Forests, Fishing, & Forgery

by Tonya Kappes

  Ty had walked over to another police officer he must know. I could hear them exchanging pleasantries about family members.

  “No wonder William was tying one on before his wedding,” Dottie said, a puff of smoke coming out with each word. “None of Harrison’s friends ever consoled me like that when Harrison died.”

  Dottie rarely spoke about her deceased husband and I always felt it wasn’t my place to ask. But she has just pushed the door wide open for me to walk through.

  “Harrison went missing?” I asked.

  “No, no. But still, his hands are a little too close to Miss Priss’s rump and she appears not to mind.” Dottie and I turned to watch a little more.

  “Do you think William is dead?” Granted, I had never let that cross my mind until now. The situation was getting more and more serious by the minute.

  “He’s either dead or in deep hiding.” Dottie brought the cigarette up to her mouth and took another puff. “From killing Ranger Ashbrook.”

  “You don’t think?” My jaw dropped. “I mean, I never thought for a second that William killed Corbin until you just put it in my head.”

  “Mae West,” she tsked, dropping the cig on the ground and snuffing it out with the tip of her shoe. “The minute Hank started asking questions about whereabouts and bringing in evidence, it became clear he was suspicious. After all, Corbin Ashbrook is a fourteen-year veteran of the force and Red Fox Trail isn’t the hardest hike he’s ever done. Immediately that darn Alison’s article popped right on in my head and been lingerin’ there since.” She rolled her finger around her short red hair. “Here she is, snapping away. Fitting in like all us normal people, blending in with the crowd.”

  Dottie had already put Alison on trial and come back with a murder verdict before we even knew if this was a murder. Her analysis was good, though.

  “Gosh.” I gnawed on the edge of my lip. “She did say she’d been investigating something big and it was about to come out. I wonder if. . .”

  Dottie lifted her chin towards Penelope and Jamison. They appeared to be walking towards us.

  “I wouldn’t say she’s the only suspect if Corbin was murdered,” I whispered so they couldn’t hear me as they got closer. “What about their friend, Mr. William Hinson?”

  “It doesn’t look good that he had a fight with Corbin and is all of a sudden missing.” My brow rose.

  I hated to think Alison would kill someone, but I’d learned real fast the motive for murder was sometimes about something very ridiculous. Not that a shutdown due to a drought was something to just roll your eyes for a business owner, but why did Alison take such a big interest in it when the newspaper wouldn’t be affected too much by a shutdown. It was definitely something to look into.

  “Hey, Alison.” I greeted her. “News travels fast.”

  “I have a police scanner alert app on my phone so I can get to a scene quicker.” She snapped a few more photos. “What can you tell me?”

  “Nothing. We can’t tell you nothin’.” Dottie was quick to answer. “Here they come,” she whispered about Penelope and Jamison walking over to us.

  Alison didn’t seem to hear, as she continued to walk around and take photos. I made a mental note to see her later since now wasn’t the right time to start asking questions about what she’d meant earlier when she said there was something big that was going to come out.

  I sucked in a deep breath. My eyes softened, and, with a sympathetic smile, I greeted Penelope. “Hi, Penelope, I’m Mae West. I’m very sorry we haven’t found William yet. But there’s no reason to believe he’s not going to show up.”

  “Do you think he’s dead up there somewhere?” Her southern accent was deep. Her blue eyes batted. She clutched her pearls with one hand and reached for Jamison with the other.

  “No.” I watched how easily their hands had come together. I’d expected him to give her a quick squeeze of reassurance before letting go, not a full-on, fingers entwined like they’d done it before handholding. “He was really intoxicated and I’m sure he’s just sleeping it off somewhere.”

  “Yep, there’s a lot of nooks and crannies out there to snuggle up in,” Dottie said through a smile. “Like Gina Chanel’s boobs down at Sugar Bears,” she whispered after she’d turned her head from them.

  “Are there bears in there?” Penelope’s face pinched with worry as much as it could with all the filler in her forehead and cheeks.

