Deserts, Driving, and Derelicts Read online

  I stopped pushing the cart when I noticed there were three doors. I looked around the cart for Betts’s notebook to see exactly which door I was supposed to use because heavens to Betsy I go in the wrong door. Tammy Jo might have Hank arrest me for trespassing.

  I locked the cart’s wheels and hurried back to the van, almost running smack dab into a lanky gal with long brown hair wearing light pink scrubs and a slightly taller man in a blue jumpsuit.

  “I’m sorry,” I tucked my head with an apology when I saw them jump apart, making me think I’d clearly interrupted something private.

  The notebook was right inside the back door of the van. I grabbed it and headed back around the house, a little more cautious this time. Luckily, the guy and gal were gone. The man in the blue jumpsuit was hunkered over the flower garden next to the deck and the young woman was nowhere in sight.

  In the instructions, Betts said to use the middle door. Once inside, the wheels on the metal cart squeaked across the marble floor with each rotation. I kept looking back to make sure the wheels didn’t leave some sort of mark. That’d made extra work and I was counting the hours until I got out of there.

  The kitchen didn’t take too long to clean. It didn’t look like there’d been much cooking going on in there. I made quick work of the bathroom too.

  The family room had tall ceilings with a big chandelier hanging in the middle. There were three white leather couches with a coffee table in front of each one. There were crystal and china poodle knickknacks nestled all over the room. My insides groaned at the thought of wiping down all of them by hand.

  Betts had written to dust all the furniture and baseboards before vacuuming. There was a furniture polish with a hand mitt stuck on top. I pushed my hand into the mitt and sprayed polish on the glove. It was Tammy Jo’s preferred method for dusting. I rolled my eyes and went over all the little figurines, followed by the larger pieces of furniture. Betts was right. There was a lot of dust.

  “You do know that Tammy likes the furniture dusted before you vacuum.” The same woman I’d seen outside with the long brown hair and pink scrubs walked through the double doors to the deck just outside of the family room. She ran a finger down the coffee table then she held it up into the air to get a look. “Not bad. Don’t forget the watch on the mantle.”

  She and I both looked over at the marble mantle. The only object displayed was a glass dome with what looked like a pocket watch inside.

  “I won’t. Tammy Jo asked me to get up the dirt stain in front of it.” I walked over to look at the stain. Nothing that a little water couldn’t get up.

  The young woman followed me. There was a strange look on her face when she noticed the stain.

  “It’s just dirt, I think.” I bent down to make sure it wasn’t something of Fifi’s, like poop. Upon closer inspection, it was just dried mud.

  She picked up her foot and looked at the bottom of her shoe, repeating the process with the other.

  “I’m not sure how that got there.” Her brows furrowed with a worried look.

  “What’s so special about that?” I asked, taking the conversation back to the watch. There wasn’t anything special about the dirty carpet. I wasn’t so sure why she was so concerned.

  “It’s a treasured family heirloom Tammy Jo acquired from Harrison Bentley.” She walked closer to it and gazed at it. I assumed she were talking about Tammy Jo’s husband. And from the way it sounded, I assumed Harrison was dead. “It’s worth 2.2 million dollars.”

  You could’ve knocked me over with a feather I was so shocked.

  “You’re joking.” I lifted a brow and took a little more interest in it. I walked over. “It doesn’t look special.”

  It was a standard round gold pocket watch with a white background and four circles on its face. One of the circles had numbers; the one next to it had roman numerals; and the other two had little black lines. There were black numbers around the entire circumference of the face. The gold chain had what looked like a small blue wand at the end. Nothing special to me.

  “I’d never joke about 2.2 million dollars. Tammy Jo has a person who comes every morning, puts on a pair of white gloves, lifts the lid, and uses the watch winding key to wind it.” She inhaled deeply. “It’s special because the different ticks help train Fifi. Since Tammy Jo doesn’t have children, she left it to Fifi and any offspring she might have.”

  “Who might have children?” I rubbed my temples trying to wrap my head around this concept of a 2.2 million dollar watch that should clearly be in some sort of museum.

