TABLE OF CONTENTS
SCARY SAUSAGE WAFFLE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
Scary
Sausage
Waffle
Book Thirteen
in
The Diner of the Dead Series
By
Carolyn Q. Hunter
Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott Books
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SCARY SAUSAGE
WAFFLE
Book Thirteen in The Diner of the Dead Series
PROLOGUE
* * *
“And make sure to huddle down somewhere warm tonight,” the radio announcer, Tommy the Tornado, boasted through the small car’s speakers. “We’ve got another one of those early spring storms heading your way.”
“Great, that’s all I need,” Pierce Larson muttered, keeping both hands on the wheel. Tapping his fingers nervously on the plastic of the wheel, he tried not to let the jitters get to him.
“Expect high winds, thunder, and heavy rain throughout Haunted Falls and the surrounding area.”
The sun was just beginning to set and the light on the horizon was burning into Pierce’s eyes, making it difficult to see the road. Blinking painfully, he began to squint. Already feeling exhausted from his trip, he knew that squinting would only make him more tired—and he didn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel. He was on a mountain road, after all, and one tiny nod off into slumber land could mean a rolling wreck into the ravine below.
“If only those darn clouds would come and block out the sun,” he complained, flipping the blinder down in front of his face in an attempt to remedy the problem. Unfortunately, it hardly helped the situation. “Shoot,” he muttered.
He considered searching for a small town motel to stay and wait out the night, and the supposed coming storm, but he hardly felt like he could afford it.
He was on his way to see some investors in Salt Lake City, Utah—a last-ditch effort to save his family business in Pueblo, Colorado. He ran a small dairy co-op which offered milk, cheese, and other fresh products from his very own farm of cows to the locals.
His piece of land wasn’t anything special, and neither were his handful of cows, but they were everything he had. He loved his farm dearly and hoped to keep his little business running not only for his own benefit but also for the benefit of his wandering daughter.
He hadn’t seen her in over a year and had little to no idea where she was.
She left on ill terms—cussing at him as she ran out the door. She claimed she wanted to see the world, not just some dirty farm in a nasty city. She blamed him for smothering her and making her life a living nightmare.
At this point, thinking back on that day, he was beginning to blame himself as well.
He figured that if he had only allowed her to continue dating that boyfriend of hers, she might have stayed. However, even now he couldn’t in good conscious have agreed to the coupling. The boy was a low-down, no-good bum. He hadn’t held a job in his life and clearly had no desire to. It was almost as if he hoped he could win his way into the family business by virtue of being the boyfriend. Well, there was no way he was going to allow that to happen.
Pierce would have blamed the boy right away for his own daughter’s disappearance, but he couldn’t overlook his own involvement in the issue. His constant nagging, his worrying, his desire to keep his daughter close to him forever. He had been a fool.
Meanwhile, the boy had disappeared only a few days after his daughter. Pierce could only assume the two had run off to Vegas to get married. Either that or the boy was chasing her down to find her for himself.
All of Pierce’s efforts to find his daughter were fruitless.
He had neglected the business, his farm, even his own health in his search. Now, he was in a financial bind because of his mistake.
He prayed the investors would be interested in supporting him, and prayed that someday soon his daughter would return home.
Reaching down from the wheel, he grabbed the glass bottle—once used for transporting and delivering milk—filled with warm, black coffee from a roadside restaurant he’d stopped at. He downed another few gulps. “There,” he whispered, screwing the lid back on and setting the bottle on the seat next to him, “Hopefully that will keep me awake.”
Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he went to readjust the blinder for better coverage and almost didn’t see the small wolf-like figure come darting out of the woods and across the road in front of him.
“Woah,” he shouted, gripping the wheel and turning it hard, attempting to dart around the creature. He screamed as the wheels of his tiny vehicle rolled freely across the rough pavement and into the dirt along the side of the road.
The brakes weren’t working at all—as if they never existed in the first place. He was just rolling faster toward the edge.
“No!” he shouted. Pumping the brake pedal uselessly, he frantically grasped the wheel, trying to regain control.
It was too late.
The front tire dug into the dirt and caught on an old tree root, splintering it into a thousand bits and sending the car toppling over and over into the trees—which caught the vehicle before it could go into the ravine.
