Valleys, Vehicles & Victims: A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery Series
Date: 2019-09-25 00:00:00+00:00
Description: Welcome to Normal, Kentucky where nothing is normal! Join Mae West and the Happy Trails Campground gang on another southern murder mystery adventure. The Daniel Boone National Forest is gorgeous in the fall. The leaves have painted the sides of the mountains with yellow, oranges, reds and browns you won't see anywhere else. That's why it's such a popular destination for weddings!When a wedding party show up at Happy Trails Campground, Mae West is thrilled. She's all things girly and excited to assist the bride in all things southern, which is what the bride is hankering for.Mae recognizes the
Publisher: Independently published

Valleys, Vehicles & Victims

A CAMPER AND CRIMINALS COZY MYSTERY

Book Nine

BY

TONYA KAPPES

VALLEYS, VEHICLES AND VICTIMS

She knocked again. This time, the door unlatched and crept open about an inch.

“Hello, Lewis. It’s Christine from the Cookie Crumble. I’m here to have you and your father sample the groom’s cakes with the various frostings.” She looked at us and let out a long sigh.

“Knock again,” I encouraged her. “Maybe someone is in the bathroom.”

“Fine.” She knocked. The motel door opened even more, letting the sunlight spill into the room. “Lewis? Dan?” she called into the room.

“I’ll go look.” I put my box on top of Violet’s and walked past Christine.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Christine turned. “Let’s go see if they are in the café?”

“It’ll just take a second to see if someone is in the bathroom. I know my way around these rooms.” I ran my hand along the inside wall and stood at the doorway. “I helped Betts clean them before Coke opened for business.”

The light turned on.

I turned to get the box back from Violet and couldn’t catch it when she dropped it, bringing her hands up to her mouth.

“What?” I asked just as Christine screamed.

When I looked back into the room, I saw a dead man with a knife sticking out of his back. He lay face down in a pool of blood.

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 by Covervault, Mariah Sinclair. Edits by Red Adept Editing Services.

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 email tonyak11.tk@gmail.com .

About the Author

Tonya has written over 55 novels and four novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including the USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband and a very spoiled rescue cat named Ro. Tonya grew up in the small southern Kentucky town of Nicholasville. Now that her four boys are grown men, Tonya writes full-time.

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Also by Tonya Kappes

Magical Cures Mystery Series

A CHARMING CRIME

A CHARMING CURE

A CHARMING POTION (novella)

A CHARMING WISH

A CHARMING SPELL

A CHARMING MAGIC

A CHARMING SECRET

A CHARMING CHRISTMAS (novella)

A CHARMING FATALITY

A CHARMING DEATH (novella)

A CHARMING GHOST

A CHARMING HEX

A CHARMING VOODOO

A CHARMING CORPSE

A CHARMING MISFORTUNE

A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery

BEACHES, BUNGALOWS, & BURGLARIES

DESERTS, DRIVERS, & DERELICTS

FORESTS, FISHING, & FORGERY

CHRISTMAS, CRIMINALS, & CAMPERS

MOTORHOMES, MAPS, & MURDER

CANYONS, CARAVANS, & CADAVERS

HITCHES, HIDEOUTS, & HOMICIDE

ASSAILANTS, ASPHALT, & ALIBIS

VALLEYS, VEHICLES & VICTIMS

A Southern Cake Baker Series

(under the pen name of Maymee Bell)

CAKE AND PUNISHMENT

BATTER OFF DEAD

A Ghostly Southern Mystery Series

A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING

A GHOSTLY GRAVE

A GHOSTLY DEMISE

A GHOSTLY MURDER

A GHOSTLY REUNION

A GHOSTLY MORTALITY

A GHOSTLY SECRET

Killer Coffee Mystery Series

SCENE OF THE GRIND

MOCHA AND MURDER

FRESHLY GROUND MURDER

COLD BLOODED BREW

DECAFFEINATED SCANDAL

A KILLER LATTE

Kenni Lowry Mystery Series

FIXIN’ TO DIE

SOUTHERN FRIED

AX TO GRIND

SIX FEET UNDER

DEAD AS A DOORNAIL

TANGLED UP IN TINSEL

DIGGIN’ UP DIRT

Spies and Spells Mystery Series

SPIES AND SPELLS

BETTING OFF DEAD

GET WITCH or DIE TRYING

A Laurel London Mystery Series

CHECKERED CRIME

CHECKERED PAST

CHECKERED THIEF

A Divorced Diva Beading Mystery Series

A BEAD OF DOUBT SHORT STORY

STRUNG OUT TO DIE

CRIMPED TO DEATH

Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series

SPLITSVILLE.COM

COLOR ME LOVE (novella)

COLOR ME A CRIME

Grandberry Falls Series

THE LADYBUG JINX

HAPPY NEW LIFE

A SUPERSTITIOUS CHRISTMAS (novella)

NEVER TELL YOUR DREAMS

Bluegrass Romance Series

GROOMING MR. RIGHT

TAMING MR. RIGHT

Women’s Fiction

CARPE BREAD ’EM

Young Adult

TAG… YOU’RE IT

CONTENTS

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

RECIPES AND CAMPING HACKS

Also by Tonya Kappes

ONE

Fall in Kentucky was probably my favorite season. The fall foliage created a cozy picture that no artist could ever capture on film or in a painting. The brilliant red hues of the red maples stood proud and tall next to the spectacular yellow and oranges leaves of the sugar maples. But the sweetgum trees that lined the exterior of the Happy Trails Campground were definitely among my favorites.

The sweetgum was a showoff, with its rich, wine-colored yellows, oranges, reds, and purples creating the perfect autumn atmosphere for all my guests at Happy Trails Campground.

“They are going to love the bungalows.” I sighed and brought the cup of steaming coffee to my lips. The communal campfire roared and warmed me from the early morning chill, which would soon burn up in the brilliant sunny day forecasted for Normal, Kentucky, our little slice of heaven located deep in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

“They are going to be partying up more than enjoying the scenery.” Dottie Swaggert was always the cynical one of my little group of friends.

She sat in the chair next to me. Her coffee was getting cold, but the cigarette dangling from the corner of her lip was lit up.

“Bridal parties have one thing in mind,” Dottie said through the smoke. With her hands, she removed the pink sponge curlers from her hair.

I watched in amazement. I could never figure out how she could smoke and do her hair all at the same time. She put the curls in a drawstring bag nestled in her lap.

“Getting drunk,” she finished and then ran her hands through her short red hair. The finished product was a loose strand around her head, her usual look.

“Maybe not.” I shrugged and took the last drink from my mug.

“Fill ’er up?” Henry Bryan held up the stainless-steel coffee pot that had been hanging over the campfire.

“Yes.” I held my cup out to Henry and watched as my handyman of Happy Trails carefully filled up my mug. “Thank you,” I said to him and met with his signature wide smile that made his already big nose spread across his face, exposing his two front teeth.

“You’re welcome, Mayyyybelleeen.” He giggled when he said my name like my family did, which sometimes drove me crazy.

Mae was how I preferred people to refer to me. Mae West was my name, and I was nothing like the actress. I just so happened I was married to Paul West. Yes. The Paul West who had been convicted for a Ponzi scheme, bankrupting celebrities and nearly half of America. His criminal ways weren’t limited to just the rich and famous. He also took money from the citizens of Normal—and me. My lifestyle dramatically changed when all my assets were seized. All but this campground, which wasn’t much of a campground when I showed up, and a beat-up campervan, which I fixed up and currently lived in.

Fast forward to today. Paul West was murdered and not by my hands, though I did fantasize about it; the Happy Trails Campground was a thriving part of the Daniel Boone National Forest; and we were about to have one of the biggest weekends we’d ever hosted.

Honk, honk!

The first few honks led to a long honk that didn’t stop until the huge RV stopped right in front of the office and a pile of girls fell out.

“I figure that’s the bride?” Dottie’s right brow cocked when the girl in the white veil was the last to get out of the camper. “Or the sash.”

The woman waved as if she were the Queen of England as she walked out of the RV. Her blonde hair hung perfectly straight and was cut at the perfect angle. She had the kind of cut you’d get at a very fancy salon, not like Cute-icles in town. I should know. I used to go only to those upscale salons, and I couldn’t help but gaze at the bride’s hair. It glistened in the early afternoon sun.

“What gave it away? The veil or sash that has ‘bride’ spelled out in glitter?” I joked and stood up to go greet them. “Come on,” I told Dottie. She was the manager, and I needed her to come help wrangle the rowdy bunch. “If this weekend goes well, we just might have more bridal parties.”

“Oh goody,” she said with a flat voice. Her sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed. “Giggling and squealing is exactly why I decided to live deep in the woods.”

“I’ll go and add some extra wood to their porches.” Henry filled up his thermos and took off the opposite direction of Dottie and me.

“You be nice,” I warned Dottie. At times, she could pull off a “bless your heart” in a rude kind of way that would make people do a double take once they registered what she’d said.

“I’m always nice.” Dottie laughed.

Who’s leg was Dottie pulling? Not mine.

“Hi there.” I greeted them with a smile and a snarling Dottie Swaggert. “I’m Mae. Welcome to Happy Trails. I’m the owner, and I live on the property.” I found guests loved to know I was just a camper away if they needed me. “This is Dottie, the manager, and she also lives here. We have a full-time handyman that lives here too, so we’ve got you covered if you need anything.”

A woman in a short-skirted pink suit from Chanel fanned her hand in front of her face after Dottie lit up her cigarette.

“This isn’t a smoke-free facility?” the woman asked. I wondered whether she was the bride’s or the groom’s mother.

“Puh-lease,” Dottie snapped. “I didn’t light it yet.”

“Mom,” the bride gushed. She took the sparkly clutch from underneath her armpit and literally smacked it into the chest of the woman next to her.

The woman used one hand to take the clutch and the other to push the glasses back up on her nose. She had brown hair that hung past her thin shoulders. She wore a pair of jeans and a green collared shirt, finishing the outfit off with a pair of sneakers. She was the only one who looked like she was actually going to be staying in a campground.

“It’s outside and a campground. We are here, so you’re going to have to accept the fact that Lewis and I are going to go get married here. Smoke or not.” She turned to me. “I’m Shay, the bride, in case you couldn’t tell. That’s Misty. My mother.” Shay wiggled her shoulders. “These are my bridesmaids.”

“Nice to meet y’all.” I tried to keep smiling when I noticed all the bridesmaids’ phones were capturing every second of Shay’s big life moment. “And who are you?”

Apparently, this woman wasn’t important. The other women were typing away on their phones, no doubt putting the moment on social media.

“Amy Hill, family secretary.”

Shay shrugged and buttoned up her lip.

Amy and I exchanged pleasantries. She had a planner hugged to her body and a pencil stuck behind her ear.

“When will the men arrive?” I asked.

From the email correspondence I’d had with Shay, she mentioned that the girls would be driving in an RV before the men, who were also driving here in an RV. She said the arrangements were like their bachelorette and bachelor parties on wheels.

“Not until much later this afternoon or even tonight.” Shay clasped her hands.

Amy flipped her planner open and used her finger to scan down the page.

“They will be arriving precisely around seven-ish,” Amy said.

Shay rolled her eyes. “Like I said, this afternoon or tonight.” The two women definitely had a little tension between them. “It’s even more beautiful than I imagined.”

The bridesmaids agreed, but the mother gave a little disgruntled moan.

“Then why don’t I take you on a quick walking tour of the main part of the campground so you’ll know exactly what’s here,” I suggested and met with smiles all around… except from the mother.

The mom had a familiarity about her, but I couldn’t put a finger on it, so I let it roll out of my mind. I gestured for all of them to follow me while Dottie went into the office to get the contracts for them to sign on our way back around.

Dottie and I were a team. We worked together like a well-oiled machine. It wasn’t exactly like that when I first drove into Happy Trails, but what great friendships weren’t built on some sort of initial conflict? Ignoring the mother’s grumbles under her breath about how her fancy shoes weren’t fit to walk on gravel, I started the tour.

“Some of the campers are people who actually call Normal home and live here year round.” I gestured to a few of the campers as we walked down the gravel road that circled the big lake in the middle. “There’s also campers set up for rental, so our guests don’t have to haul in a camper or simply do without a camper.”

The campground offered something for everyone. I was pretty proud of how I’d been able to bring the campground into the black, purchase some beat-up can-ham campers and restore them to their original glory, and add some wonderful cozy touches.

“Everyone has lake access. There is a pier on the other side where you can get in the paddle boats. The tiki hut over there will have some snacks and cocktails.” I was cut off by a couple of the bridesmaids squealing about how they had to get photos of them. “You can swim in the lake. There are fish. We are a catch and release but offer many different types of fish in our nightly cookouts.”

I wasn’t sure if they were listening, but I still told them how the guests walked around at night during the suppertime hours and sampled other campers’ food by the campfires. This practice was a way to bring community and something I thoroughly enjoyed.

“Oh! Lost dog,” Shay whined and pointed at the fluffy white ball of fur bolting toward us.

“She’s not lost.” I smiled. “She’s exactly where she needs to be. Fifi is my dog.”

Fifi wagged and danced around all the women. She knew if she did all sorts of standing on her hind legs and using her front paws like she was begging, she’d garner a lot of attention. Fifi lived for attention. The desire was in her DNA and trained in her before I got her and ruined her to be a hillbilly campground dog.

She had a very high pedigree until I babysat her for her original owner and she ended up getting pregnant by a pug, of all breeds. That was what did it in for poor Fifi, and her owner didn’t want her anymore since she was no longer able to show her for money. Good for me and Fifi because we were so happy and I couldn’t imagine what life would be like if I didn’t have to give her a bath every other week. Joking, of course.

“She’s very sweet, and you’ll see her around, along with a hound dog who goes by the name of Chester.” I glanced over at Hank Sharp’s camper, which he was renting from me.

“Renting” was a term I used loosely, since he was my boyfriend, and recently we’d just started using the love word, something I think that took us both by surprise.

“He’s very sweet too.” I had to reel those women back in and finish the tour or we’d never make it to town in time for their tour. We rounded the road to the back of the campground. At different offshoots, I had several concrete pads and hookups for the campers who brought in their own RVs and wanted to be surrounded by woods. This particular group wanted to show up in their RV and stay in one of the cute bungalow cabins I had for rent.

“These are the bungalows.” I gestured to the wooded area where you could barely see many bungalows’ front porches. “Bungalows one through four are for your group. I have the bridal party in bungalow one, the bride’s parents in bungalow three.” I handed the key to bungalow one to the bridesmaid, who seemed to be the most responsible, though it was a toss-up.

“Thank you,” Misty mouthed and took the key.

I laughed. “My feet are killing me.”

Amy Hill rushed to her side and took out a pair of more sensible shoes from the bag on her shoulder.

I ignored her comment because I wanted so bad to tell Misty she wasn’t dressed appropriately for a campground. But who was I to judge? I looked and acted exactly like her a couple of years ago.

“Bungalow two is for the groomsmen. I figured you’d want to be next to them.” I winked at Shay, who replied with a cute giggle. “Bungalow four is for the groom’s parents.”

Amy had opened her planner and was vigorously writing things down. Nothing that had anything to do with the Moon women was getting past her.

“You can’t put them on the opposite end, could you?” Misty questioned me with a hint of joking but a whole lot of seriousness, making me pause. “I’m joking. I’m sure your parents thought your husband wasn’t good enough for their little girl.”

“My parents are dead, and I’m not married.” I probably shouldn’t have said that, but I just blurted it out.

Jealous of Shay? Jealous of how much her mom lovingly doted on her? Yeah. All those. I still felt shortchanged in the parent department, since my entire family had been killed in a house fire when I was an early teen. Being put in the Kentucky foster care system wasn’t high on any girl’s list. However, I did end up being adopted by Mary Elizabeth Moberly, who I’d just re-established a relationship with after years of me not keeping up with her.

Another part of the Paul West saga that I’d put behind me was that Mary Elizabeth and Bobby Ray, my foster brother, called Normal home.

“Anyways…” I reeled in my feelings, since this was a business deal and I needed them to feel as comfortable as I could since we were going into the winter months in the forest. Not many people had the skin to camp or hike when there snow and bitter temperatures bit at your toes. “I’ve gotten all the goodies in there you sent.”

Shay had sent the bridesmaids gifts and bought the spa baskets from me. They included locally made items along with a nice white cotton robe and white slippers to match. I’d told Shay I’d take her group downtown so they could get a feel of the town and also take them to the wedding venue, The Barn, at the Old Train Station Motel on the other side of Normal. It sounded far, but it wasn’t.

“Thank you, Mae.” Shay squirmed with delight. “You’ve been so amazing. My family think Lewis and I are crazy for getting married here, but we love the outdoors and the atmosphere.” She twirled around, very aware that all the girls pointed their phones at her and put her images on all their social media accounts.

“Oh, Shay!” one of them yelled, and everyone gathered around her. “This has to go in the High Society magazine shoot.”

“High Society?” I was familiar with the national magazine. Who wasn’t?

“Yes.” Shay wiggled her shoulders. “Daddy knows people.”

I was sure, but I’d almost swear I saw Amy Hill roll her eyes. Or it might’ve been the sun catching her glasses at just the right angle.

“Her father is Tom Moon from Moonbucks Coffee.” Misty smiled.

“Misty Moon?” My “oh crap” meter went off. “Socialite Misty Moon?”

“The one and only. Please, don’t tell anyone I’m at a campground,” she muttered under her breath as she leaned over.

“Mom. This is Mae West.” Shay sounded like she knew me. “Paul and Mae West from Manhattan and the Hamptons. I read your story in the Times, and I had to come help you out. Come on”—she got close to me and nudged me—“you can’t tell me that you had no idea”—she rolled her eyes—“that Paul was scamming all of your friends.”

And that was how the Moons heard of Normal, Kentucky. And… I had a feeling they were never going to forget their time here.

TWO

“How do you know them?” Dottie had a tickle in her tone. She was enjoying how much fuss I attempted at trying to find something to wear from one of the clothing bins in my storage unit near the front of the campground.

We rented them to seasonal campers who kept their campers on site and only came a few times a year. Mostly they rented them for outdoor furniture and items they didn’t want to store in their campers.

“I told you. They were in our same social circle in the Hamptons. You know.” I stuck my nose up in the air. “Those types. I’d even gone to her house in Nantucket for a weekend fundraiser. Every guest had their own butler.”

I went back to digging into the bin, which clearly was no longer my taste. I’d not worn a designer label in a long time. Needless to say, these clothes were so outdated by Moon standards.

“Honey. You’ve got more class in your pinky now.” Dottie was so kind. She must’ve seen my struggle or the look on my face when I picked up an item of clothing and immediately stuck it back inside. “Besides, you got Henry all the time, not just a fancy weekend.”

I loved how Dottie always gave me the bright side of my life, not that I’d consider my tiny campervan or the Happy Trails lake a comparison to Nantucket and a personal weekend butler. I was happier than I’d ever been, but I wanted to prove it to the Moons.

“I can’t believe I have nothing to wear,” I groaned, putting the lid back on one of the bins to use as a seat. “Thank goodness I’m getting my hair done this afternoon.”

I didn’t get my hair done often, but when I did, I got highlights and a little snip here and there. Trust me when I say Cute-icles owner Helen Pyle didn’t have nearly the experience Shay Moon’s stylist had.

“I’m not sure why you care so much. You’ve got what they wanted. A place to stay while they have their wedding—and look at you.” Dottie’s finger circled. “You look way better than when you first got here.”

“Gee, thanks.” I laughed, not sure if it was a compliment.

“Look at your hair. It’s natural now. When you got here, your hair was stiff from all that hairspray. You wore a ton of makeup, and you didn’t have the greatest diet.” She rattled off all the bad things. “And that snotty attitude you had is long gone. It did you some good to hit rock bottom.”

“Again, gee, thanks.” I still wasn’t sure if she was trying to make me feel better because I’d not realized I’d changed so much. “Maybe that’s why I’m having a hard time trying to figure out something to wear. If I was still that same person, I’d probably have put on the white suit and a cute pair of flats, but the thought of wearing something like that makes me feel…” I stuck my tongue out and rolled my eyes up into my head, making Dottie laugh.

“See. That right there.” She shoved her finger in my face. “You’d never made that face when you first rolled into Happy Trails.”

“You know what.?” I put my hands on my thighs and pushed myself up to stand. “You’re right. These cropped jeans and maybe the light Happy Camper sweatshirt is the perfect outfit for a nice fall day to show them around.”

“That’s the Mae West I know.” Dottie smiled. “Plus, you might run into Hank, and he likes you in casual clothing.”

“He is volunteering today at the Chicken Fest booth.” I couldn’t wait to see Hank in a chicken hat like the kind Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken wore in his photos.

Chicken Fest was a local festival that was much larger in other towns in and around the Daniel Boone National Forest, but we did our best giving our thanks to Colonel Sanders for his contribution to our chicken industry and bringing universal attention to our state.

“Wait until you try Ty Randall’s fried chicken.” Dottie licked her lips. “I can taste it now.”

“I don’t think Shay Moon or her mother would ever put fried chicken in their mouths.” The thought of it made me laugh so hard. “They’d think they’d gain ten pounds just looking at it.”

“Wouldn’t that be something.” Dottie’s eyes light up. “Bride’s day is ruined because you took her to eat fried chicken and she couldn’t fit into her dress.”

The idea of it made us laugh so hard that tears streamed down our faces. Both of us jerked around when we heard a knock on the outside of my storage unit.

“Shay.” I couldn’t help it, but seeing her and saying her name sent me into another fit of laughter.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” She stood underneath the garage style door in an outfit much more appropriate for the chill in the air, no longer wearing the veil or sash. Amy Hill was still by her side, looking down and not saying a word. “But you mentioned you’d take us to see the wedding venue and downtown Normal.”

“We need to get moving, since I did make room in the schedule for this. I also let Mr. Moon know the change and put it on his Google calendar.” Amy nodded.

“Ooh-kay.” I couldn’t help but want to grab Amy by the shoulders and shake her until she could unwind a little. “Are y’all ready?” I asked.

“Yep. We all piled in the RV, so I figured you could ride shotgun to lead the way.” Shay wasn’t dumb. She was in charge and knew exactly what she wanted.

“Perfect.” I looked at Dottie. “You good for a while?”

“All good.” She put her hand up when I started to say something else. “I’ve got the dogs.”

“Thank you.” And that was how Dottie and I worked. She always knew what I was going to say and was always there to take care of Fifi and Chester, now that he was there.

One-way roads ran down Main Street, with a grassy median between them. The median was a large area filled with picnic tables and large oak trees on each side of an amphitheater and covered seating area. Thick white pillars you’d see on the front porch of a plantation home held up the structure. Each post had a real gas lantern hanging off it. Large ferns toppled over several ceramic planters. There were twinkling lights around each pole, giving the entire area such a romantic feel. Soon the ferns would be replaced with winter flowers as the trees shed their leaves.

Several little white tents were set up in the median today, since the Chicken Fest was in full swing. Amy Hill drove the big RV, to my surprise, and did it well. I’d only learned to drive RVs after I’d moved to Happy Trails just in case I needed to help a guest. Luckily, my little campervan wasn’t this big. But I also had a small car I drove around town, which helped me keep my home sitting on the concrete pad at the campground.

Little shops ran along each side of Main Street. All the shops were free standing cottage-style homes with a small courtyard between them.

The stores included the Smelly Dog, which was a pet groomer, the Normal Diner, and the Tough Nickel Thrift Shop and Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, along with more boutique-type shops that I couldn’t wait to check out. The display windows of each shop even had visions of what the national park looked like during the fall and winter months to help entice tourists to come back, since the winter tended to be our slowest season. The Trails Coffee Shop, our only coffee shop, had a line out the door for the delicious original blend being served. A month ago, I was lucky enough to have gotten an early sample, since Gert Hobson and I were friends.

She was the owner of the coffee shop and also contributed to some of the specialty baskets I offered at Happy Trails. Plus she provided all the free coffee I kept for the guests in the campground’s hospitality/recreation center.

All the store-owners in Normal really did help out to promote everyone and everything so tourists would keep coming back.

“My stomach is growling,” one of the bridesmaids mentioned. They were all were glued to the RV’s large windows with the sheds pulled up so they could all get a look at our cozy town.

“That’s the smell of Ty Randall’s fried chicken.” I was a little partial to Ty’s food. He owned the Normal Diner and was once a pretty sought-after chef in San Francisco, California.

Luckily for Normal, he found his way back to his roots and almost found a spot in my heart after a brief courtship, but in the end, Hank Sharp the man, not the manners, had won my pitter-patter.

“Don’t even think of it,” Misty warned the group of squealing women. Unfortunately, I think they’d overtake her.

“We are so going, Mother. It’s my wedding.” Shay’s mouth was practically watering. “Will it still be open after we check out the venue?”

“Don’t worry.” I couldn’t help but notice the worried tone in her voice about missing out on the fried chicken. “You’ll have plenty of time. It’s not like it’s New York City, where everything is go-go-go. Normal is like a turtle.”

The slow-paced life did take some time for me to get used to, and some days I did long for the hustle and bustle of the city street, but looking at Shay and her friends made me not miss it at all.

“Mae,” Shay had a tone in her voice that made me immediately think she was about to ask me a favor. “Can we have my rehearsal dinner at the fest tonight?”

“Rehearsal dinner at a Chicken Fest?” Misty nearly broke her leg making her way over to Shay and me.

Amy Hill snickered from behind the big RV steering wheel. Shay’s head jerked toward the driver’s seat. Amy was looking back, using the rearview mirror, and must’ve caught Shay glaring back at her because I noticed Amy’s fingers grip the wheel and her knuckles whiten.

“Mother.” Shay’s nostrils flared. Her eyes grew big. “This is my wedding. Mine.”

“I’ve never heard anyone having a rehearsal dinner at a chicken festival. It won’t look good on the societal pages.” Misty Moon hadn’t changed a bit. She was still all about what it looked like to others, not what made her daughter or even herself happy.

“It’s my wedding. My daddy said I can have whatever I want, and I want my rehearsal dinner there. Tonight.” She crossed her arms as if that was that and that was the final say.

Misty let out a long sigh and slowly blinked before she sat back down on the RV couch.

“Just keep going straight and take the curves slow. It can get a bit windy through the park,” I told Amy when I felt her slow the RV down and sat back to enjoy the gorgeous day shaping up, because circumstances in here weren’t going well at all. There was so much tension between the mother and daughter.

The bridesmaids ohh’ed and aww’ed over the foliage.

“What tree is that with the pink ones?” Shay had pointed out the sassafras tree.

“That’s a sassafras.” I continued to tell her that it was unusual how more than one leaf shape occurred on the tree and mentioned that the yellow, orange, red and pink leaves made it a very distinguished tree for the fall.

“I have to say, it is beautiful here.” Nothing was wrong with Misty’s eyes. She was seeing all the autumn season had to offer, and the forest was showing off for them today.

“It is, and it’s one reason I didn’t come back to the city.” I gestured out of the front windshield. “Fawn Road is coming up on the right. You’re going to turn, and the Old Train Motel will be right down the road.”

Shay nodded.

“I thought you’d not come back so you didn’t have to face everyone.” Misty held nothing back, just as I remembered people saying about her.

“No. I had nothing to do with Paul’s shenanigans and criminal activity. Everything he did to everyone here in Normal, I’d made good on.” I quickly told them how I’d helped get the economy jumpstarted again by working hard to bring the campground back to life and bringing them what they saw today. I also threw in how I’d gotten the key to the city. “I could’ve sold since I’ve had plenty of offers, but I’ve found a true life here. I’m in love with the slow life that did take me a hot New York minute to get used to.”

They all laughed at my joke.

“Honestly, the warmth of the people is what kept me here. I feel like I finally belong.” I stopped talking when Amy pulled into the motel parking lot.

Old Train Station Motel was pretty new. Not the structure—that was centuries old. Coke Ogden, the owner of the motel, had made huge renovations on what was a real train station that had been a source of travel to and from the Daniel Boone National Park.

The massive concrete station was beautiful, framed by the dramatic backdrop of the mountains of the national park. Coke had a great idea to use one of the old barns, after tons of money were thrown in, to make it structurally sound and back to gorgeous, as a wedding venue.

