Bug Out! Part 2: Civilization In Peril

by Robert Boren

  “We’d better ask Cynthia if she moved anything.”

  “Good point,” Jerry said. They turned to walk down the steps. Cynthia was still in the chair. She had stopped crying, and looked up at them as they approached.

  “Cynthia, are you alright?” asked Frank.

  “Yes, but that was a shock,” she said.

  “Did you move anything in the rig? A pillow, perhaps?”

  “No, I didn’t touch anything. Why? Do you think there was foul play?”

  “I doubt it. It’s probably nothing,” Jerry said.

  “Good Lord, I hope he wasn’t murdered,” Cynthia said. “It'll be hard to feel safe if that happened.”

  “Yes,” Frank said. “Let’s not say anything like that. We don’t want to get everybody upset.”

  “What should we do? Call the sheriff?” asked Cynthia.

  “I think we had better,” Jerry said. “I hope we aren’t on our own.”

  “I’m going to call 911 right now, and then we should go let Hilda know,” Jerry said. He dialed on his phone and the operator picked up after a couple of rings. Jerry gave a thumbs up.

  “Good,” Cynthia said. Frank nodded.

  “Hello,” Jerry said. “I need to report a death at the RV Park off of Highway 89, near Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon.”

  “Hope they can send somebody out tonight,” Frank said.

  “Me too,” Cynthia replied.

  “Hello, Sheriff Brown. We have a death in an RV at the park…yes, Hilda’s park. And older gentleman…his first name is Arthur…no, I don’t know his last name.”

  Jerry hung up the phone.

  “They're on their way,” Jerry said. “Should be here in about twenty minutes.”

  “Okay, then I’ll go tell Hilda. Maybe you two should hang out here until the Sheriff arrives.”

  “Agreed,” Jerry said. Cynthia nodded.

  “Be back in a few minutes,” Frank said. He turned and left.

  The party was still going on at the clubhouse. Everybody in there was gathered around Rosie, who was telling a story. Hilda saw Frank come in the door. He motioned for her to come over. She headed towards him.

  “Something wrong?” asked Hilda.

  “Cynthia went out to check on Arthur, because he told her he was coming to Happy Hour. She found him dead in his rig.”

  Hilda put her hand over her mouth, and her eyes got wide.

  “Oh, no, that poor man,” she said.

  “Jerry already called 911, and Sheriff Brown is on his way out.”

  “Thank you,” Hilda said. “It doesn’t look like foul play, does it?”

  “I wouldn’t want to say,” Frank said. “I’ll let the sheriff look at it.”

  “He was rather frail,” Hilda said. “We’ve had folks pass here before. It’s so sad when that happens.”

  “Well, I’m going to go out there and wait for the Sheriff with Cynthia and Jerry. I’m sure they'll want to question us.”

  “Okay. Should I say anything to the crowd?”

  “Why don’t you wait until after the Sheriff's been here,” Frank said.

  “OK, but I will let Charlie know. I’ll take him in the office and tell him.”

  Frank nodded, and she left. Jane was looking at Frank, so he motioned her over.

  “What’s cookin?” asked Jane.

  “Arthur is dead in his rig,” Frank said quietly. Jane’s eyes grew wider.

  “No,” she said. “Natural causes?”

  “Not sure yet. The sheriff is on his way over here. I’m going back out to the rig.”

  “Who found him?”

  “Cynthia. She’s pretty shook up.”

  “I could imagine. Are you going to tell the others?”

  “No, but I just told Hilda. I told her it might be a good idea to hold off on making a big announcement until the Sheriff has been here.”

  “She told Charlie, I’m guessing. I saw them go into the office together before I got to you.”

  “Yes, she said she was going to do that.”

  “You think there was foul play, don’t you?” she asked.

  “It looks a little suspicious to Jerry. I’m not sure. I hope the old guy just vapor locked.”

  “Me too,” Jane said. “I’ll go with you out there.”

  Frank nodded, and they headed back to Arthur’s rig. When they got there, Cynthia and Jerry were sitting on the chairs, silently.

  “How did Hilda take it?” asked Cynthia.

