to set, I realize what’s really important. I’m happy to be here in light of what happened with the prisoner.”

I noticed he didn’t call him by name.

“He could’ve killed me. I’m not scared to die, but I’m scared to leave Betts.” His Adam’s apple moved up and down his throat. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure she’s got a wonderful life.” He nodded. “I think it took what happened for me to appreciate what the good Lord has given me here on earth. Sometimes even a man of God can take things for granted.”

“So you’re saying that God put you in that situation to learn a lesson?” I was all sorts of confused.

“I don’t know, but I think God affords us second chances.” He turned away from the window to look at the bags. “I told the prison that my last week to minister to them would be next week. I think I need a little time away.”

“That sounds good.” There was a folder on the desk that had the year and Taxes printed on it. “Why don’t you head over to the Laundry Club and see your wife? I’ll take a quick look at the taxes and see if I can come up with anything.”

“Are you sure?” I was happy to see that he was going to let me take a crack at them. Not that I was the greatest, but another pair of eyes couldn’t hurt.

“Positive.” I knew Betts would be so happy to see him since she’d been so worried.

“Okay, but look at the collections first. I didn’t see anything in the bills or payments, but I did see some discrepancies in the collections. I sure hope there isn’t a deacon taking money.” The lines between his eyes pinched.

“I’ll do it.” I walked around the desk. “Have a good time.”

“I’ll be back to lock up. I try to keep the sanctuary open for anyone who needs to spend some time with the big man.” He waved and disappeared out of the office.

Over the course of the next couple of hours, I separated all the documents in the tax file into piles. Each category had its own pile: expenses; collected checks from the tithes; records of the trips the Bible thumpers took; and collected cash from the tithes. There were detailed records of people’s tithing and there was definitely a pattern.

Most of the big donors paid the same each month, and I recognized most of their names. There was one month that I noticed Carol Wise, a Bible thumper and local peach pie baker, didn’t make her tithe a few weeks in a row. It was odd because when I went back through the previous year’s tax documents and quickly thumbed through the weekly records, she hadn’t missed a week.

What had changed?

There was only one way I knew to find that out and that was to ask her.

My phone chirped while I was putting away the documents. It was clear that I needed to solve the mystery around Carol’s tithe and the afternoon had faded into dusk. Not only did I have to get back to Fifi, but I wanted to stop by the Milkery and check on Mary Elizabeth.

It was odd to me she hadn’t made it to the reenactment or the after party.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall just as I was closing the file. I thought it was Lester, but when the footsteps stopped at the office door and then walked away, I looked up.

Shivers melted down my spine, making me shake. Although Greaser was dead, the thought of someone out there who might’ve killed him, other than Flora Jean, was still heavy on my mind.

The outside door clicked shut. I hurried out of the office and down the hall to look out into the parking lot to see if I could see who it was.

The shadow had melted into the pavement and around the corner going towards the church itself.

“You’re so nosy,” I said to myself and ran after the shadow to see exactly who wanted to see if anyone was in the office.

Was it one of the deacons that Lester had said may be taking money? Did they think someone wasn’t in the office and we have a clear case of theft? I’d learned over the past year during several investigations that I put my nose into that things weren’t always as they appeared.

The door to the sanctuary was slowing closing. I hurried up the concrete steps of the church and pulled the door open. The lights were dim. There were ten large concrete pillars on each side. Between each pillar was a typical stained glass window of bible stories. The rows of pews were about twenty deep and there was one person sitting in the front row. They had their hands folded in their lap as they sat on the edge of the pew, their head bowed, facing the altar.

I made my way up to the front. Both of us jumped when they opened their eyes.

“You scared me to death. Are you following me?” Blanche was as surprised to see me as I was to see her.

“No.” I shook my head and eased down next to her. “I was working on the taxes in the church office and I saw you come in. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need something.”

“Are you working here? I’ve never seen you at church.” She was using her good observation skills as a prison guard to assess me, and I could feel it.

“I’m doing a favor for the preacher. His wife is one of my best friends.” There was no way I was going to tell her that some of her church’s money was missing. She had a visible look of concern on her face. “I’m not very good at religious stuff, but I do have a good ear that can listen if you need to talk.”

“I’m fine. Just making things right with me and the big man.” Her eyes rolled upwards. “Not that I have done anything wrong. I’m sure you know since you date that cop and all that it was my fault Greaser escaped.”

“Hank doesn’t tell me much.” I lied to make her feel better. “It’s not your fault. Greaser had already decided he was going to get out of there one way or another.”

“Why do you say that?” She leaned back and knitted her thick fingers together behind her head. “Did the cops find out something they aren’t telling the prison?”

“No. I. . . I don’t know why I said that.” I said it because Greaser had caught a ride and someone had helped him. If that person was still around, I sure didn’t want to alarm the community. “I was trying to make you feel better.”

“You can make me feel better by bringing back Darnell and Burt. I’m not even sure what’s going on with poor Flora Jean.” Her voice cracked.  “It’s my fault Greaser escaped and made good on his promise.” She looked down at her hands and fiddled her thumbs together while the rest were still clasped. “That’s why I’m here.”

“I’m sorry Lester isn’t here to pray with you or give you words of comfort, but he did say something to me that I’m sure made him feel a little better and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind my telling you.” I actually reached out and touched her knee with my hand. “He said what happened at the prison made him realize what he’s been taking for granted, just going through the motions of daily life.”

So I might’ve added a few words. She seemed to need them.

“He said the prison break made him realize how good he has it with Betts. That’s she’s his wife and she deserves to have everything he can give her. The little stuff doesn’t matter. I’m so glad he’s taking time off from the prison ministry to spend quality time with his wife.” My eyes searched her manly face. “Maybe you can find some good in this and turn it around to make a positive change in your life.”

“He said that?” She asked in a very soft voice as if what he said brought her some comfort.

“He did. In fact, he wasn’t going to let me help out in the office.” I was careful not to say anything about the taxes. “But after he told me that, he decided to go spend some time with Betts.”

“He’s a good man.” She smiled.

“You know, I really don’t know him that well, but his wife is wonderful and everybody in town speaks highly of him.” I hoped my words really did comfort her. I know it made me feel good that I could help her in some way.

“Thank you.” She used her hands to push on her knees and push herself up to standing. “That’s some good information you gave me.”

“Great.” I stood up and put my arms out. “We hug around here.”

I embraced her. Although she was stiff at first, she ended up giving me a hug back.

“That’s one thing Betts told me when I first moved here. I wasn’t a big hugger either, but sometimes we just need one.” I was feeling really pleased with myself, though she didn’t look as entertained as I did when the Laundry Club gals told me we hug around here.

“Thanks,” she muttered. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

I watched her saunter down the middle aisle of the church and she turned around.

“Thanks, Mae. Really. Do you mind if we keep this between me and you?” she asked with a smile.

“Of course.” I really wanted to tell her that she needed to smile more often because it brought out her feminine side, but I kept that to myself just like I would keep our conversation to myself.

I was getting good at not telling everybody everything I knew. Just like with Hank and the investigation, I hadn’t told her about the money missing from the church. It appeared I just might be a good secret keeper. I turned back around and decided to sit there for a few more minutes. It was so peaceful and felt really nice. And I did need to say a quick thank you prayer about finding that motorhome.

I turned around, resting my arm on the back of the pew, when I heard the door of the church open and in walked Julip. We stared at each other for a second until both of us gave a friendly smile.

“Julip, what are you doing here?” I asked and stood up.

“Is the church open?” she asked.

“Of course it is. It seems like everyone has a little something to say to the big guy in the sky today.” I tried to make light of it.

“Yeah. Is the preacher here?” she asked.

“He isn’t. Lester’s gone to be with Betts. But I think we can consider each other friends now that we were in battle together.” I joked, but she didn’t budge, apparently not finding it as funny as I thought I was. “I can listen.”

I scooted over and patted the pew cushion next to me.

“Nah. I like it when the preacher prays with me.” She shook her head and turned around.

“While you’re here,” I said, stopping her, “do you think you could give me a lift back to the campground?”

“Sure. I’m going to head on back to my cabin anyways.” She smiled, making me feel a little better.

Walking out of the church, I said one last prayer under my breath.

“This Greaser situation has really put a heavy burden on the people in Normal. Please help bring closure.”

I’m not gonna say I didn’t try to get information out of Julip about what was heavy on her mind because I did.  Only she didn’t budge. She said she was fine and wanted to put the reenactment behind her and hoped the society wouldn’t have it next year.

“I’m glad to see the police tape is all gone.” I noticed as we drove up the gravel drive to the campground.

“I’m glad you got the motorhome back,” she said as I directed her to go around the left side of the lake. I wanted to see if the Bassetts’ home on wheels was back on the concrete pad.

“You and me both. Now they think Greaser had an accomplice. I hadn’t considered that when I came across the motorhome. The accomplice could’ve been in there and killed me.” I let out a long sigh, knowing I’d probably said too much, but she didn’t appear to be affected by it. Maybe she hadn’t heard me. “That’s the motorhome there.” I pointed to it, quickly changing the subject. “I’m so glad it’s there and they haven’t left. Though I do fault them for keeping the keys in the console.”

“That’s just asking for trouble.” she agreed.

“That’s my yellow RV right there.” I gestured once she drove around the lake to the right side of the campground.

“All of these are so cute. I’m sorry I’ve never come to one of your monthly parties.” She drove past all the vintage campers I’d cleaned up.

“You should come to next month’s.” I encouraged her. “If I didn’t have to get to Hank’s granny’s for supper, I’d give you a tour of them. This campground is why I had to find the motorhome and was so happy that Greaser hadn’t stolen it.”

She pulled up and stopped in front of my RV. I was happy to see my car was there and made a mental note to call Abby and make sure she was okay.

“I should’ve been setting aside money for a bigger insurance policy and some savings, but instead I renovated all the vintage campers.”  I was very proud of what I had accomplished.

They were all cute vintage campers with all the modern conveniences you could think of. Henry, my handyman, and I replaced all of the flooring and even remodeled a few of the kitchens. All the campers had modern countertops, and some had the southern flare. Each one was designed perfectly, whether modern or southern. Abby had gone through each one and taken detailed photos for our website so renters could pick out their favorite style.

Even the bungalows had had makeovers, and they were very popular with families.

The campground had turned out to be a wonderful investment, but the stolen motorhome had been a big wakeup call.

“I’ll come by another time. Have a wonderful supper.” There was stress in her eyes. I could tell she was still uneasy, but time would help her work through it. I only wished I could help her.

Maybe inviting her to the Laundry Club would help, but I’d have to ask the others first.

“Let me know if you ever need me to return the favor.” I waved goodbye and watched her drive out of the campground.

“May-bell-ine, where have you been?” I didn’t have to turn around to know it was Bobby Ray Bonds, my foster brother who lived in one of the renovated campers. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Bobby Ray had literally been looking all over for me since he gave me the money for a one way Greyhound bus ticket to New York City the minute I turned eighteen. I was forever grateful to him for that and when he’d seen the article in the National Parks Magazine featuring me and how I turned Normal’s economy around by revitalizing the campground, he came to Normal to find me.

Although he had never said he was there to cash in on the favor I owed him, Bobby Ray didn’t have a job, a car, or as we say in the south, a pot to piss in when he found me, and I knew I had to make good with him. I gave him a place to live and got him a job down at Grassel’s Garage. Joel Grassel was in need of a good mechanic and that was Bobby Ray’s specialty. It was a perfect fit.

“I heard you found Joel’s brother. Is that right?” Bobby asked. He tugged off his hat, letting his curly blond hair fall down around his ears, giving me a fit of jealousy.

Any girl would want Bobby Ray’s hair.

Fifi was yipping and jumping, looking out the window from the couch inside my RV.

“You heard right.” I walked up to the door of my RV and unlocked the door.

Fifi bolted out and ran straight to Bobby Ray. Her little poodle tail was wagging so fast, it looked like a helicopter propeller gearing up for high speed.

“Joel is beside himself. He said something about Greaser making good on his promise and all.” He bent down and picked up Fifi. Talking around all the kisses she was trying to give him on his mouth, he said, “The only thing I could make out was when he asked if I could work the service station all by myself. That’s why I’m here, May-bell-ine.”

