Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 03 - Smoky Mountain Mystery (3 page)

Gloria thanked the man and made her way over to the pretty brunette woman who just finished placing a tall glass of iced tea on a passenger tray.  She turned to face Gloria.  “Yes, ma’am.  How can I help you?”

Gloria held out the picture.  “I hope you
can
help me.  I’m looking for my sister.  I thought she was going to meet me on the train today but she’s not here.”

Sandy reached for the photo and brought it close to her face to study the images.  She slowly nodded.  “Yeah.  I remember her.  She was here the other day.”  Sandy handed the photo back.  “She was quite the character.  And she had a real story.  Something about a mysterious treasure she was searching for.”

The woman finished pouring more coffee into a nearby passenger’s cup before motioning to Gloria.  “Follow me.”

Without waiting for an answer, the woman turned and headed to the rear of the passenger car and through a door marked “Private.” 

Gloria followed her into the small, cramped room.  It was stacked to the ceiling with dishes, silverware and a variety of other kitchen supplies. 

Sandy yanked an overhead cabinet door open, shoved her hand inside and began feeling around.  “It’s got to be in here somewhere!  Ahh, there it is…” She pulled her hand back out.  In it was a map. 

Before she handed it over, she pressed it to her chest.  “This is for you.  Your sister was here the other day and picked up one just like it.”  A shadow of suspicion crossed the woman’s face.  “What did you say your name was?”

Gloria hadn’t.  “Gloria.”

Sandy nodded.  “Yeah, that’s the name.”  She handed over the map.  “I hope this helps.”

“You said my sister picked one of these up, too?” Gloria was confused.

Sandy nodded. 

“But where did you get this and how did you know to give it to me?”

The woman shook her head, a small smile framing her face.  “Now that, I can’t tell you.”  She glanced down at her watch.  “I’ve got to get back to work now.”

Gloria thanked the woman and squeezed out of the tight storage compartment.  She made it safely back inside the main part of the passenger car just in time. The train began jostling over the tracks as it rounded a sharp curve.  It made a sudden jerk to the right, followed by a low screeching noise. 

Gloria grabbed at the back of an empty passenger seat to steady herself.  It was then she noticed a restroom tucked back in the corner of the train car.  Gloria glanced around.  There was no one was in sight. 
Might as well go while I’m here. 

Gloria held onto the wall as she stumbled over to the tiny restroom.  She stepped inside and fumbled for the light switch.  The dim interior light cast a small glow around the confined space. Gloria’s heart sank.  She suffered from claustrophobia and the tight, dark space made her stomach churn. 

She quickly finished her business and washed her hands before grabbing the brass door handle.  It wouldn’t turn.  She tried turning it the other way.  It refused to budge.  She set her purse on the small counter.  Using both hands, she pushed as hard as she could.  The door refused to open. 

Small beads of sweat formed on her brow.  By now, her heart was thumping loudly in her chest.  She closed her eyes and whispered a small prayer as the familiar feeling of utter panic gripped her. 
Stay calm.  Maybe the handle is just sticky,
she told herself.
 

She took a deep breath and pushed again.  The door wouldn’t budge.  A fresh wave of panic washed over her. Gloria began pounding furiously on the door with both fists.  “Help!  Someone help!” 

It seemed as if an eternity went by as she pounded on the door and screamed for help.  Her hands were beginning to throb from beating on the door.  She leaned over the small sink and turned on the cold water.  She splashed her face with the water, which seemed to help just a tad.

After patting it dry with a paper towel, she went back to pounding on the wooden door and yelling at the top of her lungs.  It was no use.  No one could hear her! 

Certain she would be trapped in the tiny room for the rest of her life, she slid down the wall and dropped hard on the grimy tile floor below. 

She put her head in her hands as she blinked back the tears that stung her eyes.  None of this was helping.  It was time to get a grip, she scolded herself.  She would get out of that bathroom even if she had to rip the door off its hinges!

She closed her eyes and began to pray. A Bible verse popped into her head as she sat awkwardly on the hard tile floor.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NIV

“Thank you, Lord, for getting me out of here,” she whispered.
 
A sense of calm filled her.

It was then she heard a noise.  Her eyes suddenly flew wide open! It was a dog whining.  It must be Mally!  She flipped over onto her knees and pressed her face against the thin crack in the door.  “Mally!  I’m in here!”

The dog heard Gloria’s voice and started barking loudly.  “
Woof!  Woof!”

“Good girl.  Find someone to help get me out of here!”  A feeling of relief flooded her.  Mally to the rescue!

“Gloria, are you in there?”

She recognized a familiar voice.  “I’m in here!  The door won’t open!” she shouted through the door.

Margaret’s voice echoed through the narrow cracks.  “Hang on.  I’ll go find someone to help get you out.”

