“How’s Coop?” Katie asked her.
“Alive, but sore. When he slid out the window, he scraped up some of his birdshot wounds.”
A chuckle came from Claire. “The guy drives all of the way to Arizona for a girl and instead he gets shot and almost burned to death in one damned day.”
Ronnie grimaced. “Poor Coop.”
“Did you at least give him some sugar before the fire started?” Katie asked.
“They didn’t make it that far.” Ronnie answered for Natalie. “Which may have saved his bacon.”
“There’s a joke in there about safe sex,” Claire muttered. “But I’m too tired to come up with it and Chester isn’t here to help.”
“Now what?” Katie asked.
“I say we get some sleep.” Natalie yawned.
“We can put our heads together in the morning and figure out what this fire means,” Ronnie added.
“I already know what it means.” Katie stood, the flashing light making it seem like her left eye was twitching.
No, wait! Ronnie looked closer. Katie’s cheek actually was twitching, along with her eye.
“Uh oh,” Natalie said under her breath, frowning at Katie. She leaned next to Ronnie’s ear. “I think Mr. Hyde just arrived to the party.”
“This fire means that it’s time for us to hunt down a killer,” Katie stated, pointing in the air as though she were ordering her troops into action. “We are going to teach that John Denver–loving bastard a lesson about messing with the Morgan sisters!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Like I told Ronnie and Claire,” Kate said to Natalie as she sped past the Welcome to Yuccaville sign without slowing. “I don’t need a dang babysitter for this trip. I’m just going to get a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream for my breakfast and some condiments for The Shaft.”
“I hear you, Kate.” Natalie glanced over at the speedometer. Slow down, Speed Racer. “But I lost at rock-paper-scissors today, so you’re stuck with me.”
Natalie stifled a yawn. She’d spent the night flipping and flopping on Ruby’s couch in the rec room. The romantic romp with Coop that she’d fantasized about in the shower last night had gone up in smoke thanks to the fire.
In the harsh morning light, the sight of Gramps’s Winnebago had made Natalie wince. All that was left of the old camper was a charred, partially melted, and stinking mess of plastic, aluminum, and polyester. Another nugget from Gramps’s pre-Ruby days had gone the way of tall-pile shag carpet and avocado-colored appliances.
Kate had wanted Claire to cover the burnt remains with a death shroud, aka the big silver tarp that was currently covering several stacks of firewood behind the park’s tool shed. But Claire refused, telling Kate the fire marshal would be there soon and he didn’t want anyone touching anything until he’d finished with his investigation.
As Ronnie had said last night, her clothes were all trashed. Those that hadn’t burned in the fire reeked from the smoke and gases released from the paneling, carpet, and linoleum.
Natalie’s clothes were toast, too, but she’d only brought along a small duffle bag’s worth. She just plucked some items from Claire’s closet this morning to use instead.
Coop’s leather jacket and T-shirt were ruined. He’d shrugged off their loss, happy to escape the burning RV alive. The smoke and flames had reached the bedroom by the time Natalie’s pounding on the window had woken him. Without her, he might not have made it. Then again, it was because of her that he was sleeping in the Winnebago when it caught fire. Oh, the irony.
Right before Natalie and Kate had left for Yuccaville, Grady had pulled into the RV park with the fire marshal right behind him. Claire and Mac were inside eating breakfast with Ronnie, who’d crashed in Gramps’s and Ruby’s bed alone, since Grady had been busy dealing with the post-fire mess for who knew how long last night.
Natalie blinked back to the present. Outside her window, the buildings of Yuccaville whizzed by way too quickly. “How fast are you going, Kate?”
“Slow as an old cow. Do you want to drive?”
“Always.”
“Too bad. My car, my speed.”
“Gee, Kate. Pregnancy has made you so sweet and loving. Aren’t I lucky to be in your presence on this sunny morning?”
Kate blew a raspberry in Natalie’s direction, but she did slow down to a speed less cringe-worthy.
“What does Yuccaville have for clothing store options?” Natalie needed a couple of shirts and jeans to make it through the weekend. Maybe a winter coat for the trip north, if they had any in stock down here in the desert.
“A couple of thrift stores, one cute little consignment boutique next to the hospital, and a—”
Kate slammed on the brakes.
Natalie reached for the dashboard. “What are you stopping for?” They were in the middle of the road on the main drag, the next stoplight two more streets ahead.
“I think I saw the diamond killer!” Kate made a hard right onto a side street. She hit the gas, the acceleration pushing Natalie back into the seat.
“Where?” Natalie looked left and right, searching porches and driveways for … “What am I looking for?”
“That blue car.”
“Which blue car?”
“The one that turned right in front of us with a Colorado license plate.”
A Colorado … Hold on! “What makes you think that driver could be the killer?”
“John Denver, remember? ‘Rocky Mountain High’? Colorado? Do I need to sing the whole song to you?”
Natalie glared at her cousin. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
“Kate, there are a lot of Colorado plates in Arizona. The two states share a famous corner, remember?”
“The guy behind the wheel had blond hair,” she added.
“Blond isn’t exactly a rare hair color.”
Kate pulled up to a stop sign and searched left and right several times. “Shit, we lost him.”
Lucky for him. “Can we go get you some ice cream now?” Maybe Kate would get a brain freeze and return to