  “Shock. She’ll be out her in a few minutes, probably with Charlie,” Frank said.

  “Do you guys trust Charlie?” asked Cynthia.

  Frank and Jerry looked at each other.

  “I don’t think we should go there right now,” Jane said, watching the situation. “He’s going to be out here with Hilda in a few minutes, and the Sheriff will show up soon too.”

  “It’s just that he got mad when I contradicted him with the stuff Arthur and I heard.”

  “I know,” Jerry said. “Frank and I are wondering about that too, but let’s not jump to any conclusions. Let’s have the sheriff look at things.”

  Hilda was on her way out to the rig, with Charlie.

  “We’d better hush up, here they come,” Cynthia said.

  “You guys called the sheriff already, huh,” Charlie said. “Maybe we should have talked about it first.” Hilda stood silently next to him, looking down, somber.

  “Why?” asked Frank. “It’s not like anybody needs to get their story straight here.”

  “Don’t misunderstand me,” Charlie said. “I don’t think anybody here killed him. I just think we ought to talk before we bring in outsiders.”

  “There are no ‘outsiders’……we aren’t a country. We aren’t a militia either,” Frank said. “We aren’t even a club. We are a bunch of people who found ourselves on the road together, and we're all customers of Hilda’s park. We can cooperate when it is in our interest, but we aren’t a group that has to prepare for a visit by the sheriff. We don’t have to ask permission to call 911 if we find that somebody has passed away, either.”

  “Let’s not get ourselves into a tizzy,” Hilda said. She looked over at Frank. “Charlie didn’t mean any harm. He’s just concerned that things may get out of our control.”

  Frank started to respond, but Jane put her hand on his forearm, and looked him in the eye. She shook her head no.

  “I wonder if anybody else knows how to run the radio?” asked Charlie.

  Jerry and Frank looked at him silently.

  “It’s important, guys,” Charlie said. “That was our link to the outside world.”

  “The phones are back up, remember?” Jerry said.

  “We never did lose the TV stations or the commercial radio, either,” Frank said. “Worse comes to worse, we can go into town and talk to people.”

  “Yeah, I know, this isn’t the apocalypse,” Charlie said sarcastically. “We're only at war on the US mainland for the first time since the Civil War.”

  “Now all of you stop it,” Hilda said. She was on the verge of tears.

  “Ever read ‘Lord of the Flies’? Or ‘Animal Farm’?” Frank asked.

  There were headlights coming through the front gate. All of them turned and looked in that direction. Hilda stood up and waved to the sheriff’s car. It slowly made its way out to them, and parked on the road in front of Arthur’s space. A large man got out of the driver’s seat, and closed the door. A much smaller young man got out of the passenger seat. They walked over.

  “Hi, Hilda, how are you,” asked the sheriff. “Sorry to see you under such sad circumstances.”

  The younger man came walking over.

  “Hi, Hilda,” he said.

  “Who are these folks?” asked the sheriff.

  “Guests,” Hilda said. “That’s Frank and his wife Jane, Jerry, and Cynthia. You probably already know Charlie.”

  “Of course,” he said. “I’m Sheriff Jack Brown, glad to meet you folks. This is Deputy Terry
Clark.”

  “The gentleman who passed is in that rig. Cynthia found him,” Hilda said.

  “Anybody else go in?” asked Sheriff Brown.

  “Jerry and I went in after Cynthia told us,” Frank said. “We didn’t move anything around.”

  “Good. C’mon, Terry, let’s go take a look.” They both climbed the steps into the coach. The coach moved slightly as Sheriff Brown moved around. Lights in the back of the coach came on, and then more lights up in the front. They came back out after a few minutes.

  “Looks like natural causes to me,” Sheriff Brown said. “Nice short wave setup. He was probably your eyes and ears, wasn’t he?”

  “Well, to a certain extent,” Frank said. “Are you sending out the coroner?”

  “Yes, I’m going to radio them now. The Deputy is looking at the ham radio. He knows short wave. The power switch is on, but the radio isn’t working. We're wondering a bit about that.”

  “Maybe a fuse blew in the coach,” Charlie said.

