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

by Hope Callaghan

  Gloria, deep in thought, clutched her chest as Paul opened the driver’s side door. “Oh my gosh! You scared me half to death,” she gasped.

  “Sorry dear,” he said as he slid behind the wheel and reached for his seat belt. “I have some good news. They’re going to drop off the golf cart before noon.”

  Paul could tell by the look on his wife’s face she was pondering the young sales rep’s comment about the man who had been attacked by an alligator in the campground.

  “You think the guy was killed by an alligator?” Paul asked.

  “Actually, no, I don’t. While you were finishing the paperwork, I searched the internet and discovered that initially the police thought the man was killed by the gator but the news report I read stated so far the cause of death is inconclusive…or the police just aren’t saying.”

  She went on. “I also found out, the gun that killed Keith Stevenson was reported stolen by the first campground victim, Harry Fisk.”

  Paul glanced at Gloria out of the corner of his eye. “Maybe murder / suicide? Keith Stevenson stole Harry Fisk’s gun. Harry Fisk reported the theft. Stevenson killed Fisk and then turned the gun on himself.”

  Gloria shrugged. “Could be, but why? I would give anything to know if Harry Fisk’s own gun killed him.”

  Her stomach churned as she wondered how badly Fisk had been mauled by the alligator. The report called it a vicious attack. Had they caught the alligator? Was it Rumble…the alligator Bridget had mentioned?

  “Can we stop by the campground store on our way back to the camper? I want to pick up another loaf of bread and some bananas so we can make hot banana splits for dessert tonight.”

  “Sounds delicious,” Paul said as he backed out of the parking spot.

  It was partly true. Gloria did want to try to make the delicious treat. She also wanted to see if she could glean a little more information out of the store employees to get their take on the deaths.

  Paul knew why his beloved wife wanted to stop at the store and he knew the wheels in her head were spinning. “I’ll go in with you.”

  When they reached the campground, he pulled into an empty parking spot, directly in front of the store.

  Gloria had already removed her seatbelt and was cursing her broken leg. Paul was hovering over her. How would she be able to investigate the case if he was by her side? There was no way around it so she waited for him to open the door and help her out.

  She frowned as she studied the steep steps leading to the front door of the store, something she hadn’t noticed before. “This might be tricky,” she muttered under her breath. What she wanted to do was turn around, plop down on the bottom seat and then back up the steps.

  Gloria placed her right foot on the bottom step and pulled herself up. She glanced over her shoulder. Paul was watching her, an amused expression on his face.

  “Don’t laugh.” She spun around, plopped down and then backed up the steps, dragging her crutches alongside her. When she got to the top, she used one hand to hold the stair rail and the other to hold the crutches, pulling herself upright.

  Paul clapped his hands. “Bravo. I wished I had taken a picture.”

  Gloria gave him a dark look as she placed the crutch pads under her arms. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

  A customer emerged from the store as they were going in and Gloria stepped…or hopped inside with Paul on her heels. “I’ll carry the shopping basket,” he offered as he plucked one from the rack.

  Gloria grabbed a loaf of bread, a bunch of bananas, along with two chocolate bars and a box of graham crackers.

  “Someone has a sweet tooth,” Paul remarked as he followed his bride down the aisles.

  She added another packet of lunchmeat and sliced provolone, along with two bags of cheese puffs that were buy one, get one free.

  They passed by the empty snack counter on their way to the checkout counter in front. Gloria brightened when she noticed the young clerk, Bridget, was behind the counter.

  She hovered off to the side as Paul unloaded the basket.

  Bridget scanned the packet of lunchmeat and placed it inside a plastic grocery bag. “I heard you got hurt over on lot 48 yesterday. Gotta watch those darn gopher tortoises. They like to dig big holes.”

  Gloria glanced at her cast. “Yeah. I had no idea…tortoise as in turtles.”

  “Mmhmm.” Bridget nodded. “They’re a protected species so you can’t harass them.”

  Paul snorted.

  Gloria frowned. “I wasn’t harassing them. More like the other way around.”

