Camping Caper

by Madison Johns

  “ATVs are dangerous,” I pointed out.

  “Y-Yes they are.”

  “Do you have anything to add?” Eleanor asked.

  “What makes you think that?”

  “I’m good at reading people.”

  Quinn took a look around before she said, “I was outside on a vapor break when our illustrious leader came to speak with me and Irene about Peggy, telling us to keep quiet about Peggy being missing.”

  “Vapor break?” Eleanor asked.

  “Yes, cigarettes are banned, but we have vapor pens we can use. They have fruity juices that don’t smell anything like smoke, even if I use one with nicotine.”

  “Why wasn’t Irene using one of those the other day when we spoke to her?”

  “Irene doesn’t much care what Mrs. Tuttle has to say.”

  “I hardly think a ban on smoking is a bad rule,” I said.

  “I just don’t understand why Mrs. Tuttle told us to not tell anyone that Peggy was missing the morning after the dinner.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t want anyone to panic because Peggy was missing.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Did you happen to see Peggy that night?”

  “No, but I was busy in the kitchen. Mrs. Tuttle had Irene in quite a frenzy about the menu and having it done on time.”

  “Is that normally an issue?”

  “No, but something was bugging Mrs. Tuttle.”

  I had a feeling, but it was something I wished to discuss with Eleanor alone.

  “Would you have noticed a man wearing a leather jacket?” I asked.

  “I sure would, but like I said —”

  “You were far too busy to notice,” I interjected.

  Quinn sighed. “I know I’m not much help.”

  “Are ATVs rented out?” I asked.

  “I believe Mrs. Tuttle loans them out, but I’m not sure. I’ve never used one at camp.”

  “We appreciate your help, Quinn.”

  I hurried to the door and Eleanor caught me outside. “What do you make of Mrs. Tuttle trying to keep things quiet about Peggy?”

  “It reaffirms my belief that we need to speak to Mrs. Tuttle again. I have more than a few questions for her.”

  “Yes, like why she lied about Joe Smith, for one.”

  I flagged down Moraine, who was walking past us clenching two ice cream cones that dripped on her flip-flop-clad feet.

  Before I could even open my mouth, Moraine said, “Not now, ladies. I have two scouts over there that will be disappointed if I don’t hurry and give them their cones before all the ice cream melts.”

  We stared in the direction Moraine indicated. Martha stood with the scouts from our troop. Yasmine and Kenna happily took the cones from Moraine and lapped them up while the other troop members did the same.

  “Children certainly don’t seem to mind if they get a nearly melted ice cream cone,” Eleanor observed.

  “I wonder where she got the cones. I’m feeling a little parched myself.”

  We wandered over to where scouts were lining up. When it was my turn, I stepped back in surprise to find Elsie and Marjorie manning the counter.

  “The last time I saw you two, you were driving a golf cart when you picked up Hailey,” I said.

  “And you were about to get into a kayak,” Elsie said. “And she thinks we’re crazy, Marjorie.”

  “I said no such a thing,” I insisted. “So how did you two get conned into passing out the ice cream?”

  “Well, Hailey told us she heard that there’d be no ice cream this year unless someone volunteered to hand it out,” Marjorie said. “And we couldn’t let the children down.”

  “So here we are,” Elsie announced as she called out, “Free ice cream cones!”

  “You better hope they have free washers and dryers here,” Eleanor said with a giggle. “You’re both covered head to toe in chocolate ice cream.”

  Elsie turned to Marjorie and with a finger removed chocolate ice cream from Marjorie’s face as they laughed. I was simply in shock.

  “Can I have an ice cream cone?” Eleanor asked.

  Marjorie frowned. “Sorry girls, but the ice cream is for the scouts only.”

  I sighed. “It’s just as well. We’re too busy for ice cream now. Come along, Eleanor.”

  “Don’t look for us later, ladies,” Elsie said. “We’re staying in a cabin over there,” she pointed.

  I glanced to where she pointed, where a row of small cabins stood. “Is that where —”

  “Yup. Only the staff stays there. Mrs. Tuttle likes to keep them close,” Marjorie said. “Now move along. More scouts are coming.”

