Murder in Gatlinburg (18 page)

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As we ate breakfast
Wednesday morning before we left the Westgate Empire, Sylvia came running over
to our table.

"Inez is missing
again."

"You're not staying
in the same unit. Right?"

"No, just on the
same floor, different end."

"Maybe she's just
running a little later than you are."

"No, we each got
two keys and gave each other a key to our room. When she didn't answer her
phone I went rushing over there. I rang the bell, and when she didn't answer I
used my key to go in. She wasn't there. And it doesn't look like she slept in
her bed last night."

That meant Inez made at
least the second member of our group who had failed to sleep in her bed. They
should have considered subletting their bed.

"Have you reported
this to the concierge? Remember there's another woman missing, too. And both of
them are in the same building. Of course I don't know if that means anything or
not."

I contemplated going
from door-to-door in Sylvia's building to see if anyone else was missing. There
were twelve units in each building and twelve doorbells. I would only have to
ring nine doorbells. But this place is a resort, not a hospital. Everyone
wouldn't camp out in their rooms all the time. I wondered how many return trips
I would have to make before I deemed someone a missing person. I wasn't sure I
could get away from Lou that many times. I quit thinking about the possible
case when Sylvia answered my question.

"I haven't reported
her missing yet. I don't want to embarrass her in case she has been doing
something indiscreet."

"She doesn't seem
the type. Could she have caught a trolley over to Gatlinburg, maybe to eat
breakfast or do a little shopping?"

"I thought of that,
too, but if she did, why doesn't she answer her phone?"

"Maybe she forgot
to turn it on. Do what you gotta do, but I'd say you might want to report it if
she doesn't join us somewhere along the line today."

Sylvia walked away, not
feeling any better. My guess was the only reason she didn't report Inez missing
was that she was missing before and that time it was just a misunderstanding.
And the man she thought was a stalker that time wasn't even a stalker. Just
someone who looked like someone else.

Still, after Sylvia had
wandered far enough away, I turned to Lou.

"That's three
people missing now. I wonder what's going on."

"I wonder if you
remember that we are retired and on vacation. If you think the matter needs
attention, call the local police, but don't get involved."

I nodded my head. Lou
was probably right. I finished my breakfast and hoped that everything settled
in the right place.

Lou and I were the first
two to board the bus when it came time to go to Gatlinburg late Wednesday
morning. And I was glad we beat everyone else. Harlan motioned for us to board
and then closed the door.

"I'm afraid I have
bad news. They found Earl."

"I assume by bad
news you mean that he is dead or dead drunk. I cast my vote for no longer among
the living."

"That's right. His
bus was parked behind the Dixie Stampede building, sort of off to the side,
back close to the street that runs behind the place. Someone walked by last
night and smelled something funny. They called the police, who checked it out.
Earl always carried a trunk in the storage area. That's where he kept all of
his belongings. Only this time, in addition to his clothes, someone put Earl in
there. The police said he had been dead for a few days. My guess is since
Friday night. The police found him, then called the company back home. They
knew I was here, so they had me go and identify the body. He was wearing the
uniform he always wore when he drove, and nothing seemed to be missing from his
personal effects. It didn't look like he had been beaten, but he had been
struck once. At least that's the way it looked to me. I've been there most of
the morning. I just got back a few minutes ago. I told them I had a tour group
to transport around town."

"Did you know him
well?"

"Somewhat. We
didn't run around together, but we saw each other on occasion, when we were
both leaving town near the same time from the same place, and at the annual
Christmas party."

"What was he
like?"

"Fairly quiet.
Usually kept to himself. He wasn't the kind of guy who caused trouble for
anyone. But he wasn't the friendly sort either, if you know what I mean."

I had met Earl and I
agreed that he wasn't the friendly sort.

"Do the police have
any idea who did it, or how it happened?"

"If they do, they
didn't confide in me. They asked me what I knew about why Earl was down here,
and if anyone saw another person near him. I told them that he was a tour bus
driver and he had driven a group down from Lexington on Friday. They nodded and
looked at each other when I said that. Maybe they felt it gave them the time of
death or a suspect list. Did either of you see anything out of the way in the
short time you were with him?"

"No, he didn't talk
much. Stayed in his seat and didn't mix with us. Actually, he didn't seem all
that friendly. He didn't go into any of the places with us, but he was always
there to drive us to the next place. Of course we were only with him on Friday.
Do the drivers usually mix with the group they transport?"

"Most of the time
not. Oh, some of us talk to the group sometimes when we are waiting to take
off. Sometimes we get a really friendly group that insist that we join them.
The company just tells us not to mix with the clients unless they bring it up,
but if we are asked to do something and want to be included, it's okay. Did he
seem to know any of the passengers?"

"Not as far as I
know, but he did seem a little jumpy."

"Anything happen
that you know of that might have caused that?"

"No, he was that
way from the time we walked up to board the bus. We were the second and third
passengers to board. The only one ahead of us was that woman who's also missing."

"Did anything out
of the way happen before you left?"

"If so, we're not
aware of it. But both he and that missing woman appeared to be nervous. There
was this one guy who was darting in and out of the shadows in the parking lot,
but he never approached any of us that I know of. However, the same guy is
here."