Gloria grabbed hold of the edge of the small sink and pulled herself to her feet.  “Thank you, Jesus,” she whispered. 

Moments later, the door swung open.  Gloria rushed through the small doorway and gulped in fresh air.  Mally and Margaret were waiting just on the other side.  She bent down and flung her arms around Mally’s neck.  “I love you!” 

She slowly rose to her feet and grabbed ahold of Margaret.  “Thank you for coming to my rescue,” she blubbered.

Margaret, unsure how to handle Gloria’s unexpected display of affection, patted her back awkwardly.  “Somehow Mally got away from me.  She must’ve come looking for you.”

Margaret stared inside the small space Gloria had just come out of.  “How did you manage to get yourself locked in the bathroom?”

Gloria let go of her friend and took a step back.  “I have no idea.  The door must’ve gotten jammed somehow.”

Sandy was standing directly behind Margaret.  She shook her head skeptically.  “I don’t think so.  The key to the door is missing.” She held an old brass key in her hand.  “Good thing we had a spare.  Otherwise, we probably would’ve had to break the door down.”

Gloria let the words sink in.  “You think someone intentionally locked me inside?”  

Sandy slowly shook her head.  “Why else would our key be missing?”

It took several moments for Gloria to calm down enough to make her way back to her chair.  She settled into her seat and pulled a bag of doggy treats from her purse.  She held one out for Mally.  “Good girl.” She patted the dog’s head as Mally snatched the treat from Gloria.

Grateful to be out of that tiny bathroom, she shut her eyes and uttered another prayer of gratitude before she slowly unfolded the map Sandy had given her.  A picture of the Smoky Mountains was on one side.  On the other was a diagram of the mountains.  There was a red circle around the upper left section.  Gloria slipped her reading glasses on and studied the circle.  “Clingman’s Dome,” she whispered out loud.

“What’s Clingman’s Dome?”  Margaret plopped down in the chair beside Gloria and peered across the chair. 

“Liz isn’t on the train.  She was here the other day and picked up a map just like this one,” Gloria explained.

Margaret yawned loudly.  “Where’d you get it from?”

“Sandy.  The employee who unlocked the bathroom door.”

“Did you ask her where it came from?”

Gloria nodded.  “Yep.  She wouldn’t tell me.” 

They studied the map for several long moments before Gloria carefully folded it back up and shoved it in her purse.  “Looks like we’re heading to Clingman’s Dome.”

When the train ride ended a short time later, Gloria, Margaret and Mally made their way to the car.  Gloria punched the hotel address in her GPS and was relieved to discover they only had a half hour drive before they arrived in the small town of Dardenville.  She turned the car onto the main road and headed east.

Gloria eased Annabelle into the small parking lot of Mountain View Motel & Inn.  The car rounded the corner of the portico and came to a stop under the wide, covered entrance.

The exterior of the quaint motel was plain and unassuming.  Tucked back in the corner of the property was a small, sparkling blue pool.  A white picket fence ran around the entire perimeter of the pool and both were completely surrounded by a cement parking lot.    To the left of the pool were some old motel rooms, straight out of the 60’s.  Margaret followed Gloria’s gaze.  “I hope one of those isn’t ours.”  Gloria hoped so too but knowing her luck, she could almost guarantee it. 

The first order of business was to let Mally stretch her legs.  She’d been cooped up in the car all day riding and after that, the train.  Never once did she give Gloria a hard time.  The dog had been as good as gold. 

To reward her, she let Mally explore the entire perimeter of the motel parking lot.  Finally, Gloria tugged on her leash.  “C’mon, girl.  Let’s go inside, get checked in and then I’ll fix you something to eat.”  Mally’s ears perked up at the mention of food. 

The two women stepped inside the small lobby and made their way over to the front desk.  “Reservation for Rutherford.”  While the woman checked the computer, Gloria studied her out of the corner of her eye.  The clerk had an exotic look, with her long jet black hair and deep sultry eyes.  She was a beautiful girl and her personality matched her appearance. 

“We aren’t too busy this week so I upgraded you to a two-room suite.” She smiled as she set the key cards on the counter and placed a window tag beside it.  “I hope you don’t mind.”

Margaret snatched the keys off the counter before the woman could change her mind.  “Thank you dear.  That is so kind of you.” 

After explaining to them how to get to their room and what the breakfast hours were, the women climbed back in the car and drove ‘round to the back of the building.  Gloria stomach twisted nervously as she worried about the suite.  Margaret was accustomed to the finer things in life.  Although she was certain the room would be nice, she wasn’t so sure it would be up to Margaret’s standards.

Gloria easily found a spot right in front of their room.  The girls pulled the luggage from the trunk and made their way to the entrance.