  “Maybe. Those radios do pull some current,” Sheriff Brown replied. “I’m not a ham operator myself, but they did teach us about them in one of our continuing education classes.”

  “Ah, they make you guys take those too, huh,” Jerry said. He walked over to the Sheriff and pulled him aside. “I learned how to fix radios in the service. If the Deputy can’t get it going again, I’d be happy to take a look at it.”

  “What branch were you in?” asked the Sheriff.

  “Marines,” Jerry said, a look of pride coming over his face.

  “Semper fi,” said the Sheriff. “Me too. Always glad to meet a brother.”

  “Likewise, sir,” Jerry said.

  “See action?”

  “Gulf War,” Jerry said.

  “Really? Me too,” the sheriff said. “Mainly advisor, though. Sniper training. Would have gotten back in for Afghanistan, but they wouldn’t let me. Too old and too fat.”

  Both men started cracking up.

  The Deputy came out of the coach, shaking his head.

  “Well, it’s not something simple. Not a fuse in either the radio or the coach, from what I can tell.”

  “Jerry here says he knows how to work on them,” the Sheriff said. “Get on the horn and call for the coroner, alright?”

  “On it, Jack,” he said, as he walked towards the vehicle. He opened the passenger side door, got in, and got on the radio.

  “So what happens now?” asked Charlie.

  “We’ll write up a report, and take some pictures,” the Sheriff said. “The coroner will take the body away. Did any of you know the gentleman well?”

  “No, not really,” Hilda said. “He was just a fellow traveler.”

  “Alright, then we’ll get his name and address via the registration for his coach, and see if he has any next of kin.”

  “Is it alright if I take that radio and see if I can fix it?” Jerry asked quietly.

  “Sure, just remember where you got it,” the Sheriff said. “I’m sure his family will want all of his stuff. Hilda, I’m going to give you the keys…..please keep this locked up until you hear from me.”

  “Of course, Jack,” Hilda said.

  “They're on the way,” the Deputy said, walking towards them. “We lucked out - they were close by. Ought to be here in about five minutes.”

  “Sheriff, will you come in the coach while I take the radio? I want to make sure you see what I take,” Jerry said.

  “Of course,” he said, and they both climbed up the steps into the coach. Frank looked over and could see them talking through the window. Then he saw Jerry point to the pillow up in the front section. Then he walked over to where the radio was, unplugged some wires, and picked it up. He carried it out of the coach, and the Sheriff followed him. He had a grim look on his face.

  Jerry set the radio down on the picnic table next to the coach, and came back over to where the group was standing.

  “Well, I’m going to go back to the clubhouse, before people start getting worried and start showing up out here,” Charlie said. “Is it OK to tell them what happened?”

  “I don’t see why not,” the Sheriff said. “Just make sure that you tell them it was natural causes. We don’t want people getting nervous.”

  “Agreed,” Charlie said.

  “Should I go too, Charlie?” asked Hilda.

  “If they don’t need you here,” he said.

  “You can go, Hilda,” the Sheriff said. “We’ll take it from here.”

  The couple walked back to the clubhouse. About the time they got there, lights shined through the gate, and the coroner’s wagon drove through. The Deputy walked over to the Sheriff’s car and switched on their top lights. The wagon made its way over.

  “Alright, folks, no need for you to stick around,” the Sheriff said. “We’ll lock up and drop the keys off with Hilda on the way out.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff Brown,” said Jerry. “I’ll take this radio back to my rig, and then hit the clubhouse to pick up my girls.” Cynthia and Jane and Frank all nodded, and they walked back towards the clubhouse as Jerry picked up the radio. They got there just as Hilda and Charlie were about to make the announcement.

  “Can we have your attention, please?” asked Hilda in a loud voice. A hush came over the room, and Hilda looked over at Charlie. He stood up.

  “I’m afraid we have some sad news, folks. Arthur has passed away in his coach. The Sheriff and the Coroner are out there now.”

  There was a murmur going through the crowd.

  “How did he die?” asked Jasmine. Rosie came over close to her, trying to steady herself against her daughter.