  I took a step in the direction of the cabins, but Eleanor reminded me, “We’re going to talk to Mrs. Tuttle, remember?”

  “I know. I only wanted to see what their accommodations are like.”

  Eleanor shook her head as she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen either Elsie or Marjorie quite as happy.”

  “Or not bothered that they’re a sticky mess. I suppose children bring out the best in most people. And here I was thinking they were still searching for that elusive golf course.”

  Eleanor knocked on the door of Mrs. Tuttle’s cabin. The door was slightly ajar and swung open at her knock.

  Chapter 12

  I glanced around the woods. It was quiet. “How on earth did that door open on its own?” I whispered to Eleanor.

  She shrugged and I slowly pushed the door open and jumped nearly out of my skin at the loud racket. Eleanor pushed me further inside and we huddled together as we faced a black bear in the kitchen. While my knees went to knocking, the bear stopped its rummaging. With a snort he moved toward us and Eleanor pulled me aside as the bear ran through the cabin and disappeared out the door.

  “L-L-Luckily we left the door open,” Eleanor panted. “I-I thought he was gonna make a meal out of us.”

  “M-Me too.”

  I wandered into the cabin further and began to open doors to see if there might be a basement

  “It looks like there is a basement. We should go down there,” I suggested.

  “Are you crazy? What if there’s another bear down there?”

  “I highly doubt a bear would be down there, behind a closed door.”

  “A bear certainly was inside with the door closed,” Eleanor pointed out.

  “Yes, but it was ajar. The basement door is quite closed. Mrs. Tuttle might be hiding from the bear down there.”

  “I suppose we should check,” Eleanor said as her ample body shook.

  We slowly descended the stairs and I turned the light on. “It doesn’t look like Mrs. Tuttle is here,” I remarked.

  “No, but it appears there is a detailed map of the camp on the wall over there,” Eleanor pointed out. “Obviously Joe Smith knows what he’s talking about.”

  “It appears so,” I said as I walked over to the map. “I wish I could read this map. I’ve never been good at that,” I admitted.

  “I’m with you. I suppose there really isn’t any significance to a map in a basement, although it is a bit odd.”

  “I agree with that, but I’d think they’d have something like that behind glass. I’ve been to places that displayed maps like that before.”

  “I know what you mean. Should we take a look around down here to see if we can find anything that would help our case?” Eleanor asked.

  “No, we should leave. There’s nothing of much interest in the basement.”

  “There are some boxes over there,” Eleanor pointed out.

  “I hardly think we should riffle through Mrs. Tuttle’s belongings.”

  “Oh why not,” Eleanor said, “there’s nobody here to see us.”

  “Not yet, there isn’t,” I said in a panicked voice. “What if Mrs. Tuttle comes back?”

  “Good point. Let’s go then,” Eleanor sighed as we climbed the steps.

  When we reached the main floor a woman’s voice shouted, “Freeze!”
>
  We turned and held our hands high as Sheriff Wesley trained her gun on us. “Oh, it’s only you and your friend, Agnes,” Wesley said.

  “Only?” an enraged Mrs. Tuttle said. “You saw what they did to my kitchen. I called the sheriff when I heard you rummaging through my basement.” She nodded curtly. “Luckily the sheriff was nearby.”

  “We didn’t make that mess in your kitchen,” I exclaimed.

  “How do you explain it then?” Wesley asked.

  “We only came here to speak with Mrs. Tuttle,” Eleanor insisted.

  I sighed. “When her door was ajar we had to investigate. Mrs. Tuttle may have fallen, like many women our age do.”

  “That’s when we found a black bear tearing apart your kitchen, Tuttle,” Eleanor added.

  “I suppose he opened my refrigerator, too?”

  “Actually bears are known to do that,” Wesley said.

  “That doesn’t explain why they were in the basement,” Tuttle exclaimed. “You should check their pockets.”