  She quickly changed the subject. “My sister, Liz, and her friend are staying on lot 48. They said they heard a rumbling noise last night. Do you think that was Rumble, the alligator you mentioned last time I was in here?”

  Bridget nodded as she placed the cheese inside the bag. “Probably.” She lowered her voice. “But don’t tell anyone. Authorities are looking for the alligator. They want to trap him and kill him ‘cause they think he killed Mr. Fisk, but I don’t think so. I think someone killed him and is trying to frame poor Rumble.”

  Gloria leaned in as Paul handed Bridget his debit card. “Really?”

  Paul cleared his throat.

  Gloria pretended not to hear. “Who do you think killed Mr. Fisk?”

  Bridget shrugged. “Linda and Bruce Zortski. Mr. Fisk caught their son, Billy, snooping around his lot and called the police.”

  That might make the parents mad, but would it make them mad enough to kill Harry Fisk? Gloria was about to get her answer.

  Bridget swiped the debit card and then handed the card, along with the grocery receipt to Paul.

  “Because right after that, some woman from Florida’s child protection services came in here, looking for the Zortskis.”

  This meant authorities were investigating the parents. Interesting…

  Paul grabbed the bags of groceries. “Ready?”

  Gloria nodded, although she wasn’t ready. She had one more question.

  “There’s a burned out building near the back of the park. What happened?”

  Bridget glanced over Gloria’s head, to the other side of the building and the check-in counter where Ian McGyver was talking with a guest. “I…uh…don’t know. You’ll have to ask Mr. McGyver.”

  Gloria had a feeling Bridget did know something but couldn’t - or wouldn’t - discuss it. “Thank you, Bridget. See you later.” She limped behind Paul as they made their way to the door.

  He held it open. Gloria hopped across the threshold and came face-to-face with Victoria McGyver…just the person Gloria was hoping to run into.

  Chapter 11

  Victoria McGyver took a step back as she gazed at Gloria’s cast. “Oh my heaven’s sake. I heard you fell in one of those dang gopher tortoise holes. I didn’t know you broke your leg.”

  Gloria grimaced. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  Victoria shook her head. “Yeah. You gotta be careful. Those buggers dig the holes to lay their eggs anywhere and everywhere.”

  Now you tell me.

  Paul cleared his throat and shifted his weight.

  “My sister, who is staying in the camper on lot 48, said she heard a rumbling last night and Bridget said that sounded like the resident alligator.”

  Victoria waved her hand. “Oh yeah. That’s Rumble, our pet alligator. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, though. He’s as harmless as a dove.”

  Harmless as a dove? That wasn’t what authorities had said in the local paper. He had chewed on poor Harry Fisk as if he were an appetizer.

  “What about…” Gloria wasn’t sure she wanted to tip her hand that she had read Harry Fisk had been attacked by a gator down by the swamp.

  Victoria continued. “Rumble hangs out in the mangroves not far from your camper but like I said, he is as tame as a kitten, although I wouldn’t try to feed him or get too close,” she advised.

  The woman didn’t have to worry about that! The last
thing Gloria was going to do was get close to an alligator, tame or not!

  Gloria made her way down the steps the same way she made them up…sliding on her rear.

  Paul pointed to the left of the steps. “You should take the handicapped ramp next time,” he told her.

  Gloria pulled herself upright, held onto the porch rail and swiped at the dirt on her backside. “Now you tell me.”

  Thankfully, they made it back to the camper without incident.

  The parking spot across the street was empty. Since Liz was still gone and hadn’t seemed interested in visiting Kennedy Space Center, Gloria and Paul decided to fix a sandwich for lunch before they left.

  They ate at the picnic table out on the deck and Gloria could have sworn she heard rustling in the bushes…Billy, if she had to guess.

  After they finished eating, the delivery truck showed up with the golf cart. She hopped inside the camper to clean the kitchen counter when a motion caught her eye again.

  She wondered what Billy did all day while his parents were working, what he ate, if he was lonely.

