Minnie Crockwell - Will Travel for Trouble 01 - Trouble at Happy Trails by Minnie Crockwell Read Free Book Online Page A

standing at the bottom of the stairs. I had found this wasn’t an uncommon practice among RVers. Some folks invited you in, some did not. I belonged to the “did not” crowd myself.
    Jim frowned. “I didn’t know she was up and quitting. Astoria, right?”
    I quirked my own, hopefully not gray eyebrow. “Yes, Astoria. How did you know?”
    “Sally and I have had some conversations,” he said. He continued to look troubled.  
    I tried to look beyond him to see if his wife was in the RV.
    “I haven’t met your wife yet. Is she home?” It seemed pushy, but what could I do? I had to press the issue.
    Jim looked over his shoulder toward the darkened interior.  
    “Karen!” he called out. He turned back to me. “She’s in the bedroom.”
    He climbed down the stairs and turned to close the screen door of the RV behind him.
    “She’s taking this whole thing pretty hard.”
    “What is it?” a woman’s voice called out.
    “Come on out and be sociable,” he practically ordered.
    I winced. I didn’t like the sound of his tone, and I hated being the cause of an excuse to bark at his wife.
    The slender, blonde woman came to the door and opened it. She stepped down. Her eyes, pale blue, flickered away from mine.  
    “This is our neighbor.” He gestured toward Minnie before moving away to stand in a spot near the end of the RV where he could see the street…and Sally’s rig.
    “How do you do?” I said. “I’m Minnie Crockwell.” I extended my hand. Karen stuck her own dry, cold hand in mine and gave it a lackluster shake.  
    “Karen,” she said. “How long are you staying?” she asked in an unfocused fashion.  
    It was a common question amongst RVers, probably all travelers. Where are you from? How long are you staying? Where are you going next?  
    “Oh, about a week, I think.”  
    Her eyes followed Jim.
    “Are you enjoying your stay?” Her voice was disinterested, but I wondered if she realized how bizarre her question was given the events of the previous evening. However, maybe she didn’t realize that I had found Sally, and that I had been the one to call the police.
    “Not really,” I said with a grimace. “I’m the one who called the police.”
    Karen swung her head toward me. Tears sprang to her eyes.  
    “Oh!” she blurted out.
    “Yes, I found Sally wandering in the park.”
    “I—I…” Karen didn’t finish her sentence.
    I gave her an encouraging nod.
    “It was an awful thing,” I said for a prompt.
    “I can’t believe it.” Her eyes flew to Jim’s back. It was unclear if he could hear their conversation. He moved off down the road and out of sight heading in the direction of Sally’s RV.
    “I can’t either. Sally said it was a suicide.”
    A sob caught in Karen’s throat. “No. He wouldn’t kill himself. I knew Carl. He wouldn’t kill himself,” she said on a ragged voice.  
    I turned to see that Jim was still out of sight. Hopefully, out of earshot.
    “So, you knew him well?” I’ll admit I wasn’t proud of myself at that moment.
    She pressed her fist against her trembling mouth and nodded.
    “He was going to leave Sally.”
    My eyes popped open. Oh, they did know each other well, didn’t they?
    Goodness, Minerva! What a quagmire this has become! It would seem that this was more than simply an affair.
    “Oh!” I said to fill the silent void while I thought quickly. “I’m so sorry.”
    Yes, that is it. Offer condolences. What other choice do you have?
    Can you think of anything I should be saying or asking, Ben? What am I supposed to ask? Did your husband kill Carl? What did you throw down the sewer?  
    “Jim knows about it. He’s pretty angry.” She paused and rushed in. “I mean, he doesn’t know I was going to leave him for Carl, but he knows I…we…” She didn’t finish the sentence.
    “Oh, geez,” I murmured. Of course, I knew that, but still, I sympathized with her. The more I saw of this Jim character, the less I liked him. In