Chapter 4
The remainder of the ride home was, thankfully, uneventful. Less than one hour after we pulled out of the rest area, the driver pulled up through the gates of Shady Acres Retirement Village.
The passengers left the bus quickly, stretching and complaining.
Nana Jo stood her nearly six-foot frame and stretched. “Now I know what Gilligan must have felt like.”
I grabbed my book and other belongings. “What do you mean? You feel like a castaway?”
“No. What was supposed to have been a three-hour tour turned into three years on that blasted island. The drive from Chicago should have taken two hours. It’s been twelve since we left.”
Ruby Mae followed. “I’m going to bed. What time are we meeting?”
I stared at her. “Meeting for what?”
Nana Jo, Dorothy, and Ruby Mae all stared at me as if I’d suddenly lost my mind.
“What time are we meeting to figure out who killed Max?” Irma said softly. “You have to figure out who killed Max.” She swallowed hard. “We owe him that much.”
“The police are going to find his killer. That Sergeant Alvarez is a lot smarter than Detective Pitt. I’m sure he’ll be able to catch Max’s killer without our intervention. Besides, do we even know he was killed?” I looked at their faces. “Maybe it was natural causes?”
Nana Jo scoffed. “You’ve got to be joking. Of course he was murdered.”
“Maybe he was. Regardless, it doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
Irma’s eyes filled with tears. “Please, Sam. You don’t understand.”
I stared from her to Nana Jo and the others, looking for help. However, their faces clearly said they were aligned with Irma on this one.
“Nana Jo?” I looked at my grandmother.
She looked at me. “I’m sorry, Sam. I know you don’t like getting involved, but we need you, this time more than ever.”
“I don’t understand. Why is this time more important?” I was tired and my voice sounded more whiney than ever. “I don’t think any of those detectives believe you killed Max,” I pleaded with Irma. “There’s no need for us to get involved this time.”
Ruby Mae supplied the answer. “Because this time, it’s one of us.”
“What?” I stared at her.
Nana Jo shook me by the shoulders. “Sam, I know you’re tired, but you have to see this. Max Franck was alive when he boarded that bus. Someone on that bus killed him.”
Ruby Mae nodded. “It had to be one of us.”
“There’s a murderer at Shady Acres, and we need to find out who it is,” Dorothy said.
“This time the murder is too close for comfort. We need you to help us catch a murderer, Sam.”