“Mae, Bobby. I go by Mae now.” I had no idea why I bothered correcting him. No matter how much I did, he never called me by Mae. It was always by my birth name Maybelline, my three syllable name he always stretched out into six.

Fifi wiggled around in his arms and he put her back down on the ground. She scurried over to the grass and did her business while we finished up ours.

“I’m not gonna be around here much, so you keep an eye out for trouble.” He nodded.

“I understand. I know where to find you if I need you.” I reached out to him and rubbed his arm. “Have you talked to Mary Elizabeth? I don’t know if you heard about Greaser staying there or not. I can’t seem to figure out if she’s really not bothered by it or is just putting on a brave face.”

“Knowing her, she’s just fine.” He put his hat back on his head and tugged the bill way down over his eyes. “I’m just glad she’s okay and that Greaser didn’t hurt her.”

“I guess that’s because she wasn’t a juror.” That was the only way I could wrap my head around the fact that she and Dawn were okay.

“You call me if you need something,” assuring me he’d do whatever I needed him to do. “I almost forgot.” Bobby Ray smacked his hands together. “Tomorrow Mary Elizabeth wants to have a lunch picnic downtown. Can you make it? I told her I would check.”

“I don’t see why not.” I smiled and we said our goodbyes.

Once I got Fifi to come back inside, I changed into a pair of skinny jeans and a light long-sleeved sweater. It was the time of the year when it was warm during the day, but very cool at night. I wasn’t sure if Agnes kept her house warm or cold. Usually with elderly people, there was no middle temperature in their homes. So I was well prepared for where Agnes set her thermometer.

Fifi was so excited to be going for a ride. Once we were in the car, I pulled out my phone to call Abby before I started to drive.

“Hey, Abs, it’s me, Mae,” I spoke into her voicemail. “I’m not sure if you’re mad because I left you there with the drunk kid, but you won’t believe what happened after I took the motorhome. Anyways, meet me at the Laundry Club in the morning if you can. I’m going to stop by there before I head over to help out with the church’s taxes.” I pinched my lips together. “Did I tell you I was helping Betts out?”

Oh, gosh. I sure hope I didn’t say something I wasn’t supposed to. So much for thinking I could keep any secret.

“Okay, well. I’m going to Hank’s granny’s for supper. Can you believe it?” I gushed. “Call me back or I’ll just see you at the Laundry Club in the morning.”

I hung up the phone and quickly dialed Mary Elizabeth.

“Hi.” I was happy to hear her voice on the other end of the phone. “I was sad I didn’t get to see you today.”

“I’ve been so busy since with those people whose RV was stolen that I’ve gotten myself dizzy.” Mary Elizabeth’s southern drawl was sweet music to my ears. “That Barbara needs to know that good manners never go out of style and she could use a few.”

“I don’t even want to know.” I looked past my left shoulder towards their motorhome and noticed there were no lights on. “Are they still there?”

“Still here? She refuses to leave until the two weeks they rented the campsite for are up. She insists that I make everything from scratch and if I don’t, she says she’s gonna sue you for the campground.” Those were words I didn’t want to hear.

“Are you kidding?” I asked, stunned. “I risked my life to get their motorhome back and this is the thanks they give me?”

“Risk? Wasn’t the kid drunk? That’s what I heard,” Mary Elizabeth let me know the gossip had already started to circulate.

“He was, but I risked my life going in before I knew that. Oh well, maybe I can come talk some sense into them.” I sighed and noticed the digital clock on the car radio. “Listen, I’ve got to drive over to Hank’s granny’s for supper. Any chance you can meet at the Laundry Club in the morning? You and Dawn?”

“I’ll make time. But more importantly, are we gonna have a wedding?” she asked as her voice took an upbeat tone. “You’re having supper with the family and everything.”

“No, Mary Elizabeth. It’s just supper.” I looked down at my left hand. “We aren’t anywhere near getting engaged.”

Were we?

Fourteen

“This is Hank when he was a wee little turkey.” Agnes joked about how much trouble Hank used to get into when he was a little boy as she pointed to all the photos of him. She had one hand on Precious, the little six-month-old pugoodle that was one of Fifi’s babies.

Agnes’s house was exactly as I pictured it to be. It definitely had not been remodeled since the day she’d bought it, which I imagined was forty years ago or more. Agnes had on a pink cardigan that matched the pink rosettes on the wallpaper and the faded pink carpet and her gray pants that were the same shade as her gray hair. A curio cabinet in the corner held too many of those Precious Moment figurines to count. She must’ve collected clocks because the mantle was lined with them and there were many hanging on the walls.

Fifi didn’t pay any attention to her baby. She only wanted to be with Chester. They’d been sniffing each other and chasing each other around the house for the hour I had been there. Thankfully we didn’t have to worry about them making babies since both of them were fixed.

“Granny, Mae doesn’t want to see all those old pictures.” Hank came into the family room carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea on it.

“A tray?” I was impressed with his hospitality. It was definitely something Mary Elizabeth would do.

“Are you kidding? That boy only has manners when it matters and that tray don’t matter to him, but it matters to me.” Agnes pointed to herself. “Look at this one.”

She went back to explaining each photo and her memory of it. I glanced over at Hank. Both us of smiled at each other as she continued to brag on him.

“It’s cute,” I told him after he protested and she went into the kitchen to check on the meatloaf in the oven. “She’s proud of you.”

“I’m not used to having a girl here. I really should be at the office working on finishing up the Greaser case.” He went back to serious detective mode that I wish he would set aside for a few hours.

I knew that was asking too much. Hank Sharp wasn’t going to change for me or anyone else for that matter.  Not even Agnes.

“I thought you said it was pretty much a closed case.” Or did he tell me something different? My mind was so jumbled I wasn’t sure what he had said or not. I continued to through flip the pages of the photo album.

“As far as Greaser being dead, yes. But I swear he had an accomplice. He had on a wig.”

I jerked up.

“Yeah. A wig. There was a hand drawn map sewed into the inside of it. How did he get the wig? And was the map already sewn in?” Hank stood up and did that pacing thing. “Did he get the wig from the person who picked him up?” He put his hands in his pockets and looked out the bay window that overlooked the street. “The map doesn’t even make sense.”

“Maybe I can help. Well, not me, but Julip Knox. She’s the big map girl in town and I bet she can read the map for you.”

“I talked to her today when she was at the station. I forgot she was a cartographer,” he said.

“I thought she was the store clerk for Buck at the Thrifty Nickel.” I was all sorts of confused.

“She is, but she went to school for cartography and when they couldn’t use her skills after the shutdown of the national parks, she went to work for Buck.” He snapped his fingers. “That’s a great idea, Mae.”

He walked over to the coat tree and got his thin jacket.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to find her and show her the map.” He was as serious as could be.

“No, you’re not.” I put the photo album on the couch and got up to stop him. “Agnes has gone through the trouble of making us a meatloaf. We are going to eat it. Do you understand me?” I jerked the jacket out of his hands.

“Mae West, this is the side I really liked about you when we first met.” He tugged me into him and gave me a kiss exactly like our first kiss.

It was passionate and longing. It was when I first realized I was smitten with him and this just reinforced that I was right.

“You can’t have dessert before supper,” Agnes warned with a laugh when she walked back into the room, catching us in the act. She was now wearing a cute apron around her waist with little apples along the scalloped edges.

We jumped apart like two high school kids getting caught necking. My face reddened and to avoid looking at Agnes, I hurried over to Fifi to make sure she was okay, even though there was no reason for me to think that she wasn’t.

The cuckoo bird popped its head out of the door of the clock and let out a few chirps. That would get on my nerves.

“Is the meatloaf ready?” Hank asked in a voice I knew too well.

It was his hurry up and let’s get this over with so he could move on to bigger and better things voice. He’d done this several times when he’d come see me at the campground before he had to go to work. And when I wanted to go hiking and he’d walk a million times faster than me to get it over with faster.

“Yes, it is because the cuckoo said it was time.” Agnes looked over at the clock with a big smile on her face. “Now go wash up and meet me in the dining room.” Agnes rubbed her hands down the apron.

Agnes’s meatloaf was no ordinary meatloaf. There was something different about it and it was very tasty. It wasn’t like Mary Elizabeth’s. Hers had a little grease around the edges, and there was no sign of grease on this one.

“What kind of meat do you use?” I asked Agnes, praying she didn’t say venison.

“It’s good isn’t it.” Hank had already gotten a second helping along with a heaping pile of mashed potatoes and corn mixed in.

“It is very good.” I parted another piece of the slice of meat with my fork and looked at it to see if I could figure out what was in it.

“It’s a secret family recipe.” Agnes winked and continued to eat without giving me a single hint about the ingredients.

We chitchatted about my family and how much Mary Elizabeth and I had really been trying to repair our relationship.

“I guess you’re looking forward to meeting Bev.” Agnes got up from the table and took her plate over to the sink.

“Who’s Bev?” I asked and looked over at Hank, giving him a little shrug.

“My mom.” Hank had no expression on his face. “She and my dad are moving back.” He leaned back and pushed his plate to the side.

“They are?” My jaw dropped. “When did this happen?”

Hank and I had talked about his parents a handful of times, but only about memories he had around Normal. He said they’d lived in Florida the last ten years, after he graduated high school, and that was it.

“It’s been in the works for a better part of a year.” Agnes moseyed over and picked up Hank’s plate. The sideway glance she gave him didn’t go unnoticed. “Granny, I got my plate.”

“Nonsense.” She shooed his hand away when he tried to take his plate back from her. “Don’t you know by now that I know you better than you know you? I can see you have ants in your pants and want to get somewhere, only you’re trying to be nice in front of Mae.”

Agnes sure didn’t miss a beat and I loved that about her.

“Mae is so dang nice that she’s pretended not to notice.” Agnes put Hank’s plate down and came back to get mine.

“Seriously, the least I can do is help.” I pushed back from the table to get up.

“No. You two go on and get out of here. Do whatever it is on your mind. Or is it that map?” she asked.

“Granny, you know we don’t talk official business outside of the office.” Hank was very adamant about that.

“Do you think Greaser’s accomplice has bugged my house?” She cackled, making me smile. “Does he think he can just tell me what I can and can’t say in my own home?” she asked me. “He’s a paranoid one.”

“Not so much paranoid as knowing just how nosy people are around here.” He used his napkin to wipe off his mouth before he set it on the table and got up. “You never know who’s listening.”

“Chester,” Agnes said to the dog that was eyeballing Agnes’s feet at the sink, as though he were waiting for scarps. “Don’t be going and telling no tales about Greaser having an accomplice who gave him a wig with a map sewn in it. You hear me?”

“I get it.” Hank walked over and hugged his granny.

It was a tender moment that made my heart long for the grandparent figure I never had. By the time I’d gotten into Mary Elizabeth’s family, her people were already dead, leaving just me, her, and Bobby Ray.

Speaking of Bobby Ray. I wondered how he was doing holding down the fort at Grassel’s Gas Station since Darnell’s death. One of the things I wanted to talk to the Laundry Club girls about was the food chain.

It was customary to bake or cook your best food when someone died and take it to the family so they didn’t have to worry about cooking. I had never been one to do this, but since I started hanging around the Laundry Club, I had sort of adopted their ways.

It was usually Betts who had us help the Bible thumpers but she’d yet to send out a text, so I wondered if her mind was too cluttered to worry about it. This was one more thing I could take off her plate.

“Where are you?” Hank waved his hand in front of my face on our way over to see Julip.

Chester and Fifi were in the back, both looking out the window in the dark night as if they could see. I couldn’t see a thing, and I knew they couldn’t either.

The stars looked like twinkle lights in the sky and I’d still not gotten used to how gorgeous it was here at night. After you live in a big city like New York City, where all the city lights make the stars disappear, you forget the peace and calm a starry night sky can give your soul.

“I was thinking about Joel and how he was doing.” I glanced over, barely making out Hank’s profile in the light from the dashboard.

“He’s only holding up because Greaser is dead. He’s insistent that it was Darnell who killed him. I guess it gives him some vindication.” He turned down old country roads that I never knew existed in Normal.

“You are certain he didn’t?” I asked as I saw a few lights in the distance.

“We have some video footage from Queenie, but she didn’t use a professional and they cut off the end of the battle.” Hank smirked. “Queenie is off the charts mad about that too. Luckily, we have footage of Greaser killing Darnell and Burt.”

This was new information, and it made me so sad to think about Hank watching it.