Gloria inserted the room key and sucked in her breath.  She unhooked Mally’s leash and then watched as she darted inside.  Margaret was next.  She flipped on the light switch and glanced around the ample-sized suite, slowly nodding in approval.  “Not too shabby.”  For Margaret, that was a pretty high compliment. 

Gloria stepped in after her and let out a sigh of relief.  She was right.  The suite was lovely and spacious.  It had a kitchenette in one corner, complete with a small wooden table and two chairs.  There was even a small fridge.  Perfect for bottled water and leftovers. 

Margaret checked out the room as Gloria laid the map on the bed to study it again.  “I guess we’ll head to Clingman’s Dome in the morning.” She glanced at the clock on the nearby nightstand.  “It’s too late to drive up there today.” 

The print on the brochure was small.  She plucked her reading glasses from her purse and perched them on her nose. 

“
The walk to the top of Clingman’s Dome is just over one-half mile. The incline is steep. We suggest wearing good walking shoes.” 
Gloria glanced over at Margaret, who was inspecting the inside of the small fridge.  She wasn’t sure how her friend would feel about hiking up the side of a mountain.  She was almost 100% certain Margaret would complain about the walk, which was precisely why Gloria decided not to mention it yet.

But Mally would definitely love it.  It would be right up her alley! 

Mally!  She momentarily forgot about her dog who was sitting patiently at Gloria’s feet, staring straight at her.  Not blinking.  She recognized that look.  “Shame on me.  I almost forgot about feeding you!” 

She opened Mally’s small suitcase and pulled out her food and water dish.  She filled one side with fresh water before pouring the other side full of food. 

Mally rubbed against Gloria’s leg appreciatively and then promptly buried her head inside the food dish. 

Gloria plugged her cell phone and charger in the nearest outlet she could find before dialing her sister’s cell number.  It went right to voice mail.  “Liz, it’s me.  I don’t know what kind of crazy game you’re playing or why you feel it’s necessary to drag me into this wild goose chase in the mountains but when I find you, I’m going to shake some sense into that crazy head of yours!”  She punched the end button hard, which gave her a sliver of satisfaction.  Gone were the good old days when you could just slam the phone down!

Margaret flopped down on the bed next door.  “She didn’t answer?”

Gloria shook her head.  “Nope.” She eased off the bed and wandered over to the large picture widow.  The mountain view reminded Gloria of a painting.  The mountains rose majestically around them. 

She lifted her hands over her head and reached towards the ceiling.  Gloria was tired of riding.  Riding in the car.  Riding in the train.  Her legs were stiff and a small throbbing in the center of her back was quickly growing. 

A nice, long walk to limber things up sounded wonderful.  She placed a hand on the small of her back and stretched her spine.  “Now what should we do?” Gloria wondered out loud.

Margaret’s eagle eye had already scoped the area out on the drive into town.  She walked over to where Gloria was still standing, pulled the curtain back and peered around the corner of the window.  “Well, I’m heading over to that casino.”

“What casino?”

“That one,” she pointed.

Gloria sighed as she followed her finger.  It was not quite what she had in mind.  She didn’t really want to go to a casino but reminded herself that Margaret was nice enough to come along with her on this adventure.  The least she could do was tag along if Margaret wanted to do something else.  Against her better judgment, she decided to go.  Other than just hang around the room and wait ‘til morning, there really wasn’t much else to do, anyways. 

The short walk across the two-lane road and down the sidewalk to the main entrance took less than five minutes. In front of the casino was a large, luxurious hotel. They stepped through the sliding glass door and were greeted by a massive floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace.  On both sides of the fireplace was a wall of windows that offered spectacular views of the mountainside. 

Gloria would’ve loved to explore the hotel and grounds.  Instead, they followed a large wooden sign that pointed left, “Casino.”

They walked another five minutes down corridor after corridor, past indoor pools, a game room, several restaurants and gift shops.  After what seemed like an eternity, the faint
ding ding
of slot machines could be heard. 

Following a second sign that said “Casino,” the girls eventually stumbled upon an escalator.  Gloria looked to the bottom where she could see row after row of shiny slot machines with bright flashing lights.  She began to have second thoughts.  She’d never been inside a casino before.  “Maybe this isn’t such a great idea.”

Margaret grabbed her arm and yanked her onto the escalator before she could change her mind.  “We won’t stay long,” she promised.

At the bottom of the escalator, Margaret wandered off as Gloria made her way over to a nickel machine.  It caught her eye with its cute little green men that spun around and shot out coins from small, silver laser guns.  Gloria plopped down in the chair and stuck a $20 bill in the machine.  Half an hour later, she was already bored with the game. Win a nickel, lose a nickel.  It was a vicious cycle. 

Her stomach grumbled in protest.  It had been hours since they last ate.  She glanced at her watch. It was almost 7 p.m. and time to find Margaret. 