  “What?” I asked in shock. “We only went down there to see if you might have taken refuge there. I’d certainly do that if a bear came into my house.”

  “I must admit that’s plausible, Mrs. Tuttle.” Wesley nodded. “Feel free to check your belongings to make certain they’re in order.”

  “Yes, run along and check,” Eleanor insisted. “Why exactly do you have a detailed map of this camp in your basement? Are you planning to sell it off to someone?”

  “Who told you that?”

  “I’m just good at guessing.”

  “Not this time. I’ll be right back, sheriff.”

  Sheriff Wesley walked into the kitchen and pointed out the claw marks on the floor. “Yup, black bear just like you said.”

  I walked over and noted the black hair caught in the door of the refrigerator. “We should speak to Mrs. Tuttle about this. What if that bear hangs around?” I asked.

  The basement door whipped open. “You’re lucky that none of my belongings have been touched.”

  “And you’re fortunate that Agnes and Eleanor got here before you. You might have had quite a time dealing with that black bear.”

  “What makes you think it was a bear for sure, sheriff?”

  Eleanor couldn’t wait to say, “Claw marks on the floor and black hair.”

  “Shouldn’t you call a posse of sorts, Tuttle?” I asked. “What if that bear roams around in camp. The camp might need to be evacuated.”

  “Nonsense! This is hardly the first time a bear has wandered into camp. I’ll make sure the leaders know to keep a watch out. They have already been told to keep their food locked up.”

  I wasn’t so sure, but nodded all the same. “Can we stay and help you clean up, Mrs. Tuttle?”

  Her brow arched nearly to her hairline. “Do you honestly want me to think you two want to help me clean my kitchen?”

  “Why not?”

  “I have the feeling you two don’t much care for me.”

  “That’s not true. We were only concerned that Peggy’s accident might have been foul play. We now know that it was merely an accident.”

  The sheriff put a finger in the air. “We might want to hold off on claiming cause of death. The coroner has his suspicions. Peggy’s body had marks on both her wrists.”

  “Like bruises?” I asked.

  “Ligature marks actually.”

  “So we were right,” I exclaimed. “I thought Peggy could have been forced to go down that hill.”

  “Whoever was with her might have jumped off right before the ATV hit that tree, while Peggy was tied to it? Wow!” Eleanor said with widened eyes.

  I sniffled for a moment. “Poor Peggy.”

  “It’s all preliminary right now, so please keep this between the four of us,” Wesley said. “I’ll be heading out now. I’ll send a few deputies out here to make sure that bear doesn’t cause any more problems tonight.”

  “Thanks, Wesley,” Tuttle said.

  “No time to waste,” I began, “how about we tackle that mess in the kitchen?”

  “And I suppose you’ll be asking me more questions now,” Tuttle said as she moved the trashcan close to the majority of the mess.

  “We did plan to ask you a few more questions. Why did you tell us that Joe Smith was the man you were arguing with that other day?”

  “And that he was out of town?” Eleanor added. “He’s one of the boys’ leaders, not a contractor.”

  “Assistant leader actually. I really detest being questioned by anyone, least of all a couple of amateur sleuths.”

  “We didn’t plan it that way. It’s just how it worked out,” I insisted as I picked up torn packages of food. “So if you weren’t talking to Joe, who were you really talking to?”

  “I have nothing to say about that. Besides I doubt you could have overheard anyone. Campers were walking back and forth to find campsites, workers were clearing the woods nearby and the shrill call of the birds. What makes you so certain that you heard what you thought you did?”

  I stared Tuttle dead in the eye. I knew what I had heard, but I acknowledged, “You might be right.” I smiled slightly because there was no way I could prove who she was talking to that day. “Of course, I’m wondering if you saw Peggy the night of the dinner.”

  “I believe I might have seen her roll up on an ATV. I had words with Peggy about it, too. I didn’t want the camp to be responsible if she broke her fool neck.” She swallowed hard. “Sorry, poor choice of words.”

  “Did you have a heated discussion with her?”

  “Fine, so maybe Peggy and I had an argument before she left for camp when I tried to secure the ATV.”