When I first moved here, I’d read about the property where the Old Train Motel was located. Some of the hardest trails and climbs of the area had started on the property. Those trails were the most appealing to tourists who came to Normal for the hiking.

Right in the middle of the motel was a domed, circular, open courtyard area with six massive concrete pillars holding up a dramatic patina metal roof with a rooster weather vane. The one-level covered structure jutted out equally on both sides of the dome, with five doors on each side and those same big concrete pillars standing tall and ornate.

The structure had ten doors with only ten rooms, so getting rooms was very hard. Coke had plenty of room to expand, but from what I’d heard, she wanted to make sure she could keep the ten rooms booked and grow from there.

Amy had put the RV in park and opened the door. I stepped out first. Coke was working in the vegetable garden she’d planted on the right side of the property. She stood up and looked over at me from underneath her wide-brimmed hat.

“Mae West, did you upgrade?” she hollered from the other side of the black Kentucky Fence Post, the actual name for the fence Coke had put around the property.

“Hey, Coke!” I waved and stood next to the RV door while the women filed out. “This is your client, Shay Moon.”

“Well, I’ll be.” Coke took the hat off her head and smacked it against her hip on her way over to us. She tried to run her hands down her blond hair to make sure she was presentable. It was as if she had a hot curl iron in her fingers. Magically, the edges of her hair curled up just like Mary Tyler Moore’s hair did on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Coke was always well put together, even when working in the garden. She had on a black headband that kept the shoulder-length hairdo off her face. She had petite birdlike features and a tiny frame to match. Bermuda shorts swallowed her legs. She wore a long-sleeved teal cotton shirt, and a matching silk scarf was knotted around her neck, which was exactly how I’d expected to find her.

“If I’d known you were bringing the bride and the bridal party, I’d have gotten a little more presentable. I’m getting my hair done up for the big event.” Coke gave me the stank eye.

“Helen?” I asked her, referring to Helen Pyle at Cute-icles, who did all our hair. Coke nodded. “I’m getting my hair done this afternoon too.”

“We can come back later.” Shay shrugged.

“Ridiculous. Now that you’re here, I guess I can’t do anything but offer you some delicious sweet tea from the Caboose Diner. We have the best sweet tea in the park. I make it myself.”

“That, I can say, is the absolute truth.” I agreed about the sweet tea.

“Thank you, but we have dresses to fit into.” Misty was quick to remind them that they needed to keep their lips shut and not have any fun.

“We will have a couple pitchers.” Shay wiggled her shoulders and grinned, ignoring her mother.

“Whatever the bride wants.” Coke winked and also ignored Misty. “Let’s go.”

Misty dragged the end of the line, huffing and puffing all the way through the courtyard of the motel, and continued into the diner. Amy was definitely enjoying the mother and daughter duo. Even though she kept her mouth shut, she had a slight grin on her lips, and she did well disguising it when one of them looked her way.

“I’ll make a note in here about the Chicken Fest.” Amy already had her pencil ready to write down whatever she was making a note about.

“I’ll get those teas, and I’ve got to make a quick phone call.” Coke disappeared into the kitchen of the diner.

Shay and her friends gushed how cute the diner was, but in reality, it was a typical diner you’d find in the South. The booths hugged the outside walls. The middle of the diner had metal tables and chairs. All seating was covered in red speckled vinyl, even the bar stools that lined the entire counter in the back.

“There couldn’t be this many people staying in those ten rooms.” Misty started to count all the people.

“Oh no. Most of these are citizens that just came to get a cup of coffee and chat.” I left out how the Caboose Diner had become one of the places the locals came to exchange gossip and get the latest news on their friends that their friends didn’t want anyone to know. Small-town life at its finest.

“It’s just like the show grandmother and grandfather used to watch.” Shay bounced on the toes of her shoes with delight. “What was that show, mother?”

“The Andy…” Misty tapped her temple, trying to remember.

“The Andy Griffith Show?” I asked, knowing the show very well since they played it on the TV here nightly.

“That’s it!” Shay was so excited. “Did you base your town on that show?”

“Ummm. No.” Did she really think towns were based on Hollywood shows? “I think they based the show on real small southern town life.”

“Just think, Shay,” one of the women gushed, “you’re getting married in a small southern town. So romantic.”

That made all the women squeal and take even more photos of the diner. I felt sorry for them, really. They were really not living in the moment and joy of what this had to offer for Shay and her big day.

They’d even taken photos of the sweet iced tea Coke served in the Mason jars.

“Just like Southern Living.” One of them held her phone up and took a selfie of her and her Mason jar.

“Why don’t we get this show on the road?” Coke asked the ladies, and we filed out of the diner.

A lot of stares came from the patrons in the diner. It wasn’t every day a group of gorgeous ladies showed up in Normal all dressed to the hilt. Their clothing was really what made them stand out. We were used to hikers in gear and other  appropriate dress.

Luckily for us, it hadn’t rained in a few weeks and the ground was nice and hard when we walked in the field down to the second barn.

“It’s not the first one?” Misty had veered to the first barn we were passing.

“No. That’s used for other events. The wedding barn is so romantic,” Coke gushed.

I could’ve blurted out how I’d tripped on a murdered body next to the wedding barn just a few months ago but decided it wouldn’t be good for anyone to know this was a previous homicide scene.

This was the first time I’d seen the barn since then, and I was pretty excited about it. The barn was tucked down into the valley of the property and overlooked 13 beautiful acres that themselves overlooked the valley.

“Oh my goodness,” Shay gasped when she experienced the beauty and elegance the Daniel Boone Forest had to offer.

Coke had really kept the renovations inspired by nature and gave the best panoramic views the property had to offer.

“Are you ready?” Coke smiled when she asked the question. She had gripped the closed sliding barn doors.

“It’s just like the home reveal on Chip and Jo’s show.” Shay brought her hands up to her face. She must’ve really loved the rustic and southern stuff if she was talking about the HGTV shows.

Dramatically, Coke shoved the doors open to the 11,000-square foot, air-conditioned barn with soaring 35-foot ceilings. There were three custom cupolas and windows galore. Natural sunlight flowed through the entire barn.

Coke watched with a big smile on her face as they all took a few minutes to stand in awe and walk around.

“On the second level,” Coke pointed out, “there is a bridal suite with a private deck. Perfect for photos.”

Shay looked over at Misty with tears in her eyes.

The two women embraced, and then I knew Misty would keep her mouth shut because Shay’s happiness was all that mattered to her. Shay was happy. Happiness was practically oozing out of her pores.

I glanced over at Amy, who was standing in the back. I noticed her rolling her eyes at the embrace the bride and her mom were sharing. It was odd since she’d been so up in Shay’s face and getting things on the calendar. I wondered why she wasn’t busy writing down the types of decorations Shay liked.

“The small barn to the right of this barn is the groom’s barn. Since you are getting married right before the sun sets, you’re going to be able to get some amazing photos from the covered porch attached to his barn.” Coke continued the tour.

“Is that a real silo?” The bridesmaids were starting to notice all the real beauty the Old Train Station property had to offer.

While Coke told the group the history of the property, I noticed Christine Watson from the Cookie Crumble Bakery slip in the side door. She was carrying a box. I headed over to her to see if she needed some help.

“Hiya.” She grinned from ear to ear. The freckles along her nose were just one of her cute features. She had her brown hair braided in pigtails. Her overalls had the bakery name and logo embroidered on the front pocket. She was a doll, down to her Converse high-top tennis shoes.

“What do you have here?” I asked.

“Well, Coke had called me and said y’all had showed up to see the venue, so I thought I’d just meet y’all here to have Shay sample some of the cake options.” She opened up the box.

“And her tour guide too?” I licked my lips.

“Of course. If you help me with the rest.” She winked.

Over the next few minutes, we walked back and forth from her bakery van into one of the back rooms of the barn Coke had made into a tasting room. Tables were set up there along with a wine refrigerator so the bride could taste samples.

Coke had taken them outside to the luscious meadow, surrounded by trees, that would provide a picture-perfect setting for their wedding photos.

Coke Ogden had spared no expense. And neither did Christine.

“Who is at the bakery?” I asked since I knew Christine was always working.

“Mallory, if you can believe that.” Christine had brought in some cut pewter trays that went along with what seemed to be shaping up as Shay’s wedding theme.

Southern. Or at least her idea of southern. Little did she realize that most southern weddings here took at least eighteen months to prepare for.

“I haven’t seen much of Mallory,” I said and started to arrange the bite-sized piece of various types of cakes Christine had made into petite fours on the platters.

“She’s been trying to get us into other small towns in the Daniel Boone National Park.” Christine stepped back and looked at the different platforms ranging in height before she moved a couple around. “I told her that I wasn’t going to move and I was only going to work in the one in Normal. She’s going to have to start working in them.”

“What does she do?” I handed her the platters as she pointed to them, and I watched her work her display magic.

“She does mainly the money, website and the ordering. She also will work in the test kitchen on new products.” Christine had the different trays all ready for the ladies to test the cakes.

“Do you like baking new products?” I wondered if she ever got tired of being behind the counter. She was the face of the Cookie Crumble—the one in public.

“I do make various things when the shop is slow, but Mallory really has a knack for that type of talent.” It was nice to see Christine and her sister got along so well.

I’d heard many times that you never went into business with your family. There was always one exception to the rule, and they were it.

“Ladies, I’m excited to introduce you to Christine Watson, the baker for your wedding cake.” Coke had entered the room with the bridal party trailing behind.

Their eyes lit up when they looked at the table and the magic Christine had created. I’d been too busy focusing on taking a sample for myself to even notice how Christine had used wooden crates to flip over, stand up, and lay down in various ways to display more petite fours in the southern theme. She’d also put out a couple of Mason jars filled with the mix of wildflowers you could find all over the national forest in the fall.

The pops of purple coneflower, baby’s breath, “Alaska” Shasta daisy, purple prairie clover, mixed corn poppy, clasping coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and prairie coneflower were just a few I’d recognized.

By the look on Shay’s face, Christine had hit the mark. If this made her happy, then I was happy and figured Misty was on board with the rehearsal being at Chicken Fest.

Everyone was listening to Christine and growing googly eyed over her samples. I sent Ty Randal a quick text asking if he’d be able to get twenty or so fried chicken meals together with a brief description of why. Not that I needed to use Pierce as my own tool or even that Ty Randal needed the international, attention since Ty was a well-known national chef, but I did put in the text that he might be featured in High Society. He sent me a thumbs up, which signaled a go.

“Look at the chalkboards.” Misty even had a moment of romantic weakness. “They even have your name on them.”

I stepped back near Coke and Amy while we watched in awe as Christine did her thing. Mallory knew exactly what she was doing when she put Christine in front of the customer because Christine even sold me and I wasn’t anywhere near getting married.

“You aren’t noting the types of cake Shay likes for Mr. Moon?” I asked Amy, somewhat sarcastically.

“Right. I should be doing that.” She hurried off.

Coke and I laughed.

“Keep in mind the cakes can come in various forms and not just the traditional tiered wedding cakes.” Christine pulled out a photo album. “In fact, most of the weddings I create for have gone a lot more southern by using drip design, ruffle design, half-naked cakes, and rosette.”

“Half-naked,” Coke snickered. “Who ever heard alike?”

“You’ve got yourself a gold mine here.” I shook my head. Both of us turned when we heard someone walk into the cake-tasting room.

That someone was a man with a camera hooked around his neck.

“Pierce!” Shay screamed with excitement, rushing over to give the man a hug. “Everyone, this is the big secret I’ve been keeping. Pierce is the editor-in-chief of High Society.”

All of a sudden, Pierce became the most popular person in the room.

“You made it right in time.” Shay glowed with delight. “We’ve not tasted the cake yet, so everyone needs to stand back and let him get some amazing photos.”

“What on earth is High Society?” Coke asked.

“It’s the premier magazine in New York City and the Hamptons. Anyone who is anyone is featured in there. It’s a big deal.” Apparently, Shay’s wedding was getting a big spread if they sent their top photographer to Normal.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been in it, only to be shamed after Paul had… you know.” I looked at Pierce. It was the first time I’d ever seen the man behind the camera. I’d seen him printed on all the photos in the magazine but never seen the face.

He wore a pair of skinny khakis, a blue button-down that was equally tight, and a pair of lace-up ankle boots. His black hair was shiny with the right amount of gel and neatly parted to the side. He wore a fancy gold watch and gold pinky ring.

“Where is she?” he asked Shay. They both slowly turned their heads to look at me. “Mae West. The Mae West in person.”

“Mae,” Shay said, saying my name like she had something very important to tell me. “Please don’t get upset, but I told Pierce that if he came to take my photos, then he’d get an exclusive interview with you.”

“I… umm…” I rapidly started to blink and turned to find an exit.

“That is not going to happen.” Coke stepped in and took up for me. Amy Hill was nowhere to be seen. “There’s no way Mae West is going to give any sort of interview about the past. The past is the past, and she’s a do-gooder around these parts. We love her and accept her just as she is.”

Shay drew back and glared at Coke.

“If you don’t want to have your wedding here, that’s fine with me. I don’t need the money.” Coke put an arm around me.

“Is this true?” Pierce’s slim shoulders relaxed as his head tilted. “Shay?”

“Now, can’t we all discuss this over some cake?” Christine must have been trying to smooth out the very sticky situation.

“Cake isn’t going to help this.” Misty crossed her arms. Her brows rose.

“No.” Shay’s eyes lowered as she glared at me. “Daddy will, though.”

Amy grabbed her pencil and flipped open her calendar. I wanted to grab the pencil from her and break it right in half.

THREE

“Daddy will? That’s what she said?” Helen Pyle brushed caramel highlight dye on a strand of my hair. She put her hand out for me to give her one of the foil squares she had me hold while she worked on my crazy hair.

“She sure did.” Coke Ogden nodded from underneath the big round hairdryer.

“I just don’t get rich folk.” Helen shook her head.

She sparkled from head to toe with her bright orange lipstick and orange bedazzled shirt that was tucked up in her mom jeans and pulled clear up to the bottoms of her boobs.

She slapped some more dye into my hair. “Do they just think they can snap their finger and you do what they want?”

They sure do, I wanted to say, remembering how my life was so different a few short years ago. Back then, I’d never been caught in a getup that was the color of Pepto-Bismol and doused with glitter and had big hair sprayed to heaven.

“I love the new renovations.” I looked around and really didn’t see much difference. The equipment sure hadn’t moved into the twenty-first century.

Helen had moved the salon into her cute cottage house while she had some work done on the salon, but it sure did look the same to me.

“Keep your head still.” Helen’s fingertips rotated my head back in place. “I’m just glad to get it out of my house. I loved having my clients there, but I just couldn’t turn off my southern hospitality and lost my shorts on the snacks and tea I was serving. But I knew my clients had to get their hair done. Of course, Walter had about had his fill.” She rolled her eyes when she talked about her husband. “He said he got so sick of what he called women-speak.”

“Women-speak?” Coke chimed in. “Is that what we are calling it nowadays?” she asked with a cackle, knowing she meant gossip.

“Tell me what all you did.” I handed her another square of foil.

“We love the new wallpaper in the bathroom and the new chandelier over there.” She waved the dye brush around and chomped on her gum with a big smile on her face. She rattled off a few more things like an upgrade in the electrical boxes along with new equipment coming soon.

“I can’t wait for my new pedicure chair.” Sally Ann Dean took some fingernail oil and rubbed away at Violet Rhinehammer’s fingers.

I knew Violet, and in no way was she enjoying that rubbing, but she probably didn’t notice, since she was so tuned into what Coke was saying.

“You decided not to do the wedding?” Helen’s jaw dropped. I shook a piece of foil in the air to keep her on task.

“I don’t care what society magazine they were going to put me in. They had no right trying to expose Mae like that.” Coke had been so nice to me and for good reason.

Not too long ago, I helped solve that murder I’d mentioned earlier about the dead body I found near the wedding barn. When word gets around that there’s a dead body in your place of business, the income slows way down, if you know what I mean. No one wanted to shop there, much less get married.

“What do you say about it, Mae?” Violet Rhinehammer shook her head to the side. Her long blond hair went with it, exposing her ear. She and I had our differences because she never asked any sort of questions or checked on anyone when it didn’t benefit the current scoop she was working on for Channel 2 or the Normal Gazette, our local paper.

Plus, I just might’ve been a little envious of the dripping curls cascading down her back. She also had the ability to apply the perfect makeup, and it didn’t help that her eyes always seemed to have a twinkle in them. One of those types.

“It depends.” When Helen tapped me on the shoulder, I got up to move over next to Coke under the hair dryer. She took the rest of the foil squares from me. “Are you going to be quoting me?”

“I’m more than happy to do a story—the real story—and see if they’d let me submit it instead of Pierce. He’s here. He’s going to do the story. So you might as well let me.” She had a point.

“You think he’s still going to do the story?” Helen gasped.

“If he’s not, then he’s spending a lot of time outside.” Violet let out a happy sigh and looked out the window, where Pierce was taking photos of the outside of Cute-icles.

“He can’t do that.” Helen put the foils in the drawer and slammed it shut. She stalked over to the window, put her hands on her hips, and stared at Pierce.

He took the camera away from his face. When he and Helen made eye contact, he flashed that white smile and waved.

“Yep, he’s doing the story,” I said to Coke as the dryers buzzed around us.

“Then you should let Violet do it before he can.” Coke knew as well as I did that Violet was just as sneaky as Pierce. “Sometimes it’s better to know the one doing the investigating than not.”

“You mean a ‘keep your friends close but your enemy closer’ kinda deal?” I asked. Coke slowly slid her chin up and then down.

“I’m not the enemy, Maybelline West.” Violet evidently took great offense. “You either want to help further my career by giving me the true story while you look good or do us both an injustice by letting him snoop around Normal and come up with his own conclusions.”

“I still can’t believe this bride”—Sally Ann waved the file in the air—“had enough gall to even think she could guarantee something like an interview with you.”

“She must be fascinated with your life or something.” Helen zipped the windows’ new curtains shut just as the door to the salon opened. “You are not going to get any photos of…” Helen stopped when she saw it wasn’t Pierce but a woman standing at the door.

“Misty, what are you doing here?” I pushed the dryer up so I could hear what was going on.

“Now, Mae, we can’t be ruining the magic I just put on your hair.” Helen rushed over and tilted the dryer’s head back over me.

“I came to talk to you and Coke about my daughter’s lack of judgement and how she thinks she can just say or do anything to get what she wants.” Misty sashayed into the salon, looking around at the pink room. “My oh my, I’ve read about these sort of places in books. Granted, they were fiction, but still I had no idea they existed.”

“And you wonder where your daughter got her lack of manners,” Coke muttered. I laughed. Fortunately, the dryer was too loud for Misty to hear it.

“I’ll pay you handsomely if you will still host the wedding of my daughter to that awful Lewis Malone.” This was the first time I’d heard Misty mention the groom.

“You can’t buy off Coke Ogden.” Coke referred to herself in the third person. “I don’t mind doing the wedding, but our own Mae can’t be involved in no article written by the jerk out there with the camera because she’s already doing one with the one and only local celebrity reporter Violet Rhinehammer.”

“She is?” Violet perked up.

“I am?” My shoulders slumped.

“Mmhhhh.” Coke curled her lips with a ho-hum. “Mmm-hhmmm, you sure are.”

“Good. I’m glad to see we’ve come to an agreement.” Misty sucked in a deep sigh of relief. “Now, you’ll have to excuse me. My husband and the RV are due anytime back at the campground, and I want to make sure everyone on it survived.”

“Don’t forget about the rehearsal dinner I set up over there tonight.” I pointed out the window to the grassy median.

Misty didn’t say a word. She simply turned the doorknob and walked out.

Everyone in the salon sat there in silence until the door closed behind Misty.

“I’ll be over tonight with my equipment. I want to do an exclusive on Channel 2. I’m sure I can get it through the producers. I’ll have a two-page spread in the gazette. I want photos of the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and all the campground activities you have planned.” Violet shook her hands and blew on her fingernails. Sally Ann kept trying to get Violet to put her hands under one of the light machines, but Violet continued to pull them back. “I don’t have time for that, Sally Ann.”

“Whatever,” Sally Ann said in a flat voice and let Violet stand up. “Don’t blame me if you get a smudge because I ain’t got no room in my schedule to fix it.”

“Yes she does,” Helen snapped back and gave Sally Ann a withering look before Violet trotted out of the salon.

FOUR

Helen had done her best to straighten out my hair after she’d washed the foils out, and she completely used a handheld dryer to roll out the curls. She wasn’t giving up either. She tugged and pulled on my hair so much that my scalp was sore by the time I’d gotten back to the campground.

The two big RVs from Shay Moon’s wedding were parked right up front near the office. The men must’ve made it just fine. All sorts of people were gathered around the lake, and Dottie was right among them with Fifi and Chester.

Instead of heading straight over to her to see how the day had been, I decided to head on into the office to make sure all the paperwork was completed and filed. I didn’t have confidence that if something went wrong and not all the T’s were crossed and I’s dotted, the Moons would request a full refund, and we’d be out all the money they were paying to stay here.

Before I could even get over to Dottie’s desk, the office door opened, and Shay Moon walked in with Tom Moon and Amy Hill closely behind.

“If I don’t believe my eyes.” Tom smiled at me. “Mae West. We meet again.”

He held his arms out and walked toward me. Then he gave me a kiss on each cheek, which I didn’t return.

“When my dear sweet Shay told me you owned this fantastic little piece of the pie, I just couldn’t wait to see you again.” He pulled back. His brown hair had thinned. His gut had grown. And he was still just as squatty and short as the last time I’d seen him.

Amy stood in the back of the office. A clipboard had replaced the calendar in her hands.

“You know each other?” Shay looked surprised. “Because when I told you who she was, you acted as if he couldn’t recall ever meeting her but knew the situation with her husband.”

“Ex-now-dead,” I murmured and poured a cup of the hot coffee into a mug. “Coffee?”

“Did I?” He gave Shay an odd look and took the mug. “Anyways, I understand there was a little mix-up about you scratching our back to scratch your back.”

He took a sip of the coffee and acted as if it were a fine wine before he swallowed. Then he took another sip.

“Scratching what?” I didn’t know what he was talking about.

Tom looked at Amy. She stepped up and whispered something in his ear, but Shay was already flapping her lips.

“Technically, Daddy—” Shay tried to speak up, but Tom took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of Dottie’s desk, making himself comfortable and cutting off his daughter. Amy stood next to him.

“You told Shay you’d give Pierce the interview in exchange for him doing a spread on my precious baby’s wedding for the magazine.” It became crystal clear that Shay had lied to everyone, including her daddy.

“I’m sorry that you thought that, but when I saw Pierce walk into the wedding barn, I had no idea why he was there, and this was news to me.” I looked directly at him.

Our paths didn’t cross many times before I moved to Normal, but I knew whatever Tom Moon wanted, he got, including all the fancy coffee shops around the world.

The door opened again. A young man with blond hair peeked around it and opened it fully when he saw us. He wasn’t alone. Another man, much older, grey haired, and wearing a suit, rushed in. Then another man with thinning blonde hair who wore a pair of khakis, a light-blue-and-white-checked button-down, a leather belt, and loafers came in last.

“Hey, hon. There you are.” He had a big smile on his face, making to-die-for dimples appear on each cheek. He and Shay were going to be the picture-perfect wedding photo.  He even had on a pair of two-toned wing-tipped shoes I’d seen worn by yuppies in fashion magazines. Those were some great shoes. Nothing I’d ever get on Hank.

“I wondered where you went.” Lewis looked between the father and daughter. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Lewis.” Shay hurried over, assuring him everything was fine. “Daddy is paying the bill. That’s all. Right, Daddy?”

“Wait.” The man in the suit stepped forward. “What bill?”

My uh-oh meter went off. Shay was lying to the man who obviously was her groom, and that was no way to start a marriage, in my opinion.

“Mae, this is Carl Rippin, my lawyer.” He introduced the man in the suit but left out the others.

“I’m Dan Malone, my son is Lewis.” The man in the loafers put his hand out for me to shake. “Lewis is the groom.” His voice was flat and not impressed with what was going on.

When I shook his hand, I could feel the stiffness in his body. He was just as unhappy about this wedding as Misty Moon.

“No.” I shook my head and decided I would make this situation right. “Tom isn’t here to pay the bill. They are trying to tell me that I have to do an interview with Pierce that I didn’t agree to so the Moons will have a big spread in the magazine that I never agreed to be part of.” I picked up the agreements Dottie had them sign and shook them. “In fact, I had no idea who the bride or her family was until they drove right on into my campground, where I can make all my rules.”

“Is that right?” Lewis looked at his bride with disgust. Her mouth opened, closed, and opened again. “You mean to tell me that you lied? The magazine didn’t call and ask to do the spread? You mean all that excitement the day you called me was an act?”

“Now wait a minute.” Tom stood up and put a flat hand on Lewis’s chest just as the door opened again. “They would’ve asked.”

Coke, Dottie, and another older woman walked in.

“Take your hand off my son,” the woman demanded of Tom and stalked over, pushing his arm away.

Obviously, she was the groom’s mother. She was very distinguished with long silver hair neatly parted to the side. I could tell the resemblance between the mother and son when they stood next to each other.

“Oh dear.” Misty now stood at the door with her hand over her mouth.

“Mother, it’s falling apart!” Shay cried and ran over to her mom, finding comfort in her mother’s arms as she cried.

“Honey, you should really try this coffee.” Tom was too busy assessing the coffee to even realize his wife and daughter were fuming mad.

“Your daddy and Dan only want what is best for you two kids.” Misty glared at the two fathers.

I wasn’t able to tell if she was really crying, but all the men catered to it.

“Now, now, sweetie,” Lewis talked to Shay like a baby and stroked her hair. “I still love you so much. It’s all going to be fine. We just need to work out a few kinks. That’s all.”

“Yes, dear.” The groom’s father also came over and assured her.

“Tom?” Misty questioned him through her gritted teeth.

“Whatever my sweet Shay wants, you know you’ll have it.” He didn’t look too thrilled or even seem to really believe himself. “May I?” He looked at me with his cup in the air, signaling a request for a fill up. I nodded.

“Really, Daddy?” Shay looked up and blinked several times. There wasn’t one tear in her eyes.

“I don’t think anything she wants is what you mean.” Carl, the lawyer, was trying to reel everyone in, but it wasn’t working.

“Of course, dear.” He lifted the mug to his nose and took a deep breath, ignoring everyone but Shay.

Coke, Dottie, and I looked at one another.

“Come on, honey. Let’s get you back to the bungalow, where the girls have something very special planned.” Misty wrapped her arms around her daughter and led her out of the office but not before turning to Tom. She said, “Get that coffee out of your nose and take care of this.”

As soon as the door shut, the bickering men started up again despite Amy and Carl’s best effort to stop them. I sat back and just watched all of them tear one another apart.

“My daughter is too good for you or to be a Malone!” Tom yelled at Lewis and Dan. He swung his hand back and forth as he gestured to the father and son, almost spilling the contents of the mug. “I knew I should’ve never said it was fine for her to marry you when you asked, and you knew it.” Tom wrung his hands. “You had her in the room when you asked me, and you knew I can’t refuse her.”

“My son and my family name are too good for any Moon to have.” Dan wasn’t going to let Tom insult them anymore.

“Dad!” Lewis called his dad to stand down. “Shay and I have it under control. We just need to let her have the wedding she wants because she deserves it. We will be fine.”

“Not with Moon’s thumb on you.” Dan wouldn’t move his glare from Tom. “Didn’t you see how he acted at the coffee convention? He acts like he owns the world and can do whatever it is he pleases.”

“Well, I do own the coffee world.” Tom shrugged and sat back down. He didn’t seem to be bothered at all as he continued to sip his coffee. “But this. What is this blend and who makes it?” He questioned me about the coffee I’d served him. “Carl, find out what coffee this is,” he started demanding of his lawyer.

“Unbelievable. Your daughter is so upset and you can’t turn off making money for a minute.” Lewis shook his head. He turned to me. “I’m sorry Shay assumed you’d give an exclusive interview to Pierce. As you can see”—he glanced at Tom—“she’s used to getting whatever it is she wants without any sort of resistance, and I’m sure she figured you’d be the same.”