  While Paul helped the driver unload the golf cart, Gloria fixed a turkey and cheddar cheese sandwich, placed it inside a plastic sandwich bag and then placed the wrapped sandwich inside a paper bag.

  She dropped a small bag of cheese puffs along with another baggie filled with chocolate chip cookies into the bag and then folded the top.

  She found an ink pen inside her purse and wrote For Billy on the front of the bag before hobbling back outside and placing it on the picnic table bench seat so his name faced out, toward the back of the camper.

  Paul and the delivery driver stood next to the golf cart. Gloria limped over.

  The delivery driver showed them how to charge the battery since the golf cart ran on electricity. “It’s all charged up if you want to take it for a spin.” When he finished showing them the ins and outs of the golf cart, he climbed into his delivery truck and drove off.

  Gloria slid into the passenger seat of the golf cart as Paul dangled the keys. “You don’t want to drive?”

  She shook her head. “Nah. I’ll let you chauffeur me. Maybe later, I’ll take it out.

  The seat cover was a drab brown vinyl but it was soft and comfortable. An overhead canopy cover kept the scorching Florida sun from baking them.

  The model they test drove was slightly different than the one the driver dropped off. Behind the front bench seat was a second bench seat and it faced the other way.

  Paul reached behind him and patted the bench seat. “I figured we needed extra seating in case Liz and Frances wanted to go somewhere or you girls wanted to take it out later.”

  He reminded Gloria of a kid in a candy store as he backed out of the lot and onto the road. “Where do you want to go first? Never mind. I have an idea.” He stomped on the gas and they sped off down the road.

  Gloria was surprised that an electric golf cart could go as fast as theirs did. They zipped right along as they looped around the outer perimeter of the park.

  She pointed as they passed the sign to the beach. “I had hoped to try kayaking.”

  “I have an idea on how to wrap your cast so it doesn’t get wet,” Paul said. “All you’ll have to do is sit there and look beautiful.”

  Beyond the beach sign was another sign Hiking Trails. After hearing about all the wild Florida creatures, Gloria wasn’t sure she would be up to hiking in the woods and potentially coming face to face with bears or worse yet, killer gators. She still wasn’t convinced Rumble was the harmless alligator everyone was making him out to be.

  Gloria thought about poor Harry Fisk. If an alligator had mauled him to death, it was a horrible way to die. She would rather be shot dead and then mauled. At least that way she wouldn’t feel the pain.

  Then there was Keith Stevenson. Had he stolen Harry Fisk’s gun and when confronted, they got into an argument and Keith killed him? Overcome by guilt, he had taken his own life.

  Perhaps the McGyvers had become suspicious of Keith or maybe even found out he had Harry Fisk’s gun so they fired him. In a moment of desperation, he had committed suicide.

  Next were the Zortskis. They hadn’t mentioned to Paul that child protection services were investigating after Harry Fisk had turned them in. What if Billy had stolen Fisk’s gun and Fisk found out.

  If the Zorstkis had killed Fisk, then who killed Keith Stevenson?

  They passed by the pool which was full of guests frolicking in the water. The clubhouse appeared to be just as busy.

  They drove past the tennis and volleyball courts. The day was growing more humid by the minute and the last thing Gloria would want to do, even without the cast on her leg, would be to play tennis or volleyball in the mid-day heat.

  When they reached the burned out buildings, Paul hit the brakes. “Are those the buildings you were talking about?”

  Gloria nodded. “Yep.”

  He leaned on the steering wheel and studied the structures, one of which appeared to be some sort of storage shed. He pointed to the building to the left. “That looks like someone’s camper.”

  Gloria shaded her eyes. “That’s exactly what I thought. I wonder if the park owns it.” She made a mental note to ask Bridget…or Victoria what had happened. She had only heard of two deaths – Harry Fisk and Keith Stevenson. Surely, if someone had perished inside the camper, she would have noticed it when she had searched online.

  Paul drove back to the campsite and parked as close to the deck as possible. “That was fun,” Gloria said as her husband made his way around to the passenger side and then helped his bride navigate the deck steps.

