Murder at Camp (Pineville Gazette Mystery Book 5)

by Wendy Meadows

  “Dylan and Tom were definitely scared,” Stephanie agreed. “But why and who of? Mr. Delston?”

  Andy shrugged his shoulders. “Stephanie, right now your guess is as good as mine. All I can say is that maybe it’s better to go back to town with a card up our sleeve instead of empty-handed.”

  “But...Mr. Mintson has a pistol,” Betty worried. “And Mr. Roltdale said we had one hour to return to the lake. Even if we do go back, I’m sure they’ll be very angry with us...and even try to harm us.”

  “Not if we play dumb,” Mary pointed out. She looked at Andy. “And not if Andy stays out of sight.”

  “I can stay out of sight,” Andy promised.

  Mary drew in a deep breath and studied the sky again. “Andy, no more than half an hour passed between the time Betty and I arrived, Jennifer died, and the tires to our cars were cut. Where were you during that time? What I mean to ask is...did you see anyone...a strange vehicle...anything?”

  Andy shook his head. “Mary, I parked my truck where I always do and headed for the lake. I spotted Stephanie at the lake with Roltdale, Mintson, and his wife. It wasn’t long after that you arrived with Betty.” Andy rubbed his chin. “When I saw Roltdale leaving with Mintson and his wife I decided to see what they were up to, made my way back to the parking area. That’s when I noticed all the tires had been cut. I ran to my truck and found the tires cut and decided to go back to the parking area and stay out of sight. A few minutes later I saw Mintson appear. He looked around at all the cut tires and I could tell he was panicked. He took a pistol out of his car and ran back down the main trail. That’s the truth of it.”

  “We believe you,” Mary assured Andy.

  Andy sighed a breath of relief. “When I saw you three appear in the parking area and heard you talking...heard Stephanie kicking my name into the mud...I decided it was time to stop hiding.”

  “Andy, you really have no idea who cut the tires?” Stephanie pleaded.

  “Whoever cut the tires worked awful fast,” Andy told Stephanie. “It’s like Mary said, no more than half an hour passed. During that time I didn’t see anyone, didn’t hear another car.”

  Mary looked at the missing bridge. “Maybe it was a team effort,” she whispered.

  “What, Mary?” Stephanie asked.

  “Maybe it wasn’t just one person who cut the tires,” Mary suggested and pointed at the dark hole the wooden bridge had once stood over. “Maybe we’re talking about a team effort here.” Mary looked at Andy. “Maybe the same man who fixed the bridge knew exactly how to destroy it.”

  “Mary, if what you’re saying is true...we’re talking an entire county full of corrupt men,” Andy said in a worried voice. “Men who control the judge and the law.”

  Mary looked toward the trail. “All of our answers are back at the camp,” she said. “We have to make Tom and Dylan talk. Something tells me those two are connected to each other dangerously.”

  “Oh my,” Betty said, “I had a feeling you were going to say that, Mary. Mother would definitely be angry.” Betty heard the raging river enter her ears. She saw a shadowy killer throwing her body into the river and shivered all over. “But what Mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Besides, finding the answers we need might be the only way to save our lives.”

  Stephanie walked over to Betty and put her arm around the woman’s scared shoulders. “When we were little girls, you never left my side, Betty. You haven’t changed one bit. I’m so proud to call you my friend and I do love you so very much.”

  Betty blushed. “Well...I’ve seen quite a bit of murder lately and I’m learning to be brave.”

  “Just like when we got lost in the old cave. Remember?” Stephanie asked. “You told Mary and me to stay out of the cave but we didn’t listen.”

  “I waited a full two hours,” Betty said. “When you and Mary didn’t come out of the cave, I tied a rope around a tree and went in...but then the rope ended.”

  “You untied yourself, explored the cave, and found Mary and me wandering around lost as can be.” Stephanie smiled.

  “Scared as can be is more like it,” Mary pointed out and gave Betty a loving smile. “You managed to get us out of that cave safe and sound, Betty.”

  “Only because I marked the walls with a rock every few steps.” Betty blushed. “I followed the markings back to the rope and the rope back outside.”

  “Sounds to me you were a real hero,” Andy told Betty.