Gasping for breath, Pierce knew he was in trouble. His head pounded and the warm sensation on his
forehead indicated blood. Worse than that, the steering wheel was pushed in against his belly, trapping him in place with little ability to breath.
“H-Help,” he attempted to scream, but no one heard.
The last thing he remembered was the strange hissing sound followed by the vibrant flash of orange light as the engine exploded.
CHAPTER 1
* * *
“Why didn’t we leave earlier?” Alison asked as she and her business partner Sonja Reed drove away from the Moon Vail Hotel. “It’s almost dark.”
“Because, this way the sun won’t be in my eyes,” Sonja informed her best friend. “Would you have rather me driven half blind?”
“I suppose not, but the sun is behind us.”
“Yes, but it would reflect in the mirrors and make it hard for me to navigate.”
“I’m not sure driving the mountain road in the dark is a better idea.”
“Hey, you were the one who wanted to stay behind and have dinner at the Cliffside Restaurant one last time,” she shot back.
The two women had spent the last seven days on a fully paid trip to the Moon Vail Hotel, a luxury resort, and spa. It was a “girl’s only” trip to help both of them find some peace and relaxation away from The Waffle Diner and Eatery they worked at and ran together.
Unfortunately, the first two days of the trip had been hindered by a murder in the hotel—one in which Sonja was forced to help uncover the truth. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Frank Thompson, had arrived to handle the investigation, but Sonja ultimately had figured out who was behind everything.
The hotel had been extremely grateful to Sonja and Frank for resolving the case and had extended the girl’s trip from five to seven days.
They had additionally offered Frank two free days at the hotel, one of which he spent with the girls. Unfortunately, he didn’t get his second day as he had paperwork and other police duties to attend to.
He had left days earlier to return to Haunted Falls, where all three of them lived.
It was now Sunday evening, and Sonja and Ally were finally leaving the hotel as well.
“Anyway, you don’t have to drive,” Sonja comforted her friend. “I’ll do it all myself.”
“I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse,” she groaned.
The redheaded driver couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“Do you think we’ll get another storm?” Ally asked, leaning forward to take in the darkening sky above them.
“Maybe. Did you look at the weather at all?”
“If I’d done that, I wouldn’t need to ask you, would I?”
“I suppose not.”
“It just looks like those black clouds have rolled in pretty quickly,” she noted, indicating the horizon which was quickly filling with giant, dark plumes of mountainous storm clouds.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine. The drive home only takes an hour or so,” she smiled. “But I’m sure with me driving it will be more like forty-five minutes.”
Ally continued to examine the sky, not acknowledging her friend's joke. “It looks like it could be pretty bad.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m trying,” Ally moaned, “but it’s hard. What if it’s like the last storm we had?”
“I’m sure it won’t be,” Sonja reassured her friend, reaching over and patting her shoulder.
The two women were quiet for a moment, and Sonja was worried about Alison. She had a habit of getting upset over little things, and a coming storm was sure to bother her—especially if they were stuck on a mountain road when it hit.
“What’s that?” Ally gasped.
Refocusing on the road, Sonja saw it too. The orange blaze of a roaring fire was like a beacon up ahead.
“Do you think it’s a forest fire?”
“With the rain we had this week? It seems unlikely,” she commented, hoping she was right. Up until the previous month, it had been a pretty dry in the Rocky Mountains. Forest fires always had a higher chance of getting out of control when everything was dry.
However, they’d had a torrential rainstorm at the beginning of the week which had soaked everything thoroughly.
Driving up close to the fire they saw three police cars parked along the shoulder, flares and emergency cones placed out in a semi-circle around what appeared to be a serious car wreck. Two of the cars belonged to the Haunted Falls Police Department and the third the Colorado State Police.
One of the Haunted Falls deputies, Greg, held up a hand for them to slow down.
As they approached, Sonja’s eyes widened in surprise. A small car lay on its side against a nearby tree, the engine ablaze. The flames were quickly trying to lick up any moisture on the tree itself, attempting to catch the precious bark and wood in its grasp.
“Greg,” Sonja shouted, rolling down the window. “What’s happening?”
