Thrill Squeaker: A Squeaky Clean Mystery (Squeaky Clean Mysteries Book 11) Read online

  Nate, Chad, and I hadn’t had time to talk since earlier. No sooner had Nate mentioned that there had been other murders here, the police chief grabbed him to ask some additional questions. Convenient.

  I followed the sound of Nate and Chad’s voices and walked into an old, dusty-looking cabin.

  “You found us!” Chad looked up from the kitchen table, where he had papers sprawled and a pencil stuck behind his ear.

  I set my suitcase on the floor. “Here I am.”

  “Your room is down the hall,” Nate said. “Make yourself at home.”

  I did just that before hurrying back to the kitchen, anxious to talk about what was going on here. Nate stirred a pot on the stove, and Chad yammered on about his schedule over the next few days and his plan for completing everything on time. The scent of something savory wafted through the air.

  I tried to find a good opening, but the two men were focused on the workload for the week. I had no choice but to listen and wait. Apparently, Nate wanted to eventually open a restaurant on the Mythical Falls grounds. He planned on opening the cabins only here and in Area 51. But he’d do one area at a time.

  Braxton, another of Chad’s employees, was working on electricity, but he was staying with a friend who lived forty minutes away and driving in every day. Braxton was a know-it-all who didn’t particularly like me. That meant I’d not only be dealing with the legend of Bigfoot while I was here, but also with the real life of drama of Bigmouth. Yay for me.

  As the conversation went on and on, I looked around the cabin. It had a great room with a small kitchen, a dining bar, a living-room area with a fireplace, and one bathroom. The whole building was probably less than eight hundred square feet, and it retained a rustic feel—except for the kitchen, which had new stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Nate had already brought in some contractors to work on the bathrooms and kitchens, if I remembered correctly.

  I sat on the typical lodge-style couch, trying to be patient. The mauve cushions under me expelled dust every time I moved. At least the fire in front of me was warm and soothing—very welcomed after our earlier shock.

  I didn’t have a chance to squeeze a word into the conversation until we were all seated at a rickety card table with sliced venison, microwaved mac and cheese, and canned green beans.

  “So,” I started, my appetite waning from both the impending conversation and the unappetizing meal. “There have been other murders here?”

  Nate paused from heartily slicing his meat and glanced at Chad. “I never said murders. I said deaths. Deaths. Not everyone died at the hands of someone else. That’s kind of a weird assumption.”

  I scowled.

  “Please, tell me more.” I kept my words even and calm even though irritation pooled in my gut.

  “Well, the first one was a total accident.” Nate shoveled a forkful of meat into his mouth and pushed it into his cheek so he could keep talking. “A woman fell off the Ferris wheel. From the tippy-top.” His eyes widened as he revealed that fact. He made a whistling sound and then a splat—which wasn’t pretty considering he had a mouthful of food.

  I swallowed hard. That would be a terrible way to go and a terrible death to witness. I imagined families with kids being nearby, enjoying a day at the park, when the horror occurred in front of them. It would be enough to scar someone for life.

  “This woman . . .” I started. “She randomly fell off the ride?”

  Nate swallowed his food with a flourish. “That’s right. There was an investigation. Law enforcement thinks the safety bar came loose. She and her friend leaned down for a better view. The next thing, the latch opened and down she went.”

  I frowned. “That’s terrible.”

  “Yeah, isn’t it? The next guy who died was an employee. He was walking beneath the Flight of the Flying Saucer—”

  “The what?” I asked.

  “Oh, that’s the old rollercoaster,” Nate said. “Most people around here called it the Vomit Comet. Anyway, he was looking for some money that someone dropped or something. Maybe it was a car key. Minor detail, right?” Nate scratched his head. “Anyway, he was down there at the wrong time because the coaster whacked him.”

  “That’s also terrible.” I frowned again. What horrible ways to die.

  Nate nodded, reminding me a bit of an innocent puppy who didn’t know any better but to enjoy his food and play fetch. He, at least, had the courtesy to lower his voice slightly before finishing. “The third is a little more grisly.”

