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

by Hope Callaghan

  She lifted a second finger. “Keith Stevenson, the fellow whose body was found near your camper, was walking around here, shooting off his mouth. He threatened to contact authorities about the McGyvers.”

  Gloria leaned in. “Contact authorities?”

  Penny nodded. “The McGyvers are being investigated for insurance fraud.”

  “Insurance fraud?” Gloria asked. “What kind of insurance fraud?”

  “Now I’m not one to gossip, but Victoria, she’s a real talker. She’ll tell ya’.” Penny shook her head. “Seems like too much of a coincidence to me.”

  It seemed suspicious to Gloria, too. “Is that why they fired him?” She remembered Ian McGyver commenting he had kicked Keith Stevenson off the property and told him not to come back.

  Had Keith been blackmailing the McGyvers?

  Gloria remembered the boy watching them earlier. “The boy you chased out of your camper. He was watching us through the bushes.”

  Penny nodded. “Gotta keep a close eye on him. Keep your doors locked or he will sneak into your camper. His name is Billy Zortski. Him and his parents live here full time. The parents let the boy run wild while they’re at work.”

  “He isn’t in school?” Paul asked.

  “Billy should be,” Penny said. “He keeps gettin’ into trouble and the parents claim to be home schoolin’ him. How can you home school when you work all day?”

  She went on. “Anyway, gotta watch that one. Caught him lurking ‘round my place several times.”

  Penny lifted her hand and twirled her index finger in a circle. “I think he’s a little off.”

  Chirp. Penny tilted her head. “That’s my phone. I’m expecting a call.” She gave a quick wave, turned on her heel and darted into the camper.

  “How is it possible she has cell reception and we don’t?” Gloria asked as they finished the short walk to their camper.

  “Good question.”

  They rounded the corner and started up the steps.

  Paul stopped abruptly. “Look!” The door to their camper was wide open!

  Chapter 4

  Gloria frowned. “I was sure I locked the door when we left.”

  Paul nodded grimly. “Me too.” They stepped inside and gazed around. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed.

  Gloria wondered if the young boy, Billy, had somehow managed to sneak inside.

  What would he be looking for? She made a mental note to discuss the boy with the owners.

  Gloria fixed a quick lunch, consisting of roasted turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches. Paul carried potato chips and coleslaw to the table while Gloria juggled the plates, sandwiches and drinks.

  They settled in at the small dining table, bowed their heads and prayed over the food. “Dear Lord. Thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for this food and thank you for my wonderful husband and for helping him pick out this special place for us to enjoy our honeymoon.” She was about to say “amen” but quickly added. “We also pray for the campground victims and their families. Amen.”

  “Amen,” Paul added as he lifted his sandwich and took a big bite. “You make a mean sandwich,” he teased.

  “Better watch it or I’ll put you in charge of meals,” Gloria shot back.

  Paul reached for a chip. “Then we’re gonna starve.”

  Gloria scooped a heaping spoonful of coleslaw onto her paper plate before lifting a spoon full and popping the food into her mouth. It was delicious and creamy with the perfect amount of tart.

  She chewed her food thoughtfully as she glanced out the window. Were the campground owners killers? They didn’t strike Gloria as the killer-types.

  If Penny, the neighbor, had known the park owners for years and then suddenly, there were two deaths, just days apart, why now? Was it because the McGyvers were involved in insurance fraud and desperate to avoid charges…desperate enough to commit murder?

  What about the young boy, Billy? Why was he sneaking around, spying on people and breaking into guests’ campers?

  Paul popped the last bite of sandwich in his mouth and wiped the corners with his napkin. “You’re thinking about the deaths.”

  “Yeah,” Gloria admitted. “Two deaths in a short time, both here in the campground, both having a run in with the owners. It seems too coincidental. Then there’s the boy, Billy. Why is he spying on people?”

  Paul pushed back his chair, stepped in front of the table and reached for the empty paper plates and dirty napkins. “It’s not our concern,” he said. “We are here to enjoy our first few married days together, alone.”