“Just like her dad.” Dan shook a finger at his son.

“Oh, shut up,” Tom blurted out and took another drink of coffee.

“But all that is going to change. Shay and I have our own plans after we get married.” Lewis’s words must’ve caught Tom’s attention.

He bolted up from his relaxing position in the chair. Coffee swished up the side of the mug and splattered on his shirt.

“What does that mean?” Tom stood up and pushed his chest out.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lewis said in a threatening tone. “Once she says ‘I do’ and takes the Malone name, you can kiss your baby girl goodbye.” Lewis walked to the door. “Come on, Dad. I’m not staying in his campground any longer.”

The two men left Tom Moon and me alone in the office.

“And you aren’t going to go after him?” I asked with some disbelief.

“Why should I? He’s not going to do anything. He just wants a job at my company, and if that’s what it takes to make my Shay happy, then so be it.” He placed the mug on the desk. “Now, tell me what brand of coffee is in the pot.”

Carl was busying himself near my coffee pot, and Amy had left with Shay.

“It’s not a brand. Not really a brand. But sorta a brand.” I wasn’t sure how to describe Gert Hobson’s homemade coffee. “A locally owned coffee shop, the Trails Coffee, is located downtown. The owner is very good at making her own creations, and this is a new one she’s got coming out for the Christmas season.”

“The Trails Coffee, huh?” he asked.

“That’s what I said.” I had another uh-oh moment that made me want to warn Gert because Tom sure did seem like he was very interested in speaking to her.

“What’s the owner’s name?” he asked and pulled out his cell phone.

“Gert Hobson. Why?” I asked. His head shot up, and his mouth opened like he was going to say something, but then he quickly closed it as he typed on his phone.

Carl’s head jerked around, and he joined us. He acted like Fifi when I said the word “treat.” My words got his full attention.

“Gert Hobson,” he said the name and looked out of the corner of his eye like he was trying to recall something.

“Yes, but she’s been at a coffee convention in Lexington, so I’m not sure if she’s back yet.” I shrugged.

“We stopped there on our way here. I had to give a keynote speech to the crowd.” He tugged on his belt and puff out his chest again. “They like to hear from big names like myself. It’ll help fund any sort of misunderstanding about our little Shay issue with Pierce.”

He pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket.

“I bet you could use another washer or dryer in your recreation area. Or some new video games in there for kids. Or even a few new things for your campers.” He licked his finger and started to count out the hundred-dollar bills. He plucked a few from his stash and held them out for me to take. “Here’s your trouble for doing the interview.”

“You can’t pay me to do an interview with Pierce.” I refused even to look at the money, though he was right. It would come in handy.

Carl bent down and whispered something in Tom’s ear.

“Oh, Mae. I know what kind of mess Paul left you in. Not only financially, but your reputation isn’t the best in the circle.” The look on his face made me want to spit.

“I can’t be bought.” I was determined to keep the conversation civil. I pushed my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. I gave Carl a hard look with a brow lifted to let him know that no matter what little legal tidbits he whispered in Tom’s ear, I wasn’t going to budge.

“I’m not buying you.” This was when Tom Moon always turned on the charm. I’d seen him do this a few times at events when he wanted something from someone. “Look at it as a friend helping out a fellow friend. If I needed help, you’d help me.”

“Don’t count on it.” I glared at him and turned my attention to the door when it swung back open.

“Oops.” Hank had popped his head into the door and started to pull it shut as he backed out. “Sorry. I didn’t know you had a guest in here.”

“Come on in,” I told him and watched the door stop moving mid-shut. “I’m finished here.”

“Are you sure?” Hank opened the door. He looked so handsome in the blue suit coat and jeans he’d worn to work today. His green eyes danced when he looked at me. His black hair was nice and short, the way he loved to get it cut.

“Positive.” I waved him in. “In fact, Detective Hank Sharp, this is Tom Moon from Moonbucks Coffee. Tom and I go way back.”

Tom’s posture changed visibly when he heard me say “detective.”

“Tom, Hank is my boyfriend. He lives here in the campground.” I watched as Tom gulped and slid the money back into his pocket as if Hank hadn’t already noticed it. “This is Carl, his lawyer.”

Hank noticed everything, and by the way he walked into the office, positioning himself near me, I could see he knew I was a bit uncomfortable with Tom.

“Tom’s daughter is the one getting married at the Old Train Station in a couple of days.” I lifted my chin at Tom and let a faint smile cross my lips when I saw Tom get all fidgety.

“Congratulations.” Hank put a hand out. “Nice to meet you. I hope you find our town nice and quiet. The way we like it.”

“Yes. It’s fine.” Tom pinched a smile on his fat face and shook Hank’s hand on his way to the door. Carl did too. “Just fine. Mae, it was good talking to you. I hope you reconsider my offer.”

Hank waited a few seconds after Tom had left the office before he started in on his rant.

“I don’t like that guy. What was his offer?” Hank gave me a side eye.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and curled up on my toes. “Don’t you worry about it. It was something with the wedding.” I rolled my eyes and kissed his lips. “Besides, you might have a better offer for me.”

“Yeah.” He kissed me a little deeper this time. “Supper at the festival?”

“Exactly.” My stomach gurgled at the thought. “I’m starving.”

FIVE

Lights were strung all around the trees in the grassy median between the two main streets where the festival was taking place. They twinkled like the lightning bugs we got during the summer months.

I was happy I was wearing my sweatshirt because the nip in the cool autumn air was just enough to send a chill to my bones. The moon hung over Normal, and the stars shone brilliantly.

The Big Dipper and Little Dipper stood out so much that it didn’t take but a glance up into the sky to see them. It was always fun to watch tourists at night in the Daniel Book National Park. Most of them lived in cities where you couldn’t see the brilliance of the nighttime sky. Tonight, Mother Nature was showing off, and it was spectacular.

“We will have two fried chicken platters.” Hank didn’t bother socializing first. He went straight to the Normal Diner’s food booth where Ty Randal was busy doing what he did best: cooking.

“Coming up for two of my favorite people.” Ty smiled and took special interest in our order. He flung his shaggy blond curls to the side, exposing his beautiful blue eyes. His curls were pretty. Not like mine.

“Are you buttering me up for something?” I questioned him.

“That rehearsal dinner party,” he nodded, I turned to see where he was looking. Shay and the girls along with a few of the guys were already sitting at one of the picnic tables near the front of the amphitheater, where Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys had taken the stage and were doing their best rendition of The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Trudy Bull, Ty’s waitress, was over there talking to them.

“The bride’s mom gave me five thousand dollars. Cash.” Ty’s blue eyes grew big.

“They can give you more than that.” I rolled my eyes.

“I gave Trudy half, and she’s doing great getting them refills and whatever they need.” He was much happier with them as customers then I was.

“They are the Moons of Moonbucks.”

My words almost made Ty fall over. “I’ll bring your order over. The girls already have a spot on the other side of the median.”

I looked over there, and the Laundry Club women were already taking up a picnic table about midway to the stage. I got a good view of the bridal party, and I didn’t see Tom Moon or his employees.

“I swear, Otis Gullett sure can play that fiddle.” Queenie wiggled her shoulders up and down.

“How’s the wedding plans?” Betts Hager, the owner of the actual Laundry Club laundromat, leaned over and nudged me a little.

“This will be the last time I take in a full wedding party where the groom’s parents and bride’s parents are involved.” I looked up underneath my brows and took the extra beer bottle Dottie had pushed over my way. “If they can’t get along now, they’ll never get along when they have grandchildren.”

“The Malones turned in their bungalow keys before I left to come down here,” Dottie said, catching me off guard.

“They did?” I took a drink of beer.

“Mmhhmm.” Her unlit cigarette danced in the corner of her mouth as she talked. “Said they weren’t going to stay in the same place as the Moons.”

“Speaking of the Moon wedding…” Betts nodded toward the side of the stage.

We all turned to look. The bridal party was enjoying a few beverages.

“The bride doesn’t look too upset about things,” Betts commented, making me think Dottie had filled her in on what had taken place at the campground earlier tonight.

She was right. Shay wore that bride sash and held a cocktail in one hand and a fried chicken leg in the other.

“Yep. Next thing”—Dottie blew some smoke out of her mouth—“you’ll be blamed for her not being able to fit into her wedding dress.”

We were all so busy being entertained by Shay and the group trying to dance to the bluegrass music Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys started playing that I didn’t even realize Hank had dropped off my platter of fried chicken before he moved on to talk to other locals.

The bridal party looked so confused but were still having a good time. I guessed that was what it was all about. While they kept us laughing, I finished my food and leaned my elbows on the table. I couldn’t help but think how different my life was a few years ago and not much different from the girls I watched trying to fit in.

Even though Shay wanted to fit in, she didn’t. I knew how she lived, and her privileged life made her seem so out of place. I wondered if that was what my friends at the picnic table with me now thought when they saw me drive into Normal. I couldn’t imagine going back to the way I used to live.

“You want another beer?” Dottie asked when she stood up.

“Nah. I think I’m going to go get a coffee from Gert and see how her convention has gone.” I looked over at the cute booth Gert had set up, though it wasn’t far from the actual coffee shop.

She’d put down an oriental rug with a couple of metal café tables and chairs. She had an old chipped blue dresser with a couple of coffee carafes on top and all the stuff needed to doctor up a coffee the way anyone would like it. Me, I preferred black these days.

The screeching sound of RV wheels caught my ear. I turned to the left to make sure it wasn’t barreling down the one-way street, which was blocked off for the event. The police officer had stopped the RV at the barrier block, and Tom Moon emerged.

The officer and Tom exchanged a few words before the officer moved the cone and directed the RV driver in all the parking spots in front of Normal Diner, Deter’s Feed-N-Seed and the Trails Coffee Shop.

I shook my head and wondered exactly what Tom said to the officer to weasel his way into parking there. Lord forbid the man get any exercise because he sure did need it.

“That man thinks he can do whatever he likes.” Gert Hobson walked up to me and crossed her arms as we stood on the outskirts of her booth.

“I guess you would know the coffee king.” I joked and smiled at her. “How was your convention?”

“He was there.” The look of disgust on her face sent a chill across my spine.

I’d never know Gert Hobson to have such ill feelings against anyone, which was especially surprising since she was around gossip all day long. It was no secret the locals loved to visit the coffee shop first thing in the morning to catch up on any late-breaking news from the day before.

“Yeah. He told me.” I still wanted to change the subject, but I thought I’d tell her about the coffee. “He also loved your coffee.”

“He came into my shop?” Her brows lifted, and her mouth flew open, slowly closing when she let out a long sigh.

“Noooo.” I suddenly become very aware of her dislike for him. “Do you not care for him?”

“What made you think that?” She shook her head and uncrossed her arms. “I don’t like people who throw their money around and are just dishonest.” She turned around and walked inside her booth.

I followed her. She grabbed a mug on her way past the coffee bar and walked behind the glass display case where Christine Watson had teamed up with her to sell their sweet treats.

“That’s one thing he did pass down to his daughter.” I took a few dollars out of my back pocket and perused the sweets. “One coffee of the specialty blend and a mini apple pie.”

“I don’t have that tonight, since it’s a Christmas blend.” She looked over her shoulder at me. The mug dangled from her finger. “We have…” she paused. “Did you let Tom Moon taste my blend?” She seemed to take a minute to process what I had said about her coffee at the campground.

“I had made some for myself in the office when he busted in, another story for later.” My uh-oh meter went off again. This was beginning to be a regular thing since the Moons’ arrival. “Did I mess up? I feel like I totally messed up.”

“If it’s not Gertrude Hobson.” Tom Moon’s voice booming into the booth should’ve made me jerk around.

It didn’t.

The shattering mug and broken glass on the display counter was what stopped everyone in their tracks.

The Laundry Club ladies had rushed over faster than anything I’d ever seen and immediately went to work on cleaning up the broken glass. Christine Watson had grabbed one of the industrial trashcans and dumped all the sweet treats along with the trays, which were also broken.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea you’d react this way seeing me.” Tom grinned, keeping his eyes on Gert. Amy and Carl stood behind him on opposite sides of his shoulders.

“I oughta smack that grin off his daggum face,” Dottie spat through her gritted teeth.

“Shhh. Just help clean up.” I tried not to look up at the meeting between people who appeared to be old friends or at least friends from long ago. “He called her Gertrude.”

“That’s her name,” Dottie whispered as we bent down to pick up the same piece of glass. We stayed there for a second or two.

“I know that, but we all call her Gert. He looks like he’s enjoying watching her squirm.” I was literally tail end up, head down, and twisted to see Gert and Tom trying to have somewhat of a conversation.

“Did she say anything before he walked up?” Dottie had bent down in front of me, and our noses were practically touching.

“She just said he was a liar.” I shrugged.

“Just like his daughter.” Dottie wiggled her brows, and we both stood up.

We continued to pick up what large pieces we could. Ty had brought over his big push broom so we could sweep the sidewalk off really well.

“I told one of the city workers to be sure they cleaned extra good here overnight.” Christine had come back with a pushcart and more desserts on it. Luckily, she had plenty more to replace what was lost.

“I had no idea you were here or even in the coffee business.” I overheard Tom talking to Gert. “In fact, when Mae told me the coffee she had in her office was yours, I got a little nervous.”

Nervous? Why would he be nervous? Gert was one of the nicest people I knew and never made anyone anxious. She was the exact opposite.

“You never know when old secrets decide to rear their ugly heads.” When Gert said that, my head twisted to look at her. She was staring him right in the eyes and didn’t flinch when he smiled so big that the astronauts in outer space could see it. She’d reached over and put her hand on a shiny knife that looked very sharp. “You think I’m joking?”

“Don’t be going and threatening me,” he warned her, still grinning like he’d just made a bazillion more dollars. His eyes suddenly moved to the knife. He took a step back. “Gertrude, that was always your problem. Trusting everyone and not following through.”

“Yeah, well, one of these days you’re gonna cross the wrong person and get what’s due to you. And I’ll be standing back clapping the entire time.” Gert took her hand off the knife and put her hands together to clap a few times.

“I’m Mr. Moon’s legal counsel.” For some reason, Carl stepped up and somehow I missed something because he seemed to understand what Gert and Tom were talking about.

I was left out. Why would Carl need to tell her he was a lawyer?

“Is everything okay here?” I decided it was high time for me to step in. “Tom, this is Christine Watson. She’s baking Shay’s cakes for the big day.” I looked around at the group of groomsmen who’d come off the bus. “Where’s Dan and Lewis? I’d like them to meet her too.”

“They decided to leave the campground and stay at the Old Train Station.” He snickered. He just had an arrogance about him that I’d totally forgotten about since I’d not been around this circle of people Paul hung around with. “Apparently, they didn’t want to be around us any more than they have to be. I’m sure they’ll be here shortly.”

Dottie patted each pocket.

“Dang, forgot my cigarettes at the picnic table.” She looked at Gert. “You all right?”

Gert nodded.

“Then I’m gonna go back over there and have me a smoke and try to enjoy some good music.” She swung her gaze to Tom. “Unless I need to fix somethin’ here.”

“No. We are all fine. Thank you for cleaning up.” Gert opened and closed her hand a few times. “I think I might be getting some carpel tunnel or something.”

Was Gert making up carpel tunnel for an excuse to have dropped the mug? My uh-oh meter went off.

“Daddy!” Shay’s shrill voice bit right through me. She ran over all perky like. “Did you meet Christine? She’s going to make a daddy’s cake just for you.”

“Red velvet?” He grinned and looked at Christine.

“Yes, sir.” Christine nodded. “In fact, I’d like to drop it off sometime tomorrow if you don’t mind for a tasting before I make the final cake for the wedding. I have a couple of different frostings I’d like you to pick from.”

“I told her that you’d eat anything as long as the cake was red velvet.” Shay shoved her hand in the crock of her father’s arm and wrapped her hands around his biceps before she brought her shoulders up to her ears. “My daddy loves to eat.”

Gert had rushed off and out of sight by the time I realized she was no longer around, but that only made me want to be nosier about how she and Tom knew each other. They clearly had a history—enough to have made her drop the mug.

Carpel tunnel, my patootie.

“I love red velvet cake too.” I smiled to hide my concern for what took place between Gert and Tom.

“You love everything I love. Or I love everything you love, Mae.” Shay flipped her hair behind her back. “That’s why I want to officially have Daddy pay you to be my wedding planner this weekend.”

“What?” Tom jerked his head up.

“I’m not a wedding planner,” I insisted. “In fact, I don’t even do marriage well, much less plan well.”

“You have a keen eye. I’ve been asking around about you.” She pinched a smile. “Mae West, you have a better sense of business than Paul West did. And it’s legal.”

“Shay, honey, Mae doesn’t want…” Tom tried to stop her.

“Daddy.” She stomped. “Don’t you want us to have the best layout ever in High Society?”

About the time the magazine’s name left her lips, a bright flash of light seared through me.

Pierce.

“Smile for the article,” he said in a chipper voice that had more bite than fun. He knew he was getting a photo of me and trying to be candid about it.

“Smile here!” Violet appeared out of nowhere with her camera.

I grabbed Shay and swung her around, putting the biggest grin on my face.

“Look good, Shay,” I told her. “I’ve got my own paparazzi here.”

After all, it was the only reason Pierce was here, only they didn’t like the word…

Paparazzi.

“I’ve got the exclusive.” Pierce glared at me and then focused on Violet.

“Can’t we all get along?” Shay asked before she started to bounce on her tiptoes when she saw Lewis and his parents walking up.

She ran off and threw her arms around him before she dragged him and his parents off to the picnic table to be with the rest of the group.

The shrill echo of the microphone on stage brought all the chatter, laughter, and dancing to a halt.

Everyone turned to the stage to see what on earth happened to Blue Ethel. We were greeted with a smiling Shay Moon, who held the microphone in her hand like she was brandishing a weapon. She flung it one way and then the next before she finally brought it up to her mouth.

“Hiya…” her words slurred, obviously from an overdose of liquid courage. Not that she needed any more encouragement. “I’m Shay Moon, and over there”—she used the microphone to point to her table, making her voice trail off, but quickly brought the microphone back up to her mouth when she realized we couldn’t hear her. “That’s my finance. I mean fiancé, Lewis Malone.”

Was that a Freudian slip?  I looked around to see the look on everyone else’s face. Mostly they looked entertained, but poor Lewis had his head in his hands.

She told the crowd about her getting married, and it all seemed in good fun. The crowd clapped, catcalled, and even threw out a few whistles.

It wasn’t until…

“You know how a bride gives the groom a groom’s gift?” she asked the crowd. “Well, I’m giving my half of the Moonbucks Coffee Company shares to my love, Lewis Malone. Happy marriage, baby!”

“Shay!” Tom Moon gasped and hurried his way up through the crowd.

“I’ve already signed them over, baby!” She waved some papers in the air. Lewis ran up on stage and grabbed her around the waist, twirling her around, nearly knocking over Tom Moon.

“Over my dead body!” Tom Moon reached out to grab the papers out of Lewis’s grip but had no success.

…As we say in Kentucky, you know what hit the fan.

SIX

Fifi and Chester ran off as soon as Hank had opened the camper door after we got back from the festival—or what we could call Tom Moon’s living nightmare.

Tom, Amy and Carl had all tried to pull Shay off of Lewis’s lips, but they were locked together, and Shay’s shares were in Lewis’s grip, and no one was going to pry his fist open.

I didn’t have pole lights around the campground because it was a campground and guests wanted to see the nature of what it was really like in the Daniel Boone National Forest, not lights from a city, which would hinder the experience.

I did have small lantern lights low to the ground that would click on with motion, so when guests did walk around at night, they could see where they were going without the light projecting into the sky.

“Those two.” I laughed watching Fifi lead Chester right to the edge of the lake. “He’s a good boy.” I said that about Chester when he didn’t jump in right after Fifi did.

“She’s a stinker, just like her mama.” Hank used the pad of his finger and tapped the end of my nose. He brought me closer to him and kissed me right under the bright moon. “I could stay right here forever.”

“I hear a ‘but’ coming on.” I leaned back a little to see his eyes.

“But I’ve got to go to federal court over the ginseng case.” He pulled me close. I rested my head on his chest, closed my eyes, and enjoyed his tight squeeze around me. “Ritchie Stinnet and Sue Ann Jaffarian are being tried on the ginseng first, since it’s pretty open and shut with all the record of their illegal transport.”

The forest was actually one of the world’s largest producers of ginseng. There were a lot of strict laws people didn’t know about when it came to harvesting and selling the herbal plant. In fact, Kentucky had just put a hold on any sort of harvesting so the crops could reproduce after people coming in the forest and illegally harvesting the roots.

“What about the murder charges?” I asked and wondered how long he’d be gone for that case.

“One trial at a time.” He stroked my curly hair, the hair I hated and spent a lot of money on straightening when I had money to do so, to say nothing of the salon. I was sure Helen Pyle had no idea what products to use to help me achieve the straight look I so craved. Nor was I willing to find out. “I have to leave early in the morning.”

“Chester is going to miss you,” I teased.

“Only Chester?” he asked.

“Fifi too.” I looked up at him with a squished nose. “Maybe me.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He bent down. His lips met mine and stayed there until Fifi started chasing the sleeping ducks on bank of the other side of the lake. “I can’t believe you’ve not brought up the big whoop-dee-doo from the Chicken Fest.”

“I think I’m having a hard time processing really what happened.” I’d replayed it over and over in my head. “The incident between Shay and her father isn’t what is bothering me the most.”

“Yeah? What then?” Hank asked before he put his fingers up to his mouth and whistled for the dogs.

“I’m not sure how, but Gert and Tom Moon know each other,” I told him on our way around the lake to get Fifi. “I’m afraid it’s not in a good ‘know each other’ kinda way either.”

Ever since I’d seen how Gert reacted to Tom Moon—not just by dropping the mug, either—her body language that told me there was more to their friendship that wasn’t on the pleasing side.

“Really? I thought Gert got along with everyone.” Hank had made the same observation of our friend as everyone else in the community. “But it goes to show that everyone has a little bit of a past, and if she didn’t tell you then…”

“Hank Sharp.” I gasped and lightly smacked his arm. “Are you trying to call me a gossip?”

“Well, hon, if I wasn’t here to listen, I’m sure you’d be telling Dottie.” He laughed. “Unless you already told Dottie.”

“Stop it.” I wasn’t going to confess to anything. “Still, I do wonder how they know each other.”

“I’m sure you’ll find out.” He was right. If hindsight was twenty-twenty, I’d say Hank Sharp was psychic. “In the meantime, you’ve got a wedding to plan.”

I could tell he was enjoying my new job by the fit of laughter he seemed to be having. I’d never seen Hank be so entertained at my expense.

“You’re enjoying my little fiasco I’ve created.” I nudged him.

“I think it’s cute how you seem to always get yourself stuck in these uncanny situations.” He put his arm around me and continued around the lake.

Fifi and Chester had run back around to us. We were on the same path we walked every night before we went our separate ways for the evening.

“I’ve got a list of things we’ve got to do tomorrow.” I had yet to write them down, but they were in my head. “I had no idea Tom was going to jump at my price.”

After Shay had insisted I be her personal wedding planner for the next two days, I threw out a number for hire. Trust me when I say there was no price too good for Tom Moon’s daughter. In a way, I could see how Paul conned these rich people, though I was nothing like him. I’d already decided I was going to give Shay a great day and do my best to make her wedding exactly how she wanted it.

“Don’t forget to take care of my dog while I’m gone.” Hank knew better than to even suggest I’d forget.

“Oh, like I would forget that sweet face.” I snuggled up to him while we finished our walk. “When do you think you’ll be home?” I asked when we made it back to my camper and stood out front.

“I’ve got a hotel for the two days I think it’ll take but maybe sooner.” He ran his hands down the sides of my arms and pulled me closer. “You’ve got plenty of gossip to occupy your time. And being a wedding planner.”

The night was still young, even though daylight saving time had already kicked in and it seemed so much later from the darkness blanketing the campground. Instead of having Hank take Chester home with him, I had Hank go home and leave Chester with me, since Hank was going to be leaving earlier than normal.

Chester had found a nice comfy spot on the small couch in the living area of the campervan, and Fifi curled up in her little pink princess bed near the captain chairs.

I flipped on the television and grabbed my notebook out of the junk drawer. Then I sat down at the small café table to write down my thoughts and ideas for Shay’s wedding.

It took a few minutes for me to flip through the notebook because I was reading what the Laundry Club gals and I had been up to over the last couple of years. The memory of me walking into the Laundry Club for the very first time left me with a big smile.

Little did I realize I’d walk out with four best friends and the laundromat would be the place we gathered practically every day to chit chat. Those ladies and I had been through so many adventures that I couldn’t imagine what my life would look like without them.

This notebook proved it. We’d gotten ourselves into many criminal pickles, and we used this notebook to write down any and all clues to help us get out of the prickly situations.

Tonight, I was going to go solo and write down things to occupy Shay and her wedding party, starting with a manicure from Cute-icles.

I quickly sent Helen a text to see if she had any openings and was happy to hear back that she’d make room for the gals, especially when I told her I was bringing Violet Rhinehammer along. Anything for free publicity. I just had to make sure Violet was there.

So she was next up on my list. Little did I think she’d call me instead of texting me back.

“Exactly what do you want out of this article?” was how she greeted me after I answered her phone call. “You obviously know that I want the recognition.”

“I guess I want you to do the story about Paul and me along with my life here and how I’ve made a real life for myself. Not as Paul West’s wife.” I wasn’t so sure why it mattered so much to me that my name was clear.

However, I feared my name would be tied to Paul and his crimes forever, no matter how much good I did around Normal.

“I don’t want Pierce to do a story, or if he does, it won’t be the full truth.” I looked down at the notebook and tapped the pen on the page. “I’m giving you full access to my day, and that includes Shay Moon.”

“I’m going to shop this article to all the rag magazines.” Without her even saying it, I knew she was talking about those national magazines located in the racks at the checkout at the local grocery.

“Fine. As long as you tell the truth,” I said.

It was as simple as getting my story out. There wasn’t a whole lot to tell, but I think people would want to hear from me how I got caught up in Paul West’s world and put to sleep any accusation that I had any inkling about how he’d conned millions of dollars out of our friends and others. In fact, Shay’s question when she asked me about knowing what Paul was doing gave me the extra little nudge I needed to really recognize that my side of the story wasn’t rightly told in Manhattan or the Hamptons in our inner circle.

“The way to do that is to follow me around, and you can ask any questions you’d like for the piece.” I couldn’t believe I was going to just give Violet free rein over everything. But I was living with a belief that what pain it would give me for a short period of time was a large gain and would finally put all of this to rest.

“Great. What else is on your list of to-dos?” she asked.

“I want to take them to the Sweet Smell Flower Shop, Trails Coffee Shop, Normal Diner, and back to the wedding barn so we can get a final layout of the bridal party with Coke.” I had touched on all the bases. As I talked to her, I wrote the places down so they would be easier to check off tomorrow.

“Later in the day, I’m going to go get Christine at the Cookie Crumble. She wants me to go with her to have the groom taste his cake and also take some samples to Shay’s dad,” I finished.

“And you’re going to be okay with me going all of these places with no questions off limits?” Her voice held a leery tone. “I mean, you just…”

“I know how I treated you in the past. But if anyone is going to tell my full story, then I want it to be you.” It was a complete switch from the normal attitude I’d shown against her when she asked me personal questions. But it was time to finally put the past behind me. The Moons’ arrival in Normal had tipped me over the edge.

“I’ll meet you at your place at eight a.m.” She hung up the phone.

“I’ll be there,” I said to myself and quickly typed a text to the phone number Shay had put on her campground contract. I wrote the message to let her know she and her group needed to be at the campground office by seven thirty, giving me plenty of time to gather them in a bus….what bus?

I had a brilliant idea and scrolled through my phone to see if the idea could be brought to light.

“Betts, hey. Do you have access to the church bus?” Betts had been married to the ex-preacher of the Normal Baptist Church, and she’d been really involved in the different ministries that included using a bus to get all the Bible thumpers, my term for her church friends, to the various events. “Because Shay Moon asked me to help her with her wedding plans.”

“She what?” Betts laughed. “I’ve got to see this.”

“Stop it. But seriously, I’m so glad you have faith in me. Hank thought it was funny too.” I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me.