  My muscles tensed, unsure how it could get worse—and that meant a lot coming from a crime-scene cleaner. “Okay.”

  “A man sneaked into the park at night and went down to Mythical Falls.”

  “This is Mythical Falls.” What was I missing here? I thought all of the deaths had taken place here.

  Nate put his fork down and stared at me. “This is Mythical Falls, but there’s also a real-life Mythical Falls down by Loch Ness Lake. We didn’t get to finish our tour earlier, or I would have shown you. There’s a path that takes you down there. It’s a beautiful place. Beautiful.”

  “I bet.” I narrowed my eyes again. “And you have Bambi stuck in your beard.”

  “Oh, thanks.” He plucked out a piece of venison and, to my horror, stuck it in his mouth.

  Gross.

  “So, a man sneaked down there. Or is it snuck? I dunno. Anyway, he was found the next morning. And he was—” Nate wobbled his head back and forth as if he was having a hard time saying murdered, which was strange considering the ease he’d talked about the other two deaths. He ran a finger across his neck.

  “His throat was slit?” I questioned.

  Nate shook his head and looked at me dumbfounded. “No, he was dead. Isn’t that a universal sign for dead?”

  I tried not to scowl again. “What happened to him?”

  Nate leaned closer and lowered his voice. “He was murdered.”

  “Murdered?” I muttered.

  Nate picked up his fork again. “It’s true.”

  “Did they ever catch the person responsible?” My throat suddenly felt tight. I’d always been creeped out by the woods and camping and isolated wilderness areas. The only thing that could make this worse was if it started thundering and lightning right now.

  As if God himself had read my thoughts, thunder rumbled outside. My fork flew out of my hand and landed on the filthy floor with a clank.

  I’d just walked into the middle of Friday the 13th.

  As I picked my fork up, I noticed my hand was trembling. I had to get focused here and act like the grown woman I was. I also had to remind myself to keep this fork away from my mouth in my preoccupation. “So the park closed after the murder?”

  Nate nodded, already back to eating his venison. “Yeah, everyone said it was cursed and all of this junk that freaked people out. It was really just a run of bad luck, though. It was a shame. There’s not much to do out here in this area unless you like hiking and hunting, maybe some rock climbing or mountain biking or whitewater rafting or skiing—”

  “That sounds like plenty to do,” I interjected.

  “Well, only if you’re the outdoor type. Some people want options, and Mythical Falls was a great one. People still talk about their memories here—getting engaged, their first kiss, childhood vacations. I want to bring that back. This area needs this, especially since the mines closed down. Morale has taken a serious dip.”

  “I see.” I hoped finding another dead body here didn’t put a damper on his plans. There was a good chance it would.

  “I desperately need your help, though. We have paths to clear, cabins to paint, and walls to repair. We’ve got to secure some hazardous structures. It’s a big job, but I knew there was no one else I wanted to ask but my old buddy Chad.”

  His old buddy Chad.

  Strange. Certainly there were other contractors in this area he could use. Why bring in a crew from Virginia? And where had this man gotten the money it was going to tak
e to restore the place? I kept coming back to that question.

  I knew what Nate was paying us, and it was a hefty sum. That wasn’t to mention the fact that he’d bought this property in the first place. How much had that been?

  My suspicions started to rise, which was ridiculous. I needed to nip this in the proverbial bud.

  “What do you do for a living, Nate?” I asked, trying to ease into the questions. I’d learned—the hard way—that tact usually got me a lot farther than bluntness. However, push me hard enough or stress me out and that bluntness came out again.

  “I’m a financial planner.”

  I blinked, certain I’d heard him wrong. I’d expected him to say adventure guide or backpack expedition leader. “Come again?”

  He did the woodpecker laugh. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m in finance. I’m sure you’re wondering how someone my age can afford to do this. It’s a natural question, I assure you.”

  “Since you brought it up, do you mind if I ask how? I am curious. I can’t imagine how much all of this cost.” Believe me—I’d already tried to several times.