  I’d know that look anywhere. It wasn’t that long ago when I lived in Manhattan and seen the same smooth skin on most of mine and Paul’s friends. Even the men.

  “There are bears, but they rarely come on the trail.” I tried my best to assure her. My eyes followed Jamison’s hand as he slid it out of Penelope’s grasp and dragged a finger along her arm before settling her back into a hug and kissing her forehead.

  “Don’t worry. We are going to find him. This is a separate situation.” He pulled away when he seen the look on my face.

  Crunching leaves and some rustling from the entrance to the trail caught our attention. Hank Sharp walked out, scanning the area in front of him until he caught my eye.

  “Detective,” Penelope greeted him. “Does that dead man have anything to do with my William?”

  “I’m not sure. Remember the article I showed you at the station?” Hank asked her. “Well, that’s the ranger.”

  Penelope shrieked, falling right back into the arms of Jamison, who was more than ready to comfort her.

  “Why don’t I take Penelope into the office? I can get her a drink and have her rest until you get all of this cleaned up and out of here,” I told Hank in no uncertain terms that the campground was filled with residents as well as looky-loo campers just here to see what was going on and it couldn’t be good for business. “That way we can just be one less group of people in your way while you clean this up.”

  “That’s a good idea. Penelope, we can talk in a few minutes,” he said to her, but his eyes were focused on Jamison. I knew we were both thinking this was odd. It was something I’d ask him about later.

  “It’s just right over there.” I squeezed between her and Jamison, breaking the hold he had on her and taking her by the elbow. “When is your wedding?” I asked and noticed the sizeable sparkler on her ring finger.

  “Next month. I love fall weddings and he’s let me plan it all.” For a second, she appeared to have forgotten why she was here. “Do you think he’s okay? And what do you think the detective meant when he said that William could be involved?”

  “I’m sure he’s okay. I’ve never had this happen here.” Big deal if I left out the fact I’d not been here long, but she didn’t need to know that. I’m here now. “I think Detective Hank is just making sure he’s taking all circumstances into consideration.”

  “Yeah, William has caused problems here since they drove in a couple of nights ago,” Dottie grumbled and opened the door to the office. “I’ll grab us some food.”

  “That’d be great.” I showed Penelope to a chair in front of my desk.

  “I know William and his friends can get a little rambunctious. It’s all in fun. We are the first to get married out of the group.” She had a faraway look in her eye.

  “I guess he and Jamison have been friends a long time.” There was a little tug in my gut to start asking questions while I had her alone.

  Even though Ty didn’t want me to touch this case with my amazing, yet fumbled, newly found sleuthing skills, I had to be prepared for anything. Especially if my livelihood was dependent on it.

  “Why are you asking about Jamison?” There was a muscle spasm in her smooth jawline.

  “Isn’t he the best man? I figured they’ve been friends a long time.” I waved off the question to make her feel like she was off the hot seat.

  “Yes.” She eased down into the chair and crossed her ankles.

  She was one of those, my brow rising at my thought. When I was growing up, most of the girls who weren’t in foster homes had taken de
butante lessons. Of course I didn’t, but the girl next door did and she said they had a full month on how to properly sit in a chair.

  “They’ve been lifelong friends. I’m not going to say it’s not been a strain since the situation,” she emphasized.

  “Situation?” I asked.

  “I forget who I’m talking to.” She put her hand up to her pearls and laughed. “I don’t mind telling you since I know you don’t know them. But after Jamison caught his mom and William’s dad having sex in their pool house, it’s been a little tense.” She sniffled, lifting the top of her pointer finger to under her nose. “It’s been awful keeping this secret from William.”

  “He doesn’t know?” I asked.

  “No. He’d die. Jamison isn’t well off like William. Jamison is from the seedier side of our town, if you know what I mean.” She gulped back what appeared to be the start of some tears. “Apparently, it’s been going on for years. No one knew until now.”

  “How did you find out?” I asked.

  “It was during our couple’s shower. Jamison was so upset. I asked him why and he told me.” She blinked her long lashes slowly. “He begged me not to tell William.”