  He carried the plates to the trashcan and tossed them inside, lifted his hands over his head and yawned. “I’m ready for a nap.” It had been a long day, starting with their arrival at the Grand Rapids airport for the flight to Orlando before daybreak. Not only that, the day before had been filled with wedding festivities and celebration.

  It had been exhausting.

  “Care to join me?”

  Gloria shook her head. She knew there was no way she could sleep. She was too wound up. “You go ahead.”

  Paul nodded and kissed his wife absentmindedly before heading to the bedroom in the back. He slid the door closed.

  Gloria stared at the door. If she had been home on the farm, she would have grabbed her beloved dog, Mally, and headed to the woods out back to mull over the new mystery.

  Instead, she settled for puttering around the kitchen and rearranging the items inside the cupboards, which didn’t take long.

  Afterward, she wandered out onto the deck. Maybe a long walk around the campground would help clear her mind.

  Gloria glanced back at the camper. Paul would be fast asleep and she didn’t want to wake him just to tell him she was going for a walk.

  She slipped back inside, reached in her purse and grabbed her pen. There was a small pad of paper near the sink. She quickly scribbled a note and then quietly slipped back outside.

  When she reached the end of the drive, she turned left, which took her away from the main arteries of the park and looped around the back.

  Gloria passed by what she guessed was the clubhouse. It was right next to a sparkling blue pool that looked inviting and tennis courts. There was even a volleyball court, a basketball court and shuffleboard.

  On the other side of the clubhouse was another building. Gloria wasn’t certain what it was….or had been. The structure had burned to the ground. Right next to it was another structure. It looked to be the shell of a burned out travel trailer.

  Was this what Penny had been talking about when she said the McGyvers were being investigated for insurance fraud?

  After leaving the area, she passed by another small building, the laundromat, and then headed to the front. Several vehicles were parked in front of the office / park store, and when Gloria stepped inside, she spied several people, off in the corner standing near a small snack bar, something she hadn’t noticed when Paul and she had checked in earlier.

  The tantalizing aroma of fried foods and grilled burgers wafted in the air. On closer inspection, Gloria noted that for a small store, it had a large variety of camping supplies, along with a small section of sundries, suntan lotion, insect repellant and aspirin.

  There were several food aisles boasting an array of condiments, breads, donuts and breakfast sweets. Gloria grabbed a box of cheese Danish, a variety pack of donuts, along with some bacon and eggs since they’d forgotten breakfast items on their trip to the store. She placed the items in the handbasket she had picked up on her way in.

  She wandered the aisles and paused when she got near the back where the other guests had gathered.

  The person operating the grill was none other than Ian McGyver, one of the campground owners.

  “…and I found out Penny was going around telling people she thinks we had something to do with Harry and Keith’s deaths,” Ian told the others.

  A man with long gray hair braided in the back, lifted a coffee cup and sipped. “You gotta watch
her, Ian. I caught her arguing with Keith the other morning. She told me he had looked at her cable box and insisted nothing was wrong.” He shrugged. “When I looked at it, it was just a loose cable. A couple twists and it was fixed.”

  Ian paused, the spatula mid-air. “I kicked Keith out of the park two days ago.” He shook his head. “I have no idea why he came back into the park.”

  Unless he was after something, Gloria thought to herself but bit her tongue and continued to study the array of sunglasses on the round rack.

  “Well, hopefully the Zortskis don’t press charges. They know you fired Keith as soon as you found out what he did to Billy,” a woman piped up.

  Gloria nearly dropped the sunglasses she’d been inspecting. Keith, the part-time maintenance worker, had done something to Billy, the young boy?

  She replaced the sunglasses she’d been holding, picked up another pair and slid them on her face.

  Gloria gazed in the small mirror on the side of the rack. The frames were a perfect fit. On each side of the earpieces were small sparkly studs.

  Gloria turned her head from side to side, pulled them off and studied the tag. $14.99 - right in her budget. She folded the earpieces and placed the sunglasses on top of the donuts.

