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

by Hope Callaghan

  Gloria had tried to weasel the new honeymoon location out of Paul but he refused to give her even the slightest hint, only saying she would “love” where he was taking her.

  The food arrived a short time later. The cook, Sandy, placed the plates in front of all three and then wiped her hands on the front of her apron. “You guys just get here?”

  Gloria reached for her toast and a packet of butter. “We’ve been here a couple days but this is the first time we’ve stopped by for breakfast. In fact, we weren’t even sure you served breakfast.”

  “We started serving breakfast about a month ago. I’m Sandy Colby.”

  “I’m Gloria Ru-Kennedy.” Gloria pointed at Liz. “This is my sister, Liz, and her friend Frances.”

  Sandy rested an elbow on the counter. “Ah. You’re staying in the camper where they found poor Keith’s body the other day.”

  Gloria perked up as she took a bite of toast and nodded her head. “Yeah. Actually, my husband and I found the body. Poor thing.”

  Sandy nodded. “Heard he killed himself.” She tsk-tsked.

  “Seems like a lot of tragic incidents around here lately,” Gloria said. “First the fire, then the two deaths.”

  Sandy refilled their coffee cups and placed the pot on the burner behind her. “Yeah and your neighbor there, Penny what’s-her-name, seems to have a black cloud hanging over her head.”

  “Oh?” Gloria’s heart began to thump. “Why is that?”

  “First her camper burns to the ground. Her poor cat, Cleo, is missing. She moves next to you and then someone breaks into her camper. Right after that, Harry Fisk’s body was found not far away and then Keith Stevenson’s body was found right next door.”

  Chapter 14

  “Penny’s camper was the one that burned?” Gloria remembered someone saying Penny had gotten into it with Keith because her cable was not working, which must have been right after she moved.

  “How long ago did the camper burn?”

  It couldn’t have been that long ago considering the McGyvers were under investigation for insurance fraud, at least that’s what Gloria assumed.

  “I heard the owners of the campground were under investigation for insurance fraud. Is it because of the fire at the camper and another building?”

  “Oh yeah.” Sandy rolled her eyes. “Y’all shoulda seen the fireworks from that one! Whew! Penny accused Ian and Victoria of setting the fire. Ian and Victoria turned it right back on her saying they thought she had set the fire.”

  Sandy grabbed a dishrag from the counter and swiped a water spot. “Fact is, I’m surprised Penny didn’t move out.”

  She leaned in and whispered. “I think she’s suing the McGyvers so they’re afraid to evict her.”

  Gloria lifted a fork full of eggs, popped the food in her mouth and slowly chewed. This was an interesting turn of events.

  “Poor Ian and Victoria, too. They have such bad luck with the employees, although I say good riddance to Keith. First he hits the poor Zortski boy and then they catch him with his hand in the till.”

  “Why sometimes I think this campground is cursed. Course I heard they built it on top of some Indian burial mound and shoulda left well enough alone.”

  Frances dipped the tip of her toast in her egg, engrossed in Sandy’s tale. “The owners knew this was the site of an Indian burial ground yet bought it anyway?”

  Sandy explained how Ian and Victoria’s parents purchased the property years ago and they were the ones who built the campground. It was years later, the children learned the history of the property.

  “Looking back, they probably wouldn’t have purchased land with a curse attached to it,” she said.

  Liz’s mouth dropped open. “Cursed Indian burial ground?”

  “Yep,” Sandy nodded. “I figured that’s what happened to Virgil and MaryAnne. The curse caught up with them.” She made a slicing motion across her neck.

  “The original owners are dead?” The mystery was deepening by the minute. “Did…did something happen to them here at the campground?” Gloria asked.

  “Yep. It was before I started working here, probably about ten years ago now.” She told how Ian and Victoria had just finished college and started working at the campground with plans for a major expansion, which included a water park, a separate restaurant and mini golf course.

  Things had been going as planned and right on schedule. It was right after they broke ground for the new restaurant that disaster struck. One night, right after the ground had been cleared for the restaurant, the crew left and only Virgil and MaryAnne remained on site.

