Sun, Sand, and Suspects (Garden Girls Christian Cozy Mystery Series Book 11)

by Hope Callaghan

  This girl was going to think she was nuts!

  She took a deep breath. “I got married yesterday and haven’t had time to change my driver’s license and insurance card. I’m on my honeymoon,” she explained.

  The young woman paused, pen in hand. “Where is your husband?”

  Liz crossed the ER waiting room, approached the counter and placed her hand on Gloria’s arm. “How’s it going?”

  “I-I’m sorry. I thought you meant husband.” The girl tapped the tip of her pen on the counter.

  “No!” Gloria gasped. “You have it all wrong. I do have a husband. This is my sister, Liz.”

  “Your sister is honeymooning with you?” The girl lifted her hand to hide her smile. The woman’s story was getting better by the minute.

  Frances shuffled to the counter and stood next to Liz. “Paul called. He’s on his way.”

  “Let me guess,” the girl said. “Another sister.”

  Gloria shook her head. “Nope. Just a friend.”

  The young woman shifted the pen and began jotting notes on the sheet of paper. “Paul is your husband.”

  “Yes and he’s on his way, with my purse and identification.”

  The woman filled out as much information as she could and then handed Gloria a clipboard, pen and questionnaire. “Fill this out and bring it back to the counter when you’re finished. We should be able to get your leg looked at fairly quickly.”

  Liz pushed the wheelchair over to the seating area. Gloria lifted the clipboard and squinted. Her reading glasses were in her purse, in the car, with Paul.

  I’ll fill it out,” Liz offered. She meticulously checked every box and had finished filling out the form when Paul hurried through the sliders, his eyes scanning the room.

  He made a beeline for his bride. “What happened?”

  “We saw someone sneaking around Frances’s and my camper. Gloria ran across the road to investigate, stepped into a hole and voila! Broken leg,” Liz summarized Gloria’s misadventure.

  Paul set Gloria’s purse on her lap and then wheeled her back to the check-in counter. He handed the clipboard to the young woman.

  “You’re the groom?” The girl stared at him curiously, wondering what the poor man thought about having his in-laws and friends on his honeymoon. Not only that, but his bride had somehow managed to break her leg.

  The young clerk still hadn’t figured out where he had been while she was falling into a hole and she was dying to ask, but didn’t dare…

  The young woman scanned a copy of Gloria’s license and insurance card and handed them to Paul as she glanced at her computer screen. “Wait time looks like five minutes, tops.”

  Paul barely had time to settle into a chair when a nurse stood near the entrance. “Gloria Rutherford Kennedy.”

  Paul pushed Gloria’s wheelchair and they followed the nurse to the back area and into an empty examining room.

  A young doctor quickly arrived, clipboard in hand. He closed the door behind them. “Mrs. Rutherford?”

  “Kennedy now,” Gloria nodded.

  “You’re here because you…”

  “I think my leg is broken,” Gloria said.

  The doctor pulled the clipboard close and a small smile crossed his face. “The front desk said you’re on your honeymoon?”

  Paul sucked in a deep breath. “We got married yesterday.”

  Gloria briefly explained how she hadn’t been paying attention and had stepped into a hole. She left out the part where she’d been chasing after a peeping Tom. That piece of information was on a need to know basis and the girl at the front desk already thought she was a kook.

  “Let’s take a look at your leg,” he said as he set the clipboard on the counter.

  After the doctor examined Gloria’s leg, he sent Paul and her to another area where a hospital employee took some x-rays.

  Paul and she were then moved to another room where a second doctor wrapped her leg in a temporary cast, explaining that until the swelling subsided, they wouldn’t be able to put a regular cast on.

  “I would like you to come back day after tomorrow and if the swelling has gone down, we’ll put a second, more permanent cast on,” he said.

  Gloria frowned and eyed her husband cautiously. This would put a major damper on their honeymoon! She mentally berated herself for her foolish actions as the doctor explained she needed to keep the cast dry and stay off her feet as much as possible.