“I do have faith in you, but you get yourself in the strangest situations for anyone I’ve ever known.” She continued to giggle. “You were a rebellious teen. You ran off to New York City where you became a flight attendant and got married to a really wealthy man. Fast forward to how you ended up in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest, owning a campground in the park where you also help me clean houses for extra money. Did I mention all the dead bodies you’ve come across?”

“Funny.” My voice was flat. “And all of that will be told in the free-for-all, no-holds-barred article I’m letting Violet Rhinehammer do on me and my life.”

“You’ve got to be joking.” Betts was someone I’d really gotten close to over the past couple of years, and she had a front-row seat to my tiffs with Violet over during that time. “Is this because of that Pierce guy?”

“Did I tell you all about that?” I knew I’d told her about the Moons but not Pierce.

“Oh no, he came in here asking all sorts of questions about you.” She sighed. “I didn’t tell him a thing, but now I know why you’ve decided to let Violet have her shot that she’s been dying to do.”

“I’m going to give Violet full access while I take Shay and her bridesmaids around town to put the final touches on her wedding. That’s why I need the bus.” It was truly a great idea.

“You need a bus driver who has the correct CDL.” Betts told me something I didn’t know, and it kind of deflated me. “I know someone who could drive for you.”

“You do?” I asked with an uptick in my voice.

“Me,” Betts said. “What time?”

“By eight?” I asked, hoping she didn’t already have something to do.

“I was going to work in the laundromat office tomorrow, but I can change that. Besides, I’m very interested in your full story myself.”

With everything set for the morning, I took one more stab at the list of places we had to visit and things we needed to do to have Shay Moon’s final touches for her dream southern wedding all tied up in a pretty little bow.

I was more tired than I realized. The next thing I knew, I was fast asleep.

SEVEN

“Good morning, ladies.” I greeted all the girls with a cup of coffee from Trails Coffee’s complementary station, which Gert kept filled for me, and a sweet treat from the Cookie Crumble.

I’d gone to the office after I’d risen, let the dogs out, fed them, and gotten ready for my adventurous day. I made a schedule along with times for the group so they’d know exactly what we were doing and where. Betts had driven the bus to the campground by seven thirty like we’d talked about on the phone last night, and Violet Rhinehammer was also there early.

Violet had taken some shots of the campground for her article and a few shots of Fifi by the lake. She wasn’t going to leave anything out.

“I’m going to need some ibuprofen.” Shay wore a big floppy hat and a pair of dark sunglasses. She pulled them off and exposed the black circles under her eyes.

“You’re gonna need a Kentucky special.” Dottie’s nose curled and jerked her neck back.

“What’s a Kentucky special?” Shay asked, her tone more curious than indicating she really wanted to taste the certifiable hangover cocktail Dottie had served to many of our younger guests. Those guests had had too many spirits over a nighttime campfire only to find they were unable to go hiking the next morning.

“I’ll be right back.” Dottie held up a finger and trotted towards her camper, where she kept the brandy, apple brandy, and vermouth to make the ever-so-popular drink that was also known as the corpse cocktail.

I wanted to know what happened last night after Misty finally dragged her and Lewis off stage, but she was lingering behind the other girls, and I could tell she didn’t want to talk. I sure didn’t want her to throw up on me.

Betts pulled in right on time.

“Girls, our ride for our little pre-wedding day adventure is here,” I said.

About that time, Dottie came back over with the metal shaker, giving it a good few rattles with one hand and holding a fancy stemmed cocktail glass in the other.

“Drink this down.” Dottie handed Shay the glass and popped the lid off the shaker, pouring the drink into the glass. “I’ll guarantee you’re gonna feel like yourself.”

“Bottoms up.” Shay lifted the glass to her lips.

“What are you doing?” Amy scolded Shay. She flipped the calendar open. “You can’t have any cocktails until seven p.m. And then it’s going to be one.” Amy held up a finger. “We are taking no chances for you to be puffy for the ceremony tomorrow.”

“Where did you come from?” I looked around. It was like she showed up out of mid-air.

“I’ve been assigned the awful task of keeping Shay in line today while her daddy straightens out the mess she’s put the company in.” Amy’s lips twitched left and then right before she finally curled them in together. “Not to mention what she puts in her body. If she gains even an ounce of weight from all the bad food around here, the wedding photos will make her… well… less desirable.”

“I didn’t do anything Lewis and I hadn’t already discussed.” Shay was talking about the stocks she gave Lewis last night as she sucked down the rest of the glass and licked around the rim dramatically, probably just to make Amy even madder. “I don’t need a babysitter. Do you understand?”

“You don’t employ me.” Amy pushed her glasses up on her nose and hugged the calendar to her chest. “I take orders from your father, then your mother. Whenever you take over, I’ll be long gone.”

Shay said in a very demanding tone, her head tilted to the side, “Now run off and tell my daddy that I’ve already left before you got here.”

“I will do no such thing.”

Amy and Shay were squared off.

“You’ve got your handful.” Dottie shook her head in disapproval. “I wouldn’t put up with that group of squealing girls for nothin’.” She snarled and wandered back into the office.

“Ladies, we have to get going.” I started to usher them toward the door of the bus.

“Oh gosh.” Shay jumped around with a big surprised look on her face. “Amy, since you must go, can you please go back to the bungalow and grab my purse? I completely forgot it, and the envelope of money Daddy gave me is in it.”

“I told you not to forget it when I dropped it off this morning.” Amy’s eyes were magnified under her glasses. Shay frowned. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”

Amy took the calendar and smacked it into Shay’s hands.

“Get in the bus.” Shay shoved me a little and nodded to get in when I started to protest. She tugged an envelope out of her bra with her free hand. “I’ve got my money. We just don’t want her tagging along.”

“You sure aren’t very fond of Amy.” I noted and got on the bus.

“Daddy is going to fire her soon. She’s a busybody. Of course Daddy wants me to work at Moonbucks, but I don’t want to work.” She looked back at me over her shoulder with a big grin. “Why do you think I gave Lewis my shares?”

Wow. Poor Amy, I thought. She had no idea how much her hard work was for nothing.

I made my way to the back of the small church bus, which looked like one of those airport shuttle buses. Violet Rhinehammer waved me back to sit next to her, no doubt ready to pepper me with questions for the article.

“First question,” Violet said and looked over at me from her side of the seat. “Tell me about your parents.”

“You’ve met Mary Elizabeth. She loves Lily Pulitzer.” I started to tell her about Mary Elizabeth Moberly, my adopted mother.

“No.” She held her hand in the air to stop me. The ink pen stuck in between her fingers. “I mean your biological parents.”

“Oh.” I gulped, not really used to talking about them.

“You said anything.” She reminded me how I gave her full access and no questions were off limits.

“My mom had shoulder-length curly brown hair. It was so pretty. I used to take my finger and twist her hair around it. The smell”—I sucked in a deep breath and could still bring her scent to my mind—“she had the best homemade shampoo. We didn’t have a lot of money, since she stayed home, but she made it so much fun for me and my sister and my brother.”

Images of my mom making the tree fort in the woods near our home and the tents with the bed sheets in our little house came to my mind. The images I’d usually pushed back in my head because they were too painful were actually somewhat comforting this morning. It was probably the nostalgia of Shay’s wedding and having both her parents here.

“So she looked like you?” she asked.

“Yeah.” I laughed. “I… I’ve never noticed it before, but now that you mention it…” I smiled. “I thought she was so gorgeous.”

“You are too.” Violet showed a softer side of herself. “Now, tell me about your dad.”

“He was a miner. He also was the president of the local coal miner’s union, so he was always complaining about the job and job conditions.” I shook my head. “He had coal-black hair. He was over six foot. I remember looking up at him thinking he was a giant. He had a strong jaw and strong morals. He took care of my mom and us kids. We were his first priority.”

“Kinda like how Hank Sharp takes care of you. I mean, you did try to date Ty Randal, but I think Ty’s a little more on the sensitive side for you.” Violet didn’t miss a beat. “But we will get to Hank Sharp later.” She wrote a couple of things down on her notepad. “Your dad, did he ever get worried about his lungs? Black lung?”

“Oh yeah. Mom made him go to regular checkups and made a fuss over him doing exercises to keep his lungs healthy.” I smiled, remembering even more things I’d forgotten. “She had him do push-ups with us kids sitting on his back. He’d chase us afterwards. It was so much fun.”

“We need to go if you’re going to make it to Helen’s by nine!” Betts hollered from the driver’s seat.

“We will continue this later.” Violet closed the notebook and put it back in her shoulder bag.

“Wait, I’m here,” Pierce said.

“Pierce?” I looked over my shoulder. He was standing at the door of the bus with his fancy polo shirt and khakis all neatly pressed. “I don’t recall inviting you.”

“No, but Shay did, since I’m still doing her wedding article.” He gave a wry smile.

“Pierce!” Shay screamed and waved her hand. “Come sit with me.”

Pierce nodded and smiled, giving me what we called one of them “shit eating grins” when he walked past me.

And that was how this day was starting. I should’ve known it would go downhill from here.

“I can’t believe it’s Pierce.” Violet could hardly contain her body as she tried not to look at him. “Do you know how big he is?” she emphasized “big” in a way that told me I had to reel her in and fast.

“Big?” I pish-toshed her observation, though it was entirely true. After all, the man went by only one name. Pierce. Kinda like Cher, Beyonce, Madonna. I guessed when you were that sought out and popular, it was a waste of time to have two names.

“You can get bigger. You are so much younger than him, and look at you, already doing stories for big national magazines,” I told her.

I could see her chest rise, her posture straighten, and a gleam start twinkling in her eye.

“Listen.” I leaned over and told her something that I’d never told anyone since I’d been in Normal. “I know someone at People magazine. Let me call her and see if I can get you a little something for them.”

It was true. It was hard to hang around inner circles in Manhattan and not get introduced to people with some clout. I’d been to several parties with big-name editors of magazines, and I couldn’t say that most of them tried to get an exclusive with me while I went through all of Paul West’s trials and litigations when I was stupid enough to have believed his assurance that none of the accusations against him were true.

But I never told anyone that part of my life and didn’t intend to tell it now. Just giving a few chunks of information to keep Violet satisfied and do an article better than Pierce was my main focus.

After all, I clearly remembered Pierce doing a major piece in the New York Times about Paul that made me look like a gold digger, which I was not.

“Who?” She gasped and quickly pinched her lips when one of the bridesmaids in front of us turned around.

“Let me get in touch with them first.” I patted her leg. “And you have to be sure that you put the best story together, and that means all the photos of the bridesmaids and all.”

“But Shay didn’t give me permission to do that.” Violet was strictly by the book when it came to her sources.

“Honey, I didn’t give Pierce permission, either, but you see how he’s weaseling his way right on in here using her to get to me.” I sighed and was pretty pleased with myself when I noticed the devious smile Violet had used on me several times over the past couple of years show up on her face.

She winked and got to work. Violet scooted up to the edge of the seat, put her hand through the seats in front of us, and tapped one of the bridesmaids on the shoulder.

“Hi, I’m Violet Rhinehammer, and I’m doing an article in a national magazine. I can’t say which one yet, but I’d love to feature how you know the bride.” It was all Violet had to say to get the girl to spill her guts about the fancy boarding school she and Shay had attended.

With a big grin on my face, I looked over my shoulder. My eyes grazed the tops of the seats where I found Pierce staring back at me.

“Touché.” He gave me a two-finger salute from his brow when he figured out exactly what I was up to.

Slowly I turned back around and, once again, felt pretty darned pleased with myself. I might not be able to stop Pierce from doing his own little story about me, but I sure could get a real story out there that I did promote as my words. That was all I needed.

Violet had already gotten the girl’s story and a photo of her with Shay. Shay was thrilled to take part in the big article. They begged to know what magazine. Violet kept her mouth shut. Not that she was lying—she could easily put it in the Daniel Boone National Park Magazine or even in the National Parks Magazine since she did contribute to them. They were national magazines, just not the societal ones Shay had in her mind.

Betts had stopped the small church bus in the middle of the street right in front of Cute-icles.

“I’ll go park at the Laundry Club and let y’all do your thing.” She opened the door, and the giggling bridesmaids spilled out onto the sidewalk in front of the salon. “Pop your head in the laundromat to come get me.”

“Thank you. I owe you.” A favor was something she would use, too, especially if she needed help in cleaning a house.

“Good morning, ladies.” Helen Pyle had greeted us at the door before we could enter. “I’m delighted to say that we have three new manicure stations since I did the remodel, and y’all are the first to use them.”

Helen ushered us in and picked three to go first, leaving Shay and two more girls to look at the polish they’d like for the big day.

Shay had picked a blush, which was perfect for her, while the others decided to go with a brighter pink. Overhearing their conversation with Violet and their descriptions of the dresses, I gathered the dresses were almost cream colored or pretty darn close to it.

“I never figured you were stupid.” Pierce had found a seat at the front of the salon and was thumbing through a men’s hairstyle book from the early nineties. “I’m not sure why you won’t give me the exclusive.”

“Maybe a little thing called history. Do you think I’ve forgotten how you portrayed me as a gold digger when in fact it was the opposite?”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” He put the magazine down and dragged his right leg up to rest on his left knee. “You seemed to have taken to this lifestyle around here.”

“And what lifestyle is that?” I also noticed he wasn’t taking any photos of the manicure session or talking to the girls like Shay had thought he was going to do. I couldn’t help but think he was using poor Shay to really get my scoop.

“The slow, laid-back, jeans-and-sweatshirt look.” His eyes drew up and down my body. “Mae, you might’ve come from Kentucky, but you got a taste of the good life. You got so much class. You are too high class for this life. You could be making millions with your natural talent for business.”

I smiled and blinked, knowing what he said wasn’t a compliment, but he wanted me to react. The only thing I reacted to was the ringing from the landline phone that hung on the wall.

“You want me to comment on your compliment, but I’m not.” I tucked one of the strands of curls behind my ear. “You’d use my words against me in a statement, and I’m not going to give you anything.”

“Fine.” He shrugged and picked the old style book back up. He started to thumb through it. “Have it your way. I am doing the story.”

“You’ll lose!” I yelled and balled my hands into fists.

“Mae, phone call.” Helen Pyle had the phone tucked between her ear and shoulder while she shook a bottle of nail polish.

I walked over to her and didn’t look back at Pierce.

“Are you okay?” Helen asked, glancing over my shoulder at Pierce. “I can make him leave.” She nodded and handed me the receiver.

“I’m fine.” I put the phone up to my ear and wondered who on earth had tracked me down at the hair salon. “Hello?”

“You done up and did it now.” Dottie Swaggert was on the other end of the line.

“Why didn’t you call my cell?” I asked and pulled it out of my pocket.

“Because I don’t have that number memorized and I’ve known Helen Pyle’s for years. But we can’t be squabblin’ about that. I think that the secretary of the Moon people is gonna get strangled by them Moon people.” Dottie talked in circles like she always did, and most people wouldn’t understand her, but I did. “I’m ‘bout to call the law.”

“We don’t need any of that,” I assured her. “What happened?”

“Y’all left Amy here, and I’m thinkin’ on purpose.” Her thinking was right, and it wasn’t my place to tell why and who, meaning Shay, wanted us to leave her. “When she came back here to catch the church bus with y’all, she found out y’all left without her, and Shay’s parents went crazy. Said something about lawyers and the company. Had her backed up against the office wall. It was awful. I nearly had to get my gun out.”

“What’s going on now?” I asked.

“That lawyer came and finally dragged them off of her. He said they should’ve kept a tighter leash on Shay and how could they even let her know she’d owned half the company.”

“That’s why they are making Amy stay with Shay,” I whispered to myself, realizing they were behind the scenes trying to figure out how they could get back Shay’s shares of the company.

“This wedding is going down faster than a speeding bullet.” Dottie sounded really bothered, which was unusual for her. “I told them where y’all were, so I’d expect you’re gonna see one of them.”

“Thanks, Dottie. Maybe I need to move this little outing along instead of dilly dallying.” I gnawed on my lip and slid my gaze to Shay. She wasn’t one of the few people getting their nails painted, so I could take her out of here for a while.

I was trying to take our time and eat up some of the day, but this whole wedding thing seemed like it was in trouble like Dottie had observed. I would not have spent all this time on Shay or agree to let Violet do a story on me if it weren’t for the fact that any publicity about Normal was good for the economy. As a business owner, I wanted all the tourists we could get.

“Shay, would you like to go over to Trails Coffee with me so we can sample some of the roasts my friend Gert Hobson has for you?” I asked and noticed it was already eight thirty.

“Yes.” She ran over and grabbed my arm. “You do know that my daddy about died when I told him I didn’t want anything Moonbucks at the wedding.”

“I can’t believe he was okay with it.” That made me think he was letting his daughter have the spotlight after all, but I’d never seen Tom do anything that wouldn’t benefit him.

We walked out of the salon and stood on the edge of the sidewalk to cross after a car passed. The day was overcast with a few peeks of the sun here and there. The city workers were busy cleaning up the remains of the Chicken Fest from last night and getting it ready for round two tonight.

“He was a little hesitant at first.” She playfully shuffled her feet in the grass as we made our way over to the other side of downtown where Trails Coffee was located. “I told him about the cute coffee shop in Normal, and he looked it up. He’s so generous.”

“Generous?” I asked.

“Yes. He was happy it was here, and it was then that he told me he had talked to Pierce about doing the time piece in the magazine. Daddy said it would bring the small coffee shop some business, giving it national exposure. Kinda like what I want to do with you and how you’ve made it as a strong woman.” As she talked, it was all becoming very clear. “When I met with Pierce and told him all about Normal and why I’d picked it, that’s when he wanted to throw in the part about the interview with you. I had no idea you didn’t want to do it or I wouldn’t have said, but he and Daddy talked last night and he’s fine with not having you be part of the article.”

They talked? Tom wanted to throw the coffee shop a bone? Tom even looked up Trails Coffee, which had Gert’s face all over the website. There was a connection here, and I couldn’t put a finger on it. Not that it was any of my business, but I sure was curious.

“Wow, two days in a row.” Gert was walking down the sidewalk from the opposite direction.

“Are you coming or going?” I asked in case she was leaving.

“I’m coming. I had to drop off the sample coffees to Caboose Café this morning so they could decide whether or not they want to add it to the menu.” She held the door for us.

I couldn’t help but notice the side eye she gave Shay.

“Gert, this is Shay Moon. I’m sure you remember her from last night.”

Gert’s stone-cold eyes shifted from Shay to me.

“I’m sorry. Did Daddy’s presence create a big ruckus?” Shay laughed. “He does that everywhere he goes.”

“Something like that. But I’m sure you’ll understand that I just can’t take on the wedding.” Gert turned away from us and rubbed her hands down her apron before busying herself with one of those fancy coffee makers. “I just got back from the convention. We are so busy, because it is hiking season. Everyone loves to come the park during the leaves changing. That includes one of my employees. I’m sorry.”

“I thought you said she was on board?” Shay’s face went from baffled to angry in what we called a New York minute. “I told my daddy he wasn’t allowed to have Moonbucks because I thought this was going to work out.”

“Mae, did you tell Ms. Moon that I would do the coffee before she came to town?” Gert asked, blinking several times.

“No. I had given her a few places to look into over the online reservation portal. I had no idea her dad was Tom Moon, and I did mention it to you a month or two back.”

“I do recall you mentioning it, but now that we are, I just can’t do it.” Gert tugged off the lightweight coat she wore and put it on the counter. She shrugged.

“Excuse me.” Shay dug around in her handbag. “I’ve got to call Daddy!”

She stormed out of the coffee shop with the phone pressed up against her ear, leaving Gert and me in a very uncomfortable position.

“Gert, I told you about the ideas Shay had for the wedding, and you said anything was fine.” I was very taken aback by Gert’s sudden actions. “There’s obviously some history between you and Tom. And it’s not good.”

“How do you know?” she bit back at me.

“It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure it out after you dropped a ceramic mug on a glass counter, shattering it to pieces when you saw him at the Chicken Fest.” I watched as she tried not to hide her heavy breathing from me. “Right now you’re getting all worked up over me even mentioning his name.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you, Mae.” Gert’s nostrils flared.

“Listen, I don’t know what your relationship with him is, and trust me, I have a past with him too. He was in Paul’s circle of friends. Though it was a large circle and I didn’t know him that well, he was still around. But don’t take it out on his daughter. He even told her he’d like Trails to be featured in the big fancy article Pierce is doing.” I thought that might make her come around.

“Is that going to pay me back for the millions of dollars he stole from me by stealing my recipe for what you know as Moonbucks Original Blend?” she asked.

My jaw hit the floor.

It literally took me five minutes to compose myself enough to sit, let alone process the big bomb Gert Hobson had just thrown on me or even take a sip of the hot coffee she’d set down in front of me. Who hadn’t had the caramel delicious hot coffee treat?

“You’re telling me that you came up with the Moonbucks coffee?” I had to clarify what I’d heard from her because it sure did sound like Tom Moon had stolen her recipe.

“Yes.” Gert had gotten herself a cup of coffee and told one of her baristas to take over while she sat down with me.

In the meantime, Shay had perched herself up on a picnic table in the middle of the downtown, still talking on her phone.

“Tom Moon is a thief. We were two college kids working at a little pastry shop near our school. We spent many hours working together. I told him of my dreams of owning a coffee shop of my own. He had dreams of becoming a big businessman.” Her jaw tensed. She took a drink of her coffee. Her jaw relaxed.

“Were you two an item?” I asked.

“No.” She made that quite clear in her tone. “At the time, there was only regular and decaffeinated coffee to pick from. I started to create little blends of ground coffee by adding hazelnuts or even something as simple as cinnamon.”

She must’ve had some good memories because she did smile at something she recalled.

“Customers started asking for the Gert special.” There was a glow of pride all over her face. “Customers would take one sip and just have a happy sigh. It felt so good they enjoyed something I loved.”

She looked down. I could feel the big “but” in the story coming.

“One day Tom had asked me to write down the Gert special because everyone asked for it when I wasn’t there.” Her cold eyes drew up from her mug, and she stared at me. “I wrote it down. The next thing I knew, Tom had vanished. No notice at the pastry shop. Withdrew from college. Left.” She circled the rim of the mug with the pad of her pointer finger. “A few months later I saw an article about this young man who started a coffee business and people from all over the world were buying it from him. He was about to open his first coffee shop. It wasn’t like anyone in the world had ever seen.”

“Moonbucks,” I gasped and drew my hand up to my mouth. I quickly remembered how I’d overheard saying something about secrets coming out from under the rug. Was she talking about this?

Could Gert Hobson’s creation really be the mastermind behind the entire ground Moonbucks was built upon?

“Tom Moon stole your recipe and took it for his own. That was illegal.” I leaned over the table so her customers wouldn’t hear me, just so I could clarify what I was formulating inside my head. “You need to sue him.”

“After I saw it was him, I had to take off work, miss my classes, and sell my couch just to have enough money for a bus pass so I could confront him.” Her story had pulled me in so much that I didn’t realize we were no longer alone in our conversation. “Tom Moon had his lawyers ask me for a patent on the recipe and to prove it was mine.”

“Gertrude Hobson!” Carl and Amy hurried into the coffee shop with Shay by their side. “We’ve been through this. Years ago and you still can’t let it go.” Carl sounded so condescending that I wanted to throw my hot cup of coffee on him. “The only thing Tom did before you and he admitted your idea of opening a specialty coffee shop would be great. That’s what my client did. He opened your dream. Something you couldn’t do. It’s ridiculous to claim that he stole your coffee recipe.”

“It wasn’t opening a coffee shop. He knows it.” Gert jumped up from the chair, knocking it backward with a smack. “He did steal the recipe.”

All the customers in Trails Coffee stopped and looked at the commotion.

“He stole my coffee recipe and called it Moonbucks Original Blend!” Gert had lost her ever-loving mind.

It was like she’d taken my thoughts out of my head and performed the actions. She took her hot cup of coffee and flung it at him, causing the steaming liquid to splatter all over the front of Carl’s suit coat.

“You’re crazy!” Carl pointed at her and looked down at the wet coffee on his coat. He looked around and headed straight to the bathroom.

“I’m crazy?” Gert asked him and got up in his face. “Yes! I’m crazy enough to kill your sorry boss and you if you don’t get out of my shop!”

Just as I looked up to find some sort of towel to give Carl, I was faced with about a dozen cell phones pointing in our direction from customers recording the entire event.

EIGHT

Needless to say, Shay didn’t make it to her nail appointment, and the girls who were in Helen Pyle’s new manicure stations were yanked from their seats after Shay had made a big scene about Gert threatening her daddy and Shay had to go lie down. Betts took them back to the campground while I stayed at the Trails Coffee to make sure Gert was okay.

She was not. I had suggested we grab a coffee and head over to the grassy median to talk.

“The nice fall breeze will make you feel better.” If the breeze didn’t make her feel good, the beautiful unfurling hues of yellow, brown, and red leaves would give her a visual treat. All the colors of autumn had decided to show off today with the sun as the spotlight.

“I’m sorry.” Gert put both hands around the to-go cup. “I really should’ve kept my cool about it.”

“Why didn’t you stop him when all of this happened?” I asked her.

“Oh, I tried. I took my loan money and tried to follow him but always turned up a day late. By the time I did find him, he’d already made the big coffee deal. He had so many lawyers, and he told me he didn’t steal my recipe and if I could produce a legitimate patent, then they’d take me to court over it.” The look of defeat sat in her eyes.

“There has to be a way around this.” I wondered if it was time to call in Ava Cox. She wouldn’t be happy hearing from me since it was Paul West’s fault what’d happened to her family and that she was tied to the murder of my ex-husband.

“I’d love to say that we have a shot, but we don’t.” She shook her head and lifted the cup to her mouth. Taking a sip, she looked over the top. “You’re a good friend, but I don’t want him to take advantage of you. You need to do the wedding and stick it to him. Get him where it hurts. That’s money.”

“I’m just so sorry this happened.” I held the cup in my hands. “I’m so sorry I let him taste your new blend.”

“That’s one reason I didn’t have the Christmas blend at the Chicken Fest. I was going to.” A group of hikers walked in the grass behind us, and she leaned on the picnic table on her elbows as if they were listening to us.

“What?” I asked, glancing over her shoulder at the group as they passed.

“Tom Moon has eyes and ears everywhere.” Her eyes shifted from right to left. “For all I know, he’s hired actors to act like hikers.”

Some of her paranoia was showing through, and I didn’t feel there was any way I could make her feel better at this moment, so I let her go with it.

When they passed, she opened back up.

“I’d seen Tom at the coffee convention and overheard a conversation his soon-to-be father in law was having with another coffee king, Wes Millford. Awakenings Coffee.” I nodded because I recognized the name. “The father-in-law said they were going to be in town for a few days because his son was marrying Tom’s daughter at some hillbilly campground in Normal.”

“Hillbilly?” I snarled.

“That’s how I knew he was coming to town. Immediately I called my employees and told them to stop churning the beans and stop grinding them because we weren’t going to showcase it at the fest.” Gert stopped and looked off into the distance. Her eyes were filled with tears. “I was counting on the few dollars that selling bags of the new blend to all the tourists at the Chicken Fest to help get me through the winter months.”

I moved my hands from my cup, reached across the table, and placed them on hers.

“We all pitch in around here. We will all be fine this winter.” Still, my mind was still reeling about how Tom Moon just took whatever he wanted in life and it all started with Gert Hobson.

“If I’d only kept my piece of paper with my recipe on it.” She shook her head. “Or if I could break into his house and get it, my whole life would be different.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to reach out to Ava?” I asked.

“No.” She pinched her lips together.

“Hey, you two,” Christine Watson said to us when she walked up. “Where’s the bride?”

“I’m afraid we won’t be there to taste the groom’s cake.” I tried to avoid looking at Gert. “Shay needed to lie down. But I’m sure it’s all good.”

“Oh.” Christine’s brows knitted. “I guess I can take some samples to him and to her dad.”

“Can you add some cyanide to it?” Gert didn’t laugh. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was serious.

“I think they’d order it minus the cyanide.” Christine joked and looked at Gert with a wry smile.

“Do you think I could grab a ride to the campground with you?” I asked Christine. “The bus with all Shay and her bridesmaids left without me. But only if Gert is okay.”