  When Ian McGyver arrived for work the next day, he found his parents hadn’t yet opened the store even though it was late morning.

  He scoured the campground, searching for his parents and found them near the construction site. Somehow, the dozer the workers had been using to level the ground had rolled back and crushed both his parents.

  “Poor Ian,” Gloria gasped. “He was the one who discovered their bodies?”

  Sandy nodded grimly. “Ian never forgave himself and always thought he could have prevented it had he been there.”

  “What a tragic story.” Gloria popped the last bite of toast in her mouth. She wiped her mouth with the napkin and dropped it on top of her empty breakfast plate. “Could you please make some sort of breakfast sandwich with a little egg, cheese and sausage?”

  “I can whip one up in a jiffy,” Sandy promised and promptly got to work.

  “The sandwich will be cold by the time Paul comes back from fishing,” Liz told her sister.

  “It’s not for Paul,” Gloria replied. “It’s for Billy.”

  “Aww. That’s nice,” Sandy had overhead their conversation. “Such a lost little soul and such a sad situation.” Sandy placed the piping hot sandwich on a clean, flat wrapper, expertly wrapped it and dropped it into a paper bag. She added a container of hash browns on top. “This one is on the house.”

  Sandy rang up their orders and Gloria paid for everyone’s breakfast, leaving Sandy a generous tip. She liked Sandy, who was not only thoughtful and friendly, but had been extremely helpful!

  Liz stopped to buy a case of Diet Coke on the way out. Bridget wasn’t at the checkout counter this time. The person behind the counter was the young man who had checked Paul and her in the other day…Ben.

  “See you had breakfast in the back. Mom is a great cook,” he said.

  Gloria lifted a brow. “Sandy is your mother?”

  Ben nodded. “Yes ma’am. It’s a family affair around here. Victoria and Ian are my cousins.” He grinned. “And bossier than all get out.”

  No wonder Sandy knew so much about the McGyver family! Funny, she had never mentioned she was related to Ian and Victoria McGyver, not that it would have mattered.

  Gloria hobbled to the side of the counter. “She said this campground is located on an ancient Indian burial ground.”

  Ben handed Liz her change and nodded. “Yeah. If you’re standing in front of the clubhouse, go about fifty feet to the left and you’ll see the Indian mound.”

  “I’ve never seen one. What does it look like?” Gloria asked.

  The young man shrugged. “Like a small grassy hill.”

  “Sounds creepy.” Liz shivered.

  It sounded creepy to Gloria, too. Creepy and intriguing, except for the McGyvers’ deaths, which was sad. She wondered how old Ben had been when his aunt and uncle died. Probably young. Gloria didn’t want to pry so she thanked him for the information and hopped to the door.

  Gloria stopped by the campsite so Liz could leave her Diet Coke in the camper while Gloria left the hot breakfast meal on the picnic table bench, in the same spot she had left the sandwich and chips the day before.

  She limped to the golf cart and slid into the driver’s seat. Perhaps Paul and she should look into buying a golf cart. Mally would love riding around in it.

  Gloria smiled as she envisioned the look on her beloved pooch’s face as t
hey raced around the yard and barns.

  Liz and Frances slid onto the seats and Gloria pulled out onto the road. On their drive to the back of the campground, they passed by the sign for Lake Manny. Gloria had never noticed it before and she hoped Paul was having a successful fishing trip. This was his honeymoon, too, and she wanted him to have a wonderful time.

  She doubted they would ever forget a honeymoon where the first thing they did was stumble on a dead body…and her sister showed up, not to mention Gloria breaking her leg. Yeah, it would be hard to forget this trip, and it wasn’t even over yet!

  Gloria veered off the beaten path and drove the cart between the clubhouse and the burned out building. She slowed the cart and studied the shell of the structures. “Poor Cleo,” Gloria whispered. She couldn’t imagine the heartbreak poor Penny felt…not only had she lost everything she owned, her beloved pet was missing.