  Betty’s checks turned even redder. “Not really...I...when my eyes hit daylight I...fainted.”

  Stephanie hugged Betty. “You may have fainted, but you saved our lives.”

  Mary squeezed Betty’s shoulder. “We’re in another cave, tossing a lot of questions off the walls. But if we stick together, I think we can figure this case out and find daylight.”

  Betty looked into Mary’s caring, warm eyes and felt a whisper of hope enter her frightened heart. “I guess we should start walking back toward camp.”

  “I guess so,” Mary said and looked at Andy. “Andy, get into the woods, stay out of sight, and follow us back to camp. Stay close...especially when we encounter Tom and Dylan. Be prepared to come to our rescue, too. I think if we play dumb we might be able to fool Tom and Dylan, but there’s no telling what they might do. It’s a chance we’re going to have to take...for now, anyway.”

  Andy looked up at the sky. “I say we have one hour before the storm arrives. We better hurry,” he said and without saying another word hurried into the woods and simply vanished.

  Stephanie watched Andy disappear into the woods like a whisper. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I thought you were the bad guy. I should have known who the real bad guys were.”

  Mary grabbed Stephanie’s hand. “I’m sure Andy has forgiven you,” she said and began walking back toward camp on nervous legs. “Right now we have to come up with a game plan. There are two tigers loose inside your camp, Stephanie, and we have to figure out how to cage them without getting ourselves killed. So let’s think smart and be smart...that’s what my husband always tells me and I don’t want to start disappointing him now.”

  Stephanie reached out and took Betty’s hand. “Okay, girls, let’s put our minds together and come up with a plan,” she said, feeling Andy’s loving eyes on her back.

  What Stephanie didn’t know was that while Andy was watching her...someone was watching Andy; someone that money couldn’t buy.

  Chapter Five

  Mary felt a raindrop splash onto her face. “Uh-oh, rain,” she announced and hurried to the trunk of her car. She snatched it open and began digging under the suitcases and spare tire. “Oh, I could have sworn I put my umbrella in the trunk.”

  “Backseat,” Betty said, shifting her eyes around from one shadowy tree to another, listening to the winds howling through the woods like a lost, angry voice searching for a victim to scare.

  “That’s right,” Mary told Betty in a grateful voice. She slammed the trunk closed, hurried to the right back passenger’s door. She opened it, spotted a brown umbrella, and grabbed it up. “Found it.”

  Stephanie watched Mary close the passenger door with uneasy eyes. “No sign of Dylan or Tom,” she pointed out. “I suppose they could still be down at the lake...or maybe in a cabin? Or maybe they left on foot?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Mary replied. Deep inside of her heart she felt fear, uncertainty, and danger beating like loud, insistent drums. However, Mary knew that she had no one to depend on except herself, Betty, Stephanie, and a man who seemed to be seeking...hunting for...some kind of absolution that he changed into the form of gold. There were no good sheriffs or white knights waiting around the corner to rescue her. She was trapped in the deep woods, miles from town—an eternity away from her safe, warm home resting in Pineville, Tennessee. The big, bad monsters were not going to run away. The only way Mary knew she was going to survive was to roll up her sleeves and fight. “Let’s walk to the lake.”

  “If
we must,” Betty whimpered. She huddled close to Mary. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

  “Don’t worry,” Stephanie whispered, “Andy is watching us. I can feel his eyes on me right now.”

  Mary struggled to spot Andy but her eyes saw only shadowy woods that seemed to be slowly transforming into a strange and scary whisper that she refused to listen to. “Let’s go,” she said and cautiously began making her way back up the trail toward the camp. Step by step, she walked past tall, beautiful trees soaked with autumn leaves that suddenly turned into skeletal fragments of horror saturated with nightmarish delights. “Stop it, girl,” Mary whispered. “Trees are trees...don’t get spooked.”

  Betty grabbed Mary’s free hand and carefully stepped over a small log. “My feet are killing me, Mary,” she confessed. “I really want to sit down when we can.”

  “We’ll rest soon,” Mary promised.

  Stephanie took Betty’s other hand, squeezed it with love, and let go. “My feet are hurting, too,” she whispered.