  Gloria interrupted. “But we planned to do some sightseeing while we’re here,” she said.

  “I understand. I’ll give you a temporary handicapped sticker for your vehicle along with some crutches. You can also rent a wheelchair.”

  “Oh no,” Gloria shook her head. “No way, Jose.” She drew the line at a wheelchair. Crutches would work just fine.

  The doctor scribbled on the sheet, handed Paul a prescription for pain medication, along with a brand spanking new set of crutches a nurse carried into the examining room. “You can get that filled next door at the hospital’s pharmacy.”

  Paul headed to the pharmacy while the nurse wheeled Gloria out to the waiting room.

  Gloria, determined to adjust to crutches ASAP, pushed the wheelchair aside and grabbed the crutches, shoving a crutch pad under each arm and half-hobbled, half-hopped across the floor as she practiced walking.

  It was a slow go, but she was finally able to make several trips around the waiting room.

  Paul returned with the pain pills. “I’ll go get the car.” He headed through the sliding glass doors holding the car keys in one hand and Gloria’s purse in the other.

  Liz and Frances followed him out. Gloria hobbled behind.

  “We’ll see you back at the campground.” Liz squeezed Gloria’s arm and Frances and she strolled toward the parking lot.

  Paul pulled the car to the curb and left it running as he climbed out and walked around to the passenger side. He helped Gloria settle onto the passenger seat and he closed the door behind her.

  “I’m sorry,” Gloria said after Paul slid into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “I didn’t mean to break my leg.”

  Paul glanced at his wife. “I figured our honeymoon would be full of adventure, but I wasn’t counting on this kind of adventure.”

  He went on. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Paul reached over and patted her hand. “That is one of the things I love about you, your sense of adventure so I should have expected some sort of excitement.”

  “We can do everything we planned,” Gloria vowed. “The crutches will be a small learning curve but in a couple of hours, I won’t even know they’re there.”

  She changed the subject. “Did you track down Billy Zortski’s parents?”

  “I forgot all about Billy. Wait until you hear what they had to say!”

  Chapter 7

  Paul went on to explain that Billy’s parents, Linda and Bruce Zortski, were very nice, very open and warm. Billy had not been taken out of public school because he was always in trouble. The situation was quite the opposite. He refused to talk or participate in class.

  The Zortskis home schooled him in the evening and the McGyvers, Victoria and Ian, had told the parents they would keep an eye on Billy during the day while they were at work.

  “Billy is seeing a counselor and seems to be doing a little better but still has a long road ahead of him,” Paul explained.

  Gloria gazed at Paul thoughtfully. “Did they tell you why he stopped talking?”

  “Yes. He had been involved in a fatal car accident and nearly died.” Paul gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Unfortunately, Billy’s grandfather, who had been driving the car, died at the scene,” he said grimly.

  “So Billy watched his grandfather die,” Gloria whispered. Sudden tears burned the back of her eyes. Poor thing.

  Paul explained that investigators told his parents the grandfather had been distracted by something, crossed a double yellow line and drove into the path of a
delivery truck. He had jerked the wheel back and overcorrected. “They hit a loose patch of gravel and the car flipped over, killing the driver, Billy’s grandfather.”

  Gloria turned her gaze and stared out the passenger side window. Perhaps Billy blamed himself for the accident, convinced he had somehow caused it.

  The car reached a stop sign. Paul looked both ways and pressed his foot on the gas. “Billy was in the hospital for a month with internal injuries. He hasn’t spoken a single word since the accident.”

  He went on. “His counselor thinks he is making progress and is more responsive but he’s still not talking.”

  Gloria wondered if perhaps Billy might have witnessed something at the campground. If so and the killer - or killers - suspected the young boy was onto them, his life may be in danger.

  “Do you think Billy may have spotted the killer?”

  Paul nodded grimly. “It’s possible. I told his parents to keep a close eye on him, try to explain to him he needed to be careful.”