“I’m fine.” Gert shook her head and stood up. “Like I said, charge Tom Moon extra. He’s got the money.” She winked, her way of telling me her secret was just between us. “Besides, I’ve got to make a few stops of my own this morning before time gets away from me.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to be somewhere by nine thirty.”

If not for Paul West and his web of lies and crimes, I might’ve charged someone like Tom Moon a little more, but I just couldn’t do it.

“Whatever. He deserves all the bad things coming to him,” she muttered and turned to go back to her shop, leaving Christine Watson and me standing there.

“You want to tell me what that was about?” Christine asked.

“Not really. What do you say I help you get those samples to the men?” I asked, hoping she’d not continue to ask me about Gert’s odd behavior. “Where’d you park?”

The Cookie Crumble wasn’t located downtown. There was no open shop space, so Christine and her sister’s bakery was a little out of downtown, toward the police station and coroner’s office.

“In front of Smelly Dog.” She referred to the dog groomer opposite the side of Trails Coffee Shop. “Do you mind if we stop by the Old Train Station first? That’s where the groom’s family is staying.”

“Hey!”

Both Christine and I turned around. “Where are you going?” Violet Rhinehammer was hightailing it toward us, coming from the direction of the Laundry Club.

“I’m hitching a ride to the campground with Christine. I figured you were going to get the scoop with Shay and ride back with them.” I shrugged.

“No. I’m doing the story on you. Shay just happens to be the extra.” She rested her hands on her camera, which was strapped around her neck and lay flat against her stomach. “Let’s go.”

Christine looked puzzled.

“I’ve agreed to let Violet Rhinehammer do an exclusive on my life because Pierce is in town for Shay’s wedding. He has a little past history, and he is going to do a little piece on me being here.” Gosh, I realized the Moons brought a lot of stress with them everywhere they went, including to me.

“She wants to the truth to be told, and I’m doing the telling.” Violet looked at both of us with a smile.

“I was just telling Mae that I was going to stop by the Old Train Station and a couple of places first.” Christine was obviously giving Violet a way out, but Violet walked across the grass with us.

“That’s fine. I can chat with Coke while you talk with Lewis and Dan. Or let Violet pepper me with questions.” I waited by the passenger side of the car for her to unlock the door and get inside.  Violet got into the back. “Did you stick with the red velvet?”

“Yes.” She started up the car and pulled out of the space, making a U-turn at the end of the grassy median so she could head toward the Old Train Station, which was north of downtown. “I also made the middle cake of the five-tiered wedding cake red velvet. Shay had called me last night and told me that her father wanted red velvet, but there were some issues between the fathers. Apparently, Mr. Moon won’t eat anything made for the groom’s side.”

“Really?” I asked. “Who are the adults here?”

“No kidding.” She smacked her hand on the wheel. “Shoot. I forgot to ask Gert what blend of coffee she was serving because I like to have little treats that’d pair well.”

“I don’t think she’d going to be doing the wedding.” I didn’t want to get into the gossip, but since I was the wedding coordinator for Shay, I guessed it was okay to discuss some of the details, just not the big secret. “Tom and Gert know each other from different coffee events, and she doesn’t have a lot of respect for him, which makes her not want to do any sort of events for him.”

“We will get to how you know the Moons later,” Violet chirped from the back seat. “Tell me about the night of the fire.”

Christine looked over at me with wide eyes.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind answering,” I said.

It was hard to talk about and I rarely spoke of it, but I’d rather tell the truth than have Pierce continue to call me an orphan. While Christine made a few stops to various houses and other places to drop off custom orders, I recalled that awful night.

“Dad had come back from the picket line at the coal mine. Mom had brown beans and cornbread on the table because it was a cheap meal to make. Dad had been laid off and was really leading the protest to get back into the mine the government had shut down. Dad was tired, but I remember he didn’t eat.” I could vividly see my dad standing near the fireplace with his hands behind his back. His dark eyes watched as my siblings and I filled our bellies. I was a teen, so my focus wasn’t on them. It was all about me, when looking back, Dad didn’t eat because of us. He wanted to make sure we had enough.

“After supper, I went into my room and listened to the radio. I didn’t have a cell phone. There was a mobile doctor who came to town every few months, and she gave me old copies of magazines. I had looked at them a million times. The fashion, the makeup.”

“So you grew up in Appalachia?” Violet asked.

“Yes. Until the fire that night.” I swallowed hard. “I woke up to a room filled of smoke. I had my own room, but my brother and sister shared. I’d just moved into it because my mom insisted a girl of my age needed her own space.” I smiled, remembering how we’d worked so hard on fixing the broken furniture to make me a nice room.

It wasn’t much, but it was my own space, and I loved how my parents tried so hard to give me that space.

“I fell on the ground and crawled to the door. When I opened it, the entire guts of the house was burning. I guess I wasn’t supposed to die, because my room was the only room that didn’t burn down.” I blinked a few times to get me out of my head. “It was then that I figured everyone got out and couldn’t get to me. That’s when I grabbed my little radio and threw it through my glass window.”

I pulled up the sleeve of my shirt and showed Violet the scar on my elbow that was an eternal reminder of where I’d come from.

“That’s from the jagged glass from the window.” I ran the pad of my finger over it. It was still tender to a touch under pressure. “I could hear the sirens of the fire truck. We didn’t have close neighbors, but someone had called the fire department. I stood outside by myself, yelling and looking for my family. Then I wondered if they’d gone to the neighbors but couldn’t understand why they didn’t wait for me outside.”

I was never so glad to see the street sign for Fawn Road because I knew we were seconds away from the Old Train Station Motel, giving me some time to stop talking about the event that forever changed my life.

“We can pick up this later.” Violet had jotted a few things down, and I heard her unclick her seat belt. “Christine, can I get a couple of photos of the groom trying the cake?”

“I’m sure that’d be fine.” Christine had pulled up in front of the motel and parked in the middle. “We will ask them first, though.”

I was glad Christine told Violet that they’d ask permission because Violet was great at turning words around.

When we got out of the car, I could see Coke in the field on the right where she was working in her garden.

“Let’s go say hi to Coke and get the room number,” I suggested since we didn’t know which one of the ten rooms they were staying in.

The three of us walked over to the fence gate, and when Coke looked up, she waved at us.

“I’ll be right there.” She put her gardening tool down and used the sleeve of her forearm to wipe off the dirt on her forehead.

“What are you doing in that garden?”  I asked, wondering what vegetable she was working on.

“I’m getting it ready for the winter months. Next year I’d like to have the farm-to-table vegetables for the Caboose Café next year.” She really was using her land and investment to all the potential she could.

“That’s great. I’d love to do a story on it for the National Parks magazine.” Violet was intrigued.

“That’d be great. Thanks, Violet.” Coke smiled. “What can I do for y’all?”

“I’m here for the Malone men.” Christine made “Malone men” sound so scathing. We all laughed. “They need to sample the different frosting for the groom’s cakes.”

“What a mess that wedding is going to be.” Coke rolled her eyes. She didn’t have to give details to show she felt exactly the way the rest of us did. “They are in rooms eight and nine. I’m not sure which room the groom or the parents are staying in.”

“We’ll knock. You should come to taste.” Christine patted her stomach. “Delicious.”

“I bet. I did taste some of the cake that you left when they came to tour the wedding barn yesterday. So moist.” Coke licked her lips and brought her shoulders up to her ears at the same time, looking delighted. “Y’all have fun. I’m going to dig up the rest of the potatoes and get them in hibernation.”

She waved us off and headed back to the garden, and we walked back to the motel. Briefly, we stopped at Christine’s car to get the boxes with all the samples from the trunk. Each of us took a box.

“There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of faith in this marriage,” Violet said.

“They are doomed from the get-go. Just as long as I get paid.” Christine stopped in front of door eight since it was the first one we came to. She gave a hard knock.

“I guess Lewis knows what he’s doing because no one in their right mind would put up with that kind of woman.” I had to make that comment about Shay. “She’s such a princess. I hope he has the financial wealth to keep her in makeup, let alone the lifestyle she’s been used to.”

Christine knocked even harder, but no one answered, so we walked down to the next door.

She knocked again. This time, the door unlatched and crept open about an inch.

“Hello, Lewis. It’s Christine from the Cookie Crumble. I’m here to have you and your father sample the groom’s cakes with the various frostings.” She looked at us and let out a long sigh.

“Knock again,” I encouraged her. “Maybe someone is in the bathroom.”

“Fine.” She knocked. The motel door opened even more, letting the sunlight spill into the room. “Lewis? Dan?” she called into the room.

“I’ll go look.” I put my box on top of Violet’s and walked past Christine.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Christine turned. “Let’s go see if they are in the café?”

“It’ll just take a second to see if someone is in the bathroom. I know my way around these rooms.” I ran my hand along the inside wall and stood at the doorway. “I helped Betts clean them before Coke opened for business.”

The light turned on.

I turned to get the box back from Violet and couldn’t catch it when she dropped it, bringing her hands up to her mouth.

“What?” I asked just as Christine screamed.

When I looked back into the room, I saw a dead man with a knife sticking out of his back. He lay face down in a pool of blood.

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” was all Christine could say as she paced back and forth in front of the door on the sidewalk outside.

Voilet Rhinehammer’s reporter side had kicked in, and she started to take photos from the door between Christine’s stepping in and out of her frame.

“Don’t touch anything.” Violet told me like I didn’t know better.

I dragged my phone out of my back pocket and dialed 911. While I was on the phone with Agnes Swift, dispatcher, Coke had come over to see why Christine had screamed.

“Take them to the café and I’ll wait for the police,” I told her after Agnes had put me on hold to call Jerry Truman, one of the Normal police officers.

“Good gravy,” Agnes groaned from the other end of the phone. “I guess I better call Hank home. He ain’t gonna like hearing you found you ’nother dead body.”

“Don’t bother Hank,” I told her. “He’s got the other case on his hands, and let’s see what Jerry says.”

Not that I had the utmost confidence in Jerry, but it would probably take a couple of days to clean up the crime scene and talk to all the wedding party. Hank would be back in town by then. When it came to Hank, Agnes and I generally agreed, since she was his granny and only wanted what was best for him.

We got off the phone.

I didn’t have much time to look around myself until the police got there and took over. Not that I wanted to overstep or brag, but I’d been successful in helping solve a few murder cases in the past, and from what I could see, Lewis Malone was definitely murdered.

The sound of screeching tires came from the parking lot, and I looked out the door. It was Dottie Swaggert’s car and she threw it in gear before she jumped out.

“I heard over the police scanner there’s a body with a knife sticking out of it.” She hurried over to the room. “Is it the father-in-law?”

“The groom.” I wondered what made her think it was Dan Malone. “His shoes.” I recognized Lewis’s wing-tipped shoes from yesterday, and the knife looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“And to think I thought a little weight gain from fried chicken was going to be the bride’s problem.” Dottie leaned over and looked around my body, interrupting my thoughts. “I figured you were here when I heard Agnes come over the dispatch. Betts said you stayed behind. I put two and two together, you being the wedding planner and all, figuring on you checking off all the to-dos.”

“I was going to take a quick look around. It seems like someone stabbed him from behind.” I took a couple of sidesteps to show her his body. “He’s facing the back of the room, so it makes me think he either didn’t see his attacker coming or he didn’t fear the attacker, since he wasn’t facing them.”

The sirens in the background grew closer and closer. The more the guests in the motel heard them, the more they started to come out of their guest rooms to see what was going on.

“Lewis?” I heard Lena Malone call out. Our eyes caught. For a split second, I could see the question in her eyes before it turned to sheer fright. “Lewis!”

Before Jerry Truman, the police officer I recognized from the station, could get out of his car to try to stop Lena from entering the motel room, she grabbed Lewis and flipped him over.

“Tom!” She gasped, letting go of his arms and dropping the corpse to the floor.

NINE

Tom Moon? What was Tom Moon doing in Lewis Malone’s room? I blinked a few times to make sure I was seeing exactly that. That I was.

When I heard sirens in the distance, I told Dottie to drive back to the campground. I needed her to be there when the police showed up to tell Shay and Misty what had happened to Tom. I also told her not to say a word until the police came.

“Please don’t be going and picking up the body, ma’am.” Jerry had come in. He stood six foot tall. His belly spilled over the top of his utility belt. “Please step outside.”

Lena Malone was shaking from the hairs on her head to the tippy of her toes. Her eyes were as wide as the full moon. She was in full-blown shock.

“I…” She gulped. “I thought it was my Lewis.”

“Where is Lewis?” I asked.

“He and Dan had rented a rental car to go to a meeting they couldn’t reschedule.” She couldn’t stop staring at Tom’s body.

The other police officers arrived on the scene and started to block off what they considered the circumference of the crime scene. They moved the guests and my friends away from the room.

“Mae, ma’am, do you two mind?” I moved out of the way when Colonel Holz had come up behind me.

Colonel was the county coroner and usually called right after the police from dispatch when there was a homicide. Hank was usually the next person they’d call since he was a homicide detective, but since he was out of town, I wasn’t sure what they were going to do.

“Yeah.” Lena Malone winked a few times, and it seemed to drag her out of her trance. She rubbed a tear off her cheek and took one last look at Tom before she walked out of the motel room.

“Do you know why Tom Moon was in Lewis’s room?” I asked her once we got outside.

“No. I don’t.” She shook her head and wrung her hands during the entire walk up to the open courtyard, where the police line had been placed with the crowd pushed back.

Coke, Violet, and Christine stood behind the yellow tape, waiting for us.

“Coke, can we go to the café and get Lena some water?” I asked.

“Yes.” Coke readily agreed. We all followed her into the café and took the first available booth that would fit all of us.

Silently, we waited for Coke to bring over something to drink as though we were all trying to process what we’d seen. Me. I was trying to figure out who killed Tom Moon as the list of suspects went through my head, starting with Gert Hobson.

“Can I talk to you in private?” Violet asked me.

“Sure.”

We got up from the table and walked outside, heading back to the fields where the wedding barn was located.

“I wanted to make sure we were away from ears and eyes.” Violet turned around and stopped. She looked at me with a serious expression that made my stomach knot. “Do you realize Tom Moon is dead?”

“Yes. Why do you look like that? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“For starters, Gert Hobson and Tom Moon had a very public fight last night. And his daughter pulled that stunt with the Moonbucks shares that didn’t go over well with him.” Her brows lifted. “I’m thinking this is a much bigger story than me doing a story on your life.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, trying to sift through her words.

“I can’t do your story, and I think I can get national attention without you calling your source for me.” She was asking my permission not to focus on me, and I was just fine with that now. Shay told me Pierce wasn’t going to put me in his article.

“Sure.” I lifted my hands in the air. “You don’t need to worry about my story.”

“Great!” She took off the way we came but turned around. “You might want to get Gert Hobson a lawyer.”

“Why?” I didn’t understand why she was saying things about Gert.

“Because when you were in Lewis’s room, one of the customers in the café had come out to see what was going on. When one of the officers told her Tom Moon was found dead, she told him she saw him arguing with the woman who dropped off the coffee to Coke. She even said it was around nine thirty.”

I gulped when I recalled Gert threatening Carl about Tom Moon. I looked at my phone to record the time. It was almost eleven fifteen.

“Yes! I’m crazy enough to kill your sorry boss and you if you don’t get out of my shop!”

The police were interviewing everyone in the café. I wanted to get Christine and get out of there, but it would be a minute because she was talking to an officer. Our eyes caught, and I discreetly pointed to where she could find me. Outside.

If I hung around in there, I knew they would have me wait so they could interview me, and right now, Gert Hobson didn’t have that time. I’d been around long enough to know that when Normal Police had a suspect in mind, they brought them right into the station for that twenty-four-hour hold. I had to get to Gert before they did so I could start figuring out what happened after they took her to the station.

I made sure to keep out of the police officers’ vision when I went to the car and knelt, waiting for Christine. I could see Violet still trying to get her way back into the crime scene and taking photos. She’d find a ride back somehow, so I wasn’t worried about her.

“Psst, Coke,” I tried to yell-whisper, if there were such a thing, to get her attention when she appeared in the front of the motel. “Coke, over here.”

“Mae, what are you doing?” She came over. Her eyes contained a worried look that wasn’t there earlier.

“I’m trying not to be seen because I’ve got to get to Gert before the police do.” I shook my head. “According to Violet, one of your customers had seen Gert and Tom here this morning, and they were arguing.”

“Oh, dear, I was hoping no one saw that.” Her voice faded to a hushed stillness.

“You saw it?” I asked.

“I wasn’t going to tell the police, but now that you said someone heard it, I’m afraid I’m going to have to tell them what I heard.” She gave me a dark and desolate stare. “Gert threatened him.”

“What do you mean by threatened?” I had to have clarification.

“She told him she’d made up her mind and was going to spend the rest of her life pursuing what was rightfully hers.” Coke blinked a few times and looked down at her feet like she was trying to remember. “Even if it came to killing him.”

“She said that?” I cringed. “I’m afraid you’re not the only person she’s said something similar in front of.”

“Do you know what she’s talking about?” Coke asked.

“She told me she and Tom Moon had went to the same college and worked in a little bakery that served coffee. She would make all sorts of different coffee blends and had written down the recipe after the customers came in asking for it.” I sucked in a deep breath to tell Coke what that recipe was, according to Gert. “Supposedly Tom Moon stole the recipe, and a year later, it showed up as what we know as Moonbucks Original Blend.”

Coke gasped, drawing her hand up to her mouth.

“What? What happened?” Christine had walked up to us.

“I’ll tell you in the car.” I put my hand on the handle of the passenger door, waiting for her to unlock it. “We need to get to Trails Coffee now.”

“The police are looking for you because I told them we were together.” Christine gestured back towards the motel.

“They can find me later. I’m afraid we need to go.” I jerked the door’s handle just as she clicked the fob to unlock it.

“Go. I’ll try to keep them here as long as I can.” Coke waved us off.

On the short ride to the coffee shop, I quickly told Christine what I’d discovered about Gert’s threats to end Tom’s life, which then suddenly it came true.

“Are you saying you don’t think Gert did it and someone has framed her?” Christine looked as white as a ghost as she tried to parallel park in the only parking spot left on the main drag in front of the downtown shops. “The officer told me she was placed at the scene and there was a fight between her and Tom. Plus…” She paused. “Colonel Holz said he was killed at ten fifteen.”

None of this helped Gert’s case at all. I noted the times.

“I’m saying anything could be possible. All I know is that there’s no way Gert Hobson stabbed Tom Moon to death.” My phone chirped, and I pulled it out of my pocket.

There was a text from Hank and one from Dottie.

Dottie’s text said I better get back to Happy Trails because the Moons were beside themselves and the place was crawling with police. Hank said he was giving a taped deposition for the courts to use in the trial because he’d been called back for the murder investigation of Tom Moon, followed up by telling me not to do anything stupid.

He knew better than to text that.

“Are you coming?” I asked Christine from the passenger side when I opened the door and noticed she hesitated.

“You know.” She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I don’t want to get any more involved than I need to be.” I could tell she felt like she was between a rock and a hard place. “But I’ll stay here so you can get a ride back to your place.”

“I understand.” I offered a smile. “You go on, and I’ll get a ride. I think my brother is working.” I looked at my phone. “It’s almost time for him to go grab some late lunch. I’ll give him a call.”

“Are you sure, Mae?” she asked with a worried look as her brows narrowed to a V.

“I’m positive. We’ll catch up later.” I jumped out of the car and waved goodbye before I practically ran down the street and into the coffee shop. Time was not on my side, and it definitely wasn’t on Gert’s if the police had already called Hank.

“Where’s Gert?” I asked one of her employees, who was cleaning off some of the tables. She pointed at the office. When I got to the door, I knocked and opened it before I heard her say to come in.

“You’re back.” She looked up from the papers on her desk, her hand on a calculator. “I was finishing up the books from last week.” She sat back. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you hear about Tom Moon?” I asked her.

“What now?” She rolled her eyes.

“He’s dead.” My words caused her face to still. Her mouth dropped open slightly, and she sat up. “He was found inside of Lewis Moon’s motel room with a knife sticking out of him.”

“You tell her.” The one employee nudged the other.

“No, you. She’ll be mad,” the other insisted.

“What? Tell me what?” Gert looked between them.

“One of your knives from that very expensive set you bought back from the convention.” The employee gulped. “The ones you said we had to take extra care of because they are really sharp but very expensive and if anything happened to them you were going to take the money out of our paycheck?”

“Yeah…” She hesitated. The door to the coffee shop squeaked open behind us.

“Well, one is missing, and we’ve looked everywhere,” the employee said in a cracking voice.

“You mean this one?” Hank Sharp asked, holding an evidence bag with a bloody knife in it.

Now I knew where I recognized that knife from.

TEN

In no way would Hank be talked out of letting Gert answer his questions at Trails Coffee. He pretty much told her she’d be there a while and that it was probably a good idea to call an attorney.

Fortunately for her, I had Ava Cox dialed and ready to come to Normal. She told me to tell Gert not to answer any questions until she got there.

“Thanks,” Hank said in a flat voice after he’d put Gert into his big black car. “I told you not to do anything.”

“When has that ever stopped me?” I asked him and stood outside on the sidewalk, where people were starting to rubberneck to see what was going on. Another police car had arrived, and they were going to search the shop.  “Gert didn’t do this. She was framed.”

Hank’s chest ballooned up after he sucked in a big breath like he was trying to calm himself down. Or maybe he was trying to do that thing where they tell you to breathe if you need some time.

“We will see what we can get out of her. In the meantime, go be with the family. They sent some officers there to tell them what happened.” He walked around the front of his car.

“What about Lewis?” I asked. “He just took over half the company. They were arguing last night.”

“Mae, stop.” He put his hands upon the top of his car and looked across at me. “Please, let us do our job, and if Gert is innocent, we will find that out.”

He gave me one last hard look, but I could see he knew better and there was no stopping me. After all, Gert Hobson was my friend, and I believed in the law of the innocent until proven guilty.

I saw no sense in going back to the coffee shop now that the police were there and had closed it for business. Bobby Ray Bond, my foster brother, was working as a mechanic at Grassel’s Gas Station. It was just a short walk away, and I knew he’d give me a ride home.

“Hey there.” I greeted Bobby Ray and Joel Grassel, the owner, when I walked into the gas station.

They were eating a couple of sandwiches from the vending machines. The plastic was peeled off the triangle container, and a bag of cheese puffs was opened.

“Hey, Mayyyybelline.” Bobby Ray’s hillbilly accent always drew out my name, and it didn’t help that he always called me by that name instead of just shortening it like I preferred. “Want a bite?” He held up the sandwich with his fingernails, filthy with black grease from where he’d been working on cars.

“No.” I shook my head. “But I do need a ride back to the campground if you have a few.”

He swung his long blond hair, which had some nice loose curls, and looked at Joel.

“Yeah. We are at a stopping point until the part gets delivered.” Joel must’ve been talking about the car they were working on. “You’ve got about an hour before they drop it off.”

“Can you take your food with you?” I asked—almost demanded—when I noticed Bobby Ray hardly budged when Joel told him he could take me.

“Right this minute?” He looked up at me.

“Yes. It’s very important.” That caught both men’s attention.

“Don’t tell me somethin’ bad happened.” Joel sat up a little straighter and put his sandwich down.

“Tom Moon of Moonbucks Coffee. His daughter is the one with the wedding party at the campground, and, well. . .” I swallowed hard. It wasn’t too long ago Joel had lost his brother, and it was hard to talk about death. “He was found dead at the Old Train Station Motel.”

“Motel?” Joel asked. “I thought you just said he was staying at the campground."

"He was murdered in the groom’s room.” I rocked back on my heels and clasped my hands in front of me. “I found him…”

“You what?” they said in unison.

Yeah… this was certainly becoming something I was good at. Finding dead bodies.

“Awwww, Mayeeebeline,” Bobby Ray groaned and ran that dirty hand over his jaw while shaking his head. “Not again,” he continued to holler.

“Bobby Ray, I don’t want to hear it. I just want to go home. I’ve got guests who will need me. Can you take me or not?” Bobby Ray had always taken good care of me. In fact, he was the one who gave me the money I needed to hightail it to the city on my eighteenth birthday.

“I’ll be back,” Bobby Ray said with an exhausted sigh. “You need anything?”

“Nope, all good.” Joel pushed back his food. I’d obviously ruined his appetite with my news. “Do they know what happened?”

“No. There’s a lot of speculation but nothing solid.” I really didn’t have time to go into all the details, but I knew Joel was a good source of information because he pumped everyone’s gas in town and loved to ask them questions. “They did take Gert Hobson in for questioning because she’s accused Tom Moon of stealing her coffee recipe from years ago.”

“Gert? Sweet Gert?” He glanced over at the cardboard coffee cup with the Trails logo on it. “I was there this morning.”

“I bet she had a smile on her face but not now.” I shook my head.

“I didn’t see her. Said she’d gone out to make her rounds for the local shops.” He was talking about how shops like mine used her coffee for guests and customers.

“What time was that?” I asked, knowing it was around ten thirty a.m. when I found Tom.

“Maybe around nine or so.” Joel couldn’t give an exact time because we really didn’t keep track of time around here. It was that kind of life. “Yeah. Near ‘round that time.”

The times started to calculate in my head. I must’ve just missed Joel. We left the campground a little before eight, giving us plenty of time to get to Cute-icles. Then I took Shay over to the Trails, where the little bomb about her not doing Shay’s wedding was dropped, around eight thirty. From there it was only about a fifteen-minute conversation Christine, Gert, and I had, so she was definitely gone by nine. Christine, Violet, and I didn’t get to the Old Train Motel until around ten thirty, after Christine had made all her stops along the way.

If I could retrace Gert’s footsteps, I could prove she wasn’t there at ten fifteen a.m., the time of death Colonel had said was when Tom appeared to have taken his last breath.

It still fascinated me how Colonel could tell those things, but that was what schooling was for, and apparently there was some sort of scientific way of telling.

That was way beyond anything I wanted to learn how to figure out. I would just have to take his word for it.

“I’ll have to keep my ears open.” Joel said exactly what I wanted to hear.

On our drive over to the campground, Bobby Ray must’ve known Hank was out of town because he did his best to get me to stay out of this investigation.

“I know you like to help out your friends, but Maybelline, this is some serious stuff. A man is dead, and Gert has good reason to have killed him.” Bobby Ray drove with one hand on the wheel and the other in his lap. His hand gripped the wheel as he took the windy road leading to Happy Trails.

“Bobby Ray, do you think I’m stupid?” I asked him with all seriousness.

“Why I think you’re purty near the smartest gal I know.” He looked at me with furrowed brows.

“Then let me decide what is good and not good for me,” I told him, happy to see the gravel drive up to the campground come into sight. I was tired of being lectured. “Besides, Hank is back in town, and I’m positive he’s going to do his best to keep me more than an arm’s length away.”

Bobby Ray grumbled a little under his breath.

“Let me off right here.” I had him stop at the big campfire pit behind the office next to the lake, where it appeared that the wedding party had gathered. “Thank you. I’ll see you later.”

I didn’t bother waiting for Bobby Ray to respond. I jumped out of the car and headed over to the group gathered around Shay.

“Oh, Mae, isn’t it awful?” Shay had a big blanket wrapped around her with her legs pulled up in the Adirondack chair. Lewis sat on the edge of a similar chair next to her with his hand on her back, rubbing it ever so slowly.

“I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?” I asked, hoping I could help in any way.

“We’ve got it under control. Carl is meeting with the coroner around five. We will make arrangements to leave town then, and I’ll let you know what time you can expect us to leave.” Amy had her phone out and read from it.

I wondered why she didn’t have her handy-dandy calendar with her.

“We’d still like to get married.” Lewis looked up at me. “I know it’s awful and all, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are in love and really want to do this while we are here.”

“Lewis, that is not going to happen, so you just get that out of your head.” Amy was quick to shut him up.

“If Lewis and I want to get married, Amy, we will get married. My daddy would’ve wanted that.” Shay threw the cover off her body. Lewis took his hand away, and she stood up. “Besides, we will no longer need your services.”