  “What’s wrong?” Liz noticed the look of sadness on Gloria’s face.

  Gloria wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I was thinking of Cleo, the cat and wonder what happened to him. Penny Green must be heartbroken.”

  “Heartbroken and angry enough to kill someone?” Frances asked aloud as she gazed at the structures.

  A small figure with bright red hair darted between the camper and the other burned out structure. “Billy,” Liz said.

  Gloria cupped her hands to her mouth. “Billy. Hey!”

  The figure glanced their way and then picked up the pace as he ran across the open space, over a mound of dirt and disappeared on the other side.

  Liz wrinkled her nose. “Did he just run over the top of the Indian burial mound? Isn’t that bad luck?”

  Billy didn’t need more bad luck. Of course, Gloria didn’t believe in “luck,” per se. She believed in God.

  She shut the golf cart off. “C’mon. Let’s go check it out.” She didn’t wait for a reply as she pulled her crutches from the back bench, stuck one under each of her arms and headed for the side of the structure.

  Gloria slowed as she studied the contents, trying to figure out what had been inside. If the fire had been accidental, what had caused the fire? Metal posts lined the side, creeping up like ghostly fingers as they reached for the sky.

  She could see blue skies through the other side. A metal barrel rested in the far corner, the front charred and the contents unreadable. Next to the barrel was a filing cabinet, the handles still visible. On the other side of the structure was a piano, the edges charred but the ivory keys intact.

  “Such a shame.” Liz stood next to her sister.

  “The piano?” Gloria asked.

  “The piano? Who cares about the piano? I’m talking about the Bunn coffee machine over there on the counter.”

  “Sheesh, Liz. You and your coffee! Maybe you can salvage it, take it home, clean it up.”

  Liz sniffed. “You don’t appreciate a good cup of joe.”

  They slowly made their way around the building and stopped in front of the camper. It was in even worse condition than the storage building, if that was possible.

  Gloria stood in the back and was able to see straight through to the front. She could make out what was left of a bed and dresser before easing around the side.

  There looked to be a hall and on the other side was what was left of a bathroom, a blackened tub in one corner.

  They inched their way toward the front, passing by what had been the living room and what appeared to be the remnants of a sofa. The sofa’s metal frame was clearly visible and a chunk of cushion lay on top.

  When they reached what had been the kitchen, Gloria stopped and studied the burned structure. There was a lamp on top of the counter. “That looks like a kerosene lamp.” She pointed at the lamp and inched closer to the structure, still surrounded by yellow caution tape.

  “What are you doing?” Liz hissed.

  Gloria glanced over her shoulder. “Taking a closer look.” She balanced on her good leg and lifted her crutch. She eased the crutch inside the burned out hulk and placed it against the lower kitchen cabinet.

  “Gloria! You’re going to get us arrested,” her sister insisted.

  Frances, curious to find out what Gloria was up to, offered to help. “Hand me the crutch. I can open the cupboard.”

  Gloria handed her the crutch.

  Frances stood near the metal frame, leaned inside and flipped the cabinet open with the rubber tip of the crutch.

  Gloria shifted to the side and peered in. “Huh. That’s interesting. Try the next one.”

  Frances shifted the crutch and opened the second cabinet.

  “One more,” Gloria said.

  “Someone is coming,” Liz screeched.

  Gloria ignored her.

  The last cabinet in the far corner was a stretch and Frances had to stand on her tiptoes, tilt to the side and swipe the cabinet door to the left. Her first try was unsuccessful.

  “One more try, Frances,” Gloria urged.

  “The owner is walking this way,” Liz groaned.

  Frances sucked in a breath, leaned forward and swiped the tip of the crutch against the cabinet door. The door popped open but not far enough and quickly slammed shut.

  Frances lost her balance and began to sway back and forth in slow motion. Gloria, leaning on one crutch, tried to help but it was too late.

  Frances fell forward, grasping the edge of the camper frame and tumbled to the ground, still holding onto the crutch which whacked her on the head on her way down. “Umpf.”