“The weird thing is that the look on Greaser’s face was shock when he noticed it was Darnell. It was like he wasn’t expecting to see him. This doesn’t line up with what he said to Darnell at his sentencing.”

The closer we drove towards the lights, I could see a faint shadow of a house coming into view.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” I reached over and patted his leg. “I can’t imagine watching, knowing you’re seeing a person’s last breath.”

“Part of the job,” he paused for a few seconds. “The weird thing is that after Greaser stabbed Darnell with the bayonet, he started to look around the battleground like he was looking for more people. Like he realized this might be where he could make good on his promise before he disappeared. The phone died and didn’t get all of the reenactment, so I didn’t see who sent the final blow to Greaser’s head.”

“You mean it was like he had just realized these people were part of the jury?” I asked a very disturbing question about what Greaser could’ve been thinking, not even questioning how he finally had been killed. A blow to the head.

“Yeah. Exactly.” The lights of the car made a spotlight on the cutest log cabin. “It was like a light bulb went off in his head. We know from you and Queenie that he didn’t go up to Queenie and ask her for the uniform. You both said she just handed it to him, thinking he was the Bass kid.”

“You can’t possibly think. . .” I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was about to say because it seemed like something from a movie. “You think he just stumbled upon the reenactment, Queenie assumed he was Lester’s fill-in, and then he went along with it. But when he saw Darnell, he realized it was Darnell and killed him. And then he went on a mission to see if he could find other members of the jury?”

“Yes, Mae.” He stopped the car a little ways from the front of the cabin like he wanted to finish the conversation before we went inside Julip’s home to talk to her about the map. “I think that’s exactly what happened. Darnell was on same side of the battle as Greaser. I could see it in Greaser’s face that he was shocked to see Darnell. I watched as he went from soldier to soldier, letting everyone live except Darnell, Burt, and Flora Jean.”

“We know he stayed at the Milkery the night before, but where was he the rest of the time?” It was a good question.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. Greaser might’ve killed the two men and Flora Jean is in a coma, but I know he didn’t do this alone now that I found that map in the wig. If I can find his accomplice, I’ll bring murder charges against him.” His words lingered between us as he finished the drive up to the cabin.

“What is she doing?” I asked when I noticed Julip was putting what appeared to be a suitcase in the back of her wagon.

“Let’s find out.” He cut the engine and got out, grabbing the bag that was on the floorboard between us.

I turned the key on just enough and reached over to put down the windows for the dogs.

“Poor you, Chester.” I reached around the seat to pet him and Fifi on the head. “He’s a man. He doesn’t think of rolling down the windows for you yet.”

There were things I was going to have to go over with Hank as a new dog owner.

Chester must’ve really enjoyed what I did because he stuck his nose out the window and howled so loud that both Hank and Julip turned around.

Fifi wasn’t going to let Chester outdo her. Her high-pitched yip carried from one side of the car to the other, as she ran across the back seat and stuck her nose through the small crack in the window.

Chester had planted his paws on the arm of the passenger side door. He sniffed, he howled, he sniffed more, and he howled louder.

“Sorry about that,” Hank apologized to Julip. “You going on a trip?”

“Yes. I’m out of here until you figure out who killed that crazy serial killer.” She threw the suitcase in the back with one big hoist. “Mae and I talked about it.”

“You did?” He glanced back at me.

“We didn’t really talk about it.” I looked at her.

“At the church and on the way back to your place.” She wasn’t going to let it die and I really wished she would. “You said there was an accomplice. I live alone.” Her voice got louder as Chester’s howl did the same. It was like they were in competition. She looked Hank in the eye. “I’m not staying here all by myself until you find the other person.”

“I’m sorry you don’t feel safe in your home, but I assure you everyone in Normal is safe.” His jaw clenched. “We’ve not gotten any leads on an accomplice. I like to make sure all the I’s are dotted and all the T’s are crossed. Which leads me to why we are here.” Hank unzipped the bag and took out a plastic baggy that had EVIDENCE printed in bold black letters on the it. “We found this in Greaser’s possession.”

“A wig?” Julip looked down at the bag and up at Hank. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Nothing, but I want to ask you about what was sewn into the wig.” He put the plastic bag back into his bag and pulled out another evidence bag with the map in it. “This map.”

“Just because I’m a cartographer doesn’t make me an accomplice,” Julip was acting paranoid.

“Of course we don’t think you are.” I watched as Hank patted her back to calm her.

It was apparent her nerves and fear of Greaser’s accomplice were getting to her.

“I want to know if you can tell me if you know where this leads. We’ve gone over and over it at the station and compared it to the maps we use for rescue and recovery in the park, but this just doesn’t make sense.” He handed her the bag.

She flattened it out on her palm and took a quick look.

“It’s hand drawn.” She didn’t tell us any enlightening new information. She held it back out to him.

“Yes, but do you know where this is?” He asked the same question only a little differently. “Can you take another look? Maybe inside?”

She looked at it again, then looked over at Chester. He’d not given up the howl.

“Can you please make him stop? I can’t concentrate.” Julip was completely unnerved. She seemed so unlike the woman I’d talked with in the car, but I didn’t really know her very well.

“Mae,” Hank said my name like I was the one to Chester’s howling. My eyes narrowed. “Please.”

“It was good seeing you, Julip. Let me know if you want to stay at the campground.” I offered before I gave Hank a mean stare and headed back to his car. “Look what you did,” I told Chester as I reached across the seat to turn the car on and put the windows back up. “Now we can’t have fresh air because of your big mouth.”

That didn’t stop him. He barked and howled so much that the windows steamed.

“Well?” I asked Hank when he returned to the car after ten minutes. “Any luck?”

“She said she didn’t recognize it. She mentioned a couple of the trails where there is a fork, so he had to know those trails intersected. She said that prisoners went to the library and were able to do research. Maybe Greaser was planning his escape, looking up different maps and creating his own.” He put the bag back on the floorboard and turned to look at Chester.

Chester’s nose was wet up against the window and his tail was sticking straight out. His front legs were stiff, and the toenails of his front paws dug into the arm of the passenger window.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think that dog was treeing someone.” Hank started the car and drove us out of there. “I asked her about her nurse duties on the field when she ran over to Darnell. She got a little defensive and said that everyone had fake blood and she just thought he was playing his part well.”

I sat there in silence and thought back to that moment when I too watched Darnell take the fall. I clearly remember thinking just how good it looked when he pretended he was hit, then it knocked me in the head.

“He was about to kill Julip,” I said with a whisper. “She’s really lucky he didn’t.”

“What?” Hank asked.

“I watched Darnell get killed.” I gulped, trying to swallow the lump that had found its way into my throat as the realization that I saw an actual murder take place dawned on me. “I thought to myself how good of an actor he was, but he wasn’t acting.” My voice trembled as the words left my mouth. “Greaser. He jabbed his gun towards Julip, and she put her hands up. Then it was like he just let her go.”

“She wasn’t a juror.” Hank’s words weren’t what haunted me.

It was the look on Julip’s face and her giggle that sent goosebumps up my legs.

Fifteen

I tossed and turned the entire night. Every little stick breaking outside, probably from some sort of wildlife, and every blowing leaf caught my attention. An unusual nighttime breeze seemed to have picked up overnight. I heard some cans rattling and the windchimes that some of the campers used to fancy up the outside of their homes on wheels jingling all night long.

It didn’t bother Fifi a bit. She was worn out from playing with Chester for another hour after Hank had brought me home after our little visit with Julip.

Last night, instead of going to get my car from Agnes’s house, I told Hank to just take us home and Dottie could drive me to get my car on our way to the Laundry Club in the morning. Of course that was after I’d checked with Dottie to make sure she was okay with it. Some days she was more particular than others, but she agreed.

No amount of Hank’s reassurance made me feel better about the idea there was someone out there that’d helped Greaser. From how Hank was talking, it sure did seem like it was someone in the community and that was even more disturbing.

What Julip said to him about the library and how the prisoners were able to go there for research was stuck in my head. Why hadn’t Abby ever mentioned it? She had many chances to bring it up, like when we discussed how Betts and the Bible thumpers never missed a chance to get over to the prison to minister. Abby helping them out at the library was no different.

Both were educating them in one way or another.

Instead of lying in bed tossing and turning more, I went ahead and made a pot of coffee. While I waited for Fifi to wake up and the morning sun to rise, I pulled out the notebook I’d used for investigating other murders in Normal from the junk drawer and sat down at the café table.

Not that I was really doing any sort of investigating, but if I wrote down the things Hank had told me, maybe I could help him come up with reasonable answers about Greaser and who had killed him.

We knew that Greaser killed Darnell Grassel and Burt Buggy. He also tried to kill Flora Jean, who was still in a coma. I flipped the notebook open and wrote Greaser’s name in the middle with a circle around it. Then I made lines coming out from it in the shape of the sun.

I printed Darnell on one line, Burt on another, and then Flora on another.

“If only you would wake up.” I put a star next to Flora’s name, knowing that Hank really needed her to be his star witness, to wake up and tell him what happened.

I wrote down the timeline of the morning of the reenactment and filled in when I saw Greaser get the outfit from Queenie and when Julip was giggling. I had a weird feeling in my gut that Julip knew more than she was saying.

I wrote her name on a line and quickly made bullet points about her behavior. I wrote that she wasn’t as friendly when we went to her house. She didn’t appear to want to look at the map. She got defensive when Hank even mentioned it. She was scared. She said she was scared there was an accomplice, but was she really?

If she was scared, why hadn’t she packed up and left hours before after dropping me off?

“Where were you all morning before and after the reenactment?” I looked at her name and questioned her whereabouts.

A car horn beeped. I jumped up when I realized I’d been sitting there daydreaming about the events that’d happened and dawn had flown by. The sun was up.

I threw my notebook in my bag and quickly took Fifi out to potty.

“Are you comin’ or not?” Dottie had rolled down her window, her hair still up in her pink sponge curlers. “I’ve got things to do.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I pointed to Fifi. “I’ll get her inside.” I patted my leg when I noticed Fifi was wasting time and running around to smell all the scents of all the creatures that came out at night. “Let’s eat!” I hollered, knowing it would get her in the RV.

She darted up the steps. Once we were inside, I gave her a scoop of kibble and freshened up her water.

“I’ll be back soon,” I assured her and gave her a pat on the head. She was accustomed to a life of lying around and being pampered when I got her. A good romp with other dogs, like she had with Chester last night, wore her out for days, so I didn’t feel too bad leaving her today since I knew she’d sleep and recover.

“How was supper?” Dottie was wasting no time getting to the meat of my dinner date. “I’m guessing you’re in with the fam.”

“Do you know Hank’s parents?” I asked and clicked my seat belt on. “They are moving back, and Hank really never talks about them.”

“I’ve seen them a time or two at the diner, but rarely since they’ve not lived here in so long.” She zoomed out of the campground.

“Seriously, fifteen miles per hour,” I reminded her of the speed limit.

“I’ve got some bad news.” Was this her way of telling me it was okay that she was speeding? “The Bassetts are suing for mental reasons or something weird.”

“Suing who? For what?” I took a good look at Dottie’s hair to make sure her curlers weren’t wound too tight because she wasn’t making a lick of sense.

“You. They are suing you.” Her hands gripped the wheel, her body stiffened.

“Me?” I gasped, a shiver of panic coursing through my veins. “Why me? I got them their motorhome back and it was all in one piece. I don’t have anything.”

“I got the papers this morning. They are suing you for the deed to Happy Trails.” One of her hands let go of the wheel as she reached into the console between the seats for her cigarette pouch. “They said it’s mental damage or some malarkey and they can’t go back into the motorhome.”

“This doesn’t make any sense. They’ve been catered to by Mary Elizabeth this entire time and I got them their motorhome back. Who gave you the paperwork?” I asked.

“Their lawyer. Fancy one too.” She tapped the cigarette case on the side of the steering wheel, jiggling one of the cigarettes out just enough for her to put it up to her lip and pull it the rest of the way out. “I told him you didn’t have much and how could they do that?” She flung her head to the side. “Papers in the back seat.”

“What did he say?” I asked and reached over the seat to get them.

“He said they talked to someone and heard you was rich once. He said he was gonna get your accounts and see if you’re hiding money. I told him he was crazy.” She shook her head. “If I were you, I’d give that woman lawyer a call.”