  The conversation turned to the weather and an upcoming storm, which was hard to believe. The skies were blue, with nary a cloud in sight. Of course, Gloria wasn’t familiar with Florida’s weather so she made a mental note to check the weather when she got back to the camper.

  A young girl with cropped brown locks and a ring in her nose stood behind the checkout counter near the front of the store.

  Gloria tried not to stare but had to wonder if the piercing hurt and how on earth the girl kept the ring clean. She shook her head to clear it as she placed her items on the counter.

  The girl quickly scanned her items, placed them in a paper sack and took the two twenty-dollar bills Gloria held out.

  “You’re new,” the girl commented as she counted out Gloria’s change.

  “Yes. We’re staying in the camper on Lot 47.”

  “That’s a brand new unit in the back of the campground.” The girl closed the cash register. “It’s nice and quiet back there.”

  Gloria tucked the change in her wallet and reached for the bag. “So far, it’s perfect.”

  “Just watch out for the water moccasins. I’ve seen a couple lurking ‘round there. Course you’re kinda close to Mucky Swamp.”

  Gloria wrinkled her nose. “Mucky Swamp?”

  “That’s the name I gave the swampy area.”

  Gloria’s stomach lurched. Snakes? Water moccasins? What had Paul gotten her into?

  The girl was a wealth of information. “I would take a large stick with you if you’re gonna wander around, especially at night. All you have to do is swing the stick at the gators and they will leave you alone, especially Rumble. He is afraid of his own shadow.”

  Gators? Rumble?

  She went on. “I’m Bridget, by the way.”

  A wave of sheer terror washed over Gloria as she tried to push aside thoughts of killers, killer snakes and killer gators. Was the whole State of Florida a death trap? Maybe she should rethink the snowbird idea.

  “I-I’m Gloria and thank you for the tips. I’ll be sure to watch out for…Rumble.”

  Bridget waved a hand. “Aw. Don’t worry about Rumble. Like I said, he’s a scaredy-cat. Not only that, he’s a small gator.”

  “Small?”

  “Yeah. My dad traps gators and he said Rumble was only like eight feet long.”

  Gloria swallowed hard. An eight-foot gator sounded huge to her! “Thanks again,” she smiled weakly and headed for the exit, hoping Bridget wouldn’t share any more helpful tips on Florida wildlife.

  She stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind her. What if she ran into a gator on the way back to the camper?

  She briefly thought about calling Paul and asking him to pick her up but remembered he was napping and on top of that, they had almost non-existent cell service.

  Gloria squared her shoulders. No gator…or water moccasin was gonna frighten her! She stepped off the porch and headed for the road, grabbing a large tree branch on her way. Better safe than sorry.

  Gloria breathed a sigh of relief when she rounded the bend and the camper was in sight.

  Her relief was short-lived when she noticed a car parked behind their rental car. It was a very familiar car. The car belonged to Gloria’s sister, Liz!

  Chapter 5

  Gloria picked up the pace as she squeezed by Liz’s driveway-hogging sedan and climbed the deck steps. The camper windows were open and she could see Paul and Liz inside, sitting at the dinette. There was someone else inside the camper and when she opened the door, she realized it was Frances, Liz’s best friend.

  “Surprise!” Liz and Frances shouted when they spied Gloria.

  “More like shock,” Gloria muttered as she forced a smile. “What are you two doing here?”

  Liz grinned. “Paul invited us. He wasn’t sure if you two would have time to drive all the way up to the Villages so Frances and I decided to drive down.”

  Gloria’s eyes darted to her husband. “You did this for me?” More like…to her but she kept the thought to herself.

  Paul smiled widely. “Yep. I was able to keep this whole trip and Liz’s visit a secret for a good month now.”

  It was true. Not only had Gloria not known where Paul planned to take her on their honeymoon, she had no idea Paul would track Liz down.

  He went on. “Lucy gave me Liz’s phone number.”

  Wait’ll I get my hands on Lucy Gloria vowed. Still, Gloria couldn’t…shouldn’t be too angry. She hadn’t seen Liz in several months.