  “Fifi.” The woman said this as if it was no big deal that a dog was the beneficiary of this watch. “My job is to keep Fifi in perfect health.” She drew her hands in front of her, clasping them at her waist. “We are going to be meeting people who might have a potential sire for our dear Fifi.”

  “What exactly is your job title?” My right eyebrow rose.

  She perked up a little. “I’m Fifi’s nanny.”

  “You’re joking, right?” My eyes opened with amusement.

  “I’d never joke about Fifi.” Her jaw tensed.

  “Nanny for a dog?” I questioned. How much did that gig pay?

  “Yes. Fifi is very special. She comes from a long line of distinguished breeding. She has to have to perfect amount of play, food, and sleep time.” She spoke with pride. This girl was serious. “I’m thrilled to have been here since the beginning. She’ll be four this fall. We are hoping to breed her soon since she’s the perfect age.”

  “What makes this watch worth so much money?” I asked.

  As hard as I tried, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Nor could I even fathom what state of mind Tammy Jo had been in when leaving it to a dog. Not that I didn’t love dogs. I did, just not wanting one for myself.

  “It’s got very detailed and complicated George Daniel parts. He was a famous watchmaker. There aren’t many around and they have so many details that is fascinating.” She was practically salivating at the mouth. “All of his watches are done by hand. Truly works of art. Now that Tammy Jo has mortgaged the entire estate to see to it that Fifi’s DNA can be cloned to continue the breeding line, she’s very particular about the watch.”

  While she told me the history of the watch, I couldn’t help but notice Hank, Tammy Jo, and Norman, minus Fifi, outside on the lawn. Tammy Jo was pointing to different things as Hank nodded.

  “Clone the dog?” I laughed. Tammy Jo Bentley was a whack job. By the look on the woman’s face, she didn’t find it at all funny. “According to the 2.2 million dollar watch, I’ve got to finish cleaning this house. Don’t you have to get back to Fifi?” I asked when I heard a door shut down the hall, followed by a woman’s voice.

  “She’s napping.” The dog nanny’s face didn’t move, but her eyes shifted towards the woman talking. “She gets a mid-morning nap and a late afternoon nap.” She inhaled deeply and glanced over at the window. I looked to see what – or who - she was watching.

  I didn’t see Hank, Tammy Jo, or Norman, but I did see the man in the blue jumpsuit that I’d seen her talking to earlier.

  When he walked out of view, she looked back at me. “Where’s Betts?”

  “She had to take care of some church people.” It was a short and simple answer. I didn’t have time for chitchat. I put the polish back in the cart and got the vacuum.

  “The kitchen looks good,” she said as if she’d inspected my work. “Please tell Betts we miss her.”

  “What’s your name?” I asked. I wanted to make sure I got it right so when I went back to the Laundry Club and told this ridiculous story, I’d get it right. The women wouldn’t believe this crazy one. Maybe Betts would since she’s cleaned here, but she’s never tell. That’s why it was my duty to get it all straight.

  “Camille Braun.” She turned and saw the man in the window again. This time he saw her and they locked eyes. “Goodbye,” she whispered and drifted out of the double doors to the back deck where she’d come in from.
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br />   The outlet for the vacuum cleaner was next to the window. I looked out and saw the man in the blue jumpsuit walking down the back of the house and then slipping into one of the doors. I continued to watch Camille. She took the steps to the right of the deck. At the bottom, she looked around before she went through the same door as the man.

  “Interesting,” I said and plugged in the vacuum as I let my imagination wonder if the gardener and the nanny were having a secret rendezvous, which would add some juicy gossip to my tale for the girls.

  I went back to the bucket on the cart and took out the screwdriver so I could unscrew the screws holding the wall vents in place since Betts had specifically said to get those vacuumed. I went back to the where the sweeper was plugged in and got down on my knees to unscrew the first vent.

  At first, I thought the voices I’d heard were coming from a television. I pulled back, resting on my haunches, and listened. I bent towards the vent and could clearly hear a conversation. Was it the dog nanny and the gardener? I wondered.