“You mean Ava Cox?” Saying her name brought back bad memories.

“If you think she can get you out of this.” Dottie pulled up to my car in front of Agnes’s house. “I’ll see you at the Laundry Club.”

I got out of the car with the papers from the Bassetts’ lawyer stuck up under my armpit and dug deep into my bag, looking for my wallet where I’d stashed Ava Cox’s business card. It was a number I hadn’t wanted to program into my phone. Past history and all.

There was so much junk in the bag that I had to take my notebook out and set it on top of the car. I pulled each side of the bag apart and looked in while jiggling it around to move the contents inside.

Just as I was giving up and grabbed my keys, the wind picked up and blew the notebook off the car, sending into the street.

I jerked around and took a step towards it when a car came to a screeching halt.

“Mae!” Hank jumped out of the car with a frightened look on his face. “You’ve got to start paying attention to what you’re doing.” He scolded me before picking up the notebook.

“You’ve got to stop going so fast.” I put my hand on the notebook to take it and he pulled it away, holding it up in the air so I couldn’t grab it. “Besides, I’m preoccupied.”

“What is this?” he asked since the notebook had conveniently opened to the page where I’d started to make notes about Greaser. “Are you doing some sort of investigation?”

“I’m being sued.” I didn’t care about Greaser right now. All I cared about was getting hold of Ava. I handed him the papers from underneath my armpit and took my notebook back. “The Bassetts feel like they’ve been emotionally scarred by their motorhome being stolen. Someone told them I used to be married to a kazillionaire or something and they think I have cash stashed.”

“Do you?” He looked up at me from the stack of papers. “I mean, when I first met you, you did have money stored in a sock.”

“No. If I had any extra money, I’d be spending it on a manicure and a new dye job on my hair instead of having Dottie go down to Grassel’s gas station to get me some L’Oréal.”

That was the one thing I did miss about having money. The ability to look good without trying. I would come out of a salon and look like a million dollars. Here? Not so much. I was lucky to get makeup on most days. Heck, even get my teeth brushed. Mary Elizabeth would fall over and die if she knew this information.

He handed the papers back to me.

“We will figure it out.” He was trying to put a positive spin on things, but it didn’t help. “Now, what’s with the notebook?”

“Last night I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned. I got to thinking about Julip and how strange she was acting.” I began to tell him about the reenactment, but didn’t get far.

His phone rang and he answered it.

“I’ll be right there. Don’t start without me.” He tucked the phone back in his pocket. “I’ve got to go. Flora Jean opened her eyes.”

Sixteen

“What did she say?” Betts dragged a foot underneath her as she grabbed one of Mary Elizabeth’s cinnamon rolls.

“I have no idea. He just said she opened her eyes.” I gave everyone a Styrofoam cup and went around to fill them up with freshly brewed coffee. “Would you like a top off?” I asked one of the customers who was at the puzzle table working on a few pieces while their laundry was finishing up in the dryer.  They’d already gotten a cup, but I had enough to give him a little more before I made a fresh pot. “He told whoever called him not to do anything until he got there,” I said over my shoulder on my way over to top off the customer’s coffee.

“It’ll be very interesting to hear what Greaser said to her.” Poor Queenie. She looked all worn out. Even her pink Jazzercise leotard had a faded look to it. The white sweatband around her forehead had balled up fuzzies on it. She was definitely looking like a wilted grapevine.

“If he said anything.” Abby walked over to the TV area when she saw Hank giving a press conference from in front of the hospital on the early morning news. She picked up the remote off the coffee table and sat down at the edge of the couch while turning the volume up.

Betts, Queenie, Dottie, Mary Elizabeth, Dawn, and I walked over with our coffee and listened as Hank gave the update about Flora Jean. It sounded like she didn’t remember what happened. A doctor answered some questions from the media, but she said this wasn’t uncommon and usually they did eventually get some memory back. She couldn’t say how long it would take Flora Jean to get her memory or even that she would, only that she was going to live. The stab wound had been repaired, no major organs were injured, and she expected Flora Jean to make a full recovery.

“That’s all good news.” Betts put her hands together like she was offering a prayer of thanks before she went back over to the book club area where we’d been gathered before Hank had come on the news.

Mary Elizabeth went to the bathroom and Dawn walked over to the coffee bar to refill her cup.

Dottie, Queenie, and I waited until Hank finished the conference.

Hank wrapped up the news conference by asking the public to come forward if they recalled seeing anyone on the side of the road the morning Greaser left the Milkery or the day before when he escaped. Hank described the clothing that Mary Elizabeth and Dawn had mentioned.

“Mary Elizabeth, where did that bag of clothes go that you brought in here to be washed?”  I asked her when she came out of the bathroom.”

I’d completely forgotten about it, and she obviously had too.

“I forgot all about those.” Her jaw dropped. She pointed to the couch. “I remember setting it down over there.” She walked over and looked around. “Betts, did you see a little duffle bag with some clothes in it over here?”

“No.” Betts shook her head. “Someone probably took it. It’s not unusual for items to be taken from the laundromat if no one is in here to watch them since we are open twenty-four hours. I even had to post a sign.”

Like rubberneckers, all of us turned to look at the door where she did in fact have a sign about not leaving your belongings and how the Laundry Club wasn’t responsible for them if you did.

The phone rang and Betts went into the office to answer it.

“It sure was a nice bag too.” Mary Elizabeth’s brows knitted. “One of Lily’s,” she referred to Lily Pulitzer as if they were on a first name basis. “A special yearly bag she puts out. I liked it too. Had a very colorful floral pattern. Oh, well.” Her shoulders lifted to her ears and back down. “Do any of y’all know this Flora?”

“I do. She comes to the evening Jazzercise Strike class. She’s in good shape.” Queenie wasn’t her usual upbeat self. “I bet she survived because she has good muscle memory.”

“Would it be rude if I took her these cinnamon rolls?” Mary Elizabeth asked.

“I’ll take them to her if you want me to. I was going to stop by.” It wasn’t like I knew her, but I wanted to see how she was doing for myself. Not that it was my business. I still had a feeling Julip wasn’t being so forthcoming with information.

Did Julip hear something Greaser said to these people? Or did he say something different to her that made her giggle?

“That’d be great because I’ve got to get our picnic stuff together still.” Mary Elizabeth grinned. “Both of my babies and me.”

I planted my palm on my forehead.

“I completely forgot,” I groaned at how bad I had gotten about remembering things.

All of us took a seat in the book club area. Even Betts joined us after her phone call.

“I wanted everyone to come not only because I missed you all and we wanted to make sure Betts is okay.” I started the conversation.

“And Lester too.” Queenie made sure to chime in.

“And Lester.” I agreed. “I wanted to see if we could do a food chain.”

“Oh, shoot!” Betts smacked her leg. “I’m in charge of those for the church and I completely forgot.”

“It’s fine, honey.” Mary Elizabeth leaned over and patted Betts’s leg. “We’ve been under a lot of stress lately. But I thought Carol Wise was in charge of the church food chain.”

“She is. . .was.” Betts’s brows pinched. “She’s not been coming to church, so I guess I better do it.”

Abby walked back over to the coffee station when the coffee pot had beeped it was finished brewing.

“That’s why I wanted to tell everyone while we were together. Betts shouldn’t have to be in charge with everything she’s got going on. I think we can pull together and do it.” I opened my bag and pulled out my notebook. I ripped a piece of paper out of it and handed it to Queenie. “Can you be in charge of writing everyone’s name down?”

This gave me a good excuse to go see Carol Wise and ask her to do it, knowing we’d already done it. It was just an opening. Then maybe she’d tell me about her lack of tithe and why she’d not been to church. If I could prove that’s the discrepancy in the church’s taxes, that’d be one thing I could take off of Betts and Lester’s plate.

“I’ve got to get out of here.” Dottie was the first to write down what she was going to cook. “It’s my day to work at the office.”

“You better pull them curlers out of your hair.” Queenie reached up to take one out and Dottie smacked her hand away.

“Get off me, crazy.” Dottie took a couple of side steps away from Queenie.

“Aww, Dottie, don’t be mad.” Queenie teased as Dottie opened the door to leave. “You know I love you.”

Dottie didn’t look back, she simply lifted her hand and gave her a not so friendly gesture while the rest of us laughed.

I got up and walked over to the coffee station to talk to Abby, leaving my notebook on the chair along with my bag while everyone discussed what dishes they were taking to what family. I didn’t want everyone to hear me ask her about the prisoners and the library.

“Last night I went to see Julip with Hank and she mentioned the prisoners get to come to the library. Is that true?” I asked and slowly stirred more cream into the fresh cup of coffee.

“They do. It’s a federal program. They leave all the books out and it drives me crazy.” She brought her cup up to her mouth.

“They found a hand drawn map on Greaser. The map didn’t make sense, and I wondered if the prisoners have access to the map section.” I leaned up against the coffee stand.

“They have access just like you and I do. A lot of them are getting their law degree. It seems to be a common thing.” She blew on the steaming cup before she took another sip. “Did Greaser steal the map?”

Her face went white.

“No. I don’t think so. It looks very elementary. I think someone on the outside helped him because he had drawn two trails that had some sort of fork in them.” I really had no idea what I was talking about.

“Fork?” Abby’s brows rose.

“I guess a fork in the trail or something. I don’t know. Why didn’t you mention Greaser was at the library?” I wanted to know why she hadn’t said anything about it.

“I didn’t know any of them. I don’t get a list and don’t talk to them. The guard brought them in and stood at the door. We close the library early twice a month for them.” Abby shrugged and took another drink. “It was a good time for me to go into the office and get some librarian stuff done. Flora Jean usually helped them with anything they needed.”

“Did you say Flora Jean?” I nearly dropped my cup.

“Yes. She volunteers sometimes at the library. ” Abby acted as if it were no big deal.

“Do you think Greaser recognized her?” I asked.

“I don’t even know if Greaser was there, Mae.” She seemed a little fed up with my questioning her.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Hank knew this little bit of information.

“Was Blanche the guard that came with them?” I asked.

Something made me wonder if Blanche had a thing going with Greaser because it did seem odd that she didn’t have a gun when he escaped, not that I didn’t believe Lester when he told Hank he didn’t like the guards to have guns.

It wasn’t uncommon for a guard to have a relationship with a prisoner. According to some TV shows.

“Umm. . .” Abby was hesitant.

“Heavy set, almost shaved head, can’t really tell if she’s a . . .”

“Man or a woman?” Abby said in a slow southern drawl in the nicest way possible.

“Yes. That’s her.” I noted and gnawed on my lip.

“What?” Abby asked.

“She’s the guard that was in the room with Lester when Greaser escaped. And if he had help from the outside…” I didn’t have to say much more than that.

“You know. I can find out who checked out the maps. They aren’t just laying there for anybody to use since some of them are pretty valuable and on loan from the Civil War Historical Society.” Her words were like hearing from a beautiful song bird.

“That’d be great. In the meantime, I’m being sued by the motorhome people,” I told her.

“You’re what?” Mary Elizabeth’s head nearly popped off her shoulders. “They what?”

“They are suing me.” I walked over and took the papers I’d stuck in my notebook after my little encounter with Hank and handed them to her.

“Well, my stars.” She drew a hand up to her pearls around her neck. Her fingernails fiddled with the little balls. “I can’t believe it,” she gasped. “I thought telling them about you working your way up after what Paul West did to you and getting this town back on its economic feet would charm them and they would forgive you for not having cameras. I even showed them the National Park Magazine where you were featured.” Tears sat on the edge of her highly mascara eyelids.

“Look what you did,” Dawn snarled. “Poor Mae.” Dawn stood up. “I told her that she made a mistake as soon as she showed them the magazine.”

“Now she’s in a pickle and she needs to call that Cox lady.” Queenie shook her head in disgust.

“Ava Cox?” Betts’s eyes grew. “Are you desperate?”

“In other news,” the news anchor cut away from the hospital conference, “We are going straight out to Happy Trails Campground where Violet Rhinehammer is going to update us on some breaking news. Violet?”

“Yeah, Brenda.” The camera turned to a chipper young woman with blonde hair neatly parted to the side and layered in loose curls, perfect white teeth, and a big smile standing in front of the campground’s office.

Violet was knocking on the office door. Dottie swung it open, hair still up in her pink curlers and with an unlit cigarette tucked in the corner of her mouth.

