Free Murder in Gatlinburg by Steve Demaree

found out
that doing the same thing on vacation felt better. I thought of the guys back
home and teared up when I visualized them feeding the kitty so Lou and I could
actually have a vacation. Most of the guys back home took one every year, and
some of them traveled to places more distant than Gatlinburg. But to me this
was a good thing.
    Next I thought of
Jennifer, back home, missing me. Well, I hoped she was missing me. She said she
was when she texted me.
    When I envisioned my
next-door neighbor at the locksmith getting herself a duplicate key made to my
house, I knew it was time to get out of bed.
     
    +++
     
    I checked my watch. Gatlinburg
was in the same time zone as Hilldale, so I had awakened  in time to catch the
bus. Once I arrived and our group was intact, I counted heads and realized that
everyone else in our group were still surviving. I began to wonder if Lou
really did receive a message, or if he was playing mind games with me, and
seeing how I would handle retirement.
     
    +++
     
    We had a good time at
Dixie Stampede, eating with our hands and watching the show, horses and riders completing
fantastic maneuvers. I also looked to see if anyone in our group had been
thrown in front of a horse, but apparently everyone survived. Of course I
wasn't sure that whoever was to die was part of our group or not. Maybe I would
have to keep an eye on all of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
    Lou and I had our
picture taken together on the staircase on the fake Titanic, and at Dixie
Stampede. I even reverted to the childhood I never had and bought a cowboy hat
to wear in the picture. Lou chose a coonskin cap, since we were in Tennessee. I told Lou that two pictures together were enough. I didn't want anyone to get
the wrong idea about us. He agreed and said the only reason he agreed to have
his picture made with me was to show people who had never met me that he is a
lot better looking than I am. I told him I would check with Jennifer to see if
she agreed.
     
14
     
     
    I remembered enough
about our itinerary to know that Saturday was our free day. Friday had been a
long and grueling day, well grueling in the sense that we crossed the short
part of two wide states and took in three attractions in one day. I remembered
that Lou and I were traveling with old people. Some of them would have to
recalibrate their pacemakers, or whatever it is they have to do after a long
and tiring day. Actually, quite a few of our group didn't appear to be old
enough to retire, but I planned to tell George and Frank that Lou and I were
the only two on the bus under ninety.
    A free day meant I
wouldn't have to look at Earl, because it was his day off, and I planned to
avoid Miss Friendly, Sylvia, and Inez if I could. I prayed that neither of the last
two had slipped Emily some money to tell them where our rooms are. I figured I
was safe as long as I stayed inside. They would have to break through two doors
to get to me.
    When we returned to
Westgate that night and took a shuttle to within walking distance of our rooms,
Lou and I talked on our uphill trek and agreed to sleep the next morning as
long as God intended for us to sleep. Then we would catch the shuttle to the
front gate, board the trolley there, and check out the burg we hadn't seen yet,
Gatlinburg.
     
    +++
     
    After the sun had been
up for a reasonable amount of time on Saturday morning Lou called and asked me
if I was ready. I had showered, shaved, and taken time for my devotionals and
Bible study. I had even walked out on my balcony and looked at a small part of
God's beautiful creation. The balcony was one of the things I would miss when I
headed home. Only three groups of travelers in the next building over could see
me from the living room portion of my balcony, and no one who hadn't climbed a
tree could see me if I stepped out from the bedroom. The balcony offered me
privacy and beauty, two things high on my list.
    But after receiving
Lou's call I locked the door to my suite and