Bats and Bones (The Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mysteries) (7 page)

That is, it
was peaceful for a few minutes until she became aware of sounds coming from the
backside of the building. The beeps of someone dialing a cell phone prefaced a
low voice in almost a stage whisper. She froze and although she would normally
move out of range to give the caller privacy, the odd circumstances kept her in
her seat.

“Hey, it’s
me again. Don’t know what to do. (Pause) I know, but we can’t leave. Cops have
the park closed. (Pause) I don’t think I can make this delivery…(Pause) Well,
you’re going to have to work something else out. (Pause) Just text, don’t
call.” With no sign off, the phone slammed shut. Frannie quickly gathered her
things and headed to the road. She wondered if someone watched her but when she
looked back, saw no one. She considered reporting the call to the agent or the
sheriff but didn’t see either of them right then and didn’t want to hang around.

Back at the
campsite, Larry was sorting through his tote of outdoor supplies. He looked up.
“Hi Babe. Feel better?”

“A little.”
She hung her towel on the detachable clothesline on the rear of the trailer and
carried the rest of her stuff inside. When she came back out, she said to
Larry, “Go for a little walk with me?”

“Sure. I
was just getting stuff out for the fire. Time to start it pretty soon.”

Cuba raised
her head to check on their plans, but decided they must be crazy to go for a
walk and dropped back on her paws and closed her eyes.

“She’s
smarter than us. She’s better off staying in the shade,” Larry said. They went
the opposite direction from the shower house toward the parking lot and
trailhead. When they were away from most of the campers, Frannie told Larry
about the phone call she’d just overheard.

“Did the
guy see you?” Larry asked with heightened concern.

“I don’t
think so. He was around the corner of the building.”

“Could you
tell who it was?”

“No, he
kept his voice low. But we haven’t talked to any of the men here much except
Stub and I don’t think it was him.”

“What about
Dave Schlumm?”

“Oh
yeah…well again, I don’t think so but it’s possible. Sounded younger than him
though. Do you think it’s connected to Maeve’s death?”

“Hard to
say. The word ‘delivery’—you’re sure that’s what he said?” She nodded.
“Could be something legitimate, I suppose, but telling the other person to text
and not call makes it sound like it’s not. Of course, anyone here could be
involved in some kind of illegal pickup or delivery totally unrelated to
Maeve’s death, and because none of us can leave, has to make a change in plans.
We’ll have to pass this on to Agent Sanchez. Drugs are the first thing that
comes to mind.”

“I know,”
she agreed. They had reached the parking lot. “Let’s turn back.” They reversed
their direction and as they did so Larry draped his arm across her shoulders.
It was reassuring, even though her recently fresh, bright aqua camp shirt was
already starting to stick to her back.

“Well,
until this is over, I don’t even want you going to the shower house alone,
Frannie. Whatever this guy is up to, if he caught even a glimpse of you, there
could be a risk.”

“Okay.” She
pushed damp hair away from her face. “This heat is making the whole thing
worse. It’s like the weather is helping to keep us penned in.”

“I just
heard a report on the weather radio while you were gone. They’re still talking
storms tonight, possibly severe, and then better tomorrow. Like Mickey says,
good news, bad news.”

They
trudged up the road in silence for a few minutes, flies buzzing around them in
the stillness.

“What’s
your take on this, Larry? Do you think it was someone in the campground? Or
totally unconnected?” Frannie asked.

“She
definitely annoyed a lot of people but hardly a cause for murder.”

“And who
would have known she was even out there at that hour?”

“They could
have seen her go by in the car.”

“Yes, but
for someone to follow, catch up to her, and get her to stop—it just
doesn’t fit time-wise. Did Stub and his buddies see anything? They were up
late.”

“The
sheriff says they claim not. They say they went to bed about 1:00.”

Frannie
remembered something. “Mickey said he saw at least some of them out by their
fire around 1:30.”

“You’re
right. But they did say around 1:00. People usually don’t know what time they
did something exactly. I think most likely she surprised someone doing
something they weren’t supposed to—something with consequences worth
killing for. I imagine the remoteness of a place like a state park attracts
quite a few unsavory transactions.”

“But the
parks all close at 10:30.”

“Technically
they do, and the gates are closed at the entrances but that wouldn’t prevent
anyone from walking in.”