“What is this?” Dottie looked into the camera.

“I’m Violet Rhinehammer with Channel 2 and we wanted to talk to you about the lawsuit that’s been filed against this campground and ask you a few questions about your security.” Violet stuck the microphone in Dottie’s face and turned to the camera, giving it her million dollar smile.

“Git that thing out of my face.” Dottie pushed the microphone back and lifted her shirt up. The camera scanned down, and Dottie exposed a gun snugged in the elastic waistband of her pants. “This here is my security.”

The sound was muffled before the camera spun around and showed Violet Rhinehammer running back to the Channel 2 van.

I melted down into the chair knowing exactly what a deflated balloon felt like. Awful.

“This can’t be happening.” I put my hands over my face. “Again.”

“It’s not.” Abby sat down in the chair next to me. “We will fight this. Just like last time. I’ll do a lot of social media. Hank will help you keep the media away.”

“It’s not the same as last time. Last time the media only wanted to know about Paul. He showed up dead, but Hank was involved then, making it so much easier for the media not to get in.” The sinking feeling turned in my stomach.

“They can’t just come on your property.” Betts walked over and grabbed the remote control, clicking the TV off. “It’s private property. You still own it.”

“If I were you, I’d drive their motorhome to the end of your entrance and leave it there.” Dawn didn’t throw any punches. She had been an action gal since the day I met her. “They can’t sue you because of mental distress. They were fine at the bed and breakfast. They had a really good time during our movie night.”

“You can be a character witness for Mae.” Abby’s face lit up. “We know you. We can all be character witnesses. I was with you when you ran into that motorhome not knowing if Greaser’s accomplice was in there or not.”

“You guys are so great.” I was able to get a little more air into my lungs. They had made me feel better. “I think I still need to call Ava Cox, though.”

“You definitely need her to look at the case and see if they have a legal leg to stand on.” Betts made a great suggestion.

“I’ll give her a call on my way over to take Flora Jean the cinnamon rolls.” I really wasn’t in the mood to go to the hospital and feed my curiosity about Julip, but it was one of the things that was stuck on replay in my head.

If I didn’t at least scratch the idea, it would sit there and fester. It was one of the traits that I swear I picked up from Mary Elizabeth. I wouldn’t call it nosy. I’d call it curious, even though Hank didn’t see it that way.

“Before you go, can I talk to you in my office?” Betts asked me.

The other ladies were busy writing down on the piece of paper what food they were going to take to the families, including Flora, so it made me feel a little better to pretend that was the reason I was going to the hospital to see her. That is, if I could get through the security. If I knew Hank, he had that place lined with officers. Especially if Greaser had an accomplice and he hadn’t finished the job and still wanted Flora Jean dead.

“Sure.” I followed her into her office.

“Can you close the door?” she asked and sat down at her desk.

“Are you okay?” I asked once the door handle clicked shut.

“I’m fine.” She pinched a smile that told me she really wasn’t fine. If she really wanted to tell me, she would. “Lester told me how you talked to him and he came over here. I wanted to thank you.”

“No problem. He’s really great.”

She let out a long sigh and then took a big breath.

“We haven’t had the best relationship over the past few months and after Greaser escaped, it opened our eyes to what we really have. We have a community that loves us. A wonderful church family and this amazing town.” The words leaving her mouth washed over me like icy cold water, shocking me.

“I had no idea.” I blinked with bafflement. “I guess I never figured a preacher would have marriage problems.”

“Everyone has problems, regardless of occupation.” Betts tried to frame it in a good way, but still. “He’d been sleeping at the church for a couple of weeks. Then this whole thing with the taxes threw us in a tizzy. Did you get a chance to look at the books?”

“I did. And I did find something very odd, although I’m not sure if it accounts for a big loss. Do you know how much money you’re missing because he didn’t tell me that?” I didn’t even have a dollar amount to look for. I’d only scanned down the list of tithes so far and that’s when I noticed Carol Wise hadn’t made a contribution in a few weeks.

“It’s about ten thousand dollars,” her voice cracked.

My jaw dropped.

“I know. It’s a lot. Carol is older and she started working for him and that’s when all this started to happen.” Betts looked like she was in pain just saying the words.

“I noticed she gave on a regular basis and that she’d stopped giving. I looked back into the tithes and sorted the checks from the cash. She always gave cash. Is that right?” I asked.

“Yes. Lester told me she’d stopped tithing and I asked her about it when I saw her at the Tough Nickel. She told me it wasn’t my business why she stopped,” Betts said.

“How long ago was this?” I asked. “I haven’t finished looking through all the paperwork. I was going to go over there this morning after I drop off the cinnamon rolls.”

“She came to work for us about six months ago and stopped weekly tithing about two months ago.”

“Does she still come to church?” I wondered. Not that it would make a difference.

“She hasn’t been to Sunday service in about two weeks. She also didn’t make it to the last prison ministry.”

“She was part of the ministry?” I asked. “I mean, what if she took the money to help Greaser?”

“Huh?” Betts’s head jerked back, and she looked at me funny.

“Nothing.” I didn’t need to go there. Betts had too much on her plate already to find out that I was looking into the investigation. Greaser had already done enough to her and Lester. “Is there anything I can do for you and Lester?”

“No. I’m so thankful you talked to him because when he came in here yesterday, he seemed like the old Lester I know and fell in love with.” There was a genuine look of relief on her face.

“I know!” I snapped my fingers. “Why don’t you two take a vacation? I’m sure there’s some sort of substitute preacher that can fill in for Lester and I can run the Laundry Club.”

“That’s a really good idea.” Betts’s faltering smile turned into a great big smile. “The Preacher Association does have people who travel to other churches for that very purpose and we sure could use some alone time.”

“Perfect. I expect you to talk to Lester and have something planned by the end of the week.” I was so happy to make her feel better or just give her some hope even if Lester didn’t follow through.

When I first came to Normal, Betts had given me a couple of jobs with her cleaning business when I needed to make some extra money to help fix up Happy Trails. I owed her so much and giving my time to hang around the Laundry Club was nothing. Plus, Dottie loved running the campground alone. If we still had a campground to run, that is.

Carol Wise had been on my go see radar, but now she was on my must see list.

Mary Elizabeth reminded me to be at the picnic for lunch and I assured her I’d be there before I left the Laundry Club. I was tempted to eat the cinnamon rolls on my drive to the hospital.

It was about forty minutes away from Normal. It was located outside of the Daniel Boone National Park in a bigger town, and the drive over gave me time to think about what I was going to say to Flora Jean.

The phone rang and it was Hank.

“Hey there.” I answered with a big smile on my face.

“They took me off the case,” he said with a flat tone.

“What?” I asked with a hint of nervous laughter. “What case?”

“Greaser’s. They said it was over when Flora Jean told them Greaser told her he stayed back to make good on his promise.” He sounded deflated.

“What else did she say?” I was so shocked.

“I don’t know. They questioned her without me there, and I told them I wanted to talk to her. They let me go in and when she got upset with my questioning, they told me to leave. That’s when I got the call from the chief saying I was off the case. The case is closed.” He sounded madder than upset.

“Who killed Greaser? Did she say?” I slowed down a little, wondering if I should just turn around and go give Carol the cinnamon rolls.

“She said that she killed Greaser but that can’t be right. She claimed she used the butt end of Burt’s gun, but in the video, she wasn’t near Burt. I don’t think she had enough time to get Burt’s gun and hit Greaser after he stabbed her.”

“What did the video show?” I asked.

“The video cut off just as he was lunging towards her so we don’t know what happened. I’m not saying she’s lying, but she got very upset when I continued to ask her some very hard questions.” He paused. “I think she’s covering something up, Mae. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m not sure I can let this go.”

“They took you off the case. Closed the case. You have to let it go.” I continued to drive towards the hospital.

“No. I can dig without them knowing.” This wasn’t the By the Book Hank I knew, and I loved it!

“Great! I can help you because I think Julip is hiding something.”

“No. You’re not helping me. And that’s that.” He didn’t leave any room for me to protest, but I would help him anyway. He would see that he needed me.

I was for sure taking these cinnamon rolls to Flora Jean and figuring out what she was hiding.

Seventeen

The hospital was buzzing with news media vans, and the FBI was holding a new conference. When I saw the Channel 2 news van, I wondered if Violet Rhinehammer was there. I didn’t bother looking for her. While the press was occupied with the news update, I was going to slip right on in.

“Can I help you?” The older woman had a nice smile on her face. Her eyes twinkled. She wore pink hospital scrubs that had Volunteer embroidered on the left side. She sat on a stool behind a desk that was chest high.

“I’m here from . . .” I gulped and prepared myself to lie. “Normal Baptist Church and we have a very important parishioner here. We made these delicious cinnamon rolls for her.”

“It is so wonderful that you women of the Lord do this.” Her checks balled as her smile grew.  “What’s her name?”

“Flora Jean.” I searched my mind for her last name and realized I had no idea what it was.

“Oh, yes.” The older lady shook her head. “I heard about that. That is what this whole mess out there is about. I’ve been instructed not to let anyone know her condition or her room number because people take advantage and will go in there to ask her all sorts of things. You can’t trust those media people.”

“No, ma’am, you sure can’t.” I gave a sympathetic look. “Flora Jean is such a big part of our parish.”

“I thought you said it was a Baptist church?” she asked me, her head turned like a puppy dog when you said the word treat. “You said parish. Isn’t that Catholic?”

When she leaned a little more to the side as though she were trying to hear me, I noticed the small hearing device in her ear.

“I said she’s been a good partner in our church family,” I spoke a little louder, covering up my mistake. “She spends her days going to that prison and spreading the good word.”

I started to lay it on so thick that I really thought I was going to get struck down by lightning.

“Her daughter was just visiting. I’m sure she’s tired,” the woman seemed to be talking herself into not giving me Flora Jean’s room number.

“What if I gave you a cinnamon roll?” I winked at her and opened the box. “Since you’re not going to let me give them to Flora.”

She leaned over the little desk and eyeballed the sugary treats. She licked her lips.

“I think I will have one.” She grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbled something down. “I didn’t tell you anything.” She slid the piece of paper across the counter of the desk and grinned. “If they ask if I told you anything, I can confidently say no.”

“You’re the best.” I let her pick out the cinnamon roll she wanted, and it was a good gooey one.

“Bless you for the work that your church does.” She had to give me one last comment that gave a jab to my heart.

Flora Jean was on the fourth floor and when I got into the elevator, I looked up and offered a silent prayer for forgiveness.

“I mean, really, it’s for the greater good,” I said and then clamped my mouth shut when the elevator doors opened up into the lobby of the fourth floor.

I looked at the numbers on the wall to determine whether I had to go right or left. It looked as if it didn’t matter because Flora Jean’s room number was smack dab in the middle. So I decided to go left.

I made sure to keep my head down and not make eye contact with anyone. I didn’t want to be forced to lie if I didn’t have to. I followed the numbers on the doors until I made it to her room.

The door to Flora Jean’s room was cracked open. When I peeked inside, she appeared to be asleep and alone. No daughter, so I went on in and shuffled my feet a little to make some noise. The last thing I wanted her to do was to see a stranger and start yelling or something.

She looked over at me. Her eyes had dark circles under them. There was some bruising.

“Who are you?” she asked in a groggy voice.

“I’m May-bell-ine from church.” I decided not to say Mae West just in case she knew my name from the past year or even from the most recent news report. “I’m here to bring you some cinnamon rolls from the girls at church. You know them. They’ve got a list going to feed everyone and their family that’s been affected by these awful events. And I’m the one who found you at the battlefield.”

“I owe you a lot.” She groaned when she tried to use her fists to push herself up on the bed. “I can never repay you for saving my life.”

“I’m not asking you to repay me.” Hmm, I wondered if it would be awful of me to cash in on that and ask her to tell me everything about Greaser. “I just want you to know that me and my friends are thankful you’re alive. Can I help you?” I asked when I noticed she was still struggling to push herself up in the bed.

“Thank you.” She let me put my hands under her armpits and give her a good yank up.  “Did Preacher Lester send you?” she asked with a curious look on her face.

“His wife, Betts, and I are good friends. She asked me to stop by.” I pulled the covers up, fluffing them around her.

“She did?” She questioned as if she were surprised. “I just thought. . .” She tugged her lips closed and turned her head to look out the window. “Thank you for the food. So many people have brought things.”