  Gloria wondered if they should talk to the McGyvers. She remembered Penny telling her the McGyvers were under investigation for insurance fraud.

  “When I was out walking earlier while you were napping, I noticed a burned out building and what looked like the shell of a camper. I wonder if that’s what Penny Green was talking about when she said the owners of the RV park were under investigation.”

  They pulled into the campground and drove toward their lot in the back. Liz and Frances followed behind in Liz’s car.

  Paul eased into their parking spot, shut the car off and reached for the door handle. “Let me help you.”

  Gloria, determined to prove she would not be a burden, opened the passenger door and attempted to climb out before Paul made it around the other side. “I can do this.”

  She placed her right foot on the ground and stood upright, holding onto the door for balance. The door swung back and forth as she fought desperately to stay upright.

  She attempted to put pressure on her injured leg and when a piercing pain shot through her body, she fell forward and straight into Paul’s arms.

  “Stubborn as a mule,” he teased as he easily lifted her into his arms and carried her up the deck steps.

  Gloria snuggled against him, enjoying his closeness and relinquishing a small sliver of independence, at least for a few moments. She snaked one arm around his neck and with her free hand, took the door keys, unlocked the door and pushed it open.

  Paul’s eyes grew dark. “This reminds me of last night,” he murmured.

  Gloria’s face flushed. “Maybe I need a little distraction to take my mind off my leg,” she flirted.

  “We can come back later if you two want to be alone.” Liz had followed Paul and Gloria up the steps and stood in the doorway. Frances was standing directly behind her.

  “No.” Paul started to say.

  “As a matter of fact that sounds like an excellent idea,” Gloria interrupted. “It will give us time to settle in and for Paul to start the campfire.”

  “Let’s go, Frances,” Liz said as she winked at Paul and headed down the deck steps.

  Chapter 8

  Gloria held her hands out to warm them in front of the roaring fire Paul had built. “I didn’t know you were such an outdoorsman.”

  Paul placed a log on the fire and turned to his wife. “Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, farm boy. Why, it hasn’t been that many years since the last time I pitched a tent and slept under the stars.”

  “Really?” Gloria lifted a brow.

  “Well, not since Jeff was a young-un so maybe it has been a few years,” he admitted. “But it’s like riding a bike. You never forget.”

  He eased onto the lawn chair next to his bride. Gloria handed him a roasting stick and three marshmallows.

  The beam of a flashlight bounced around the ground and grew brighter as it got closer.

  “You two lovebirds finally ready for some company?” Liz asked as she dropped her lawn chair next to her sister, unfolded it and plopped down.

  Frances placed her lawn chair next to Liz. She propped a metal pole with a wooden handle against the chair and reached for the grocery sack Liz placed next to the chair.

  “What is that?” Gloria asked as she pointed at the pole.

  “You’ll see,” Liz said. “We’re going to show you how to make a delicious campfire treat…pizza pies.”

  Liz grabbed one of the poles with a tray on one end, pulled it apart and set it in her lap. Next, she pulled a loaf of bread and jar of pizza sauce from the grocery bag. She placed a piece of bread on one side of the square metal tray.

  “Wait, you forgot the cooking spray,” Frances said. She reached in a second bag, pulled out a can of aerosol butter spray and coated the insides of Liz’s pan and her own pan.

  Gloria pointed. “What are those called?”

  Frances replaced the lid and set the cooking spray on the ground next to her chair. “Pie iron sandwich cookers.”

  The two women created a mini assembly line as they spread a layer of pizza sauce on top of one of the slices of bread. Next, they sprinkled a layer of mozzarella cheese and finished it off with several slices of pepperoni.

  The girls set a second piece of bread on top of the pepperoni, set the second half of the pie iron on top, hooking the ends and then locking the handles together before carefully removing the excess bread from the edges.

  “Gotta take off the excess bread before you put the iron in the fire,” Liz explained as she stuck the cast iron square directly on top of a flame.