  “Natural causes, from the look of it,” Charlie said. “He was an old gentleman. This is something that happens at RV parks on occasion, as most of you know.”

  “Yep, get a bunch of oldsters together often enough and it’s bound to happen,” Jeb said. “A toast to Arthur. Happy Trails. You will be missed.”

  About half the people in the room raised their glasses.

  “I think maybe we should call it a night,” Hilda said.

  “Agreed,” Charlie said.

  “Are we posting guards tonight?” asked Jeb.

  “Maybe we should wait a day or two,” Charlie said.

  “Well, I’ll tell you what. I could use a few more drinks. Maybe I’ll just mosey up into that nice blind and kick back for a while.”

  “Your choice, Jeb,” Hilda said. “Just don’t get too drunk and fall out of there. We don’t need the coroner coming back here.”

  “Don’t worry, Hilda,” he said. Then he walked out of the room.

  The crowd slowly flowed out the door, murmuring softly. Jerry came in through the door, against the stream of people flowing out, and made his way to Jasmine and Rosie. Jasmine rushed to him and hugged him tightly. Rosie walked over and put her hand on Jerry’s shoulder. They turned and walked out together. Jane and Frank were the last couple to leave.

  “Okay, Frank, what are you thinking?” Jane asked as they walked along.

  “When Jerry and I were in the coach, he pointed out some marks on Arthur’s face that matched the pattern of the pillow,” he said.

  “Uh oh.”

  “I looked, but couldn’t really see what he was talking about. Probably my eyes…..he’s a lot younger than I am, and it was dim in the coach.”

  “You don’t sound like you completely buy the idea that this wasn’t just natural causes.”

  “I’m just trying to be cautious,” Frank said. “I know that Jerry told the Sheriff what he thinks.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I could see him through the window of the coach, when he was in there with the Sheriff getting the radio. He pointed to Arthur’s face, and then pointed to the throw pillow.”

  “Really. Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I think so,” Frank said. “If there’s something to it, the Sheriff will figure that out.”

  Lucy started barking whe
n she heard them approach.

  “There goes our burglar alarm,” Jane said, laughing. Frank unlocked the door and opened it, and Lucy jumped out.

  “I’ll get her leash and take her out,” Frank said. He reached into the coach and grabbed it. Then he hooked it to Lucy’s collar.

  “Alright, I’ll go in and get us ready for bed,” Jane said.

  Frank and Lucy walked around. It was quiet now. People had gotten back to their rigs, and he saw lights turning off in some of them. He could see Jerry’s coach across the road and down about 50 yards. His lights were still on.

  Lucy finished her business and Frank brought her back into the coach. Jane was sitting on the couch in her nightgown, watching a little bit of Fox News.

  “Anything interesting?” Frank said as he closed and locked the door.

  “Egypt and Israel have really clobbered the Islamists,” Jane said. “That’s all that I’ve seen so far.”

  “Well, that’s good news,” Frank said, sitting down next to her. “That Happy Hour was lots of fun before the stuff with Arthur came up.”

  “Yes, it was,” Jane said. “It’s lucky for you that you went outside with Jerry, or you probably would have had another one of those Weng Weng things. I’ll bet Rosie won’t feel very good tomorrow. Enjoy the cigar?”

  “It was alright. I didn’t like it enough to go back to them. My mouth and throat feel dirty.”

  “I can smell it,” Jane said. “So what did you guys really go out there for?”

  “He wanted to discuss the stuff that Charlie told us, and the stuff that Cynthia and Jeb said.”

  “I take it he trusts Charlie about as much as you do.”

  “Yes. We were discussing the short wave radio when Cynthia came over.”

  “What did she want?”

  “She asked if we'd seen Arthur. He told her that he was coming to the Happy Hour, and he never showed up. She was worried. She left us to go check on him. You know the rest.”

  “Poor lady,” Jane said. “What a terrible thing to find. Does she know what Jerry thinks about this?”

  “Not sure. Jerry made some comments, but was careful not to say much in front of her. She’s smart, though. She might have picked it up.”

  Lucy stood up and started to growl. Then she started barking. Frank got up and looked out the window.