I walked over and noticed all the flowers, cards, and food that’d already been dropped off.

“Is there anything I can do for you while I’m here?” I asked, figuring she wasn’t going to tell me anything.

“I’m tired.” Her voice was weak.

“My friend Abby told me to tell you that she can’t wait for you to come back to the library.” I thought I’d throw that out. Anything to get her to talk.

“I love the library.” She smiled. There were dark circles under her eyes. The machines beeped in the background.

“Did you take your daughter there when she was younger?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. Her love for books blossomed after the divorce.” She laughed as though she were having a pleasant memory.

“Has she come to see you?” I asked.

“She was just here. She’s insistent that I stay with her until. . .” she stopped talking.

“Listen, I’m going to be honest with you. I am friends with Betts. I don’t go to your church, but we are making food for all the families affected by this.” I held up my finger. “That’s not a lie.”

She released a big sigh as if she was bothered by me.

“Please, just hear me out. I’m not a detective or anything, but I’m dating Hank Sharp, the detective on the Greaser case, and he’s been put on leave for wanting to continue to investigate even though Greaser is dead.” I curled my hand around the rail next to her bed and sat down in the chair. “You don’t have to say anything. For the safety of our community, we are just making sure that Greaser doesn’t have an accomplice who could go after more jury members out of revenge.”

“I wasn’t a juror.” She looked at me. There was fear in her eyes.

“I know, but he clearly hurt you for a reason then let you live.” I could tell by her fidgeting she was hiding a secret.

“I met him at the library.” She looked down at her hands. “He was actually really nice. When he noticed it was me in the outfit, he told me that I needed to keep my mouth shut about helping him with the maps. If he found out I said anything, he’d come back to finish the job.” Tears filled her eyes. “That’s when he stabbed me. If it weren’t for you. . .” She lifted her hand and wiped her face.

“Did you tell Hank this?” I asked her.

“No, because when I woke up, nobody told me Greaser was dead. My daughter is the one who told me. Greaser is dead and that’s what matters.” She rolled away from me.

“Did you kill him?” I asked.

“No. I didn’t have the strength.” Her jaw clenched.  “I’m not sure if my pants that I wore are over there.” She lifted her chin in the air towards the hospital room closet. “If you look in the pocket of my pants, what’s in there will lead you to who was helping him.”

I hurried over to closet and rummaged through her bloody clothes. I searched the pockets and finally found a folded up piece of paper.

“Why do you think someone was helping him?” I asked her and noticed it was a map.

“I want you to know that I thought I was helping him research geography. I didn’t realize he was planning an escape.” She sniffed and her eyes welled with tears. “He had other maps at the library that I didn’t help him with. After my daughter told me Greaser was dead, I thought about the research he was doing on geography and remembered the map that fell from his clothes on the battlefield that I reached for and picked up with the last bit of energy that I had. It was like my memories came flooding back. I knew I didn’t help him with those maps, and I was the only one at the library helping the prisoners because it gave Abby time to apply for new grants and do office work.”

“Do you care if I tell Hank all of this?” I asked and looked down at the map. I couldn’t understand a bit of it. It was too bad Julip had left town or I would have taken it to her. “I’m not sure if anything will be done since the FBI insists that the case is closed, but it’s still good information.”

“Of course you can.” She looked past me when the nurse came in with a small clear plastic cup with a few pills in them.  “I was planning on giving the map to the police, but now that you told me the case is closed, I just want to put this behind me.”

The nurse handed Flora Jean the cup. Flora’s hand was shaky, and I could see on her face that she was exhausted.

“I’ll keep you posted.” I hugged her goodbye after she took the pills.

“Thank you for saving me.” The sincerity was not only in her tone but written all over her face.

I hurried out of the hospital, replaying everything in my head that Flora Jean had told me so when I did call Hank on the way back, I would remember it all.

“Mae West!” The shrill voice called out to me when I walked through the sliding doors at the hospital entrance. “Violet Rhinehammer, Channel 2 news and the new editor in chief of the National Parks Magazine.”

My heart stopped along with my feet and I could feel the shock on my face as I watched her chipper little self running towards me with a microphone extended toward me and a cameraman following closely behind.

“Would you like to give a statement to our Channel 2 viewers about the lawsuit filed against you at the Normal County Courthouse this morning where the defendants want the deed to Happy Trails Campground? Your home that you’ve really gone to great efforts to make a very well known vacation destination to people who want to visit the Daniel Boone National Forest,” she talked so fast. I was watching her mouth, but her words ran together.

I wanted to punch her in her perfect little mouth and knock out those bright white teeth.

“Did you say you were the editor in chief of the National Parks Magazine?” I asked since the most recent editor had succumbed to an untimely demise.

In fact, I found her and then had to use my own sleuthing skills to help solve the murder. Hank forgot all that when I told him I could help.

“Ava Cox is my lawyer and she’ll be producing a statement later this afternoon.” I caught myself in a lie before I even realized exactly what I was saying.

Violet had replaced the notebook stuck up under her armpit with the microphone.

“Ava Cox? Isn’t she the wife of Grandy Cox? Your husband’s partner who killed himself after your husband stole the Coxes’ entire life savings? Her son is the one who. . .” Clearly Violet had done her due diligence.

“Thank you for thinking of me. I’m so appreciative.” As vivid as if she were standing right next to me, I could see the pride on Mary Elizabeth’s face. She’d be happy all   the money she put towards etiquette classes had just come in handy.

“When you can feel it right here,” the teacher used to say and jam her finger in her chest to make a point of how crucial it was. “You will kill them with kindness, and I mean the bless your heart kindness where you are smiling while serving them a shit sandwich.”

All the girls in manners class had gasped at the appalling language the teacher had used because in the previous lesson, she had told us that cursing wasn’t a sign of good manners. When a southern girl cursed, it made her southern roots go down on the socialite chain, taking years to climb back up.

“Manners has nothing to do with money,” she’d say. “It has to do with social grace and dignity.”

I came from nothing and when I left out on my own, that’s when my taught manners and etiquette came in handy and wow, did I see how right she was now.

Because if not for that, right now Violet would be submitting a tape of me going nuts right there in front of the hospital to Dr. Phil or one of those other daytime television shows.

“You heard it right here, folks. Mae West has hired lawyer Ava Cox to represent her in the lawsuit Bassett versus West.” She flung her pretty blonde hair behind her shoulder.

The camera panned from me to her, but not before she did the posture that was the first lesson taught in etiquette class. Shoulders back, boobs up.

“This is Violet Rhinehammer, reporting live for Channel 2.”

Obviously, she went to etiquette class.

Eighteen

“Hank, it’s Mae.” This was not the time to be getting his voicemail. “I’ve got something very important to tell you. I talked to Flora Jean. You aren’t going to believe what she told me. Call me back.”

I wasn’t sure if he was so upset that he was letting go of this case and had turned his phone off., but I knew once he heard me say that Flora Jean told me something, I’d be the first number he’d dialed.

Bobby Ray texted just as I was hanging up the phone to remind me about the picnic Mary Elizabeth had made for us.

I looked over at the map in the passenger seat. I really wanted to go on this trail, but I wasn’t entirely sure where it was. I had an inkling, but when you’re going hiking in the Daniel Boone National Park, you needed much more than an inkling. Every year someone died on the trails in the park due to getting lost or not knowing how to read the maps provided by the park.

I was a tough woman, but I knew my limits. Right now, I didn’t want to be the next statistic who didn’t leave the park alive. Besides, Fifi needed me.

There was no sense in pulling over and replying to Bobby Ray’s text. I might’s well head back into town and wait for Hank to call me back. It would be nice to visit with Mary Elizabeth and Bobby Ray, but I was still a little sore about her talking me up to the Bassetts. Didn’t they know she was a proud southern mama, that no matter what type of bragging they did on their children, adopted or not, you had to cut it in half to get to the real truth?

The phone rang. Instead of taking my eyes off the road to see who it was, I knew it had to be Hank.

“Hey, you won’t believe. . .” I started to go on about Flora Jean and the map Greaser had dropped but was rudely interrupted by Ava Cox.

“Have you lost your mind? Well, having your mind in the first place was questionable, but what little you’ve got left, I’m certain you’ve lost it.” Ava Cox sounded as unhappy to hear my voice as much as I was happy to hear hers. “I spit out my coffee at the BBQ when I saw you on TV telling the world that I was representing you in a lawsuit.”

“I’m guessing you’re calling because you’re happy to hear it?” I squeaked out the words with a little bit of trepidation, hoping I wouldn’t have to beg her to take my case.

“Mae, the last time we talked, we made our peace and I helped you out, but that was it. The end of our relationship.” She had mentioned something like that now that I thought about it. “Where did those words get mixed up between now and then?”

“Did you really mean them? I thought you were kidding.” I laughed.

“Fine. Last time.” Ava tried to sound matter of fact, but I knew she couldn’t resist a good lawsuit. “Meet me at the Normal Diner in an hour.”

The phone clicked and went dead without me confirming. There was no way I could go to the picnic and leave in an hour.

The sidewalks downtown were filled with tourists. It was lunchtime and the warmth of the sun made it feel like a spring day that didn’t have a murder looming over Normal or a lawsuit looming over me.

The shops had all their side yards open. It was nice to see Alvin Deters had his annual mini campsite display set up next to his shop, Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, where the tourists could try out the latest and greatest camping equipment. The s’more station was always a hit and if I had had some extra time, I would’ve stopped and made myself one.

Normal Diner looked busy. If I wanted to get a good seat and not sit at the counter when I met with Ava Cox in an hour, I would probably have to get there a half hour early, leaving me with just a half hour to kill. Or to be killed, when I told Mary Elizabeth that I couldn’t make it.

“Surely, you understand,” I said to her on the phone after I’d parked the car in the only open parking space in front of the Laundry Club. “I’ve got to meet with my lawyer about how we’re going to beat this lawsuit. After all,” I pulled the door of the laundromat open and walked inside. “It was you that told her I was rich.”

“I didn’t tell her you were rich. I was simply telling her that you were raised with good manners and had taken etiquette classes. That’s how you bagged the most hated investment man in the country. It was simply talking.” Mary Elizabeth’s downfall was talking too much and, in this case, that’s what she’d done. “You have to come to the picnic. The bed and breakfast is still closed, and I have the time now to have lunch with my precious babies.”

“I simply can’t come to the picnic, but I promise we will all get together soon.” It was an open-ended promise that seemed to make her happy and that’s how we left it.

The laundromat was actually filled with tourists. All the machines were spinning around, the TV was loud, and all the chairs were taken. I glanced around and didn’t see any of the gals, so I headed into the office where I found Betts.

“You are swamped,” I said to the top of her head while she was bent over a stack of papers and typing away on a desk calculator. “By the looks of that tape, you’ve been calculating for a while.”

The white calculator tape cascaded down the desk and into a heap on the floor next to the desk.

“I’m almost done.” She looked up, dark bags under her eyes. “I swear every year I say that I’m going to get better at keeping the taxes.”

“You really need to print it out and put it somewhere to remind yourself on a daily basis.” I teased and looked down at the papers. “I have a meeting with Ava Cox in about an hour, but after that I plan on going to see Carol to figure out if she did make any sort of contribution to the church that’s gone missing. Then I’ll be going over to the church to finish up.”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to go see Carol. Lester said she called and wants to see him.” Betts sighed.

“She does?” I asked.

“Yes. He’s going to go see her today.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes. “He said that if she comes clean, he’ll let her pay the church back and not file charges.”

“That’s awfully nice of him.” I guess he must see the good in all the people as a man of the cloth. Something I clearly didn’t do.

“He said people make mistakes.” Betts smiled. “That’s one thing I do love about him. He sees the good when I say hang her.” She laughed. “He said that we need a vacation. Get away.”

“I told you that you should.” Though I didn’t say it, by the looks of things, she did need to get away. “I’m more than happy to open the Laundry Club. All the girls can chip in.”

“You have a lawsuit on your hands. There’s no way you can even think about helping out around here. Besides,” she said and stopped typing on the calculator, “you could probably use a vacation of your own. I’ve already asked too much of you.”

“Nah. You and Lester need a vacation. Maybe start that family you’ve always wanted.” It was a shame that their marriage seemed to come after Lester’s job.