  “I’ll grab my purse and we can head to the Space Center.” She was looking forward to the diversion and a chance to take her mind off the deaths.

  “I’ll get your purse,” Paul offered as he unlocked the door.

  “Sounds good.” Gloria waited for him on the deck. She remembered the brown bag lunch she had left on the picnic bench. The bag was gone…

  ***

  The Kennedy Space Center complex was large and Gloria was grateful they had a handicapped placard so they could park near the front, although almost every single handicapped parking spot was already occupied.

  Paul insisted Gloria wait in the car while he made his way inside to pick up the scooter he had reserved online. She smiled as she watched him drive it down the sidewalk and stop near the front of the rental car.

  Gloria hobbled over to the scooter. She held onto the side of the car with one hand and the crutches with her other.

  Paul patted the top. “This baby goes almost as fast as the golf cart. I’ll hardly be able to keep up with you.”

  They made their way inside the massive building, purchased their tickets and began their tour of the facility. Although Gloria had never paid close attention to shuttle launches or men on the moon, it was fascinating to learn the history of the space program and to see one of the shuttles up close.

  By the time they finished the tour, it was late afternoon. Gloria was growing weary and her leg began to throb. She had taken a second pain pill and was longing for a nap.

  Paul could see she’d had enough and he helped her into the car then made a quick trip back inside to return the scooter.

  When he got back to the car, his bride was sound asleep in the passenger seat. She never even stirred as he started the car and headed back to the campground.

  Gloria awoke just as they pulled into the gravel drive in front of the camper. “What…where am I?”

  “We’re back at the camper. You took a little nap,” he explained.

  Gloria gazed at Liz’s car, which was parked in front of the camper across the street.

  “Wow! I was zonked out.” She shook her head to clear it. “Those pills are strong.”

  Paul waited several moments, until Gloria was no longer groggy. He helped her from the car, carried her up the steps and eased her into one of the lawn chairs on the deck.

  “What’s this?”
Paul said as he reached for the camper door handle. Tucked inside the handle was a note. He unfolded the ripped scrap of brown paper. “Thank you.”

  Chapter 12

  Gloria took the scrap of paper, which appeared to be a chunk of a brown paper lunch sack. “I packed a small lunch for Billy Zortski while you were unloading the golf cart,” she confessed. “I saw him lurking in the bushes and thought he might be hungry.”

  “Where did you all sneak off to today?” Liz appeared from around the corner of the camper. “We thought maybe you moved out ‘til we noticed the golf cart.” She patted the hood. “This looks like an EZ GO RXV. This beauty has a top speed of twenty five miles per hour but sucks the juice.”

  Frances, who had followed Liz over, ran the palm of her hand across the canopy. “Good thing you got the cover. You’ll need it during the day.” She hopped onto the bench seat in the back. “This has one has the rear bench seats. You got an upgraded version.”

  “I’ll take you girls for a spin tomorrow,” Gloria promised. “Right now, I’m starving.”

  “Would you like to eat at a restaurant?” Paul asked but he hoped not. It had been a long day.

  “Why don’t we order pizza and have it delivered?” Liz suggested.

  “Great idea,” Gloria said. Pizza sounded good although they had eaten the pie iron pizzas the night before.

  Paul reached inside the camper, grabbed a note pad and jotted down the girls’ orders. Liz offered to place the order since her cell phone was the only one with decent reception.

  After Liz placed the order, she ran over to their camper to grab a bottle of Diet Coke and some snack crackers to munch on while they waited.

  When she returned, Gloria told Liz and Frances they had visited the Kennedy Space Center and how she had been impressed by not only what she had learned about the space program but also the size of “Atlantis,” the shuttle that was on display.

  “What is on the agenda tomorrow?” Frances asked.

  Paul gave his bride a quick glance. “I had hoped to do a little fishing. Maybe sneak out before daybreak while the fish are biting.” They had seen a few small fishing boats next to the kayaks the previous day.