“You can’t fire me.” Amy pushed her glasses up on her nose. “I’ve got to see through my duties, and you don’t need to worry about any of the details. There’s no sense in rushing into a wedding when your emotions are going one hundred miles an hour.”

“We will see about that.” Lewis glared at Amy and stood up. He took Shay by the hand and darted off towards the bungalows with her in tow.

Some chatter emerged among the wedding party about Lewis and Shay’s plans to still get married. Some agreed with Amy about Shay’s emotions not being where they needed to be, while others said it wouldn’t make a difference whether they got married now or waited.

“Amy,” I called her over. “Why do you think they shouldn’t get married?”

“I think we need to give Mr. Moon time to have his moment of death. She needs to be respectful of her father, but she’s never been, so I’m not sure why I think she would be now.” Amy probably knew a lot of secrets about that family that could give some clue to who else besides Gert would want to kill him.

“That also goes true for how we can help the police find the killer. After all, Mr. Moon really can’t be at rest in death until whoever did this is brought to justice.” I frowned and shrugged. “Do you think Lewis Malone killed him?”

“I think Dan might’ve.” She looked up at me after I said “Dan.” “From what I understand, Dan had been talking to the people at Awakenings Coffee. I also understand there’s a meeting set up with them in a couple of days before Lewis was to leave for their honeymoon.” She shook her head. “Now with Tom gone, Shay stands to own the company.”

“Are you saying that Dan Malone already knew Lewis was going to get some shares of Moonbucks and maybe try to get Lewis to do something with Awakenings?” If this was the case, Lewis or Dan Malone had a really big motive to have killed Tom Moon.

“It’s a well-known fact that Wes Millord has been trying to buy Moonbucks for years.” She looked left and then right before she leaned in. “As Mr. Moon’s assistant, I know for a fact that Wes Millford and Tom Moon can’t be in the same room together. Kinda like Gert Hobson and Mr. Moon.”

I said his name in my head a few times so I could remember to look him up. I should’ve done that when Gert first told me she heard his name.

“Did Tom ever say anything about Gert?” Now that I had a couple of leads to look into, I wanted to see what Amy knew about the recipe.

“I had no idea about her or the recipe until yesterday. There is truly no evidence to her claim. We have documentation going all the way to the beginning of Mr. Moon’s discovery of the beans and flavors. He did a lot of extensive traveling around the world to get the perfect combinations to start the original blend. Carl and he met in Italy during this time, so Carl has been there the entire way. Thank goodness too.” She sighed.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“Because Carl is a business lawyer and he was smart enough to have everything documented. Including the patent.” She didn’t make me feel any better about Gert’s case. “Mr. Moon doesn’t deny how he knew Gert Hobson. Nor does he deny she had a great business idea. But it was just that. An idea that he brought to life.”

A little shuffling from the wedding party made us stop talking. Misty Moon was walking up to the group with Carl by her side.

“If you’ll excuse me.” Amy hurried over to her. They had a brief moment to converse while the others waited to see what Misty had to say, including me.

“I want to thank everyone for coming.” She took a hard swallow after her voice cracked. She drew back her shoulders and lifted her chin ever so slightly. “I’ve had a brief moment to talk to Shay and Lewis. Though Shay had mentioned she’d like to go ahead with the wedding, I just can’t let that happen. We need to get my dear husband home and in his final resting place before we can move forward. I’m terribly sorry you’ve come all this way in order to make Shay’s dreams come true, but as you can see, this dream has turned into a nightmare that I only wish to wake up from.”

Misty blinked a few times before turning around to retreat to the bungalow.

“Over the next hour or so, I’ll be making arrangements for all of us to fly back to New York after I meet with the coroner.” Carl started to tell us of the arrangements that the Moon family had made, but the sound of tires spitting up gravel made us all turn to look at the entrance of Happy Trails. Even Misty Moon had turned around. In the distance, I could see Shay and Lewis making their way back to the group.

Hank was driving up along with a police car. I turned back to the group and noticed Misty was walking back toward us and probably wondering what information Hank or the officer had or why they were there. Hank got out of his car, and Jerry exited the police car. They headed our way.

“Good evening, folks,” Hank said to the group. He held my eyes for a moment. He was in complete detective mode, and his stern voice echoed off the trees. “I’m sorry to have to do this today, but I wanted to make sure I came by before anyone made plans to leave Normal.”

“What are you trying to say, Detective?” Carl put his hand out when Misty stepped forward to say something. He was doing his good lawyer duty and making sure she didn’t say a word.

“Unfortunately, I’m going to have to ask all of you to stay in town while we continue to interview people associated with Mr. Moon.” Hank’s jaw tensed.

“I’m sorry, Detective, but don’t you have a suspect in custody?” Carl asked.

“We have someone at the station answering questions, and we are checking those out those answers, but there’s been no arrest.” Hank stated the facts.

“But I heard you had the weapon and it belonged to the person you have in custody.” Carl was testing Hank’s limits.

Hank’s hands were at his side. He opened and closed them several times. I knew this was a way for him to keep his cool.

“Mr. Rippin, no one is going to leave Normal until we say so. If you or anyone here does, you will be arrested. Do you all understand?” Hank took his time to look at every single person, including me. “Jerry is going to take your name and cell phone number as well as give you a time to come to the recreational area of the campground.” He pointed to the building a few feet away. “Having the interviews here is going to help you so you don’t have to find a ride to the station. Jerry.”

While Jerry talked to the group, Hank motioned for me to have a sidebar conversation with him. Carl Rippin decided to join us, uninvited.

“Detective, you are making a big mistake.” Carl gave Hank a dead stare. “This man needs to be put to rest. Not only for this family but for the world of coffee. As his lawyer and representative of the family, I insist you get these interviews conducted today.”

“Thank you for your opinion. Unfortunately, there is little time left in today, and Jerry over there—well, today is him and his wife’s thirty-five-year anniversary, and he’s taking her to the Red Barn to celebrate.” Hank put his arm around me. “In fact, they invited me and Mae to join them. So you see, we just don’t have enough time in the day.”

Hank was displaying some very odd behavior, and boy, did my uh-oh meter go off.

“This is unacceptable.” Carl face scrunched up. “I’ve never seen an investigation run this way.”

“Have you ever been to Normal, Mr. Rippin?” Hank asked him.

“Why, no, I haven’t. And I don’t seem to think I like it.” He swung his head around to look at me. “I bet Paul West is rolling around in his grave with you dating this man. Paul West might’ve been a criminal in the end, but he never lacked for good taste. Or so I thought.”

Carl pointed a finger at Hank. Hank’s chest filled with air as he tried to compose himself and not smack Carl’s finger right out of its socket.

“If you think any one of these people behind me did such a thing to a very beloved man, you are sorely mistaken, and I’m more than happy to represent them to further prove my point.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Rippin. I’ll be in touch.” Hank was done with Carl Rippin, and so was I.

Hank and I took what I’d call a stroll down and around the lake so he could get away from the group and probably walk off a little of the steam that I was sure was building up inside of him.

“Is Gert off the hook?” I asked.

“No, but she’s given us all the details of her schedule. Nice move on Ava Cox.” He glanced down at me, his hands behind his back.

“I really don’t think she did it.” I wanted to give him the information I had on Wes Millford, but sometimes I kept little secrets close to the vest if Hank wouldn’t budge.

“Mae, she truly does believe he stole this secret recipe. She swears by it. She even gave me the name of a lawyer who helped her, and we contacted the lawyer who said she’s never heard of Gertrude Hobson. We are looking into that.” We made it to the far end of the lake, where the bungalows were located. I looked across the water. The orange glow of the last bits of the sun began to set, so I knew it was around six p.m. “The knife is clearly from the set of new knives she just got from the coffee convention where the victim had gone too. It would make sense for her to have seen him there, spark whatever feelings she had for him, and when she came home, she probably didn’t think she’d see him again. According to his secretary, Gert was really taken aback when she saw him at the Chicken Fest. Dropped a mug when she saw him.”

It wasn’t like Hank didn’t already know that, since I’d told him, but now that Tom was dead, I guess it was more important now. Hank didn’t give me the name of the lawyer that Gert said she’d use, but Gert would tell me.

“You already interviewed Amy Hill?” I asked and wondered when she did that.

“She immediately came down to the station. She had knowledge of how Gert had been trying to find Mr. Moon for years. He even talked to her about it a couple of years ago.” His words made me stop walking as we rounded the lake.

“Gert told me she’d dropped it years ago and hasn’t talked to him in forever.” I vividly recalled my conversation with her.

“Amy Hill has every single call and meeting Tom Moon ever had. She’s going to collect all of his cell records to prove it.” Hank had me there. “The District Attorney said I don’t have enough to arrest her to make anything stick. Plus, her fingerprints weren’t found anywhere near the crime scene or on the murder weapon,” he said. “This gives us some time to find another suspect.”

I was about to give him my theories, but his cell rang.

“Hey, Mae.” I knew he would have to go because that was how he always used my name to start that type of conversation, no matter whether it was in person or on the phone. “I’ve got to go, but do you still want to go to dinner with Jerry and Emmalyn?”

“Sure. I’ll meet you there, or are you picking me up?” I asked.

“Why don’t you just meet me there in case I don’t have time to come back to pick you up?”

I walked him back to his car hand in hand. Though the murder was on both of our minds, something else was also on mine.

Was this how a life with Hank would be? One minute he’d be home, and the next minute he’d get a call and go off. I wasn’t sure if I was cut out for this type of lifestyle with a detective.

“I’ll see you soon.” He ran his hand up my neck and popped my chin in the air to kiss my lips.

A faint smile crossed my lips as I waved him off, wondering how many times I’d be doing this exact same thing at this time of the night.

After the fires were put out and the wedding party had concluded that they were staying another night, I took the dogs and retreated back to my camper. It’d been a long day, and though it was dark, the night was still young, and I needed to get ready to go meet Hank and the Trumans at the Red Barn for supper.

A few things had stayed on my mind that we didn’t talk about. One of those things was where Amy had those logs about Tom’s calendar. Did she keep everything with her? How much did Shay know about her dad’s real dealings? And was Misty as stupid as I had been about not really knowing her husband’s business? Not to mention this lawyer Gert had gotten to look into the recipe-stealing matter. What kind of lawyer would forget such a big accusation?

The only way to get the answer about Gert and the lawyer was to go straight to Gert. Hank did say he couldn’t keep her.

Just to make sure I was clear he was letting her go, I called Agnes Swift. She’d know.

I called the station’s non-emergency line and couldn’t get through, so I called her cell phone.  “Let me tell you, the station phone has been ringing off its rocker,” Agnes Swift told me.

“Are you still at the station?” I’d figured since she answered her cell, she was off.

“Late hours this week, even for an old lady like me.” She snickered. “National news has picked up the news of Tom Moon. Someone let it out, and now the department has the FBI breathing down Jerry’s neck, not to mention Hank’s.”

“Hank didn’t say anything about it.” I couldn’t help but think Hank didn’t want me to know how stressed out he really was. “He did say that he couldn’t hold Gert Hobson. Has she been released yet?”

“She’s getting ready to sign her name now, and Ava Cox is taking her back to the coffee shop,” Agnes observed.

“Did you get anything from Amy Hill, Tom Moon’s secretary?” I knew Agnes was really good at reading people like I was, and since she was at the station when Amy was there, I figured she’d noticed something.

“I told Hank that you don’t have to eat the whole egg to know it’s rotten, and honey, this whole situation is rotten.” Agnes made me smile from the other end of the phone. “I told him that secretary knew more than she told him. Getting the calendar, my patootie. She’s buying time. That’s what she’s doing.”

“Really?” It wasn’t really a question but more of an a-ha moment that told me Amy was hiding something. “I can’t help but think someone so close to the victim didn’t know all of his comings and goings, not to mention his routine.”

I quickly remembered Amy wasn’t with the group at the spa. Dottie said there’d been a fight between Tom and Amy about not keeping an eye on Shay. Did she go with Tom to the motel? How did Tom get to the motel?

All sorts of questions fluttered in my head. So many uncertain things needed to be answered, and only Amy could do that, so I put her on the list of people to see after I talked to Gert.

“What are you thinkin’?” Agnes asked. “I can hear your cogs turning through the phone.”

“I’m thinking I need to go see Gert and ask her about that lawyer. And I want to talk to Amy to see why she didn’t disclose more information or times, since she was Tom’s right hand.” These were just simple observations that tickled my curiosity.

“Honey…” There was a warning in Agnes’s word, and then she continued, “You and I better give our hearts to Jesus, ’cause after I give you this lawyer’s name and Hank finds out, our butts are gonna be his.”

“I’ll deal with Hank.” I wasn’t scared of Hank Sharp. The only thing I was scared of was that if the FBI or anyone else on the force knew I was looking into this, they’d fire Agnes for giving me the information.

“Bree Palmer.” Agnes rattled off the lawyer’s name and number while I quickly grabbed my phone and texted Violet Rhinehammer.

Me: I know you’re really focused on Tom Moon’s murder, but I think we need to look into a lawyer named Bree Palmer. She had looked into the stolen recipe for Gert Hobson years ago. When the police found her and asked her about it, she claimed she didn’t remember Gert or the incident. Don’t you find it odd?

Violet: Very. On it!

No doubt in my mind that Violet Rhinehammer would get her nose to the ground and sniff out exactly why Bree Palmer had suddenly lost her memory of one the biggest cases she could’ve ever had.

That made me think someone or something erased the entire case from Bree’s mind. And Violet Rhinehammer had the contacts and resources to figure things out that I couldn’t. It was good to know people in high places.

ELEVEN

While I was waiting to leave to meet Hank and the Trumans, I went ahead and started to write down everything I knew about the murder in my notebook. Tom Moon owned Moonbucks. He was accused of stealing the original recipe from Gertrude Hobson, who used a lawyer named Bree Palmer. I made a note to head to the library tomorrow to see what information I could get about Bree. Gert had the perfect motive to have killed Tom. Old feelings resurfaced when she saw him. Her knife was used as the weapon, which brought me to where Tom was found.

He was in the Old Train Motel in Lewis Malone’s room. I also wrote Lewis’s and Gert’s names down as suspects. Even though I truly didn’t believe Gert could’ve killed Tom, she still had the best motive in my opinion.

Back to Lewis. I didn’t recall Lewis ever going into Trails Coffee when I was there, but it didn’t matter.

“Mae? You home?” Betts Hager knocked on the camper door.

Fifi barked, signaling Chester to join her in a howling rendition. They both howled in harmony.

I got up from the table, leaving my thoughts and ideas lingering, and then opened the door.

“Where are you going?” Betts looked me up and down.

“I’m going to meet Hank and the Trumans at the Red Barn for supper. What’s up?” I opened the door farther to invite her in.

“I found this on the church bus after I took it back to the church and thought someone was missing it.” She held out what I instantly recognized as Amy Hill’s calendar.

I grabbed it out of her hands.

“Oh my gosh.” My jaw dropped. “Amy Hill wasn’t with us.” My mind darted between events. I gasped, “I remember Amy smacked it into Shay Moon’s hands before Shay ordered her to go back and get the money.”

“You seem awfully excited about this calendar.” Betts’s brows furrowed.

“Sit.” I looked around for my phone. “Call the gals. We have to have a meeting at the Laundry Club. See if Dottie can bring me home.”

“Oh-kay.” Betts was always the voice of reason in our little group. She walked over to the table and looked at the notebook. “You’re trying to figure out who killed Tom Moon, aren’t you?”

“Well, when Gert was accused, it just kinda happened.” I bit my bottom lip and felt her words ring so true that I almost felt guilty. “And I know she didn’t do it. Now that we have this.” I smacked the calendar on the table. “We just might have proof.”

“I think you need to give it back to Amy.” Again, Betts gave the voice of reason, which just didn’t agree with me.

“I’m thinking nah.” I shook my head and finally found my phone. “I’m texting Hank to tell him that I can’t make it to supper.” I read out loud what I was texting, “I forgot I have a Laundry Club book club meeting.”

“So now you’re lying to him?” Betts made me feel even guiltier.

“Fine.” I pushed the delete key and stopped at the word “Club.” “Meeting.” I retyped that word.

“Honestly.” Betts gave me a flat look.

“We are having a meeting.” I gestured for her to continue. “Text them.”

She let out a long sigh and paused. Was she trying to see if I was going to forget it and change my mind? Not on her life.

“Hank told me that Amy had every single meeting and every single appointment Tom Moon had. Someone wanted him dead and used Gert’s perfect motive to do it and get away with it.” I gathered all my things and grabbed my keys. “You comin’?” I asked and stood at the door. The dogs were fine for the next few hours. I’d already let them out and fed them before she got there.

“It looks like everyone is good. Dottie will be there after she closes your office and will take you home.”

“Perfect.” I felt like we were on to something. “I need to call Gert.”

“I thought she was being detained.” Betts had already started up the car, and we were halfway down to the entrance of the campground.

“She lawyered up, and they can’t hold her. The District Attorney doesn’t feel Hank has enough to charge her, so they let her go for the time being.” The first thing I would do when we parked was head over to the Trails Coffee and see if Gert was there. “Agnes said Ava Cox drove Gert back to the coffee shop. We need her for this.”

I held up the notebook and the calendar.

“I’m going to use the laundromat’s computer if you don’t mind.” I wanted to get a jump on Bree Palmer. “Did you hear back from Abby?” I asked.

“Yep. Everyone but Queenie is coming because she’s teaching Jazzercise tonight,” Betts confirmed.

The twinkling lights on the downtown median’s trees were little dots coming into view. The thought of looking in the calendar was exciting, and I should’ve probably given it back to Amy, but a little snooping wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I made myself believe the members of the wedding party were tuckered out and probably trying to get some rest.

When we drove down the one-way street in front of the coffee shop, I could see a light was still on in the back. I quickly sent Gert a text message to see if she’d be willing to come to the laundromat to talk with us about the case and find out if we could help.

The three little dots on the screen of my phone showed me she was reading the text but the ellipsis went away.

“I just texted Gert. No response.” I looked at my phone again to see if maybe there was a delay. Nothing. “I know she read it because those dancing dots appeared.”

“The dreaded dots. Whoever invented that needs to be shot,” Betts joked but quickly added, “Bad timing. Sorry.”

“Oh, I don’t care. There’s just no privacy anymore, and so what, she read it. Why should those little dots make me think she won’t respond?” I shrugged it off and secretly wondered why Gert read my text and didn’t respond.

Betts pulled up in front of the laundromat. Through the window I could see Abby Fawn with her head stuck in her phone as she sat on one of the couple of couches. No doubt she was engaging with some sort of social media, at which she was a whiz.

Abby was the local librarian. She was young and super sweet. Her brown hair was normally pulled up in a ponytail, but tonight it was down.

“Hey!” She looked up from her phone. “I’m so excited we are back to our meetings. I’ve missed them. I know with the summer we had, we all just took a little break.”

A group of us had decided to go camping in one of those primitive campgrounds. The experience was definitely not our cup of tea, especially since a couple of people also staying in the campground had died… by murder.

“Why do you think we are here?” I asked and nodded to Betts when she held up the coffee carafe to see if I wanted a cup.

“Oh no.” Her eyes fixed upon the notebook. “Not again.” She backed up farther on the couch as if she were trying to get away. “The coffee guy?”

“The coffee guy stole my recipe.” Gert Hobson stood at the door of the Laundry Club. “He got what he deserved.”

Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure she was innocent.

TWELVE

“Gert.” Even though her ugly words about Tom’s death stopped me in my tracks, I was still glad to see her. “Come on in.” I waved her over.

Betts had made a fresh pot of coffee, of course using Gert’s ground coffee in her laundromat. She brought the pot over with five cups and all the fixings to doctor the coffee up any way you pleased.

Me, I liked mine black tonight. I needed it to be strong so I could help figure out the next step in this murder. By the time we all got situated, Dottie had shown up.

“Gert, you know I sorta stick my nose in things where they don’t belong.” I was going to tell her a bit about the little sleuthing group that I had formed with the ladies of the Laundry Club, but apparently, Ava Cox had told her already.

“Ava told me to see you. She’s unable to represent me due to a conflict of interest, but she helped me get out of jail free of charge. She told me that you find out things that no one can.” She had a wobbly smile on her lips. “I want you to help me.”

“Conflict of interest?” I asked, totally unsure of how this could be right.

“She gave me a couple of names to call for representation, but it’s too late to call them tonight.” Gert really looked defeated. There were dark circles under and deep lines around her eyes, and the corners of her lips dipped.

I’d definitely call Ava when I had a moment.

“Then we will need to get some information from you.” I welcomed Abby’s sudden shift. She had all the computer knowledge and techy things we needed. Without her, it’d take twice as long to figure things out. “But first, let’s list our suspects.”

On top of the piece of paper, Abby wrote Suspect. She drew a line down the middle and wrote Motive on the other side of the line.

“Gert.” I pointed to Gert, and she frowned. “I’m sorry, but this is our process.” I knew it hurt her feelings for me to put her on there, but the Laundry Club ladies had really gotten good at this detective thing by using this process. “Obviously, Gert’s motive is her claim he stole her coffee recipe.”

Gert started to speak up, but when I looked at her, she clamped her lips shut.

“I think we need to put Lewis Malone on the list, and under motive, put how he will more than likely be the owner of Moonbucks now that he and Shay will be getting married. According to Amy Hill, Shay is supposed to take over for her father. From what Shay told me, she doesn’t want anything to do with it, and that’s why she gave Lewis the shares she already has.”

“There’s not a whole lot to tell.” Gert took one of the mugs Betts had filled.

I watched as she lifted the mug to her nose and inhaled the perfect cup of coffee brewed from her own batch of beans.

“Let us be the judge of that.” Betts sat down and took the notebook from me. She handed it to Abby, who by chance had become our note taker. “First, tell us about your history with Tom Moon.”

I sat down next to Gert on the couch, and while she answered Abby’s questions, I thumbed through Amy Hill’s calendar. It was just a pretty basic calendar with the month following the week layout. She had a chart listed with various letters and a key at the front of the planner. The letter A was for appointments, the letter M was for meetings, and the letter P was for personal. The appointments appeared to be for Tom while the personal matters seemed to be for Amy.

“We worked together during college at a small bakery. Rose’s Bakery.” As Gert talked, Abby took notes, and I made side notes on my phone. “Rose had an industrial pot that she used to make basic coffee. I started to add different spices and ingredients to it. One day, I’d asked a customer if they wanted to try it. Day after day, the request for that particular blend started to come in, and that’s when Tom took notice. My recipe card that I left by the register was gone, and Tom never came back.” She shook her head. “A year later, Moonbucks started to pop up all over the place. That’s when I noticed Tom Moon not only took my idea of the coffee shop but took my recipe with him.”

“I understand you contacted Bree Palmer to look into the case, but she didn’t recall it when Hank had talked to her.” I wanted to see how she responded to that. “I’m mean, she’s older now, and then she was a hungry young lawyer. But we’re talking years ago. I guess her memory has failed her.”

“I just can’t believe someone who had the opportunity to go after Moonbucks in their career could ever forget something like that.” I couldn’t wrap my head around that theory, which was why I wanted to look into it.

“She worked on the case for about three months until nothing turned up. It’s a total loss for me.” Gert looked hurt. I could only imagine how she felt. “It’s painful to this day.”

I continued to look at the calendar as the dates got closer to Shay’s wedding. There was an M next to Wes Millford’s name. Immediately I recognized it from Awakenings Coffee. Quickly I flipped through the pages to see if there were any more dates with Wes’s name beside of it because I distinctly remembered Amy Hill telling me about Tom Moon and Wes Millford’s dislike for each other.

“It’s a well-known fact that Wes Millord has been trying to buy Moonbucks for years.” She looked left and then right before she leaned in. “As Mr. Moon’s assistant, I know for a fact that Wes Millford and Tom Moon can’t be in the same room together. Kinda like Gert Hobson and Mr. Moon.”

Why would Amy say that knowing they’d had a meeting? Amy Hill was quickly becoming a suspect, but I wasn’t sure what her motive was or would be.

“Let’s fast forward to Chicken Fest. Was that the first time you’d seen him in those years?” Abby broke my train of thought. She was getting good at these interrogation questions.

“No. I’d seen him a couple of days ago at the coffee convention. Before that, I’d seen him a couple of times when I tried to go back and see if I could get my recipe back.” She blinked a few times and took some more sips of coffee. “Now I guess I’ll never know—or the world won’t know. He took it to the grave.”

A stiff piece of paper was folded into one of the calendar pages, which made the pages flip to its place automatically. I took the postcard-size piece of paper out and unfolded it. When my eyes focused on it, I saw some scribbles that read “sea salt,” “sugar,” “caramel sauce,” “corn syrup,” and other things that made me believe this was the recipe.

“Maybe not.” I held the postcard up in the air. “Is this your recipe?”

“Mae!” Gert squealed. “Where did you find it?”

“Right here in Amy Hill’s calendar.” I knew right then and there Amy Hill was very aware of the recipe in her calendar.

“His secretary?” Gert’s smile was so big and bright, it could’ve lit up the darkness that had fallen over the Daniel Boone National Park.

“Amy Hill is now a suspect. Write her name down.” I handed the recipe card to Gert.

She looked at it like a mother would look at her child. Tears began streaming down her face.

“Why? Why would he do this to me?” She blinked a few times as if she were trying to see through her tears. “I wish he wasn’t dead so I could wave this in his smug face.”

We all just looked at her. Some of us had been through something life changing. Of course Paul had been my life-changing event. Betts’s ex-husband was in prison for life for his unthinkable deeds. So we understood some of Gert’s feelings.

“Amy could’ve been holding the recipe hostage? Shay had told me her father was going to fire Amy any day, so maybe Amy got wind of it and threatened him and it got out of control.” I tried to think back to the timeline. “She wasn’t with the group at Cute-icles.”

“The Moons and Amy did have that fight when they found out you left.” Dottie had called me when that went on. “In fact, he did tell Amy that her job was on the line.”

“It’s not out of the question she killed him.” I shrugged, knowing others had been killed for weaker reasons.

“What about Lewis?” I questioned.

“You can’t have too many suspects at this point,” Betts said. She leaned over from the chair and grabbed the coffee pot to refill her mug and everyone else’s when we held them close to her.

Abby wrote down Lewis’s name.

“Under motive you can write”—I stood up and started to pace as I talked. Pacing helped stimulate the blood and get me thinking. “Tom Moon was found in his room. Lena Malone said Lewis and Dan had rented a car to drive to a meeting they couldn’t cancel.”

“What type of guy has a meeting the weekend of their wedding?” Abby asked.

“One that has somethin’ up his sleeve.” Dottie’s eyes narrowed. “I never trusted that boy since he rolled into Happy Trails. I’m telling you that no matter how slick someone is, they can’t slide on barbed wire.”

“She’s right. He and Tom did have the fight in the office. Dan and Tom had exchanged some words. Lewis did say that once they were married, things were going to change.” Now his words sent chills up my spine and down my arms. “I thought it had to do with them not spending as much time with Shay’s family, but now I think it had to do with Moonbucks and how Lewis knew Shay was going to give him her shares.”

“It wouldn’t be unheard of if Tom went to Lewis’s motel room to confront him about the shares. Things got out of hand, and Lewis stabbed him.” Abby had formulated a motive.

“How did Lewis get my knife?” Gert asked the question that made us all stop.

“Is it possible one of them came in when you weren’t there?” I asked.

“Anything is possible,” she said. Abby set the notebook down on the coffee table, and we all looked at the list of suspects and motives. “What about Wes Millford, the owner of Awakenings?”

“What if Tom did have that meeting with him? Something happened at the coffee convention. Didn’t you say Dan and Wes were talking?” I looked over at Gert.

“Yes. I overheard them saying Normal was hillbilly.” Gert rolled her eyes and took another drink of her coffee.

“Okay, put Wes Millford down as someone to go see.” I moved my stare to Abby.

“Hold on.” Abby got up and walked over to the business center in the far corner of the laundromat that Betts had for any of her clients that needed it.

Internet service and cell service were spotty in Normal. It just so happened the Laundry Club had a great signal, and Betts offered it for free.

All of us got up and walked over to see what Abby was doing. She sat down at the computer and started to type away with Betts, Dottie, Gert, and me standing behind her, sipping our coffee.

