Eggnog, Extortion, and Evergreens: A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery Series Book 14 (A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery Series)

206 Pages·2020·0.24 MB·english

by  Tonya Kappes [Kappes

EGGNOG, EXTORTION, &
EVERGREENS
A CAMPER & CRIMINALS COZY MYSTERY
TONYA KAPPES
CONTENTS
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Sneak Peek
Recipes and Camping Hacks
Slow Cooker 3 Bean Chili
Hack on conserving your water supply.
Perfect Toasted Cheese
Grey Tank Hack
Kentucky Eggnog
Camper Tip From Fifi
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PREVIEW
“We better not get caught.” The woman’s voice cracked.
“Who’s going to know? Visiting hours are over, with us being the one
exception. And that girl next door is as dead as he is, only they are dragging
out her death.”
Wait. Was he referring to me?
“Hello.” There was a different voice. “How’s Mr. Lenz tonight?”
“No change. Do you think he’ll come out of this?” The woman and man
were stopped from smothering the poor patient.
“Rest assured we are trying everything in our power to make sure he
does.” There was a little fiddling in the background that sounded like the
nurse was clicking away on a keyboard and maybe checking his vitals. “His
oxygen level is a little low, but with the ventilator, it’ll help keep those
levels up. I see by his chart that his kidney function is still good. I’ll be
back in to check on you.”
There was a long pause. I strained to hear anything more, but the couple
had gone eerily quiet.
Then came the sound that everyone knew because it was on all the
hospital shows when someone died: the short beeps followed by a long and
drawn-out beep that led to a flurry of activity before the zing of the curtains
cut through.
“Randy? Randy?” the woman cried out. “Oh no. I think he. . .” her
voice faltered.
There was a lot of chatter going on from various people I didn’t
recognize.
“Is he dead?” the man asked with a concerned tone.
“I’m sorry.” There was a male’s voice that apologized. “I’m afraid we
couldn’t save him this time.”
The woman, who I recognized as one of the whisperers, cried out, “No.
No. No,” followed by sobs.
“Now, now, honey. He’s in a much better place now.” The man was
trying to comfort her.
“You’re acting!” my voice escaped from my lips as my eyes flew open.
“You murderer!” I flung up to sitting and gasped for breath.
The curtain zipped open between me and a few people I didn’t
recognize.
“Mae, you’re awake.”
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CHAPTER 1
“O
h, Mae. Oh, Mae.” Hank’s voice quivered. “Please open
your eyes.”
I’m here. I’m here, I could hear myself think.
“It’s just me and you. Squeeze my hand.” I felt his warm hand over
mine. “Come on, baby. Squeeze it now, Mae.” The tone of his voice quickly
faded from desperation to commanding with a hint of anger.
I am squeezing. I am trying. My thoughts drifted off. Why couldn’t I see
or talk? Where was I?
I drowned out Hank’s pleas and listened to the darkness that surrounded
me. There were the shuffling of feet, the creak of wheels like a cart
zooming past, beeps upon beeps echoing near and far, but I wasn’t clear as
to what was happening. The sound of a something being zipped caught my
attention.
“Anything?” An unfamiliar woman’s voice brought me back to Hank.
“No. Just laying here.” There was a faint wisp of air across my cheek as
his hand pulled away from mine. “I’ll move.”
“It’s okay.” The woman had a comforting voice. “Do they know how
long she was in the car?”
“No. They don’t even think anyone saw her car until I went looking for
her.” He gave me a clue.
Car? I was in a car?
“All of her vital signs are good. I’m sure she’s just unconscious from
hitting her head on the steering wheel.” The woman’s cold hands touched
my wrist. There was a moment of pause. “Her heart rate is good. She
doesn’t have a fever.”
“When will the results of her CAT scan come in about her brain?”
Hank’s question alarmed me.
My brain? CAT scan? Was I in a car wreck?
There was clicking that sounded like someone typing, which made me
think I was in a hospital and the nurse was looking up something or
recording my vitals she’d just taken.
“It looks like the results are in.” Even though I was only able to hear
her, I could tell she was offering a smile by the tone of her voice. “I’m sure
the doctor will be right in.”
“Can you just tell me if she’s got brain damage?”
Brain damage? I inwardly laughed. I’m here! I’m right in here! my own
voice screamed inside of my head.
“I’m not a radiologist and certainly not a doctor. I can only see the
results have been posted.” Her footsteps came a little closer. There was a
brushing sound.
Was she rubbing Hank somewhere?
He sobbed. “Oh, Mae. Just open your eyes,” Hank started to beg all
over again. “I can’t be without you. I only found you again for a couple of
years.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She was comforting my boyfriend.
Get your hands off my boyfriend. If I am in a coma or whatever you
want to call this crazy situation, I’m not dying, and I will hunt you down.
“Ahem.” Someone cleared their throat, causing some shuffling of feet.
“Well? Any change?” The gruff sound of Dottie Swaggert’s voice popped
into my ears.
Hank cleared his voice. He sniffled. “No. I was just talking to her.” His
voice went back to the normal big-and-bad detective tone he used when he
was trying to be strong and brave. “Raye was telling me the brain scan
results are posted.”
“Raye?” Dottie’s voice held sarcasm. “First-name basis?”
Dottie Swaggert was a spitfire. Though I couldn’t see her with my eyes,
I was visualizing her in my head, and I was sure she was wearing some sort
of sweatshirt, a tight pair of jeans, and hiking boots, with her cigarette case
in hand. I sure would love to see those pink curlers she snapped in her red
hair, but as much as I tried to see, it was black.
What I would give for me and Dottie to be sitting in the Happy Trails
Campground office right now having a big cup of coffee. Oh, and using the
fresh beans from the Trails Coffee Shop.
My hearing began to fade as a memory of earlier flashed in my head
like lightning.