She squinted her eyes as she checked the balance in the machine.  Five dollars and ten cents left. 
No way do I want to carry around a little piece of paper with a measly five dollars on it,
she decided. 

On impulse, she hit the max button and stood up.  All of the sudden, the machine went dark, just before it started making a weird bubbling noise. 
Great, I broke it. 
She shook her head in disgust and pushed in the chair.  She turned to go when the woman next to her put out her hand to stop her.  “You just won a jackpot.”

Gloria looked back at the screen skeptically.  “I thought I broke it.”

The woman was getting excited.  “No, you won!” she insisted.

Gloria pulled the chair back out and plopped down.  “What did I win?”

The woman studied the chart at the top of the machine as she tried to figure out the amount.  “I think you won at least a thousand dollars!”

Gloria’s jaw dropped. 
A thousand dollars? 
Before she could wrap her mind around the fact that she’d actually won something, a casino attendant carrying a clipboard materialized out of nowhere.  “Can I get you to get up for a minute?”

Absolutely!  Gloria hopped out of the chair and let him at the machine. He opened the front and jotted down some numbers on a piece of paper before closing it.  Another employee came up beside him.  Mr. Clipboard pointed to Gloria.  “She’s the winner.”

The young lady pivoted on her heel, a stack of bills in her hand.  “Hold out your hand.”

Gloria whipped out her hand as the woman began counting.  “One hundred, two hundred, three hundred…”  When she got to a thousand, she stopped.  By then, a small circle of people surrounded Gloria.  Margaret was one of them.  She tapped her shoulder. “You won?”

Gloria was beaming.  She nodded.  “Dinner’s on me!”

The girls quickly decided a dinner celebration was in order and one of the hotel’s fancier restaurants would do just fine.  By the time the steak and lobster arrived at their table, they were famished.  The food was delicious.  The steaks grilled to perfection and the lobster rich and buttery, something Gloria normally wouldn’t order since she considered it way too extravagant.  She carefully wrapped a generous-sized piece of steak in a paper napkin and dropped into her purse.

Margaret was giving her that look like what’re you doing?

“For Mally,” Gloria explained.

After the meal, they made their way out of the hotel lobby and began a leisurely stroll down the sidewalk in the direction of their hotel.  The street lights cast a warm glow and there was just enough light shining down on the sidewalk to light the path. 

When they hit the cross street, Gloria came to an abrupt halt.  Her arm shot out as she stopped Margaret.  “Did you hear that?”  She swung her head around just in time to catch a glimpse of a shadowy figure out of the corner of her eye. 

Margaret followed her gaze.  She shook her head.  “No.  What?”

“It sounded like someone following us.”  She strained to listen but didn’t hear the noise again.  She shrugged her shoulders and continued walking, keeping one ear open. 

Thump, Thump. 

Margaret clutched her purse and picked up the pace.  “I heard it that time,” she whispered furiously. 

Out of nowhere, a dark figure sprinted towards Gloria.  In a flash, the attacker grabbed hold of her purse and yanked on it hard.  She wasn’t about to let go as she wrapped both arms tightly around it and tried desperately to pull it towards her body.  “Help!  I’m being robbed!” she screamed.

It was useless.  The thief was much larger and stronger. She was quickly losing the fight. 

From the opposite direction, a hulking shadow vaulted over the low chain link fence bordering the casino parking lot.  He tackled the purse snatcher, who was caught off guard and easily tumbled to the ground.  The second figure quickly jumped on top and the two began to wrestle violently on the sidewalk as Margaret and Gloria took a step back and watched helplessly.

The purse snatcher twisted and turned as he frantically tried to escape the weight of the larger person on top.  It looked like their rescuer had the upper hand when suddenly the purse snatcher grunted loudly and with a forceful move, managed to break free.  He jumped to his feet and darted out into the dimly lit street. 

Gloria watched in horror as a sports car came speeding down the road towards the intersection.  There was no way the driver of the car could possibly see the purse snatcher as he raced across the road. 

The vehicle was mere feet from the man before the headlights finally illuminated his darkly-clad figure.  The car slammed on the brakes, tires squealing as the driver tried desperately to stop the car and swerve away but there wasn’t enough time. 

Gloria squeezed her eyes shut as the red sports car hit the shadowy figure head on.  She opened them just in time to see him fly up onto the hood and crash into the windshield before sliding back down and landing on the ground near the front tire.  He sat hunched over on the asphalt for a long moment before picking himself up off the ground.  Gloria could barely make out his bent figure as he limped the rest of the way across the road.

The driver hopped out of the car.  “Are you alright?” he hollered loudly.  The would-be thief either didn’t hear the man or completely ignored him since he never slowed his pace.  Seconds later, he disappeared down a small alley and into the darkness.