Murder in Gatlinburg Read online

  I took out my phone and located the photographs of the guy with the limp and the two men in sunglasses.

  "What about these people?"

  "This guy comes to town from time to time. We've arrested him for some petty crimes, but nothing major. As far as I know the two guys in sunglasses are tourists."

  "Oh, and one other thing. I understand that you were attacked the other day at one of our attractions."

  "Someone called you about it?"

  "No, Chumbley admitted to that, too. He said he was afraid you were on to him. He wanted to scare you away before you found out who he was and why he was here."

  "I think a police lieutenant scared me off the case."

  Lt. Curlee laughed.

  I stood there, dumbfounded. I had ridden all the way down to Tennessee on top of a body and never considered that the bus driver was a fake. As I stood there contemplating that, I heard a door open. Lou had stepped out of his abode and was making his way down the step, careful that he didn't drop any of his luggage. I couldn't wait to make Lou guess the murderer's identity. When he got close enough I hollered at him.

  "Hey, Lou, the murderer has been caught. Guess who it was?"

  "Oh, I dunno. I guess maybe the bus driver."

  "Funny, Lou. The bus driver was the first one murdered."

  "Oh, you mean the real bus driver. I mean the one who took his place and drove us down here."

  I don't know how far open my mouth flew, but it remained there.

  "You knew that our driver was a fake, and that he was really a murderer and you didn't tell me?"

  "Cy, I know how much it means to you to figure out things for yourself. I was going to tell you eventually."

  Lt. Curlee was enjoying our conversation, but he felt it was time to go, so he told us how much he enjoyed meeting us and told us to come back to Sevier County sometime and look him up.

  A minute or so after Lt. Curlee took off our ride arrived. We dropped all of our stuff off at the bus, then went into the dining room to eat our last breakfast buffet at Westgate. Well, our last one for a while. We both filled our plates, prayed, and I dug in. Lou waited until I had a mouthful of food and then started grinning.

  "What's so funny?" I asked, trying not to spew food all over the table.

  Lou waited until I had another mouthful of food before he answered me.

  "Lt. Curlee called me this morning and told me they had found the killer and who it was."

  "What? He called you and not me."

  "He said that I never tried to overstep my bounds into his case. We both had a good laugh afterward, and I'm sure he laughed all the way down the hill when he left here a few minutes ago. I thought about not telling you, but I knew it would bother you the rest of you life if you thought I solved a case you couldn't figure out."

  I sat there, shook my head, and then laughed with him. That was a pretty good trick on me.

  45

  At 9:30, with everyone aboard except Inez, Earl, and Miss Friendly, the bus left Westgate. Harlan was driving. At least he told us his name was Harlan, and the chances of riding with two murdering fake bus drivers on the same trip were slim. I turned around the best I could and looked at the resort we were leaving behind, the place I didn't know existed a month earlier. I knew that I would soon be ready to come back; to Westgate, to Gatlinburg, to Pigeon Forge, and to the mountains.

  When we got to our first stop I motioned for Lou to wait until last for us to get off. I wanted to talk to Harlan. When I was sure that everyone had gotten off and were out of hearing distance, I bent over and asked him a question.

  "Have you heard any more about Earl?"

  "Like what?"

  "Like how he was murdered or who killed him."

  "Not yet. I assume the company would be more likely to hear something than I would."

  I didn't know if he was telling the truth, or hiding something from me because he didn't know I knew who had murdered Earl. I wasn't going to enlighten him. That wasn't my place. With Harlan's last statement I motioned to Lou to step down off the bus, and we were off to our last day of shopping.

  We stopped and shopped at a couple of places in Pigeon Forge, and it was 12:30 when we left. The one that grabbed everyone's attention was this huge store that sold everything imaginable that could be considered Christmas decorations. While Lou and I both live alone and don't give or receive a lot of Christmas presents, we both put up a tree each year. We didn't buy a lot at the Christmas store, but we both made sure that we bought an ornament with the year on it, so, if we were fortunate enough to live another twenty to thirty years, we would always remember the year that we took our first real vacation.

  Our vacation in Sevier County ended the same way it began. On our way back home the bus stopped at the Applewood Farmhouse and Lou and I helped ourselves to the apple fritters and everything that went with them. The only difference was that we were enjoying lunch and not breakfast, and that Sylvia wasn't sitting next to me, and no one in our group knew where Inez was.

  +++

  The one thing I saw that I wanted to buy for myself was a Thomas Kinkade print, but I knew that I didn't have room for it on the bus. I promised myself that I would return in my own vehicle and buy it then. Of course I never thought of that until I fluffed my pillow and was ready to nap on the bus ride home. Just as I got settled, Lou opened his mouth, as if he had been able to read my mind.

  "Cy, did you get that Thomas Kinkade print you wanted so bad?"

  "You know I didn't. Did you get yours?"

  "Yep."

  "You did not. It was too big."

  "I know that, Cy. That's the reason I had them ship it to my place. I bought it when you had to go to the restroom."

  I closed my eyes. I would be miserable until I got home, so to rectify that situation, I called the gallery, described the print I wanted, and had them ship it to my house. Then Lou and I would be even again.

  I kept my eyes open until we were out of Sevier County. I looked at everything like a little boy who was making memories of his first vacation. Once we passed through Sevierville I closed my eyes and took a nap. It would make the trip home seem faster, and it would make me alert for the drive from Lexington to Hilldale. I opened one eye and looked over at Lou. He too would be alert later. Maybe we would discuss our next vacation on the way home.

  And as we traveled home, I had no idea that back in Hilldale some members of Hilldale's Finest were decorating my yard for my return.