  Ian McGyver had reached the girls. “This area is off limits.” When he noticed Frances lying in a heap on the ground, he bent down. “Are you okay?”

  “I-uh…” Gloria stuttered, her mind racing to find an excuse to be poking around the burned camper.

  Frances climbed to her feet and handed the crutch to Gloria “We were trying to…”

  “My sister, the super sleuth, was snooping around,” Liz bluntly said as she pointed at Gloria.

  Chapter 15

  Ian eyed Gloria. “Don’t you have enough troubles already?”

  Gloria opened her mouth for a snappy response but changed her mind as she remembered the man had lost both parents and was in the midst of an investigation, not to mention two of his guests had died on his property. The man had oodles more problems than Gloria did.

  “Something doesn’t add up. Two deaths. A suspicious fire.”

  “This place is cursed,” Ian said. “Haven’t you heard the rumors?” His eyes were drawn to the Indian mound. “Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel and give up. If not for some of the longtime residents who have nowhere to go, I probably would.”

  Gloria nodded at the camper. “This was Penny Green’s camper?”

  Ian nodded. “Yeah. We thought Penny’s place caught fire first but investigators are thinking something inside the storage building caught fire and then the flames leapt over to her place.”

  He went on. “Burned fast, too. Not much to the campers. That’s why you gotta make sure the smoke alarms are working. She was lucky she made it out alive.”

  The radio clipped to Ian’s belt, squawked . “Ian, do you copy?”

  He unclipped the radio and held it to his face. “I’m here, Victoria.”

  “I’m having trouble logging onto the reservation system again.”

  “Be right there.”

  He replaced the radio and headed to his golf cart. “You ladies should find something else to do unless you want the curse to strike you, too.”

  They watched as he climbed into his golf cart and then drove off toward the front of the campground.

  “He’s right, Gloria,” Liz agreed. “We don’t need to be looking for trouble.”

  “Does that mean we can’t check out the Indian burial mound?” Frances had never seen one before and was looking forward to it.

  “I say we take a vote. All in favor of checking out the burial ground, raise your hand.”

  Gloria and Frances raised their hands. />
  “You’re outnumbered,” Gloria told her sister as she hopped to the cart. “Tell you what, once we’re done checking it out, we’ll stop by the camper, grab a couple lounge chairs and head to the beach.”

  “Okay.” Liz reluctantly agreed, mainly because she had no choice.

  After the girls had settled into their seats, Gloria fired up the motor and they headed toward the mound.

  Gloria steered the golf cart around the dome shaped mound and stopped in front of a small bronze plaque. “This must be it.”

  Timucuan Indian Burial Mound

  “Herein lies the remains of more than one hundred Timucuan Indians. Along with the remains are artifacts used by the Indians, including tools, pipes and arrowheads. These items were buried with the bodies for use in the afterlife and preserved pieces are on display at the Timucuan Indian Museum in nearby Ormond Beach.

  This mound is believed to be over 1000 years old.”

  Gloria finished reading and stared at the mound. “Can you imagine? Over a thousand years old.”

  Liz peered at the plaque. “They believed in the afterlife and probably haunt this place…day and night. If I were the owners, I would sell this place, too.”

  The trio studied the mound solemnly for several long moments and somberly climbed into the golf cart.

  They finished the campground tour and then stopped by the campers for supplies, filling the back of the golf cart with beach chairs, beach bags, towels and a small cooler crammed full of snacks and sodas.

  Gloria automatically looked at the picnic table bench where she’d left Billy’s breakfast sandwich. It was gone. She smiled and vowed to leave food for him every day she was there, which were only a couple more days…

  Perhaps she could casually mention to Sandy or Ian that the boy might be hungry while his parents were working.

  The drive to the private beach took only moments, thanks to the speedy golf cart, which Gloria was thoroughly enjoying. She eased down the path, careful not to get too close to the palm leaves and scrub brush.

  When they reached the beach, Liz gasped. “Wow! I had no idea this place had such a beautiful beach.”