"If you give me a
description of him I'll be glad to share it with the police. Did you see anyone
else around?"

"No, but as you
know, it was dark when we got there. Everyone else I saw got on the bus. Most
of them I never saw until they got on the bus, and I didn't hear any of them having
a conversation with Earl."

"You say Earl was
nervous. I've never known him to be nervous. Quiet, most certainly, but not
nervous. Anyone else seem a little nervous?"

"A couple of other ladies,
but not as nervous as Earl and that woman. Of course whatever it was might not
have anything to do with the trip. But then, this morning I heard that one of
those two ladies is missing."

"Do you remember if
they were the next to board the bus after the two of you?"

"I don't think so,
but I'm not sure. Had Earl made the Gatlinburg run before?"

"Oh, yeah. It was
one of his favorite places to come to. Earl liked coming here, and he liked the
trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, too. I'd say he made the Gatlinburg trip four
times a year or so. Maybe even more than that."

"What do you
usually do when you make one of these trips? And do you have any idea if Earl
did the same things you do?"

"The company tells
us not to stay at the same place as the people we drive, but find a place
nearby to stay. What we do with our free time is up to us. We're not to go to
any bars or to drink. But we are free to go to any attractions we want and eat wherever
we want to eat, but not at the same place as our guests unless they have
invited us."

"Do you usually go
out and enjoy a town when you are there?"

"Sometimes. It
depends on our schedule and how tired I am."

"What about Earl?
Do you know what he did on his trips?"

"I think he was low
profile. My guess is he went out, got something to eat, went back to his room,
and watched TV while he ate."

"How long had he
been with the company?"

"I'm not sure
exactly. But I've been here going on eight years, and Earl was working for them
before I was. It's a good company to work for. We're away from home a lot, but
the company gives us a few days at home between trips, so it's not too bad. And
we get to pick our runs based on seniority. Come to think of it, I think Earl
was our number two driver based on seniority. Well, it looks like we have
company."

He pointed at the
passengers heading toward the bus.

"You being a
retired cop and all, do you think I should mention this to the other passengers,
see if anyone saw someone talking to Earl?"

"Let's wait a
little while. Then maybe later, if nothing has been solved, you might check to
see if anyone knows anything. Or it could be we will all be getting a visit
from the local police."

"Okay. Well we'd
better quit talking about this. You two go on back and take your seats. Let me
know if you think of anything that might help us find out what all went
on."

With that Lou and I
shuffled off to pick our seats and Harlan opened the door and wished the next
passenger a "good morning."

While we waited for
everyone to board I turned away from Lou and sent a text to George. I told him
that our bus driver had been murdered, and that two ladies from our group were
missing. Then, I sent a few other texts with the passengers' names, asking
George to check and see if any of our group had been in trouble before. I made
sure that George knew I was serious about the murders this time.

Lou saw I was shying
away from him and asked me what I was up to. I lied and told him it was a love
note to Jennifer. He smiled and turned away. Then he sent a love text to Thelma
Lou.

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Before we got off the
bus Harlan reminded us that today was pretty much a walking tour. He had
reminded everyone the day before to wear walking shoes today. Everywhere we
would be going was on River Road. We would begin by eating lunch at No Way Jose's,
then walk next-door to Ripley's Gatlinburg Aquarium. Our next stop on River Road was called the Mysterious Mansion. Harlan told us it wasn't for the timid, and if
anyone wanted to skip it, that was okay. He told us when we left there we were
to walk up to Christ in the Smokies, a wax museum devoted to scenes from the
New Testament. We were told that when we left there we were to walk up the street
to The Peddler Steakhouse, known for its beef and a fine salad bar. Our
reservations at The Peddler were for 5:30, so we could gauge our time at each
attraction so that we would arrive a little before that time. He pointed to us
where the bus would be parked, up behind the transit center, between the
Mexican restaurant and the aquarium. And he let us know that he would remain on
the bus in case of an emergency, and that he would move the bus to The Peddler
parking lot around 5:00. Before he let us go he asked if anyone had any questions.
No one did, so he opened the door.

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Not everyone takes the
same amount of time to view an exhibit. I didn't know how separated we would
become. I knew we were all together at lunch and would be again at dinner, but
there was a good chance we would separate into very small groups at the
aquarium,  the wax museum, and the haunted house. On the average, murderers get
braver when they are in smaller groups. I didn't think there was a crowd when
Earl was conked on the head and stuffed inside his trunk. I wish I'd thought to
check with George much sooner. That would have told me if any of our fellow
travelers needed more watching than others. As we walked to the restaurant I
received a text back from George asking me if it was for real. I sent him one
back with two words, "most definitely." When I got the text, Lou
turned to me and asked.

"Jennifer?"

"Yeah, she still
loves me." But then my conscience got the best of me, and said, "No,
it was from George. He wanted to know if anyone had been murdered so far."

This time Lou received a
text. He turned to me and smiled.

"Thelma Lou. She
wanted to know if I needed a foot massage."

"Too much
information."

Lou laughed.

Although I like Mexican
food, I'd never eaten a lot of it, and hoped that I didn't have a problem
eating it, with our group running around all day.