  “My darling Camille,” the voice came through the vent. “I forgive you. Please, let’s put it behind us.”

  “I can’t do that, Ralphie. We’ll never be an item. I have so much expected of me and the status of my position here. Tammy Jo will never accept us. If she finds out, she’ll fire both of us. I can’t let that happen. I love Fifi and her future is my future security.” Camille was a tough cookie, I thought. “You were a fling. You need to know that.”

  “You are evil. You will regret your treatment of me. One day, you’ll get what’s coming to you because you are a greedy tramp. Get out of my face,” his words spat back at her. I bent down a little closer to see if I could hear the murmur that sounded like someone crying.

  There were sounds of scrambling and I quickly turned the vacuum on to clean around the inside of the vent. The door to the deck flew open. Camille rushed through the family room with her hands covering her face.

  SIX

  “You mean to tell me that you took the time to go to the diner and didn’t find out a single thing about Ron Randal? Dottie asked when I got back to the office at Happy Trails Campground. “Queenie said you were in there a while.”

  “Are you going to let me finish telling you before you interrupt me?” I asked. Dottie was very good at trying to jump ahead in the story someone was telling her. “I was actually eating a piece of peach cobbler.” I thumbed through the reservations to see what available campers we had to put Bobby Ray in. I left out the part about seeing Hank because Dottie would’ve been all over that.

  “Carol’s or Pam’s peaches?” she asked.

  “Carol’s.” I laughed. Living in Kentucky as an adult was really teaching me just how small the towns were in the state. With that came all the gossip and being into everyone’s business.

  “Pam is going to have a conniption. I can see it now. Both of them swingin’ their bibles at their Bible Thumpers meeting.” Dottie shook her head, referring to Betts Hager’s bible club that supplies all the food for local events, ministers to the criminals at the jails, and other various things. Dottie handed me a set of keys. “I know you’re looking through the reservations to find your thieving friend a camper. Let him have this one.”

  “You do have a soft spot.” I took the keys. “He’s not a thief. Be nice. I gave him the money back like you suggested. That should make you feel better.”

  “It don’t. Did you see how comfortable he is out there?” She meandered over to the window and I followed her.

  “Those khakis,” I groaned when I noticed Bobby Ray had taken a pair of scissors to them, making them the shortest khaki shorts I’d ever seen. “They were expensive.”

  What was I expecting? Paul and Bobby Ray were from two different planets. I should’ve realized that once I’d given them to Bobby Ray that they’d be regarded as a gift, not a loan. I shrugged it off. What was I going to do with them anyways?

  “Back to Ron.” I had to forget Bobby for a minute. “I’ve also got to clean Ty’s camper. Betts is going to keep the boys for Ron tonight.” My face flushed. “I’m picking up Ty at the airport in the morning.”

  “May-bell-ine.” She tried to use her best Bobby Ray voice. “You gonna have to juggle two men that are swooned over you. Hank Sharp and Ty Randal. They are hankerin’.”

  “I’m certain Hank Sharp isn’t hankerin’,” I said sarcastically. “I saw him today at Tammy Jo Bentley’s house.

  “My word.” Dottie jerked back and looked at me. “What on earth were you doing at that woman’s house? Don’t you know she’s a couple buckets of crazy?”

  “Betts had gotten the phone call about the Randal boys and she was supposed to go to Tammy’s to clean since Tammy is hosting the Kentucky Kennel Association tomorrow.” I plucked a set of keys for a camper that was perfect for one person and available for a few days.

  She snarled. “You know, she can be real nasty about that dog of hers.”

  “Fifi.” I laughed a belly laugh. “I swear. That dog is treated better than a human child. It sure was something to see.”

  “Did you see the dog?” she asked.

  “I did. I think it actually liked me.” It was a cute little dog.

  “Is the puff ball at the tip of her tail really shaved?” There was a disturbing giddiness in her tone.

  “Yes.” I grinned. “I’d heard about what happened at Smelly Dog and I couldn’t stop looking at it. I mean, Fifi has this big puff ball here, here, and here, not to mention the several on her legs.” I pointed to all the places.

