The vanishers, p.23
Blossoms, Barbeque, & Blackmail: A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Series Book 20 (A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery Series), page 23
Blossoms, Barbeque, & Blackmail
A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery
Tonya Kappes
Contents
Free Book!
A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery
Preview
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
BIG Cast-iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
Camper Hack #1
Campfire Skillet Mexican Potatoes
Camper Hack #2
Skillet Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Supper
Camper Hack #3
A NOTE FROM TONYA
About Tonya
TONYA KAPPES
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A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery
A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery
BEACHES, BUNGALOWS, & BURGLARIES
DESERTS, DRIVERS, & DERELICTS
FORESTS, FISHING, & FORGERY
CHRISTMAS, CRIMINALS, & CAMPERS
MOTORHOMES, MAPS, & MURDER
CANYONS, CARAVANS, & CADAVERS
ASSAILANTS, ASPHALT, & ALIBIS
HITCHES, HIDEOUTS, & HOMICIDE
VALLEYS, VEHICLES & VICTIMS
SUNSETS, SABBATICAL, & SCANDAL
TENTS, TRAILS, & TURMOIL
KICKBACKS, KAYAKS, & KIDNAPPING
GEAR, GRILLS, & GUNS
EGGNOG, EXTORTION, & EVERGREENS
ROPES, RIDDLES, & ROBBERIES
PADDLERS, PROMISES, & POISON
INSECTS, IVY, & INVESTIGATIONS
OUTDOORS, OARS, & OATHS
WILDLIFE, WARRANTS, & WEAPONS
BLOSSOMS, BARBEQUE, & BLACKMAIL
JACKETS, JACK-O-LANTERN, & JUSTICE
SANTA, SUNRISES, & SUSPICIONS
LANTERNS, LAKES, & LARCENY
Preview
The day was too pretty to be stuck inside of the campground office. I grabbed my phone and earbuds on my way out and put on the local radio station, which was run by the National Parks Department.
A quick stroll around the campground while bebopping to some jams felt so good with the warm sun on my face. I loved all seasons in Kentucky, but today summer was my favorite.
Ask me again in the fall, and I’d say fall was my favorite.
I loved living here, deep in the woods. The rough, cracked ridges of the tree barks that made the distinct line between the forest and the campground was a beautiful sight on its own. I walked behind the campers to take a good look at the bright-green hanging moss, only to walk right into a spiderweb.
“Pft. Pft.” I dragged my hand across my cheek to get the invisible threads off. I even stopped to make sure there weren’t any spiders on my chest or arms.
We are interrupting the forty-five minutes of uninterrupted music to bring you a new alert.
Local man Jason Dresser was found dead this afternoon in what Sheriff Al Hemmer is calling a homicide. “At this time, we can say Mr. Dresser did succumb to his injuries he sustained from an apparent robbery at his home. There was a 9-1-1 call placed from Mr. Dresser, and we don’t have any details on what the call said or consisted of. We are not ruling out any suspects at this time but asking anyone with information that could lead to an arrest to come forward. Anonymous tips are welcome as well. I don’t have anything to add at this time but will keep you updated as new information becomes available.”
Jason Dresser was arrested last year after he’d gone hunting and accidentally killed twenty-six year old Monica Patillo. He was out on bail until his trial which was to start next week.
Immediately, my shoulders slumped.
Carrie Patillo’s clenched teeth and seething tone were tattooed on my brain.
“I will kill you.”
Chapter 1
The lazy heat drifting up from the water told me it was time for me to paddle the kayak back to the shore. I’d drifted long enough down the stream that ran along the front of the Red Fox Trail, the trail that lead straight up to Happy Trails Campground.
I was living the old saying about camping being good therapy. After all, I’d been keeping myself busy after the last few months so I didn’t think about Hank Sharp, my ex-boyfriend, moving away to take a job clear across the state of Kentucky. Now that I’ve settled into the fact he wasn’t coming back and letting myself feel the feelings, I’d taken that old saying seriously.
The bubbles rippling up through the water made me smile at the fact there was so much life to explore in the Daniel Boone National Forest and not just as the owner of Happy Trails Campground. Letting myself take on new adventures, like lying in a kayak for hours, was something new to me. I was always on the go-go-go and making sure everyone around me was okay, and I’d completely neglected myself.
I reached down next to me to grab the oar. Laughter echoed off the tall trees, reminding me that even deep in the woods I wasn’t alone. A couple of swipes of the water with my oar to the right and then to the left, repeating the pattern over and over as the kayak slid across the water upstream was a good workout. I only stopped for a moment to take in the waterfall and watch as the water lapped over the stone edges to settle in the pool where a family of hooded mergansers were enjoying themselves.
Yip! Fifi, my toy poodle, wanted to say hello to the duck family before she decided to join them, jumping out of the kayak and into the water.
