Free Bats and Bones (The Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mysteries) by Karen Musser Nortman

I’ve
seen the sheriff a couple of times and the agent talked to us a little bit
ago.You think they really suspect someone in the campground of murder?”
    “They have
to consider that possibility,” Larry, master of the non-answer, said.
    “Looked
like you guys had a run-in with Mrs. Schlumm last night too,” Rob said.
    Richard
sighed. “Yeah, she reamed us out for noise. It wasn’t 10:00 yet, though.”
    “She was
already mad at us and those guys across the road,” Rob explained. “Probably why
she came down so hard on you.”
    “Yeah, but
can’t imagine that anyone killed her over that kind of thing. What about the
husband? Isn’t the husband always the most likely suspect?” Richard said.
    “Is that a
threat?” Elaine asked, getting a chuckle from everyone.
    “His grief
seems pretty sincere,” Frannie said.
    “People can
be pretty good actors,” Larry observed.
    Mickey got
up and checked the state of the fire. He carefully placed another log. They
wanted fairly hot coals to cook their chicken. “Look at Larry. Some people
actually think he’s a professional cop.”
    Richard
said to Larry, “I thought you were a
retired cop.” But then noticing the smirk on Mickey’s face, he nodded with
amused understanding.
    Richard said,
“Yeah, well, I hope they solve it soon. They can’t keep us here forever…can
they?”
    “Not
likely,” Larry smiled. They discussed some of the other parks they liked, and
then Richard heaved himself out of his chair.
    “Hey,
thanks for the beer. Stop by at our joint and we’ll repay you.”
    “And we
give free tours of our abode,” Elaine said.
    They talked
about supper. They talked about supper a lot on their trips. What they were
going to have, how to cook it, how hot the coals needed to be, what kind of
dessert to finish it off with. But this trip they soon switched back to talking
about Maeve’s death.
    “Maybe
Richard’s right—maybe it was Dave. He probably knows when she left the
camper and he’s not saying,” Rob said.
    “I asked
the ranger this morning about their leaving,” Donna said. “He said it was
partly because of complaints about Maeve, but I bet it also has to do with the
domestic abuse thing.”
    Larry shook
his head. “That ranger’s quite a gossip.” Larry always preferred that such
matters were left to the authorities.
    “He’s
young—quite young—really very, very young,” Frannie said. “This has
to be a very unusual situation for a state park.”
    Larry
acknowledged that and added, “I do think we all need to be careful. Apparently
everyone here knows that we found the body. The murderer may suspect we found
more than that—other evidence. Frannie, go ahead and tell them about the
phone call. This is serious business and I don’t want any of you thinking Dave
is the only possible threat.”
    Frannie
related the phone call she overheard. The other four all looked a little
stunned.
    “This is
like TV,” Donna said.
    “No,” Larry
said. “This is real life. That’s why I said this is serious business.”
    The brown
DNR pickup rumbled slowly along the road, stopping at each campsite. When he got
to them, Ranger Phillips leaned out the window.
    “Sheriff is
calling a meeting at 7:00 tonight in the picnic shelter for everyone in the
campground. Some things he wants to go over with everyone at the same time.”
    Mickey
raised his hand in acknowledgement and the rest nodded. Ranger Phillips nudged
the pickup along to the next site.
    “Well,”
Donna said. “Maybe we’ll finally learn something.”
    “Will that
fire be ready to cook pretty soon?” Jane Ann asked. “If we can eat around 5:00,
we won’t have to hurry and can clean up before the meeting.”
    Mickey
looked at his watch. “That should work. We can put the chicken on in about half
an hour. I’d better rest up.” He flopped in his lawn chair.
    Frannie
wondered more than ever about Dave Schlumm. She had left their thermos that
morning and it offered an