  We had a good laugh.

  “Seriously, though, did you know that Tammy Jo has a 2.2-million-dollar pocket watch on her mantle?” I still couldn’t believe it.

  “Hmmm.” Lines creased in her forehead. Apparently, she didn’t have anything to say about that.

  “She’s left it to the Fifi and any puppies she has.” I couldn’t explain enough how crazy this sounded to me. “Not a charity or even family.”

  “Mae, she’s tighter than a wet bathing suit on a long ride home.” Her red curls bounced as she talked. “She’s got family members that she fell out with a long time ago. A daughter.”

  My eyes widened.

  “Where is the daughter?” I asked.

  “Beats me.” She shrugged, a delicate movement that said volumes

  I had a niggling suspicion that she knew more than she was telling. She’d gone back to leaning over the computer on her desk. It was weird that she wasn’t gossiping about it. I’d decided to change the subject.

  “How are the plans for the Summer Sizzler?” I asked and walked into the storage closet. There were camper sets we let campers rent or purchase. The sets were different depending on what they needed. We had toothbrushes, sheets, towels, bathing suits. I grabbed the deluxe for Bobby Ray. It included shampoos, razors, and all the fixin’s.

  “Comin’ along good. I’ve got to do some setup over the next couple of days, but it’s all ready to go. I put the decorations in one of the storage units so they are out of the way. We had four campers pull in today. I told them about how we do supper around here and invited them to participate. I think I saw two of the families head on out to Daniel Boone National Park.”

  We made plans to hang out tonight at supper before I headed on over to the lake to get Bobby Ray to take him to his housing for the next couple of days.

  There were a couple different buildings on the property besides the office and a few covered picnic shelters. We had a recreation room for games and family fun. There was an assortment of video games, ping pong table, hula hoops, basketballs, dodgeballs, kickballs, jump ropes, and a snack station. There was a laundry room with washers and dryers. Instead of a pool, we had a fishing lake with a fountain aeration system surrounded by a nice sandy beach. On days I was just lollygagging around, I was in a chair with my eyes closed to the sun. It was just a little too hot to do that these last few weeks of summer.

  The campers must’ve felt the same way because t
he lake was full of swimmers and people circling the lake in pedal boats. I’d been expecting to see my insurance man here any day. He and his wife rented a lot here year-round. I’d asked him to get an insurance proposal together for me about putting in a pool, but I was sure the liability would be through the roof.

  “Catch anything?” I asked when I walked up to Henry and Bobby Ray.

  “Nah. We just shootin’ the breeze,” Henry said. Bobby Ray was right up his alley. Both men were simple and seemed to enjoy the slow life.

  “I’ve got you a bungalow.” I dangled the key in the air. “And a job.” I took Joel’s business card out and handed it to him.

  “Which bungalow?” Henry asked. “And what job?” Henry asked as if I were giving his job to Bobby Ray.

  “Number Three.” I knew Henry loved that one. “Grassel’s Gas Station as a mechanic.”

  “My favorite bungalow.” Henry smacked Bobby Ray on the back. “It’s perfect for one. It’s got the best sunrise and sunset. The view of the park is breathtaking. And Joel Grassel will be a good man to work for.”

  “I’m looking forward to it. Both of them.” Bobby Ray jerked the line of his rod and rapidly rolled in the reel. “I’m looking forward to eating this guy.” He pulled in a big mouth bass that was going to taste great on the open campfire.

  Bobby Ray was pretty pleased with the bungalow setup. It was a round with a kitchen and bathroom in the middle. It had a perfect view from every window. While I let him get settled in, I jumped into the golf cart to head back up to the office to grab a bucket of supplies to clean Ty’s camper like I’d promised Ron.

  We sold cleaning supplies for the campers to make cleaning easier for them. After I got what I needed, I grabbed Ty’s extra set of keys with the T keyring. I couldn’t help but smile and wonder what his life looked like as the head chef of some fancy San Francisco restaurant.