Free Murder in Gatlinburg by Steve Demaree Page B

younger than Lou and I.
    "Been here
before?" she asked.
    "First time.
You?"
    "Seasoned pro. Come
every year. How long have you been here?"
    "We're part of a
bus tour group that just arrived yesterday. This will be my first time to
Gatlinburg. We saw a little of Pigeon Forge yesterday."
    "Well, you'll soon
see that the two towns are nothing alike. But both are worth your time. So is
the national park. Do you have any questions?"
    "I don't know what
to ask first."
    "First of all let
me tell you that a lot of the people you will see today will be leaving the
area sometime tomorrow. Some of them are just here for Memorial Day weekend. Others
are ones who have been here for a week and will be heading home. The place
won't be so crowded for the next two weeks, then it will be wall-to-wall people
throughout the summer. Then there's a break and a different group will start
coming when the leaves start changing colors in October. More older people. Few
kids. But you don't need to know all of that. Not unless you plan to stay until
October."
    I laughed.
    "No, we're only
here for a week."
    When she told me it
wouldn't get crowded again for a couple of weeks, when all the kids would be
out of school, it got me to thinking again. About whether the department would
pick up the tab for another week or two. Well, one more week wouldn't be too
bad. The little kiddies would still be in school. Two might be cutting it a
little close. I pictured kids swarming around Lou and me, grabbing us around
the legs, touching us with sticky hands that had just eaten who knows what. And
then I thought about the two children in our group. Were they skipping school?
Well, at least they hadn't been a problem. Not yet, anyway.
    "By the way, I'm
Brenda."
    "Cy."
    "Like Duck
Dynasty?"
    "No, like retired
homicide detective."
    I hadn't planned to
reveal my profession, and I saw Lou giving me a look when I did. But I figured
there was little chance that the woman across the aisle from me was the murderer
that Lou had warned me about.
    "Wow! I bet that
was interesting and dangerous."
    "Sometimes. But not
anymore. You were saying."
    She could tell I was
uncomfortable talking about myself, so she returned to sharing some of her
knowledge about Gatlinburg. I took mental notes.
    "Have you eaten
breakfast yet?"
    "No. We're eating
late this morning. You know. Vacation."
    "Well, let me
recommend a place. It's a little over a block away, and the food is great. It's
called the Pancake Pantry. It's on the others side of the street, and up that
way. Just look for the long line. But let me warn you. It can be habit forming.
It might make you want to move here. Also, back in Sevierville, Applewood is a
good place to eat."
    "We stopped there
for a late breakfast yesterday, on the way in. And we'll eat there next Friday
before we head back home."
    I looked up and saw that
it was a short trip to Gatlinburg from where we were staying. Too far to walk,
but a short ride on the trolley.
    "Well, here's our
stop."
    As we got off Brenda
pointed out the different colors of trolleys and told me that each one heads to
a different place, so make sure I get on the right one.
    I wondered if when Lou
and I sought a trolley to return to Fort Westgate if we would be riding the
wrong trolley all night, because we couldn't remember which color our trolley
was.
    "Are you in a
hurry?"
    "Not a huge hurry,
but we want to get away from here before the next trolley from Westgate
arrives."
    "I think that's in
thirty minutes."
    Brenda told me a couple
of attractions we should check out and a couple other good places to eat. She
was about to leave, when I had to satisfy my curiosity.
     
15
     
     
    "What is it about
this place that brings you back here each year?"
    Maybe I had asked her a
question I shouldn't have asked, because she started to cry.
    "Sorry. It's tough.
But twenty-two years ago I met my  husband here on Memorial Day weekend. While
we didn't come from the same place, we were both in our last