Read Online Minnie Crockwell - Will Travel for Trouble 01 - Trouble at Happy Trails by Minnie Crockwell - Free Book Online
Authors: Minnie Crockwell
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about? What was he saying? And who was he talking to?”
“He said ‘We’ll see about that’ and ‘excuse me’ when he bumped into me. He was talking to Sally.”
“And what was Mrs. Richardson saying or doing?”
“She was crying. She said something about ‘you know how it is with husbands.’”
“What did she mean by that?”
I shrugged. “I think it was just a generic statement about fighting with one’s husband.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“Not really, not then. We just talked about the usual ‘where was I from.’ Stuff like that. She did say she didn’t know what to do with the RV if Carl left her, but she didn’t say why he would.” I hesitated to offer more information at this point, though I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t want to incriminate anyone unfairly.
“You said ‘not then.’ Did Mrs. Richardson talk to you more later on?”
I nodded. “She did, when I found her wandering outside, covered in blood. She told me that Carl had been having an affair, and had a history of affairs. She said they’d had a fight and that she’d gone to the office to work. When she returned, he was dead.”
Officer Martinez shot Officer Wilson a look. His face revealed nothing.
“And that is the last that you spoke to her?”
I shook my head again. “No, I saw her this morning when she and her brother came to get some things from the RV.”
“Her brother?”
“Yes, Bob. He came up from Astoria, Oregon, yesterday. Apparently, he was already in town, but Sally didn’t know it.”
Officer Martinez shot Officer Wilson another look. I could imagine what they were thinking, but they were the police, not I. It was their job to figure out what happened.
“Well, I’m certainly glad Officer Wilson suggested we pay you another visit today. Is there anything else you can tell us about Mr. and Mrs. Richardson or the brother, Bob? What is his last name?”
I closed my eyes for a moment to concentrate.
“Stewart, I think.” I took a deep breath. “Well, there’s a lot going on in this park, or so I discovered over the last 24 hours. Most of it centers around Carl. I really don’t want to get anyone in trouble though.”
“Ma’am, this is a police investigation,” Martinez said. “Someone is dead. We need to figure out how or why. If you have any information that is pertinent to the case, you really do need to share it with us.”
Cowed, I sold everyone out…except for Ben.
I told them all that I had heard regarding Carl, Sally, Bob, Karen and Jim. I even offered up that Karen had thrown what she said was a packet of notes into the sewer pipe. And her suspicions that Carl had not killed himself. Then I wondered how quickly I could move my rig and hightail it to another RV park in case someone came gunning for me.
“Is there any chance you could avoid telling folks you got all this information from me? I’m paid up for the week here. I don’t mind moving to another park if someone gets mad, but I’d need some time to find one.” With those sentences, I revealed that I was a coward, cheap, a weenie (the same as coward), and a snitch (though I had no loyalty to the strangers at the park). To say that I wasn’t proud of myself hardly described my emotions.
You are too hard on yourself, Minerva. Much too hard.
Maybe not hard enough, Ben!
Officer Martinez sat back and eyed me with her dark eyes. She didn’t smile. I wished she would have.
“And you didn’t think to call us with this information?”
“Well, no. I assumed that you all would do your own police work and find all this out. Just like you’re doing now.”
She half smiled. “I see.”
“Besides, I don’t know if a crime has been committed. You really wouldn’t expect me to call you if someone dropped an inanimate object short of a bomb into a sewer pipe, would you?”
Her smile broadened. She seemed to have a well-developed sense of humor. “No, but I would expect you to tell the park
“He said ‘We’ll see about that’ and ‘excuse me’ when he bumped into me. He was talking to Sally.”
“And what was Mrs. Richardson saying or doing?”
“She was crying. She said something about ‘you know how it is with husbands.’”
“What did she mean by that?”
I shrugged. “I think it was just a generic statement about fighting with one’s husband.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“Not really, not then. We just talked about the usual ‘where was I from.’ Stuff like that. She did say she didn’t know what to do with the RV if Carl left her, but she didn’t say why he would.” I hesitated to offer more information at this point, though I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t want to incriminate anyone unfairly.
“You said ‘not then.’ Did Mrs. Richardson talk to you more later on?”
I nodded. “She did, when I found her wandering outside, covered in blood. She told me that Carl had been having an affair, and had a history of affairs. She said they’d had a fight and that she’d gone to the office to work. When she returned, he was dead.”
Officer Martinez shot Officer Wilson a look. His face revealed nothing.
“And that is the last that you spoke to her?”
I shook my head again. “No, I saw her this morning when she and her brother came to get some things from the RV.”
“Her brother?”
“Yes, Bob. He came up from Astoria, Oregon, yesterday. Apparently, he was already in town, but Sally didn’t know it.”
Officer Martinez shot Officer Wilson another look. I could imagine what they were thinking, but they were the police, not I. It was their job to figure out what happened.
“Well, I’m certainly glad Officer Wilson suggested we pay you another visit today. Is there anything else you can tell us about Mr. and Mrs. Richardson or the brother, Bob? What is his last name?”
I closed my eyes for a moment to concentrate.
“Stewart, I think.” I took a deep breath. “Well, there’s a lot going on in this park, or so I discovered over the last 24 hours. Most of it centers around Carl. I really don’t want to get anyone in trouble though.”
“Ma’am, this is a police investigation,” Martinez said. “Someone is dead. We need to figure out how or why. If you have any information that is pertinent to the case, you really do need to share it with us.”
Cowed, I sold everyone out…except for Ben.
I told them all that I had heard regarding Carl, Sally, Bob, Karen and Jim. I even offered up that Karen had thrown what she said was a packet of notes into the sewer pipe. And her suspicions that Carl had not killed himself. Then I wondered how quickly I could move my rig and hightail it to another RV park in case someone came gunning for me.
“Is there any chance you could avoid telling folks you got all this information from me? I’m paid up for the week here. I don’t mind moving to another park if someone gets mad, but I’d need some time to find one.” With those sentences, I revealed that I was a coward, cheap, a weenie (the same as coward), and a snitch (though I had no loyalty to the strangers at the park). To say that I wasn’t proud of myself hardly described my emotions.
You are too hard on yourself, Minerva. Much too hard.
Maybe not hard enough, Ben!
Officer Martinez sat back and eyed me with her dark eyes. She didn’t smile. I wished she would have.
“And you didn’t think to call us with this information?”
“Well, no. I assumed that you all would do your own police work and find all this out. Just like you’re doing now.”
She half smiled. “I see.”
“Besides, I don’t know if a crime has been committed. You really wouldn’t expect me to call you if someone dropped an inanimate object short of a bomb into a sewer pipe, would you?”
Her smile broadened. She seemed to have a well-developed sense of humor. “No, but I would expect you to tell the park
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