  “No, I totally understand.” He shoved another piece of meat in his mouth. “Let’s just say I got an inheritance and leave it at that. Intriguing, right?”

  “Totally.” I had to work on sounding more sincere—being more sincere. Actually, I was a pretty sincere person, but Nate was bringing out a sugary sweet kind of sarcasm that I hadn’t indulged in for a long time.

  I’m going to do better, Lord.

  “As you can see, restoring Mythical Falls wasn’t a natural choice,” Nate continued, not the least bit fazed. “But, then, I decided to take the leap. Life is too short not to, right?”

  “Reasonable risks can be good,” I conceded.

  “I just don’t want to always live safe. I want to make an impact. This is going to be my impact.”

  I just don’t want to always live safe. I want to make an impact.

  His words echoed in my head. I was moving in the opposite direction. I wanted life to be stable. I’d never had that, and I yearned for consistency.

  I shoved my plate away, realizing I would be eating some crackers I’d packed when I got to my room. “I think I should get some sleep tonight if we’re going to get started in the morning. I’ll help clean up first.”

  “No, don’t worry about it. I’ve got it,” Nate said.

  “If you’re sure. I do want to call Riley and check on him.”

  Nate gave me a look of pity. “Good luck finding a signal around here. If you haven’t figured it out yet, phone service is spotty in this area, to say the least.”

  “I was hoping I was just in a dead spot earlier.” As I said the words “dead spot,” my stomach dropped. It seemed a little too appropriate for this place.

  I stepped outside onto the ramshackle porch and pulled out my cell phone. Sure enough, there was no service. I raised it higher, hoping that I might pick up on something. But no, no bars showed. Nate had been telling the truth.

  Chad followed me, his phone also raised. “There’s a magic spot around here, if you can find it. There’s an art form to it, and if you move just a centimeter, you’ll lose your connection.”

  “Good to know.”

  He sighed and lowered his phone after several moments of walking with it in the air. “I really wanted to check on Sierra and Reef. I can’t wait until they get here.”

  Riley, Sierra, Reef, and another worker named Clarice were supposed to come tomorrow to help out. I was looking forward to the rest of the gang arriving also. “This is going to be fun.”

  We’d all talked about it being a mini-retreat or a friend weekend of sorts. All of us hadn’t had much time to spend together lately.

  Chad shook his head. “I said I can’t wait, yet there’s another part of me that can. I mean, if there is something going on here, maybe the rest of the gang shouldn’t come.”

  “You think that man was murdered?”

  Chad shrugged. “Until I know for sure . . . it’s pretty desolate out here. There aren’t many people to hear you scream for help.”

  I shivered. “Now that you put it that way . . .”

  He shrugged. “I just don’t want to put them in harm’s way.”

  “That’s noble of you.”

  He cut a sharp glance at me. “I mean, I don’t want you in harm’s way either. But you always put yourself there and no one can usually stop you.”

  “I resemble that comment.”

  Chad grinned. “Exactly.”

  I sighed, the chilly air around me feeling especially frigid as goose bumps popped out on my arms. That was my cue to call it a night.

  Just as I turned to go inside, I heard something in the distance. My skin crawled.

  My gaze met Chad’s.

  Wood knocking.

  It was classic Bigfoot 101: The creatures supposedly hit two sticks together or against a tree to create a noise as a means of communicating.

  And, as if that wasn’t scary enough, it was followed by the sound of someone—or something—extremely heavy and large rushing through the forest.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Something was out there,” I said as soon as I was safely inside the cabin. My heart still raced as my adrenaline pumped out of control.

  In my head, I could hear the British band AllSTARS singing “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” Yes, that song may have even made it onto a Scooby-Doo soundtrack. But both the tune and the TV show seemed more than appropriate for this park at the moment.

  “Something was definitely out there,” Chad agreed.

  I paced in front of the fire, trying to even out my thoughts so I wouldn’t sound like an idiot who jumped to conclusions too quickly. “I’m trying to keep a level head. But what could have made that noise?”