“Well,
then, if she did happen on a drug sale or something like that, it could have
been the guy on the phone
or
it could
have been a local just using a drop site.”

“You’re
right,” he conceded. They seemed to be going in figurative circles as they
plodded straight ahead on the road.

At the
entrance to the campground, they found the sheriff and Agent Sanchez in the
patrol car, AC running, talking and checking notes. Larry tapped on the agent’s
window.

The window
glided down silently and the agent smiled slightly as he recognized Larry.

“Yes, Mr.
Shoemaker?”

“Frannie
overheard a phone conversation a little bit ago that you should know about.”

Frannie
described the call and the voice again for the agent.

“And you
didn’t recognize the voice or see anyone?”

“No. It was
definitely a man and he tried to keep his voice as low as possible.”

The agent
finished his notes and smiled up at her. “Thank you. This could be very
important. It may not have anything to do with Mrs. Schlumm’s death but it
definitely sounds like something’s up.” The smile disappeared. “I caution you
again to be careful, Mrs. Shoemaker, and let us handle this.”

***********************

Happy
Camper Tip #6

Raccoons
can open anything humans can devise. They once got in our cooler and stole a
whipped topping container that actually had fishing worms in it. I imagine they
were pretty disappointed when they opened it. Another time, they took all the
juice boxes out of a cooler, emptied them and left them scattered on the
ground. On still another occasion, they polished off a dozen ears of sweet corn
soaking in a bucket, leaving only the husks. They also don't pick up after
themselves. Eventually you learn to put everything edible in a vehicle or
camper.

Mid-Saturday Afternoon

When they
got back to the campsite, Mickey and Rob were walking around making half-hearted
motions toward starting a fire. Some wood was piled by the fire ring and Mickey
had gotten out a fire starter.

“You were
leaving us with all the fire starting responsibility, weren’t you? Don’t you
want any supper?” Mickey asked.

“Right.
Like you’ve never started any fires?” Larry said.

“I didn’t
say I
couldn’t
. But I had to get out
of my chair… .”

“There’s
the problem—your lazy butt.”

The ‘I can
top you’ insults between the brothers-in-law had been going on for forty years.
Frannie and Jane Ann didn’t expect it to end anytime soon. Still arguing, the
men got a fire started and Mickey pulled a garbage bag out of a storage
compartment containing an ingenious grill system. In less than five minutes a
single pole rose next to the fire ring with a crosspiece holding a chain from
which a round grill was suspended. The grill could be adjusted up or down and
swung away from the fire to turn meat or leave the ring free for a larger
campfire.

Rob sat
forward in his lawn chair watching Mickey’s every move. When the grill was
complete, Rob sat back. “Wow. That is excellent. We used one of those tripods
and it was nothing but trouble—tripped over it, burned my arm on it once
trying to flip burgers—where’d you get that?”

“Some guy
in the Quad Cities makes them in his garage. Larry’s got one too.”

“And you
guys almost always cook over a fire, rather than a gas grill? Or charcoal?”

Mickey
shrugged. “Usually.”

Donna,
risen from her nap and looking perkier than any of the others, admired the
grill as well. “Anything new on Maeve Schlumm?” she asked.

“You missed
a visit from the DCI agent and the sheriff because you’re so lazy,” Rob said.

Donna stuck
out her tongue at him. “What’d they say?”

Rob
sobered. “They think she was murdered. Wanted to know about all the arguments she
had last night. Told us to stay put and stay safe.”

Donna had
no comment. Her eyes wandered around the surrounding campsites.

Rob said,
“And the sheriff said Schlumm has been reported for abusing his wife.”

Donna’s
eyes grew wide. “Really? That must be it, then. That would explain why she was
out where she was. He must have chased her!”

Larry
resisted rolling his eyes. “Donna, that may be the case but there’s too much
they don’t know yet. It’s best if we don’t go around making
accusations—just makes you into a target.”

Frannie
recognized Larry’s attempt to diplomatically tell Donna to shut up. It seemed
effective; Donna nodded seriously and gazed down the road to the Schlumm’s
camper. She moved her lawn chair closer into the circle, facing the road so she
could keep watch.

One of the
biker couples strolled by, checking out the grill and the group. Just past the
site, they hesitated, and turned back. No leathers today; instead they wore
shorts and denim shirts with the sleeves cut off, exposing some mean tattoos.
The man held out his hand to Mickey, who sat closest to the road.