“Changing diapers is the last thing I want to think about right now. I could use a cup of coffee.” When she stood up, she kicked the Lily Pulitzer bag that Mary Elizabeth had brought in the day after Greaser showed up at the Milkery.

“There’s that bag.” I bent down to pick it up. “Mary Elizabeth has been going crazy looking for this since it has Greaser’s clothes in it. Hank really wants them.”

“Greaser’s clothes?” Betts’s awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Yeah. I guess with all that was going on with Lester, we forgot to tell you that Greaser stayed at the Milkery after he escaped.” Or did we tell her, and she just forgot? I tried to recall when we were all here after the big escape. “Anyways, he left the clothes he had on at the Milkery, and she had no idea he was the escaped prisoner, so she brought them here in her Lily Pulitzer bag to clean them just in case he came back for them. Good southern manners and all.” I pointed and laughed, wiggling my brows. “Regardless,” I unzipped it to look inside, “Hank really wants the clothes so he can test for fibers that may lead him to whoever might’ve helped Greaser.”

“Helped him?” She looked confused.

“Hank thinks he had an accomplice, but I guess it really doesn’t matter now that he’s been taken off the case and the FBI has all but closed it.” I looked in. “That’s weird.”

“What?” She asked.

“There’s nothing in here. Mary Elizabeth said she put his clothes in here.” I twisted around and looked on the floor in case there was a pile of clothes on the ground.  “Did you take them out?”

“I just put the bag in here. I had no idea who it belonged too.” Her eyes grew big when she looked at the bag in my hand. “I’ve got to get back to these taxes.” She sat back down, frazzled.

“Do you want me to get you a cup of coffee?” I reminded her.

“No.” She shook her head.

“Lester and I do need to get this behind us and the whole Greaser thing has gotten Lester all seeing life a little differently. He’s right.” She picked up the stack of papers in front of her. “We probably do need a vacation.” She waved the papers in front of her. “Where are my manners? You didn’t come here to hear my problems. Aren’t you wasting time?”

Normally, I’d say yes because that’s what we Laundry Club gals did when we had some time to spare.

“Ava Cox and I are going to grab lunch while we talk about the lawsuit.” I rolled my eyes and stuck my hands into the front pocket of my jeans. “Oh!” I pulled out the map Flora Jean had given me along with the map I’d had from earlier. “I went to see Flora Jean. She gave me this map on the down low. I want to give it to Hank because Flora Jean said Greaser let her live and then he dropped this.”

“Let me see.” Betts jumped up from the chair and took both maps from my hand. “I thought you said Hank was off the case.”

“He is, but I still think there’s someone out there that helped Greaser and they should be brought to justice.” I looked over her shoulder as she looked at the maps. “I can’t make any sense of it, but I’m giving it to Hank anyways. And before I forget, Flora Jean asked for Lester to stop by the hospital to see her.”

Betts twisted her head left and then right, then left again as if she were looking at it from all angles.

“Wait.” She put a map in each hand and then moved one over the other. “Look.”

She did it again.

“What?” I asked, not really understanding what she was trying to show me.

“It’s like a puzzle. This map is made of some sort of parchment paper to overlay on this map. If someone were to find just one, they couldn’t read the map. They need both maps to see the real map.” She waved them overtop each other again. “They go together. Isn’t that the battleground?” she asked and pointed to the combined map. “It looks like the battleground and then a trail going through a section of the Sheltowee Trace. That is Rock River. There’s a trail from the road that winds up the ridge and back down to Denny Branch.” Her jaw dropped. “Mae, didn’t you say that the dog lost its scent on Forest Service Road?”

“You know what,” I gasped as my mind rewound back to the conversation Hank and I had had about Chester losing the scent. “He did.”

I gulped. The missing pieces of the puzzle were coming together in my mind.

“What?” Betts hollered at me when I turned around and rushed out the office door. “What is going on?” She screamed after me. “Mae! Stop!”

“I can’t! I have to see Hank!” I hollered and ran out of the Laundry Club, nearly knocking over Carol Wise on my way out as she was walking in.

“Carol?” I heard Betts question the older woman, but I had no time to stick around to find out if Carol was there to confess to taking the church’s money.

Nineteen

“You have to look at this.” I shoved the maps in Hank’s face when I showed up at his trailer unannounced.

While he looked at them, I couldn’t help but look around. He had never invited me here. I only knew of it because Agnes told me he lived on his parents' property in a trailer. A modest trailer at that. One that was in desperate need of cleaning.

There were no curtains on the windows, and empty coffee cups and a few empty beer bottles were on a coffee table that was wobbly to the touch. There was a couch with a blanket thrown on it like it was his bed. And the clothes. Piles of clothes were strewn all over the place.

“You live here?” I questioned, looking out the window at what appeared to be a small farm house in the distance.

Chester was asleep in the grass with his belly up to the sun. He didn’t want to be in here and neither did I. No wonder Hank had never invited me here.

“Yeah.” That was all Hank said as he continued to concentrate on the maps. “You said Flora Jean gave this one to you?”

“Yes.” I told him everything she’d told me about how she’d helped Greaser do some research and when he dropped this map after so graciously letting her live, she knew it wasn’t the map he’d worked on in the library, which was the one that Hank had found on his body. “We really should turn this over to the FBI.”

It was a suggestion that earned me a grumble and a disgruntled look.

“This is my case and I’m going to solve it.” Hank folded the maps together and grabbed a button- down shirt, buttoning it up over his white tee and then tucking it into his jeans. “I’m not sure where the trail leads, but I’m going to find out.”

He reached over to the table and picked up his gun, pushing it down into the waist of his jeans.

“I’m going too.” I followed behind him, happy to follow him out of the trailer. Chester jumped up and ran over between us.

“Oh, no, you’re not.” He turned around, my nose to his chest. “The accomplice could be there, and I can’t let you get hurt.”

“What about you?” I asked. “You need someone there.”

“I’ve got someone.” He patted his gun. “Why don’t you take Chester to your house and  I’ll be over after I check this out.”

“That’s not very exciting.” I looked down at the dog wagging his tail.

“You’re not an officer. You can’t go.” Hank wasn’t backing down.

“You’re not on the case.” I threw it back in his face.

“It’s my case to solve. You don’t understand.” He pulled me to him and kissed me on the forehead before turning me toward my car. “I’ll be fine. I won’t do anything that gets me hurt. I’m only going to check it out. I don’t want to lose my badge.”

“Okay, fine.” I knew the last part he said was true. His job meant everything to him  and he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it. “You be careful,” I called after him as he sped off in his car. “Let’s go, Chester.”

Before I could even leave Hank’s parents’ property, my phone was ringing. I stopped at the end of the driveway and answered it when I saw that it was Dottie.

“You aren’t going to believe this” was exactly how what she said before I even said hello. “The Bassetts’ RV, stolen again.”

“What?” My jaw dropped and Chester bolted over the back seat into the front to see what I was yelling about.

I gently pushed him over to the passenger side and put down the window to distract him so I could talk to Dottie.

“The Bassetts’ RV was stolen,” she said at a much slower pace.

“I heard you the first time. I just don’t even know. . .” I blinked with bafflement.

“And Ava Cox is here. She said you ghosted her on a meeting.” Dottie was full of great news.

“Oh, gosh.” I smacked my forehead. “I totally forgot about her after Betts and I figured out the maps.”

“The maps? You figured them out?” Dottie asked.

“Dottie, did you call the police?” I asked.

“Yes. They are putting out an APB and setting up checkpoints in and out of the park like before. You aren’t in their mobile home, are you?” she asked.

“Are you joking?” I didn’t find any humor in her question.

“Well, you were the last time.” She had a great point.

“No.” I swung the steering wheel to the right and headed straight towards Julip Knox’s house. “I bet it’s more kids. You know, a copycat kind of thing.”

If anyone knew of more hiding places for teenagers to party, it’d be Julip. Maybe she hadn’t left town yet. It was worth a shot.

“You could be right. The Bassetts came to talk to Ava in the campground office when the zoom of the RV speeding by caught our attention. That’s how we knew it was stolen again.” Dottie’s words didn’t seem real.

“This day can’t get any worse. I’ll be there soon.” I hung up the phone and headed to Julip’s cabin.

For a split second, I thought about calling Hank to let him know what had happened and where I was going, but there was no way he’d stray from the hunt he was on. There was a look in his eye that told me he wouldn’t stop looking for Greaser’s accomplice no matter what.

From the beginning, I knew Hank loved his job. It was one of the things that turned me away from liking him and toward Ty Randal. But Hank’s tough exterior was just a cover for the good heart that I admired most about him.

I was sure there was a copycat in the stolen RV, and it wouldn’t hurt to check with Julip to see if she had more hiding places up her sleeve before I headed back to the Happy Trails to face the music yet again.

“Look there, Chester,” I said to him, even though his head was stuck out the window and his ears were pinned back, his tail wagging and a deep howl escaping him like he’d done the other night when we were there. “She’s still here. But not for long.” I noticed the trunk of her car was open as if she were still packing. “You stay here,” I warned the dog.

He howled and groaned, hopping around the seats with his eyes on me.

“Crazy dog,” I whispered, noticing that the bag in the trunk of her car looked familiar.

I glanced over my shoulder when I heard voices and noticed Julip talking to someone next to a car that was pulled up to the far side of her cabin. She jerked her head up and stared at me.

An image of the bags Lester used for the prison ministry popped into my head. I swung my head around to look in her trunk again, then looked over at Chester. He was gnashing his teeth and growling.

“What are you doing here?” Julip asked and started to walk over.

The person in the other car got out and it was Blanche Davis, the security guard from the prison.

“I. . .” My lips smacked together. I swallowed hard. Something wasn’t right here. I looked between the two women and back at the bag.

“Can you get that dog to shut up?” Blanche asked through her gritted teeth. “Or I’ll shut him up for you,” she warned.

“He’s a hunting dog and he acted like this the other day when Hank and I stopped by.” I started to put more of the missing pieces of the puzzle together. “Greaser was here. Chester smelled him.”

“What are you talking about?” Julip laughed, but Blanche did not.

“She’s a busybody. I heard she was a busybody.” Blanche nudged Julip and pulled the hem of her shirt up, exposing the Billy club that Greaser had supposedly taken from her the day of his prison break.

The screech of tires and the sound of gravel hitting metal caught our attention. All of us looked towards the road where the Bassetts’ RV was barreling up to the cabin.

“Lester?” I gasped when I saw the tall, lanky preacher in the driver’s seat of the stolen recreational vehicle.

Before I could wrap my head around what I was seeing, Blanche had already taken hold of my arm. I winced from her nubby fingernails digging into my skin.

“What’s she doing here?” Lester looked at Julip and Blanche.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him back but met with a quick jerk from Blanche to shut me up.

“This is getting to be too much.” Julip shook like a leaf. “Greaser and I didn’t want this. We just wanted to live a quiet life.”

“That’s not working out for you, now is it?” Blanche pushed me in the direction of the trunk.

As I tried to catch myself from falling, my hand hooked one of the bags. I dropped it on the ground and money tumbled out of it.

The church’s money, I thought, and looked up at Lester. I couldn’t describe the shock I was feeling. It reached from the tip of my toes to the hairs on my head.

“You’re never going to understand.” Lester’s tone was calm, like he was giving one of his Sunday sermons. “It’s hard being a preacher. Always got to be good. Always listening to people’s problems. Who listens to mine?”

“I do, honey.” Blanche put a reassuring hand on his back and a heavy foot on top of my foot, not letting me move. “What are we going to do with her?” She dragged the Billy club out of her waistband and knocked it in her open palm a few times.

Making her point very clear.

Lester and Blanche were having an affair, but what did that have to do with Greaser and Julip?

“You and Greaser?” I looked over at Julip to get some answers before Blanche took her shot and knocked me out.

“Cuff her until I can think a little clearer.” Lester instructed Blanche and pointed to me.

She had the strength of an ox as she twirled me around and had me cuffed before I could even think about trying to get free.

“We were in love. They weren’t going to let him out. Like ever!” Julip yelled at me. “These two couldn’t keep their hands off of each other in the prison and Greaser caught them.”

“Shut up!” Lester screamed at Julip over Chester’s barking

“No! I’m going to tell her everything!” Julip yelled back at him. “Shut up!” she screamed towards Chester as she reached down to grab the money off the ground. “This is my money. Greaser and I deserve it.”