  “Why didn’t you act more concerned when we told you Peggy was missing?”

  “I didn’t want to admit something untoward had happened to Peggy.”

  “You could have at least acted concerned about her? It made me think you’re heartless and couldn’t care less if one of your leaders was missing.”

  “Somehow I think no matter what I say it will be wrong to you,” Tuttle insisted. Her eyes then lit up in anger. “Get out of here, the both of you, before I lose my temper.”

  “And why do you have that map hanging in the basement?”

  “I don’t have to tell you anything. Get out, the both of you.”

  I dropped what I held and it sloshed on Tuttle’s shoes. Eleanor followed me to the door.

  I was angry when we left but Eleanor didn’t say a word so I asked, “What do you make of that?”

  “Of what? You making Mrs. Tuttle so angry that she probably won’t speak to us again?”

  “I believe that we did that, and do you really think she won’t speak to us again?”

  “She said as much,” Eleanor reminded me.

  “I wonder why she wouldn’t tell us who she really was speaking to.”

  “Because she’s hiding something she doesn’t want us to know.”

  I yawned. “Keep an eye out for bears, would you?”

  When Eleanor and I wandered past the main cabin, I took a detour. We found the cook Irene and the leader Joe Smith talking as they had a smoke. So he did have a thing for her.

  “Hello,” I greeted them.

  Joe quickly put out his smoke. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “It certainly isn’t,” Irene proclaimed. “What are you two doing back here today?”

  “How did you know we were here earlier?”

  “Quinn told me. I only hope you won’t tell Tuttle that Quinn was talking about her.”

  “We were the ones who questioned Quinn,” Eleanor insisted. “It’s not like she supplied information voluntarily.”

  “Besides, we didn’t ask Tuttle anything that would be worth mentioning a name for, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Tuttle won’t be by asking questions. We found a bear in her cabin, by the way,” I said with raised brow.

  “Serves her right, speaking to us like we’re children,” Irene exclaimed. “Even
my parents had sense enough to not demand I do anything. Of course, back then we did what we were told.”

  “Now isn’t that the truth,” Eleanor said. “So she told all of you to hush up about Peggy being missing?”

  “You got that right,” Irene said.

  “I might need to stick around, Irene,” Joe suggested. “Bears can be mighty fearsome.”

  Irene shook her head. “We’ll all be on the alert. I hardly think Tuttle would allow you to camp over here even for the night, Joe.”

  “You have that right,” Mrs. Tuttle said from behind us.

  I jumped like I’d been caught doing something illegal, and so did Joe, Irene and Eleanor.

  “We heard about that bear in your cabin, Mrs. Tuttle.” Irene shuddered. “You must have been so frightened.”

  “Can it, Irene. I really can’t stand when someone kisses up to me.” She glared at Eleanor and me for a moment. “I only came here to tell you to make sure the garbage is secured in the Dumpsters. I didn’t expect to see any funny business going on, Irene. I can’t say you’ve ever done that before. You’ve always been a good employee.”

  “There’s nothing funny going on here. Joe was just leaving.”

  “Are you sure I shouldn’t stick around with a bear on the loose?” Joe asked.

  “Scram, Joe. I have it handled,” Tuttle replied.

  “Handled how?” Joe asked.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but the sheriff’s sending out a few deputies to secure the area. I plan to stop by each of the camps to make certain that each leader is on the alert, too.”

  “Shouldn’t we make use of the lodge?” Irene asked. “I remember a few times the scouts had to hole up there when a bear was lurking around until we were certain it had gone on its way.”

  “Wouldn’t it also be a good idea to get the Department of Natural Resources on the scene,” I suggested. “I’m certain they might want to assure themselves that the bear doesn’t cause any threat.”

  “Sounds like a good plan to me,” Eleanor added.

  Mrs. Tuttle’s face reddened. “If I needed your input, ladies, I’d ask for it. I’m captain of this ship.”

  “Oh? And do you plan to go down with it if one of the campers is injured or killed by that bear?” I asked with a raise of my chin.