“Richard
Evans. My wife, Elaine,” with a backward toss of his head by way of
introduction. “Are you the cop that found the body?”

“I’m
Mickey—that would be my brother-in-law, Larry,” Mickey pointed.

“Man.
That’s something. What a way to start your day, huh?” he said to Larry. Not
very tall and built like a refrigerator, Richard carried his bulk in his arms
and chest. Curly brown hair framed crinkled blue eyes and a big smile. Elaine, too,
was sturdy and big shouldered without being fat. Her gray curly hair stopped
just short of her shoulders and was pulled back from her face and behind her
ears with barrettes. Both evidenced the outdoor life with tanned leathery skin.

Now Richard
walked over by the grill, hands on hips. “This is what we stopped to check out.
Very clever! How’d you come by this—or did you make it?”

Larry and
Mickey took turns explaining about the grills. They almost could field a
routine, they had been asked so many times. Rob offered Richard a beer, which
he gratefully accepted and the extra lawn chairs were produced. Elaine
scratched and cooed to both dogs—obviously a softy.

“So, what
do you do, Richard?” Larry said.

“Yeah, I’m
a chiropractor,” Richard said.

“Seriously?”
Mickey said. When Richard nodded, Mickey added, “That gives new meaning to the
term ‘adjustment.’”

Richard
roared and slapped his knee. “You bet!”

“What about
you, Elaine? Do you work? Rob and Donna are the only ones in our group who are
still productive members of society,” Frannie said.

Elaine gave
a sweet smile. “I farm.” Then seeing their surprised faces, she continued. “We
inherited my parents’ farm and I love working it. Richard has his practice in a
small town about three miles from us. I’m strictly a grain farmer—no
livestock—so it leaves us free to head out on our bikes on weekends.
There really are great parks in this part of the state.”

“I love
your tents,” Donna said. “Very minimalist!”

“You’re
welcome to check them out any time,” Elaine said.

Richard
brought the conversation back to the topic on all of their minds. “Yeah, I’ve
seen the sheriff a couple of times and the agent talked to us a little bit
ago.You think they really suspect someone in the campground of murder?”

“They have
to consider that possibility,” Larry, master of the non-answer, said.

“Looked
like you guys had a run-in with Mrs. Schlumm last night too,” Rob said.

Richard
sighed. “Yeah, she reamed us out for noise. It wasn’t 10:00 yet, though.”

“She was
already mad at us and those guys across the road,” Rob explained. “Probably why
she came down so hard on you.”

“Yeah, but
can’t imagine that anyone killed her over that kind of thing. What about the
husband? Isn’t the husband always the most likely suspect?” Richard said.

“Is that a
threat?” Elaine asked, getting a chuckle from everyone.

“His grief
seems pretty sincere,” Frannie said.

“People can
be pretty good actors,” Larry observed.

Mickey got
up and checked the state of the fire. He carefully placed another log. They
wanted fairly hot coals to cook their chicken. “Look at Larry. Some people
actually think he’s a professional cop.”

Richard
said to Larry, “I thought you
were
a
retired cop.” But then noticing the smirk on Mickey’s face, he nodded with
amused understanding.

Richard said,
“Yeah, well, I hope they solve it soon. They can’t keep us here forever…can
they?”

“Not
likely,” Larry smiled. They discussed some of the other parks they liked, and
then Richard heaved himself out of his chair.

“Hey,
thanks for the beer. Stop by at our joint and we’ll repay you.”

“And we
give free tours of our abode,” Elaine said.

They talked
about supper. They talked about supper a lot on their trips. What they were
going to have, how to cook it, how hot the coals needed to be, what kind of
dessert to finish it off with. But this trip they soon switched back to talking
about Maeve’s death.

“Maybe
Richard’s right—maybe it was Dave. He probably knows when she left the
camper and he’s not saying,” Rob said.

“I asked
the ranger this morning about their leaving,” Donna said. “He said it was
partly because of complaints about Maeve, but I bet it also has to do with the
domestic abuse thing.”

Larry shook
his head. “That ranger’s quite a gossip.” Larry always preferred that such
matters were left to the authorities.

“He’s
young—quite young—really very, very young,” Frannie said. “This has
to be a very unusual situation for a state park.”