  “Why would he tell you something so burdensome?” I asked, but after she jerked back all wide-eyed, I quickly followed up with another question. “I mean, you’re getting married and it’s no way to start out a marriage with a lie.”

  The door of the office flew open. Dottie walked in with an armful of vending machine food. She dumped the loot on my desk and pulled out a couple of cans of soda from her pants’ pockets.

  “We don’t have any food left over from the Bible Thumpers?” I asked. “I mean, church ladies?”

  There was a lot of leftovers from the party.

  “These are good.” She grabbed a bag of Corn Nuts and ripped them open. “Go on, grab you something.” Dottie flung her finger from Penelope to the snacks.

  “I’ve not had hot fries in a long time.” Penelope scooted up on the edge of her seat. “I have to keep a good figure and all for my wedding.”

  “It looks like. . .”

  “Like you can use some comfort food,” I interjected because I knew Dottie was going to say something about the wedding not happening or something like that. I could see it in her eyes as she glared at me. I picked up the package and handed it to Penelope. “Here. We won’t tell anyone.”

  I tugged Dottie to the side, with our backs to Penelope.

  “Listen, something isn’t right here. I think Jamison knows more than he’s saying,” I whispered.

  “Ya think?” Dottie snorted. “He can’t keep his hands off of her and I ain’t so sure she doesn’t mind.”

  A knock on the door followed quickly by the door opening made us jerk our heads apart.

  “Can we come in?” Ty stood at the door with Fifi in his arms.

  “A puppy!” Penelope jumped up with a ring of red around her mouth where she had shoveled in the hot fries.

  “Penelope, this is my dog, Fifi.” Ty had to let Fifi down when she started to wiggle around in his arms when she saw me.

  “Have you been feeding her hot fries?” Penelope joked at Fifi’s weight.

  “No.” I snickered. “She’s pregnant by a pug named Rosco.”

  “My, oh, my.” Penelope bent down. “You naughty little poodle. Going to the other side of the tracks, huh?”

  Was she referring to Fifi or her situation with Jamison? I wondered. I had to tuck that question in my sleuthing folder in my head because Hank Sharp bolted through the door. He gave Penelope a second look when he saw the red ring remaining from the hot fries.

  “Did you find William?” She forgot about Fifi and went over to Hank.

  “No. But we did find this at the scene.” He held the evidence bag in his hand and lifted it up. “Does this belong to William?”

  Instantly, I recognized it was the sweatshirt the officer had held up at the scene of Corbin’s demise.

  “It’s got a logo.” He flipped the bag.

  “That’s the country club’s logo,” Penelope cried out in a gasp. “Does that mean he’s. . .gone.” Her shoulders fell.

  “No. It means that we found it at the scene of the murder of Ranger Corbin Ashbrook, putting your fiancé at the scene.” Frustration came off of Hank in waves. “This means that finding William is our number one priority because he’s our person of interest in what happened to Ranger Ashbrook.”

  When Hank used formal names and specific terms, I knew he meant business. This didn’t look good for William.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to make a plea to the news media for William to turn himself in for questioning.” Hank rested his hands on his hips, shifting his weight side-to-side as he waited for her response.

  Dottie had her mouth all flung open, taking it all in. Ty had picked Fifi back up. And now Penelope was in tears. The tension was so thick, I knew I had to diffuse it if we were going to get anywhere.

  “I’ve got an idea.” I put my hand up to Hank when I noticed he was about to protest me even talking. “Why don’t we get Penelope settled into an open camper or bungalow? Get her a hot shower and some food and we can come down to the station after that. I can give you my official statement too.”

  “We don’t got no open bungalows or campers. We’re filled to the rim.” Dottie’s bird-thin lips wore a scowl. “I guess she can stay with you and Fifi since you’re good at taking in strays.”

  “That’s a great idea!” I wasn’t going to let Dottie get my goat. It was true. I’d taken in Bobby Ray Bond when he came to town. I had taken in Fifi. And now Penelope. “So what do you say, Hank?” I asked.