“You deserve nothing.” Lester reached over to Julip and tried to jerk the handle of the bag from her. “He wasn’t supposed to kill anyone. He was going to escape and use the maps to find you.”

“The maps lead to here?” I looked around with a little hope that maybe, just maybe, Hank was hot on the trail and would find me. Alive would be good, but if I were dead, that’d be fine too. Just as long as someone found me.

“Of course. He didn’t know where I lived, so we made the maps. Two. Just in case we got caught.” Julip shook her head. “That stupid reenactment.”

“That’s where your boyfriend messed up.” Blanche yanked the cuffs good to make sure they were tight.

“Ouch!” I yelled. Chester continued to howl even louder. “Ouch!” I screamed as loud as I could. The louder I was, the more Chester howled. Maybe Hank was out there and would hear us.

“You didn’t have to kill him!” Julip screamed at Lester and yanked the bag out of his hands.

“I did. He was going around killing people. I had to stop him.” Lester started to pace back and forth. “I agreed to give him ten thousand dollars to keep his mouth shut about me and Blanche and to help stage his escape. I never said I’d go along with him killing people.”

“He didn’t know the reenactment was that day.” Julip’s anger was starting to turn more emotional. Tears streamed down her face. “He saw those people’s faces again. The ones who convicted him. And he went crazy.”

“He killed two innocent people.” Lester ran a hand through his hair.

“Now what do we do?” Blanche asked him.

“Julip is going to take the money and the RV.” He looked over at me. “We are going to have to get rid of her.”

“How are you going to do that?” I asked.

Blanche swung her arm and gave me a swift backhand, knocking me down, and everything went black.

Twenty

“Julip was the only one who had checked out the maps from the library.” Abby leaned over the hospital bed with a grin on her face.

“Now you tell me,” I barely got the words out and looked around the hospital room, trying to remember what had happened. My mind was foggy on the details, but the big goose egg on my head was a painful reminder.

I heard sighs of relief from the Laundry Club women surrounding my bed and the beeping of the heart monitor that was hooked up to my chest with those little electrode stickers.

“We were so worried about you.” Mary Elizabeth was sitting next to me with my hand in hers. “If Hank hadn’t gotten there when he did, I’m not sure you’d still be alive.”

“Hank?” I asked and looked around, not seeing him.

“Yes.” Dottie shoved Abby out of the way. “But really it was Chester. He saved your life. And Ava Cox.”

“Chester?” My memory was so foggy, but I tried really hard to remember what happened. “Ava?”

“Yeah, Chester.” I followed Hank’s voice to the end of my bed where he stood holding Chester. “If it weren’t for his howling, I would have never found my way out of the woods and been able to watch what happened. I recorded all of it on my cell phone.”

“Even the part where Blanche knocked you halfway to Mars.” Dottie looked down the hospital bed at Hank and snarled.

“What matters is that he saved you.” Queenie patted my toe from the other side of the bed.

“And Ava, she told the Bassetts everything you’ve been through and how you don’t have a pot to. . .” Dottie’s colorful language was interrupted by Hank clearing his throat. “They dropped the lawsuit.”

“Now that she’s awake, I need to get her statement.” Hank looked around at all the gals. “Why don’t y’all wait outside and after we talk, I’ll let you back in.”

Hank’s suggestion was met with a few grumbles and mumbles.

“It’s police business.” He herded them out, handing Chester to Mary Elizabeth and shutting the door behind them. “You.” He turned back to me with a shaking finger. “You scared me.”

He leaned over my head and brushed a strand of my thick curly hair away from my face. He bent down and kissed my lips. He pulled back, inches from my face.

“This is why I told you to take Chester to the campground. I can’t ever risk you getting hurt. Do you understand?” His breath was hot against my lips.

“I understand.” I smiled and let him give me another soft kiss.

“Is this what you call a police interview?” Betts stood near the door of the hospital room.

“Betts.” I started to sob when I saw her face.

Everything came back to me and my heart ached for Betts. Hank moved out of the way when he noticed Betts was coming towards me.

“Don’t.” She hurried over to my side and bent down, hugging me. “Don’t you know we hug around here,” she said through her own tears.

I lifted a weak arm and put it around her.

“Two arms,” she instructed me, not letting go.

“If it weren’t for Betts calling me while I was in the woods trying to figure out where I was, I’m not sure if I would have believed what was happening at the cabin,” Hank started to tell me what I’d stumbled upon.

“Carol Wise came to see me at the Laundry Club,” Betts said.

I nodded, vaguely remembering literally running into her on my way out.

“She told me about Lester’s affair with Blanche. Apparently, it extended to the church office. She stopped tithing because she said she couldn’t give to a church that had Lester as its preacher.” There was pain on Betts’s face as she told me the sordid tale of Lester and Blanche. “Flora Jean and Carol Wise are best friends. Carol told Flora about it. That’s what Flora Jean wanted to see Lester about when she told you to have him come see her. They were going to tell me about the affair. Then you recognized Mary Elizabeth’s bag. The clothes in the bag were Lester’s and when you told me the clothes in it were Greaser’s, I knew it was Lester that had let Greaser go. I confronted Lester about it, and he took off. Said something about needing a vacation.”

“That’s when he showed up at the campground to confront you.” Hank jumped in to fill in more blanks. “He stole the Bassetts’ RV to round out his grand plan of getting out of town.”

“So Carol didn’t take the church’s money?” I asked, trying to sort out the details.

“No. Greaser was blackmailing Lester and Blanche. Greaser wouldn’t tell about their affair if Lester helped him escape and gave him ten thousand dollars so he and Julip could run off together. Lester took the cash out of the church tithe over a few months, and he and Blanche let Greaser escape using the maps Julip had made for him.” Hank continued to tell me how it all played out. “Greaser just so happened to come upon the reenactment and Queenie thought he was someone else. That’s when he saw jurors there and decided to make them pay like he said he would.”

“That’s what Lester saw and killed him for it.” I recalled Lester saying he’d killed Greaser.

“But the tape of the reenactment ran out before we saw Lester do it.” Hank reached over and put his hand on Betts’s back.

Betts buried her head in her hands as she cried.

“That’s why I’d seen Julip and Blanche at the church. They were all trying to get things sorted out.” It was all very clear what had happened right under my nose.

“Betts called me while I was in the woods trying to read the darn map and told me everything. It was Chester’s howl that led me to the trail where you were.” Hank’s big green eyes softened. “When I saw you go down, I went nuts. My heart fell.”

“I’m fine.” I glanced over at Betts and put my hand out for her to take. “How is Lester?”

“I don’t know. I don’t care.” She took my hand and squeezed it.

“You don’t care?” I asked, not buying her words. She and I both looked at Hank.

Hank patted my leg. “I was going to get a statement from you, but I think I’m going to let you two talk and I’ll be back.”

It was cute how he could tell she and I needed a little girl time.

Betts and I sat in silence for a few more seconds after Hank had left the room.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Betts broke the silence. “If I could take back all the pain he caused, I would.”

“You don’t have to explain to me.” I offered her a smile through my bruised and busted lip I could feel had swollen to three times its size. “You forget, my dead ex-husband also messed over a lot of people.”

“Yeah,” she smiled back.

“You know.” I shrugged. “I’m going to need some time to heal this big lip.” I pointed to my lip and groaned a little as the pain radiated across my face. “Why don’t we blow this joint and have a spa day?”

“Who’s having a spa day?” Queenie asked. Dottie and Abby weren’t too far behind her.

“Oh! I’d love to have a spa day.” Abby’s face lit up and she nudged Dottie.

“What?” Dottie groaned. Abby gave her a hard look. “Fine. We can have a spa day at the Laundry Club. I’ll get a few of the Happy Trails spa packages for us.”

“Are you sure?” Betts looked around at all of us.

“We are the Laundry Club and we stick together through thick or thin.” I pushed myself up into bed and ripped the heart monitor probes off my chest. “I’m fine and can’t think of a better way to spend my first day out of here than with my friends.”

Abby hurried over to get my clothes from the hospital closet while Queenie helped me out of the bed.

“I’ll meet y’all directly.” Dottie walked right into Hank on her way out and his way back in.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” he asked, a concerned look on his face.

“We need girl time.” Betts put her hand on his arm and squeezed.

There was an unexplainable moment between them and it showed on Hank’s face that he knew Betts needed me as much as I needed her.

“Then let me help you.” He came over and gave me and Queenie a hand, helping me walk to the bathroom where Abby had put my clothes.

When I came back out, all the girls from the Laundry Club were gone.

“Where are they?” I asked him. “Did you run them off?”

“Nope. I just wanted a little time alone with you and I told them I’d bring you in my car.” He put his arm around me. “Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.” I smiled and put my arm around his waist.

“No. I mean are you ready for the next level of our relationship?” He asked. “The part where you meet my parents?”

“So does that make us official?” I questioned. There was a flicker of excitement in my heart.

“More than you know.” He opened the door with his free hand to lead me out  of the hospital room.

Side by side, we walked out of the hospital.

Side by side. Something I knew I could get used to.

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

Camping Cleaning HACK #1

Store silica gel packs with your cookware.

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

NO MESS CAMPFIRE OMELETS

Ingredients

1 quart-sized freezer bag

2 eggs

1/2 cup of whatever you like to put in your omelet:  sausage, bacon, onions, mushrooms, peppers, etc.

1/4 cup of cheese, any kind.

Instructions

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

2. Add fillings and cheese.

3. Seal bag and shake to scramble the eggs and mix the omelet.

4. Cook in gently boiling water for 14-15 minutes.

RV HACK #2

Hand sanitizer works as fire starter.

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

MARY ELIZABETH DOYLE’S EASY CINNAMON ROLLS

MILKERY BED AND BREAKFAST

PREHEAT YOUR OVER TO 200 DEGREES BEFORE YOU START.

Ingredients

For the yeast:

1 cup warm milk

1/4 cup melted butter

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons quick-rise yeast

Directions for yeast:

1. Combine the warm milk together with the melted butter, sugar and yeast in a large bowl.

2. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

For the rolls:

1 large egg, whisked

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cooking oil spray

Directions:

1. Add the whisked egg to the milk mixture.

2. Add 3 1/2 cups flour and salt and mix until a soft dough forms. It will be a sticky dough.

3. Put the dough on a floured surface.

4. Knead until smooth and elastic.

5. Lightly coat a large bowl with cooking oil spray.

6. Put the dough in the bowl and turn it in the bowl to coat with the cooking spray.

7. Cover bowl with damp towel.

8. Turn off your oven and put the bowl into the warm oven for 30 minutes.

9. The dough should have risen so punch dough down.

10. Cover for another 30 minutes. The dough will rise to double the size.

11. Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface, into a rectangle.

12. Brush the melted butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon mix. (see below for the cinnamon mix)

13. Beginning at one long side of your dough, roll up dough tightly.

14. Pinch down the side to seal it.

15. Cut dough roll into 12 bigger rolls or into 15 smaller ones.

16. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and arrange the cut rolls on it.

17. Cover the dish with the damp towel for 30 minutes and allow the uncooked cinnamon rolls to double in size.

18. Preheat oven again to 350°F.

19. Put the rolls in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

20. While they are baking, make your icing.

21. After the cinnamon rolls are done, slightly brown, let them slightly cool before icing them.

For Cinnamon filling:

1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter melted

For the icing:

4 oz  cream cheese at room temperature ( I set this out when I start making the recipe and it’s good by the time I need to make the icing.)

2 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

For the icing:

1. Prepare icing while rolls are baking.

2. Mix together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla, until smooth and creamy.

3. Mix in the powdered sugar until there are no lumps.

4. Drizzle icing over the warm cinnamon rolls

Enjoy!

RV HACK #3

Hang your clothes up with bread tags.

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

CAMPFIRE BANANA BOATS

Ingredients

4 small bananas

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

Directions:

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

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

3. Wrap the stuffed banana in foil.

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

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

About the Author

Tonya has written over 55 novels, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including 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, two very spoiled schnauzers and grew up in the small southern Kentucky town of Nicholasville. Now that her four boys are grown boys, Tonya writes fulltime.

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Copyright

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.

Cover designer Mariah Sinclair. Editor Dianne Jessie.

Copyright © 2019 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 address Author Tonya Kappes, tonyak11.tk@gmail.com