Larry
acknowledged that and added, “I do think we all need to be careful. Apparently
everyone here knows that we found the body. The murderer may suspect we found
more than that—other evidence. Frannie, go ahead and tell them about the
phone call. This is serious business and I don’t want any of you thinking Dave
is the only possible threat.”

Frannie
related the phone call she overheard. The other four all looked a little
stunned.

“This is
like TV,” Donna said.

“No,” Larry
said. “This is real life. That’s why I said this is serious business.”

The brown
DNR pickup rumbled slowly along the road, stopping at each campsite. When he got
to them, Ranger Phillips leaned out the window.

“Sheriff is
calling a meeting at 7:00 tonight in the picnic shelter for everyone in the
campground. Some things he wants to go over with everyone at the same time.”

Mickey
raised his hand in acknowledgement and the rest nodded. Ranger Phillips nudged
the pickup along to the next site.

“Well,”
Donna said. “Maybe we’ll finally learn something.”

“Will that
fire be ready to cook pretty soon?” Jane Ann asked. “If we can eat around 5:00,
we won’t have to hurry and can clean up before the meeting.”

Mickey
looked at his watch. “That should work. We can put the chicken on in about half
an hour. I’d better rest up.” He flopped in his lawn chair.

Frannie
wondered more than ever about Dave Schlumm. She had left their thermos that
morning and it offered an excuse to meet his daughter and maybe find out a
little more about the Schlumms’ relationship. In spite of Richard’s comment
about the husband always being a likely suspect, she had a hard time believing
that was the case here.

“I’m going
over to Dave Schlumm’s. I left our thermos with him this morning and I’ll see
how he’s doing,” she said.

“Whoa,”
Larry said. “After what we just learned about him? I’d better go.”

Frannie
counted off on her fingers. “It’s broad daylight, I’m not going inside, his
daughter’s there, and I’m much pleasanter than Maeve.
And
Jane Ann will go with me. No one argues with her.”

“I can go,
too.” Donna said.

“I don’t
think that’s a good idea,” Frannie said. “They’ll think we’re ganging up on
them.”

“I’m pretty
good at asking questions, though.”

Frannie
thought, ‘nosey, you mean?’ and then felt a slight guilty twinge thinking of
her own intentions but stood her ground.

“I’m just
going to get my thermos and see how he is,” she said.

As Larry
stood, arms crossed, at the edge of the road watching, the two women headed
toward Dave Schlumm’s camper. The RV sat perched on its wheels and jacks, still
closed up, air conditioner humming on the roof. Frannie mounted the steps and
knocked. The door opened a crack and the young woman who arrived earlier peered
out.

“Yes?”

“I’m
Frannie Shoemaker. My husband and I sat with your dad earlier today. I think I
left my thermos here.”

Jodi opened
the door wider. Her bleached blond hair stuck out at angles—possibly an
intentional hairstyle, but more likely a result of unconsciously using it to
deal with her grief.

“Come on
in.” Her voice was faint and raw.

“We don’t
want to intrude,” Frannie said. “The thermos should be right there on the
counter by the door.”

Jodi glanced
over and spotted the thermos. She reached for it and at the same time started
to step out the door. Frannie backed off the steps. As Jodi emerged, she pushed
the door closed behind her. She stepped off the steps and handed them the
thermos.

“Thank you
for helping Dad today,” Jodi said.

“How’s he
doing?”

“He’s
sleeping.” Jodi sighed. “This is really hard.” Her voice caught. “I’m going to
miss my mom so much. She won’t get to see Aaron, my son, graduate from college
or her granddaughters even start high school. It’s so unfair.” Tears were
rolling down her cheeks now.

“I know
what you mean. I lost my mom recently too, although not unexpectedly like this.
I’m sure this is hard on your dad too—he will miss her a lot,” Frannie
said, prodding a little. “He seemed very much in shock this morning.”

Jodi took a
deep breath. “Yeah…he will. They hadn’t gotten along very well lately, though.
Dad has such a temper, sometimes I didn’t know how she tolerated it.”

Frannie and
Jane Ann looked at each other, hiding their surprise. Dave hadn’t appeared to
be the one with the temper.

Frannie
said, “Your dad said your mom loved this park a lot.”

“She did.
The only thing that really made her mad was when people abused it and didn’t
follow the park rules.”

“Jodi, if
your mom was leaving the park in her car last night for some reason and she saw
something suspicious, would she have stopped and left the car or called the
authorities?” Frannie asked.