  Gloria placed her bag of purchases on the counter, made her way across the room and embraced her sister. “It’s nice to see you Liz,” she said sincerely.

  She turned to Frances. “You, too Frances.” Gloria took a step back and studied Frances, who looked tanned, fit and healthy.

  “Florida certainly seems to agree with you.” She turned to her sister who looked tanned and healthy, as well. “You too.”

  Liz rolled her eyes. “Frances’ boyfriends can barely keep up with her.”

  Gloria smiled. “You have a boyfriend, Frances?”

  “Boyfriends,” Liz corrected, “as in multiples with new ones added weekly.”

  Frances gave Liz a dark look. “I only have three and none of them are serious.”

  Gloria patted her arm. “Good for you, Frances.” She turned to her sister. “What about you? Any new love interests?”

  Frances opened her mouth to answer and then promptly closed it when Liz gave her a death look. She lowered her gaze and focused her attention on an imaginary speck on the table.

  Gloria suspected from the way Frances clammed up and the look Liz had given her, there was something to it…something Liz did not want her sister to know.

  Paul, sensing Liz’s discomfort, quickly changed the subject. “Are you girls staying for dinner? We have plenty of supplies, although I noticed a nice oceanfront seafood restaurant as we drove in.”

  “We’re not staying for dinner,” Liz explained.

  A wave of relief washed over Gloria. It was short lived.

  “Frances and I rented the camper across the street for the next couple of days. We’re going to be neighbors!”

  ***

  “N-neighbors?” Gloria stammered.

  “We didn’t want to muscle in on your honeymoon and invade your space so we decided to rent the camper across the street,” Liz beamed.

  “Maybe you can distract Gloria from her latest mystery,” Paul teased.

  Liz perked up. “Mystery? What mystery?”

  Gloria explained how they stumbled on the former part-time maintenance employee’s body and how they discovered that one of the campground guests had recently died. Then she told them about Billy, the young boy who was stalking people and breaking into campers
. “Keep your doors locked,” she advised.

  “This place sounds dangerous,” Liz blustered. She turned to Paul. “How could you bring my sister here? I knew you should have stayed with me.”

  Gloria lifted her hand to cover her smile. Paul was getting a generous dose of the real Liz.

  “Then there are the water moccasins and gators that Bridget, the girl who works at the store, mentioned.” Gloria opened the bag of groceries she had just purchased. “She said Rumble, the resident gator, is afraid of everyone so he shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “I-I’m not sure about this,” Frances stuttered.

  Gloria lifted a brow. “Surely you are used to gators and wild creatures by now,” she replied innocently. Maybe Liz would change her mind and leave!

  Liz stiffened her back and dug in her heels. “Well! If Gloria can handle it, so can I,” she vowed. “C’mon, Frances. Let’s go unpack.”

  She slid off the seat and motioned Frances to follow.

  “I don’t know about this,” Frances muttered.

  Paul and Gloria followed the women out onto the deck. They watched as Liz and Frances climbed into Liz’s sedan and backed the car into the drive directly across the street. Liz’s camper had a birds-eye view of their camper.

  “She wasn’t kidding when she said she was across the street,” Gloria groaned.

  “I’m sorry Gloria,” Paul said. “I thought she would come for an afternoon visit and then leave.”

  Gloria wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist and placed her head against his chest. Just being close to him calmed her, made her world right again. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Nothing…not even Liz across the street was going to upset Gloria’s applecart.

  The newlyweds spent the rest of the afternoon planning day adventures including a trip to Kennedy Space Center, a drive on Daytona’s world famous beach and, last but not least, a visit to Daytona International Speedway’s visitor center.

  Gloria wasn’t the least bit interested in the speedway but could tell by the light in Paul’s eyes he was looking forward to the trip.

  Marriage was about give and take, she reminded herself. Not only that, she had found true love for the second time. Some people never found true love once in a lifetime. She was one of the fortunate ones and thanked God every day for her many blessings.