“Wes Millford,” Abby said as she typed. “How long is that coffee conference?” Abby looked over her shoulder until she found Gert, making eye contact.

“It’s all week long. But I only went for some of the new techniques in foam art. I think customers love it. During the holidays especially.” Gert was so good when it came to knowing exactly what her customers liked. The little touches made Trails Coffee stand out from any of the small coffee houses I’d been to, including the ones I visited when I lived in New York City.

“Great. I’ll put it on my list to go visit him tomorrow,” I noted.

“You’re working the office tomorrow,” Dottie chimed in quickly. Then everyone looked at her. “But I guess I can do it,” she said.

“Are you sure?” Gert asked Dottie and placed her palms together as if she were thanking her.

“I guess,” Dottie said with a groan and pulled out her cigarette case, which was pushed down in the front pocket of her jeans. She unsnapped the top and hit the case up against the meaty part of her thumb until the butt end of one of the cigarettes popped out. She stuck it in the corner of her mouth and let it dangle.

“Bree Palmer.” Abby moved on to the other person we didn’t know anything about. “She’s a retired lawyer and has history of taking on big companies in lawsuits.”

Abby clicked on the images tab, bringing up all sorts of photos of Bree Palmer. She was a distinguished woman with tidy silver hair that was cut to chin length. She had a very thin face with a pointy nose. Her cheeks were almost sunken.

“We need to get to her too. I’m not sure why she’d say she didn’t remember my case. But I have a sneaky suspicion someone in the Moonbucks organization got to her and that’s why she dumped my case. Then I couldn’t get anyone to touch it. So that’s when I continued to do my own investigation, finally dropping it years later.” Gert’s theory made sense.

“I don’t think she killed Tom, but I do think she helped cover up the stealing of your recipe.” I couldn’t help but notice Gert hadn’t put the card down since I gave it to her. “Do you think we should give that over to Hank?”

“Heck no. I’m going to give it to my lawyer.” Gert looked at it and smiled, though we knew she didn’t have counsel, but with this bombshell in her hand, I was sure she’d have no problem finding someone who wanted to take Moonbucks to task even if Tom was dead.

“I can’t believe it. Now we have to get me off the hook because this is mine, and I now have the proof I need to tell the world what a fraud Tom Moon was.” She still wore a look of shock on her face.

“My daddy was not a fraud.” Shay Moon had come into the Laundry Club without us even hearing her.

We were so enthralled with Abby’s searching that we hadn’t heard the bell ding over the door.

“He was, and I have the proof.” Gert flung the recipe up in the air. “Here is my recipe that your secretary had been keeping for your dad safe in her calendar.”

“Only you left her calendar on my church bus when you took the bridal party to Cute-icles.” Betts took a stance next to Gert with her arms crossed.

“Let me see that.” Shay trotted across the room, her eyes fixed on the recipe card and her arm extended.

“No way.” Gert held it close to her chest. “I’m giving this to my lawyer. This is coming to an end.”

“So this is why you killed my dad?” Shay’s eyes had a light of fire in them.

“I didn’t kill your father. In fact, I was at the Milkery at the exact time Colonel Holz placed your father’s death. There’s even video footage to prove it.”

This was news to me. Why didn’t she tell us that when Abby listed her as a suspect in the notebook?

“There’s not even one single fingerprint of mine on the knife someone stole from my coffee shop.” Gert pointed to Shay. “Someone is framing me.”

“Who on earth would want to frame you?” Shay’s eyes narrowed.

“You two arguing back and forth is not going to solve anything.” I stopped the bickering. “Shay, you want to know who killed your father so you can lay him to rest and bring the killer to justice. Gert, you want to know who killed him so you can obviously not remain a suspect, because according to Hank, you’re still a suspect.”

“Mae is right. We need to collectively work together,” Betts suggested, though Shay didn’t appear to buy it.

“What do you suggest I do?” Shay asked.

“Do you know Wes Millford?” I asked. “From Awakenings?” I tried to ignite a little spark in her eyes as she attempted to recall how she knew that name.

“Yes. He’s been after Moonbucks for years.” Her eyes grew. “I’d told him to leave the office several times when he’d show up.”

“Since he knows you, do you think you could go with me tomorrow to the coffee convention?” I asked.

“Okay, but we’ll have to leave early because everyone will question where I’m going, and I don’t want Pierce to follow us.” She looked over at Gert. “I had no idea Daddy took your recipe. But I’m sure we can compensate for the loss.”

It was the first sign of decency I’d seen from Shay.

Her cell phone rang from the purse dangling off her shoulder.

“Hello?” she questioned the caller. “Right now?” she asked with a little bit of shock in her tone. “Fine. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“I’ve got to call my Uber back.” Her nails clicked on the phone screen as she typed. “Carl is insistent on reading Daddy’s will at the campground. He said to meet at Mom’s bungalow.”

“You don’t need an Uber.” I looked at Dottie. “Dottie will take us back.”

In no way was I going to stay at the Laundry Club when there would be a reading of Tom Moon’s will at my campground.

After all, the killer just might be revealed.

THIRTEEN

I’d never seen Dottie drive so fast to get back to Happy Trails. A couple of times, I held on for dear life when she took those back curves around the Daniel Boone National Forest to get us back.

“Dottie, stop by the office so I can grab some coffee and some treats.” I knew I wanted to stay around and hear exactly what the will said, and playing hostess was how I was going to accomplish it.

Dottie brought the car to a screeching halt at the front door of the office.

“Sit tight,” I told Dottie and Shay before I darted into the office to grab all the snacks and coffee packets I would need.

I jumped back in the car and didn’t even get the door shut before Dottie took off in the direction of the bungalow where the Moons had been staying.

“What about the recipe?” Shay looked at me. Her lashes were wet where she’d been crying silently away from our sight. “I can’t believe Daddy did that…” Her voice trailed off as we stood under the full moon in front of the bungalow.

“Don’t say anything yet. We will let the police handle it.” It was a lie. Gert wasn’t going to tell the police. She was going to find herself a lawyer and give it to them.

But if we played our cards too soon, the killer might have time to strike again, and we certainly didn’t want that to happen.

“Okay.” Shay shook her head and sucked in a deep breath just as the bungalow door opened.

Lewis stood there with his arms outstretched. The edges of his eyes dipped as he looked at her. He reached for her hand, and she gave it to him.

“I’m sorry. Family only.” Lewis stopped us when we tried to follow her inside.

“Lewis, I asked them to come and serve refreshments.” Shay batted her eyes. “Besides, you aren’t even family yet.”

“Shay, what kind of lies have these women been telling you?” He glared over Shay’s shoulder at Dottie and me.

“What are you talking about?” Shay jerked away from his grip. “Dottie and Mae have really helped us out this week. I’m still paying them while we are here.”

I could tell Lewis wanted to protest, but he gave in and opened the door.

The inside of this bungalow was a cute one-bedroom tucked in the back of the house. A deck off the bedroom had a spectacular view of the sunset, so at night the guests could enjoy a very romantic evening with the doors wide open or a glass of wine on the deck.

The front of the bungalow where we stood was an open concept with a large room, overstuffed furniture, and lots of quilts for chilly nights like tonight.

There was a stone fireplace that was just big enough for the gas logs to keep the room warm and the glow of a fire cozy. The bungalow also had a kitchenette with a small table, microwave, sink, and refrigerator. None of the bungalows had a stove because my idea was for the guests to enjoy their food over the campfire pit located in front of the little house.

Misty Moon, Amy Hill, Carl, Lena, and Dan Malone were all seated in the room with all their curious eyes on Dottie and me.

“I’ve asked Mae and Dottie to provide us with a few refreshments. So please”—Shay lifted her hands to Carl–“now that I’m here, please read Daddy’s wishes.”

Dottie and I busied ourselves in the kitchenette, pretty much pretending to look through the cabinets and find something to display the cookies and sweet treats I’d grabbed from the Cookie Crumble stash I used for the guest baskets.

“I’d like to let everyone know that though we are mourning our dear beloved Tom Moon…” Carl began to speak and took a standing position in front of the glowing fireplace. He leaned over the coffee table and unlocked his briefcase.

Shay shifted in her seat. I was positive she was uncomfortable in her skin knowing her father wasn’t on the up and up as she and everyone else here had thought.

“Carl!” Misty called his name out, making him pause. Just as he looked over at her with the papers he took from his briefcase in his hand, I heard a knock on the door. “I’m expecting someone else, and she’s just in time. Come in!”

Everyone turned to see who Misty had invited, including Dottie and me.

“Everyone, please welcome Ava Cox.” Misty blindsided me more than anyone.

Ava stood at the door with her long black hair pulled up in a wavy bun. Her olive skin looked flawless against the black turtleneck and black pencil suit skirt she was wearing. She didn’t look like a fifty-year-old woman, though she was. I could see her hand grip the handle of her satchel as she walked across the floor and next to Carl. When she turned around to face the group, we caught each other’s eyes.

“Welp,—Dottie’s sarcastic tone stung me like a bee—“there’s your conflict of interest.”

This was what Ava must’ve been referring to when she told Gert she wasn’t able to represent her. I should’ve remembered how Ava’s husband had known the Moons, just like Paul West and I did—and exactly how I knew Ava Cox. We all run around in the same circles, only Ava lived in Kentucky. Unfortunately, her husband had become a victim of Paul’s scheme. It was a rocky start to my relationship with Ava, but somehow we’d found a common ground that helped us move more toward the friend category. We’d helped each other out a few times. Not this time.

“Tom and I have known Ava for a very long time.” Misty’s eyes glanced around the room and set her focus on me. “When we were coming to Kentucky, Tom had a nice meeting with Ava at the coffee convention. It was there that Ava and Tom talked about the future of the company.”

Ava smiled. She whispered something in Carl’s ear. It was like the wind was knocked out of him, and when he looked at Ava, all the blood drained from his face. He put the papers back in his briefcase and tried to close it, but he couldn’t get it to close. He grabbed it up and closed it under his arm before he took a seat next to Amy Hill in the open chair.

“I’ll take over from here.” Ava clasped her hands together and made eye contact with everyone in the room as she spoke. “We don’t need to go into details about my relationship with the Moons. The only thing you need to know is Tom and Misty Moon had me redo their will while they were in town. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize just how quickly the new will would play a huge role in what has transpired over the last few days.” She looked directly at Misty. “I’m so sorry for your loss. And yours, Shay. But now we have a matter of reading the will.”

The entire bungalow seemed to shift as everyone leaned forward.

“Shay’s life will remain the same as it always has with her trust fund and monthly allowance. The shares of stock she’s given Lewis Malone is separate from Tom’s will. Tom leaves his fifty-one percent of shares to Misty Moon.” Ava held the one piece of paper in her hand.

“What?” Amy Hill’s shock echoed in the room. “He what?” She started to laugh uncontrollably. “This is hilarious.” She fell back into the couch, everyone looking at her like she was crazy.

Ava looked at me. We shared an underlying secret between us that no one else in the room besides Dottie knew: the recipe. The original coffee blend Moonbucks was founded on was a lie, and soon that would be revealed.

“Carl, at the request of the new owner of Moonbucks, your services will no longer be needed.” Ava’s words hung like a thick fog over everyone in the room. Not even the knife that killed Tom would’ve been sharp enough to cut it.

FOURTEEN

Ava Cox had completely knocked everyone in that room off their rockers. I think her words were a shock to their system and what Tom had always told them would happen to the company.

I couldn’t help but notice how Lewis and Dan Malone had tried not to make eye contact after they looked at the document. Lena Malone sat back with a smile on her face, and she appeared to love watching everyone implode.

“Mom!” Shay gasped. “You have no experience with the company. None. I don’t understand. It was supposed to go in my hands.”

The sudden interest Shay had was a turn of events from her earlier feelings.

“I don’t want to overstep, but Shay and I would like to talk to you about this.” Lewis had walked over to them. “My father and I have plans that we think you’d be very interested to hear.”

“If I may?” Carl interrupted. He looked at Misty, and she nodded. He picked up the will Ava Cox had drawn up for the Moons and quickly scanned over the one page that stated it all. He handed it back to Misty.

Everyone seemed to be on edge to hear what he had to say. “The will is definitely authentic. I can conclude the signature of Tom Moon on this document is in fact his signature. I understand some of you have been promised different positions in the company, and Misty and I will talk further about those positions after she gets acclimated to her new title.”

“If I may,” Misty interrupted him. She folded her hands neatly as she stood in front of all the open-mouthed family members. “Tom and I had many discussions about the company, and over the past year since Shay and Lewis became engaged, Tom has been teaching me about the coffee business. So I’m very comfortable with my new title, and I’m confident I’ll be able to continue Tom’s dream.” She opened her hands and gestured toward Carl. “Tom and I truly have been blessed with Carl’s position as our company lawyer. The reason we went to Ava is because Tom wanted me to have someone I trusted when I did take the company over like he had all his trust in Carl.”

“What are you saying, Misty?” A perplexed look crossed Carl’s face.

“I’m…” Misty started to say before Ava stepped back in.

“What Misty is trying to say is that your contract with the company has been expired for about three months. With the unfortunate turn of events with Tom, Mrs. Moon would like to go ahead and execute the decisions she and Tom had about the company’s future.” Was Ava Cox going where I thought she was?

I looked over at Dottie. Her mouth still gaped open, and the unlit cigarette dangled from it.

“I’m going to be handing all my clients over to my firm here in Kentucky, and I’ll be moving into an apartment in New York City as I take over the title of Moonbucks’s lead counsel.” Ava didn’t have a bit of expression on her face, but Carl and everyone else did.

“Misty?” Carl’s brows furrowed as he looked to her for some explanation. “After all these years? The loyalty? Tom wouldn’t want this right now.”

Amy Hill released a nervous giggle that sent chills through me. Dottie nudged me, and we both stared at Amy.

“This is great!” She clapped her hands together. “Just like Tom to have the last word.”

“Where was she again when Tom was murdered?” Dottie asked me with an over-questioning twinkle in her eye.

“I’m guessing I’m gone too?” Amy looked at Shay.

“No, Amy. I’m going to need your expertise in handling my day-to-day meetings. I’m sure Tom had some set up already for the coming weeks and months that he didn’t share with me.” Misty smiled at Amy.

“Don’t be serious, Mother.” Shay grabbed Lewis by the arm and practically shoved him at her mom.

“I think it’s best if we have a conversation about who we keep on staff moving forward now that you are taking over the company. Maybe we need new staff going forward with your vision,” Lewis told Misty.

Amy jumped up from the couch and pointed a finger at Lewis.

“Tom Moon didn’t like you or your father. I know secrets about this…” I held my breath, thinking Amy Hill would spill the beans about the recipe.

“It’s settled. Amy, we will be keeping you on as Misty’s secretary.” Ava Cox was probably thinking along the same lines as I was about the recipe, since she knew what might be coming down the line from Gert Hobson. “We will have our first meeting tomorrow at lunch in the recreation building. In the meantime, I’ll be going to see Detective Sharp in the morning to see if we all can’t get out of here at some point tomorrow.” Ava really knew how to handle herself under pressure. “When we do get the clearance, I’ve already got the Moonbucks jet on standby. We will all be leaving at the same time, including the wedding party.”

Everyone, including Misty Moon, continued to shuffle around and mutter various statements of dislike under their breath.

“I was beginning to think we knew who the suspects are, but any one of them could’ve killed Tom Moon,” Dottie whispered in my ear. “Every one of ’em is greedy as hell.”

FIFTEEN

After I got back to my camper, I tried so hard to stay awake, not only so I could tell Hank about everything when he came home but to see if Ava Cox would stop when she left.

Unfortunately, staring out the kitchen window and waiting caused me enough boredom that I didn’t even wake up until the coffee pot timer had gone off and the smell of my morning brew awoke me from my death-like sleep.

Chester and Fifi were still snuggled up next to me on the couch, which told me Hank didn’t come back to the campground or he would’ve stopped to get Chester.

I reached over and checked my phone for any messages, half expecting one from Ava, but there was only one, and it was from Shay. I had to read the text a few times because she rambled on and on about going to see Wes Millford and getting this mess straightened out.

If I was going to get to the coffee convention, I would have to leave pretty early.

“Let’s go potty.” Just the sound of my voice made the dogs jump to their feet.

I poured a cup of coffee before the pot was even brewed to full, slipped my feet into my boots, and headed outside.

The fog lay thick over the lake and drifted out, making the entire campground look eerie . There was no movement from any of the guests. A few crunches from various forest creatures came from the tree line, where the trails started. Cicadas chirped so loud it was almost deafening.

On the horizon, the faint orange glow signaled that dawn was fast approaching and soon the late morning fall sun would burn off the dew on the grass. During this time of the year, Mother Nature played out this gorgeous dance every morning in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

If not for the thoughts of Tom Moon’s murder and how I would help Gert Hobson get back the rights to her coffee recipe, I would’ve loved to take my time walking around the campground with Fifi and Chester while sipping my coffee. Today that was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

“Let’s eat,” was all I had to say for the frisky fur babies to scurry back to the camper after they did their morning business.

The three of us headed in. On my way back to grab my shower and get ready, I filled the dog bowl with enough kibble for two and freshened up the water in the water bowl. Then I texted Shay to see if she was still going to go with me to see Will Millford.

After I’d gotten ready and grabbed my keys, I checked my phone. Shay still hadn’t texted me back, which was probably for the best. I could only imagine how long they’d stayed up arguing over the bombshell of the new will with which Tom Moon had bombarded them.

Since my campervan was one that I drove into Normal a couple of years ago, I knew it wouldn’t be practical for me to drive it around all the time after I’d decided to make Happy Trails my permanent home, so I bought a car from Joel Grassel’s Gas Station. He had used cars and some you could rent. I got a little cheap four-door that was great for putzing around town in and heading to Lexington when I needed to make the forty-minute drive there.

With my coffee in my car and the radio turned up, it wasn’t long before I was paying the five-dollar charge to park in the convention parking garage.

The hall was filled with vendors trying to give out samples of their coffee products: food, drinks, candles, even coffee-scented pencils. These people’s passion for coffee was crazy. I even got a schedule of events shoved in my face from a volunteer with the convention itself.

I scanned over the map in the events brochure to see if I could find out where the Awakenings Coffee booth would be if they had one. I also kept an eye out to see if Moonbucks was represented here. Lo and behold, the mega coffee kings were just a couple of booths apart. There was a photo of Tom Moon next to his booth description and a photo of Wes Millford next to his company’s description. Now I knew exactly who to look for: a man around his fifties with what looked to be brown hair, though it was under a baseball cap. His blue eyes stood out and would be a dead giveaway when I saw him.

Each man had a different feel. Tom Moon was in a black suit, all buttoned up. Wes Millford had on a flannel shirt and a big old smile shining from underneath the baseball cap. Two different styles and personalities.

I weaved in and out of the crowd as I made my way across the convention floor. A presentation was going on in the front of the room.

“We pride ourselves on just the right amount of caffeine we put into our coffee and make sure the perfect cup is brewed from each bean at Awakenings.” The male voice caught my attention when I heard him mention Awakenings, and I tried to look above the crowds. The floor was just too crowded.

Several rows of seats were taken as the man on stage talked. I walked down each aisle and scanned it for an open seat, only to find myself standing in the front on the side.

The man at the podium was definitely Wes Millford. He practically had the exact same outfit on as his photo, but the color plaid on the flannel was different. He had the same hat, same bright smile, and sparkling blue eyes.

“I just can’t even believe it.” Two women were speaking low to each other and standing next to me. “Misty Moon? I’ve never even seen her step foot in the office, much less run it.”

“I heard she hates coffee,” the other one mentioned. “How do you run the world’s largest coffee company when you don’t even like the product?”

“Run it right into the ground, that’s how.” They both snorted. “I might go work for Mr. Hottie up there. I hear they’re hiring.”

“Oh, yeah?” The other woman’s tone gained a sudden interest.

“Excuse me.” I slightly turned my shoulders toward them.

“We’re sorry.” The one zipped her lips.

“No, you’re not bothering me.” Completely the opposite, I wanted to say, but instead I said, “I couldn’t help but overhear that you two must work for Moonbucks.”

They looked at each other and then back at me.

“We do.” One of them looked at me with caution.

“I hate to say it, but I’m the one who found Mr. Moon at the motel with the knife in his back.” It might’ve been bad taste, but I didn’t do the whole knife-in-the-back gesture. “I’m guessing he wasn’t a big fan of someone.”

Their eyes grew and their jaws dropped before they smiled.

“A few someones.” They both looked up at Wes Millford. “If I wasn’t in Wes Millford’s grinding class the morning Tom was murdered, I’d put a million dollars that Wes Millford did it.”

“Wes Millford had a class?” I asked her to make sure I heard her correctly.

“Mm-hmmm, the police even came by last night to confirm it. We”—she pointed between her and the other lady—“we were working the Moonbucks booth, which is what we are paid to do here, and the police came in and we even had to give statements. We really can’t believe it, but I told them to look into the person who knows Tom Moon best.”

“Who is that?” I asked.

“Amy Hill,” they said at the same time.

“Amy is his sidekick. You don’t see one without the other. So it’s so strange that she wasn’t with him at the time of his death. You found him. Was she there?” one of them asked me.

“No. She wasn’t. No one was with him.” I knew I had that funny feeling about her.

“A group of us were talking last night, and someone mentioned how Amy Hill had once told someone at the company Christmas party how Tom Moon had a big secret that would take the entire company down.” The woman grinned. “Now, Amy was also drunk, so we took that with a grain of salt.”

“Yeah, but do you think it could’ve been true and she was holding it over his head?” The other lady’s eyes grew big. “Then they got into a fight and she killed him.”

“Yeah, and what if they were having an affair and it was her motel room?” The other woman added on to the sordid tale.

“I can tell you he was found in the soon-to-be son-in-law’s motel room.” I knew there was no way Tom and Amy were having an affair, but I wasn’t so sure they were wrong about Amy knowing about the big secret, which I knew was Gert Hobson’s coffee blend recipe. After all, I found that in Amy’s calendar.

I glanced down at my watch. It was already ten a.m. and I wanted to be back by noon so I could just wander in on the meeting Ava, Misty, and Amy were going to have.

“How long is this talk?” I asked them. At that exact moment, Wes Millford thanked the crowd for coming and invited them to his coffee table book signing being held at his booth right after he left the stage. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go grab one of those books.”

The crowd shuffled and grew louder as they went from silence to chattering. Again, I found myself weaving in and out of the crowd with my eyes on that baseball cap.

A familiar someone caught my sight out of the corner of my eye. Quickly, so as not to lose sight of Wes’s baseball cap, I glanced over the heads of the crowd, and for a split second I thought I saw Lewis and Dan Malone.

“Ugh.” I grunted and curled up on my tiptoes when I tried to see over someone who was way too tall to see over.

I looked back to find Wes, and when I saw he’d veered left, I headed that way.

“Excuse me. ‘Scuse me.” I tried to be polite as I could, still taking a few looks over my shoulder to see if I really did see Lewis and Dan.

I shoved people out of my way and finally got within touching distance… well, grabbing distance after my hand curled around a fistful of Wes Millford’s flannel.

He jerked around and gave me a hard stare before I let go, and he smiled.

“Well, I guess you got my attention.” He had that look in his eye. You know, the one that meant he thought I might be interested in what he was serving, and I didn’t mean coffee.

“Hi, I’m Ava Cox, and I’m the attorney for Misty Moon,” I lied. I knew it, and if Ava found out, she’d sue. If Hank found out… well, I didn’t want to even think of what would happen if he did. “As you know, Tom was murdered.”

“Listen, Ava.” Wes put a hand up in front of me. “I already told the cops I was here and it’d been confirmed, so don’t point fingers at me saying I killed him.”

“I know you didn’t.” I smiled and cozied up to him.

Wes Millford carved out a few minutes for his book signing with me when I brought up the company’s shares and how Misty Moon had been named Tom’s predecessor.

“It’s not a secret I’ve been trying to buy into Moonbucks for years.” He had offered me a cup of the Awakenings coffee when we walked behind the curtain at the back of their booth, and I gladly accepted it while sitting down in a chair.

“But if his shares came up for sale, you’d take them.” Now that I’d observed a bit of Wes’s charisma, I wasn’t so sure that he didn’t have the ability to hire someone to do the dirty job. “You said it best yourself. You’d love to get your hands on that company.”

“I have gotten my hands on it.” He smiled and brought the steaming cup of coffee up to his lips. He sat down in the chair next to me.

“Excuse me?” My heart raced, and the thought hit me. “Dan Malone and Lewis Malone,” I said with a gasp.

Not only did I recall Gert saying she saw Dan Malone talking to Wes at the convention, but I also heard Lewis and Dan say something to the effect that things would change once Lewis got married to Shay. They said that the morning they were arguing in my office when Tom Moon had come in to confront me about Pierce and the interview.

My phone chirped a text. I ignored it because I wanted to have Wes’s full attention.

“Yeah. They came to me the same day Tom was here giving his opening ceremony speech, which, if you ask me…” Wes brought one leg up to rest on the other and then sat back. “The convention should’ve had me open for them. Next year.” He winked. “This time next year, I’ll have both companies merged, and Misty Moon will be on a tropical island alongside her very rich son-in-law and daughter.”

“They knew Shay was going to give Lewis the shares. They took the opportunity to make a deal with you while they were here.” It became very clear Dan and Lewis had conspired to kill Tom Moon, but by the looks on their faces, they had no clue about the new will.

Now I wondered, who was next in line in the old will?

“That’s why I had no need to see Tom Moon dead. I was going to own half the company.” Wes looked down at his coffee and then up at me. “Too bad, though. I’d have loved to see him squirm.”

Even though what Wes had told me was cold and heartless, I had to strike him off my suspect list. But that only made me want to get out of there and tell Hank exactly what I’d found out so he could arrest them before Ava got to the district attorney and talked him into letting them leave town.

“Hank, call me. I think Dan and Lewis killed Tom. I know, I know, I shouldn’t’ve looked into it, but Wes Millford of Awakenings Coffee is buying the shares from Lewis that Shay gave him as a wedding gift.” I was talking so fast that I didn’t realize I was also driving fast so I could get back to Normal. “Lena Malone said Dan and Lewis told her they’d rented a car and were driving to a meeting. I think they used that excuse to kill Tom Moon and...”

Out of nowhere, another car came barreling right toward mine.

SIXTEEN

“That’s it.” Mary Elizabeth Moberly stood next to my hospital bed, putting cold compresses on my black and blue eyes. The silver bracelets on her wrist jingled each time she patted my arm with her free hand. “You aren’t staying in that campground until they find out who killed Tom Moon because you’ve put a target on your back.”

Mary Elizabeth Moberly mothered me more than any adoptive mother did. She’d been so good to me since she moved to Normal after she found out I’d moved back to Kentucky.

“I’m fine.” My hand shook when I lifted it up to get the Styrofoam cup of water. “I just want to get out of this emergency room.”

“You’re shaken up like a good martini.” She grabbed the cup and held the straw up to my lips so I could take a nice long drink. “Do you know how it feels to get a phone call saying your daughter has been in a car wreck? Not to mention when I passed it on my way here, your car was a total loss.”

“Is it?” I groaned and frowned. I didn’t have the extra cash going into winter to buy a new car.

The door opened, and Hank walked in behind a big boutique of wilted flowers.

“Get those off the side of the road!” I joked.

“It was all the gift shop had.” He handed them off to Mary Elizabeth.

“I’ll still get this in some water.” Mary Elizabeth grabbed the yellow water pitcher and took it into the bathroom.

Hank and I looked at each other in uncomfortable silence.

“I don’t even know where to start.” He gnawed on the inside of his jaw. “I want to grab you and kiss you because you’re okay, but I want to yell at you for putting yourself in danger when I clearly told you to not look into Tom Moon’s murder.”

“Now, now,” said Mary Elizabeth, who had worked her magic touch on the flowers. She’d picked through the boutique and took out the really lovely ones to arrange in the plastic pitcher. “I know you’ve got to talk to her because what happened, but I won’t have you getting her upset.” She put the pitcher on the windowsill in the sunlight and turned to shake a finger at Hank. “Have I made myself clear?”

“What does she mean you need to talk to me because what happened?” I wasn’t sure what they were talking about. I didn’t lose consciousness when I got hit, but I did notice the other car took off. “The hit and run?”