“Fifi, get back here.”
I shifted course by maneuvering my oar to paddle in her direction. Her little head bobbled up over the water’s surface. She was so lazy. She knew her hot-pink life jacket would keep her above water, so she spent her energy on talking to the ducks before they decided they wanted nothing to do with her and flew off.
“I told you to stay.” I reached over the side and grabbed hold of the life jacket, pulling her wet body back into the kayak. “You just never listen.” I pulled the beach towel from underneath me and wrapped her up in it to sop up the water.
She shook, spraying the extra water I’d not gotten off with the towel, sending droplets all over me.
“Pft, pft.” I spat and held my hands up to my face to try and shield any from going into my mouth.
Now, after paddling a bit faster to get back to Red Fox Trail, Fifi decided her little swim had worn her out. She lay on the towel and let the warmth of the sun send her off into a nap. And this short rest was much needed for myself because once I hiked back up the trail to the campground, I was going to be all sorts of busy with tonight’s campground kickoff for my camping guests to this weekend’s Blossom Festival.
The Tour Southern and Eastern Kentucky Association was a group who hosted tours throughout Kentucky that traditionally featured the gorgeous springtime redbuds in and around the Bluegrass State. As a tourist town, Normal, where hiking and camping provided our main economic income, we capitalized on the Association’s tour by hosting what we called Blossom Festival.
It was taking place this weekend with most of the festival activities being hosted in downtown Normal, mainly in the grassy median area.
The water shoes were a lifesaver and saved my feet from not only slipping but getting poked by the uneven rocks when I hopped out at the banks to pull the kayak to dry land.
“Thanks,” I said to the young man who worked for Alvin Deters when he came to get the oars and kayak from me.
Alvin Deters and I had gone into business since the trail was located on my property that dumped down to the stream. Alvin was a local man who owned Deters Feed-N-Seed. He was once a kayak champion in his younger years, which made him a perfect person to go into business with, the opportunity to use the stream on the trail for an extracurricular activity for my guests. Though Alvin was in his later years of life, he enjoyed teaching kayak lessons to families that stayed at Happy Trails Campground when he wasn’t running the Feed N Seed.
“Let’s go, Fifi.” I called her to join me on the hike back up the trail.
She barked and chased the squirrels as she darted past me, pursuing them into the woods just off the edge of the path. The sunlight freckled my skin without the sweltering heat of the summer weather. Though I couldn’t see Fifi, I could hear her barking.
The dry leaves crunched under my water shoes with each step closer to the campground. Before too long, I’d be joining the group with the sound of laughter that fluttered on the light breeze whipping down the trail.
Red Fox Trail had gotten its name long before I’d moved into the campground. From what I understood and from what I’ve seen over the last few years liv
During the daylight hours, they were rarely seen, which meant it was okay for me to let Fifi run amok. It was when dusk fell over Happy Trails, Fifi never went outside without a leash and me attached to the other end.
“Maybelline!” Dottie Swaggert, the manager of the campground, waved her hands over her bright-red short hair to grab my attention as soon as I emerged from the forest. “You ain’t gonna believe what I’ve done.”
She pointed to Helen Pyle, the owner of Cute-icles Hair Salon. I could only imagine what the two of them were up to.
“Let me guess.” I tapped my temple after I’d made it over to the covered shelter on the outside of the recreational building at the front of the campground. “You two are bedazzling something?”
Helen and Dottie had gotten a bedazzling machine from a yard sale, and they’d been using that sucker on anything that couldn’t move away from them.
“No, but that would be a very good thing to do with a dress.” Helen couldn’t contain her grin no matter how hard she tried. “You’d be the purtiest one out there, Dottie.”
Dottie looked up into the open blue sky above like she was really noodling the idea. She crossed one arm under the other and held her cigarette out, away from her body, before she slowly brought it up to her mouth and took a long drag.
“Not a bad idea.” She wiggled her painted-on brows.
“So what dress is needing bedazzled?” I asked.
“I’ve just signed up to compete in the Ms. Blossom Festival Pageant.” Dottie blew a steady stream of smoke out of her mouth. “We can even put my winning title on the campground brochure.”
“Good idea,” Helen encouraged Dottie when Dottie needed zero encouragement.
“I can see it now.” Dottie uncurled her arms and spread her hands out in front of her, the cigarette leaving a trail of smoke. “Ms. Blossom Festival lives here.”
My phone chirped from my back pocket, and it couldn’t have been at a more perfect time.
“Mary Elizabeth.” I held the phone in the air. “Gotta take it.” I hit the green button. “Hey. Thank goodness you just saved me from probably saying something to Dottie that wouldn’t’ve been good.”
“Oh, good,” Mary Elizabeth, my adoptive mama, said with an upbeat tone. “I’ve got something to tell you.” She rushed to get it out. “I’ve entered the Ms. Blossom Festival.”