  Gloria’s stomach grumbled. Paul and she had eaten an early dinner and a lot had happened since then. The shrimp and other tasty morsels had worn off hours ago.

  “I bet those are delicious.” She stared at the small, burnt marshmallow on the end of her stick.

  “Don’t worry, we brought plenty,” Frances said as she placed her sandwich iron over a flame. “You just have to remember to turn it, not burn it.” She laughed at her rhyme. “Get it? Turn it not burn it?”

  Liz rolled her eyes.

  “Good one, Frances,” Gloria told her.

  Frances ignored Liz. “Thanks Gloria.” She lifted the iron from the fire and unhooked the end, carefully opened the cover and inspected the contents. “It should only take about five minutes.”

  After Frances and Liz had cooked four pizza pies, they each took a paper plate, a napkin and munched on the treat.

  Gloria gobbled her toasty on the outside, gooey on the inside treat. “Thank you for sharing. These are delicious.”

  Liz dabbed at the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “Next time, we can make dessert pies. I picked up a can of cherry pie and apple pie filling.”

  The four of them tossed their empty plates and dirty napkins in the fire and chatted about the day.

  Liz gave Paul her version of Gloria’s unfortunate accident, embellishing a few of the details to make him laugh.

  “Don’t laugh too hard, Liz. You might be next,” Gloria warned her sister.

  Liz waved a hand. “Nah! I filled in the hole as soon as we got back. Last thing I need to do is break my leg.”

  She changed the subject. “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”

  Paul settled into his chair and folded his hands in his lap. “I’m going to see if I can rent a golf cart first thing in the morning so Gloria can travel around the campground.”

  Gloria opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it.

  “They’re loads of fun. Frances and I both own one,” Liz said.

  “We drive them everywhere,” Frances added. “The store, the doctor’s office, out to eat.”

  Gloria had heard all about the place Frances and Liz had moved to. The Villages was a massive retirement community north of Orlando where many retirees bought homes and lived year round.

  “You two should check it out,” Liz suggested.

  Gloria wasn’t sure about that. Even if she did like…love the place, the last thing she wanted to
do was live near Liz.

  Liz tilted her watch and held it toward the fire so she could read the face. “It’s getting late. Frances and I are getting up early to go out for breakfast. We saw a place on our way in. Do you want to go?”

  “We’ll pass this time, but maybe we could have an early dinner somewhere,” Gloria offered.

  “Sounds good.” Liz grabbed the grocery bags while Frances folded their lawn chairs.

  Liz shifted the bags. “You got the flashlight?”

  “Check.” Frances switched it on and the women slowly made their way around the rental car and to their campsite.

  “We should douse the fire and turn in, too,” Paul said.

  Gloria reached for her crutches. “I’m ready. This has been a very long day.” She hopped on one foot as she placed a crutch pad under each arm.

  Thankfully, Paul had turned the small porch light on and it lit the path leading to the deck steps.

  When she got to the edge of the deck, she held onto the side, placed the crutches on top, shifted around so that her bottom was on the lower step and then backed up the steps. When she got to the top, she crawled to the door using her good leg.

  Paul stood near the bottom of the steps. “You left your crutches behind.”

  Gloria frowned. “Yeah. I haven’t quite figured out how to get myself and them to the door.”

  Once again, Gloria had to rely on Paul to help her inside and to get ready for bed. “This is going to get old,” she said.

  Paul laughed as he watched her slip her pajama top over her head and then handed her the crutches. “For better or for worse, in sickness and in health. Little did I know the last part would come sooner than later,” he teased.

  They finally settled into bed, which was as comfortable as Victoria had promised, and Gloria closed her eyes, glad the day had finally ended.

  Chapter 9

  Gloria awoke early, completely disoriented. It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t in her own bed, in her own home. Not only that…she wasn’t alone.

  She smiled as she slid her hand under the covers and grasped Paul’s hand. He squeezed gently. “Did you just wake up?