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Authors: Denise Swanson
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intruder, bringing him to the groundand putting the stun gun against his shoulder. “Move and I fry you like a mosquito caught in a bug zapper.”
Before the bundled figure could react, Trixie yelled, “Incoming,” just as another person ran into the boathouse.
CHAPTER 6
Stick in the Mud Bath
B y the time the last person entered the boathouse, there were five staff members lined up against the wall. Once Trixie and Skye made it clear they were working for Margot, looking for whoever was hunting for the treasure and in the process messing up the running of the spa, the treasure hunters were eager to explain themselves.
Ruth, one of the three housekeepers, Bryan the bellboy, Barb the reception clerk, Rudy the groundskeeper, and Earlene the cook had shown up for the festivities. All claimed that they were not the ones digging holes or committing any other acts of vandalism.
Earlene clarified what had happened. “The
Scumble River Star
was delivered this afternoon and left in the lobby. I read it after I finished cooking lunch and I had a couple of ideas as to where the riddle might lead. Then, later I noticed Barb and Bryan had the paper and a map of the grounds spread out on the reception desk so I decided to follow them.”
Ruth took up the story from there. “When I was cleaning, I noticed the
Star
in the trash along with a crumpled ball of paper that had the riddle printed on it along with several possible answers. I recognized Earlene’s handwriting so I decided to follow her.”
Barb chimed in, “Bryan and I couldn’t figure out the riddle, but Bryanoverheard Rudy on the phone to his wife saying he thought he knew the answer, so we followed him.”
All eyes turned to Rudy, who had freed himself from Trixie’s bathing suit cover-up, and was keeping an eye on Skye’s stun gun. “Sorry, everyone, I just told the old lady I was hunting for the treasure so I could stay out late and play cards with my buddies. I lost tonight and needed my emergency money, which I keep hidden here in the boathouse.” In an annoyed lone, he added, “Not that I’ll keep it here now that I know you lot are hunting around.”
Skye and Trixie looked at each other, shrugged, and told everyone they could go.
Next, they reported the results of their detection to Mar-got, who said she would inform the staff that any further treasure hunting on their part would result in a termination of their employment.
Once Skye and Trixie were back in their room, and had gotten into bed, Skye asked, “So, do we have a Plan B?”
Trixie’s answer was a soft snore.
Snuggling down into her pillow, Skye tried to think of how pleasant Thanksgiving dinner with Wally would be later that day, but instead the memory of the failed treasure hunter pursuit kept intruding.
On the bright side, maybe Margot would fire them once she had time to think about the debacle in the boathouse. Skye turned over and punched her pillow. Dang. Why wasn’t she going to sleep? Because she didn’t like feeling dumb, and she had no idea how to catch the treasure hunter.
The only plan she could think of was to get rid of the intruder’s motivation, which meant solving the riddle and finding the jewelry. Unless, of course, the treasure hunter was really a vandal trying to sabotage the spa, in which case she was really off track.
She scooted into a sitting position, grabbed her tote bag, and pulled the newspaper from the bottom. According to the article, when Mr. Bruefeld told his wife they had lost all their money, she hid the jewelry so it wouldn’t be taken by the bill collectors. The story reported that Mrs. Bruefeld had been found shot to death by her husband. He’d killed her justprior to his own suicide, supposedly to “save” her from a life of poverty. And when the coroner examined her, he found a riddle clutched in her hand. Her maid claimed that her mistress had told her that the riddle was a clue to where the jewelry was hidden.
The newspaper story
Before the bundled figure could react, Trixie yelled, “Incoming,” just as another person ran into the boathouse.
CHAPTER 6
Stick in the Mud Bath
B y the time the last person entered the boathouse, there were five staff members lined up against the wall. Once Trixie and Skye made it clear they were working for Margot, looking for whoever was hunting for the treasure and in the process messing up the running of the spa, the treasure hunters were eager to explain themselves.
Ruth, one of the three housekeepers, Bryan the bellboy, Barb the reception clerk, Rudy the groundskeeper, and Earlene the cook had shown up for the festivities. All claimed that they were not the ones digging holes or committing any other acts of vandalism.
Earlene clarified what had happened. “The
Scumble River Star
was delivered this afternoon and left in the lobby. I read it after I finished cooking lunch and I had a couple of ideas as to where the riddle might lead. Then, later I noticed Barb and Bryan had the paper and a map of the grounds spread out on the reception desk so I decided to follow them.”
Ruth took up the story from there. “When I was cleaning, I noticed the
Star
in the trash along with a crumpled ball of paper that had the riddle printed on it along with several possible answers. I recognized Earlene’s handwriting so I decided to follow her.”
Barb chimed in, “Bryan and I couldn’t figure out the riddle, but Bryanoverheard Rudy on the phone to his wife saying he thought he knew the answer, so we followed him.”
All eyes turned to Rudy, who had freed himself from Trixie’s bathing suit cover-up, and was keeping an eye on Skye’s stun gun. “Sorry, everyone, I just told the old lady I was hunting for the treasure so I could stay out late and play cards with my buddies. I lost tonight and needed my emergency money, which I keep hidden here in the boathouse.” In an annoyed lone, he added, “Not that I’ll keep it here now that I know you lot are hunting around.”
Skye and Trixie looked at each other, shrugged, and told everyone they could go.
Next, they reported the results of their detection to Mar-got, who said she would inform the staff that any further treasure hunting on their part would result in a termination of their employment.
Once Skye and Trixie were back in their room, and had gotten into bed, Skye asked, “So, do we have a Plan B?”
Trixie’s answer was a soft snore.
Snuggling down into her pillow, Skye tried to think of how pleasant Thanksgiving dinner with Wally would be later that day, but instead the memory of the failed treasure hunter pursuit kept intruding.
On the bright side, maybe Margot would fire them once she had time to think about the debacle in the boathouse. Skye turned over and punched her pillow. Dang. Why wasn’t she going to sleep? Because she didn’t like feeling dumb, and she had no idea how to catch the treasure hunter.
The only plan she could think of was to get rid of the intruder’s motivation, which meant solving the riddle and finding the jewelry. Unless, of course, the treasure hunter was really a vandal trying to sabotage the spa, in which case she was really off track.
She scooted into a sitting position, grabbed her tote bag, and pulled the newspaper from the bottom. According to the article, when Mr. Bruefeld told his wife they had lost all their money, she hid the jewelry so it wouldn’t be taken by the bill collectors. The story reported that Mrs. Bruefeld had been found shot to death by her husband. He’d killed her justprior to his own suicide, supposedly to “save” her from a life of poverty. And when the coroner examined her, he found a riddle clutched in her hand. Her maid claimed that her mistress had told her that the riddle was a clue to where the jewelry was hidden.
The newspaper story
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