“You what?” I asked, so I could make sure I heard her and not replayed Dottie’s bit of news.
“Yep. I’m going to win too. With my southern hospitality and good manners, I just know I will woo the judges.”
Oh, dear me. Oh my, I sure didn’t misunderstand her.
“It’s going to be amazing. Not only will I get an interview with Channel 2 and a spread in the National Park Magazine as well as the Normal Gazette, but I will also get a five thousand dollar grand prize! Five thousand dollars!” Mary Elizabeth squealed. “That is the exact cost of the repairs from the fire.”
I glanced over at Dottie. Helen Pyle had her fingertips plunged into Dottie’s short red hair, pulling it up, taking a look at it, then using her fingertips to shake it out.
“I swear my ability to forgive Dottie for what she did is paying off in spades.” Mary Elizabeth was the co-owner of the Milkery, the local dairy farm, which had a bed and breakfast. When my foster brother married my dear friend, Abby, Dottie had accidentally lit one of the rooms at the bed and breakfast on fire when she decided to smoke.
Mary Elizabeth had been in such a shock the following days after, that it took her a minute to register Dottie was smoking inside when it was strictly prohibited. Since then, Mary Elizabeth had been a little bitter about it—okay, a lot of bitter—and things between them had been tense.
Mary Elizabeth had refused to hang out with my group of friends, the Laundry Club Ladies, which Dottie was a big part of, and now they both were going to be contestants in the Ms. Blossom Festival?
“May-bell-ine!” Dottie hollered at me. I pulled the phone down to my neck to see what she was saying. “I’m gonna git me a new do!” She pointed to her hair as Helen grinned from ear to ear.
I gave her the okay sign with my fingers and went back to the phone call with Mary Elizabeth. There was no way I could deal with both of them doing the pageant. I never ever would’ve thought the two of them would have interest in the sixty years and up pageant.
“Isn’t the pageant tomorrow night?” I questioned and looked to the entrance of the campground when I heard a car.
“Mm-hmm. I got in just before the deadline closed today at lunch and just got word I have been entered. So tonight when I come for the party, I’m going to need your fashion eye on how I walk. You have lived in New York City, and with all your swanky friends there, I’m sure you’ve been to plenty of fashion shows that had those catwalks. Plus, all of those manner and etiquette lessons you attended when you were in high school is still the standard today.”
I hated to burst her bubble, but I never attended any sort of pageant, nor did I ever want to be in a pageant, but she was right about one thing from my past life in the city: I did go to a lot of fashion shows. Looking back, I was sure my ex-now-dead husband, Paul, had sent me to those fashion shows to keep me occupied from finding out about his criminal ways.
“I’ll be over with my potato salad.” She hung up the phone.
I wandered up to the office to greet Ethel Biddle and her bandmates of Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys when their station wagon pulled around the corner and parked next to the recreational building where they’d be setting up for their music gig.
“Adolescent” was used very loosely.
“How’s the newlyweds?” Otis Gullett, the fiddle player, asked about Bobby Ray and Abby.
“You’ll be able to ask them yourself tonight. They’ll be here any minute.” I was especially anticipating Bobby Ray coming over since I’d not seen a whole lot of him lately.
When he got married, he moved out of the bungalow in the campground and bought the very cheap model home across the street from Ava Cox, a local lawyer, where he and Abby live now.
“Rosco!” Ethel’s dog jumped out of the station wagon. “Fifi will be so happy to see you.”
“That’s a change.” Ethel knew I had a little beef against Rosco when he couldn’t keep to himself that time she brought him to the campground during her first gig, when I was babysitting Fifi. Yep. I didn’t own Fifi at one time, but Rosco changed that.
Fifi was a very prestigious show dog, nationally recognized by the Kennel Club Association. She’d come from a long line of winners and her breed line was flawless until Rosco.
“If it weren’t for Rosco and his male dog ways, I wouldn’t’ve been given Fifi.” It was a real catch twenty-two. At the time, I was terrified to tell Tammy Jo, Fifi’s original owner, but when she abandoned the pregnant Fifi, I stepped in to care for the pooch. I wasn’t sure how to look after a dog full time, much less one that was prissy and pregnant. It turned out to be a good thing because it taught me to care for something other than myself. I’d like to think I wasn’t selfish before Fifi, but now I could see I was pretty selfish and only really took care of me. I’d like to think Fifi changed me for the better.
In other words, I had Rosco to thank for that.
“Come on, Rosco. Let’s go find Fifi.” I whistled for Rosco. He trotted down the campground road with me.
Happy Trails Campground was a full-service campground that offered lots to all classes of RVs. Most of those lots were in a large circle around the lake located in the middle of the campground and just past the office and recreational building.
We also had a tent-only section in the back and off to the left of the main campground just past the few bungalows we also rented.