  “I wish we were back home,” Betty whispered back, watching Mary push a tree limb away from her face. “I wish we were all sitting in the diner eating a slice of hot apple pie.”

  “Oh, that sounds wonderful,” Mary whispered back as second raindrop...and then a third...and then a fourth...began striking her face. “Uh-oh, here comes the rain.” Mary popped open the umbrella. “Everybody get under.”

  “It’s going to be a tight fit,” Stephanie said and squeezed her body under the umbrella just as the sky opened. Rain gushed out, rushed down to the woods, fought through the tree limbs, and began pounding on the top of the umbrella.

  “My, look how dark the woods are getting,” Betty said in a creepy voice, hugging Mary’s right side as close as she could in order to make room for Stephanie. “It’s like...it’s almost night.”

  Mary looked down the dark trail and drew in a brave breath. “Okay, girls, I doubt Tom and Dylan will be at the lake. Not in this rain. I think we need to search the main cabin first.”

  “You’re the brains,” Stephanie told Mary. “I’ve never doubted your smarts once.”

  “You might this time around,” Mary said and began walking down the trail, worrying about Andy. “I hope Andy is okay.”

  “Me, too,” Stephanie sighed. “I...can’t believe I was so wrong about him.”

  “Being wrong doesn’t make you a bad person, Stephanie,” Betty said, keeping her eyes peeled out for monsters. “Sometimes we read people wrong...judge a book by its cover...refuse a slice of good pie because the crust is burnt...stay inside because the sky looks a little gray...”

  “I think Stephanie understands,” Mary told Betty and smiled at her best friend. “I think we all do.”

  “Oh...yeah.” Betty blushed.

  “Sometimes being wrong takes a toll on the heart,” Stephanie told Betty as she searched the heavy rain for any sign of human movement. The trail was wet and silent. “Maybe the time will come when I will be able to tell Andy how sorry I really am. Maybe I can offer to cook him dinner or...maybe even offer to share the land with him?”

  Mary began to speak but stopped when she spotted a dark shadow appear on the trail in front of her. She froze. The shadow froze, looked in her direction, and then vanished into the woods. “Was that...Andy?” Mary asked, feeling chills run down her spine.

  “No way,” Stephanie whispered in a scared voice. “Andy...Andy...” Stephanie shook her head. “Betty, Mary, what exactly did you see?”

  “A long-haired man,” Betty said in a terrified voice. “A very tall man with long hair.”

  “Wearing a black shirt,” Mary added.

  Stephanie eased her eyes in the direction the strange man had vanished. “I...” she tried to speak and then shook her head. “I...we better call for Andy.” Stephanie spun around, dipping half of her body out into the rain, and yelled: “Andy!”

  Mary turned around and searched the rainy woods. Andy was nowhere in sight. “Andy!”

  Betty, feeling absolutely terrified, began to feel weak. “I think I might...faint.”

  “Oh no...please,” Mary begged. She pushed the umbrella into Stephanie’s hands and grabbed Betty. “Stay with me...don’t faint...please.”

  “Andy...please!” Stephanie called out. “We saw a stranger on the trail! Andy...where are you?” Andy didn’t answer. “Where is he?” Stephanie worried.

  Mary began fanning Betty’s pale face. “I don’t know,” she answered. “We better hurry and get to the camp.”

  “I...guess you’re right,” Stephanie said and rushed off with the umbrella, dragging Mary and Betty along. When she reached the hill that looked down at the camp a strange feeling came over her. “The camp is empty...Dylan and Tom aren’t here...I can feel it.”

  Mary pointed at the main cabin. “Hurry,” she begged. She kept her arm firmly wrapped around Betty as the three of them rushed to the main cabin. “Up we go,” she told Betty. Betty managed to climb up onto the front porch and then forced her legs to follow Mary through the front door. Once inside Mary let go of Betty and began searching the front room. “It doesn’t look like anyone has been in here.”

  Pausing on the porch, Stephanie whiffled out the umbrella and closed it. She stepped inside and shut the front door just as thunder erupted and shook the cabin. “The storm is going to be awful,” she told Mary and Betty. “And we’re trapped like skunks in a cage.”