The familiar deputy came running up to her window. “A car accident. The firetruck should be here any second. We don’t want that fire spreading.”
“No, of course not,” she agreed.
“Luckily, with the rain we’ve been having, it hasn’t caught yet.”
The faint sound of a siren in the distance indicated the fire truck was on its way.
“Sonja,” came the familiar cry. Frank was trotting over from behind the cones toward the van. “You picked a heck of a time to be driving through.”
“I guess so. Sounds like the fire truck is coming.”
“Thankfully,” he nodded. “We’re only here first because we were closer than the fire department. The state trooper was the one who spotted the wreck and called it in.” He waved toward the man in the state uniform. “For now, we’re just trying to keep things contained.”
“Was anyone hurt?” Sonja asked.
Frank’s face grew a little grim, his mouth turning down into a disappointed frown.
“Oh no,” Ally gasped from the passenger seat.
“When we arrived, it was too late. Looked like there was only one person inside, the driver. We think he may have died before the fire started.”
Sonja shuddered at the horrific thought of being trapped in a car and burned alive. It was the one method of death she never wished on anyone. “How did it happen?”
“Well, we think there may have been some trouble with the brakes on the car, but we can’t know for sure until we get this fire put out.”
“Do you think someone tampered with the brakes?” Sonja gasped.
Frank shook his head. “You know, Sonj’, not every death is a homicide.”
Sonja shrugged, unable to keep the possibility from entering her brain. She’d seen too many random murders in their mountain community to not at least ask.
A blink of white light filled the scene like flash from a camera, and a few seconds later was accompanied by a rolling boom. A few cold droplets plunked down on the catering van’s window.
“You two better get a move on,” he instructed them. “We’re supposed to get quite the storm tonight.”
“I knew it,” Ally groaned, the fear rising in her face.
“How bad is it supposed to be?” Sonja asked over a sudden gale of howling wind.
As Frank answered, another flash accompanied by an instant boom shook the mountainside. Sonja couldn’t make out what he had said.
“Get going,” he shouted, zipping the police issued leather coat up to his neck as rain drops began to blow against his face. “Before it gets worse.”
Without another hesitation, she pressed the gas and drove around the cones and further down the mountain road. She hoped they would beat the worst part of the storm.
Somehow, she knew they wouldn’t.
CHAPTER 2
* * *
“Sheesh, does it have to storm again?” Ally complained, watching the sky begin to open up like a water faucet. “Wasn’t that storm we had earlier this week enough?”
“You know what they say,” Sonja interjected, trying to keep the mood light. “April
showers bring May flowers.” If she could keep her friend calm, then maybe she could stay calm herself.
“I always hated hearing that rhyme,” she moaned.
“What’s so bad about it?”
“It’s what all the kids used to say on the playground. Like Tommy.”
“I know. And Tommy was just a little annoying then.”
“He’s a little annoying now,” Ally laughed.
Sonja had to laugh as well, thinking about the radio announcer’s constant grating voice between their favorite songs.
Unfortunately, their moment of good humor was shut down by another screeching clap of lightning and thunder.
The two women grew suddenly silent, almost as if in submission to the greatness of the storm. The rain began to pound down harder, coating the road in sheets of water. In the quiet, Sonja couldn’t help but think about the car wreck they’d just seen. She knew it was probably just a terrible accident, but for some reason, her intuition was bothering her.
She had a sixth sense for things like this, and right now her gut was telling her it was no accident. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing that for sure, and it wouldn’t matter if she did. She wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
“Goodness,” Ally whispered, her voice barely audible above the pelting water on the top of the van, “It seems like it’s going to be a bad one.”
“Turn on the radio,” Sonja ordered. She didn’t think she could take the sound of the storm and concentrate on driving at the same time.
Reaching down, Ally turned the knob on the old radio. A crackling sound filled the speaker for a second, followed by Tommy’s voice fading into reality. “—like it’s going to be a big one. The weatherman just informed me that we may even be getting some small hail this time around.”
“Hail,” Ally sputtered.
“If you are out on the roads, be careful. There is a chance of flash floods along all mountain passes.”
Scary Sausage Waffle (The Diner of the Dead Series Book 13) Page 1