  He heaved a few breaths in and out before he finally opened his mouth.

  “Okay. But, if you hear from William, I expect you tell him to turn himself in and then you find out where he is and call me.” Hank did have a soft side, though he wasn’t showing it at this moment. He even scared me a little, though I knew better.

  Penelope nodded and blinked rapidly.

  “I’ll see you tonight.” He looked at his watch. “Can I see you outside?” He asked me.

  A loud sigh escaped Ty out of frustration. His eyes narrowed to crinkled slits when I looked at him before I went with Hank outside. The first person I saw outside was Alison, talking to Jamison. She was taking notes and he was talking.

  Hank rubbed a hand over the dark stubble along his jawline. I’d not noticed it until now. It gave him an edgy look that agreed with him.

  “I’m only agreeing to this because I want you to keep your eyes and ears open.” He gave me an unrelenting stare.

  “Are you asking for my help?” I asked with a grin.

  His mouth opened, then he shut it, then it opened again.

  “Yes.” He fiddled with the evidence bag in his hand. “I don’t think you’re going to let this go and somehow the last couple of times you’ve been involved in one of my murder cases, you’ve been a step ahead of me. I’d rather be right beside you on this one.”

  “Why, Hank Sharp, I don’t know what to say.” I fluttered my lashes in a joking manner.

  “If I want to get into the intimate details of this case and what’s going on between Jamison and Penelope, I figured you can do that girly talk.” He tucked the evidence bag up under his armpit and adjusted his stance.

  “You too got the impression that something funny is going on between them?” I asked. “Like a fling?”

  “Did you see how he was rubbing her and then consoling her.” His nose wrinkled in distaste. “I put up with that once, but never again,” his words stopped me.

  “Do you mean to tell me that Nicki Swaggert is the reason for the tension between you and Ty?” I completely abandoned the conversion about the investigation and barreled down the path the two men had clearly avoided.

  Nicki just so happened to be the daughter of Harrison Swaggert, Dottie’s deceased husband. After I’d stuck my nose in the last investigation, I’d uncovered a link between T
y and Hank from high school that had to do with Nicki. Apparently, she had both of their hearts all hog-tied up to hers but left them both. She’d recently turned up and through some misfortunate events, she’d committed a crime and was sent off to jail for a two-year term. This made me happy because I knew she’d look sickly in an orange jail uniform.

  “Nicki is in jail and of no importance.” He wasn’t biting my line I was throwing out there. “I’m serious. This is a murder investigation and we have to find William Hinson. Got it?”

  “Yep.” My chin drew a big line up and then down.

  “Fine. I’ll see you in two hours. Two.” He held up a couple of fingers. He pulled his dangling sunglasses out from his suit pocket and slipped them back on his face. “We’ll get this mess cleaned up and you’ll be back to normal in a few minutes.”

  I stood there and watched him walk away. There was an excitement rolling around my heart. It was a combination of helping on the case and the tension between us. This was where the water that is my love life got murky.

  It was like I had an angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other. On the angel shoulder was Ty. I loved how Ty was a family guy. He loved Fifi and had such amazing manners. On the devil shoulder was Hank. The tough exterior. The manly good looks. And the edginess and hint of danger were always appealing. He also checked on me from time to time in a no one better mess with me way and it made my motor run.

  And I couldn’t help but wonder why every time Ty and I tried to have a moment that would move us beyond the flirtatious stage, there was a situation that jerked us apart. Clearly, there was something. There was no time to ponder what that was, I had an undercover job to do and I was going to do it. After all, it was for the good of Happy Trails and my livelihood.

  SEVEN

  “Are you sure it’s okay I stay here?” Penelope sat on the couch rubbing Fifi. If I did care, I wouldn’t matter because Fifi seemed to be enjoying Penelope’s company since she’d not stopped rubbing on her since she got here.

  “Yes.” I poured fresh coffee into two mugs and handed her one. The pumpkin spice and cinnamon blend was perfect for a fall night, especially one that’d gotten much chillier as the day had gone on. And I wasn’t just referring to the weather.