  Ripples of excitement rushed through Nate’s gaze as he listened to our recap. “Oh my gooey goodness. You really heard wood knocking? Wood knocking? What if he’s out there?” He made quote marks around the word “he” before humming the theme song from The Twilight Zone.

  “You mean Bigfoot?”

  “Of course.” Nate gave me a “duh” expression.

  Was Nate serious? Or had Chad and Nate teamed up to scare me? If this was all one giant prank then I was going to feel foolish . . . and get some serious revenge. I was talking plastic-wrap-over-the-toilet-seat revenge.

  Okay that might be kind of lame. But I’d think of something better or my name wasn’t Gabby St. Claire.

  “He has been spotted in this area.” Nate wiped his damp hands on a dishtowel. “My father’s friend’s uncle’s cousin saw him while he was hunting one time. Scary stuff. He said the creature was gentle, though. Bigfoot just looked at him in the woods then ran away as if the hairy dude wanted his privacy.”

  I shook my head at the unexpected turn in conversation. “You guys! This is crazy. It wasn’t Bigfoot. But it was something—or someone.” I turned to Nate and narrowed my eyes. “Unless you accidentally turned on one of those old background tracks you were telling us about earlier.”

  “No way, man—woman. Pardon me.” He raised his hands. “I don’t want to offend anyone’s sensitive sensitivities. Those speakers aren’t even hooked up.”

  He offended me in so many ways that he didn’t even realize, but that was beside the point right now. I crossed my arms and eyed Nate. “So maybe someone is trying to scare us off.”

  He pulled his chin back and squinted. “Why would they do that?”

  Wasn’t it obvious? “Maybe someone doesn’t want this place to open back up.”

  “Who wouldn’t want it to open? No one would have a reason for that. No one.” Nate shook his head and looked at me like I was the insanely crazy one.

  Chad, who had been relatively quiet, joined the conversation. “Maybe it’s the family of one of the people who died here,” he suggested. “Maybe this goes back to the dead body we found earlier today. Maybe Bigfoot killed that man. The possibilities are endless.”
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  Before I could stop myself, I scowled at Chad. I thought my friend was more sensible than this. Apparently, I was wrong. But I needed to say that more diplomatically.

  “I think we’re reading too much into this.” I was careful to keep my voice even and, hopefully, inoffensive. “Maybe that noise was a coincidence. Maybe it was another animal making that sound, and, since none of us are nature experts, maybe we’re just ignorant about what it really was. We’ve got to keep cool heads.”

  “Did you just call us ignorant?” Nate’s bottom lip dropped open.

  People seriously trusted this guy with their money? With their life savings, for that matter?

  “It just means uninformed. It doesn’t mean stupid.”

  Nate’s mouth dropped even wider. “You just called me uninformed? I’ll have you know that my father was an avid outdoorsman. I’ve camped my entire life. I know animals, and none of them make that sound. None. Zip. Zero. Nada. None-ya.”

  I stepped back, weary of arguing. “I’m done. I was just trying to offer an alternate point of view, but I can see that’s not welcome.”

  “Listen! Both of you.” Chad stepped between us, a knot on his forehead seeming to symbolize a possible headache. “It would be easier for all of us to keep a cool head if that dead body hadn’t turned up. We all just need to get some rest. That’s the best thing we can do right now.”

  I finally nodded. “I agree. Traipsing through the woods at this hour will only end badly.”

  “We can all agree then,” Nate said. “There are bears out there, not to mention mountain lions and cliffs and yeti. The dangers are . . . well, they’re uncountable.”

  The look he gave me seemed to say, See? I told you I know the outdoors.

  “Got it.”

  “No more deaths, okay?” Nate stared at us both.

  “Okay,” Chad and I said together.

  With that, we all escaped to our respective rooms.

  But I was halfway tempted to make a run for it first thing in the morning.

  * * *

  I hadn’t slept last night. No, I’d been thinking about that wood knocking and the hurried, heavy footsteps. About the dead body. About being in the middle of nowhere where we could die and no one would find us for days.