  Mary checked the front door. She located a rusty lock and quickly engaged the lock into place. “Any idea who the man we saw on the trail is?” she asked Stephanie, even though she knew very well what her cousin’s reply was going to be.

  “No,” Stephanie answered Mary. She hurried over to a window. Rain was pouring in through the broken window panes, splattering down onto the wooden floor, but Stephanie didn’t care. Her mind was focused elsewhere. “That man must have Andy,” she said in a voice filled with grief and sorrow.

  Mary walked over to Stephanie, took the umbrella from her, and shook her head. “Whoever that man was, he could have been watching us the entire time. What’s more,” Mary pointed out in a voice that sent chills down her spine, “the man we saw might not be alone.”

  Stephanie searched the dark woods through the window, forcing as much calmness to her mind as possible. She ran her eyes from one wet tree to another, from one bush to another, from one cabin to another, searching for Andy. “Mary?”

  “Yes?”

  “Mary...this is the Lord’s year of nineteen hundred and forty-three,” Stephanie spoke in a voice that reminded Mary of a broken mirror. “Men...not the usual men you see about town...do not wear their hair long.” Stephanie forced her eyes away from the window and focused on Mary and Betty. “American Indian men...men who lived in this area...wore their hair long. Do you...understand?”

  Betty’s eyes grew wide. “Stephanie...are you saying that creepy man we saw is—”

  “All I’m saying is that the American Indian tribe that once lived on this land were hunters...a fierce people, according to the history books, who understood how to survive cruel winters, hot summers...who understood how to live off the land and flourish.” Stephanie stepped away from the window. “The men of the tribe wore their hair long,” she continued. “Before the men allowed their land to be taken they fought...oh, they fought so brave and gallantly. But a bullet is deadlier than an arrow. The tribe who lived in on the land refused to make a treaty...so the Army was dispatched to take the land from them. The tribe was peaceful until they were forced into battle.” Stephanie glanced at the window. “I believe the man we saw might be...a member of the tribe that was forced off this land? I could be wrong.”

  “Golly,” Betty gasped.

  Mary walked to the window and peered out into the storm. The trees were swaying back and forth, unable to stand firm against the howling winds. The rain was flooding down from an ominous sky like a raging river, soaking the land with mystery and fear. In this distance Mary spotted the lake which was now
a thunderous sea throwing furious waves down onto the shore.

  “And here we stand trapped,” she whispered. “Oh, John, how do I keep getting myself into these messes? You’re the one flying dangerous missions over Europe. You left me in charge of a peaceful newspaper office...”

  Stephanie looked around the room. “Well,” she said, “until the storm passes we’re trapped in here.”

  “When do you think the storm will pass?” Betty asked.

  “Not for a while, I’m afraid,” Stephanie told Betty and hugged her arms. “Dylan and Tom are missing...I can accept that. Maybe the man we saw did us a favor. It’s Andy that I’m worried about.”

  Mary turned from the window. “The man on the trail could have harmed us but didn’t,” she said. “I think he wanted us to know that he’s watching us.”

  “But why?” Stephanie asked. “I was barely beginning to understand the awful game Dylan and Tom were playing...and I still don’t have their game completely figure out. And now we have to worry about someone else lurking out in the woods.” Stephanie felt despair cover her heart. “Oh, this is hopeless. Why don’t people just come out of hiding and make themselves known instead of playing these silly games? At least Dylan and Tom didn’t hide in the shadows.”

  “Oh, they were hiding in the shadows, all right,” Mary promised Stephanie. “They—” She was interrupted by a banging on the front door.

  “Let me in...let me in!” a man begged in a voice filled with horror.

  “It’s Tom Mintson,” Stephanie whispered and looked at Mary. “What do we do?”

  Mary rushed to the front door. “Let him in,” she whispered. “As soon as he walks through the door, I’ll attack him with this umbrella. Betty, get over and help me.”

  “Oh dear,” Betty gasped as Tom continued to beat on the front door. She ran to Mary and drew in a shaky breath, thinking of her poor mother being romanced by a wrinkled up prune, and waited for Stephanie to open the door.

  “What if Dylan is with him?” Stephanie whispered in a frantic voice.