Evie let out a sigh as she drove the bus down the highway toward a campground for the night. She was almost as surprised about how much barbeque she’d eaten as Dora was. What could Evie say? It had been an eating day. The kind where it was impossible to feel full.
After the Bigfoot experience, Dora and she had decided it would be best to get to a campground while there was still plenty of daylight. They even remembered to call and make a reservation so they wouldn’t end up in a flooded pit like the night before.
She glanced over at Dora as she took a wide curve and asked, “Find anything yet?”
“I’m trying, but cell connection is spotty. There’s a newspaper article linked to Kyle’s name that’s loading right now.”
After finding out Matt’s real name was Kyle Young, they were tempted to google him right away, but they figured it would be better if they investigated the guy out of sight from his old football coach. Tom Johnson had payed Evie close attention, even while she was eating as if she hadn’t had a meal in weeks.
“Finally—” Dora glanced at Evie and frowned. “You’ve still got sauce on your face.”
“So?” Evie said defensively as she reached up, felt for the stray food, and scratched at the crusted sauce on her cheek. “Just read the article.”
After a moment, Dora shook her head. “Boring. Just a small-town sports column about a football game. He was mentioned for some play he made.”
“Try his name along with Roland Mitchem and see if anything comes up.”
“Already on it,” Dora said as her finger tapped on the phone. They were in a pocket where reception was good, and her search provided results right away. “Whoa. Looks like Mr. Mitchem is known for more than his real estate investments. His wife was murdered.”
“What?” Evie asked as all sorts of theories about Kyle raced through her head.
“Says here the woman was shot and they are investigating the murder.”
Evie exchanged a look with Dora as she thought about Kyle’s journal entry that spoke about hearing a gun go off. Perhaps he had witnessed the murder. “What else is there?”
“Oh, this might be interesting,” Dora said. “A celebrity gossip blog about Nadine Mitchem’s death.” Dora began to read the sensational article out loud, and when she got to the part where the columnist mentioned a handsome gardener as one of the suspects, she paused. “They could mean Kyle.”
“Keep reading!” Evie demanded, wishing she were manning the phone instead of driving.
“Definitely Kyle.” Dora held up the phone for Evie to see a picture of Kyle in what appeared to be a surveillance photo from some paparazzi.
The guy was shirtless and digging in a garden. “Nice. We hit the jackpot. Think Nadine had a thing for him?”
“Maybe. Or maybe he had a thing for her and it didn’t work out so well. Since we’re pretty sure he was running, I think we’ve figured out what happened.”
“Me too,” Evie said. “Now we just have to find out why.”
Evie’s skin itched, and as she ran her hand through her greasy hair, she shuddered with revulsion. She felt as if they’d been on the road for hours, but really it was still before noon and they were only a few miles away from Windy’s compound.
“How is it you still have barbeque sauce on your face?” Dora said from the passenger’s seat.
Evie glanced in the rearview mirror. “Where?”
“By your right ear.”
She ran a hand over her skin, fingered the dry sauce, and yearned for a nice long shower. They campground spot they’d been the previous night had been a lovely location. Unfortunately, Evie hadn’t enjoyed it much. She’d woken up with a barbeque-induced stomachache and spent way too much time in the campground bathroom, listening to disturbing nighttime sounds.
“All I want to do is take a nap.” Dora stretched her arms over her head and let out a little moan.
Evie tightened her grip on the wheel and kept her eyes fixed on the winding road. If they didn’t get to Windy’s cabin soon, she was going to stop and jump in the river, fully clothed and all. It would be better than the way she felt at the moment.
“Relax. We’re almost there,” Dora said.
Evie glanced at her friend. “Easy for you to say. You actually got a shower last night before the waterline broke, leaving me high and dry in the shower. I bet you feel great. I feel like I’ve been rolling around in pig slop.”
“You don’t look like it. Well, except for that barbeque sauce in your ear.” She cracked a grin.
“Shut it. You’re not helping.” Evie scowled and leaned forward as she took the sharp turn that led to Windy’s long driveway.
Dora cackled and ran a hand down Sunshine’s back. The little dog was curled in Dora’s lap without a care in the world.
The moment they pulled into the compound, Windy came out of her cabin and headed straight for the bus.
Evie rolled her window down. “Hey, Windy. We got some good information.”
Sunshine whined, jumped into Evie’s lap, and then placed her paws on the driver’s door as she wiggled her tail, clearly saying hello to Windy.
“Hey, sweetie. Did you miss me?” Windy tugged Sunshine from the car and cradled her against her chest as she snuggled her.
“Looks like it,” Evie said dryly, mentally telling herself it was petty to be jealous. It didn’t work though, and she contemplated snatching her dog back. Instead, she kept her hands glued to the steering wheel.
“We’ve got a bond,” Windy said, sporting a smile that took a good ten years off her features. And just like that, Evie felt bad for her attitude. Windy had been working her pot farm for much of her life while staying isolated from the public. Who was she to begrudge the woman a little joy with Sunshine?
“What did you find out?” Windy asked.
“For starters, we learned that Matt’s real name was Kyle Young.”
“Huh,” Windy said as she tucked a lock of long silver hair behind her ear. “That’s solid information. Good job, ladies.”
“We have more to tell you, but I need a shower in the worst way.” Evie said. “Do you want to spend some time with Sunshine while we go get cleaned up?”
“Sure. That would be great,” Windy said. “But first the pigs and chickens need to be fed.” She gestured to the work truck they used around the farm. “It’s ready to go. The rest should be easy.”
Easy, right. Evie turned to look at the truck and honestly felt like she was going to cry. It had been a long drive, and her stomach was still a little queasy after the barbeque overdose. If she took one whiff of the slop, she was likely to start dry heaving.
Dora put a hand on Evie’s leg. “Why don’t you go ahead and get a shower. I’ll take care of the pigs and chickens.”
“Seriously?” Now Evie did tear up.
“Seriously. Go.”
“Thanks.” Evie made her way to the cabin for a long hot shower while Dora went to the barn.
Warmth beat down on Evie’s shoulders as steam curled up into the air of the cabin’s small bathroom. She let the heat of the water soothe her aching muscles from the long drive as well as rinse away three days’ worth of travel grime. She recalled the entry in Kyle’s journal where he described his reoccurring nightmare. One that had him witnessing a woman crying out for her life. But was it a life he took, or did he just see it happen?
She was anxious to read the journal entry again now that she had more information and see if anything jumped out. So anxious she actually cut her shower short so she could work on putting together the pieces of why Kyle may have been running.
Evie was curled up on her bed reading Kyle’s dream recollection for the fifth time when Dora walked in. She looked up at her friend. “This can go either way.”
“What can?” Dora asked.
“I’ve been reading Kyle’s dream about the gunshot and the woman lying in a pool of blood. It’s not entirely clear if he did it or he witnessed it.”
“It’s also a dream. Those take twisted paths, and who knows what parts are fact and what parts are fiction?”
“True,” Evie said as she leaned back against the wall to flip through more of Kyle’s journal.
Dora said, “Windy wants to talk to us once I take a quick shower. The good news is Simon’s making us something delicious for dinner.”
Evie grimaced. “As long as it’s not barbeque.”
Dora chuckled. “Fish and veggies.”
“Perfect. One can never eat too much of that.” But of course, you could, Evie thought as she heard the tap squeak when Dora turned on the shower. Too much power, too much lust, too much greed led to things like Nadine Mitchem’s and Kyle Young’s deaths. And that could be the very key to figuring out the crime they were trying to solve.