“It wasn’t just a hit and run.” Hank had that look in his eyes that told me this was more serious than a driver looking down at a cell phone and swerving to hit me. “You were the target. I already pulled the footage of the nearby shops. Granted, you were speeding and you were on the phone talking into my voicemail, but it’s crystal clear the driver was aiming for you.”

“Did you get a license plate?” I asked and tried to keep my cool so Hank couldn’t see my wheels turning.

Who did I possibly get in the way of? I’d obviously gotten somewhat close to the killer.

“Yes.” The look in Hank’s green eyes told me he didn’t want to say. “I know you’ll call Granny and do whatever you can to find out who the plates belong to, so I’m going to tell.”

“Yeah...” I waved for him to go on.

“Grassel’s Garage.” Hank didn’t just tell me who the car belonged really to, but he did tell me who was behind the wheel without telling me.

“Lewis and Dan Malone.” I snapped my fingers. “I was at the coffee convention to see Wes Millford.”

Hank opened his mouth to speak, but I continued.

“He’s the Awakenings Coffee owner, and he’s doing a big thing at the coffee convention here. That’s why I’m here.” I took in a deep sigh and told Hank what I’d found out.

“You mean to tell me Ava Cox wrote up a new will? The Malones were visibly on edge? And you’ve had the recipe and Amy Hill’s calendar this whole time?” His astonishment was genuine. “You do know this is against the law to hide evidence.”

“I didn’t hide anything. It was in pure daylight... nighttime…” I muttered since it was night at the Laundry Club when I gave Gert the recipe. “And Gert Hobson has it.”

“She’s got the recipe?” he asked in a very stern tone, taking me aback. He turned around, took a few steps toward the window, and raked his hand through his hair.

“More importantly…” I had to get him back on the track of who actually tried to obviously kill me like they did Tom Moon. “I saw Lewis and Dan at the coffee convention. They have the most to gain from Tom Moon’s passing.”

“I’ve got Jerry checking with Joel about the car. He’ll be able to confirm if it is Lewis and Dan.” Hank turned back around, resting his hands on his utility belt. “Where is the calendar?” he asked.

“It’s at my camper. I left it there, but I was going to give it back to Amy after—” I started to say, but Hank was so good at finishing my sentences.

“After you figured out who killed Tom Moon.” His brows lifted. He sucked in a deep breath and curled both lips over his teeth as if he were contemplating how to say something to me.

“Just say it. Don’t think about how it’s going to sound when it comes out.” I sat on the edge of the bed. My feet dangled. “I’m pretty tough, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed.” He walked over and stood in front of me with my legs between his. “In case you’ve not noticed”—he pointed to his heart—“I’ve fallen in love with you. Do you know what danger you put yourself in?” He put a finger on my lips when I tried to protest. “Let me finish.”

I nodded.

“I have no idea why you find it so hard to stay away from crimes when you don’t even have to go near them. I’m the one who is supposed to keep you safe and look after you.” He looked around the room. “We are in an emergency room where someone has tried to kill you.”

“Lewis and…” I pinched my lips when he looked down at me with that expression.

“You aren’t letting me love you, Mae.” He took a step back. “I can’t keep doing this.” Again, he pointed to his heart. “I’m so worried about you I can’t focus. I can’t do my job. You aren’t letting me do my job.”

“What are you saying?” I was confused. “Are you telling me we can’t date?”

“I’m telling you that this stops right now or we can’t.”

“But I clearly remember you asking for my help once before and you welcomed it.” I jogged his memory.

“Today, you almost died. I can’t live with that.” He took a couple of steps back.

His cell beeped. He looked down at the phone in the holder that was attached to the utility belt and read the screen.

“I’ve got to go.” He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. It felt like one of those kisses you’d get from your father. “You stay here and let them check you out head to toe.”

He didn’t bother waiting to see if I was going to respond. He simply walked around the bed and out of the door, passing Mary Elizabeth on the way in.

“The Laundry Club girls are on their way.” Mary Elizabeth smiled at me. “They are all so worried. Since your accident was in Lexington, they didn’t get it on the scanner.”

I threw the covers off my legs.

“I’ve got to get out of here.” I swung my legs around to the side of the gurney.

“No. No you’re not.” Mary Elizabeth stood in front of me and used her small hands to try to get my legs back on the mattress. “This sleuthing thing is over. Hank should’ve told you that.”

“Unfortunately, someone tried to kill me.” I swung my body to the other side of the bed and jumped out before Mary Elizabeth could get over there to stop me. “I’m really close to figuring out who the killer is. I’ve gotten them really mad and angry enough to have wanted me dead.”

“Maybelline West.” Mary Elizabeth tried her darndest to stop me from pulling out the IV in my hand. “You get back in that bed right now.”

“Mom.” I realized I had no car to drive back to Normal. If I was going to get her to let me use her car, I would have to get her on my side. Calling her Mom hit her sweet spot.

Her face melted into a smile.

“Remember just a few short months ago, when you were a suspect? Well, Gert Hobson is still a suspect.” I put her hands in mine and closed my hands around hers. “Sitting here is doing us no good when our friend needs us. I’m not going to go and confront Lewis and Dan Malone. But I want to be there for my friend when Hank follows up on that text he got before he left here because I know it was Jerry telling him how the Malones had rented that car.”

It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. And that was how I knew the Malones had rented a car from Joel Grassel. Lena Malone had told me they had rented a car so they could go to their meeting, which had to be with Wes Millford, after they killed Tom Moon.

The only thing I wasn’t convinced of was whether they’d killed Tom with or without intent.

The entire drive back to Normal saw Mary Elizabeth going the speed limit, giving me plenty of time to come up with exactly how the Malones killed Tom Moon.

SEVENTEEN

“You promise you won’t deliberately go and find trouble?” Mary Elizabeth pulled up to the office at Happy Trails, where I had her stop.

I used my finger to cross my heart.

“I’m going to go into work and let Dottie leave for the next few days.” I was so grateful Dottie had picked up my shifts at work, and I knew if I worked, then I could do what Hank and Mary Elizabeth wanted me to: stay away from looking for any more clues.

But that didn’t keep me from thinking about all the clues I’d already gathered.

“You’ll be by for supper soon?” she asked as I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the passenger door. “Bring Hank with you.”

Dottie Swaggert walked out of the office with a cigarette tucked in her two fingers. The other hand clicked her lighter.

“Okay. Love you.” I gave her a hug before I got out.

“Glad to hear you’re awright.” Smoke billowed out of Dottie’s mouth as she spoke. “We was on our way until Mary Elizabeth called back and said you were fit to be tied up in that bed.” She smiled. “I reckon you were in fighting mode.” She sucked another drag in. “I’d be fightin’ mad, too, if someone tried to kill me.”

“Anything going on?” I asked. “I noticed the Moons RV is still here.”

“Yep. I think they just got word the jet was gonna be landing sometime soon.” She pointed to the office door with the fingers that held the cigarette. A line of smoke followed. “Carl is in there faxing over the new will Ava Cox had drawn up to the corporation to let them know Misty is in charge ASAP.”

I shook my head.

“That was a real shock,” I said.

“Ava had her big meeting with them. You didn’t miss much. Carl did a lot of explaining. Amy told her everything she knew about Tom’s calendar. She said she lost it somewhere.” Dottie reminded me that I’d told Hank it was in my camper. “And Misty Moon paid for their stay along with a big tip.”

“Did Hank stop by?” I asked.

“Not that I noticed. I wasn’t lookin’ either.” She dropped the cigarette on the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of her shoe. “Gert is in there delivering her weekly coffee stuff.”

Dottie still wasn’t sold on my basket idea, in which I offered all sorts of different baskets to guests. The morning brew coffee basket with Gert’s special blends and assortment of pastries from the Cookie Crumble was very popular.

“With a new crop of guests coming in for the week, we needed to restock.” Dottie’s lips snarled.

“I’ll be sure to put them in all the campers,” I told her, since it was the part of the job that took the most time. I liked to have the baskets waiting for the guests when they arrived if they’d added them to their vacation packages online. Some guests waited until they got here and bought them when they came into the office to check in.

“I want to thank you for working for me.” I patted her arm. “You do so much for me. But I’m here now, so why don’t you take the next few days off? You take the big tip from the Moons. You deserve it.”

Dottie looked at me with big eyes.

“Now go on.” I ushered her across the gravel road toward her camper. “Go on and take time off.”

“If you’re sure now.” She was only being nice because she was halfway home before I could tell her I was sure.

With a smile on my face, I opened the door to the office.

Gert Hobson was still filling the morning brew basket we offered for guests to purchase. Carl Rippin was standing over the fax machine.

“Hey there.” They both looked at me.

“Are you okay?” Gert gushed, rushing to my side. “I can’t believe someone tried to run you off the road.”

“They didn’t try,” I corrected her. “They did.”

“What?” Carl’s jaw dropped.

“Someone deliberately slammed their car into my car, running me off the road.” I was so thankful I didn’t have any sort of broken bones. “I’m sure my back will be sore tomorrow.”

“Why on earth would someone do that?” Carl walked over to my desk where his briefcase was sitting on top and open.

“You can leave it there. I’ll help Gert,” I told him and followed her to Dottie’s desk, where she had her little packets of coffee spread out. “I think I got close to figuring out who killed Tom Moon and why.”

“That’d be great if we could get this solved before we leave.” Carl shuffled through the papers in the briefcase.

“What did you figure out?” Gert had opened one of the chocolate treats, snapped a piece off, and then offered me a piece.

“Tom Moon went to Lewis’s room the next morning to talk to him about his shares. I can’t help but play in my head how Tom took it when Lewis and Dan told him how they were going to sell their shares to Wes Millford.” It was like a movie was playing out in my mind and I was reading the subtitles. I crunched down on a piece of the chocolate and said, “Tom got angry. There was a fight, and one of them killed him.”

“What about my knife?” Gert brought up an excellent question.

“Think,” I told her. “Are you sure Lewis or Dan Malone or even Lena Malone didn’t come into your coffee shop?”

Anything that jogged her brain would be good.

“No.” She shook her head and backed up, knocking the edge of Carl’s briefcase on my desk. Carl’s briefcase dropped on the floor. His papers scattered all over the place. “I’m so sorry,” Gert apologized.

Automatically, I bent down to help him pick them up.

“I’ve got it.” Carl insisted I not help, but it was in my southern manners for me to do so.

“The only time anyone associated with Tom Moon who came into Trails was the morning you and Shay came in and I told you I couldn’t do it.” Abruptly, she stopped talking. “He was with Amy and Carl. My new knife set was sitting on my counter.” She let out a slight gasp. “When y’all let, I was so shaken up, I did notice the knife was gone…” Her voice trailed off like she was remembering what had happened.

With a fist full of papers, I looked up at her and stood up. The color had drained from her face.

“Gert? You okay?” I went to put the papers on the desk so I could go over and help her as she stood stiff as a board. My eyes focused on the paper’s black ink. “Last will and testament,” I read out loud and realized the document was Tom Moon’s old will before the one Ava Cox had drawn up. “Carl, you were going to get Tom Moon’s company?”

I blinked a few times after reading the part in the will that said Carl Rippin was to get all fifty-one shares of Moonbucks.

“I’m going to go get some fresh air.” Gert took a couple of steps backward toward the door.

“Not on your life.” Carl Rippin pulled a gun from underneath his shirt from the waist of his pants. “No one is going anywhere.”

“Carl, we can talk about this.” My heart pounded, and my hands started to sweat. I took a couple of steps back and kept my eyes on him.

“Move over there.” He shook his gun at Gert and motioned for her to come back to where I was. “This isn’t going to go well. I’m just letting you know.”

“You’re…” Gert started to cry.

“This is why Tom was able to take your recipe and grow it to be the biggest coffee company ever.” Carl had completely confessed to Gert’s claim that Tom Moon had stolen her recipe. “It was priceless how we paid off Bree Palmer to erase her memory of you.”

“You paid her off?” I glared with complete disbelief that I’d not even suspected Carl, Tom’s right-hand man.

“Of course we did. After Tom and I talked about it, we never lied to Gert. She didn’t have a patent. For all anyone knows, the recipe could’ve been found on a corner in some crazy city. Tom just so happened to find it on the cash register.” Carl laughed.

“Why would you kill him?” Gert sounded like she suddenly cared, though I was sure it was because she truly wanted to see Tom Moon come to justice now that she had the recipe in her hand and in her handwriting.

“Tom had mentioned he felt awful after seeing you working so hard at the Chicken Fest and wanted to come clean. But I couldn’t let that happen. After all, I’d drawn up the papers to take over the company once he retired or even died.” A smile curled up and crossed along his face, lighting up his eyes. “I couldn’t let the little tiff between you two go to waste. It was then that I decided it was time for me to take over what was owed to me. I’d been at his side for all of it, and it was my turn to take over.”

He wagged the gun. Gert winced. My body tensed.

“You have the perfect motive. I took the knife without anyone noticing. For good measure, I fanned the flames about Shay’s little gift to Lewis letting them in on the little secret meeting between the Malones and Millford, knowing it was where I was going to kill him because I had been keeping an eye on you.” He jutted the gun toward Gert. “I took an Uber and followed you to the motel. That’s when I called Tom from Lewis’s room because I knew the cops would trace back his cell. If the little plan with you didn’t work for me, I could easily point the finger at Lewis and Dan Malone, which seemed to have worked out well.”

He looked at me. My insides clattered.

“You ran me off the road?” I blinked a few times, unable to understand how he did it.

“Gotta love Uber.” He pointed the gun at me. My jaw clenched. “Even in a small town like this.” His brows rose. “I knew the Malones had another meeting with Wes Millford while the convention was still in town. Now that I was out of the will, I figured I’d see what the Malones had up their sleeve, but I saw you and knew I had to get rid of you. As a lawyer, I look up everyone I come into contact with, and you sure have been busy around with your little notebook and girlfriends.”

My eyes bolted open.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t needed to hurt any of your friends.” He swung the gun toward Gert again. “Yet.”

“You stole the car the Malones had rented from Joel,” I said out loud as the pieces of the puzzle came together. “And you planned to run me off the road or kill me to shut me up.”

I was buying time, hoping I could think up some way to get that gun from him, but there was nothing, unless I wanted to wing some of Gert’s coffee bags at him.

“Stealing the car was perfect because it put the Malones at the scene. I put the car back where it belonged so it looked as if they drove back to the convention, leaving you there to die.” His face softened with satisfaction.

The roar of the big RV engine came through the walls of the office. Carl took a couple of steps backward, keeping his gun on us. He peeled back the curtain from the window to look outside.

“Looks like my ride is here to take us to the airport.” He took a step forward. “So our time here, ladies, has come to the final end.”

“Final end?” Gert sobbed.

“Carl, it’s time to go.” Amy Hill, of all people, swung the door of the office open, knocking Carl Rippin to the ground.

The gun skidded across the floor. Gert, Carl, and I scrambled to grab it. My boot slammed into Carl’s stomach, choking off his breath, giving Gert enough time to grab the gun and point it at him with a shaky hand.

“Hold it right there, buddy,” Gert said through her gritted teeth. Facedown, Carl put his hands on the ground.

“The police will be here in a minute,” Amy Hill said at the door. “I’m telling them about the recipe and coming clean.”

“Don’t do that, Amy,” Carl warned her but clamped his mouth shut when Gert jabbed the gun at him again.

“Amy, what are you talking about?” I asked and carefully moved around Carl and Gert.

I knew Gert meant business, so if Carl tried any funny business, I was sure Gert would take him down.

“I had the meeting with Ava and Misty. I told them how I discovered the recipe about six months ago, and I told Mr. Moon how he needed to make good by Ms. Hobson. That’s when he started to have Carl keep a close watch on me, and word got around he was going to fire me. All because I believed he needed to give Ms. Hobson credit.” Amy nodded toward Gert. “When I started working for Moonbucks, I thought the rumor about what he’d done was ridiculous—until I found the recipe. When we came to Normal, it took Mr. Moon off guard, and he started to really think about what he’d done to Ms. Hobson and how her life might be different,” Amy said in a cracking voice.

“Amy, shut up,” Carl said through clenched teeth. He was still sprawled out face down. “You know you’ll go to jail for this.”

“That’s where Ava and Misty come in, Carl.” Amy looked at Gert. “I told them I had the recipe, but now I’ve lost it. But I do know it was your recipe, and I have all the correspondence Mr. Moon and I had about it to prove what he’d done. Ava said if I go to the police, then I might get some sort of plea deal. Mr. Moon made me keep my mouth shut.”

The door of the office swung open. Jerry Truman and Hank Sharp had no idea what they were walking into.

Hank and Jerry both drew their guns. I planted my feet like I was a statue.

“Hold it right there,” Jerry said in a stern voice. “Gert, drop the gun.”

“Hell, why don’t I just hand it to you?” She held it out.

Jerry and Hank looked at each other. Jerry gave a slight head motion for Hank to take the gun.

“Carl killed Tom Moon,” I said in a low voice so as not to disturb all the mental processing Hank and Jerry were doing. “Carl was supposed to take over the company once Tom Moon stepped down or died, whichever came first. Apparently—stop me if I’m wrong, Carl.” I tried to piece everything together with what I knew, especially now that Amy had brought a lot more to the story. “Tom might’ve been coming clean with the fact he did steal the Moonbucks orginal recipe from Gert, which would probably make all the stocks go down and the company go bankrupt, so he killed Tom before he came clean. Amy can vouch for all of that.”

Carl hemmed and hawed with a few groans while Jerry started to put him in handcuffs.

“I asked Ava to call you to come here so I could confess that I knew about the recipe so you could help solve the murder.” Amy couldn’t bring herself to look at Gert. “I had no idea Carl killed Mr. Moon until now.”

“You just messed up. I was going to keep you on as secretary,” Carl said, snarling at Amy as Jerry took him out of the office in handcuffs.

“I have the recipe,” Gert told Amy. “I don’t hold you responsible at all, and I won’t file charges, but if there are legal issues, I will testify on your behalf.”

“I have your calendar.” I guess it was my time to ’fess up. “You gave it to Shay when she sent you back to get her money from the bungalow when we were going to get the manicures that morning.”

Amy sighed with relief, a much different reaction than I thought she was going to have.

“Amy,” Hank stepped up, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to take you to the station to get your statement. I need it to clean up my homicide report, and then Jerry will let you know of any charges against you.”

“I’m sorry,” Amy said in apology to Gert on her way out.

Gert and I hugged each other tight as we watched Hank and Jerry put Amy and Carl in their vehicles.

“You know I couldn’t have done this without you.” Gert squeezed me tight.

“You can always count on me,” I told her. “That’s what friends are for.”

I squeezed her tighter. Joy bubbled up inside of me as I thought of how this little community had become more than just a group of friends. They’d become my family, something I’ve been longing for since the fatal fire that took my biological family.

EIGHTEEN

“Jerry never tells me anything about what’s going on at the station.” Emmalyn was fascinated with my story about how I’d brought Carl Rippin to justice. “I’m glad to hear Misty Moon is paying to get your car fixed.”

Her face was glowing from the candles in the middle of our table at the Red Barn, the rundown barn that had been restored into a neat restaurant with a picturesque view of the fall foliage spread out all over the Daniel Boone National Park.

“Yeah, me too,” I said and glanced around, taking in all the little touches that made the barn special.

If you’d told me that an old farm barn could be romantic, I wouldn’t have believed you, but this old barn was so charming. The old stalls, hay lofts, and dirt floor were long gone.

The inside was completely open with exposed wood beams. I wasn’t sure if they were original to the barn, but if they weren’t, someone had gone to great lengths to make it look like they were. Each wood beam had strands of small, round light bulbs that were turned down just enough so you could see what you were eating, but they made you feel as if you were dining in moonlight.

Tables draped with white linen tablecloths were scattered around with a romantic red candle in a lantern in the middle of each.

I glanced over my shoulder at the bar along the back wall where Jerry and Hank had gone to pick out one of the Kentucky bourbons and grab Emmalyn and me a glass of wine.

If Hank heard me talking about what happened in the office the other day with Carl, it’d send him into a full-blown tizzy. The night was going so well on our double date that I didn’t want to ruin it.

“You are a gal after my own heart.” Emmalyn nodded. “What’s going to happen with your friend’s recipe?”

“From what I understand, she’s going to be on the new board of directors under Misty’s reign. Shay and Lewis ended up not selling his shares to Awakenings Coffee.” I smiled, thinking about how happy Gert Hobson was now that it had been published, by our very own Violet Rhinehammer, that Moonbucks Original Blend was in fact her very own creation. “Misty also gave Gert so many stocks to make up for all the years.”

“Instant millionaire.” Emmalyn sat back, mouth gaping open and fanning herself with her hand.

“You’d never know.” I recalled earlier this morning when I’d gone in Trails Coffee. “She’s still behind the counter serving coffee.”

I knew no matter how much money Gert would receive from the scam Tom Moon had pulled on her years ago, she’d still be the humble friend I knew and loved.

Hank and Jerry walked back to us and sat our wines on the table.

“Would you like to dance?” Hank put his bourbon glass down and held his hand out to me.

The jazz band in the corner of the barn had started the next session with a nice slow tune that brought a lot of couples to the dance floor.

“You dance?” I was floored.

“Let’s see.” Hank brought me to my feet and guided me to the front of the room.

He took me into his arms and held me close. Over his shoulder, I looked at Jerry and Emmalyn, who were smiling at us from the table.

“I think your friends like me,” I whispered in his ear.

“Yeah?” His warm breath skimmed my ear, making goosebumps crawl all over my body. “I really like you. Though you had me scared.” There was a funny tone to his voice.

I pulled back and looked at him.

“Hank Sharp, are those tears in your eyes?” I couldn’t help but tear up myself.

“Promise me you’ll never, ever, ever, and I mean ever try to solve my cases again.” He tugged me closer. “You almost got killed twice this time.”

I pulled back again. I smiled before I planted a kiss on his lips—with my fingers crossed behind his back.

I knew I could never make a promise to him that I certainly could never keep.

RECIPES AND CAMPING HACKS FROM MAE WEST AND THE WOMEN IN NORMAL, KENTUCKY and HAPPY TRAILS CAMPGROUND

RV HACK #1

Take a square of sandpaper for easy lighting and waterproofing for matches.

Matches are an absolutely indispensable item when you’re camping, and always seem to be the first things that gets soggy or wet, making them unable to use.

Fine-grained sandpaper will fix your problem. Glue the sandpaper to the inside of the lid of a small waterproof container that will hold your matches.

The sandpaper provides a large, coarse surface for striking your matches and will be protected by the waterproof container. Perfect solution to any soggy match problem and your guaranteed to get a flame going!

Beer Braised Short Ribs:

Ingredients

3-4 plate short ribs, separated and trimmed
salt & black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons canola oil

4 carrots, chopped

1 leek, chopped, white & light green parts only

4 garlic cloves, minced

64 ounces beef stock

24 ounces dark beer, stout or porter

12 ounces tomato paste

Directions

1. Get campfire good and hot

2. Rub short ribs with olive oil then thoroughly season with salt and black pepper.

3. Place pan on grill to preheat for 2-3 minutes. Add canola oil to the pan and brown the short ribs for about 2 minutes per side. Pull off and set aside. Dispose of any fat that had rendered inside the pan.

4. Brown the carrots, leeks, and garlic in the pan (about 2 minutes). Once browned, add beef broth, beer, and tomato paste. Stir and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add short ribs back to pan making sure that the majority of the ribs are immersed in the broth mix. Cover the Fish Pan with tin foil and remove from heat.

6. Adjust campfire temperature to 350 F. Place the pan back on the campfire and let cook until beef ribs are soft and tender (about 4-5 hours). You can tell they are ready when you can easily pull the meat apart with just a fork.

Camping Hack #2

SILICA PACKS

Keep your camping cookware rust free with those little silica packs!

You know those silica gel packets that seem to appear in every product like shoes and we worry our animals will eat them or even our children?

They are actually suck up moisture. That’s why I suggest you collect them from whatever packages you buy and keep them away for your animals or children.

When in an RV or camping, cookware tends to get moisture and sometimes rust. You can put one of the little silica packs in your cookware between uses to help prevent any rust spots!

Amazing right?

Big Oreo Skillet Cookie

Ingredients

30 oz tube of pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough

14.3 oz bag Oreo cookies

Instructions

1. Take your Pillsbury cookie dough ( any type is good) and press into the bottom of the cast iron skillet.

2. Chop up one package of Oreo’s.

3. Press the Oreo's into the cookie dough.

4. Bake in a 350 degree over a campfire for 17-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

RV Hack #2

Often times I hear people complain about not enough storage in RV’s. Well, they’ve come a long way by coming up with creative ideas to help increase storage space.

But, if you’re still needing a little extra storage, I’ve found a great little tip on how to use those hanging shoe pockets!

Cut shoe holder racks and place around bed frame for hidden storage. The cloth pouches are just the right height and size for smaller items. Try it! It’s great!

Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients

1 pounds or 2 medium sweet potatoes

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon paprika
olive oil

Instructions

1. Cover sweet potatoes with water in a large pot and boil for 5 minutes or until they are tender, drain and remove the skin.

2. Dice sweet potatoes into  half-inch pieces. Toss in the mixture of salt, garlic powder, paprika, and ¼ cup of olive oil.

3. Heat  cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add a couple of tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add potatoes and cook until browned on the first side, 3-5 minutes. Add peppers, onions, and garlic. Stir well to combine.

4. Cook, stirring often, until the veggies are browned on all sides

Also by Tonya Kappes

Magical Cures Mystery Series

A CHARMING CRIME

A CHARMING CURE

A CHARMING POTION (novella)

A CHARMING WISH

A CHARMING SPELL

A CHARMING MAGIC

A CHARMING SECRET

A CHARMING CHRISTMAS (novella)

A CHARMING FATALITY

A CHARMING DEATH (novella)

A CHARMING GHOST

A CHARMING HEX

A CHARMING VOODOO

A CHARMING CORPSE

A CHARMING MISFORTUNE

A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery

BEACHES, BUNGALOWS, & BURGLARIES

DESERTS, DRIVERS, & DERELICTS

FORESTS, FISHING, & FORGERY

CHRISTMAS, CRIMINALS, & CAMPERS

MOTORHOMES, MAPS, & MURDER

CANYONS, CARAVANS, & CADAVERS

HITCHES, HIDEOUTS, & HOMICIDE

ASSAILANTS, ASPHALT, & ALIBIS

VALLEYS, VEHICLES & VICTIMS

A Southern Cake Baker Series

(under the pen name of Maymee Bell)

CAKE AND PUNISHMENT

BATTER OFF DEAD

A Ghostly Southern Mystery Series

A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING

A GHOSTLY GRAVE

A GHOSTLY DEMISE

A GHOSTLY MURDER

A GHOSTLY REUNION

A GHOSTLY MORTALITY

A GHOSTLY SECRET

Killer Coffee Mystery Series

SCENE OF THE GRIND

MOCHA AND MURDER

FRESHLY GROUND MURDER

COLD BLOODED BREW

DECAFFEINATED SCANDAL

A KILLER LATTE

Kenni Lowry Mystery Series

FIXIN’ TO DIE

SOUTHERN FRIED

AX TO GRIND

SIX FEET UNDER

DEAD AS A DOORNAIL

TANGLED UP IN TINSEL

DIGGIN’ UP DIRT

Spies and Spells Mystery Series

SPIES AND SPELLS

BETTING OFF DEAD

GET WITCH or DIE TRYING

A Laurel London Mystery Series

CHECKERED CRIME

CHECKERED PAST

CHECKERED THIEF

A Divorced Diva Beading Mystery Series

A BEAD OF DOUBT SHORT STORY

STRUNG OUT TO DIE

CRIMPED TO DEATH

Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series

SPLITSVILLE.COM

COLOR ME LOVE (novella)

COLOR ME A CRIME

Grandberry Falls Series

THE LADYBUG JINX

HAPPY NEW LIFE

A SUPERSTITIOUS CHRISTMAS (novella)

NEVER TELL YOUR DREAMS

Bluegrass Romance Series

GROOMING MR. RIGHT

TAMING MR. RIGHT

Women’s Fiction

CARPE BREAD ’EM

Young Adult

TAG… YOU’RE IT